Cancer New Moon- Venus Quincunx Pluto & Neptune: The Secrets of Your Heart. 

With Venus in Virgo from 9 July and staying there until 6 August, it is generally a good time to cast a discerning eye on our romantic partnerships. Are our partnerships good for us, do they have the maturity to create something solid, or do they repeatedly get lost in swampy foundations, or fly away in the turmoil of chaos? Do they add to our well-being or are they based on idealism, lust, obsession, or else driven by old patterns of interrelational wounding?

Venus collided with Uranus in a square on 13 July, possibly causing disruption, change, or the breaking of a love spell (the illusion of an attraction or obsession to an unsuitable person or else misaligned ways of conducting our relationships). For example, do you truly desire a polyamorous lifestyle or are you going along with it because it’s what your partner wants. Conversely, are you a free spirit at heart and have been feeling hemmed in by relationship modes that do not suit you. It could be time to break free from conditioning around relationships inherited from social mores and morals that cause injury to our soul.

In the wrong relationship or relationship style we may become overly critical or judgemental, easily annoyed or even offended by our partner. In Virgo this could be amplified. What is reflected in the mirror of Venus once we care to look with a clear and candid eye?

Where have we been deluding ourselves when it comes to relationships? Are we truly happy alone or is there a deep ache and longing for a soul mate or lover? Is marriage now a viable option even if previously you said never. Or is divorce on the cards?

Who or what do we genuinely care about? What inspires our devotion? Are our relationships mutual or do we give more than we receive, take more than we give? These are all questions to consider with honest discernment. Are we coasting along with a “good enough” partner but secretly holding out for a perceived better situation? Are we being taken advantage of or giving our love to someone who doesn’t deserve it? Or are we being a … Truth hurts especially in matters of the heart.

There are so many styles of relationships now and a whole new mind-boggling lexicon to describe them. The field is open. Are we brave enough to say what we really desire?

These themes will become more intense with the new moon as Venus in Virgo sits in an awkward quincunx with Pluto in Aquarius and Neptune in Aries on tomorrow’s new moon.

Venus’ quincunx Pluto may stir up feelings of jealousy and possessiveness, or obsession. It’s worth looking at the deeper psychological impulses involved. If we are attracted to dark, unsafe or dangerous partners that don’t always serve our best interest, or else causes misalignment with our core values, this could come to light under this aspect between Venus and Pluto.

On the other hand, it is a time when we can get honest with ourselves and our partner, maybe even vulnerable, causing relationships to deepen.

With Venus in a quincunx to Neptune at the same time, illusions and flights of fancy or escapism could intensify or dissolve. Giving into an intense longing even if it comes with consequences is not necessarily bad, however it’s best to enter it consciously taking all factors into account before diving in.

Affairs, secret relationships and dangerous liaisons are not unheard of under this aspect. Proceed with caution…or throw caution to the wind but take responsibility.

Finally, Venus’ quincunx to Neptune may enhance or reveal relationship projections and delusions. That person we believe is our dream lover and whom we have placed on a pedestal may in fact be a rascal, or even worse, not know we exist.

Ultimately though whatever our adventures in love whether they be crushing or redeeming, every experience matters. Our love pursuits, heart aches and painful lessons all go toward heart wisdom. For the heart that has been hurt too many times, hopefully it can open again, and for the heart that has been too open (if there is such a thing) Venus in Virgo offers discernment and the ability to create boundaries.

What’s your love story this new moon?

I finish with a poem by Kahlil Gibran, the verse “On Love”.

When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.

     For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.
Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself
He threshes you to make your naked.
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God’s sacred feast.

     All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life’s heart.