Tag Archives: Sabian Symbols

Lunar Eclipse in Libra 2024 The Power of the Feminine

20 Wednesday Mar 2024

Posted by in astrology, Full Moon, goddess energy, Lunar Aspects, Lunar Eclipse, Mercury retrograde, Sabian Symbols

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‘Portrait of Three Women’ By Charles Giron, before 1914 {{PD}}

The Lunar eclipse perfects just as the 24th becomes the 25th, 12 AM Pacific time (12:12:51, to be precise), but begins at 9:53 PM of the 24th and concludes at 2:32 AM. This is a penumbral eclipse, meaning the Earth, as it comes between the Moon and Sun, with all lined up on the ecliptic, will only block at portion of the Sun’s reflected light; that means the shadow itself may be hard to see, as the Moon will only appear dimmed from our vantage point here on Earth.

A Lunar eclipse is, always, a Full Moon, with eclipses occurring at points when the transiting lights are close to the Nodal axis points (the Nodes are determined by the points at which the Moon crosses the apparent path of the Sun). The opposition between Moon and Sun occurs at 5 Libra 07, with the Moon widely conjoined (but moving toward) the South Node and the Sun in Aries approaching conjunction with the North. There are only a few aspects to what I consider major bodies, so I played around with some of the named asteroids, a consequence of my computer failure and astro program then being unavailable, and my need to use other than my usual sources, a kind of serendipity, I suppose, that takes us on a female energy-oriented path expressed through this Lunar culmination.

Pallas in Sagittarius forms a sextile to the Lunar eclipse, suggesting that a matter of wisdom and/ or practicality will be part of what motivates our response to events; we find ways to answer what comes forward using our beliefs (which either shows their validity or shows their need for revision) or using our own knowledge and the facts at hand. The knowledge we have (or lack) is instrumental to both the source of the Full Moon event and its resolution. The opposing Sun is conjoined Hera (the Greek version of Juno) in Aries, suggesting a kind of Solar power (that is an animus-aligned, ‘doing’ power) displayed by the goddess, the queen of Mt. Olympus and all the gods–but a queen known for her response to being disrespected by her husband-king. She gained a reputation for enraged vengeance–but how can we blame her, as her actions arose from a sense of powerlessness within her particular situation? So perhaps we should ponder where in our own lives are we in a position where we should be able to exercise real power and choice, but are prevented from it, by uncooperative partners or others who don’t respect us.

The eclipse also forms a wide trine to Pluto in Aquarius, which itself happens to be conjoined Psyche. Again, we see a kind of victim motif, one where we’re being ‘kept in the dark’, as Psyche was by her husband Eros (Pluto as the dominating, ‘dark’ male, the one with the power to destroy, change, or control. See a theme here? I think it’s ‘The partner who exerts power by disregarding and disrespecting, with a little gaslighting thrown in!’ And with Pluto involved, this may feel like an intense, life or death situation). Eros is at 16 Taurus, conjoined Jupiter with both quincunx the South Node and sextile Venus in Pisces, forming a Finger of God–and Venus is Eros’ mother, the one who both instigated the string of events that inadvertently brought Psyche and Eros together, and the one who views Psyche as a rival, as she not only took away Eros’ attention, she was as beautiful as Venus, validated by Zeus when he made Psyche immortal and allowed her to taste the Ambrosia of the gods.

Add to this that Cupido–Cupid is the Roman name for Eros–is in Cancer, sextile Juno, quincunx Pallas, and square the Lunar eclipse, suggesting that how much the partner cares will figure in to how smart their response to the scenario will be. In this myth, Venus displayed some of those negative Venusian traits: jealousy, envy, vindictiveness, aimed at the mortal who dared to replace her (speaking from Venus’ viewpoint). So, we have a dynamic energy in play that mirrors at least some of the eclipse energy: exaggerated passions/ sense of ownership, control of the partner, ‘rights’ and privileges trampled and conferred, and secrecy (Jupiter-Eros) combines with jealousy or envy, or possibly beauty or reward/ value (Venus) to create a familiar partnership, relationship, or Arts-oriented situation from the past (South Node in Libra).

If an eclipse is a wipe-out energy, we may wonder why it’s returning us to something already lived. We can’t forget that Merc is due to retro on 1 April, with the Solar eclipse due a week later; the turnaround of Mercury will occur in Aries and remain there for the entire 3 weeks, and this happens to be the sign of the Lunar Sun and Solar eclipse. That points us toward a larger theme of reconsidering ourselves, our Self-image and Self-concept, our actions, choices, and motives, about who we are and how we think about ourselves, with the Lunar eclipse a kind of kick-off point for the journey, where we start by considering our partnerships or other alliances, and what they may impose on us.

A few more interesting tidbits: Sappho is conjoined Pallas and so sextile the Lunar event=passion, and passion for the Arts, align us with what’s wise at this point, though we can too easily tip into potential Self-sacrifice, if we take things at a dramatic (that is, exaggerated) level. Nobody needs to throw themselves off a cliff, no matter how nasty the relationship with the partner reveals itself to be. Circe is quincunx the eclipse from Pisces=Circe is the enchanter of men, who rather ruthlessly turned them to pigs, in a part-punishment, part humiliation that allowed her to keep total control. I think we need to see this not as a woman seeking power over men (though that’s definitely part of the context), but as someone in a traditionally disempowered role (that of a woman) calling the shots and then going a teensy bit overboard. This harks back to Hera, to the attempt to right wrongs (or at least to extract a measure of vengeance and satisfaction for oneself). I’m seeing this as a kind of warning, an admonition: extremes won’t give us the satisfaction we desire, and ultimately, won’t give us what we want (remember, Odysseus and at least some of his men escaped Circe’s domain). And we see Diana, Huntress and goddess of the Moon, sextile the Lunar eclipse from Leo=here’s an example of a woman empowered in herself, as an individual force. She’s a specific kind of Nature goddess, one who reigns over animals, the woodland, and fertility, with her Lunar association suggesting she is tuned in to the rhythms of both natural and planetary cycles. Her role here might be to remind us that our expressions of power are most effective in the right context–that is, in the areas and roles where we best ‘fit’ in life. That requires of us a good understanding of who we are, and what we are adept at–as always, knowing ourselves is more helpful than almost anything else.

A final contact, and maybe the most important one, is a sesquiquadrate of Uranus to the Lunar eclipse. Uranus rules the transiting Pluto position, that dynamic, dark force in the current Lunar equation, and promises the unexpected, the unanticipated, the shocking, the surprising, the revolutionary and revelatory, coming from difficult or unpleasant facets (the sesquiquadrate) of this event. Brace yourself for new, forward-oriented, innovative aspects to figure in, even to seemingly come out of nowhere, at this time.

The Sabian for the Full Moon is, ‘A Man Watches His Ideals Taking A Concrete Form Before His Inner Vision’. This is about seeing those vague spiritual and creative ideals we carry inside take on a physical form that we can then use to translate them into the world. If we can see it clearly with the inner eye, we can make it happen in a way that materially impacts the world, simple as that. The Sun Sabian is, ‘A Square, With One Of Its Sides Brightly Illumined’. The thing about squares is that each side is exactly the same as the others; it’s their sense of absolute equality among the parts that draws our attention–so what does it suggest when one side is illuminated? We might observe that some gain the spotlight even when they seem no different than anyone else–but we should look again; they are successfully ‘shining’, precisely because the role they are playing completely fits their assets, talents, and abilities. This harks back to our consideration of the ‘Diana’ energy, a knowing who we are that surpasses any ‘shape’ others may want us to take. This eclipse gives us myriad examples of power expression of the anima, ‘being’ energy–it’s up to us to choose carefully among them.

Sorry there’s no chart this time. I’m working on it!

Mars Conjoined Pluto: Erasing Anger

13 Tuesday Feb 2024

Posted by in current events in the sky, Finger of God, Mars-Pluto Conjunction

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The aspect can be a sort of personal sunrise, allowing us a chance to cleanse and renew ourselves. ‘Sunrise on the Matterhorn’ By Albert Bierstadt after 1875 {{PD}}

That’s one possibility, of course, if we can embrace the need to cleanse the intellectual beliefs, if we can accept innovation, spontaneity, revolution, and not look back. The meeting of Mars and Pluto in Aquarius bodes well for accepting refurbishment of the Higher Mind, at least in terms of how we interpret our place within the group, within the world. The sudden impulse to eradicate the ego can overwhelm and create a new way of understanding that allows us to rise, phoenix-like, from the ashes of the old Self. We can wipe out anger, while still retaining what anger offers us: a way of knowing what matters. We can remake the way we take action, and the way we make choices, as well. It’s all in the ability to accept the new, and to allow the old ways to fall away, specifically in the life areas of the House where this conjunction takes place in the natal chart.

This pairing can also manifest a furnace of temper, a rage and the ability to act on it that can destroy worlds–or we can react to what seems like attempts at obliteration that come from without, the ego struggling to understand the why of it, and what to do to save the Self. In this instance it might do to ask oneself, ‘Should I be trying to save (or resurrect) the ego, should I insist on the old ways of doing, the old power structure?’ The answer is an unqualified, No. Fear, or fear of nothing known existing on the other side of the ego purge, is certainly understandable–but this is also an aspect of resilient power, the exercise of which puts the individual into a crucible–and out comes a Being stripped of b*llsh*t. I don’t know about you, but I’d step into that crucible every day if I thought it would burn away the unnecessary and leave only the core of who I am. How much easier, I’m imagining, it would be to be, to choose, to act, without the detritus that distracts, the irrelevancies that demand our attention and burn our precious hours here on Earth.

Mars and Pluto will meet again a number of times before Pluto quits the sign, so we’ll face this influence repeatedly over time, and likely handle it better with each meeting. If we don’t, the Universe will confront us with it’s own version of a forced retrofit, one that speaks in harsh language and makes no excuses. If we’re addressing the energies with the equivalent of someone rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, we will, one way or another, go down with the ship. Consider yourself advised.

The Sabian symbol for this conjunction is, ‘An Old Adobe Mission In California’. To me this is an image of a system of oppression, the imposition of the Will and beliefs of one group upon another, the attempt to eradicate a civilization and way of life out of the assumption that the one imposed is ‘better’. This combines both the potential to re-make systems and deal more honestly with our own Will, and the need to let go of that which is now outdated or inappropriate. It reiterates the Mars-Pluto conundrum that asks us to choose: what do we keep? What must we eliminate? And what about ourselves, our individual Will and ego, must be stripped away, so that we can meet our own Power?

One thing that caught my eye: a Finger of God with base of North Node-Chiron in Aries and Mercury in Aquarius, apex the Black Moon Lilith point in Virgo. This suggests that obsessive mulling of any hurt we anticipate suffering in the future, especially that resulting from our own actions and choices, will require we face what we’ve been ignoring, denying, or that which has enraged us, with a discerning eye–that is, we must take those recurring thoughts (and they are definitely thoughts about potential fears), face what we may not be acknowledging about the situation, and then look at it all with a critical, dispassionate mind, in order to get some distance, to see ways in which we can think about this without succumbing to worry, without wasting time afraid of the what ifs of our world. The point here may be that our own minds can steal our happiness, if we indulge in unproductive mental exercises. It’s just another thing Mars-Pluto can help us eliminate.

Have a wonderful week!

New Moon 9 February 2024: A Measure of Grace

06 Tuesday Feb 2024

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

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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.

New Moon in Sagittarius 12 December 2023: Carousel of Uncertainty

12 Tuesday Dec 2023

Posted by in New Moon, Sabian Symbols

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‘Carousel at Night at the Fair’ By Ferdinand du Puigaudeau {{PD}}

From now on I’ll be highlighting the ‘message’ portions of my posts for those who aren’t versed in or interested in the technical aspects of the astrology, and just want to know what the general trends are. Thanks to my friend C.M. for the inspiration!

The New Moon for December occurs at 3:32 PM PST of the 12th at 20 Sagittarius 40, forming a very loose Grand Cross with a wide opposition of Juno and Neptune, with Earth as always opposed the Sun and at this time, the Moon. A New Moon in Sag speaks of new beliefs, new ideas rooted in exposure to other cultures or ways of Being, and introduces the possibility of new facts being learned or coming to light; the Juno-Neptune opposition suggests creative or deceptive or muddied acts meant to empower. That says we act, we do, based on energies either imbued with the creative spirit or hopelessly misleading in their implications–and either way, we experience tension (the multiple squares of the Cross) that likely arises from that Sagittarius-themed new info/ belief. It’s a carousel of confusion, a merry-go-round that disorients because the facts may appear to be unreliable—and that isn’t an unreasonable perception, because of the influence of Neptune, which will obscure or mislead and so inspire uncertainty, hesitancy, and an overall sense that the world, or even our own minds, are untrustworthy.

The Sag (that’s pronounced ‘Sadge’) New Moon trines the North Node and Eris in Aries, suggesting that forward-moving actions and choices, and future-anticipating efforts, will bring out any enmity that lies beneath the surface of things; the NM also widely sextiles South Node-Zeus in Libra (so that these oppose NN-Eris), laying the casual base for a loose Finger of God, apex Uranus in Taurus. The Finger implies that New Moon energies join with the past and our own ambitions and desires, especially those around aesthetic creations, finances, and partnerships (Libra), and what it creates is either modern and new, or chaotic, manifesting in our surroundings, environment, or material circumstances (Uranus in Taurus). Either way, the results of New Moon influences as they combine with other forces are a surprise.

One other thing of note: Venus and Pallas are closely conjoined at the time of the New Moon, only 17 minutes apart in Scorpio–and these two just so happen to be novile (40 degrees, + or – 1 degree) from the New Moon. I think this offers a kind of intuitive ability to read the feelings coursing deep within ourselves and beneath relevant circumstances and to then see the wisdom these feelings offer–but this is only available if we are viewing the issues with Love. If our lens is clouded with anger, vengeful thoughts, jealousy, or greed (the negative Venusian qualities), we won’t have access to this practical guidance.

The Sabian for the New Moon is, ‘A Child And A Dog Wearing Borrowed Eyeglasses’. We were just talking about lenses, and here they are again! The image, though, is of borrowed lenses, something specifically meant to help someone else see–not just inappropriate in practical terms, but even ludicrous, when we think of specs on a dog. This may be a warning, that we need to be careful not to adopt viewpoints that are meant for others, when looking for helpful ways to regard and interact with the world. It can be tempting to think that someone else’s way of seeing things can work for us, too, but the reality is we are unique, and so our viewpoint, and the lenses we use to understand life, need be, as well.

Lunar Eclipse 28 October 2023 Sacred Senses

25 Wednesday Oct 2023

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

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Incense in Vietnam Vietsui Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0

The Lunar eclipse (otherwise known as a Full Moon) perfects at 1:24 PM PDT of the 28th at 5 Taurus 09. This promises emotional revelations or conclusions about the material world, to the senses, around the appetites, in the comfort or security situation, or endings to what we rely on, or to what soothes us. The thing is, this lunar event makes only a few contacts, which can sometimes confer a kind of nebulousness to proceedings, making the bodies the Moon does interact with seem more immediate, more in-your-face, more fraught as we seek meaning within some narrow avenues.

The Moon and Earth for this event oppose the Sun, of course, which is just about a week past Superior Conjunction with Mercury–that may give us the sense that the shoe has already dropped, that we already know what we need to know, that nothing else is coming–with the FM trining Juno-Black Moon Lilith in Virgo=we feel (the Moon) that the accounting’s been done (Virgo), that we’ve done our due diligence, have faced what was hidden or ignored (BML), that roles are assigned and our reach and empowerment parameters are clear (Juno)–but the eclipse comes along and says, Hold on–the material circumstances need rearranging–nothing’s settled, yet.

The Full Moon is sextile Vesta, imbuing all that occurs under this Lunar light with a sense of dedication, of the need to honor or to regard as sacred–and that can make us careful with how we handle things, which is good, or make us overly reverent in matters we’d be better off seeing in a harsher, more direct light. The eclipse also noviles Neptune and is in loose sesquiquadrate with Venus–and it’s really these two ‘minor’ aspects that will sing, and may in fact spark each other: will it be a bit of creative genius that takes us on a difficult or unexpected path relative to Art, to relationships, or to finances/ assets, or will it be that trouble with creative output, interactions, or money leads us to a creative or spiritual breakthrough? Either way, this is what we gain from the eclipse, as old conditions around these matters are wiped out–the only question is, will we be too distracted by practical considerations, details and accounts, or too focused on who holds what power, to grab the inspiration tackling some Venusian difficulty can offer?

The Sabian for the Full Moon eclipse is, ‘Cantilever Bridge Across A Deep Gorge’. Events at this time provide a ‘way across’ in some situation that may have up to now appeared impassable. The Sun’s Sabian is, ‘ The Gold Rush Tears Men Away From Their Native Soil’. This may describe the difficulty that will lead to creative or spiritual bounty; the price we pay is that we lose/ leave what’s familiar.

There are some things unrelated to the eclipse that I think may figure in. There’s this Martian energy in the air–aggressive, pugnacious, forward, assertive, consumed with doing–as the Sun will soon conjoin Mars and the Moon and Earth oppose it, with Moon and Earth meeting Jupiter at about the same time, exaggerating everything–and we have Eris and the North Node (a marker of the Moon’s extremity) closely conjoined in Aries=the way into the future is directly through facing any strife or buried tension. We can’t ignore it, if we want to make progress. Then there’s a sextile between Venus and Ceres, with both inconjunct Chiron in Aries, forming a Finger of God=the power situation, individually and in relationships, when dealt with will bring a certain amount of responsibility to heal at an individual level–only we can do it–and if responsibility is abdicated, those interactions become a vehicle for hurt. Self-responsibility, then, is background to successfully using eclipse energies to their fullest, and key to control–and we all want a little more of that, right?

 

Solar Eclipse 14 October 2023: Zombies, Or A Fresh Start?

11 Wednesday Oct 2023

Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky, New Moon, Sabian Symbols, Solar Eclipse, Sun/Mercury Superior Conjunction

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Well, that’s one way to get people to close a gate. Visitor7 CC 3.0

The Sun and Moon meet at 21 Libra 07 at 10:55 AM PDT of the 14th, lovingly cupped (it’s Libra, after all) in an 8 degree span by Mercury approaching for Superior Conjunction (the 19th) and Zeus and the South Node which both Moon and Sun are on their way toward. Then there are the oppositions: Earth, of course, along with Chiron and a close conjunction of Eris and the North Node. The Nodal points close to the Sun-Earth axis are to be expected, as that occurs with each set of eclipses, symbolically signaling the idea of Lunar extremity, the very kind of definitive change we should expect from an eclipse. For either Solar or Lunar eclipses, circumstances are reaching an apex, a pivot point, a point of no return, a point at which Things Will Change, with the Solar like a conception (the beginning of a thing), the Lunar like a birth (the arrival of the completed thing).

But in order for something to be conceived, previous conditions have to be set aside–it’s that old physical conundrum about two things unable to occupy the same space at the same time–so that a Solar eclipse can sometimes feels anti-climactic, a tiny sparkle in an empty space, a glimmer of newness to come, perhaps overwhelmed by a hollowness left by what is not there, anymore. We may feel things have ended and be looking around for the new start, or we may just then become aware that something is no longer–and only in that moment realize there are new opportunities ahead (because nature and vacuums, right?)

This time we may be heading toward fresh ambitions and goals (Zeus), our desires just taking coherent form (Superior Conjunction–expect to really understand what the eclipse means for you then), and they grow either from past experience and what we’ve learned, or from a previous want we’ve long forgotten or abandoned, perhaps thinking it was never to be (South Node). An old desire comes back to life–but will this be a genuinely new crack at achieving what we want, or will it be a zombie, re-animated but without the Soul presence needed to make a living, breathing result? Those zombies will be Plutonian, once again visible since Pluto’s recent direction: serious, potentially life-changing, resurrecting something you never thought would happen, so it may be hard to distinguish between what’s coming back that really is a birth (or re-birth), and what’s dead on its feet.

This Solar eclipse says there are others waiting to assist, cooperate, or partner, under aesthetic conditions we find pleasing (unless this eclipse hits by hard aspect a natal body involved with this particular desire/ ambition–then it could be a much different story). This may be surprising, or emerge out of chaos, with the eclipse forming a quincunx to Uranus in Taurus, but in either case, others will appreciate our originality, and want to help. Then there are the oppositions: to Chiron (which is at a degree prior to eclipse formation, suggesting a wound already suffered is part of what leads to now), bringing reactions or lessons derived from hurt into the mix, and to the Eris-North Node combination, which could suggest one of two things: either women or anima sensibilities are instrumental in shaping the future path, or that any underlying conflicts will surface, and in so doing, shape what comes. The oppositions are in Aries, implying that the individuality and Will, ours and that of those with whom we deal, will be the form these challenges arrive in. It may seem like our interactions are caught in the vagaries of personality on the one-to-one level, but we must recognize that each of these persons represents something larger, a force, a trend, the Universe itself, and that we’ll all be communicating larger matters for one another.

The Sun and Moon also form a semi-square to Venus in Virgo, and as ruler of both the current positions of Uranus and the eclipse, tells us a few things, chief among them that our critical judgment may be in crisis mode, under- or over-doing assessment, and Venus herself is widely conjoined the Black Moon Lilith point, which is opposed Saturn at 00 Pisces. This is a mini-portrait of the potential for relationships and/ or financial situations that will be sabotaged through an unwillingness to see reality, whether that’s by denying or ignoring important aspects of the matter, by allowing righteous anger to make our decisions for us, or by a simple denial of reality, and particularly denial of real-world problems or barriers we just don’t want to acknowledge–and this is all reinforced by Mars in Scorpio sextile Black Moon Lilith, quincunx Sedna, and trine Saturn, spelling Willfulness fueled by the darker side of our nature, and easily manifested in the world. This can mean that our eclipse new start is at first wrapped in just this kind of bull-headed resistance, a zombie of a circumstance that just won’t die–and that only after we deal with this distraction and the distortions we’ve allowed to our own perceptions will we be able to locate that glimmer of a new start.

The Sabian for the New Moon eclipse is, ‘A Child Giving Birds A Drink At A Fountain’. What strikes me about this is the phrasing: “giving birds a drink”. The water is there, maybe poured into the fountain by the child (though a fountain, by definition, already contains water), but still, that child can’t really give them a drink, they must come to it–her only real contribution may be that she doesn’t flap her arms and shoo them away! I think this points to the need for clear perspective, to see what we’re really doing, saying, or being, and the needed effort to refrain from obscuring what’s going on (by using euphemisms, by omitting facts, by making assumptions, by placing a veil of opinion or prejudice over matters) in a way that may skew the event in the perceptions. This may relate to Venus in Virgo as ruler of the eclipse: our judgment is a little wonky, so striving for clear sight may be the most helpful thing we can do.

Full Moon 30 August 2023: A Period of Adjustment

28 Monday Aug 2023

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‘Morning Fog’ By Jasper Francis Cropsey 1854-55 {{PD}}

The Full Moon perfects at 6:35 PM PDT of the 30th at 7 Pisces 25, and it makes only a handful of aspects: a quincunx to Juno in Leo, a sesquiquadrate to Zeus-Ceres in Libra, and a novile to Pluto in Capricorn. That’s a goodly amount of Cardinal energy working on a Watery, nebulous Lunar energy infused with a fiery bit of egoism–and all of it through the more subtle mechanisms of less pronounced aspect relationships. That makes the events surrounding the lunation emotion-heavy and personally focused to a greater degree than usual.

A Full Moon brings to culmination some matter either related to the sign in which it occurs, or to the matters of the natal House where it falls, with specifics added by any close aspects it makes to natal placements. That specificity is why a general overview only goes so far (and, I think, contributes to the idea, fed by those familiar only with Sun sign horoscopes, that astrology is superstition, rather than what it really is, a language–one we’ve barely begun to decipher–through which the Universe itself communicates).

The Full Moon in Pisces promises endings related to illusions, delusions, dreams, ideals, or a creative effort (and the fact that it’s the second Full Moon of the month, termed a Blue Moon, really doesn’t matter–the movements of the planets–to include the tilt and orbit of the Earth around the Sun–are Nature’s calendar, not a man-named month). As we know, endings don’t arrive solo–they always contain the seeds of the next thing (or at least, they make space for it, with surrounding energies poised to fill that vacuum we hear so much about Nature abhorring).

The quincunx to Juno gives us our theme: personal empowerment. Something about what occurs shows us how we must adjust (the quincunx) to keep or enhance our ability to direct our own life and make our own choices. It’s fueled by Fire (Juno in Leo), probably making us feel we must do something, even though the matter is perceived through the emotions and intuition in a direct pipeline from the Universe (Moon in Pisces), and so may demand we process it thoroughly, as much as it calls for action. Feeling strongly the impetus behind the Creative (Pisces) may only add to our sense that we need to actively address matters, with the sesquiquadrate to the pairing of Zeus-Ceres in Libra entangles events and the issues they stir with ambitions and level of personal authority we enjoy in relationships–where we see those need adjustment, too (the sesquiquadrate).

Think of what happens around this Moon as a fact-finding opportunity where we are quite naturally able to interpret creative and effective solutions or approaches; then the challenge becomes having the courage to make permanent, irrevocable transformation or change, or to eliminate something that has outlived its time in our sphere (aspect to Pluto). We should be assured that our ideas of how to respond with power and grace are inspired ones (the novile). That means there’s nothing to be afraid of–and that if we don’t make the needed changes, Pluto will reach out and start trimming and shaping without our consent.

The Sabian for the Full Moon is, ‘A Girl Blowing A Bugle’. So this is a call to action, mustering our creativity in service to our ideals and imagination. The Sabian for the Sun, giver of light, is, ‘A Five-Year-Old Child Takes A First Dancing Lesson’. This image suggests we may feel we’re beginning at the beginning, likely in terms of what fills the void left by what the Full Moon ends or eliminates; that can be frustrating and even discouraging, but only if we are judging ourselves with a big ‘should’ that says we must be further along, further developed, on this particular path. That’s an attitude that will drain us and is guaranteed to stop progress. I suggest we abandon our ‘shoulds’ and our ideas around where we must be in life according to our judgments about age and skill, and instead embrace this new thing as a child would: seeing it as a new world to explore, a place of opportunity, and for the older among us, a reminder that ageless living (that is, living life without constant reference to one’s biological age, and all the shoulds that accompany that) really is the ideal.

Some of you may question why I’ve not included the wide conjunction to Saturn that the Full Moon makes–in my opinion, it’s too far past to ‘speak’ within the Lunar picture. It does suggest a situation that restricts one’s freedom, license, or creativity, or some sort of restriction or denial, leads up to the Full Moon event, probably making us aware of a way in which we’re not being fulfilled, with the FM bringing home emotional impact of this, and then making clear what must change in order to move closer to our desires, or to achieving our ambitions (sesquiquadrate to Zeus). The potential novile to Chiron is also a bit too wide–suggesting that hurt feelings aren’t necessary, so if you see any displayed, they may be more of an indulgence or attempt to manipulate.

Special note for those with placements between 6 and 9 Libra: that adds this natal energy as base, with Juno in Leo, to a Finger of God with the Full Moon as apex. This suggests your empowerment quandary will precede the Full Moon, that the Full Moon will bring an emotional result that illuminates the ways in which the expression of that natal energy is or isn’t calling its own shots. This is likely to impact your identity and your relationships (Leo, Libra)–so proceed with that in mind.

Have a wonderful Full Moon!

Full Moon in Aquarius 1 August 2023: Anger or Action?

31 Monday Jul 2023

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‘Racing’ By Gerald Sargent Foster 1934 {{PD}}

The Full Moon perfects at 11:31 PDT on the 1st at 9 Aquarius 15, and makes very few aspects, the closest being a quincunx to Pallas in Virgo, setting a tone of adjustment and an atmosphere of critical discernment, and all of it arising from our own inner wisdom or from practical considerations or exercise of skills. We see what’s not working, and know that adjustment is the right thing. What comes to a head at this time creates a response in us that doesn’t allow us to remain as we have been–and this is so whether our feeling is one of temperament/ anger/ aggression or action/ expression of Will–and it will be some version of one of those two.

That reactive and active response to Full Moon energies is indicated by the quincunx to Mars that will complete within hours for the Moon, and days for the Earth, suggesting feeling or intuition precedes physical effects. Our initial reaction may be anger, a feeling that we need to stand up for ourselves, but as we often find, that response can hide fear, or mask a defensive posture with righteousness, a ‘How dare they?’ position. Rather than go with our first reaction, we may want to hold back, use that moonlight to look deeper into our feelings. Whatever causes this, we’ll see it coming–and that means we have a little time to make our response reasonably conscious, and so shape what might otherwise have been an impulsive outburst or choice.

Simultaneous to the Mars aspect, the Moon-Earth also squares Jupiter, implying that our Full Moon response either brings conflict over the facts, makes knowing in any sense related to the real world or the social order difficult, sees us at odds with the social sphere, and/ or renders attempts to expand or ‘get more’ tough, if not impossible. This may be the aspect that tells us why we must adjust our response, and maybe also is that thing we should plan ahead for, inspecting our feelings or what we intuit so that our answer to Jupiterian conflict (which can be the clash between two strong entities that carry differing agendas) genuinely reflects the choice we’d make that’s steeped in our ideals, in hopes of creating an ideal situation.

The Full Moon makes one other aspect, a trine to Ceres, that with very generous orbs could be seen as part of an Air Grand Trine involving Vesta. This emphasizes the way much of what occurs surrounding this Moon will be mental in nature–that is, all in our heads! That doesn’t mean that our experience isn’t ‘real’, it instead means that so much of the discord and frustration is seated in either the way in which we’re processing incoming info, or the viewpoint we’ve taken (and possibly mistaken for objectivity). We see this in the Full Moon Sabian: ‘A Man Who Had For A Time Become The Embodiment Of A Popular Ideal Is Made To Realize That As A Person He Is Not This Ideal’. Revelation, courtesy of the Aquarian Higher Mind, probably delivered by the social experience (Jupiter) or through realization of our own agency (Mars). It’s as useful to us to know what we’re not, as it is to know what we are; such knowledge can only help us refine our journey.

We also look at the Sun Sabian for a Full Moon, as we owe it all to the Sun, don’t we? ‘Early Morning Dew Sparkles As Sunlight Floods The Field’. The ‘day’ is fresh, newly arrived, our prospects are sunny, what lays before us is wide open. That’s an image of optimism and brand spanky new starts–so we might do best to see the Full Moon energies as offering a chance to refine ourselves and our lives more in line with what Higher Mind (Aquarius) intends. Take any feedback that comes at this time in this way and you’ll benefit exponentially. That future contact to Ceres and Vesta only reiterates the dual message of this Moon: it’s about the accuracy of our sense of agency and personal authority, and the level and kind of dedication we commit to around our highest values, and how these shape and become integral to not just telling our story, but to living it as successfully as possible.

New Moon 17 July 2023: T’d-Off

15 Saturday Jul 2023

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Don’t look at where those arrows are landing, look at who’s shooting them. Sagittarius Weather Vane at the American Folk Art Museum, NYC {{PD}}

The Sun and Moon meet in Cancer, as they do once (rarely, twice) every year, at 11:31 AM PDT of the 17th at 24 Cancer 56, and this time form some tense, T-square energy across the Sun-Earth axis with Eris, a square to which is the next aspect both Sol and Luna will perfect. Eris is generally blamed for creating strife, but I see her more as bringing to the surface already extant tensions–she has the nature of a catalyst, facilitating the interaction of other factors. Eris gets blamed for causing trouble because no one wants to own something they’ve worked hard to ignore–and that means there may be lots of finger-pointing (or worse, sotto voce insinuations), all in the name of denial. Wherever the weather vane is pointing, look back in the direction that wind is coming from–that will tell you much more than will fixating on the direction it’s traveling.

What’s more, we’re talking about Cardinal energies, and that means stresses will prompt action–and it’s likely those choices won’t have been fully considered, there’ll be such pressure to do something about ‘it’, with the pressure to act coming as much from within us as from externals. Vesta semi-square the New Moon says our own highest values and deepest commitments will require we act. One way, though, to help us judge how accurate and/ or effective those impromptu moves might be is by examining what the Sun and Moon contacted just before their meeting (illustrating the time leading up to the New Moon) and what each will contact just after, before either leaves the sign of Cancer.

Both sextiled Uranus, and almost simultaneously squared Zeus. That suggests our attentions have been on deep desires, our passions stirred by want and ambition (and in both instances, these have our attention because we don’t have fulfillment there–the square) and surprise, shock, a sense of rebellion or revolution, sudden awareness or information gleaned through Higher Mind, or the effect of the group on individual autonomy or originality, figure in to the scenario that leads us up to the ‘now’ of the New Moon.

And what springs from the inception point of the New Moon, from the seminal energies of emotion, what we care about, what we nurture, ‘mother’, protect? Out of the stress of the Lunar event we see an enormous creative, imaginative, or spiritually-infused burst (trine to Neptune) and just after that, a scenario where we must choose, involving elimination, destruction, or transformation of a facet of surrounding structures, rules, disciplines, or frameworks upon which we have been reliant (opposition to Pluto in Capricorn–and note this occurs in the 29th degree, suggesting the choices we will have to make, even be forced to make, will in themselves be stressful).

The Sabian for the New Moon is, ‘A Willful Man Is Overshadowed By A Descent Of Superior Power’. That’s Cardinal energy, all right, describing a highly Arian sort of Being–and Mars at the time of the NM will be in Virgo, just moving out of conjunction with Pallas, telling of a recent point where we asserted ourselves based upon what was wise or practical–with the ruler of Mars, Mercury, in Leo, so ruled by the Sun, which is ruled by and conjoined the Moon, leading us back to the Lunar picture. So, the action we took then, or choice we made, is integral to the New Moon event–and likely affecting us much more emotionally than we realize (or care to admit). But, the image declares that whatever way in which we’ve made our Will known, by the New Moon, will be overtaken by a larger, more potent force–which suggests something about the Lunar event will show us not everything is within our power, under our control, or subject to our Will. A lesson in limits and modesty, that will serve our creative and transformative efforts that follow.

Full Moon 3 July 2023: One Better

01 Saturday Jul 2023

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‘Guitar on the Table’ By Juan Gris 1915 {{PD}}

The Earth and Moon will be just separating from trines to Jupiter when they meet to perfect a Full Moon, on the 3rd at 4:38 AM PDT at 11 Capricorn 18. As we all know, eleven is one better than ten, typically the highest point on the scale, and just leaving that Jupiter aspect–well, we’re probably at a high point or just coming down from one, emotionally or in the social sphere, marking a solid, possibly real-world accomplishment–and those with a natal placement between roughly 8 and 13 Virgo may find this Full Moon brings serious fulfillment, maybe on a large scale.

The rest of us may have a more subtle experience, perhaps getting a lesson on (or even being forced into) taking wise action or making ‘the smart move’ (Mars-Pallas in Leo sesquiquadrate Moon-Earth), or seeing the power of caring words or the impact of feeling on thought and identity (Moon-Earth opposed Mercury-Sun). A Full Moon can bring conclusions, the summing up of an emotionally tinged period that stretches back weeks or even months before, and this can arrive as much in quiet realization as it can in dynamic events.

A few other things to note: Pluto is back in Capricorn at 29 degrees and retrograde–my sense of this is a re-visiting of crises or darkness we thought we’d dealt with but that is now doing its best to hide from us–because if we could detect it we could deal with it, truly eliminating the upset once and for all–and yet it’s just not time to wipe the slate clean in the areas of change, transformation, in areas of mystery and delving deep, not yet–we’re not ready, even though we think we are.

And then there’s the way Pluto and Neptune sextile each other, forming the base of a Finger of God with apex Pallas=this offers us an oblique way to process at least some of the powerful Plutonian charge, by mixing liberally with creative energies, ideals, and making change informed by spiritual beliefs–that’s the way to institute practical change or put wisdom into practice (Pallas), the Finger making for one of those instances where the outcome is bigger than the sum of its parts.

The Sabian for the Full Moon is, ‘An Illustrated Lecture On Natural Science Reveals Little-Known Aspects Of Life’. This points to our gaining life knowledge from what occurs, that this is both natural (as in part of Nature, or part of our nature), and that it will be right in front of us, illustrated somehow in what we see or in our surroundings. That’s reassuring–all we need to be is reasonably attentive to what goes on–the meaning of it will be apparent. It brings to mind a quote from Franz Kafka: ““You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait, be quiet, still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.”

We also look at the Sun, giver of light, for a Full Moon: ‘A Chinese Woman Nursing A Baby Whose Aura Reveals Him To Be The Reincarnation Of A Great Teacher’. This suggests that what is being nurtured right now is in an early stage, not to be judged in its present state, but to grow into the logical result of all it has been in the past, combined with what is being added to it now. A reminder that nothing comes out of nowhere–it all has origins, all gathers influences, so that there’s no thing we can’t trace back through its genesis and our own nurture or lack thereof, to create what exists today, and what it will grow into tomorrow. That implies we need to be alert to our own responsibilities, our own part in things. Both positives and problems don’t spring from the ether, they’ve been growing and developing for some time.

Expect to come out of this Full Moon better by one–in the area of the chart where the Lunar event occurs, or in some area of interest that carries the Capricorn flavor. Not every New or Full Moon is a major event for each of us–sometimes it’s a marker of minor but still significant change, something that may figure even larger down the road.