More Growth Opportunities -- New Moon in Cancer by Isis Ward This New Moon in Cancer sees us heading inward. At a time in the year in which people are socializing and exploring the great outdoors, the planets urge us towards self-examination, caring for the home and immediate family. The trick is to care without putting on blinders or closing our hearts because we have become overprotective of ourselves and our loved ones. Sensitivity runs high and it become very easy to take things personally without taking actual responsibility for our actions or lack thereof. Meanwhile the outer planets (Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) are all retrograde, inviting us to look again at how we handle our global affairs. The focus again turns inward: the personal is political. What you eat, how you shop, how you communicate with others seems magnified, despite a national desire to blind ourselves to the consequences of our actions. Having the power of choice in our daily lives (I like this organic green and that synthetic candy), also brings responsibility. Thanks to the Internet and other forms of mass communication, we can actually see what our choices do to those around us. All a tremendous growth opportunity, of course. We get to live the examined life, the life of a saint. Many holy people would have been very grateful for this opportunity! How will this Moon Cycle feel? Basically watch for a supersensitive, isolationist, weepy new moon and a mad, crazy, defensive full moon. Of course, we don't have to act this way. With the outer planets retrograde, we have an opportunity to change the consciousness of society by changing our own consciousness and actions. In fact, taking action rather than reaction will have a much larger effect than at other times. The sum of those working to change the dream of the planet is greater than its parts--the numbers doing the dreaming. On the New Moon, Mars is conjunct Jupiter. This has the effect of making our ego drives take on such magnified colossal dimensions that we effectively become comic book characters. An added bonus to this transit is that people will likely quote heavily from superheroes, video games and movies, making the magnification easy to spot. When you hear yourself quoting Spiderman, stop, breathe and evaluate. If you cant help it, let it go. Quoting Spiderman is probably better than quoting Darth Vader or his younger incarnation. An unfortunate turn of the planetary lineup is that mindless patriotism and bellicose behavior will dominate the local and political scene. The president already thinks he is a comic book hero. Imagine this as a growing trend and you see why common citizens have to act in their own behalf. Enforced patriotism is as much a trap as a dictatorship. Imagine also, a workplace or neighborhood filled with larger than life ego drives. If everybody feels they are another incarnation of Gandhi, whose ego drive was for the people, this could be a fine thing. Its just that so few of the movies or video games which will be quoted are about Gandhi. We may have to watch for something different. Venus enters Virgo on the New Moon, creating an erotic opportunity to avoid excessive criticism by surrendering to the beauty of the Earth, the Beauty of the Indwelling Divine. This is our first choice. Another choice is to become more self critical, more critical of others and more generally dissatisfied. Honestly, this doesn't sound like much fun. Erotically surrendering to the Indwelling Divine may not seem very clear, but it does encourage some interesting experimentation. From the 18th of July through the 21st, the Sun is conjunct Jupiter, Vesta and Mercury in Cancer. These are stellar days for increasing self esteem via service to a higher purpose. This could look like volunteering at Food Not Bombs, picking up trash at the beach or a local estuary, working at a senior center or working for your church. Anything that you can give yourself and your heart to...in a way that keeps on giving. Otherwise, the rest of the moon cycle is a chance to again inflate the ego, diving directly into conditional love and endless criticism. Criticism is different than discernment. Discernment allows you to see clearly without condemning or blaming. Criticism right away searches for the proper party or parties to blame. It speaks in terms of punishment and reward (leaning heavily towards punishment). You can work with Venus in Virgo by giving yourself creative tasks that require a witness. Making art of some sort, especially art which brings together many different elements that must somehow work together will give sweet Venus just the right challenge. As you can surmise, this Moon Cycle blesses us with the opportunity to transform ourselves and our world on many different levels. These are the interesting times made famous in the Chinese Curse. We can only approach them and ourselves with compassion, willingness to fail and try again and our guiding phrase, "Ah, another tremendous growth opportunity."   Bright Blessings ~Isis Ward http://www.ecstaticarts.com