This is the 2nd of 6 New Moons at the 28th degree. Last month we had the first New Moon at 28 degrees Libra with themes centered around the Magna Carta or “No Kings”. Serendipitously, that New Moon happened right after a “No Kings” protest, the largest single day protest in United States history with 7 million people turning out.
This 2nd New Moon at 28 degrees Scorpio has themes related to empowering oneself through shadow work. Raven Caldera calls it “The Raging Moon”:
The Raging Moon is one of the best times for shadow work, that task of going down into one’s psychological cellar and learning to love the most unacceptable part of oneself for what it is, with no attempts to change it. Healing is not the point here, although it may come about on its own in some way. Understanding is the point, deep understanding that leads to compassion in the end.
The Sabian symbol, “An Indian Woman Pleading to Chief for her Children”, is about finding balance between our self-centered ego’s desires and the needs of the broader collective.
The New Moon falls on the 4/1 Cross of Empowerment. I referred to this Cross in my last video about Erika Kirk as her birthday falls on this New Moon. It’s a very fixed Cross as all Juxtaposition Crosses are. This is how Ra describes it:
If you‘ve got a solid product line, then you can begin to empower. But if you don't have a solid product line, you're going to have a lot of problems, because it's just not going to work and then you‘re going to end up with all these sidebar dilemmas of trying to figure out how to mask the fact that the product has a problem.
Since this administration has focused more on destruction than creation, a solid foundation hasn’t yet been built. The Democratic sweep, which happened during the Full Moon in Taurus, put this Administration on notice. It’s not enough to destroy. They must now build something solid to replace their chaos of destruction.
The 28th degree is a Cancer degree, while the 29th degree is a Leo degree. Symbolic of the New Moon process itself: we move through the Moon, symbolizing our emotional processing, daily habits, and sense of security to the Sun, symbolizing our ego identification, life force, and soul’s purpose.
In essence, these 6 New Moons will help us identify what we cling to habitually in order to feel safe and secure vs. what makes us feel alive. What are our hopes for the future? What kind of life do we want to live? Change is self-initiated only when we are emotionally ready to make a move, and that readiness often comes in response to external events.
The Movement between Cancer & Leo
This movement from Cancer to Leo has been a major theme in the transits this year, with the Mars retrograde beginning in Leo before moving back into Cancer and now Jupiter going retrograde in Cancer before moving into Leo next June.
According to traditional Vedic astrology, retrograde planets take the flavor of the sign of their opposition. For example, when Jupiter is retrograde in Cancer it will take the flavor of Capricorn for the retrograde period.
Jupiter is considered in its exaltation in Cancer, where it can best act in accordance with its nature for expansion. Cancer symbolizes fertility. In the Northern Hemisphere, it's the best time to plant new seeds for an autumn harvest. This fertile environment is symbiotic with the planet of growth. Jupiter in Cancer periods can lead to super positive growth or super negative excess, depending on the nature of the seed you are planting and how you are nurturing it.
The sign of Cancer is a cardinal sign so it’s a time for action, but like any newly planted seed, the environment needs a certain amount of personalized nurturing and care for healthy growth. Left unchecked, it can expand in an out-of-control manner, choking off the life of a once healthy and growing organism.
If you've watched incredulously as the stock market has continued to climb defying all signs of reality, this is a good case study of what can happen when Jupiter is in Cancer. It’s creating an ever expanding balloon that will most likely pop in a destructive manner, kind of like my waist line these last few months 😅. How about you? How have you been nurturing yourself during this time?
Jupiter’s Retrograde & Uranus’ Return to Taurus
But once Jupiter turned retrograde at 25 degrees Cancer on November the 11th, within minutes of the Mars retrograde during Trump's inauguration, it took on the flavor of Capricorn, the sign of Jupiter’s fall, where growth will be more restrained.
Jupiter turned retrograde just 2 days after Uranus traveled back to the 29th degree of Taurus and perfected its square to the President’s Ascendent-Descendent for the second time. The third and final time will be in April. And remember, Uranus is not very comfortable in Taurus either.
As predicted since Uranus entered Taurus in late 2019 right before Covid, we witnessed pandemics, food shortages, supply chain disruptions, and changes in inflation and currencies. Uranus will be in Taurus for the final time until the end of April, 2026. With the current trade war and market bubble, we are bound to revisit a final reckoning related to these themes. We may hit a bottom of sorts which will necessitate drastic changes to our current system. Changes that may require new discoveries and technology breakthroughs as Uranus enters Gemini.
Uranus was closely applying to a square of Trump's Ascendent-Descendent during the November 4th Democratic sweep. The symbolism played out as this very public shift in the perception of the President, mostly based on the impacts of his economic policies. He’s been tooting his own horn too much, gaslighting people about the economy, throwing lavish gatsby parties, focusing on enriching himself and his buddies. The picture of him standing at his desk dumbfounded while a medical emergency was going in the background was such a classic image to represent this perceptual shift.
I did not address the elections during my full moon video. I was more focused on the President’s overseas negotiations with Xi, but this tariff war was a big reason for the democratic sweep. His negotiations with Xi were seen as a major flop, with President Xi gaining more in the long run. He won on “America First” propaganda, so his supporters are rightfully pissed that he’s more focused on the parade of foreign visitors rather than issues at home. So he’s been put on notice. And like I mentioned in my last New Moon video, health is a serious factor here, both mental and physical. Which makes that image of him standing over someone who had just collapsed in his office eerily symbolic.
Jupiter & Mars' Conjunction to Mercury
Jupiter slowed way down once it reached 24 degrees in the middle of October, hovering around the Sibley chart’s Mercury retrograde in Cancer. It perfected a conjunction to the Sibley Mercury on October 18, 2025, the day of the "No King’s" protests. It revisits the conjunction in retrograde motion on December 5th as transiting Mars is separating from an opposition to natal Mars. It’ll conjunct Mercury once again when Jupiter goes direct in June.
Mars followed a similar pattern beginning with its conjunction to Mercury on October 24, 2024. But it was a reversal of Jupiter. Mars started in the sign of its fall, so it took on the flavor of its exaltation when it went retrograde the day of Trump’s inauguration.
And if you think about it, all guns were blazing as soon as the President took office. His administration was quite efficient through the Mars retrograde, which makes sense since the Mars retrograde took on the flavor of Mars in Capricorn, the sign of Mars’ exaltation. Mars went direct again in Cancer in late February when things started to slow down with the threat of the first government shutdown looming and several court injunctions.
Then Mars, now direct, conjunct Mercury on April 2nd, 2025 the day after Trump’s so called “Liberation” day, when he announced his reciprocal tariffs. This was the day the stock market took a steep nose dive.
Jupiter’s Retrograde & The Government Shutdown
Interestingly, the Senate voted to end the government shutdown the day Mercury stationed retrograde with the Moon at the exact degree of the “Shutdown” chart’s Jupiter degree and opposed the Moon-Pluto conjunction of that chart. Notice that transiting Jupiter is within minutes of squaring the Chiron of the initial chart with the transiting Moon applying to a square of transiting Chiron.
The eight democratic senators who broke ranks to support the end of the shutdown did so to address their constituents' pain, despite any backlash they would soon receive. This vote happened right after the disseminating moon in Cancer, which Raven Kaldera calls the “Shield Father’s Moon
On the Shield-Father’s Moon, we protect the innocent and stand between them and unnecessary pain.
The South Node is now at the midpoint between Venus, in the sign of its fall, and the South Node of the original chart. Whereas, transiting Venus, now in the sign of its detriment in Scorpio, is applying to a conjunction of the exalted Mars of the “shutdown” chart.
When I taped my video (below), I thought that since Mercury was retrograde during the initial Senate vote heading back to conjunct Mars, both ruled by Jupiter in Cancer, also stationing retrograde, there might be a dramatic reversal or delay when the bill went to the House for a vote. But I see now that Mercury heading back to Mars was actually the clincher. The quick House vote was exactly timed to that conjunction. Jupiter turning retrograde was simply another signal of a reversal of the "shutdown chart", which featured Jupiter in Cancer in the 1st house.
Interestingly, the vote happened right after the disseminating moon in Leo, which Raven Kaldera calls "The King's Moon":
It’s a time for leaders to make alliances and network with other organizations, and to articulate to outsiders the nature and mission of their own organization.
On December 5, the day after the Full Moon in Gemini, Jupiter will conjunct the U.S. Sibley’s Mercury once again in retrograde motion. This conjunction appears to be related to the separate vote for the healthcare subsidies which was promised to take place in December.
Like the Full Moon in Taurus, the next Full Moon in Gemini will be at 13 degrees. The 13th degree is an Aries degree ruled by Mars, and the 14th degree is Taurus degree ruled by Venus. Interestingly, Venus will be on one side of the Sun and Mars will be on the other side of the Sun in the Full Moon chart. Will the Senate vote to extend the subsidies or will they at least provide financial relief directly to the people? I’ll talk more about the possibilities outlined in this Full Moon in a couple of weeks.
The New Moon Chart
So let’s talk more about the New Moon chart located in Washington DC. This New Moon features an out-of-bounds Moon and a retrograde Mercury in Scorpio in the 3rd house with Uranus opposing in the 9th house. If you look at the U.S. Sibley chart, the New Moon takes place in the 12th house with Uranus in the 6th house.
The New Moon couldn’t be more symbolic of the beginning of an end to the current chaotic trajectory. There is a definite power shift indicated with an internal review of power dynamics happening behind the scenes. With the government back in session, the Epstein files are once again on the docket to be released. Surprise financial shifts are likely. What this review precipitates will be provoked by Uranian surprises, so the twists and turns leading up to this New Moon will keep us on our toes. Pluto will come back in-bounds three days after this New Moon and Saturn will station direct on Thanksgiving Day. Will things calm down a bit for the holidays?
By late December the nodes will shift once again to the Channel of Community where they will remain until May 14. While the Nodes transit the Channel of Community, the themes of “Us” vs. “Them” may get more intense.
What you see brewing right now is a new bogeyman to focus the Republican base. What could be better than a Muslim Democratic Socialist? The question is, will the Republican party be able to convince people that Socialism will offer a worse outcome than what is happening to the economy under the current administration? Many people have argued that the current administration is already putting state sponsored socialism in place by negotiating stakes in private companies.
This New Moon chart around the Sibley chart features Mars in Sagittarius on the Ascendent applying to a wide opposition of the Sibley’s natal Mars. The New Moon’s Midheaven is conjunct the President’s Sun and North Node, as well as the Sibley Mars in the 7th house. Even though there are warnings in this chart about rigidity and keeping one’s ego in check, the President and his administration’s aggressive approach seems guaranteed to continue through this New Moon. At this point, there seems to be a doubling down of this administration’s extreme policies even as the majority of the country is calling for a course correction.
As mentioned previously, the Jupiter retrograde is now applying to a conjunction of the Sibley’s retrograde Mercury forming a grand trine between the New Moon in the 12th house and Saturn and Neptune retrograde in Pisces in the 3rd house. In the standalone chart, Saturn and Neptune are straddling the descendent. The bottom line is that growth is more constrained as the reality of the impacts of tariffs and alienation of our allies starts to take effect.
If you prefer to watch a video version of this blog post, you can find it here:
New Moon in Scorpio: Empowerment through Shadow Work