New Moon at 21°59’ Cancer at 10h44 BST on 14th July 2026

An imaginative and emotional Cancer New Moon returns us to the past to paint the future. This is the sign of family and dreams. A receptive, cautious sign that moves crabwise to its goals with astonishing intuition and formidable determination.

Cancer feels its way in and its insights are very rarely wrong.

A New Moon in a Cardinal sign initiates something. It sits with Mercury, retrograde still, but past its cazimi with the Sun, so our personal path, may now become clearer, although it’s not quite time to step onto it (wait until Mercury turns direct on 23rd).

Yet we may begin, with this New Moon, to edge forward into the future, carefully taking with us from the past those things that we have nurtured and value the most (ideas, dreams, treasures). But we must be practical too (Venus is in Virgo), and not weigh ourselves down with ‘stuff’ that is no longer useful.

The sky is aligning this coming weekend with a much-discussed configuration that resembles a basket in the sky. The outer planets are connecting from 4 degrees of Aries, Gemini and Aquarius while Jupiter completes the basket from 4 deg Leo. 

If you have planets or angles around 3-5 degrees of any sign you will especially feel this shift.

It’s a Fire and Air basket – intuition, ideas, ideals, conversation, connection. An inspiring, shape-shifting concoction of energies which describes the ongoing process of global transformation which is impacting us all – individually and collectively. 

It is a creative combination. This doesn’t necessarily mean ‘good’ – though it might do! It does mean change. The world is shifting, becoming more connected, busier. Truth is less certain. Words and images are everywhere and we have no idea what is real.

Our magical, inspirational basket lacks the Water of empathy, feeling and imagination and the grounded practicality and common sense of Earth. 

Staying grounded maybe challenging – visit your favourite tree.

This New Moon, and the Cancer Sun that stands behind expansive Jupiter, brings us back to our feeling nature and the values held in the past. It asks us to glance behind us once more to the land of the ancestors before taking that cautious – yet purposeful – step into the unknown. 

There was an old woman went up in a basket,
Seventy times as high as the moon:
What she did there I could not but ask it,
For in her hand she carried a broom.
“Old Woman, old woman, old woman,” quoth I,
“O wither, O wither, O wither, so high!”
“To sweep the cobwebs off the sky,
And I shall be back again by and by!”

This weekend, Jupiter moves to complete the basket by opposing Pluto, god of the underworld, who, in turn, perfects his first harmonious trine to unpredictable Uranus.

This powerful and potentially inflammatory aspect is about individual self-expression, faith and leadership as it confronts society and the collective. Who are we really, and how do we make our voices heard in all the noise?

Power struggles and stand-offs are possible, but the force of the aspect is mitigated by the other planets. This is a complicated, creative network which draws us all in.

On 19^th, Mars sextiles realistic Saturn, suggesting constructive conversations, the implementation of ideas and a stronger grasp on reality than the basket might otherwise suggest.

And of course, Venus is present, adaptable and helpful in Virgo and at the apex of a Yod, so our relationships and values may act as a channel for collective energies. Maintaining a helpful, open and adaptable mindset is key in all this – as is resisting the temptation to criticise others or to be too hard on ourselves. 

We can only focus on dreaming our dreams, writing our stories, and doing what we can – leave the rest to the gods.

Image; Library Archive, Birmingham City Council, UK