Soli-Lunar Cycle: First Quarter Square

The First Quarter Square of the current lunar cycle takes place on August 5 at 4:06 am PDT with the Sun at 13° Leo and the Moon at 13° Scorpio.

The nature of this tense alignment can be thought of as a “Crisis of Action.” This suggests there is a strong sense it is necessary now to put conscious effort into manifesting the “seed” which emerged at the New Moon. It is a time to identify roadblocks, shed insecurities, and actively prevent the new impulse from dying. To fulfill the intention of the New Moon, we need to exercise our personal will.

In contrast to the fiery New Moon that commenced this cycle, the Moon is now in watery Scorpio and moving toward an opposition to Mars, Uranus, and the North Node in earthy Taurus. This makes the Leo Sun the focal point of a fixed T-Square. With five planets total (including Saturn in Aquarius) in fixed signs, the need for focus, persistence and patience is dominant. However, with Mars conjunct Uranus there can be a great urge to get things going and make changes as soon as possible. The urge is fine, but if one is not patient, frustration and even anxiety can grow. It is best to simply take steady and consistent steps toward our objective while still being open to new methods.

It is imperative we remain cautious throughout the process and aware of our internal state. If fear holds us back from making a necessary move, this could manifest as repressed energy and resistance to change. It may be helpful to evaluate our actions holistically, taking myriad aspects of a situation into account to give us a better sense of what we can do to serve the most important needs at hand. Only by balancing determination with flexibility can we effectively adapt to life’s demands – and retain the essence of our seed ideas.

The Moon in Scorpio can correspond to becoming totally immersed in the objects of our focus, including others, which can lead to total identification with them. The gift of Scorpio, wherever it is operating in our chart, is to give us enough experience with this challenge so we can learn to be increasingly non-identified. Moving towards this higher spiritual expression of Scorpio can feel liberating and lead us to relate more authentically with others without the need to make them pawns of our unconscious impulses.

As the Moon moves deeper into Scorpio it forms a highly sensitive, flowing grand water trine with Venus and Neptune that can mitigate the potential volatility of the fixed T-square. Moon trine Neptune in Pisces supports tuning into our connectedness, compassion, and courage to face our challenges. Moon trine Venus in Cancer may bring out our nurturing qualities and give us a sense of belonging in relation to others, society and the cosmos.

Further, the grand trine becomes a stimulating Kite formation when the Moon sextiles Pluto in Capricorn, which itself sextiles Neptune and opposes Venus. As the natural ruler of Scorpio, Pluto governs the First Quarter Square and thus amplifies the need to gain intimate knowledge of the focus of our attention yet remain non-identified with it. From the Transpersonal Astrology perspective, the plutonic process can lead us deep into the inner workings of our psyche to begin gathering and unifying its warring factions (often mirrored on various levels in our external world). Thus, we prepare the rich depths of consciousness for the seed of soul to fully manifest as the guiding force of Love in our life.