Tag Archives: The Lunar Essence

Solar Eclipse 12 September 2015: Through Our Skin

11 Friday Sep 2015

Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky, eclipse, Sabian Symbols, Solar Eclipse

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'Deva and Gryphon', by Gustave Moreau {{PD}}

‘Deva and Gryphon’, by Gustave Moreau {{PD}}

Eclipses change things; we’ve got a Solar one (so, a New Moon) on September 12th at 11:41 PM Pacific time, at 20 Virgo 10. Everyone is stressed (Saturn at 29 Scorpio has no mercy, dredging up what we fear, dread, have carefully hidden from ourselves and others, threatening to bring it all into our reality, and so announce it to others, broadcasting our secrets far and wide–that last is the anticipation of the Old Man’s move into Sagittarius); everyone believes, consciously or not so, that this eclipse will wipe out that tension. I don’t think it will–but it may make things seem quite a bit different–and we will definitely gain.

Keeping our orbs tight, as always, we see that the New Moon is opposed Chiron–that is, Chiron is still within conjunction of the Earth. The NM also glances by quincunx off Uranus in Aries–and unless we stretch our orb to more than 3.5+ degrees, we get nothing else. But, that’s how we keep our eclipse picture sharp–and what this says is that NM beginnings may arise out of inconvenience or accident, out of needing to adjust to the group or to something new or modern, and out of this we come to understand something important–and this opens us to healing some area where we have been too critical, too immersed in detail, so that we have lost the true breadth of the situation (with the subject particular to the House in the natal chart where the eclipse falls for you).

I don’t want to muddy the eclipse picture by making the orbs too big, but there are two things that seem worthy of note, if only by their symmetry and proximity to the eclipse degree. One is the Earth Grand Trine involving Juno-Sedna-Ceres (and if we are generous, the New Moon eclipse)=this promises a certain balance within the natural world that offers empowerment to those who ‘tune in’. Being in sync with the elements (and the elementals) may be the way the understanding we reach at the New Moon is made known to us. We may feel or sense it, absorb it from the very air or through our skin–we ‘know’ with a certainty the mind just can’t offer.

John Atkinson Grimshaw {{PD}}

John Atkinson Grimshaw {{PD}}

The second related body is the wide square from Pallas in Sagittarius to the eclipse point. If we cling to what we think is wise, if we rely on the mind and things we’ve learned or been told, we may be in for a shock; that is the very kind of knowledge that could get blown out of the water with the eclipse. We are being shown a picture where the senses are more accurate than the mind–believe what you feel, not what you are told, or think.

The Sabian Symbol for the eclipse is, ‘A Girls’ Basketball Team’. This is a modern symbol for anima energies working together. We see this hinted at with the inclusion of Uranus (the group or team), in the location of the event in Virgo (the sign of cooperative effort that brings results, ‘the harvest’), and in the way so many goddess energies are lingering just outside the eclipse orb: Juno, Sedna, Ceres, Pallas, bringing skill, instinct, personal authority, and wisdom to what the eclipse reveals.

Expect ‘Vesta’ any minute–and by ‘minute’, I mean day 🙂

Solar Eclipse 12 September 2015

Full Moon in Pisces August 2015: A Dream-Like Perception

28 Friday Aug 2015

Posted by in astrology, Full Moon, Sabian Symbols

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Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida - 'Barcas en la Playa' 1909 {{PD}}

Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida – ‘Barcas en la Playa’ 1909 {{PD}}

The Full Moon occurs at 11:35 AM PDT on the 29th of August at 6 Pisces 06, and it makes us work to find its meaning; though it’s quick to tell us that our previous optimistic efforts, our openness, what we’ve shared publicly and with the social circle, our beliefs and faith (all through a waning opposition of the Moon-Earth to Jupiter), and that our ideals, creative efforts, inspirations or delusions (conjunction to Neptune) contribute to the Full Moon results we see now, it offers us no other major indicators of what may transpire. We could, then, conclude that we are getting feedback on our attitude toward or efforts to acquire bounty, to expand our world, to learn something new, to teach, or to interact socially, to assess an ideal, to create or avoid (through Neptunian delusion)–but that would only be part of the story. We may need to use a dream-like perception, a lens that allows the unconscious, the Collective, or the creative faculties to make leaps and connections we wouldn’t make based solely on facts (Jupiter).

The Pisces Full Moon makes two other, minor aspects: a semi-square to Uranus, and a novile to Ceres. The contact to Uranus suggests there is something unanticipated, surprising or unexpected that tosses a monkey wrench into the works, possibly resulting in an abruptly changing viewpoint or need to adapt spontaneously, and the contact to Ceres says there is an element of ‘Natural Genius’ about the revelations of the Full Moon, its endings or conclusions, and the results that come about based on our need to improvise and respond quickly.

Fortuitous outcomes are ours if we refuse to take the initial feedback as definitive. We may see the end of a dream or creative project, a stripping away of illusion, we may get feedback on a fantasy or ideal (Neptune and Pisces placement), and should we then process it by a critical analysis of what we’ve learned (Jupiter and Sun in Virgo) we may shut off the flow of further reverberations and implications. In the Houses of the natal chart that hold the Full Moon, the House that follows, and the House two Houses before (for example, if the FM falls in your 5th, as it does in the general chart for Seattle, the other two Houses involved will be the 6th and the 3rd), we find the areas to watch for potential surprises, revelations, changes in viewpoint, and ‘happy accidents’.

The Sabian Symbol for the Full Moon is, ‘Illumined By A Shaft Of Light, A Large Cross Lies On Rocks Surrounded By Sea’. No matter what faith we embrace, we can’t help but take this as a religiously-oriented scenario; we see ‘fallen faith’, a religious outlook that couldn’t stand up to true spiritual illumination, that falls in the light of new awareness. So, this isn’t about religion at all, it’s about something we ‘had faith’ in that is made obsolete by a dawning understanding, a new insight we are gaining by Full Moon events, and we should expect stirred up emotions (the Sea) because of it.

We always look at the Sun for a Full Moon, as source of the ‘energy’ we experience; it is, ‘A Harem’. Really! The symbolic implication is that there is a stable of valuable, attractive assets available to us–and we should draw on that. These are likely talents, energy, or understanding that we ‘horde’ a bit, hiding them away–now is the time to take them from our internal ‘harem’ and show them to the world! The Jupiter symbol is also worth a look, as the surface outcome will be directly tied to it: ‘Black And White Children Play Together Happily’. Ostensibly, a harmony is reached–look beyond that, for the real gifts.

See my books here, and have a wonderful weekend!

Full Moon in Pisces August 2015

 

ReThinking OurSelves: New Moon in Leo 2015

13 Thursday Aug 2015

Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky, New Moon

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'The Reflection' Edward Simmons, before 1931 {{PD}}

‘The Reflection’ Edward Simmons, before 1931 {{PD}}

The New Moon occurs at 7:52 AM Pacific time on the 14th of August. This New Moon falls in Leo, a sign that, for better or worse, asks us to consider starting a new relationship with ourselves–or, to sort through the many Selves we carry, and choose to support those that further the personal agenda. The conjunction to retro Venus begs us to look at our own part in relationships and/ or financial matters, and at how our ego and identity-oriented wants (Leo) have shaped our values and investments, as well as the way they’ve shaped what and who surround us.

The conjunction to Venus is telling in another way, as well: it demands a new, integrated relationship with the Self. It costs us (Venus retro) to have different identities, different forms of behavior, keyed to different situations; a positive, holistic ‘I Am’ removes a kind of internal dependence on an ‘Other’ (Venus as relationship), where we determine who we are by bouncing off this ‘not I’, whether that is a difference created within our own minds or within actual relationships.

The New Moon is also quincunx Chiron in Pisces and trine Uranus in Aries. We are called upon to modify or adjust our idea of what hurts us (as this is a major factor in the shaping of those varied identities), and to take out for a jaunt new, unique, original, or inventive versions of the ‘I Am’ (Uranus, Aries). We won’t necessarily choose to retain all these–they should be viewed as experiments–but by the Full Moon that follows we should have a clear idea of what to integrate, and we will likely see that this integration offers some degree of healing (Chiron) to what is probably a rather nebulous, Cosmic pain (Pisces).

Also of note: the NM is in close novile to the current North Node; this may suggest a kind of brilliant resolution to an identity issue or problem is at hand with New Moon events. What’s born here will be Path-influencing, simply because we are somehow deciding who we are.

The Sabian for the New Moon is, ‘A Carrier Pigeon Fulfilling Its Mission’. I think that’s fairly clear: we ‘get the message’ about some important facet of who we are, and in the process, likely define what we want. That’s not a bad promise for a New Moon, is it?

New Moon in Leo August 2015

The Aquarius Full Moon July 2015: Reviving Ideals

30 Thursday Jul 2015

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

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What has become stiff, false, unreal must be awaken and revitalized. Henri Rousseau - 'La zingara addormentata' 1920 {{PD}}

What has become stiff, false, unreal must be awakened and revitalized. Henri Rousseau – ‘La zingara addormentata’ 1920 {{PD}}

Just a side note to my readers: Blue Moons are neither astrological nor astronomical events, and so they hold no significance in these arenas; they are only a ‘thing’ because two Full Moons happen to fall in a (man-made) calendar month.

The Full Moon occurs on 31 July 2015 at 3:42 AM Pacific time at 7 Aquarius 55. Unless we allow an orb of more than 4 degrees for aspects, which we won’t, we get no contacts for this Moon. That’s okay–it places all the emphasis, and pinpoints the culmination, to matters of the House axis in the natal chart across which this Full Moon lies. We have an ending, reach a peak or goal, a revelation or understanding, in the area of the chart where Aquarius falls. We can look to the opposite House, the one that holds the Leo Sun, for some sense of where this came from, for explanation. Since the Sun is the originating light, we should be able to draw a line from those Leonine or House related circumstances that led to our Aquarian event, culmination, or ending; in the beginnings, we see the seeds of our result.

The Sabian for the Sun, the originating light, is ‘A Communist Activist Spreading His Revolutionary Ideals’. As individuals, at some point in life we in some way rebelled from what was and declared our new goals and ideals; this is what has spurred developments along the path to today, toward the specific result we get at the Full Moon. Our own radical choices, our own idealism, our own need to be different, apart, independent, modern, or ‘new’ has compelled a particular kinetic energy through time, and here we see the outcome. We may note that the Full Moon occurs just before Venus dips back into Leo; there may be more than a little connection between this Full Moon outcome and what went down 8 years ago. What happens is no one’s responsibility but our own, born in our declaration of our values, and our insistence on letting everyone know what embodies our ideal.

The Full Moon Sabian is: ‘Beautifully Gowned Wax Figures On Display’. The image is a little eerie, as wax can have a hauntingly translucent quality that resembles skin, but skin seen in dreams or airbrushed to downy opacity. This offers the figures a kind of mocking resemblance to living Beings, but in no way can they be confused with humans–and that may be the point: real life and living isn’t something done for display, isn’t about being ‘beautifully gowned’ to no point or effect, and this Full Moon may show us where our own version of living for the way it looks must end.

The implication is that something unusual, idealistic, radical we chose in the past led us, no matter our intentions, to a stance or way of Being that is artificial, inflexible, that is for show only–and we must let it go now. In some way what we found so perfect in the past has become something fake; we must reconnect with the inspired, wild origins of what has become lifeless, and give it life once again.

Aquarius Full Moon 31 July 2015

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Full Moon in Capricorn falls at 7:20 PM Pacific time on 1 July 2015 at 9 Cap 55: From Impetus Comes Change

24 Wednesday Jun 2015

Posted by in astrology, forecast, Full Moon, Lunar Aspects, Sabian Symbols

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Engraving by Gustave Doré for an 1876 edition of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Captioned

Engraving by Gustave Doré for an 1876 edition of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Captioned “I Watched the Water-Snakes,” it depicts a sailor on the bowsprit of a sailing ship tied to a dead albatross, with water-serpents in the sea around him. 1876 {{PD}}

I’m making an exception on orbs this time around, allowing four+ degrees so that we can include the Full Moon conjunct Pluto and opposed Mars. The symmetry of it, with one on one end of the event axis and one on the other, and at either side of the FM degree as if they are two children on a see-saw, trying to balance out something between them, can’t be ignored. It’s as if our anger, action urge, personal initiative, or ‘I Want’ (Mars) launches things (as companion to the Sun, without which we’d have no Full Moon), and in the culmination this becomes either a transformative or destructive energy (Pluto), potentially changing or tearing down our walls, barriers, rules, the structure of our lives, or those things that have been holding us back (Capricorn).

The FM is also sextile Neptune and square Vesta, implying that what must change may conflict with the way we believe things should be—we’ll be bucking our own values, in this regard—but the contact to Neptune suggests we have a chance to create something much more like our ideals—so don’t resist.

The FM also forms apex to a loose Fist of God with a base of Sedna square Venus. A Fist always suggests that what occurs will be tough, that we’ll in some way ‘take a beating’, but here we see that our own ‘blind spot’ or instinctual response within a financial or relationship situation will be involved with (and perhaps be a catalyst for) FM action. What occurs (or more specifically, what we do—Mars) could initiate rage (Pluto) but could also act as a ‘tipping point’ for the change the FM promises.

Special notice goes to a minor aspect that seems to cry out (via the 29 degree placement of Saturn) for attention, and that is the Full Moon’s novile to a Saturn under stress. The ‘genius’ (the novile) of what culminates at the FM comes directly from a stressful reality situation, one of having been or having been required to be restrained, from obstacles, dead ends, delays, or setbacks that have now become intolerable—or perhaps where we see we must do something to break the impasse.

Sabian for the FM: ‘An Albatross Feeding From The Hand Of A Sailor’ This symbol speaks directly to Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’, which tells of an albatross following a ship, considered good luck, and the sailor who shoots it, in the eyes of the crew bringing disaster to their voyage—hence the term, ‘an albatross around one’s neck’, meaning that something or some action has marked you as the bringer of bad things. Here though the sailor feeds the albatross, so encourages the potentials for good luck. That suggests that if we embrace whatever changes, transforms, or is destroyed with the Full Moon, we will increase our chances of a fortuitous outcome.

For a Full Moon we also look at the Sun’s Sabian: ‘A Large Diamond In The First Stages Of The Cutting Process’ This suggests that what culminates at the Full Moon comes as we make efforts to achieve a goal; we are not promised that we will reach that goal, but instead that in the process of moving forward (expressing our Mars) we encounter change and its inevitable effects (Pluto), and then must go from there.

See my books here and watch for my new book on Vesta, coming in July!

Gemini New Moon at 7:05 AM PDT of the 16th at 25 Gemini 07: ‘Out of Pain’

14 Sunday Jun 2015

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

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'The Harvest Moon' Charles Rennie Mackintosh 1892 {{PD}}

‘The Harvest Moon’ Charles Rennie Mackintosh 1892 {{PD}}

This is the New Moon report and the daily aspects for the 16th from the second-to-last and current issue of ECLIPSE. The title, ‘Out of Pain’, is meant to imply both that what arises may be formed by our wounds, and that it may help carry us away from a mindset of hurt.

16 June efforts bring empowerment—that’s pretty straightforward—but material results may be influenced by our blind spot issues, and so not exactly follow expectations. The more Self-aware we are, the better our results are likely to be, and whatever you end up with, you need to realize that it is a manifestation of your conscious choices and unconscious mind—and so mixes the two—any part that surprises you should be examined closely for the implications it carries about what you’re brewing out of your own sight. (Mars sextile Juno, Earth quincunx Sedna)

Gemini New Moon at 7:05 AM PDT of the 16th at 25 Gemini 07: ‘Out of Pain’

We’ll call this NM the arm of a T-square that it would normally be just a tad too wide to consider, in aspect to the opposition between Black Moon Lilith and Chiron. When we note the presence of the Earth, though, we have to admit we have a Grand Cross with this trio, so I suppose it’s only right to count it as part of this larger configuration, even though Earth’s presence in one corner only signals a material effect to the whole pattern. What is birthed at the New Moon comes directly from the way our sense of hurt, a specific wound, possibly the primal one, collides with all those matters we’ve ignored or denied, or with our sense of rage over some injustice, and what results is some new material condition, probably some sort of knowledge, response (‘getting the message out’ or going forward in educating the Self), retreat to the religious for answers, or the removal of someone or something to a far off place (Sagittarius).

The NM also sextiles Juno, conjuncts Mars, and makes a close semi-sextile to Sedna (only 2 minutes from exact, which is why we note it). These contacts reiterate the message of the Grand Cross, emphasizing the ‘I Am’, the ego, personal empowerment, and that material hidden in the blind spot or that lives below the surface and expresses as instinct. It also speaks of action taken, either at the NM or spurred by it, and promises we hold enough clout to do as we choose—and we likely choose something arising from or addressing our wounds and our regrets.

We talk about something originating with or born at the New Moon phase when it might be more appropriate to talk about the NM as a kind of aperture through which we glimpse something new, or at least, something we’ve never noticed before. As in the case of this NM, the materials that generate the new start may have been around a long time (the Chirotic wound, the rage of BML, Sedna) but we are allowed at this point to get a new sight of them in a specific combination that reveals something not previously noticed, either about the character of the energy itself, or about the way we’ve up to now interpreted it.

The Sabian for the New Moon is, ‘Frost-Covered Trees Against Winter Skies’. We get a winter image/ symbol for a summer NM (unless you’re in the Southern Hemisphere—then you’re getting one ‘in season’). This suggests, no matter on which side of the equator you reside, a distinctive ‘season’ during which the landscape (inner or outer) is uniform, and ‘wears’ the specifics of the time. Winter is the point in the cycle when everything is still, dormant, or dead. What we don’t often realize about winter is that this is a necessary time; there are seeds that wouldn’t sprout without the soaking they get from snow, there are bulbs that won’t bloom without weeks of cold, and the soil and many living things retreat from activity, in a way resting and replenishing for the growth to come in spring. Dormancy is its own ‘event’, its own form of activity—and that’s something that as humans living in an animus/ ‘doing’ driven society we may neglect to appreciate.

This tells us that, in the wake of NM events, we may need to ‘go dormant’, may need to retreat from active involvement in matters, even for just a short time, if the New Moon offers a new viewpoint that we aren’t accustomed to, and about which we haven’t yet made up our minds. The symbol is a reassurance that we needn’t act right away, should we need time to contemplate what we’ve had to confront, what we’ve needed to process, and what may have changed because of it.

See my books here–Happy New Moon, and Thanks! And if you’re interested, see my comment on interpretation of this New Moon in the comments section below.

June Full Moon 2015: A Return to Power

31 Sunday May 2015

Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky, ECLIPSE magazine, Full Moon, Lunar Aspects

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This Moon is perfect for spooning! "Eat For England Spoon - geograph.org.uk - 711068" by Kevin Richardson. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eat_For_England_Spoon_-_geograph.org.uk_-_711068.jpg#/media/File:Eat_For_England_Spoon_-_geograph.org.uk_-_711068.jpg

This Moon is perfect for spooning! “Eat For England Spoon – geograph.org.uk – 711068” by Kevin Richardson. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eat_For_England_Spoon_-_geograph.org.uk_-_711068.jpg#/media/File:Eat_For_England_Spoon_-_geograph.org.uk_-_711068.jpg

This is the Full Moon report, from ECLIPSE; watch for my new book on Vesta, coming this summer, and see all my books here–thanks, and happy Full Moon!

The Full June Moon (perfect for spooning!) occurs at 9:18 AM Pacific time of the 2nd at 11 Sagittarius 49, sextiles Ceres, squares Neptune, is widely opposed Mars but a little too wide to count in opposition to Mercury (chiefly because movement is mutually away from meeting, rather than toward it), and is also sesquiquadrate Venus. This last listed aspect, to Venus, may be the most deceptive one, as we likely won’t even associate the ending, culmination, or event of the Full Moon with relationship or financial implications—and yet that’s the area (along with potential effects in the natal Houses ruled by Venus) where repercussions of what happens will finally land. We can expect the Full Moon to be the culmination of surgery on the psyche, with the effects to finances or relationships the unfortunate complications that come after.

Need they be negative? Not at all—in fact, the culmination offers us both an opportunity and a challenge—to take a good hard look at the use of our creative energy (and that can flow into literally any life area) and to ‘own our authority’, that personal sense of competence and the right to make our own choices that we can sometimes be too easily shaken from. The FM points out that we remain powerful no matter what, and it tells us that the effect is targeted in one, specific direction: we have the ability to change what’s not working, to re-direct energy so that it’s not squandered, and to banish procrastination and the need to seek permission—the events of this FM show us in no uncertain terms that we are our own authorities, we are powerful in our own lives—and we must both accept and admit that, and in doing so acknowledge that, to an extreme degree, we are the arbiters of our fate.

The Full Moon reminds us of our natural power, rejects fantasy and what’s untrue, and asks us to put the ego aside; we are invited into a powerful role that we were born to hold, one that allows no deception, that is pure in its expression, that connects us to the natural world in a psychic, spiritual, and visceral way. The culmination of this Lunar energy in Sagittarius demands that we respect knowledge, reality, and the Collective connection through shared information, common experience, and cultural similarities—and that we do so in a state that is both in line with Nature and true to ourselves, which requires openness and honesty—if we’re clinging to any false beliefs about ourselves or our world, we will have to let them go—and if we don’t, we see the difficulties those false beliefs cause when they infect the relationship or financial sphere.

The Sabian for the Full Moon is, ‘A Flag Turns Into An Eagle; The Eagle Into A Chanticleer Saluting The Dawn’. What begins as simple flag-waving, as loyalty instilled by rote, transforms into something dignified and noble, into something living and beautiful—the allegiance that seemed routine grows into a sincere feeling of beauty, pride, and constancy—and once we reach a level of understanding that allows us to ‘soar’ we can then take on the role of teacher, town crier, journalist, speaker, sharer, example, which by our very expression brings enlightenment to others.

We also look at the Sun for a Full Moon: ‘A Negro Girl Fights For Her Independence In The City’. Ignore the antiquated language and consider that when this symbol was formed through the agency of Elsie Wheeler and Marc Edmund Jones in 1925, the situation for a black girl looking for autonomy in a city was quite different than it is today; in that time there were few avenues open to her, and independence was only possible within a very restricted compass (though in any age there are always exceptions, such as Madame CJ Walker, who revolutionized the cosmetics industry in service to African-American women). Since the Sun sheds the ‘origin light’ that makes the entire dynamic of Sun-Moon interplay visible, this Sun Sabian may refer to a need within ourselves to recognize that our fight for progress and autonomy only occurs within a vary narrow spectrum of possibilities at any one time. Though we feel the whole world open before us, and myriad potentials within our grasp, with the array of possibilities seemingly overwhelming at times, the reality is that there are usually only a few directions we may take at any one moment, and these are often not so far from one another. It’s a myriad of small choices one after another that usually ends up bringing big change, and most of those choices occur beneath the level of conscious thought (in the Moon’s territory), revealed only by application of awareness (contact by the Sun). If we can be conscious of the parameters within which we make our choices, we will see that no matter how big the change feels, we still make that change, or move forward on the Path, one step at a time—that’s why it’s so important to not only keep our goals in mind, but to measure our actions in terms of how effectively they move us toward them.

New Moon in Taurus, May 2015: The Personal Artifact of Change

17 Sunday May 2015

Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky, New Moon

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Ernest L. Blumenschein - 'The Gift' 1921 {{PD}}

Ernest L. Blumenschein – ‘The Gift’ 1921 {{PD}}

The New Moon occurs at 9:12 PM PDT of the 17th at 26 Taurus 55. The Taurus New Moon is conjunct Sedna, quincunx Pallas, and in wide sesquiquadrate to the North Node. Involvement of the Nodal point tells us that what is born here significantly shapes our future; the conjunction to Sedna implies what is awakened may be knowledge held deep within and related to instinct, something we aren’t entirely conscious of. Falling in Taurus, this promises either a material ‘new beginning’ or a new era in our sense of security and comfort, and this may be a loss or gain—we can’t tell ahead of time. We sense the ‘rightness’ of this next step (in a Karmic sense, if you will) both in its very occurrence, and in the way it contributes to shaping our Path. Contact to Pallas says if we’re smart and practical, we adjust—a failure to accept this new thing, this next step that originates in our internal depths is unwise, with the most likely sign of this an attempt to keep or return matters to their pre-New Moon state that is doomed to failure.

The Sabian for the New Moon is, ‘An Old Indian Woman Selling The Artifacts Of Her Tribe To Passersby’. Here we have someone who stands for the original inhabitants of a place, those who are as close to being a part of the land itself as possible, selling to Others a part of the ancestral inheritance. It’s one thing when a group creates products similar to the traditional items of their culture meant for sale to outsiders; it’s quite another when members of that same group sell the actual cultural items themselves, in effect trading their culture for sustenance or as a step along the Path, in preparation for change, even death (and we assume this as there’s little other reason that an individual parts with the underpinnings and artifacts of their way of life). The symbol suggests that the NM brings us to a point of desperation: we may feel there is nothing to be done to preserve ourselves except to dismantle our lives and sell off the parts! This is a bad thing, if we act with the idea that we have no choice, and no alternatives—but this can be a good thing, if we, as the figurative old woman of the symbol, are choosing to divest ourselves of things we no longer need, things we have ‘aged past’, or can hold in memory, so no longer need to hold them in our hands. It’s clear this NM brings a new beginning, one many may not immediately embrace, preferring what was to what’s coming; the symbol merely serves to show us there are multiple ways to approach change, and our choice about how to see it will shape the entire experience, just as the experience shapes us.

Looking to learn more about the asteroid Vesta in Astrology? Watch here for announcements on the release of my new book, ‘We Are All Vessels: Vesta in the Natal Chart’, out this summer–or check at Dog & Sunflower Press for all my books!

Aries New Moon of 18 April 2015: Birth of the Will

16 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by in astrology, New Moon, Sabian Symbols

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'Starry Night' Edvard Munch c1923 {{PD}}

‘Starry Night’ Edvard Munch c1923 {{PD}}

New Moon occurs at 11:57 AM PDT at 28 Aries 25. A NM in Aries is the birth of energy that drives individual initiative, leadership, that propels achievement that is in our own Self-interest, and could give the ego or the Self-concept a ‘new lease on life’; it is the birth of some new facet of the Will, or the Self-identity. Because the energy is so individually focused, where it falls in the natal chart can tell us a great deal about whether one will be able to process and use that energy in a straightforward way, or whether others will voice objections to this ‘new you’.

The Sabian for this degree is, ‘The Music Of The Spheres’. This promises that what is born at this time has a quality of ‘Cosmic alignment’, bringing something forward that is an inevitable development of the individual, an Arian statement about the Self that must emerge and that is expressive of the Soul and the Cosmic plan. That should reassure us that whatever happens will be something uniquely characteristic of who we are, especially in terms of ego and want, but that suits and facilitates future expression of our Will completely.

Total Solar Eclipse 20 March 2015: Eclipse of the Gods

17 Tuesday Mar 2015

Posted by in astrology, Dark of the Moon, ECLIPSE magazine, Fist of God, New Moon, Solar Eclipse, T-Square

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Gustave Doré 'Andromeda' 1869 {{PD}}

Gustave Doré ‘Andromeda’ 1869 {{PD}}

Moment of meeting of the Sun and Moon occurs at 2:37 AM PDT of the 20th at 29 Pisces 27, with the eclipse officially beginning just a hair after. The New Moon makes a wide sextile to Ceres, and a square to Pallas, which fills in the base of a Fist of God, apex Jupiter, and also creates a T-square with the Sun-Moon/ Earth axis; a panoply of ancient gods are involved, each having a say in what is born at this time, each contact suggesting that what came before with that energy is eclipsed, wiped out, or superseded. The NM is a conception point, the placement of which (in the 29th degree) signals that a new beginning is coming at a point of supreme stress; things must reach maximum tension in order for the new beginning to form at all. That means that some who are able to avoid that point of nearly unbearable strain may not receive the kind of wipe-out and new start that those who almost drown (this is a Water event, after all) will; theirs may be much more subtle, with changes playing out over the six months between this event and the next Solar eclipse.

The change is gentle with Ceres, which represents our personal authority, power, territory, a somewhat maternal inclination to overstep boundaries, and our capacity to negotiate (which at least in part rests in our own confidence; someone frightened or powerless surrenders or attacks—someone personally empowered negotiates). We adjust our boundaries, perhaps re-assign territories or re-claim some of our own, and we may take a step back (or forward) concerning relationships where caretaking and responsibility lie at least somewhat in our sphere. Too, the presence of Ceres in the equation can suggest that Nature itself will exert an influence, whether through external circumstances (flood or fires, for instance) or internal ones (such as hormonal changes, diet, or illness/ imbalance), and that these will play into events.

The T that Pallas forms with the Sun-Moon/ Earth is naturally tense; it takes the stress of a Solar eclipse, ups the ante with the event forming at 29 degrees, and then challenges the entire event with a question: Is this wise? The ‘this’ refers to whatever previous guidelines we navigated by and the way the eclipse brings them into question, or even obliterates them, proving them unwise or currently untenable. Pallas is in Sagittarius, so may imply that new information, facts, or exposure to another way of being or doing turns our ‘wisdom world view’ on its head; there’s also the chance that Pallas refers to practical or skill-based options that change with the eclipse event. Acquisition of new knowledge or skills may make old ones obsolete or make something that was once practical no longer so.

Remember, Pallas is a Warrior by birth, so we may come out fighting at the suggestion that what we thought was wise really isn’t, anymore; being nothing so much as skilled means that Pallas, after the first aggressive response, will likely look to her skill set to handle what comes forward. Realizing that even wisdom can be conditional, or can change with circumstances, is important in dealing with the kind of curve-ball the T will throw at us.

Pallas is also part of the base of the Fist; the T and the Fist may address two different Pallas in Sag related matters or may speak of just one that has several facets. A Fist of God can be as harsh as it sounds—it can represent a hard situation or conflict (the base square) that results in the apex, and whether that’s a positive outcome or a further frustration is often up to us. In this case, with the eclipse itself square Pallas as the initiating tension, we will likely see a New Moon event that challenges our ideas of wisdom and practicality (much like with the T), but the difference will be that resolution of this particular upset will either offer us entré to a wider social circle, will bring acquisition of new knowledge, philosophy, or belief, or could offer opportunity—the problem being that this may be forced on us, and feel more like punishment than a positive!

Jupiter is of course the supreme god, at least as far as those who gather on Mt. Olympus are concerned. As significator of the Fist outcome, this may suggest we feel very much at the mercy of some larger entity, something like society, which seems to call all the shots. It’s vital to remember at this time that this is a perception only; we are still able to fashion our individual choices and responses independent of the social sphere, should we truly want to—but making that choice holds consequences that we must be prepared to accept, should we go our own way.

This is an excerpt from the Solar eclipse article in ECLIPSE. Of course, we’re in Dark of the Moon territory right now, with Luna still to contact (by conjunction) Vesta, Mercury, Neptune, and Chiron before the Solar event–and that may mean a lot of restless energy, whispers just below hearing, looking for a place to express. This can be a very creative time, for those open to manifesting the urge that usually remains quiet in the unconscious–it’s accessible now; it’s as if we’re able to see into the dark corners of the mind, sensing things, with no need for direct illumination–take a look, see what’s in there.