Tag Archives: The Lunar Essence

New Moon in Aquarius 11 February 2021 What Are We Waiting For?

07 Sunday Feb 2021

Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky, Dark of the Moon, forecast, Inferior Conjunction, New Moon, Sabian Symbols

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‘Waiting’ By Henri de Toulouse Lautrec 1887 {{PD}}

The New Moon perfects at 11:05 AM PST on the 11th at 23 Aquarius 16, but before it does, we pass through the pre-New Moon three day period known as The Dark of the Moon, notable for its absence of Lunar light. This is a period when forward momentum can be sidetracked or stalled, and new projects will sputter, fail to get off the ground, or later require a rehaul or restart–and that’s doubly so during Mercury retrograde, currently in effect.

What can we do during this period? Normally we’d do best to drift and dream, meditate and relax, to connect through silence or dreams to the non-verbal perceptions, but during this Dark period we have a slightly different mandate: it starts with the Inferior Conjunction of Sun and Mercury on the 8th, an inception point for development related to matters of the House where the contact occurs, specifically around shifts in thought, plans, and where we’re putting our attention–and it continues as later that day the Sun meets Pallas, with the Moon to pass over Pallas just over two hours before the New Moon perfects. All this speaks to reconsideration of Mercurial subjects that leads to a wiser take on things, and to a smart or more practical new beginning shown by the New Moon event.

Otherwise, this New Moon doesn’t make much notable contact at all. Its closest aspect is a trine to Zeus in Libra, suggesting that Higher Mind revelations (Aquarius) in relationships and their role in ambition and desire fulfillment (Zeus in Libra) will lead to greater understanding–but understanding of what? For some this might be revelation in relationships themselves, a more accurate view of how they work on a daily basis, and what each party gets out of them, but for many of us the emphasis will be on how our interactions with others color, constrict, shape, or curtail our own efforts toward ambition realization. We may become acutely aware of how we modify our efforts to accommodate relationships, and how we modify relationships so we can pursue our goals, and we’re very likely to see where we need a re-think on the whole thing, with this re-consideration informing the latter half of the Merc retro cycle.

Too, Zeus speaks of the power balance within any relationship, the ways in which we get our needs met but must accept that others, too, have needs, and that the clash between these two sets of wants can be chaotic, a contest between our desire for the relationship and our desire for, well, just about anything else that creates an appetite. With Juno, the asteroid of empowerment, and signifier of Zeus’ partner, placed sextile Mercury from her spot in Sagittarius and conjoined the South Node at the time of the New Moon, we definitely see a rise of smoke from smoldering relationship issues, and between the New Moon of revelation and understanding (Aquarius) and the Merc retro cycle, we are likely to find these issues cropping up, many of them as direct power issues and some as an outright clash of wants between partners.

We might also want to count a very loose square to Sedna, only in contention because Sun and Moon are approaching rather than retreating from the aspect. This might give just the barest hint, the vaguest echo, a mere wisp of an idea that trouble may be on the horizon. This might take the shape of Self-sabotaging instincts or an insistence on not admitting that everyone, including ourselves, has a blind spot–and this might be just the time when we need some reflection (the Moon) from those with whom we’re in relationship (that Libran Zeus)–because that’s exactly what we’re offering them, too.

The New Moon Sabian is, ‘A Man, Having Overcome His Passions, Teaches Deep Wisdom In Terms Of His Experience’. I’ve not much to add to that since it seems we’ve already covered this same message via aspects, but will point out that the symbol strikes a hopeful note, as the messiness that is natural to relationships will show us what we need to know, and make us wiser in the process.

Have a lovely week, everyone!

Magic Under the Full Moon

27 Wednesday Jan 2021

Posted by in astrology, Consciousness Explored, current events in the sky, forecast, Full Moon, Grand Trine, Kite, Lunar Aspects

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By Strobridge Litho. Co., Cincinnati & New YorkRestoration by trialsanderrors and Morn – This file was derived from: Zan Zig performing with rabbit and roses, magician poster, 1899.jpg:, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19060350

Such an odd little thing lately, this presence of magic within a larger scenario. It shows up in forms familiar from traditional stage magic acts, but that’s not where the real magic lies; instead the presence of, say, a handkerchief ‘turned into’ a dove by the tap of a ‘magic wand’ on a box is only an indicator of the presence of genuine magic. I know! What’s ‘real magic’ anyway? As far as I can see from recent events, it’s the existence of a force that quite literally can’t be attributed to any known physical action, and that can’t be explained. The top hat, the assistant in spangly dress, the draped table, the disappearing and re-appearing items, the box and saw, the chains and locks on the man placed in the container of water, all are saying: this is pretend magic, now look for the real stuff.

Or are those elements, just as the flourish and the spectacle serve in a magic show, simply announcing that they are distractions, meant to keep us from noticing the behind-the-scenes moves that create the illusion in the first place? Because the stage show and the ‘real’ magic are about illusion, in the sense that we can’t follow one thing to another in a clear fashion–and yet the results are undeniable, as the playing card moves from magician’s hand to the vest pocket of a man across the room, and the thing you never thought would happen, quite magically, does.

Think of real magic as the thrust of energy and intention into the quantum field; just as with stage magic, it’s a kind of sleight of hand, where many of the ‘energy steps’ are unseen, at least from our personal vantage point. With so many bodies and points in Aquarius (Sun, Saturn, Jupiter, Pallas, Mercury) and Taurus (Uranus, Mars, Black Moon Lilith, Sedna) we may be straining to understand (Aquarius) the material world around us (Taurus)–but those signs, one Fixed Air, one Fixed Earth, naturally square each other, with the Fixed modality creating inherent tension in the discord between thought and the material reality. Essentially, we create our own, personal version of sleight of hand as we fail to reconcile the physical with the mental, as some link our minds tell us should be there isn’t.

But, the persistent theme of magic I’ve been experiencing suggests we needn’t strain. All we need to do is take note when something playful comes forward that promises (or at least implies) it will astonish or otherwise amuse–and then we know there’s something working behind the scenes, something making real magic in our lives, and that we should be on the lookout for it. It’s much more easy to both recognize and accept the presence in our lives of the unanticipated benefit, the synchronicity, the fortuitous meeting, if we don’t insist on explaining it.

One of the recent events for me involved a button. I had sewn it to the paper cover of a hand-bound book I’d made years ago, and I just ran across it again after not seeing it for a long time, and reading what I’d written about the incident, it echoed this ‘magic’ very neatly. The button didn’t fall off my clothes (it wasn’t familiar–nothing any of us owned had this precise kind of button), there was nowhere nearby it could’ve come from, I’m sure, as it landed on the open dishwasher door. It seemed as if it were generated from, as the saying goes, thin air, and though I marveled at it, I couldn’t find an explanation for where it came from. I didn’t think about it beyond that until I was standing in the exact same spot a few days later and the lights over the sink started blinking on and off, not like a surge in the power line, but in a very deliberate, turned off then on way, as if someone were at the switch–but they weren’t.

I wondered if someone (let’s just say spirit, in a general way) was trying to let me know they were there. So, presumptuous as I am, I asked a favor: in my mind I pictured a lost earring, one I had been looking for that meant a great deal to me, and I thought about how I wanted to find it; the jewelry was one of those things that feels like you, so when you lose or destroy or misplace it it’s almost like you mourn a little, like a part of you has been misplaced.

Just a moment later I had the urge to walk out to the mailbox, even though I knew it was too early for the mail. I reached the mailbox, looked down, and there was my earring.

Now you could say that some part of my consciousness had registered it when the earring had fallen, and that this was just my unconscious mind prompting me to go back to where I knew it was. But then what about the lights, and the button? I called it spooky, back then, but now think it was just a little magic, making itself known.

Should you be looking for a taste of virtual magic, you might want to check out ‘Derek DelGaudio’s In & Of Itself’ on Hulu, or a series from a few years ago called ‘Shut Eye’, about a con man who finds he’s not the person he thinks he is, also on Hulu.

The Full Moon falls in Leo on the 28th at 11:16 AM PST at 9 Leo 05, closely opposed Jupiter, which the Sun will perfect conjunction to less than 6 hours later, while the Moon will perfect opposition to Jupiter in less than an hour. The Full Moon is also in very close conjunction to Hygeia (only one minute off exact) and a loose novile to Vesta, forms squares to Mars, the Black Moon Lilith point, and Uranus, and a sesquiquadrate to Venus-Pluto, which two are in very close conjunction themselves. There’s also a loose Fire Grand Trine with Chiron and Juno, and if we include the Sun-Jupiter opposition point, we end up with a Kite.

A Full Moon in Leo brings something about ourselves, about our identity, about our passions and reason for Being, into focus, and maybe brings that form of identity or purpose to an end, or readies it for the ‘next step’, but in this instance it almost registers as an afterthought, with the ‘pull’ from Jupiter-Sun balanced between Chiron and Juno giving a dynamism that suggests either facts around the identity, or the Soul in interface with the social sphere, finds a perfect point of empowerment balanced between expression of the unique skills (or capitalization on the wounds) and the level of personal empowerment, and that this is delivered via the Lunar event.

This is healthy (conj to Hygeia) as, no matter what occurs, it will be an expression of the highest values, of what we want at a Soul level (nov to Vesta). Events may arise from conflict, chaos, or the discovery of what’s been hidden or denied (sq Mars-Uranus) and difficult, even threatening, circumstances around Love, relationships, or money, that we may want to classify as ‘moments of Truth’ (sesq Venus-Pluto). So, beneficial things that spring from contention or upset–so look for what good will come from the troubling, the uncomfortable, the needed purge or change, from the ‘Big Reveal’.

New Moon 12 January 2021 A Fissure Filled With Light

09 Saturday Jan 2021

Posted by in Astro Lessons, astrology, current events in the sky, forecast, Grand Trine, New Moon, Sabian Symbols

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Kilauea’s Fissure 8 cone erupting in the early morning of June 28, 2018, in the Lower East Rift Zone. {{PD}}
Courtesy of the United States Geological Survey

Usually we get that ‘wipe out’ feeling/ energy from an eclipse, when the old patterns are disrupted by new ones; this time, we get the same experience from a New Moon as it meets the god of the Underworld. The Lunar event of the 12th falls at 23 Capricorn 13 at 9 PM PST, closely conjoined Pluto–in just over two hours the Moon will perfect contact, while the Sun will take a tad longer, a little more than twenty-four. This suggests the dawning of new emotions or intuitive perceptions that transform our Beingness, or that change what we pay attention to; we are plunged down, to the depths, perhaps in the birth pangs of a new world order arising from the institutions, rules, and constraints of the old order a la Capricorn, and we’re given a clear insight into what this change means for us as individuals.

A New Moon in Capricorn promises two things: new rules, and efforts at ‘building’, whether that’s something intangible, within the psyche, or an actual, literal structure or figurative framework within the social order, but when the Sun-Moon meeting is on the way to conjoin Pluto, we are effectively stunned by the energy–hence the similarity to the eclipse ‘wipe out’. In this particular case, the new feelings, followed by a new sense of ‘I Am’ or ‘I See’, then gets the Plutonian treatment. We can’t be sure if the emotions and changed efforts are undertaken in anticipation of serious, inevitable, even extreme change that is before us, or if they’re the result of such thorough, deep, and irrevocable developments–all we can know is that this New Moon is the first glimpse of an ever-growing light shining at the bottom of the bottomless fissure that opens up beneath us: the New Moon shows us a way out, a new way of structuring or processing, or the resurrection of something, as it delivers an inspiring and instructional glimmer of not only what’s to come, but what we can build from it, that will culminate with the Full Moon two weeks from now.

How much this New Moon will bring change to the individual is dependent on the contacts the event makes to the natal chart. This is precisely why general forecasts aren’t ‘one size fits all’. That said, see below for a brief lesson on reading a configuration filled in by the New Moon event. What all of us will be influenced by: the New Moon semi-square Juno=we see our own relationship to pure Power, and see just where out limits are (but that also means we’ll get some idea of what we’re missing, and so how to go about getting more); New Moon square Zeus=we see where our ambitions, relationships, or desires are making it difficult to start anew, or to make the changes we really want to, or what we learn at the New Moon creates tension or conflict with those ambitions currently on our agenda; and lastly, the New Moon forms an Earth Grand Trine with Vesta and Sedna=I’m counting this despite Vesta being more than six degrees from perfection to Sedna 1) because Sedna is in apparent retrograde right now, so moving back toward Vesta, and 2) because trines are major aspects, and 3) because this configuration is in Earth, same element as the New Moon, and 4) because the presence of Pluto and the Sun together gives a big energy ‘punch’ that I see as carrying farther than I normally would accept. Ties of the placement together make up for the looseness of the orbs, particularly the way the NM and Pluto ‘bridge’ the degrees between Vesta and Sedna. The Grand Trine suggests that what changes/ evolves/ is forced/ transforms/ resurrects at the New Moon is in harmony with our actual highest values, and with our instincts and what we ‘know but don’t consciously know’. We may not see the benefits of the GT energies right away, because they have a good chance of emerging from our own ‘blind spot’, and so carry the feeling that they’re coming from external events, rather than that they’ve been orchestrated by our own intents, even though they have.

‘A Nun’ By Ragnhild Beichmann 1878 {{PD}}

The New Moon Sabian is, ‘A Woman Entering A Convent’. This implies that though what occurs seems excessively restrictive or that it requires an inordinate degree of discipline or supplication, it’s actually based on what we’ve chosen to dedicate our life energies to (Vesta). A look at your Vesta will help tell you the intent behind what manifests, and may give you a greater understanding of the nature of what you genuinely care about in life.

A Little Something on Configurations, as Demonstrated with the New Moon

When judging whether a configuration is formed, we need to keep in mind the various strengths of the aspects. The loose Grand Trine I describe above is allowable at least in part because a trine is a major aspect, and that allows for a greater orb; in the Fist I describe below, we have a square between NM and Zeus, which is a major aspect and so can take a greater orb, but in order to form the Fist, we need both bodies to sesquiquadrate (135 degrees) a third body, and since this is a more minor contact, we need a closer orb, something around no more than two degrees from exact in either direction, which in the following example would be 8 Gemini. In this case, anyone with a natal placement 6-10 Gemini will find their natal energy at the apex of a Fist of God with base of New Moon-Pluto square Zeus. This suggests the New Moon will bring change that arises from conflict over or forces change to the ambitions or desires, particularly as this applies to relationships (Zeus is in Libra). What happens or is revealed by the light of the New Moon shows how the current ambition picture contrasts, and requires modification of, what you’re aiming for, and this is because of what you learn now–and this will affect the natal apex planet, either through expression of its characteristic energies or through something it rules, House or other bodies, in the natal chart. (And just a reminder: please don’t write and ask if the aspect, for instance, applies to your Ascendant at 12 degrees Gemini, or your Sun at 5–I’ve told you the range of things already: anything between 6 and up to but not past 10). Keeping in mind what aspects any configuration contains, and then keeping orbs crisp, will insure you not only get a clear picture, but also that you don’t lead yourself astray or distract with an inaccurate or exaggerated picture, though there are exceptions, as I describe using the example of the Grand Trine aspect, above. Thus endeth the lesson!

Forecast for the 10th is here–

Tomorrow the Weekly will go up. Have a great rest-of-the-weekend!

Full Moon in Cancer 29 December 2020 Peak Feeling

28 Monday Dec 2020

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

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‘Thirty-six Peaks of Mount Huang Recollected’ By Shitao 1705 {{PD}}

The Full Moon peaks at 7:28 PM PST of the 29th at 8 Cancer 53, novile Sedna, in wide square to Chiron (and we can read the Wounded Healer as arm to a T, with this Sun/ Moon-Earth opposition), sextile Black Moon Lilith-Uranus, widely trine Ceres, and quincunx Pallas. Is it opposed Mercury? In my opinion, no, as Merc is more than 5 degrees ahead, making it not only a too-large orb for a Full Moon situation but also showing us that the solidity of the Full Moon won’t be available when the transiting Moon catches up to oppose Mercury; Luna will leave Earth behind, so that the impact of Moon opposed Mercury (arriving about 11 hours after the Full Moon) will be a fleeting and solely emotional one, with the feeling nature flooding and possibly overwhelming the mental processes, post-Lunar culmination(very probably prompted by whatever the Full Moon has brought to fulfillment or conclusion).

A Full Moon in Cancer is a peak of caring, feeling, or emotional investment; from here on out we draw back, emotionally speaking, and begin to lessen the emotional impetus behind decisions and perceptions in direct proportion to the way a more objective perspective grows. This is the point when we know how we feel, what we care about; it’s in the aspects the Full Moon makes that we may see our actual emotional stance, particularly around matters generally ruled by the Moon (feelings, intuitions, mothers and motherhood, nurturing, vulnerability, and so on), about matters specifically ruled by the Moon in the personal natal chart (and if the FM aspects the natal Moon, we may have a bonanza of feeling to sort through), concerning matters of the House where the Full Moon occurs, as well as about matters related to the House containing Cancer or bodies posited therein within the natal chart (some of these are redundant, but you get my drift: Moon, Moon, Moon!)

Often the Full Moon can bring a sudden and even surprising recognition of how we feel. In Cancer that sensibility is, in a way, doubled: we see how we feel about feeling! In this instance, the feelings themselves may become the center of attention, beyond whatever spurs them. That can mean that we can potentially turn more of our attention toward ourselves than out into the world–and with the current Full Moon’s set of aspects, this promises to be a potent and largely Self-focused examination of our emotional interaction with the world, and the emotional sensations this generates inside us.

The Cancer Full Moon offers a kind of brilliant insight to those things we aren’t normally conscious of, that we may hide even from ourselves (novile to Sedna). This is valuable information, not to be lightly dismissed, though the temptation is to do just that: the brilliance of a novile is too easily seen as obvious and natural, with the assumption that we’ll see it just as clearly later–which we very well may not.

The Chiron T-square and the quincunx to Pallas speak of each other: if we insist that hurt is stopping our progress (either because we’ve not overcome the wound, or because we blame someone else for the insurmountable harm, or both), it will take adjusting our attitude in order to see what’s wise–that is, we can either re-frame things (which likely involves admitting we needn’t wallow in victimhood), or ignore the need to modify our sense of what’s wise (as currently we are almost certainly seeing our hurt as a statement of what’s just–we are hurt and want others to know what’s wrong and ‘who done it’).

The sextile to the Black Moon Lilith point and Uranus says that we can take an original and inventive approach to solving our issues, if we are willing to admit they exist! and they are indeed under our control (and/ or that we can be assisted by taking a Higher Mind approach, or accept assistance from ‘the group’). It will take a little effort (the sextile), but facing what we’d rather ignore or deny will pay off in unexpected or surprising ways.

The trine to Ceres may put us ‘in tune’ with Nature (including our own bodies), may allow us to understand and align with those who hold power and to do the same with our own, personal sense of authority, may make us aware of the scope of our reach and influence, or all of the above. Add to this that we can fine-tune the health routine right now, addressing larger issues effectively either in Nature or in our physical presence, and we’ll see an overall potential for a healthier New Year, one where we access the flow of our own power.

The Sabian for the Full Moon is, ‘A Small Naked Girl Bends Over A Pond Trying To Catch A Fish’. This doubles up on the symbols for innocence (a child, and being naked), and makes me ask, Why the emphasis on the pureness of Being, on, in essence, not being knowledgeable or Self-responsible? The image brings to mind the old adage about fishing: give a fish, one eats for a day, teach one to fish, they eat for a lifetime–but as I’ve recently seen pointed out, it’s much easier to learn to fish if one isn’t starving! So, I’m seeing this symbol as one of an attempt to be Self-responsible that comes from a place of innocence–and that isn’t necessarily a good thing. Others prey on those who are too innocent, who fail to recognize the full spectrum of human potentials and behaviors, who think that a wide-eyed approach to life is protective when it’s anything but. This corresponds somewhat to the Chiron T-square; if we choose innocence (that is, we lack Self-responsibility, refuse to recognize the spectrum of behaviors available to humanity, and insist that this makes us pure, possibly protected, and potentially superior to those who have dirtied themselves with knowledge and responsibilities), then we inevitably end up playing the victim, since the natural direction of energy’s flow is an outward one, to act on the environment and on others–and if we stopper that flow, the energy backs up like a drain, putting us in the (often unpleasant) position of being acted-upon.

For a Full Moon we also look at the Sabian for the life and light-giving Sun, ‘An Angel Carrying A Harp’. The Sun is a symbol of awareness; it points toward where our attention needs to go. This symbol is one of purity, as well, but this is an active purity with a purpose, one that ‘makes its own music’. It tells us we can have that sense of innocence in two positive ways: behavior that aligns with our Highest Ideals (the ‘angelic’ part), and a channeling of energy outward to something that is both expressive and productive (the harp). So, just maybe, this Full Moon is about not getting stuck in some sort of Self-examination that pushes us to be innocent in all the wrong ways.

Tomorrow’s Eclipse

13 Sunday Dec 2020

Posted by in current events in the sky, eclipse, Solar Eclipse, Transit Effects Explored

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By Kudaibergen Urinbayev – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=46217328

In case you haven’t seen it, here’s something on tomorrow morning’s Solar eclipse–and if it aspects any of your natal placements, there’s something here on what to possibly look for. Have a wonderful eclipse, and stay safe!

Solar Eclipse in Sagittarius 2020 Moon in Blue

09 Wednesday Dec 2020

Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky, forecast, Lunar Aspects, New Moon, Sabian Symbols, Solar Eclipse

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By alyssa BLACK. from toronto, canada – full moon., CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=76519128

This New Moon of the 14th occurs at 8:17 AM PST and is also an eclipse, falling at 23 Sagittarius 08, preceding the Superior Conjunction of the Sun and Mercury at 29 degrees in just about a week. This adds an element of building tension to what is normally with a New Moon a ‘fresh start’ energetically, a clean slate that typically signals the origins of a new beginning. That means new circumstances arrange themselves around an already-tense situation, lending things a ‘jumped into the fire’ quality, and this is even more noticeable because an eclipse on its own signals a wipe-out of previous arrangements–and that means we may find ourselves in the midst of a conflagration (Sag is a Fire sign) that we absolutely have not anticipated–and that quite possibly interferes with manifestation of the new start.

The eclipse doesn’t make many aspects–the major ones are loose, so it’s to the minor ones my attention goes first, as this implies a subtle and nuanced eclipse picture. The eclipse is closely semi-sextile Pluto, suggesting that small discomforts or inconveniences create big change, while the New Moon also noviles Pallas in Aquarius and sesquiquadrates Uranus. This combo implies the influence of the Higher Mind and/ or ‘the group’ in events, with those influences arriving through difficult Uranian means: an accident, a troublesome or unanticipated serendipity, the crashing down of a larger spiritual Truth, the exercise of and surprise brought forward by one’s own originality, or the spotlight on one’s position in (or perhaps alienation from) the group. However, the novile tells us that this spurs or is spurred by something smart, motivated by wisdom or practicality, maybe by the way the Universe presents a set of trying events and then asks, ‘What will you do?’.

Pluto and Uranus both aspecting the eclipse could imply a spark-to-flame destructive event that clears the way for something entirely new–in any case, what happens may be disturbing, upsetting, unsettling, even traumatic, or just unexpected, surprising, but will be for the good (see the Sabian symbol, below).

The square to Neptune is too wide, for my taste, suggesting that we may think that misleading information, the creative urge, the dream, or a mirage, any or all related to the emotional state, is a motivation when it’s really not. Zeus in Libra is sextile the New Moon, suggesting that ambitions involving relationships we want, or the way relationships affect us going after ambitions, is on the agenda. There is a trine to Mars in his own sign of Aries, telling us how easily we may act, based on a relatively sketchy picture or our own hair-trigger temper; the sense is of being profoundly aware that we are all alone, that we must do something, and this may come from events or be the agent of them, and is probably the driver in the relationship scenario: we must act to make a reality of the desired relationship, or we must act in order to fix a situation where a relationship is precluding our ability to go after what we want.

A New Moon in Sagittarius is typically a Moon where we learn something, are exposed to something foreign, or see the origins of new beliefs or philosophies coalesce; the Sabian is, ‘A Bluebird Perched On The Gate Of A Cottage’. Well that’s idyllic, isn’t it? A bluebird is a symbol for happiness, the ‘bursting out in song’ kind, and its position, at ease on a garden gate, suggests a peaceful environment where the bird feels safe, an ‘in its element’ sensibility. As the Sabian for a New Moon eclipse, this might imply we learn or are exposed to something that brings happiness in the way of feeling ‘at home’ in some situation, or with some change or new start that occurs. It’s a reassuring symbol that tells us in spite of any indications to the contrary within the scenario or related to the initial upset, we’ll be happier with our new circumstances than we were with our old ones.

Special note: those with a natal placement between 21 and 24 of Taurus may find the eclipse brings a real ‘do-or-die’ point in matters of ambition and desire fulfillment, relative to the natal energy, which will act as apex to a Finger of God with base of the eclipse and Zeus. What you’ve been aiming for, wanting, even lusting for will be addressed through the energy of the eclipse, and the result will funnel through the natal point. Good luck with that!

This ‘n That, On The Way to the Lunar Eclipse of 30 November 2020

24 Tuesday Nov 2020

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

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By Étienne Léopold Trouvelot 1882 Buy prints of his extraordinary work at https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/the-trouvelot-astronomical-drawings-1882

The upcoming eclipse is a Full Moon at 8 Gemini 38 at 1:26 AM PST of the 30th, and as with every Full Moon, we’re likely already feeling a building tension, attached to some matter either in the natal House where the eclipse occurs, or in some Lunar-related area of our lives (and that can be something involving your Lunar placement, something ruled by the Moon in the natal chart, or a Lunar topic in general, such as mothering, intuition, or nurture). This one, though, being an eclipse, brings a wipe-out to some kind of thinking that has become outmoded, shakes up ideas or perceptions, likely through difficult, unusual, shocking events, because of assertions by ‘the group’, or through accidents, serendipities, or sudden insights provided by Higher Mind (the Sun, which is of course opposed the eclipse and the illuminator of the Moon, quincunx to Uranus). With Full Moon events we alter our thinking or perceptions because of emotional or intuitive ‘enlightenment’ of one kind or another.

The eclipse is apex to a loose Fist of God with base of Pluto-Zeus, suggesting that eclipse revelations (another Uranian concept!) may bring resolution to conflicts between ambitions and desires (Zeus) and matters of Power (Pluto), now held, recently lost, or currently sought. It’s an equation arising from clashes, upset as catalyst to an answer that doesn’t just allow emotional satisfaction or relief, but that changes how we think, how we process ideas of Power and our own wants, as well.

If we really want to be loose with our numbers (and who doesn’t, once in a while, in the name of recognizing the flow of energy?) we can find the eclipse as part of the base of a Finger of God with a wide sextile to Chiron, apex a Venus that’s not really quincunx Chiron, but is linked via the Lunar event. The Finger implies if we can heal something about our own ego, our expression of Will, our actions and choices (which might mean forgiving ourselves for something we’ve done), or heal some concept we have around our own aloneness, whether literal or existential (all Aries, linked to Chiron’s current location), and do this in tandem with or prompted by eclipse events, then we can harmonize some schism, unite in relationship or via aesthetics, or discover some vital Truth (Venus in Scorpio).

Our Sabian for the Full Moon is, ‘A Quiver Filled With Arrows‘. The events of this eclipse arm us, give us plenty of chances to ‘hit the target’; whatever occurs, then, offers a kind of resource, something that facilitates our own activity. The Sun, light-giver and reason for the apparent eclipse phenomenon in the first place, has the Sabian, ‘A Mother Leads Her Small Child Step By Step Up A Steep Stairway’. Are we the mother, or the small child? I see this as the Universe being the mother, showing us the way, assisting us as we try to do better, as we try to climb. That means, then, that if you are knocked back a bit by eclipse events, that the larger flow is telling you that whatever you were trying or after isn’t for you–at least not right now. Taking a warning is always better than ignoring one, wouldn’t you agree?

For a little something on possible effects of eclipse contact to your natal chart, you can take a look here–

Before the Eclipse

The 25th-29th brings hurtful thinking (or possibly thinking that works at solving the kinks inherent to utilizing our skills), but also circumstances that firmly support our personal authority and expression, and this sets a success dynamic in place through the eclipse. If we dwell on slights we short-circuit the positive impetus, but if we examine hurt in light of how to heal, how to prevent further damage, and/ or for the part we played in its creation, we empower ourselves significantly, and open the door to both skill utilization and surrounding conditions that facilitate our intents.

Look at it like this: there’s a lot of good mojo available to those who 1) aren’t afraid of their own power, and at the same time willingly embrace genuine responsibility (and that latter is as opposed to saying one is responsible but not actually dealing with a matter); 2) those who actively value the most original and unique parts of themselves (and by extension, who accept those things in others); 3) who wield power in areas that are specifically appropriate to who and what they are (in the largest, Universal sense, not in the worldly ‘labels and qualifications’ kind); and 4) those who are both honest with themselves AND able to listen to instincts (being honest means the instincts are indeed instincts–not wishful thinking or personal propaganda–and so can be trusted). Center efforts on something meaningful to you at a Soul level, and you just might make significant progress at this time.

During this period we also see Neptune turn around in his home sign of Pisces (late afternoon PST of the 28th)–and he does so poised to make his first contact (excluding Lunar ones) by square to the Nodal axis. That suggests we all might get a dose of reality through our efforts to either move forward (NN), resolve the past (SN), or in trying to maintain continuity of past circumstances into the future (SN/NN axis). Generally, this direction should ‘lift the fog’, or otherwise allow more access to the creative (but also, make the pitfalls of the deceptive or deceitful more prominent, and so more difficult to recognize, as well).

Have yourself a merry little Thanksgiving!

New Moon in Scorpio 14 November 2020 Re-Birth

13 Friday Nov 2020

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

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‘The birth of Aphrodite’ By Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky 1887 {{PD}}

The New Moon perfects at 9:07 PM PST of the 14th at 23 Scorpio 17; this meeting takes place after both bodies have, relatively recently, conjoined Juno (the Moon within hours, the Sun about 5 days before). This suggests that the New Moon new start follows on an illumination of our own empowerment situation, the extent of our reach, and how effective we are in impacting our world. We looked beneath, or even through, x-ray-like, circumstances (Scorpio) and likely found one of two things: that we are much more powerful than we thought, or that we don’t hold power in the ways, or over what, we previously believed.

So this New Moon offers a point of re-birth, a re-making that allows us to rise again empowered–and a single set of sextiles tells the story. These are to the Capricorn-located energies of Pluto, Jupiter, and Pallas–and the New Moon has no other contacts. A sextile is a cooperative aspect, one that encourages the entities to work together, but it does require some effort, the kind shown by active intention.

We must choose to re-make, re-form, according to the Truth we find beneath the surface (Scorpio), and we do it by transforming structures, rules, restraints, and the framework upon which we hang our identity (Capricorn). The energies at our disposal are powerful ones: the Plutonian spark of the Universe, intense as life and death, a generative essence that can create or destroy; Jupiterian confidence, opportunity, and largesse, a bold belief in what we can build, and also that we know the material facts, and so can judge our best endeavors; and Pallas, offering a Warrior-spirit, a mature wisdom and understanding, a brave countenance with which to face challenges, and a practicality that informs our best use of already-developed skills.

That sounds like a lot, but the reality will be very individualized, very specific to your own personal transformation story. We’re likely to experience the chance at re-birth in matters of the House in the natal chart where the NM occurs. Though the contours of the situation will be highly unique to each individual, the general areas affected may be encompassed by the House where it falls: the 1st–the Self and the way you ‘present’ to the world; the 2nd–talents, assets, or Self-concept; the 3rd–communications, thinking, agreements, siblings; the 4th–family or core beliefs about identity; the 5th–creative efforts, romance, one’s children, risks; the 6th–the everyday circumstances, obligations and duties, the job, work colleagues, health; the 7th–your partner, your audience, your Art, or the world at large; the 8th–others’ assets, what you share and they share with you, sex, death; the 9th–things at a distance, education, religion, in-laws, travel, publications; the 10th–the career, the public image, business, your boss; the 11th–group affiliations, friendships, hopes wishes and goals; the 12th–the wider Universe, large institutions, those things we may be hiding from ourselves, spirituality. Not a definitive list, by any means, but one meant to give you some idea of where the action will be. There’s plenty of overlap, as well, as anyone who works with astrological concepts for long will know, so use your best intuitive sense of how this translates to your world.

So what’s the Sabian for this transformative Moon? ‘After Having Heard An Inspired Individual Deliver His “Sermon On The Mount,” Crowds Are Returning Home’. We’ve already ‘received’ the message delivered by spirit, or via someone inspired in their offering–now we need to take it ‘home’ with us, into ourselves and our everyday lives. What that message is will depend on who you are–what we know is that we’ve already got the needed information, and now just have to implement it.

Like Dorothy, we already have what we need to get ‘home’, we just have to access it, and the New Moon offers an ‘entry point’ that can kick-start a next-step inspiration.

Full Moon in Taurus 31 October 2020 The Revolution Ends, the Revolution Begins

29 Thursday Oct 2020

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‘The Nativity’ By Ghirlandaio, Domenico c1480 {{PD}}

The Full Moon occurs at 7:49 AM PDT at 8 Taurus 38 on the last day of October. This happens just three minutes short of perfection of a conjunction with backward-barreling Uranus, imbuing the whole event with a sense of ‘Ah-ha!’ completion, and not a little potential for shock, surprise, awe, and unintended consequences or events, including accidents. Revelation is the order of the day, and it’s our job to find the meaning behind what the Full Moon brings to completion or ending, or to truly see what events show us, especially in terms of Higher Mind or in insight concerning our own individual emotional nature.

A Full Taurus Moon suggests change in the material circumstances, resources, comfort level, surroundings, available skill sets, and in the sense of security we enjoy (or lack). Other than the close and compelling contact to the planet of disruption, invention, and revolution, there is only one even reasonably close aspect, a loose novile to the North Node point. Of course what happens at the Full Moon shapes the future! That doesn’t tell us anything–or does it? Contact with the Nodal point suggests the extremes of emotion we might experience at any one time; for Luna, contact to its own Node is like looking in a mirror, one that reflects back the extent to which this Lunar event might prompt extremes of feeling, which may be reactionary (in response to something outside ourselves) or internal (in response to revelations about the Self or the Self in relation to the group). Add that a Full Moon brings Earth and Moon together, and that this event is in Taurus this time, magnifies the way in which the feelings will reflect the environment and particularly one’s perceptions of it, and vice versa, the way the emotional reactions will frame perceptions of and experiences of the environment.

I’ve seen a number of people say that they believe this Full Moon will be comforting, soothing, but I can’t agree, although there’s the possibility that the Uranian influence does bring a kind of other-shoe-dropping relief, possibly delivering something tensely anticipated for a while now. I think going automatically to a ‘comfort’ assumption may be a slight misreading due to the things we can typically count on: 1) that a Full Moon brings endings, and so some closure, and 2) that Taurus automatically means what comes about is comforting. We shouldn’t discount the way loss may figure in to any ending, as well as needing to remain aware that the opposite of comfort and security are just as much a part of the Taurean experience as are facets that are artisanal, nourishing, and soothing.

One thing we should keep in mind is that the intellect may perform in erratic fashion at this point, changing on momentary input and then changing further, and so might the actual surroundings–all we can be sure of is that our feelings about ourselves and about the various groups to which we belong will undergo extremes, and that may involve vacillation, which suggests that we’d do well to let the dust settle before we draw any firm conclusions from events, material results, or our own reaction to them.

The Full Moon Sabian is, ‘A Fully Decorated Christmas Tree’. There are two most likely scenarios that this may represent: the celebration of a symbolic ‘birth’, one that stands for our faith in something or someone, or one that promises a new beginning or even a kind of forgiveness, or a literal marker for Full Moon results that will manifest around holiday time. In the former case we’re looking at something along the lines of a start that offers a renewal of hope (and maybe anticipation of the receiving of gifts or rewards) that arises from something drawing to conclusion with the Full Moon–an ending that makes room for a new beginning–or if Uranus is prominently involved, the end of one revolution and the beginning of another; this also suggests that there will be a Taurean-themed material component to what occurs. In the case of the latter, we can mark our calendars for any ‘incompletes’ that come forward with the Full Moon, knowing that results will be delivered before the New Year.

For a Full Moon we also look at the Sun’s Sabian, since the Solar orb is the source of all light and a symbol of the conscious/ overt energies in play at this time. The Sun’s is, ‘A Dentist At Work’, suggesting that what occurs at the Full Moon was prompted by our own attention to ‘fixing’ or doing vital work on some important part of our lives. It also summons Saturn (teeth, bones, discipline and hard work) to the table, and at the Full Moon we see an approaching square between Saturn and Mercury as the latter moves in retrograde. This may imply conflict with others (Libra) over rules, or over what’s necessary (Capricorn) may kick off the surprises and extremes of the Full Moon, and that these will have material consequences. Look, then, to the Saturnian practices or places in your own life for the genesis of Full Moon events.

And have a wonderful, safe, and spooky weekend!

Full Moon in Aries 1 October 2020 The Roles We Play

30 Wednesday Sep 2020

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

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Photo By Emma Brick, Japan Folk Stage Art, CC BY-SA 4.0

The Full Moon perfects at 2:05 PM PDT on the 1st at 9 Aries 08, the Moon and Earth meeting just after passing over Chiron (the Earth by a couple of days, the Moon by a couple of hours), and with which the Full Moon is still conjoined. It suggests that FM events arise from our wounds–not necessarily hurtful at present (in fact, hurts that are likely tucked away, out of sight, or which we think we’ve grown past), but injuries centered in those factors of personal autonomy, expression of Will, leadership, and temper/ anger that we’ve not yet faced and/ or processed. These can be ego wounds (held purely within the emotions or psyche) or they may be related to actions taken and the repercussions and reactions these brought, or to actions not taken, and our regrets, particularly about things we could’ve been or roles we could’ve played, that are now (to our way of thinking) out of reach.

Since this is a Full Moon in Aries, it brings to culmination something about identity and role, especially about who we think we are. It’s the Self-image, the sum total of all our choices, viewed through the mental lens (Aries rules the head, after all–it’s where we ‘look out’ from at the world). This Moon is very much about conclusions or arriving at a pinnacle related to the Self-image we carry inside, and at least some of that may involve how singular we feel, how connected to others, how independent, how ‘different’, and how this state might wound us, as well. The semi-sextile the Moon makes to Uranus makes us aware of all the ways we may ‘stick out’, be unusual or seen as ‘foreign’, and it could emphasize our sense of being alone, or conversely, our sense of being a part of ‘the Group’, but perhaps not adequately appreciated or even seen.

The Full Moon also makes a novile to Ceres, the asteroid at 29 tense degrees, suggesting a crisis situation that we can address in some brilliant way. The implication is that what happens at the FM sparks a new way of approaching health and what we ingest (in all forms, physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, especially when this intake is unconscious, shown by the presence of the Moon in the equation), gives us clever ways to benefit from, support, and interact with Mother Nature (and this can be anything from understanding and respecting our own impulses and nature to caring for our little piece of the planet), and can show us adept ways to negotiate for what we want (remember Ceres was able to negotiate even with someone as powerful as Pluto/ Hades and successfully get her desires met, within reason–and that might be something to remember here, that if our asks are appropriate, we can get them). And that leads us to this: in the overall scheme of things, this aspect promises we will find excellent and beneficial ways of dealing with Power, whether it’s expressing our own, gaining more, or dealing with those who have the power to influence us.

And that’s it, a very simple but striking aspect picture for this Aries Full Moon: it’s about us, our role and how we see ourselves, it’s about the Power picture in our lives, it’s about where and how we might feel isolated/ ostracized and just as much where we feel we fit in, and it suggests another important effort to ‘get along’ with Mother Nature.

The Sabian for the Full Moon is, ‘A Teacher Gives New Symbolic Forms To Traditional Images’. Let’s also note the Sabian for the Sun, source of the Moon’s light: ‘Having Passed Through Narrow Rapids, A Canoe Reaches Calm Waters’. The combined message seems to be that Full Moon events will offer a new take on what already is, will re-frame the status quo in such a way that we reach a peaceful détente with whatever has been harrowing or threatening personal serenity. Obviously, there’s a lot that can torment us nowadays, but this promises a fresh understanding of and approach to what has been trying–and that’s nothing but good.

Together Sabians and aspects tell us that we will enjoy a new and more tranquil sense of ‘I Am’–I for one couldn’t ask for more.

I’m taking some time off, and don’t know at this point when I’ll be back. I’ll pop in when I can. Thank you to All! And have a wonderful October!