July 08 Full Moon Watch: Beauty in the Ordinary

The new moon is a conjunction between the sun and moon, a marriage and co-mergence of the masculine solar principle and the feminine lunar principle. A conjunction corresponds to the alchemical phase of coniunctio — the end result of the alchemical procedure when the opposites are successfully united. This blending releases a third force or condition — something unique, not experienced before. This nexus between the solar and lunar function sets the vibrational tenor for the entire 28 days that follow the new moon phase.

At full moon the secret of the sun moon marriage is revealed. The July 2008 new moon took place on July 3 at 12 degrees of Cancer. The July full moon is Friday, July 18. Tonight marks the first facet of the full moon’s dissemination. What are you sensing?

A Cancer new moon shifts our attention to issues of nourishment and sustainment. How and where our soul finds solace and harbor. Generally we think of Cancerian nourishment as it relates to food and being mothered (or mothering) — a quality of emotional support that allows us to relax and feel a quality of love that is abiding.

But there is also the essential nourishment of beauty, this is a condition that actually feeds our soul. Without beauty — sensing beauty, registering beauty, participating in the creation of beauty — life feels flat, devitalized and mechanical. It’s hard to find sustenance when this is our predominate impression of life. We need beauty to touch us, to remind us of the symmetry, the harmony, divinity and depth of true nature.

Also, when talking of beauty, the question of creation comes to the fore. In what way are we aligned with the creative capacities in our life?

Friday’s full moon in Capricorn should supply an answer to the Cancerian motif. The form-giving qualities of Capricorn help channel our creative dreams. The element of lead (Saturn, Capricorn’s ruler) gives weight, gravity and support. This helps us steady our aim and manage our instincts so the finer vibration of beauty might imbue our vision. Shape and guide it.

Many people experience a crisis period at the full moon. This usually indicates that the impetus, the stirring that commenced with the new moon was ignored or dulled out. So at full moon we’re caught unaware, out of synch. Pray for a dream, if this is the case — the “beauty seed” is simply slumbering, and the moon’s nocturnal habitat — the state of sleep — might reveal the outlines of the image. Putting us back into the unfolding rhythm, the spreading-out, typified by the full moon.

The Cancer new moon asks: In what area of my life can my ability to create, to make something beautiful, come forth, find expression?

The Sabian symbol for the Cancer new moon is this: “A Chinese Woman nursing a baby whose aura reveals him to be the reincarnation of a great teacher.” Dane Rudhyar writes about this degree symbol: “The keyword is revelation.”

This suggests that we rethink what we have taken for granted about our creative abilities. We may feel they are undeveloped. “All I can take are baby steps.” But what’s wrong with that?

A baby is a symbol of all that is nascent, unformed — and yet this symbol tells a story about the way we might miss the embryonic greatness, fullness within a creative spark. Perhaps we consider our notion ordinary and ho hum, especially if we’re comparing it to something more established, more beautiful. Engage with this conundrum tonight and find out.

See what the full moon reveals for you — consider the formative process that Capricorn represents — the instinct to sacrifice and work hard to achieve an aim. In the kabbalah beauty and mercy are always balanced by severity. There can’t be one without the other. Meditating on this might bring your vision of beauty closer to conscious expression. Maybe you’ll repaint your kitchen, compose a song, quell an argument, balance your checkbook. Our just take a walk in the moonlight. The ten thousand things all long to be touched by beauty. See how you can be a conduit for the legacy of beauty.