Category Archives: astrology

Full Moon 24 February 2024: The Compass of Desire

20 Tuesday Feb 2024

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18th century – Compass and Sundial, German {{PD}}

Inherent in any beginning is its ending, just as in any ending there are the seeds of a new beginning. We have to remember that, particularly when there is a New or Full Moon; the possibilities that live within the event stretch in both directions, with the Lunar occurrence merely a marker along the way. That’s especially important to keep in mind as we examine the Full Moon in Virgo, coming on the 24th at 5 Virgo 23 at 4:30 AM PST, as it can be seen as the opening salvo in an Earth Grand Trine that will reverberate, as Earth-Moon conjoined in Virgo and Ceres in Capricorn all move closer to aspect with Jupiter in Taurus.

Normally I wouldn’t include something 5 degrees outside of exact as part of a Lunar event configuration, but with all factors approaching I think we’re seeing one of those instances where what’s happening is resonating over a longer-than-usual window for a Full Moon. The idea is one of timing with material matters, something centered on the exercise of our own personal authority, probably over something we’re responsible for, and involving the public or some effort at expansion of our reach or our world. The Full Moon casts a critical, Virgoan eye on the situation, urging us toward personal expression that brings us closer to harmony (and therefore success) with the public role or interaction.

Other Full Moon contacts fill in the picture: a novile to the South Node suggests a potentially brilliant spark (of thought or action, with Cardinal Libra) arising through partnership or artistic activity; a septile to Zeus implies desire or ambition may act as a compass to guide us, as our wants subtly align with our spiritual needs; a square to Pallas creates a T-square across the Sun-Earth-Moon axis, promising tension around what’s seen as wise or practical–if it also serves our ambitions or desires, it’s likely the right thing; an opposition to Mercury is technically in the past–and so suggests we’ve been thinking on what to do in this Full Moon area for awhile (and it’s slated to conjoin the Sun in Superior Conjunction in the next couple of days, so should reveal an ending of its own)–and an opposition to Saturn is in the near future, implying real-world results are on the horizon.

The only other thing I’m concerned with right now is the Nodal axis, with the South Node previously discussed, and the North Node conjoined Chiron and both quincunx the Black Moon Lilith point and Juno in Virgo. Out of fear that the future will be painful, we may make adjustments to our own empowerment situation–but even these will be chosen from fear, or heavily influenced by those things we are enraged over or in denial about, and so may not be as carefully thought out as need be. There may be a certain panic setting quietly in over material circumstances (Sedna at 29 Taurus) that’s fueling it all–so be aware that injury may permeate choice, and so send it in a less than desirable direction.

The Sabian for the Full Moon is, ‘A Merry-Go-Round’. It may feel like we’re getting nowhere, right now–but that’s an illusion, as progress aligns out of our sight, reveals itself as a fait accompli only later. We also look at the Sun: ‘A Parade of Army Officers In Full Dress’. Uniformity and conformity may seem overwhelming, as if we have no other choice–look how organized, how unified, everyone else seems to be!–but ‘parade’ is our clue that what we’re seeing is a show, not the real thing as it exists in the real world.

It seems to me that distraction, our attention drawn by energetic noise generated by those who traffic in misleading and confusing in order to profit, is our biggest challenge. Use that compass of desire, the inspiration offered within genuine partnership, to guide you, and just let the sound and the fury, signifying nothing, go on by.

New Moon 9 February 2024: A Measure of Grace

06 Tuesday Feb 2024

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‘The Wounded Angel’ By Hugo Simberg 1903 {{PD}}

The New Moon perfects at 2:59 PM PST on the 9th at 20 Aquarius 40. This also marks the start of the Lunar New Year as celebrated in a number of cultures (it’s the year of the Dragon in China, for those keeping score). A New Moon in Aquarius promises new beginnings, offering a blueprint to integrate feelings with understanding of the things that trigger those feelings. It’s a dawning within the human psyche, a point when Higher Mind can process reality in ways that will benefit us, if we can let go of preconceived notions and level up.

Three aspects stand out immediately: a square to Uranus, a trine to Vesta, and a quincunx to Juno. This is a tough picture, implying unexpected, spontaneous, and difficult, disorienting events. Chaos, revelation, or revolution may result, or we could find it’s the individual versus the group. What happens is measured against what we honor and find sacred–that will determine our reaction to what occurs, with adjustments needed on our part to gain or maintain empowerment. It could be a Uranian event that challenges us to respond, or it could be that the Uranian action is ours (and if so, we may not know it’s coming until it arrives), based on protecting what we honor, particularly in the way of partnership, but in any case our ability to answer from a position of personal strength will require modifications to our approach and/ or our behavior. The contact between the New Moon and its ruler suggests a tight relationship between Lunar events and the nature of the Moon in this sign–it all may seem random, haphazard, unpredictable, but it’s almost certain that we’ll look back on this as something we could’ve anticipated–we may even convince ourselves we did.

We’re offered a measure of grace, though, via a septile between the New Moon and Ceres, the latter newly arrived in Capricorn and still at the 00 degree. This suggests there’s a spiritual way to synthesize reality, what’s ‘natural’, our emotions, and our personal power and authority picture; we’ll see where and what we’re actually responsible for, and be given a grace period during which we can vet the situation and choose a way to meet it. This will be new to us and likely brings forward ‘fresh’ feelings; it almost certainly involves any position of responsibility we hold or may involve Nature in the form of natural disasters or events, our health, or inevitable changes such as aging. How we meet these will be paramount; it’s only in accessing our spiritual core that we’ll do our best when confronted.

The New Moon makes a semi-sextile to Venus, and I’m not comfortable claiming a sextile between the New Moon and either the North Node or Eris, both in Aries, but I am ready to say there’s a sextile to their midpoint, with a corresponding situation involving a trine to the midpoint of the South Node and Zeus in Libra. This is a mirror situation with a stand-off between energies of letting no stone go unturned (and so no issue not dredged up and flayed), and the elements of desire (lust, even!) and ambition, with these latter asking us to focus up on long-term goals and let go of distractions. We’re likely to be keenly aware of discord as distraction, even as we believe we must handle it in order to maintain control of our life direction, and there’s a corresponding sense that what we’ve done to fulfill ambitions and goals in the past should have pointed us to the right aesthetic choices and the right partners for our endeavors. Both sets of these perceptions are misleading: the very worth of working this out is highly questionable, with the apparent conundrum essentially one huge distraction. Our energy best goes toward in-the-moment responses to new developments (Uranus square), with our responses both keeping what we find important in mind (Vesta trine), and orienting any reaction toward amplifying our own empowerment within the situation (Juno quincunx).

The Sabian for this New Moon is, ‘A Disappointed And Disillusioned Woman Courageously Faces A Seemingly Empty Life’. This may speak of the anima, the receptive, ‘being’ energies in each of us, stirred by the cool Aquarian Moon to awareness of the clinical side of things, our losses and failures, the ways in which we have let ourselves down, and the reality of being existentially alone. Depressing, right? But the nature of an Aquarian New Moon is such that it offers fresh insight, even as it mercilessly reminds us in detail of the state of things. Notice use of the word ‘seemingly’. That implies the situation only appears to be without anything worthwhile, with the words ‘disappointed’ and ‘disillusioned’ suggesting that ideals have been pummeled, hopes dashed, but that courage is the secret ingredient for re-framing, and so taking both a more optimistic (that is, less negative) inventory, and a more accurate one.

The Realities of Love: Pluto Into Aquarius + The Leo Full Moon 2024

24 Wednesday Jan 2024

Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky, forecast, Full Moon, Pluto in Aquarius

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‘Kingdom of Hades’ By Vishchun
Digital drawing by Arsen Hrebeniuk, 2022.
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0

First a word about Pluto, which has just entered Aquarius. The thing about the ‘heavy’ planets is that they act more as background than foreground material the majority of the time. Pluto’s change of sign brings a shift, yes, but one that, if we’re distracted by the everyday, we might not feel for some time. We should expect tonal variation, rather than a big splash, though one reason people may be so focused on this sign change could be due to the shift in element: we see Plutonian matters that for so long carried the density, physicality, and real-life ground-beneath-your-feet quality of Earth take on a mental essence of Air, which likely sharpens awareness, even as it alleviates what for so long felt like a continual onslaught of Plutonian threats to our very existence. It can lead to a series of pretty grim thoughts, even mental breakdown and despair, before resurrecting the thinking in new ways that are more effectively responsive to circumstances, especially those that feel life-threatening, than our ways of thinking before. Attitudes about death, change, renewal (including 2nd chances and new ‘lease on life’ possibilities), and what needs to be eliminated will, through Pluto’s transit of Aquarius, become different, and will likely continue to re-make themselves until Pluto finally enters Pisces for good, almost 20 years from now.

With Pluto in Aquarius the perceptual challenges center on both Higher Mind and the thinking around the frameworks we use to elaborate on and explain various life areas, what we might label the impersonal academics of What Is. One of the Aquarian keywords is ‘Understanding’, so that this period may usher in breakdowns in our ideas around methods of destruction, transformation, and renewal, may completely re-formulate our ideas around the sciences, as well as sparking new, innovative approaches to ‘old’ problems, especially ones like climate change and ‘progress’ in tech and AI that once appeared to seriously threaten our own obliteration.

Big effects for individuals emerge with Pluto contacts to the natal planets and points, so will be felt, though the sweeping changes the lord of the Underworld brings with changes in sign are more an experience of societies as a whole, rather than as personal ones for each of us. That said, we can’t help but be affected by what goes on in the wider world, and of course, when we do experience Pluto on an individual level it feels like the most personal of experiences, which are almost guaranteed to emphasize our own powerlessness in the face of the inevitable: aging and death, entropy, permanent loss, transformation, rebirth–in short, the Truth of the Universe. The thing about a Pluto transit to a natal placement, especially to the personal planets and points like the Ascendant, is that it changes us in large and permanent ways that feel like they’re happening only to us. During a Plutonian experience the best thing we can do is take a step back and acknowledge the Universality of the experience, beyond our own personal loss or trauma.

The Full Moon perfects on the 25th just before 9:54 AM PST at 5 Leo 14, with both Earth and Moon recently opposing Pluto, newly arrived in Aquarius. A Full Moon in Leo puts emotional focus on the Self, on something discovered or coming to light about ourselves that we didn’t know before. In this case, the conclusions reached can’t be separated from the effects of Pluto contact; that is, the change, transformation, elimination, or destruction wrought by Pluto is now processed by us emotionally. We see what that change really means to us, with the nature of the change or loss related in some way either to matters of the House(s) that hold Capricorn (most likely), Aquarius (less likely), Scorpio (possibly), and/ or the House where natal Pluto is located (this most likely if transiting Pluto or another body is currently aspecting it).

The Sabian symbol for the Full Moon is, ‘A Conservative, Old-Fashioned Lady Is Confronted By A “Hippie” Girl’. The new meets the old. What we need to remember is that the new isn’t necessarily better, just different–and the same can be said for the old. The kind of discrimination Earth placements offer us may be what needs following here, in order to determine what to keep, what to change. That suggests both Venus and Juno in the current scenario–Love and Empowerment. Keep those in the forefront, and you’ll discriminate correctly.

We also look at the Sun for a Full Moon: ‘A Masked Figure Performs Ritualistic Acts In A Mystery Play’. What’s shrouded in mystery and ritual isn’t really mysterious at all when we come to understand the symbolisms involved–it’s instead a shorthand of sorts for a means to enlightenment. Is anything really hidden from us? I don’t believe it is, if we have the courage to genuinely look at what’s before us. It’s true of the world, and it’s true in our relationships. With the Leo Full Moon, what’s on offer is emotional revelation about ourselves. Don’t be afraid of what you’ll see–it’s truly for the best.

There’s a T-square formed by the Full Moon axis which squares Jupiter in Taurus=this suggests our own experience of the Full Moon will be strongly colored by ‘the facts’ around material matters or in our experience of some larger social condition that affects our material well-being. It’s a distraction, in terms of the eternal; it as well represents a potential overindulgence engaged in as we attempt to cope. It could stand for an emotional disappointment–we expected too much–or the realization that all that glitters isn’t emotional gold. There’s also a square between Vesta and Juno, with the Full Moon at the midpoint, making it semi-square each=what we truly care about, and our own empowerment, are at odds. Taking emotional inventory, weighing what matters most, will be vital to resolving the tension. Surely there’s a way to honor what’s important and still feel we are effective–your job is to find it.

The final aspect that stands out to me is a loose Finger of God, with base of Venus, fairly new in Capricorn, sextile Saturn in Pisces, apex the Full Moon=we may be hit with the realities behind love, assets, relationships, or rivalries, and they hold a paradox: the realities of the situation feel somehow unreal, maybe ideal, or promise to hold creative potential, while our impulse to love and relate is taking a practical tack, wanting to stay grounded in reality (the last thing Venus wants to do right now is go overboard, or assume a potential that doesn’t really exist). The balance between these two attitudes, between the unrealness of the real and the desire to stay grounded in what we’re sure of in relationships, is key to understanding our emotional reactions and reality at this time. It may be a ‘feels too good to be true’ scenario–but for once I’d say, it’s not only true, it’s the beginning of something really rewarding. Trust yourself and your intuition, and enjoy.

Asteroid Basics: A Quick Guide to Reading Them in the Chart

19 Friday Jan 2024

Posted by in Asteroids, astrology, Ceres, Chiron, Juno, Pallas, Vesta

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‘Jupiter and Juno on Mount Ida (detail)’ By James Barry 1790 {{PD}}

This article first appeared in a 2015 edition of Eclipse; the current version has been added to and modified.

Juno: the Consort, the Mate, the Woman in Charge by virtue of her position and status, a figure who should be listened to and respected, but who is repeatedly disrespected by her philandering spouse and ignored by others–hence her reputation for anger and vindictive displays. Who can blame her? No one likes being frustrated, which is why Juno’s magic comes from learning Self-empowerment, a condition where one doesn’t rely on others to feel effective in the world. Juno for a woman shows where and how she gains empowerment (through sign and aspects), with the sign opposite the one in which Juno sits giving hints about the kind of person with whom she’d like to mate (combine this with 7th House indicators for a more complete picture on the potential acceptable spouse–the 5th is for purely romantic considerations, and may not figure into mate selection at all). For women Juno’s front and center in terms of feeling one has an impact on one’s world and in how thoroughly one is in charge of one’s own Fate, and until she is determining her own Path, Juno may also show where a woman is being held back from that kind of Self-determination. For men it’s much more subtle, riding just below consciousness, and awareness of empowerment potentials. For both men and women Juno shows empowerment gained by personal effort and by status through association with other powerful entities; for men it further describes the kind of person seen as appropriate ‘mate’ material, especially in terms of the behaviors characteristic of the sign in which Juno sits. Typically men notice Juno most when they are seeking a spouse (and this is so no matter the sexual preference). Someone is assessed by the Juno standards, usually without too much conscious thought—they either strike him as appropriate to partner with or not. The keyword for reading Juno in the chart is ‘empowerment’, keeping in mind that this designates by aspect and transit where that struggle is occurring, or where we are trying to implement it, rather than guaranteeing the empowerment needs will be fulfilled there.

‘Ceres’ By Osmar Schindler c1902 {{PD}}

Ceres: she’s Mother Nature, but also every maternal figure (like the Moon), especially the ones who think they know best (not like the Moon), and she represents all growing things (though agriculture technically falls under Pallas–Ceres is instead Nature, with a capital ‘N’). Ceres is also all manner of negotiations, and generally every authority you’ve ever known who came by that authority as a given, a natural authority. Ceres has the life force itself behind her, giving her a source of power that drives all life on Earth–but such extreme power can also mean she fails to recognize the autonomy of others or their boundaries, overestimating both the reach of her authority and her rightful territory. The keywords for reading Ceres in the chart are ‘personal authority/ power’, though keeping in mind that the entity represented feels they have authority no matter what their actual position; also remember the potentials for the maternal influence (though it may only be a feeling or a ‘superior/ inferior’ relationship attitude), negotiation, and the over-stepping of boundaries, as well as health concerns centered on the body’s interaction with Nature (for instance, allergies).

‘Pallas Athene Visits Invidia’ By Karel Dujardin 1652 {{PD}}

Pallas: the child of Metis and Zeus, Metis being a Titan and representing ‘magical cunning’ (the original connotation of her name) and wisdom. She’s equal parts shrewdness and smarts, with a little dazzle thrown in (via the ‘Trickster’ label). It was foretold that Metis would have extremely powerful children, so as soon as Zeus and Metis got together, he began to worry. Zeus’ answer to all this was to trick Metis into turning into a fly, then swallowing her—what a guy! She was already pregnant with Pallas Athena, and began to create her child’s armor while still imprisoned inside Zeus. This gave him a massive headache—which he hoped to alleviate by having Hephaestus (Vulcan) open his forehead (great idea!) with an axe or a hammer (this sounds far too much like the description for an episode of ‘Jackass’). Of course, we know what popped out of Zeus’ skull with that rupture: a fully grown, fully armored, Warrior goddess, Pallas Athena. In terms of the asteroid, we need to be aware that Pallas’ history caused her to be created knowing a great deal already, and to be strong enough and smart enough to implement it.  Though her keywords are ‘wisdom and practicality’, she also signifies the productive and lucrative outcome of organized labor (such as agriculture) and represents skills of all kinds, but especially those of a practical nature (like weaving), and she can do the Warrior thing in a controlled and intelligent way that is often more effective than the full-tilt of Mars/ Ares. Pallas shows us where we may carry natural, internal wisdom–if only we’ll access it.  

‘In the Temple of Vesta’ By Constantin Hölscher 1902 {{PD}}

Vesta: is what we care about to the point of reverence. She represents those core things in life we find sacred, that we feel compelled to honor with our life energy. Though for each individual that involves a different set of concepts and material matters, they all hold in common the reverential attitude that means we will organize our lives around paying homage to these subjects and life areas—so, we will defend, put our energy into, even worship, Vestal things. She also describes (along with the Moon) the character of our need for emotional fulfillment and nurture according to the sign in which Vesta sits, and describes what feels like ‘home’ to us, the conditions we need, whether they are internal or external, in order to rest, relax, and thrive. Vesta can apply to the mate relationship within the ideal of dedication to the partner (and so apply as well to the sex life, which can carry the aura of a spiritual ritual), and of course to any matter, idea, or physical effort we see as appropriate to dedicate our life energy to. Keywords are ‘sacred’ and ‘commitment’, but keep in mind that aspects will elaborate on all potentials, including defending what shouldn’t be defended because of misplaced reverence, and an inability to respect (at least initially) some contacted energies (in hard aspect).

‘The Education of Achilles’ By Auguste-Clément Chrétien 1861 {{PD}}

Chiron: is the primal wound, one gained pre-verbally and so often not consciously recognized. Theoretically, within that wound lies a unique gift that with personal evolution is offered to others, then may move on to expression at a transpersonal level. You have a unique experience of your Chirotic injury, and that makes you specifically qualified to offer that particular kind of healing to others, once you’ve dealt with it yourself. My contention is that the big blow-out of 2012 that some assumed would be the end of the world was in fact a situation of shifts in many extant energies—Chiron being one. I think that Chiron’s gift, which previously could only be used to aid others, not oneself, became available to the individual for the first time at this point. We are now able to use our own Chirotic strength to heal ourselves, since the wound is always directly related to the gift; that means we hold the answer to our own healing. Keywords for Chiron are ‘wound’, ‘gift’, and ‘healing’; you’ve got to hold all three in your mind at once.

Dear Readers, Have a wonderful weekend!

New Moon 11 January 2024: The Devil’s In The Details

08 Monday Jan 2024

Posted by in astrology, Lunar Aspects, New Moon, Sabian Symbols

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‘The Devil’ by Photographer Jus De Citron 2013
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Two things immediately stand out with the New Moon in Capricorn (3:57 AM PST at 20 CAP 44): the way it and the opposing Earth form a crisp Cardinal Grand Cross with the Nodal axis (and as well with Zeus conjoined the South Node, and Eris conjoined the North, and these opposed each other at 24 degrees), and the Earth Grand Trine the New Moon forms with Uranus in Taurus and Juno in Virgo. These are dynamic energy patterns, promising action (Cardinals) and material impact (Earth signs), with the New Moon acting as trigger to both. So what does the New Moon itself promise?

A New Moon in Capricorn implies new beginnings in matters of status, social structure, constraints and rules, limits and requirements for achievement, so may feel a little like punishment; in reality, the form Capricorn imposes is for our benefit. The sign lets us know the limits, lets us know what we must do to get what we want and how to go about climbing the ladder, making an impact, building a place for ourselves in the wider world. We should welcome knowing the rules of the game–the alternative is a formless world where nothing can be built upon, everything dissolves in a mist, all is chaos, and as Gertrude Stein famously said, there’s no ‘there there’–and even worse, in a world without rules, there’s no way to instigate change. Without a system in place, we can’t create a better one. Essentially, all becomes meaningless.

So, Capricorn ‘gifts’ us with form, limits, and conditions for achievement, and expects us to follow the rules–and in this instance, the Cardinal Grand Cross tells us that taking heed of the new conditions and requirements, new forms and limits, will be instrumental in shaping our future, in the direction our lives take (the Nodes). The repercussions that ripple out like rings in the water are what we need to be as aware of as possible–and yet, it’s not possible to know all the consequences of our current choices and actions–and that’s where the Earth Grand Trine comes in.

We have Juno in Virgo (empowerment through discretion and critical assessment, and through productive labor that insures each harvests according to that invested labor) and Uranus in Taurus (impulses toward rebellion, innovation, and chaos in the material realm that can be channeled into unique creativity and choices that honor Higher Mind), and these potentials come within reach with the spark of the New Moon. Luna will show us how to balance empowerment generated by our efforts and discriminative faculties as they are applied taking smart creative risks and making smart, spiritually mature choices. The New Moon recruits the feeling nature and intuitive sensibilities as guides in shaping our choices and our path forward–and all while sorting the wheat from the chaff, so to speak, the relevant from the distracting and the confusing.

The presence with the Nodes of Eris opposed Zeus is a hint as to what’s at stake: our ambitions and desires must be measured in direct relation to those matters and individuals that harbor destructive or chaotic energy in response to our efforts. If it undermines your path it will show itself now–it can’t help it–and the New Moon in Capricorn will offer the conditions under which you will or won’t accept what’s in play. It’s useful in a thousand ways–the only danger is that sentiment (the Moon) may cloud our vision, may undermine us acting in our own best interests.

Less compelling but no less revealing aspects the New Moon makes include a semi-sextile to Ceres and a semi-square to Saturn. These suggest that our sense of personal power, and/ or our health, will figure in, and that the reality picture or our own internalized sense of ‘dos and don’ts’ may perpetuate emotional resistance. For best results, we must set these preconceived (and often Self-imposed and Self-generated) ‘limits’ aside, and go with the new, revised vision offered by the New Moon. There’s also a sextile to Pallas, which should set our minds at ease. Inner wisdom and practicality are available–all we have to do is call on them.

Within hours (for the Moon) and days (for the Sun) both will meet Pluto at 29 tense degrees of Capricorn. In fact, the Sun will meet and then travel into Aquarius with Pluto, so it’s really worth mentioning these upcoming encounters. The New Moon occurs in anticipation of its conjunction with the lord of the Underworld; that is, emotional revelations delivered by events of the New Moon lay the emotional groundwork for radical change, elimination, resurrection, or transformation (Moon conj Pluto), which is followed by our attention on that change (Sun conj Pluto), which will take us from spotlighting the re-making of the established systems/ reality (Capricorn) to innovations in replacement systems/ approaches that are keyed to Higher Mind (Aquarius).

Sabian for the new Moon is, ‘A Relay Race’. This may refer to the New Moon’s preparation of the way forward for the Sun/ Moon encounters with Pluto. A relay race features the passing of a baton from one participant to the next. The original runner doesn’t cross the finish line, nor do those that follow. It’s only the final runner, who benefits from the actions of all who came before, that actually engages in the end of the race. The big and often irrevocable changes Pluto represents are built on many small moments that lead up to that change; we’re in one of those periods now. This also hints at the importance of the past (SN) in creating the future (NN), with the contact to Saturn suggesting current reality isn’t necessarily easy to alter or deal with (semi-square), at least not directly or even consciously.

I’ve heard the phrase, ‘The devil’s in the details’ more times than I can count in the past week (call it our Weekly Word Image, if you like)–and I think it’s exactly what applies to the energies stirred by this New Moon. While we’re dealing with it all, our attention is taken for the most part by the minutiae of living, but it’s these small, sometimes barely noticed choices that shape and drive what’s to come–these are what occur all around, and connected to, this New Moon in Capricorn point.

Also of note: a very close trine between Venus in Sagittarius and Chiron in Aries. Be aware of the ease with which we may injure ourselves or others in trying to apply ‘the facts’ within relationships (or, in the way realities about money may affect relationships). We may try to reduce an interaction to a practical level, or to a handful of hard truths; don’t forget that it exists first and foremost because of feeling, and those need no justification or explanation.

Full Moon in Cancer 26 December 2023: Ripe With Feeling

22 Friday Dec 2023

Posted by in astrology, Full Moon, Sabian Symbols

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‘Still Life with Ripe Fruits’ By Josef Lauer 1870 {{PD}}

The Full Moon perfects at 4:33 PM PST of the 26th at 4 Cancer 58. A Moon-ruled Full Moon promises that a feeling state ripens and reaches its most complete point; it can also bring feeling states to a head, and so expose the depths of our caring, our complex emotions, and our wounds. Intuition may be fulsome, and also irrelevant, as everything we would otherwise sense is on display–we don’t have to parse the vibes, everything is right in front of us. There are almost 7 degrees between the Full Moon and Vesta, with the Moon and Earth having left Vesta long ago enough that this may describe the past that brought us to this present Full Moon moment: we’ve just been considering what really matters to us, what we’re dedicated to, whether our life investments of time and energy truly reflect our priorities, et voilà, the Full Moon delivers the emotional impact of these musings, and then some.

When it perfects the Full Moon is still within trine of Saturn in Pisces, suggesting the reality picture puts its two cents into the feeling formula; expect to see the results of emotional decisions in real-world circumstances, but also be aware of the potential for suppression of that awareness, especially if we are either in the midst of reaching for a dream, or if we’re unwilling to see what is without our rose-colored glasses. That means there’s the chance for internal clashes, as feelings try to surface, try to make themselves known, and we resist or deny–and of course, that’s possible for those with whom we must deal, as well.

‘Ripe Wheat’ c1353–1336 B.C. New Kingdom, Amarna Period
Dynasty 18, Reign of Akhenaten

The Full Moon is also sextile Jupiter and semi-square Uranus, both in Taurus, implying that emotions are easily exaggerated, and that optimism is easy to come by, especially when it’s focused on our material state and surroundings, but even these good feelings can wield a sharp edge: we may be shocked or surprised by the actual state of our comfort or prosperity, if the Full Moon reveals it to be other than we believe (and this could be a positive thing–or could plunge us into Uranian chaos). Too, we may become aware of how much the group and our place within it affects our standing and our sense of positivity. A steep learning curve for some, but an important re-orientation to real-world circumstances. Expect to see an even bigger reveal around the 31st, when Jupiter leaves stationary retrograde status and resumes direct motion once again; that promises that either ‘the facts’, or our beliefs, will be undeniable.

The Sabian for the Full Moon is, ‘At A Railroad Crossing, An Automobile is Wrecked By A Train’. This image may be emphasizing the Uranian shock or surprise factor, and suggests that the impact of Lunar events is bigger than we anticipate, shown by Jupiter. It’s easy to write off emotions as something we don’t have to pay attention to, or that is something only happening inside of us, but in this case, it doesn’t seem we’ll have a choice: Emotions will hit big, jarringly, and will translate directly into our surroundings and our world, probably through actions or decisions that are prompted by those feelings. Whatever it is, it ‘wrecks’ a particular way we’ve been moving forward, and this happens specifically because we’re stalled at just the point where other, larger forces move through.

I suspect those larger forces will be explained by the Sun’s Sabian: ‘Indians On The Warpath. While Some Men Row A Well-Filled Canoe, Others In It Perform A War Dance’. This is an image of like individuals working together, prepared and ready to strike or otherwise aggress, in order to get what they want. Any situation like that for you? If you are one of the aggressors, you’ll be making your move–and if not–makes me think of the old joke: Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean people aren’t out to get you! It seems any blow to our forward motion is perpetrated very deliberately, by those with an agenda. I imagine the Full Moon energy simply offers the emotional impetus for them to act, and like it or not, we’ll receive the impact.

The good part of all this is that we will definitively know where we stand–and that means with post-Lunar events we’ll be equipped to move forward wiser and more aware, especially in our knowledge of who to trust, who and what to care about.

Winter Solstice 2023

20 Wednesday Dec 2023

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‘The Spirit of Winter’ By Pierre-Louis-Marius Poujol 1883 {{PD}}

In the Northern hemisphere, Winter Solstice is when the Earth is tilted as far away from the Sun as possible–and in the Southern hemisphere, this is the same moment the Summer Solstice occurs, as that half of the globe is tilted as far toward the Sun as it will get. This year it happens at 7:27 PM PST of the 21st. Let’s get a gander at the chart and what it might promise for the next three months, until the Northern hemisphere Spring/ Southern hemisphere Fall Equinox, of 2024.

The most striking thing may be that the Sun and Moon will be out-of-sign trine, Sun at 29 stressful degrees of Sagittarius, the Moon just entered a new sign, at 00 Taurus. At the same moment, the Sun will be closely opposed Vesta-Earth in Gemini, quincunx Sedna, and semi-sextile Pluto, with all these at 29 degrees of their respective signs. Could the tension run any higher, or for that matter, be more dangerous? Stressed energies are energies that can express unpredictably, specifically because perceptions may tell those affected that there’s no other choice–but we need to remember there is, there always is.

Our attention may be on what we find sacred, on what we revere, and so feel we must protect (Sun opp Vesta-Earth), with feelings ‘new’, in the sense that we didn’t know we felt this way (Moon at 00). Our instincts and those things we ‘know’ but aren’t conscious of may make us uncomfortable, bedeviling us with things that we just can’t quite put our finger on (qnx Sedna)–in fact, we may feel it’s dangerous if we don’t figure it out (semi-sxt Pluto)–but those are emotional perceptions discerned through the mind (Gemini Moon), and so being interpreted with all the pitfalls that occur when the mentality tries to define the heart.

Venus and Mars are semi-sextile, suggesting that relationships, sex, love, and aggression may act as outlets for all this tension, as may a pair of quincunxes: Pallas-Chiron (every time we try to be practical or act wisely, we open a wound) and Mars-Uranus (spontaneity or chaos accompanies action), with Uranus also trine Juno (acting freely and off-the-cuff is empowering), which itself is sextile Venus (but declaring our freedom will affect relationships or earning power) and square Mars (and maybe start a fight).

And Zeus is quincunx Neptune and opposed Eris, which may cause the most kerfuffle or draw our attention most strongly. Moving toward what we desire won’t quite bring what we imagine it will (and that begs the question: are we clear on what we’re headed for?), and may stir up the ire of those who’d like us to stay put. Being as aware as possible of stressful energies that will be abundant (and realizing we don’t have to react to them), while remembering discrepancies between our thinking and our feelings, will help us navigate–and too, knowing that pursuing what we want may cause some upset, we can weigh whether that upset is justified, or just someone not respecting our boundaries.

Spotlight: An Earth Grand Trine–And What About Ceres?

14 Thursday Dec 2023

Posted by in astrology, Ceres, current events in the sky, Grand Trine, Jupiter retrograde, Mercury retrograde, Retrogrades + Directions

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‘Venus, Cupid and Ceres’ By Cornelis van Haarlem 1604 {{PD}} It’s such a drag to have to wear a shirt, isn’t it, ladies? Ceres is the one with wheat in her hair.

Freshly retro Merc in Capricorn connects with retro Jupiter in Taurus and the Black Moon Lilith point to form an Earth Grand Trine. One, BML, is just a mathematical point, you may argue–and yet by its very contact with these other two we see this point in Virgo bring a little intellectual heft, a little airiness via ruler Mercury, to what might otherwise be a formidably dense formula–and that’s only exaggerated by the way both bodies are in apparent retrograde motion. Have you ever seen a child who doesn’t yet grasp the concepts around concealing their entire body play hide-and-seek? Invariably, they will scrunch into a corner or behind something and cover their eyes–with so much of the rest of them visible to all! That’s what we’ve got here: Jupiter and Mercury behaving as if they aren’t really noticeable, and Black Moon Lilith mustering constructive criticism in order to make both planets deal with their current energy states head on.

Jupiter in Taurus retrograde would tell you money and things aren’t important, that what you know or believe doesn’t really affect what surrounds you or what comes to you, and Mercury in Capricorn retrograde may have warring assumptions all at once: thoughts that embrace the status quo and current power structure as if they’re solid and will last forever, and at the same time thinking repeatedly of the ways the present framework and rules can be skirted, undermined, or exploited through a loophole.

Then along comes the Black Moon Lilith point–which critiques and creates lists for the other two, asking: what about the social sphere and the place it offers you is unsatisfactory? Is what you have and the environment you create nurture and comfort you, or is it designed to impress others? Does your thinking support the power elites, or your own interests? And are you confused about what really benefits you, and what works against you?

Black Moon Lilith insists you face/ deal with what you have been ignoring, denying, or with things that enrage you but are suppressed; in the case of Jupiter, this hinges on social roles and interaction, and with Mercury this is about the mentality you exercise. With both bodies retrograde, the examination of these areas can seem that much more difficult, as the energies feel less accessible, more hidden, and somehow contrary, even when you come at them as consciously as possible. So, right now we have an ongoing examination of social roles, thinking, and the material reality they create for each one of us. Tips to handle this? At present letting things flow around you, with less insistence on control and less deliberate expression of the Will, is probably a good idea; if you can keep things low key, watch the symbolism inherent in every day life, and practice acceptance, you’ll get to the end of the Merc retro period (early AM PST of January 2nd) and Jupiter retro period (early AM PST of December 31st) with a much more fact-based and realistic understanding of both your material situation and the social sphere and your role in it. After both are direct, you can move forward both more confidently and more effectively.

And what about Ceres? It’s at 8 degrees Sagittarius, same degree as Merc and BML–and it’s square BML, and so semi-sextile Mercury. This suggests that much of what we find out at this time will be seated in Nature, both in our place within it, and in our relationship to it. We’re going to find out things, learn facts, experience the validity (or ineffectiveness) of our beliefs, and this will shape our sense of personal authority, our ability to genuinely nurture, our health, and again, our command of our environment, going forward. The retros offer us chances to reconsider–and the other related bodies help us discover what it is we need to know.

Highlights of the Current Picture 4-12 December 2023: Emotional Grounding

04 Monday Dec 2023

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‘A Storm in the Rocky Mountains, Mt. Rosalie’ By Albert Bierstadt 1866 {{PD}}

We’re at the midway point with the Moon between Full and New, currently in Virgo, aspiring to organize, account for, and produce (good goals all, though we carry inhumanly high expectations for ourselves and our output in this sign). This is the point where we start to feel our energy wane, a little more tired each day, a little slower to recover, until we hit the Dark of the Moon and go into mini-hibernation (as we should! That lasts midday the 9th through New Moon on the 12th).

What I really want to talk about, though, is a Water Grand Trine formed by Venus, new in Scorpio, Saturn in Pisces, and Vesta in Cancer. This may feel like ‘new’ emotional territory, feelings from the depths, from and about things you never imagined and that reach into your core and into whatever you call ‘home’. In that way, what comes up may be a little scary–but also revelatory, giving us a way to ground ourselves through the experience of feeling. Usually we’re disoriented by such a wash of emotion; this time it brings a kind of stability, simply through giving us clarity about our feelings, and by showing us how strongly we actually feel, and in that way can act as invaluable guidance to matters facing us right now.

Pallas and Black Moon Lilith are sextile, with BML trine/ Pallas opposed Jupiter in Taurus=our wisdom and our desire to banish certain factors from our lives are both exceptionally strong at present; what we need to know is that we tend to exaggerate both our smarts in handling things and our need to rid ourselves of certain elements, and that can lead to, say it with me, overdoing our response. It doesn’t help that Sedna hovers at 29 Taurus trine Pluto in Capricorn=this feels like a crisis in the reliability of our own instincts and inner knowledge, with the fear that destruction of what we rely on for support may ensue, if we can ever see clearly what’s happening! We may be far more vehement at this time than is necessary, which can lead to burning bridges we may someday want to cross again. Realize that everything is heightened currently, both our perceptions and our reactions, and tone down responses–it may seem fireworks are called for in our answers, when being mild may actually go a lot farther.

What current conditions really call for is an ability to live with uncertainty. This will feel contradictory to all those intense feelings will have, but the reality we might want to aim for is this: feel the feelings, but don’t think you have to do something about them right away. Blame it on Mars in Sagittarius squaring the Black Moon Lilith point, and then see that, by definition, Mars in Sag encourages actions and choices based on facts and knowledge, or based in faith. Just be careful that we don’t confuse what we want to be true with what is–if you believe it, make sure the facts back it up.

The 7th through 12th Mercury in Capricorn gives us an Earth Grand Trine with the Black Moon Lilith point and Jupiter. That’s the period that promises we’ll understand the real-world impact of what we’ve been feeling, and also when we’ll understand what we think of things, and what of those thoughts need to be shared with the wider world, what needs to be ignored, for now. By the 12th Mercury will have stationed in preparation for its retrograde, which occurs just before midnight PST of the 12th. A retro in Earth suggests we will re-think our material position, our surroundings, what we are materially creating in our world, and how and whether this truly suits us. The retro beginning just hours after the New Moon implies that what new feelings are born or direction taken will require this re-think–so proceed over the next week-and-a-half knowing that fresh positions and fresh attitudes will come about, can’t be hurried, and knowing that, at least some of the pressure to act on feelings may be relieved, as we see that responses may all be a little premature.

Full Moon in Gemini 27 November 2023: Until We Perfect Time Travel . . .

25 Saturday Nov 2023

Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky, Full Moon, Sabian Symbols

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‘Time Traveler’ Raku ceramic piece, first shown at Artsight Gallery, Coral Gables 2013. Provenance: Private collector, Miami, Florida

Aimeeperezsculptor

Free Art License

The Full Moon perfects at 1:16 AM PST of the 27th at 4 Gemini 51, and we’re still seeing the influence of the Sagittarian Sun, Ceres, and Mars combined, now in opposition to the Lunar event–which means, all that identity and ego assertiveness, all that testing of one’s authority and right to do and be, creates an emotional reaction, with the Full Moon bringing it from the unconscious to conscious awareness. And what is that emotional response? It’s cerebral, but in that surface way that works things out by talking about it, chatting with others, sharing information, and just generally connecting with the minds and thinking that surround us. At the same time, it’s tempered by a wide conjunction of the Moon-Earth to Sedna, which is poised at the critical 29th degree of Taurus. That adds instinct, even what we might term ‘animal instinct’, to the mix, brings forward what we ‘know but don’t know we know’, and, probably suddenly, makes available ‘blind spot’ material that we’ve likely been struggling to access (especially so if we’ve sensed something there, just on, to mangle a phrase, the tip of our minds).

So, it’s a Lunar event of revelation, if we define revelation as gleaning knowledge from intense interaction with our environment that manages to shake loose and make accessible information both inner and outer in form. The Sun-Moon axis forms a loose Grand Cross with squares to Saturn, spanky new in Pisces, and Black Moon Lilith in Virgo, suggesting that, when the emotional reaction to the identity and ego efforts occurs, a simultaneous cross-current will form pitting an illusive or spiritually-tinged or creative reality picture against matters we’ve been ignoring, denying, or that have enraged us. The result is Self-recrimination, for all that we (theoretically) could’ve done in the past to get us closer now to where we’ve been wanting to go. We may berate ourselves for not having known better, or worked harder, earlier–but let me just say, that’s water under the bridge. Know that you had your reasons, that you handled things the best you could’ve at the time; we can’t expect ourselves to have performed in the past with the knowledge or mentality we have in the present. It’ll be a different situation when we perfect time travel–until then, understand we’re all operating at maximum (even when it doesn’t appear so to others!)

The Full Moon also forms a sesquiquadrate to Venus in Libra. This may make some relationships on which we rely feel uncomfortable; the Love may be hard to see, the value of the interaction so indiscernible we may feel alienated from what’s usually a steady source of partner support, emotionally and/ or financially. Don’t fret–it’s temporary, with the function of throwing our attention back on what we really can control: ourselves. That’s where the action is, right now, though that carries its own problems, namely some uncertainty as to whether we are smart enough, wise enough, or practical enough to handle what’s before us (quincunx to Pallas). Never fear; we are equipped, and here’s how we handle it. Use as guides two things: the chosen life direction, the way you have been intending to move forward, regarding that plan as not just legitimate but inspired (and this should include any modifications you now want to make that spring from newly-learned material), and second, accept that difficult reactions that come from others in answer to your actions and choices are only revealing feelings that were always there, just kept out of sight, usually because the other got some kind of advantage as long as your choices complemented their wants. See this as something you needed to know, and move on–dwelling on it won’t take away the somewhat sour taste of discovering a particular friend is only conditionally supportive, after all (novile NN and Eris).

The Sabian fits, and really needs no elaboration: ‘A Revolutionary Magazine Asking For Action’. In this case, the revolution is likely an internal one, aligning us more closely with our own newly discovered desires and direction, as has been stirred by the Sun, et al, with the Full Moon our emotional response to it. For the Full Moon we always look at the Sun’s Sabian, as well: ‘An Old Owl Sits Alone On The Branch Of A Large Tree’. This echoes the Pallas contact, since the owl is Pallas Athena’s symbol. We’ll feel alone, we may worry that we are inadequate to the task, especially when it comes to making smart choices–but this symbol hints that it’s in the space when we are alone that we can come to know our own mind, and what’s wise for us, most easily.

I plan on bringing back the Word Image–not today, because we have these Sabians to ponder–but with my next post. Have a wonderful Full Moon week!