“Humans always sing about what they most need,” said Libra one sunny afternoon. “The Hopi sing for rain. The Inuit sing for a successful hunt. And judging by your culture’s most popular songs, what you most need—or lack—is love.” I asked if she agreed and she replied in typical Libra fashion: “Yes and no,” she said.
People expect Libra to be all lace and romance; after all, she’s the sign of beauty and relationships. But to understand her properly, you should know about her goddess mother—Dike—who was in charge of the Dice of Fate and the Scales of Justice. It was her job to keep the constantly changing world in balance. She lived on Earth throughout the Gold and Silver Ages, before mankind knew how to sail, drive, or fly. Back then forests and grasslands grew the cures for all disease. But as humans multiplied, so did their quarreling and greed.
Life tipped out of balance. Peace gave way to war. Lovers hurt each other.
Daughters turned against their mothers. Fathers turned against their sons.
Dike begged people to settle their differences with understanding. “Talk it out. Be fair. Realize how alike you are…” Few listened. And so it’s said that Libra’s mother just gave up. She abandoned the Scales and ran away. “Too soft, too sensitive, a people-pleaser,” some said. “She’s fickle and indifferent,” others accused.
Yet to look at Libra now—with her clear eyes and startling beauty—it’s obvious she comes from sturdier stock. Libra can take a mottled crowd and waltz them into harmony, a fete that only someone unafraid of Chaos could perform. Libra is sensitive but not delicate. She chose the balance beam as her symbol–not an unprotected heart. As an emissary of justice, Libra weighs what appears and works with it—skillfully. If she brings Sorrow and Anger to the party, by midnight she’ll have them dancing with Hope and Joy. Charm and Grace are her best friends, but don’t mistake her easy chatter. Her words may seem sweet and superficial; but meanwhile, she’s learning everything about you.
Libra’s message: dissolve into the center of the scales
Once I was bold enough to ask, “What really happened to your mother? Is she a quitter?” “Oh no,” Libra replied. “When people stopped listening to her words, she demonstrated her message: she dissolved into the center of the scales! It was a profound meditation for those who could see it… and very brave.”
Particularly in wildly divided times like ours today,
it takes courage to dissolve one’s position and enter the center,
where all points of view converge.
But that was Dike’s message.
And it’s the surest way to call in Libra at this New Moon. Life is forever veering out of balance. So put yourself on tactical alert. Take note whenever you find yourself at war—with your loved ones, your body, the traffic, your kitchen toaster, the politicians, or the world. Slow down. Find the still point in the center of your heart. Relax. Don’t defend yourself. Imagine how you look from your opponent’s eyes. Can you give the very thing that you want to receive? Do this often and you’ll no longer be starving—or singing—for love, like a desperate farmer chanting for rain. You will be Love itself.
Meeting Libra at the natural foods store
I’ll never forget the day I met Libra while shopping. She came in the guise of an elderly woman in a blue pant suit, who seemed to keep moving right in front of wherever I was reaching, without any regard for my presence. I made a point to move to other parts of the store–and there she was again! It was a spiritual test for which I scored myself a D. You see, the bad angel on my shoulder was growing ever more impatient and irritated.
The good angel kept reminding me that no real harm was being done. “Remember,” she whispered, “you vowed to practice Venus virtues, including the gift of being kind.” Yet when the little old lady blocked me for the sixth time, I couldn’t help myself.
With feigned kindness and an imaginary dagger behind my back, I said, “We sure seem to be in each other’s path today!” She looked startled and immediately apologized. “I’m nearly deaf,” she said, “I don’t have a lot of awareness of what goes on around me.” Oh! I see. She wasn’t being rude at all. She was protecting herself.
She draws her aura in, which blunts her situational awareness. All of her gestures made new sense and now, I realized that I was the one without awareness! My bad angel slunk away, appropriately shamed. I was grateful for this Libra message.
How smoother life would be if our curiosity about strangers was always bigger than our irritations with them.
Among the most powerful mood-shifters I’ve learned is something I heard a fellow once say in a 12-step meeting over 30 years ago. Something of a hot head, especially in traffic, he learned to calm his road rage by shifting perspective on the other driver, the stranger who had just cut him off or was driving too slow. He let himself wonder, “What if they’re having one of the worst days in their life? What if they just got news about a loved one’s death–or a diagnosis of stage 4 cancer?”
Wouldn’t he want to be kind to someone like that? Wouldn’t he want to give them a break? This has been a life-changing Libra thought for me. It’s a magic wand that can transform irritation into empathy. It turns a toxin into nectar. Of course, here in my valley this fall, it’s easy to imagine that the irritating driver is someone who is still shell-shocked after losing their home in the fire.
Perhaps Libra has another message for you this year. No way can I predict it. Libra is infinitely creative. With great elegance, every year, she’ll find just the right experience to help you maintain your balance. Often she uses other people—the very ones who push your buttons and shatter your inner equilibrium. Is there anyone better with whom to practice the art of peace?
Notice all the strong and subtle ways you’re called to stop and shift direction this cycle. If your life has been filled with stress, political chaos, health, work or money woes, find the thing that will bring you peace. Put fresh flowers in the kitchen or a lavender diffuser by your bed. You may want to lock the door, draw the curtains, and play music that pierces your heart, so that you dance around the dining room table until you finally know that the world—and you—are beautiful, inside and out.
It’s an auspicious time to touch into the deeper layers of your own Venus (order my intimate report, “Your Venus Unleashed” here).
Or commit to your archetypal vibrance by enrolling in my monthly Moon workshop this cycle. Touch what’s true in you.
© 2020/2022 Dana Gerhardt
All rights reserved
Oh Dana, of all the things Ive read about this moon, of all the things Ive been thinking this was the sweetest, not only in the fact that it connects to what i love – Story – or that it promises beauty and peace but that it strikes the balance and integrates wtih the imperfections and the natural cycles. Thank you! New moon blessings to you and yours!
Lovely blog, Dana. An excellent message for these times. It softened my heart. Thank you.
Thank you, Dana. So beautiful. I know there is something really important in your words for me because I had tears flowing half way through it. All these years that I’ve followed you has made me realize that you are a very powerful healer.
Aw shucks–though of course it’s not me, it’s what I’m lucky to have flowing through me. If I write anything good, it means the gods are involved.
You are such a master in paradigm shift, Dana, not only mood-shift, your insights go so much much deeper than just “put yourself in the other’s shoes” (though this is in itself a difficult shift for manu of us).
Thank you, keep doing your magic!
Aren’t you wonderful for saying that, thanks!
Women are finally speaking about their sexual abuse or abuse in general at the hands of men.Thanyou Libra.Maybe a real partnership will come of it.Balance restored!
Yes, this is one of the current rainbows in otherwise cloudy or smoky skies!
Thanks for another wonderful write up Dana! This new moon forms an conjunct to my natal moon in the sixth house. It feels as though this could be particularly poignant or a powerful energy for me to work with. I’m sensing work / health balance as a potential goal – would that be about right? Or is there something obvious I’m missing?
Beauty Full Dana! Thank you.