Dark Moons for 2005

by: Christine Arens, PTMAFA, NCGR-III

In 1988 the Friends of Astrology Bulletin contained an article by the late JULIANN RYAN which described the effects of the Dark Mon. Each year since then we have been asked to print the times of the Dark Moons. Over the years other astrological publications have reprinted this information from our Bulletin. And with the advent of the internet, this information is now globally accessible. Again, by request, we are providing the Dark Moon periods for 2005.

The Dark of the Moon is probably the least understood, but also the most powerful portion, of the Lunation Cycle. This period is measured from the time the Moon enters the sign of the New Moon until the actual time of the New Moon. In his book The Lunation Cycle, Dane Rudhyar would categorize this as a “Balsamic Moon” type. This period of the Lunation Cycle is a transition period. It is completely oriented toward the future (the New Moon), even though it still considers itself the final part of the past (the previous Full Moon).

In the book Astrology, Its Technics and Ethics by C. Aq. Libra, the author states, “During the dark part of the lunar month the malefics, and during the light part of the lunar month the benefics, act most strongly. In Particular the last days before the New Moon are critical… This concerns those principally who come very strongly under the Moon’s influence.” Sophia Mason and Mary Lou Shepard tell us in Lunations and Predictions, ”Remember, when the Lunation takes place in a certain House and then the Moon leaves the conjunction of the Sun and makes an aspect to the ruler of the House (in which) the Lunation took place, this very often will set off the action promised by the New Moon.

It is significant that the Part of Fortune conjuncts the Ascendant at the time of the New Moon. Rudhyar states that the individual in this period can enjoy the fruits of his efforts, to the point of being able to dissolve or transform circumstances. The seed from this portion of the Cycle becomes the foundation of a new Cycle. The Dark of the Moon, that time just before the New Moon, is the time to do the impossible.

Of particular note are those Dark Moon periods which precede a Solar Eclipse. We know from the study of eclipses that Moon is more powerful during a Solar Eclipse, just as the Sun is more powerful during a Lunar Eclipse. The eclipse Dark Moons are especially powerful for those individuals who have a planet or angle at the position of the Eclipse New Moon. The Dark Moon is the period of preparation for the transition which will come with the Eclipse.

In its pure form the Lunation Cycle flows from a New Moon to a Full Moon in the opposite sign. In the year 2005 this flow is out of sequence for the first half of the year. It is not until July that the Cycle comes into its natural order, which begins with the New Moon on July 6. Thus we have two Full Moons in the sign of Capricorn – on June 21 (the Summer Solstice) at 0 degrees, followed on July 21 by an “astrological” Blue Moon at 28 degrees of Capricorn. Thus the Dark Moon periods through June are likely to have results which are unrelated to the energy of what was begun with the New Moon.

The following list provides the Dark Moon periods in local Chicago time for the year 2005: