Dana Gerhardt: The Moon Watching Series
People often ask why I have devoted so much study to Moon phases. Initially it was an act of insecurity. I figured Moon phases were something every astrologer knew about, except me.
Astrology can help, but it can also make us cocky. We know when it's a New Moon. What's more, we have New Moon charts that can tell us what's coming. We can energize new goals by coordinating them with the house in our chart where the New Moon falls. I used to especially favor the goal approach. Then one Aquarian cycle I got my come-uppance and my paradigm changed.
Things have settled down since the New Moon's excitement. It may even seem that not much goes on. Nonetheless, our Crescent choices will have a deep effect. Ultimately they drive the subtle mystery of why our lives don't change, even though we swear we want them to.
Crisis isn't a particularly happy word. It suggests a heart-pounding moment when change is inevitable, and likely perilous. At such times, it's nice to recall how the Chinese language carries crisis and opportunity in the same ideogram. This dualism also holds at the quarter Moons: outcomes can go either way.
Gibbous takes us from the tension of the Sun/Moon's waxing sesqui-square (135 degrees) to the discord of their quincunx (150 degrees). Not surprisingly, we often find ourselves pitched between a rock and a hard place in Gibbous. It's tough to go forward and hard to go back.
The dog was not my opponent, but an ally, bringing enlightenment. He was a mirror, reflecting the jittering, complaining, insecure, lonely state I'd been denying in myself for weeks. That night I was illuminated: There could be no outer peace in my life until first there was an inner one.
In the Disseminating phase we work our magic with consciousness, with the power of meaning. After receiving our Full Moon revelation, we absorb its significance and send it out at this phase, affecting the world, transforming ourselves. Like magic!
Quarters neither buoy us with the fresh-start feel of a New Moon, nor do they dazzle us with Full-Moon-style illuminations. At the First and Last Quarter Moons, we're at a half-way point in the waxing and waning hemi-cycles. The Moon is half-lit, which means the Sun and Moon are at right angles, in the astrological relationship known as a "square". This is no resting place. Squares mean change - or you'll fall out of rhythm with a turning world.
Balsamic begins with the waning Sun/Moon semi-square. The Moon is a slim Crescent, forty-five degrees behind the Sun. Moonrise comes in the pre-dawn hours, when most of us are sound asleep, in the theater of our most vivid dreams. Right brain processes are at their peak this phase, having gathered momentum since the Full Moon. Instinct and intuition are high. Rest is imperative.
Look deeply at the Moon and you'll find more than the Moon. You'll find yourself and all the planets. You'll discover a rhythm that has permeated earth's life forms since the earliest cells washed ashore in the primordial high tides twice a day, or since the earliest animals fit their activities to the monthly round between Full Moon light and New Moon dark. You'll discover patterns of birth, growth and decay, patterns that spiral throughout your chart, past, present and future. Know the Moon and you'll know a lot. In this final installment of the Moon Watching series, we'll look at a few more secrets Moon phases can tell.Topics in the Astro Shop
Current Planets
28-Apr-2025, 06:19
UT/GMT
| |||||
| Sun | 8 | 13' 8" | 14n15 | ||
| Moon | 14 | 38'55" | 19n53 | ||
| Mercury | 11 | 55'31" | 2n05 | ||
| Venus | 28 | 42'30" | 0n55 | ||
| Mars | 4 | 21' 0" | 21n10 | ||
| Jupiter | 20 | 49'31" | 22n53 | ||
| Saturn | 27 | 34' 4" | 2s48 | ||
| Uranus | 26 | 9'47" | 19n05 | ||
| Neptune | 1 | 0'37" | 0s46 | ||
| Pluto | 3 | 48'32" | 22s44 | ||
| TrueNode | 26 | 45'48"r | 1s17 | ||
| Chiron | 23 | 54'48" | 9n59 | ||
| Explanations of the symbols | |||||
| Chart of the moment | |||||
