New Moon in Sidereal Cancer: July 28, 2022

Commencing the Holiest Month of Shravan, July 29 to August 27, 2022

Please note that this and all my other forecasts are based on the sidereal zodiac used in both Vedic and western sidereal astrology, not the tropical system used by most western astrologers. All the astrological charts below are calculated according to the sidereal zodiac and Lahiri Ayanamsa.

The New Moon, known as Shukla Pratipada Tithi in Vedic astrology, will occur on Thursday, July 28, 2022 at approximately 1:54 PM EDT (Eastern Daylight Time), which will be at 5:54 PM UTC. It will occur in India much later on the same day, at 11:24 PM. The New Moon will occur the next day (July 29) at 3:54 AM in Sydney, Australia. You can use World Time Buddy to convert these times to your location.

The darkest lunar day of each month is called the Amavasya Tithi, and the one this month is known as Shravan Amavsaya, because it starts the Shravan month. The Amavasya Tithi begins around 11:44 AM EDT on July 27. This period will last until the occurrence of the New Moon the next day (and again, please convert the date and time given for other time zones). Amavasya days are generally opportune for spiritual practices and ancestral worship, but usually not for initiating important new material endeavors.

As mentioned, this week’s New Moon commences the holy Shravan month. But this timing is only according to one particular Vedic calendar. Other calendars used in India and Nepal use different dates to calculate the Shravan month. Following all these various calendars, the Sawan Somwar Vrat (fast) of Shravan month is performed on several different Mondays in July and August. These are performed in honor of Lord Shiva. The first one was on July 18 and all are listed on Drik Panchang.

The Shravan month is profoundly sacred as it celebrates the victory of Lord Shiva when he saved the Universe by drinking the poison known as halāhala. This allegorical event occurred during the Samudra Manthan, the epic churning of the great ocean performed by the gods and demons in search of amrita, the nectar of immortality. Halāhala is a Sanskrit term meaning “black mass” or “time puzzle.” In another great allegory of the Vedic tradition, it was in the month of Shravan that Lord Shiva overcame Yama, the lord of death.

During Shravan month, the Universe is rejuvenated by the Shiva Tattva, the highest, purest, transcendental essence of nature, which purifies body, mind and spirit. It is evoked naturally, and also through various rituals like fasting, mantra japa, prayer, pujas, and other kinds of offerings.

Sahasrara Shiva Tattva by Mira Krishnan. A hand painted mandala…a sacred geometrical representation of the crown chakra, the highest spiritual energy plexus in the human body. Meditating upon this can lead one toward awakening and greater communion with the Self. Fine Art America.

Beginning on Sunday, July 24 we will move through the Balsamic “dreamtime” waning lunar phase. This phase begins when the Moon is transiting 45 degrees behind the Sun. This period is good for resting, healing, cleansing, and releasing any unhealthy emotional attachments. It’s also a good time to clean and reorganize our personal space, all in preparation for the new lunar month that will begin at Thursday’s New Moon.

It’s interesting that Jupiter is also slowing (stationing) now in preparation for its four-month retrograde phase that will begin a few hours after the New Moon on Thursday. This will bring an added introspective vibe to our Balsamic time. I will write more about this Jupiter retrograde transit in my second New Moon article coming out Wednesday.

The New Moon occurs in the Cancer constellation, which is a super-sensitive and impressionable sign. Its themes revolve around emotional attachments, intuition, feelings, home, family, security, nurturing, nourishment, and digestion. Within Cancer, the New Moon will fall in Pushya nakshatra, which extends from 3 deg. 20 min. to 16 deg. 40 min. of (sidereal) Cancer.

Considered the most benevolent of all 27 lunar mansions (except for the marriage muhurtas), Pushya nakshatra is represented by a cow’s udder, a symbol of sustenance. The flower is another symbol of Pushya, which represents that which nourishes us. The flower also signifies good energy which helps us to grow and develop. The New Moon further occupies Libra navamsa (ninth harmonic), which can bring some focus on creative endeavors, conviviality, relationship and domestic matters, comforts, enjoyment, business, and finances.

One of the best practices for Shravan month is to recite Shiva mantras, like Om Namah Shivay, a prayer addressed to Lord Shiva as the highest essence of the Divine Self within, which is the transformative and creative power of the cosmos. One translation of this mantra is, “I bow to the Divine Self Within.”

Om Namah Shivay is also called the panchakshara mantra, meaning the "five sacred syllables." These are na-mah-shi-va-ya. Among other things, these five represent the elements of earth, water, fire, air, and space. Adding "om" at the beginning empowers and activates the sahasrara crown chakra and the higher tattvas. This makes it the six-syllable or shashtakshara mantra, so that the Om Namah Shivay mantra balances all the elements in this realm and beyond.

    OM/AUM: Oneness.

    Namah/Namaha: Homage, and acknowledgement of Oneness.

    Shivay/Shiva: The Absolute Reality of Pure Consciousness.

This mantra helps us let go into the cosmic flow so that we can more deeply align with grace and an awareness of the divine plan. It can help to clear up karma and emotional debris, bring inner strength and good fortune, help attract more positive relationships and financial conditions, and balance mind-body-spirit. Ultimately, it brings attunement with the One infinite creative power. Om Namah Shivay!

Fire (the sky) is his head, his eyes the sun and the moon, the quarters his ears, his speech the Vedas disclosed, the wind his breath, his heart the universe; from his feet came the earth; he is indeed the inner Self of all things. (The Upanishads: Second Mundaka, First Khanda: Part 2 {SBE15}, by Max Müller, [1879], at sacred-texts.com)