on the new moon in libra and trying again

dust yourself off and...

Before we get into the New Moon, a quick announcement:

🔮 For those of you who love to plan, schedule, and optimize: my 2026 Year Ahead readings are booking now! The tl;dr is that I’m passionate about helping you plan and prepare for your coming astro-weather in ways that are both practical and actionable.

My readings are also unique in that they can also incorporate electional astrology, or the art of finding ideal timing and dates for big life events;

Maeg Keane

recently reflected back to me that this makes my readings a 2-in-1. Of her own Year Ahead reading, USA Today bestselling author

Nikki St. Crowe

said,

This literally changed the trajectory of my career! We chatted about submission dates for my new book proposal and selected [a day in February]. The proposal went out as planned and we had an offer within an hour. The book later went to auction and I landed with one of my dream publishers. Planning that date with Jeanna gave me so much motivation and confidence to push forward when I doubted the writing and I’m so grateful for it.

And now:

The New Moon arrived this morning, October 21st at 8:25am Eastern at 28* of Libra.

New moons are for new beginnings, but that doesn’t have to mean starting something that is brand new. A common misconception, I think, that beginnings can also mean returning to something that you may have fallen off with. In Libra, the moon embraces anything that puts us back in relationship with our art. In other words, this is big ~pick yourself up and try again~ energy.

I think it’s telling that the chorus in Aaliyah’s anthem “Try Again” begins with “And if at first you don’t succeed … / Then dust yourself off and try again.” Because when it comes to art making, who on earth (who isn’t a prodigy-and-ALSO-privileged nepo baby) succeeds on the first try?! Most working artists I know are deeply grateful that our first efforts, especially those from our youth, never made their way to print or public attention. Just because we were once told by a high school English teacher that we “should be a writer” doesn’t mean that the writing, or business of writing, is easy. Being good at something takes time and sustained effort, actually. (Saturn exalts in Libra, after all!)

And so this lunation, focused on relationship and pleasure and the art of enjoying one’s life, invites us to untangle creativity from production. But in so doing, we must also separate talent from effort. Talent is potential; it is not automatically expertise. Talent also does not equate to a work ethic. This is at the root of so many “talented” now-adults’ frustration with writers they perceive as bad; the publishing industry is fraught and deeply complicated, but at the end of the day, those who actually sit down at their desks and execute the work will always be at an advantage over the simply talented.

Which is where the “try again” of this Libra New Moon comes in. With Libra, there is only joy that the relationship has been restored, rather than agitation at the quality of one’s work or self-recrimination for falling away from something for “too long.” This moon, co-present with its ruler Venus, who is also in Libra, is a wonderful time for dusting off a project and spending some time with it.

To come at this in another way: think of your most treasured long-distance relationships. Personally, two of my favorite people in the entire world — my sister Jo and best friend Melissa — live very far away. I get maybe a week or two, total, with each of them in person every year. Our schedules are also at odds: they both have traditional 9-to-5s and young children and high needs fur babies, so all-day-texting-marathons are not our reality. But if we have a brief few texts every few days, or a long voice note once a week, my heart swells. Because

any time is better than no time with my beloveds — and this is an attitude I would encourage you to bring to the work.

Connection is better than production.

Relationship building with our projects will always be more sustaining (and less guilt-ridden) than a hoped-for 8-hour marathon day. (You might consider a book altar!)

All a finished draft is, is evidence of an artist who was willing to try again.

Writing Prompts for the New Moon in Libra

• It’s been a hard year, to put it mildly. This isn’t the time to put pressure on yourself to create solo, or to focus on outputs at the expense of inputs. A Libra moon wants to connect with others and bask in beauty together. Reject the genius in the tower tower solitude and invite a friend to a museum or a local exhibit, or to go for a quiet alone-together journaling-in-nature walk. Sync up and co-watch a movie with your long-distance bestie (might I recommend Practical Magic or Hocus Pocus?). Find ways to remind yourself that the point of art is to move us, to connect us. Share creative joy with a loved one and see what ripens. This, too, is art-making. Jot down some light, ease-inviting activities that you could do with a friend or loved one — and put one of them on the calendar!

• Think of a time when making art felt [more] easeful. What were the circumstances or the environment that enabled this ease? Consider where life finds you in this present moment, and invite some gentleness.

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