The Moon will be new in sidereal Cancer on Wednesday, August 16th at 5:38am, EDT (please adjust for your time zone.) Each month, the New Moon is an assignment from the universe for us to work with for the next 30 days. This month we are facing the karmic results from our past actions and the opportunities for healing and spiritual progress. The Moon in her own sign of Cancer can be a wonderful time for insight and clarity. Take the time to sit for meditation each day if you can, even if you only have a few minutes.
This New Moon is also taking place in Ashlesha nakshatra. This is a place where we can encounter mystical strengths, but where we may also feel inclined to use these strengths in a toxic way. Avoid impulsive actions and seek guidance and support if you feel tempted to lash out at anyone this month.
Venus is currently retrograde and will be until 9:20pm, EDT, on September 3rd. This isn’t the best time to have a big talk about a romantic relationship, or one with a dear friend or business partner. After Venus stations direct on September 3rd, be mindful that there is a shadow period afterward and this isn’t a great time for a big talk, or jumping into a new relationship, either. Allow 4 weeks for Venus to return to regular forward progress if you can. And also—you now know about the shadow period but someone important to you might not. If someone in your life goes off the rails, there’s no need for you to be a doormat, but if you can, proceed gently—Venus’ retrograde cycle may be part of the picture.
Gandanta – The Karmic Knot
This month’s New Moon is happening at the end of sidereal Cancer. Cancer is a Water element sign. At the end of each Water sign, the last nakshatra in the sign ends where the sign does—the nakshatra doesn’t form a bridge into the next sign as it does for all the Fire, Earth and Air signs. This seam between Water and Fire signs is called “gandanta” which means “karmic knot.” Old karmas can collect in this seam, the way sticky things can collect in the grout between two tiles in a kitchen counter. Whenever a planet is located in the last degree of a Water sign, or the first degree of a Fire sign, it must confront the karmic difficulties we have accumulated in the past. This month, both the Sun and Moon will confront the challenges of our past mistakes, the ones that may be holding us back from making spiritual progress. Because the Sun and Moon are both sattvic planets (they intend the highest good for all beings), while they are crossing through the gandanta at the end of Cancer and the beginning of Leo, we may remember the ways we have not lived skillfully in our interactions with all beings. Making amends to those we have wronged, and offering mantras/prayers/donations of our time and/or money to those in need are all excellent ways to clear away some of the accumulated karmic barriers in our lives. The Moon will cross the gandanta quickly, by 9:30am, EDT, on Wednesday morning, August 16th. But the Sun moves more slowly and won’t be clear of the gandanta until 5:38am, EDT, on Friday, August 18th. These two days give you more time to see ways to heal past karmas and to see ways to live more skillfully in the future.
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