Artwork by Savannah King for The New Moon Circle Journal

Sagittarius is where we seek out our belief system, Capricorn is where we consider its rules. Capricorn is the sign of backbone and integrity. It’s our ethics, our matured understanding of consequence. Effort is required and rewarded. This New Moon asks that we revisit our ultimate goals. What mountain are we climbing? And why are we climbing it?

Capricorn is an earth sign. It’s interested in tangible results and status symbols. This New Moon offers us an opportunity to reevaluate our relationship to these things and the role they play in our lives. Do they define us? How much weight do they hold? We all crave recognition to varying degrees. It’s part of being human. But if ambition is our sole motivator, we may be missing the point.

Gratification and satisfaction can be found as much in the journey as in the destination, perhaps even more so. Very often it’s the overcoming, the willingness to step out of our comfort zone (Capricorn governs fear) that emboldens us and gives our lives meaning and weight. It’s actually the quiet, inward applause that deepens our commitment to self-actualization and authenticity. 

Now is the time to revisit our motivations. What’s driving us? Who are we trying to impress and why? Can we commit to our own development knowing that, ultimately, it’s how we feel about ourselves that matters most? Can we recognize how far we’ve come?

Art: Savannah King
Astrology: Danielle Beinstein

artwork by Savannah King for New Moon Circle Journal

"Faith and optimism are essential ingredients in the recipe of life. Without them, we risk homeostasis and depression, a kind of methodical drudgery. That being said, relying too much on faith can be a dangerous proposition, as we may lose sight of the need for organization and structure, the things that give our lives form. If we are to navigate this world successfully, we must marry faith with a healthy dose of skepticism. We must find our balance. 

Sagittarius is the explorer forever in search of new lands. This fiery, intuitive, and philosophical sign governs travel, publishing, higher education, religion, and the judicial system. Sometimes boastful and often very convincing, this sign knows how to make a statement and isn’t shy about voicing it. It’s also freedom-oriented to the core.

Still Saturn, the planet of karma and maturation, is currently transiting Sagittarius and will continue to do so until December of next year. Saturn is in stark contrast to Sagittarius’s ruler, Jupiter, planet of expansion, risk, and luck. Thus when Saturn transits this sign, we find our optimism tempered, our steps become more measured. This is further compounded by the fact that Jupiter is currently transiting Libra, sign of partnership, diplomacy, and balance. In short: The rubber is meeting the road. We are reconciling our desire for freedom with our need for partnership. Yet this lunation also contains a square to ethereal Neptune in Pisces, which dissolves whatever it touches. If this sounds confusing, it’s because it is. We have conflicting energies at play. And it’s up to us, as individuals, to reconcile them. 

What to do, then? Find our philosophy, our worldview. During this time, we may feel called to ask ourselves the following: What do we believe? Who do we believe in? What is the nature of our faith? And can we ground in it? “If you’re invested in security and certainty, you’re on the wrong planet,” Pema Chodron is quoted saying. Nevertheless, having a framework for our life can give us solace in these tumultuous times. It can anchor us in the here and now as we continue, step by step and day by day, to march in the direction of our dreams. As with anything, it comes down, always, to our lens. So the question is: What do you believe?"

-Danielle Beinstein

Solar Eclipses occur when the moon moves between the earth and the sun, blocking the sun. They pack a punch as they’re known to carry three times the weight of a new moon and often herald new beginnings. We may, for example, hear unexpected news or be offered an opportunity during a solar eclipse. Not everyone will be deeply affected by an eclipse, though. It’s really a matter of mathematics and where this particular lunation falls in your chart, but if your birthday is within a few days of September 1st, December 1st, March 1st, or June 1st, or you have planets or points around 10 degrees mutable (Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces, or Gemini) then this one is sure to affect you.

Regardless of whether it’s hitting your natal chart directly, what are we looking at here exactly, with this eclipse? What’s at play? Well, it’s slippery, despite it being in organized, detail-oriented Virgo. Go with the flow has never been more apt. Virgo likes things ordered. It excels at efficiency and multitasking. But we may find ourselves unsure of the facts, and of what is real, as information is obscured or fuzzy. 

Think of the media. Culturally, we tend to accept things shouted on TV or printed in the newspaper as fact, but they’re not. They’re often simply a matter of opinion or spin. It’s one lens or perspective, but it’s not the whole picture. We’re swimming in a sea of subjectivity and calling it the truth.

We also see this in relationships all the time. One person has one recollection, while the other recalls something radically different. We have one memory and our friends, partners, or relatives have another. Is anyone really wrong? Likely not. It’s just that we filter things through our own conditioning, our own view.

So what do we do? Well, magical thinking isn’t the play here. But neither is gas-lighting those you disagree with, denying their reality. The key is discernment, rooting in our own self-trust, owning our feelings and thoughts, while being open to hearing another’s, no matter how different or radical it sounds. Life isn’t meant to be easy, but it also doesn’t have to be hard. We can choose our perspective. We can choose how to respond and react to what comes our way. We can adapt and re-direct our energy. And we can allow others the dignity of their experience.

Virgo is ruled by Mercury, the winged messenger. Mercury will be retrograde at the time of this eclipse. So we may feel the need to revisit conversations or negotiations. We may go over and over these things in our head (Virgo is associated with anxiety). But this same energy can be funneled into action. The more direct our communications, the more relief we feel. Because, at least in Virgo’s case, knowledge is empowering—to a point. So ask questions. Get the information needed, take any necessary inspired steps and then let go. Because as much as we like to think it’s all up to us, it never really is. 

Art: Savannah King
Astrology: Danielle Beinstein

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Artwork by Savannah King from The New Moon Circle Journal

If June is the month when you get to celebrate the arrival of summer, July is the time to really sink into its beauty. I love this time of year more than anything because it means spending lots of quality time with my family, and being in nature more than ever. Interestingly enough, this month’s new moon in Cancer is all about nurturing “home”—whoever and whatever that may mean to you—as well as being good to yourself in the process. It couldn’t be a more appropriate prescription for this time of year. Here, Danielle Beinstein, Los Angeles astrologer and meditation guide, shares a bit more about this new cycle and what kinds of questions it brings on. XXJKE

It’s a bit ironic that this new moon should fall on Independence Day, as Cancer is not exactly independent in nature. Relational to its core, Cancer finds meaning and purpose in emotional connection. Yet the day itself, and the national pride ascribed to it, speaks to the Cancer’s love of tradition.

Cancer is the nurturer and caretaker and tends to protect itself from any perceived slights or hurts. Being a water sign, it’s feeling-centered, seeking comfort and security to tide its ever-shifting moods. This new moon joins with Venus (relationships, values and money) and Mercury (communication and thought) to offer us an opportunity to reevaluate our relationship to family, home, and the ways in which we may neglect ourselves. Home is the place at we dwell but it’s also our inner resting place. Asking ourselves what home means to us personally, and where we can find that feeling, is important this month.

The truth is that Cancer is often so busy tending to everyone else’s needs that it rarely stops to think about its own. This new moon asks us to consider the following: How can we create space for our own feelings in our hyper-connected, goal-oriented world? Are we carving time out for those we cherish most? And can we add ourselves that list? Nurturing and caring for our own inner children, as we tend to the very adult tasks of our lives, is crucial.

This is the first official new moon of summer. Long sun-filled days and dinners under the night sky with loved ones. Let’s use this time to tune back into what and who really matters most, including, but not limited to, ourselves.

For more on Danielle’s work, visit: www.daniellebeinstein.com

Art by Savannah Lauren King: www.shopthirdeye.com