Dear friends, chers amis: sending all of you a warm wave of pure love and gratitude for taking some time to connect with the Stars. This post will cover the New Moon in Cancer of July 20th, as well as the Sun’s ingress into Leo on July 22nd and the fiery energy of Mars blasting into Aries for the next 6 months. I invite you to get comfortable and join me in exploring the current cosmic rhythms within the soul of humanity.
In the early afternoon of July 20th, the Moon conjoined the Sun to form another New Moon cycle in the sign of Cancer. You may remember that 4 weeks ago, we had a powerful New Moon eclipse in Cancer. This is the final lesson in a 2-year eclipse themed course on the subject of Cancer, the Universal Mother of the Zodiac. However, this lesson is not an intellectual exercise. Like the other water signs (Scorpio and Pisces), Cancer is about opening up our emotional body and feeling everything that is within and around us. A close friend of mine said recently: “feeling is healing”. Let’s be real and honest here. It has been painfully obvious to see that many people are feeling overwhelmed the last several weeks by these emotional tidal waves. Knowing that we have had a rare combination of 2 Cancer New Moons in a row is helping me to understand and better embrace the emotional intensity of this summer. If you are reading this message, I am sure that you are also thankful for the wisdom of astrology to guide and inspire us in these trying times. As we develop our emotional intelligence, we also cultivate more clarity and transparency about how we are feeling at any given time. I can honestly say that this has been and still is a huge learning in my life.
The high road of Cancer is more of a soft and gentle country road that winds around beautiful lakes and rivers. This imagery can help us access the healing tenderness and comforting love of the Great Mother Goddess. Over the last few months, the human spirit has been hurting deeply all around the world. In order to heal the heavy anxiety, fear, uncertainty and loss, we desperately need to nestle in the pure, gentle and soothing love symbolized by Cancer. In esoteric astrology, Cancer is ruled by Neptune, which connects to divine and spiritual love. It is important to remember that this energy lives inside of us, like all astrological archetypes. If you believe in this truth, then you can consciously tune in to these Cancerian instincts and bathe in the flowing waters of tender loving care every day. I feel that the greatest lesson here is that every human being needs to become their own parent and take the best possible care of themselves. We can’t offer our best service to others if we don’t fulfill our own primordial needs. What nurtures you in the healthiest, most beautiful ways? What activities and environments help you to feel at ease and comfortable so that you can embrace the flow of energy within and around you with complete faith and trust?
This New Moon chart is incredibly fascinating because not only is the Cancer energy strong, but Capricorn is also prominent as well because Saturn in Capricorn is exactly opposite the Sun and Moon in this lunation. Saturn and Capricorn have been offering us lessons just as if not more important than Cancer. We need to understand that these are very tough lessons, but critically important to our evolution. Astrologers have spoken so much about Saturn and Capricorn this year, and there is so much more to say. Saturn is teaching us the art of maintaining healthy boundaries, sacred solitude, self-sufficiency, and learning to say “yes” or “no” as needed to maintain divine flow and timing. Since Capricorn and Saturn both connect to a sense of duty and responsibility, we are called to take another step, or go deeper in our understanding of our life mission and purpose.
What does it look like when we begin to integrate healthy Cancer and Capricorn energies? It can mean choosing a service role that reflects our core values and beliefs and excelling at that work, serving with honor and loving care. It can also mean creating and maintaining a self-care routine that reflects our unique needs and genuine interests. Yoga, walking, playing sports, hiking, meditation, prayer, gardening, cycling… whatever nourishes your body-mind-soul-spirit. It can also mean taking small, baby steps towards your goals and heart’s desires and trusting the ebb and flow in the manifestation of your soul’s true intentions.
“Flow is a state of non-resistance, of being in the heart, of fully accepting both stillness and movement, whichever is being supported at any given time. It is replacing struggle with faith, trust, comfort and support.” – Archangel Gabriel through Shelley Young.
When life gets tough, it also becomes more serious and this forces all of us to focus our attention on the most fundamentally important aspects of every moment. We are collectively thrust into the Now, where all potential realities and dimensions intersect. We are learning to discern more quickly what feels good and what doesn’t, and let go of what doesn’t nurture us. In some ways, life is getting a lot more simple as we slowly build a new life based on what matters most: our core values, priorities and inner peace. Another master teacher this year is Pluto. One of the themes related to Pluto is deep purging. We are all learning to let go of excess of all kinds, lightening our load in all areas of life. This is not a pretty process, but it is necessary to come back into harmony with Nature and into alignment with our authentic life path. Capricorn rules the core structural system within the human body, which means our bones and spine. If you have the means, gift yourself some bodywork, deep massage, chiropractic adjustments, acupuncture and correct posture exercises.
On a lighter note, let’s introduce Leo the cosmic Lion into the picture! As the Sun shifts into Leo this week, we will start to feel more yang, fire energy, and the desire for more creative and fun activities. On a spiritual level, Leo teaches us about healthy pride, dignity and self-love. Leo reminds us to celebrate the joys of life, safely and respectfully, no matter what is going on in the world. Consciously enjoying life is the key to happiness and taking in the vitality of the Sun because Leo is ruled by the Sun.
“Self love, simply put, is giving yourself everything you need to thrive. Your wellness is the foundation all other things are built upon, and is essential for the next exciting phase of your incarnation." – Archangel Gabriel through Shelley Young.
As promised, we will now talk about the importance of Mars, who is heating up the atmosphere in the fiery sign of Aries since the end of June. Mars has been involved in the last 3 eclipses and is gaining more and more strength in Aries, the sign that it rules. This is a very strong, yang, forceful power that can be used creatively or destructively. Normally, Mars is in Aries for about 6 weeks, but later this fall, Mars will retrograde and remain in Aries for about 6 months in total. As a planetary teacher, Mars is pushing us to become more in touch with our inner drives and deep desires especially relative to the House that Aries activates in your birthchart. In my case, Mars is lighting up my 3rd House of communication and education. So bang on for me! A wonderful and talented friend is helping me to create a new logo and website that is going live very soon. What does your inner Leader & Warrior strongly desire?
Mars has been in a tense square aspect with Mercury, the Messenger in May and most of July. This explains the volatile conversations on social media and the heated debates about many topics related to the pandemic, such as mask wearing, vaccines, the new look of education, and much more. It is important to voice our truth in ways that are respectful and caring; however, we need to accept that anger will continue to show up from within and around us. Coping with anger and managing stress will become paramount over the next few months. Deep breathing, smudging, praying, wearing calming or protective crystals, are all great tools. We are learning to feel what is true in our body when we speak, read or listen to others. Truth is very fluid, ever changing and evolving. I will write about the fluidity of truth in another post.
During the whole month of July, Mars is conjunct Chiron, the Wounded Healer archetype. In the words of renowned astrologer Howard Sasportas, Chiron is about “the wounds that make us wise.” It is about honoring the wounds, the bruises and the scars that show what we have endured and how we have persevered through the challenges. I heard an artist say once that if your car does not have any bumps or visible damage on it, you have not lived. Both Chiron and Cancer have a connection to healing. There are many pathways to understanding what it means to heal. According to Matt Kahn, “to heal is to reclaim the power of your dignity. Dignity is the ability to feel worthy of honor and respect.” In fact, this great quote echoes the spiritual qualities of Capricorn.
The Warrior in the human psyche can cultivate courage by facing fear. It seems clear to me now that the challenges of 2020 are pushing everyone to come face to face with our greatest fears. On some level of consciousness, we are all summoning the fiercest courage and willpower within our DNA and declaring to the universe: “I am not afraid of death. I am strong! I will survive, adapt and help to create a new world.” I invite you to say any empowering words that come to you in this moment. As we accept the death of the previous reality, we embrace the rebirth of a new Earth, an enlightened humanity, a new you and me. 2020 is the year that we see again, with clear vision, who we are and why are here.
Let’s get back to Pluto for a moment. One of the opportunities of this year is to expand our understanding of certain symbols like Pluto, which is a dominant energy this year. Did you know that Pluto means “riches” in Greek? At first, it seems very odd to associate Pluto, Lord of Death and the Underworld to the concept of riches. Upon further reflection, we can see that in many mythic stories, treasures are usually found buried in deep places, sometimes guarded by dragons or other magical creatures, which represent Pluto as well. The riches of Pluto also refer to the mineral wealth within the earth and the rich soil that produces abundant crops. Perhaps more importantly, Pluto’s riches can be mined from the materials found in the depths of the psyche. Personally, this year amidst the innumerable challenges and chaos created in the wake of Covid-19, I have rediscovered and rekindled a deep love for writing. I have reflected a lot more on the astrological messages from the Stars and am nurturing this new spark of creative personal expression. I hope and pray that many of you will find and nurture any new sparks within your soul this year.
I love astrology! It is my greatest joy and honor to teach astrology classes and workshops and especially to offer individual astrological readings. Your birthchart is your Divine Guidance System and the fastest tool to reconnect with your soul’s innate wisdom and deep riches. I invite you to message, text or call me to book your appointment. I am available for online consultations or in-person readings at the Tree of Life North. (705.918.4441)
I am excited to share that Insight Astrology is transitioning to Richard Malette Astrology on many platforms very soon. Stay in touch or contact me to be added to my email list and you will receive all these Notes from the Stars and great deals in a newsletter.
New Moon blessings and galaxies of gratitude, Richard ❤
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