This new moon is happening in sidereal Cancer, a sign deeply connected to emotions, nurturing, and our inner landscapes. Cancer is ruled by the moon, which represents our mind and emotions. This makes it a powerful time to reflect on your emotional state, how you nurture yourself, and any mother wounds you may be carrying.

The New Moon will reach its peak in Ashlesha Nakshatra on August 4, 2024 around 7:12am eastern time. This lunar mansion carries powerful transformative energy, inviting us to awaken our inner wisdom. Ashlesha, ruled by the Nagas, the serpent deities, symbolizes coiled energy, deception, and deep intuition. This nakshatra is deeply connected to kundalini energy, past lives, and genetic heritage, making it a time for profound inner transformation and healing.

As the Moon is in its own sign of Cancer, this New Moon amplifies emotional depth, intuition, and a protective instinct toward loved ones. However, the energy of Ashlesha can also be mysterious and challenging, requiring us to navigate potential deceptions and hidden truths with care. This is a time to connect with our inner serpent energy, allowing it to rise and guide us through personal and spiritual evolution.

Understanding the Astrological Context

An interesting astrological nuance to this new moon is that it’s occurring in the same section of the sky where Mercury will begin its retrograde later that day. Mercury retrograde is often a time of reflection, revision, and reworking, especially concerning communication, technology, and our mental landscapes. What makes this particular synergy powerful is that Mercury will be moving direct through this same section of the sky by the next new moon, marking the end of this lunar cycle.

This alignment invites you to approach setting your intentions with a dual perspective: focusing both on the emotional currents of the new moon in Cancer and the mental and communicative aspects of Mercury retrograde. 

In the podcast episode for the new moon (apple | spotify | youtube), we dive more deeply into specifics of how you can work with this in a practical sense. You can also revisit the resources for Mercury Retrograde here!

Kundalini Energy and Spiritual Awakening

Kundalini energy, often depicted as a coiled serpent at the base of the spine, is key to understanding the energy of this new moon. When this energy is activated, it moves up the spine, leading to spiritual awakening and the uncovering of deep truths. This process can bring latent wisdom into your conscious awareness, challenging you to embrace and integrate it into your life.

This can sometimes be hard to understand in a practical sense, so dive into the podcast episode (apple | spotify | youtube) if you'd like more guidance there - we spent a good amount of time talking about practical examples and tips to help you understand what this might actually look and feel like in real life. Because it can totally be a point of confusion for many people!

Shedding the Old, Embracing the New

Snakes are also known for shedding their skin, symbolizing growth and transformation. This new moon invites you to consider what "skins" you need to shed to live more vibrantly in your truth. What old patterns, beliefs, or emotional states need to be released to allow for new growth?

Scroll down to the journal prompts section for more help working with this!!

Overall Energies of the New Moon

Dive into the podcast episode (apple | spotify | youtube) to hear these with deeper explanations of how they relate astrologically and how you might use them!

• Feelings aren’t facts, but they are signposts guiding you toward deeper understanding.
• Hidden energy is often right under your nose—don’t look too far or hard for answers.
• Something within you is lying in wait, ready to be activated or uncovered.
• The difference between medicine and poison is the dose—be mindful of balance and moderation.
• Deception may be at play—consider whether you’ve been bending the truth or lying to yourself about something.

Yoga Practices to Harness the Energy of the New Moon

• Spiraling Movements: Incorporate exercises like Sufi grinds, barrel rolling the rib cage, or Mandala flows to connect with the spiraling energy of Kundalini.

• Moon Salutations: Practice moon salutations to honor the moon’s energy and create a circular flow in your movements.

• Exfoliation Practices: Engage in dry brushing or abhyanga to metaphorically and physically shed old layers and embrace new growth.

Journal Prompts for Deeper Reflection

1. What skins do you need to shed during this Mercury retrograde? – Reflect on the truths that have been nagging at you under the surface. What needs to be revealed and integrated?

2. What’s worth protecting for you? – Consider what is so important to you that you would "strike like a snake" to protect it. Are there things you need to release because they no longer serve you?

3. Where do you feel cornered? – Reflect on any areas of your life where you feel constrained. How can you change your circumstances to create a sense of emotional safety and alignment with your truth? You may revisit the Saturn Retrograde resources to work with this journal prompt more deeply.

For Your Rising and Moon Signs

Each interpretation below will be accurate for your Vedic rising (ascendant) and moon signs. If you don’t know your Vedic signs, you can calculate your birth chart for free here.

Struggling to know what any of it means? Grab this free birth chart decoder worksheet and you'll be well on your way to living in alignment with your cosmic blueprint!

Remember, as a Vedic astrologer, I use the sidereal zodiac, or the astronomically precise placements of the planets. So these will likely be different than your (western, tropical) Sun sign--you know, the one that is based solely on your birth date. You can read more about the differences between the two systems here.

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