this is the balsamic moon bulletin: a wrap up of the previous lunar cycle and a preview of the lunar cycle ahead. I’m biased (was born during this phase) but the balsamic moon is my favorite part of the month. Just before the new moon, it’s a time for reflection, distillation and integration. It’s a few days—3.5 days before the new moon to be exact—where the best thing to do is creatively float and imagine while you also wash the floors, tidy the desk, do some laundry, and close out projects. But also: when all else fails, take a nap.
these are usually for paid subscribers only, but I’ve left more than usual in front of the paywall so you can get a taste. also, my books are open and I’d love to get my November calendar more filled up. I’ll be adjusting my offerings and prices next week (November 16th) so if you want to get in at my current rates - now’s the time!
The balsamic moon phase began today (November 9th) at 6:43 AM ET with the Moon at 1º Libra closing out a lunar cycle that began on October 14th with a Solar Eclipse in Libra.
Previously on…
As Nico sings in “These Days,” Please don’t confront me with my failures, I have not forgotten them. The Solar Eclipse in Libra on October 14th was for seeing the writing on the wall and choosing to do something about it. LISTEN, as good as it is to let go and let god, hauling all those unnecessary belongings out to the stoop was exhausting. Doing the good work is always exhausting. Breakthroughs came side-by-side with breaking points.
What truth fell out of that fallen house of cards? What images landed face up?
Scorpio season began on October 23rd. Here is where intuition and emotion took the wheel. We were all up in our feels with every planet (besides the ever changeable moon) in Earth or Water signs through the morning of November 8th.
The Lunar Eclipse in Taurus on October 28th brought cathartic conclusions to stories that have been spinning since November 2021. Exaggerations came alongside definitive statements. Were these feelings or facts? Overwhelm met a need to keep going.
A major reality check came on November 4th as Saturn stationed direct. Cosmic summer vacation is over. Time to get back to work.
To end this lunar cycle, Venus and Mercury change signs on November 8th and 10th respectively. After weeks of churning in our feelings, it’s time to switch up the strategy.
Why start a conflict when you can tap dance backwards out the door?
Get out of the whirlpool and run.
Monday’s New Moon in Scorpio
The New Moon in Scorpio is on Monday, November 13th at 4:27 AM ET. The Sun and Moon meet at 20º Scorpio.
In my life the piano sings
Brings me words that are not the strength of strings
Firey rain and rubies cooling in the sun
Now I see that my world has only begun
Notes that roll on winds with swirling wings
Brings me words that are not the strength of strings
- from “Strength of Strings” by Gene Clark, Sun in Scorpio III
Monday’s New Moon arrives with the same eerie intensity as Gene Clark’s “Strength of Strings” from his critically praised/commercially failed album No Other. A twangy duet between acoustic and electric guitar builds to a longing chorale. “Strength of Strings” is both a dirge and a prayer.
Gene Clark, founding member of The Byrds who also made his own ahead-of-its-time mystical solo work, was born with the Sun in Scorpio III, the same place it will be for the New Moon.
Scorpio III is a place of romance. It’s a place of cinema! It’s a place to get lost in the fantasy of it all. This decan is ruled by Venus. Associated with the Tarot’s 7 of Cups, a card that depicts a man—not a magician, a regular guy—summoning his daydreams in the clouds. Aleister Crowley called the 7 of Cups “Debauchery,” others called it “Illusionary Success.” It’s a place where, as Austin Coppock writes in 36 Faces, “We bury the corpse of past loves and wait for the flowers to grow from their graves.”
Martin Scorcese was born during an exact Venus cazimi in this part of Scorpio—a master filmmaker who almost went into the priesthood! Scorcese makes great work but seems to put more of his heart into the art than into this personal life. Only seekers are so prolific. Just ask his many ex-wives. Though Scorcese has been with his current wife for over twenty years, his longest relationship is with “Gimme Shelter” by The Rolling Stones. Another public figure figure with the Sun in Scorpio III is Meg Ryan: the ultimate rom com protagonist whose own romantic life isn’t a fairytale. There’s also Bjork whose work transcends romance, yet Vulnicura proved that she’s not above making a “breakup album.” Taylor Swift, who has taken her broken heart and made herself a billionaire has Mars in this part of the zodiac.
You’re getting the picture right? Scorpio III wants to fall in love, but if the date goes poorly, well, at least she can write a song about it. It’s the place where bad standup, ugly paintings, and cringey songs are born. It’s also from where we get Monet’s Water Lilies, Scorcese’s Taxi Driver (Jodie Foster also has the Sun in Scorpio III), Rodin’s The Kiss, and Ryan Gosling’s performance in Drive. Scorpio III is where one learns that once satisfied, desire must be transmuted. Desire must transcend daily life.
As the first New Moon in Scorpio since 2021 that is not an eclipse, the lunation goes exact with both the Sun and the Moon opposite Uranus. The seeds being planted require experiments and innovation to grow.
Mars, the New Moon’s ruler, is also in Scorpio. The Sun and Mars meet up later this week on the 18th for a once in two year reset of our momentum and motivation. New Moons are often the sleepiest part of the lunar cycle, but this one starts with a bang. It’s a jolt of caffeine. It’s a Vitamin B12 shot. It’s a dip in the cold plunge. It’s also the poem we write immediately after doing any of these things. Wanting something is no longer the best motivation. This New Moon is about staying in the game not to win, but to prove something.
Where this New Moon in Scorpio is hitting for each sign:
(+ dates to look back into the archives, and a preview of the transits for the next lunar cycle)
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