In ancient star wisdom, it was understood that each starry region of the zodiac is ruled by a particular planet. For instance, Aries is ruled by Mars, Leo by the Sun, and Libra, the sign of balance, is ruled by Venus, goddess of love and beauty.
And here’s what’s happening there this week: The Moon is waning toward New Phase, where it will arrive Wednesday evening. On its way, it will pass by the star Spica in Virgo ~ this is the star of abundance, so this is a propitious place for the Moon, as though it’s gathering up all good things as the week begins. On Tuesday, the Moon slips by the brightest star in Libra, Zubenelgenubi, which marks the southern tray of the scales, where all the gold is.
Then the Moon arrives at its “dark phase” which is the day or so that we don’t see it because it is making its sacred meeting with the Sun.
After about 27 days the Moon comes back to where it was last at New Phase, but because the Earth is also in motion, it takes the Moon another two days to catch up. These days in between are its dark phase, so here’s a glorious imagination: this week the Moon disappears into the arms of the Sun in the region of Libra, where the goddess of love and beauty has dominion.
When we catch first visibility of Moon after New Phase, most likely on Friday, it will appear in the region of Sagittarius stars. Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, so the gesture of the Moon this week is from the star of abundance, into the sacred meeting with the Sun in the region of love and beauty, to emerge in the domain of the planet of growth, abundance and jollity, ideally ensuring for us all the sense that, as Keats wrote, a thing of beauty is a joy forever, its loveliness increases, and it will never pass into nothingness.
