Walking through the Botanical Gardens yesterday I lost count of the number of weddings I passed. Not only was it a glorious Spring day with the Jacarandas in bloom, the Harbour glistening and ferries gliding past, but with the New Moon in Libra, it was also a pretty good day for a Wedding Chart.

New Moon in Libra

New Moons are always about new starts, the energy of beginning something, well, new. Plenty has been written over the last week or so about the Libra New Moon. Rather than going back through it all, I will quote a passage from Jeff Jawer that says it all “The New Moon in Libra sows seeds of relationships and new alliances. It provides opportunities for rebalancing partnerships to create harmony and justice.”

Isn’t that what a wedding is about?

What makes this New Moon uber important is that it highlights and area of life that will come into focus towards the end of this month when Saturn moves out of Virgo into Libra where the ringed man is naturally very strong. Take a look at what houses Libra covers in your chart- this area of your life will require extra energy and commitment over the next couple of years.

Sun in Libra

Libra is that point where the individual meets the other. Sounds pretty deep, but in essence it means that the Sun in Libra is motivated by harmony and balance and defines itself through relationships with others. All of this makes Libra social, fair, a born diplomat and just a tad (?) flirtatious.

An Air sign, Libra Sun people have good brains, are able to see both sides of a story and come to an agreement between the two without necessarily anyone compromising their own beliefs. Ruled by Venus, Libra Sun people are also refined and love beauty, grace and gorgeousness in their surroundings.  Loud noises, clashing colours, and disharmony of any sort sends shivers up the spine of a Libran. Tastes, colours and music must be balanced.

It is this drive for balance, parity and relationship which is also Libra’s shadow. In keeping a relationship alive, it can be very easy to forget that 2 individual people come into a relationship- one of which is yourself. In smoothing the tides of discontent, your often hide your own needs and feelings. In finding balance and peace, you also need to practice moderation.

Venus in Libra

(Pic by me)

This placement is Venus at her most beautiful and most charming. This is not, however, a particularly passionate placement for Venus. Libra is an air sign, so the idea and ideal of relationship is perhaps more real to them than the down and dirty sexual nature of a relationship- often leaving disappointment in its wake. Contrary to more watery Venus placements, Venus in Libra is able to rationalise what went wrong and dust herself off rather than indulge in feasts of chocolate and alcohol.

Venus in Libra is in the sign of her rulership. She is strong, refined, and what the traditional astrologers would term “essentially dignified”. Alluring and attractive, she is often a little like the fashion plate in a glossy magazine, just a little aloof and untouchable, but ever so gorgeous.  Potty mouths and lager louts need not apply- this placement likes to be treated like a lady- nice manners, courtesy and appearance is important.

In a mans chart, Venus in Libra indicates a man who likes a woman with sophistication, high standards, and who doesn’t let them slip. He will be happy and able to cope with maintenance routines, but won’t take kindly to his love sucking down a Crownie and belting out “working Class Man” in the local pub.

Mercury in Libra

Wellington Botanical Gardens (Pic by me)

My very Scorpio husband (SH) has Mercury and Venus in Libra. The placement of these 2 planets turns ordering at restaurants into prolonged sagas as he balances what he wants to eat against what he thinks I will order. This deliberation is to ensure that both meals balance each other, that we each taste something we want to try and that the wine will match. But it drives me flipping crazy.

We have this thing in our house called Decision Night. It is the one night of the week where he has to make a decision. During the rest of the week, I will hunter gather and make the big decisions like… what we are going to eat that night. Most nights SH will come home, take over the kitchen & execute my vision perfectly. But on Thursdays I refuse to cooperate.

The conversation normally starts something like this:

Four Foot Nothing (FFN): What’s for dinner?

Me: I don’t know. You’ll have to ask your father.

FFN: That’s right, its decision night. (She phones SH)

FFN: Hey Dad, its decision night. What’s for dinner or are we going out?

SH: Does your Mum want to go out?

FFN: She says I have to ask you- its decision night.

SH: But I don’t know what eating regime she is on this week.

FFN: She says she is happy with whatever you decide, Dad.

SH: Can you put her on?

FFN: She says she doesn’t want to talk to you- this has to be your decision.

And so it goes on. Every Thursday night.

We have a giggle about it every week. It isn’t so much that he doesn’t like to make decisions- he makes many every day- it is that he doesn’t want the wrong decision to impact household harmony. Mercury in Libra weighs all possible outcomes before calling it. This is where the reputation for indecision comes in. Likewise, Libra ability to overlook the small stuff is in complete contrast to Virgos criticality.

In its higher form, with cooperation, compromise can be reached and marital balance and harmony preserved… and dinner on the table. 

Billy Connolly

There is a scene in one of Billy Connolly’s videos (the wonderfully foul-mouthed Glaswegian Comedian & World Traveller) where Billy talks about the house he was born in falling down. As he tells it, 20-something Billy is staying across the road from the building he was born in. As he stands at the kitchen sink looking out, the building he was born in falls down. His 1^st thought, being a hippy, is to look for the karmic meaning; and his 2^nd thought, as an ambitious comedian was to say ‘Where are they going to put the plaque now the building is away?’

As astrologers we tend to look for the karmic meaning in many things- especially as newbie astrologers. A painful visit to the dentist? Must be transiting Saturn making a hard aspect to Mars. A car accident on the way home from work? A Mars/Uranus contact in the 3^rd house. Put on weight? Progressed Moon must be moving through a water sign… or Taurus.

Yet before we knew anything about astrology, these events could be put down to:

• Eating too much crap and forgetting to floss. And shit happens.
• Loss of concentration, running late to get home, trying to construct the evening menu complete with shopping list in head. And shit happens.
• Eating too much, drinking too much, not exercising enough. And shit happens.

A couple of weeks ago as I was getting ready to go to work, a teeny muscle with a technical name (that I can never remember… sub something or other) behind my shoulder tore and I collapsed in a world of pain. Apparently this technically named little muscle is responsible for allowing you to move your arm forwards & backwards. As it was my left arm, this meant I couldn’t drive, getting dressed required amazing dexterity from my right arm & my boxing days are gone for good.

Now this next bit is embarrassing & quite revealing as to the depths of personal pain I will go through in the name of research, but… Once the painkillers kicked in, I checked out Solarfire to see which of the usual suspects could be responsible for bringing me down so low- and what karmic lessons have I been hiding from.

Due to the sudden nature of the injury I would look to Uranus. In the 1^st house conjunct natal Chiron & opposing transiting Saturn he was a good target. But this is the point at which I have to make a confession.

I actually hurt this muscle 18 months ago, was advised not to box, decided I didn’t like that diagnosis, so just stopped exercising in the hope that it would get better without the hassle, expense & inconvenience of treatment. Eight kilos weight gain ensued, but the shoulder seemed OK. Flash forward to April this year & a new attempt at boxing (hey, Aries on the 2^nd house- I need it for anger management J). Sure enough, I hurt it again. This time, I was very responsible and took myself off to my chiropractor for some very painful massage, acupuncture (not so painful) & adjustment work. Another couple of kilos crept on, but after a few weeks I figured the shoulder was as good as it was going to get and I couldn’t afford to put on any more weight, so back to the gloves I went, declaring to my trainer that I was now ready to be pushed out of my comfort zone. Famous last words.

So, in effect, this was a chronic (Saturn) unhealed (Chiron) injury, that suddenly (Uranus) tore.  

Saturn is natally in my 1^st house (in the 1^st degree of Aries, and yes, being squared by Pluto), so body stuff is a Saturn thing for me. Transiting Saturn had just separated from an opposition with my natal Sun, a conjunction with natal Uranus, and was now, as I mentioned earlier opposing natal Chiron & applying to oppose my Pisces Moon.

So, lots of big karmic stuff happening:

• Tr Pluto square Saturn
• Tr Saturn conjunct Uranus (sep)
• Tr Saturn opposing Sun (sep)
• Tr Saturn opposing Chiron
• Tr Saturn opposing Moon (applying)
• Tr Uranus conjunct Chiron
• Progressed Moon 8^th house

The injury was made worse by the fact that I had put on as much weight as I had. The habits and structures in my life are hurting me. I carry emotional crap on my shoulders, so perhaps this injury was a wake- up call for me to look at what is hurting me, what is stopping me from moving forward and what emotional ties and relationships may be weighing me down.

(Pic courtesy of www.dreamstime.com)

Obviously the weight gain is one thing, but the reasons behind that gain are important. My boxing days are over, so I need to find a less violent way of managing my stress. A male friend pointed out that I should just strap the “girls” to my chest so they won’t knock me out & hit the treadmill. Lap swimming (black-lining, as I call it) is something I have historically done when I have been at my healthiest, but has always come so easily to me that I overlook it as being real stress relief or real exercise. But, as an astro pal said, I wasn’t born with this much water for nothing!  Note the emphasis on real? That is Saturn. The transformative stuff is Pluto, and the unhealed emotional crap is Chiron & the Moon, which are conjunct natally.

Karmic lesson, or shit happening? Sometimes it just does.