Feeling cranky? ♈︎
April 25, 2019
The waning portion of the lunar cycle (the time between full moon and new moon) can be rough. The last quarter moon, in particular, can be pretty annoying. How you holding up, friends?
Quick overview of the lunar cycle, from an astrological perspective:
New moon: The beginning. Your energy may be pretty mellow. It’s a great time for introspection and setting your intentions for the next cycle. Look to the new moon’s sign, as well as where it’s landing in your chart, for inspiration about where to focus your energy in the month ahead.
Waxing moon: Energy is rising. Time to put your intentions into action.
Full moon: Maximum energy. Work it, enjoy it. Also take stock of how things are going—any adjustments needed? (The full moon will usually be in the opposite sign from the new moon, suggesting that something in your new moon intention may be ready for a bit of balancing.)
Waning moon: Energy is waning. What needs to be released? (Start by scanning your life for negative expressions of the new moon’s sign.) Time to let those things go.
Last quarter moon: This is part of the waning moon period, but I’m calling attention to it because it can be an especially irritating time. There is a square aspect (90 degree angle) between the last quarter moon’s sign and where it was at the new moon. Squares represent friction, and it’s common that during this couple of days you may experience reminders from outside of yourself about exactly what it is that you may want to work on releasing.
And then there’s another new moon, in a new sign, and the next cycle begins…
Currently we’re at the last quarter moon in Capricorn, finishing off the Aries new moon cycle in preparation for the May 4th Taurus new moon.
Aries is a sign of… RARRRRR! Spring is here and ain’t nothing gonna stop it. The sprout shoots out of the seed, and the soil better get out of the way. It’s instinctive, direct, assertive, all those fun fire sign key words. Aries’ planetary ruler is Mars—the god of war, certainly, and in a more everyday sense it represents our WILL, pure and simple.
Capricorn always makes me think of building a skyscraper. First you build a foundation, and it better be a really good solid one. (Saturn, Capricorn's planetary ruler, does in fact rule stone, and solid things in general.) You need scaffolding for each level before you can do the electrical wiring and the crown molding. And you have to build the levels in order from bottom to top--you can't build floor 16 first just because that's where the ice cream shop is going to be and you're craving mint chocolate chip. Capricorn represents our desire for WORLDLY ACHIEVEMENT, authority, wisdom, and--like all earth signs--reliability.
Today I’m feeling a bit angsty and petulant, but also drained… like I have no energy for anything except to complain and fight. I’m catching myself in thought circles about whether or not the folks I’ve interacted with lately were showing me appropriate respect, whether I’ve been working too hard for too little, whether my work has impact, and lots of “grrrrr this is what I should have said," "this is what I'm going to say F NO to next time they ask for something"...
No need to reassure me that I’m super great (or worry that I'm talking about you, friends!) I am already wise to these tricks my mind is playing on me, and how it's not serving me. My point in sharing is that these thoughts are perfect examples of the clash between the unbalanced sides of Aries (unchanneled, freefloating energy looking around for a fight) and Capricorn (if you don't respect me freely then I'll power trip you into respecting me by force).
The midheaven (MC) in your chart represents your work in the world--a career, for many of us, but this can also be parenting or volunteering or something else. It's however people who know of you but don't really know you would describe you behind your back. Mine's in Capricorn, and it's no surprise to me that I'm feeling this lunation primarily (but not exclusively) in my work life at the moment. Aries is always rough for me as it's intercepted in my 12th house--traditionally the house "self-undoing" and yes, my temper has gotten me into trouble a few times in my life.
You may feel this dynamic in some other areas of your life entirely, depending on where Aries and Capricorn land in your chart. If you have Sun, moon, or AC in one of the cardinal signs (Aries or Capricorn, as well as Cancer or Libra), you may feel like these annoyances are freaking everywhere.
Any of this resonating for you?
You might not be feeling anything this time around—I often don't really notice the last quarter moon—and that’s totally fine too. How astrological events hit you is super individual, based on the details of your chart as well as your environment and free will. That’s why even the best general-audience horoscope columns are hit-and-miss in their accuracy and zing for you.
It's also worth noting that moon transits are really short. (Transits are the comparison between your birth chart and the current movements of astrological bodies.) The moon covers an entire sign in about 2.5 days, and goes all the way around your chart in less than a month.
So no moon transit is a super big life-changing deal. It has more to do with the daily ebb and flow (ocean tide pun absolutely intended) of our emotional states and energy. Just as the moon waxes and wanes, our annoyances and blisses do too. Isn't that nice?
