A Question of Balance—New Moon in Libra—October 16th

Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding, the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated as birds' wings—Rumi

 

Today, the New Moon (24 °Libra) makes a fraught opposition to Mars Rx in hot-headed Aries. She makes a tense T-square with Jupiter, Pluto, and Saturn as COVID cases escalate here in the north. More restrictions are imposed, as political divisions widen, and warriors come out to fight.

 

New Moons cradle times of ending, and nurture new beginnings.

 

Libra is associated with equanimity, harmony, and balance. The Sumerians called this constellation Zib-ba An-na, meaning “the balance of heaven.” Yet, in so many places in the world, the tension is palpable; fear and anxiety are contagious. We may feel anything but in balance or at peace. We’re frazzled, fried, in a state of chronic contraction.

 

Libra is more about Balance, Grace under fire, than partnership. Many faiths and philosophies uphold the practice of equanimity as a core value.

 

As this New Moon activates our own birth chart, we may be reminded to return to balance, perhaps with a long slow out breathe, perhaps by hugging someone we love, cuddling our beloved pet, going for a gentle walk, smiling at a passer-by. Peace and calm massage the parasympathetic nervous system and soothe the reactive “fight/flight/freeze” response. We can double check the “information” we ingest on social media before sharing it. We can avoid negative or cynical people. Our nervous system will respond to their energy, so seek out those people who emit positivity and kindness.Visualise the vagus nerve bathing your heart and lungs with calming acetylcholine as you breathe slowly and steadily, focusing on the long slow exhale.

 

As we re-gain our balance on the beam of life today, may be stay calm under pressure. May we keep the flame of Hope burning brightly in our hearts. May this Grace-full New Moon bring a calm and steady realisation that this too shall pass.

 

Hope is a star that no dark cloud can dim. And if we keep that star in our hearts we shall yet survive—Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa.