Every month, the Sun and Moon meet up to mark the start of a new lunar cycle. On 14th July 2026 10:44 BST/17:44 HKT, we have a New Moon in Cancer. Besides being ruled by a dignified moon (obviously), this new moon is very special in that it contains the Barbault Basket - an astrological configuration named after the French astrologer André Barbault. I'm no expert on this rare configuration, which becomes exact 5 days after this new moon, but it apparently indicates the start of a new Golden Age (not right away, I guess, these things take time to build up....)
How does this tie-in with the New Moon in Cancer?
Globally, many astrologers predict some major changes on the way. Incidentally, England will get a new Prime Minister on 20th July 2026, which definitely will herald a new political start. As we speak, we are in the middle of a global event - FIFA World Cup. Besides predictions and team news, social media is acting as a conduit pulling supporters together, where fans find their clans online. It's like one big family! I have also come across discussions on the race, nationality and birth places of players. How some players are eligible to represent more than one country, but they made their decisions due to their strong sense of belonging to their native land. All very Cancerian.
Under this New Moon in Cancer, it is a good time to crawl into your shell if you fancy some me time, which goes nicely with Mercury retrograde also in Cancer as you can introspect or simply vegetate. A new start regarding the home, family, house, land may crop up. You could also contemplate a new plan to manage your emotions, if your mood swings and sensitive nature affect how you relate to others.
Bloom or Doom on a Personal Level?
The Barbault Basket involves a Jupiter-Pluto opposition, with Jupiter sextile Uranus at one end and Pluto sextile Neptune at the other, and then Uranus and Neptune connects the final gap with a sextile. To 'secure' the basket further, we have Jupiter trine Neptune and Pluto trine Uranus (see picture below).
Jupiter in an opposition can be too much of a good thing. With Pluto tugging hard at the other end, watch out for the tendency to be sucked into a power play where your blind faith, arrogance and over optimism can stop you from releasing out-dated beliefs, hindering transformation to take place. Luckily, the sextiles and trines to Neptune and Uranus provide opportunities and natural insight to seize the chance to break out of the current constrain and become something greater, especially if it benefits the masses instead of just yourself. Neptune reminds us of being compassionate and Uranus to be innovative and not to be afraid to try something new. If your chart has planets at 4 degrees, you have direct access to this configuration.
The Barbault Basket shows that life is not simply black or white, just like the yin yang symbol: there's white in black and black in white. We have the freewill and ability to use this to catapult us to higher grounds, or we can stay in the comfort of our existing cocoon and refuse to take any chances.
The decision is yours.
Images: Canva Pro
