New Moon in Shravana: Lose Your Illusion

The New Moon in sidereal Capricorn happens January 31st at 7:46 pm in Hawaii (9:46 pm PST) and is on the morning of February 1st in much of the rest of the world. We have Saturn and Mercury Retrograde joined our Sun and Moon here and with the exception of Mercury, they are all in the star Shravana. Shravana is ruled by Vishnu and indicated by an ear. It is where we are able to listen carefully, beneath the surface of things. Chanting and music can be very effective in this time. In the mythology, Vamana, a dwarf who is one of Vishnu’s avatars, goes to the palace of the asura king Bali. Bali immediately senses the presence of the Divine and offers Vamana any boon he wants. Vamana asks for 3 paces of land. Bali laughs, seeing his small stature and says, “Surely, you can ask for more than that!” Vamana shakes his head. That is all he wants. Venus, the guru of Bali and all the asuras, comes through a jug of wine and whispers to Bali that this is a trick. “It is Vishnu inside that dwarf! You will be ruined”. Bali tells his guru that if it is to be so, than so be it. Even more reason to honor his gift. As Bali grants Vamana’s wish, the dwarf began to grow rapidly. He grows so big he is busting out of the palace. He takes one giant step and in that claims all of the Earth. He takes another step and claims all of the Celestial realm. He looks around, for what is there left to claim? Bali, bows down his head and offers it to Vamana, who steps on it, sending Bali to the underworld, where he reigns as king until his time to rise up will come. This story shows that even in our darkest moments, our humility and faith will get us through. We do not know what we truly want, ultimately, we only know what we think we want, or what we can surmise with our limited senses. It also shows us how our sense of control keeps us tied to our limited perspective. When we surrender to the fact that we have only control over our immediate selves, then we can relax into the knowing that we are held by the same force that seems to take away from us. Here we can find peace.

In Shravana, we have deeper sense. We see beyond appearances and hear between the words. We are able to understand that we don’t understand, which is perhaps the wisest wisdom of all. With the Sun and Moon so  close to Saturn here, we can feel an extra dose of hesitation and fear, as well as the calm, cold truth welling up, forcing us to surrender our sense of control. The conjunction of Sun and Saturn is one that is contentious. As Saturn is the Sun’s illegitimate son, he is also one who dims the Sun’s lights, just as the Sun’s rays burn our own access to patience and humility from Saturn himself. The pressure and the dry hot/cold effect require that we drink lots of fluids, moisturize, and take rest. The combination of the two also requires us to see from both light and dark. The bright light of the Sun, illuminating truth and burning away illusion. The dark, cold and impassionate gaze of Saturn, taking everything away that we believe in so that we might see things as they truly are. It is an uncomfortable place for the Moon, our psyche, but as a new moon phase, she is herself in a less engaged state and we have an excellent opportunity to meditate here. By silencing the world around us, we can truly hear.

Right now, we are in the midst of a Kala Sarpa Yoga. This is when all the planets fall between the two nodes of the Moon. With Rahu leading from the very end of his tenure in Taurus, we are seeing how the needs and values we hold can cause us to avoid the unpleasant and shadowy secrets that we uncover along the way. In looking away from that which we fear, we ultimately keep ourselves from truly having what we need and value. The illusions can be strong while we pass through the Kala Sarpa, but also the capacity to have massive transformation in a small amount of time as this is the time snake itself. The karmas that we are focusing on here are shifting towards the Aries/Libra axis. In March, we will see this shift come to pass, and the karma we were finishing in Scorpio will be as complete as it is for now while the karma we began in Taurus, will be as much started as it is until the next time the nodes pass through these signs in 9 years, in reverse position.

Venus is now direct, and as such, our relationships (and any areas of our lives ruled by Venus in our chart) will start moving forward again. She is still joined Mars and we need to still have heightened awareness about how we choose to balance our relationships and our personal need for discipline. Relationships with similar beliefs and practices will be much easier, whereas people who have a lot of push and pull in how they care for themselves and show up in relationship might find that it’s harder for their partner’s to understand what they need. Communication is key, and as Mercury begins direct motion again on February 3rd, only a few days after this New Moon, that will certainly be easier. Hopefully this cycle of both of the relational planets, Mercury and Venus, in Retrograde at the same time, has helped us learn to listen more and allow people to tell us who they are, what they want or need, and how they feel about us. Taking time to listen to ourselves is equally important. So often we rush through our daily lives without stopping to make sure that we haven’t left ourselves behind somewhere along the way!

If you are in relationship (or know someone who is) I am offering a special on Couple’s Compatibility Readings for the two weeks until Valentine’s Day. From January 29th (when Venus went direct) to February 14th, you can book an audio recorded Couple’s Reading for $108 (reg. $128).  In these readings I will illuminate the connectivity between partners, as well as the areas that are more challenging. I will also show each individual how they are relating and what choices they can make to improve the connection. These are very popular, so don’t wait to book!  

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