Photo by Robert S. Donovan (cc)
Every month, after the fact, I remember what an impact the moon has on me when it transits certain signs. And every month, before the fact, I say to myself “oh it wasn’t really that big of a deal last time… I’ll just carry on like normal.”
Hoo boy.
Normally I’m an exceedingly calm and rational person inside and outside- I have five planets in the third house, which concerns communication, analysis, and automatic behavior. When I was younger I used to joke that I was a “head in a jar,” or a Vulcan from Star Trek (without the ears). But as I’ve gotten older, things have gotten more emotionally stimulating and often downright uncomfortable when the moon moves through Libra, Scorpio, and to a lesser extent, Sagittarius. In the last year or so I’ve begun privately referring to this as the “week of reckoning”, because it feels like this is when I pay for being so unflappable by getting flung onto an emotional carnival ride.
Those five planets in the third are in (intercepted) Libra, so the beautiful Libra moon everyone loves has become a harbinger of internal wackiness to me now… and while I have very little in Scorpio, I have Taurus and Leo so I catch the hard angles there anyway, combined with all those stereotypical Scorpio moon things. Top it off with a couple planets in Sagittarius, and I’m ready to just live in a bubble for a week.
And because it’s the moon, it happens every month! Hooray!
This month my “week of reckoning” arrived on the 23rd until the 29th. Here’s a list (partly for my own edification) of my transits over the several days of Libra moon:
- moon enters the 3rd house
- moon enters Libra
- moon conjunct Saturn
- moon conjunct Jupiter
- moon conjunct Sun
- moon conjunct Pluto
- moon square nodal axis
- moon conjunct Mercury (Rx)
Then, right when the moon moves into Scorpio:
- moon enters the 4th house
- moon opposition midheaven / conjunct IC
- moon opposition moon
- moon square ascendant
- moon opposition Chiron
- moon square Mars
- moon conjunct Uranus
A total emotional rollercoaster ride, at least on the inside. Then onto Sagittarius:
- moon conjunct Venus
- moon enters the 5th house
- moon trine ascendant
- moon conjunct Neptune
- moon trine Mars
So fortunately it ends on more of a high note.
Every time it’s a little different, of course, and I’m getting better at working with it to understand things better instead of succumbing to all the hard angles (and hard stuff) and just hiding under the bedclothes for a few days. This time I was better about self-care: I scheduled some bodywork, got more sleep, I got out and saw people when the whim seized me instead of isolating the whole time. I didn’t do anything rash, although I wanted to make snap decisions about everything. And then make the opposite choice the next day. So I wallowed in indecision about everything, but it was better than going on emotional tirades or doing things I’d regret later. This really brings out the most frustrating Libra characteristics for me… I think. I can’t decide whether it does or not.
*chuckle*
The moon does a lap every month, so every month we all have recurring themes. Are there patterns you notice that keep showing up? Maybe you have a “week of reckoning”… how do you deal with it?
What a great post! Tracking life via the Moon is so revealing. And you’ve inspired me to go a little deeper into my own “week of reckoning.”
.-= Sarah´s last blog ..Recipe: Macrocosmic Cupcake(s) =-.
Thanks Sarah! It’s something I’ve paid attention to for a while now, but this week was so weird that I finally sat down and listed everything in order by degree, and looked them all up in Robert Hand’s Planets in Transit, one by one.
And as you say, it was very revealing indeed. Yipes.
Twitter: clover
And now I have a follow-up question. Do you find that you have energetic/emotional responses to particular times of day? I think I noticed that in myself long before I studied anything having to do with astrology. Aren’t the different hours “ruled” by the seven classical planets? Might that have something to do with it? Maybe this is something related to biorhythms. All I know is that I predictably feel low in energy, and often down in the dumps, between 2 and 6 p.m., every day. Like clockwork.
.-= Sarah´s last blog ..Recipe: Macrocosmic Cupcake(s) =-.
I do, but nowadays I chalk it up to my weird schedule- I’m a baker, so I’m up early. When I had an ironclad 9-5 schedule, my dip was around 2-3pm every day.
…
Come to think of it, it still is. Good point! I haven’t spent much time on planetary hours, but now I’m curious to look into them more. Biorhythms haven’t seemed consistent enough for me, though.
Twitter: clover
Hmm, interesting, Libra’s indecision can be a huge nuisance when you’re in the grips of it. I’ve found that it really is better to “wait” and look at the situation from all sides before making a decision, then I act firmly and quickly. But then, I have only 2 planets in Libra, Sun & Mercury conjoined, with a sextile from Mars in Leo, I’ve found that this really helps me be firm in my decisions as Leo is fixed, lol. My Sun is in the 5th house with Mars in Leo in the 3rd, and yes, I’m always thinking of what’s entertaining, lol, I read too much with Mercury in the 5th too.
Having Libra in the 3rd house would really put a spin on “hurry up and make up your mind” lol. Yet with your Leo ascendant, well thought out ideas and executive actions are natural for you, hence this great blog! ^_^.
Sounds like you need to indulge the Leonine playful side more, this would help you to negate the Libran indecision as you would be too busy relaxing to worry. Saturn & Pluto in Libra are especially heavy hitters, are you too worried about someone close to you reactions to your actions? This will effectively inhibit you and keep you in a state of uncomfortable indecision.
I’ve found that the New & Full Moons tend to get me going emotionally, usually when they’re in the fixed signs. Scorpio full moon and Leo new moon were intense, yet, cleared the air and I did things that I didn’t think I had the courage to do, lol X-D. I set in motion things that could have wonderful consequences to say the least.
So times like these are setting the foundation for better things to come into your life and hopefully clearing away all the stuff that you no longer need.
@Angel- I’ve grown out of the Libra waffling a lot; nowadays it mostly shows up during this stretch of time. The moon crosses my Mars in Leo the week before all this goes on, and I’m learning to use it to line things up ahead of time. This round I did pretty well: I made an acupuncture appointment, scheduled a trip to the metaphysical library, etc.
This week was worse than usual… I think I was all softened up for the Mercury-Mars-Pluto T-square that went exact on the 26th. My emotions were all over the map, so I consciously chose to indulge the Libra Waffle (I’ve decided it deserves capitalization) instead of flying off the handle and saying/doing something stupid.
I think you’re right that it’s time to get closer to all that Leo… sometimes it feels like I’m getting to know it rather late. Pluto’s in the middle of my 5th right now too, so maybe it’s a more appropriate time than I thought.
Thanks for your thoughts! It will be fun to spin some posts off this conversation.
Twitter: clover
Yeah, that square had me apprehensive for awhile, it was a slow buildup and I felt it before it went exact. Saturn in Virgo conjoined my natal Pluto this year & the lessons are finally paying off in more of a sounder emotional foundation, so when Mercury was in Virgo it set off sparks but also firmed up things more. All that critique helped, lol. When Mercury finally entered Libra, I found myself more self-confident because of the past emotional turmoil having been experienced already, eh he, lucky me!
Funny, I’ve found that if I don’t indulge the playful Leonine side, it comes out in unexpected ways, more of a royal huff ^_^, better to have established play times/fun scheduled, lol. Remember how the king would have entertainment? lol, Good times are a part of our psyches, we need them just as much as the essentials, food, water, etc., the Universe seems to schedule our lives sometimes when we’ve made other plans ^_^
Good times are a part of our psyches, we need them just as much as the essentials, food, water, etc., the Universe seems to schedule our lives sometimes when we’ve made other plans ^_^
Isn’t that the truth! All work and no play, yadda yadda. Julia Cameron calls it “filling the well”. You run dry without it.
A lot of people cry foul over Saturn and Pluto, but it’s good to have change even when we’re kicking and screaming about it. Think of how stale we’d be otherwise…
Twitter: clover
I know what you mean. Transiting moon is conjunct my natal pluto today. But no, not only that. Trans venus is also conjunct my natal pluto…… today i felt SO WEIRD. and i feel afraid of being manipulated and stuff.. totally throws me off.
.-= jo´s last blog ..The Natal Chart : A Portrait of the Soul =-.
Entertaining post. My friends and I were just talking about this the other night. Also your blog looks nice on my old palm treo. Now thats uncommon. Nice work.
I’m sorry for bodering you with this…but could you please tell me what does it mean when moon is in opposition to your birth chiron?
Hi Caroline,
When the moon is opposing your natal Chiron, it often creates urges to escape your past problems or traumas, often by behaving in ways that end up being more harmful than helpful. It can also trigger memories of early childhood losses or other painful events.
Since this transit can also create urges to reconnect with lost loved ones and repair those wounds, when the transiting moon is in opposition to Chiron it can be a good time for writing letters, journaling, or other cathartic actions. Be mindful that you’re especially sensitive at this time too, so engaging people that have hurt you before can feel more painful if the situation has not changed.
Twitter: clover
thank you so much! I couldn’t find what it meant anywhere…
I cannot thank you enough!
all the best**
P.S.- you should have a site just for this kind of things, you’re so good!
You’re quite welcome! It’s a great time for writing those letters you burn or bury instead of mailing, if a situation calls for that kind of catharsis (or pyromania).
Twitter: clover