The Moon will rise in its Full illumination this evening as it is directly opposite the Sun at around 2:44 PM Pacific Standard Time. Last night it was only shy of 1% so it probably looked pretty full as well. It will be in the sign of Gemini, the Twins, at 3 degrees, 20 seconds of arc. Gemini is affiliated with the archetype of The Teacher and the Storyteller as it is ruled by Mercury. Gemini is in the element of air and so we associate it with the mental faculties. It can be quite the communicator, able to take in and process information at a rapid pace, and then respond appropriately without skipping a beat. With its hunger for curiosity and desire to engage in new thoughts rather than routine predictability, it can become bored if not stimulated. As the mind keeps rolling along, if left too long to its own terrain, it can lead to neurosis or an exhaustion of the nervous system. It is key then for Gemini to have a life filled with variety and fresh new experiences where it can exercise its mind and change course as necessary. The Sun entered the sign of Sagittarius a few days ago and is therefore very close to Saturn. Sagittarius, a fire sign, also engages with the mind, but in more of a theoretical capacity. As Sagittarius seeks to understand the meaning of life, experiencing life as a quest to explore the “questions”. With Saturn in Sagittarius, we find a disciplined calculating approach aimed at this exploration. At its worst, Sagittarius can get a little too full of itself and end the search for meaning, believing it has found the “Holy Grail” and becomes the fanatical one touting to “know”. The archer’s goal is to always keep a set of arrows ready continuing to aim for its lifetime, enriching and deepening its understanding. Getting into the mix is Neptune, the planet that is known for all things “formless”, preferring to live in the terrain of the dream, the bliss of drifting into universal consciousness and the connected feeling that “we are all one”. As this nebulous mystical landscape can result in a loss of time or detachment from factual reality, we need to stay present to the potential for illusion. So we have a mental curious Moon trying to strike a balance with the taskmaster Saturn while being broadsided from Neptune to “follow the dream”. What do we make of this? We may all feel a bit mentally high strung and are encouraged to be social or do something that warms our hearts by allowing our minds to feel curiously engaged. As disciplinarian Saturn will be confronting us, we may feel that there is an authority trying to make something of our experiences and we may inherently just want to “move on” to the next idea that gets our attention. Neptune will be in our ear prompting us to “chill out” and “just be” allowing ourselves to “zone out”, while our hearts and minds are spilling over with excitement. In fact, Saturn and Neptune will remain in tense aspect to each other peaking tomorrow. The god of form, Saturn, will be engaging with the god of formlessness, Neptune. While they are both in mutable signs meaning there will be some level of dynamic flexibility, we may experience a level of restriction in following our dreams. Rather than being allowed to creatively and compassionately float about, we may have to sit down and do the hard work of bringing those visions into form. This friction can lead to a feeling of depression as we lose some of the freedom to just be joyful and spontaneous. While we don’t want to let Saturn harden our beliefs to the extreme resulting in arguments as we feel we know the truth and everyone else is just a “buffoon”. If we also allow Neptune to go to its dark side, we could want to escape the restrictions by engaging in addictive behaviors. If we can integrate these tensions, we can allow Neptune to hold the dream while Saturn keeps our feet on the ground. It is a delicate line that will need to be harnessed with presence of these two motivations. Find 3 degrees of Gemini in your chart to know what area of life is being highlighted at this Full Moon. If you want to explore your individual chart more deeply, please contact me for a reading. www.crescentmoonastrology.com
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We just passed the First Quarter Moon Phase and we find the Moon in Pisces today near Chiron. In mythology, Chiron was a Centaur (half horse/half man) who through healing his own wounds was able to assist in the healing of others. Lately the energies have been quite intense and while at first glimpse we might anticipate this from a Sun and Mercury in Scorpio, known for psychological intensity, it seems there is something more than that going on. We also recently had Venus and Mars move out of Virgo and into Libra. The sign of Libra, isn’t that all about getting along, peace, harmony and love? The Ruler of Libra is Venus, don’t we all love her as she brings beauty and love to the world? Well, perhaps, but as every “front has a back” and “what goes up must fall down”, we may want to contemplate the dark side of Venus. Just as in love, we want to see the good, the virtuous, and the possibility of love forevermore. But as we have all experienced, sometimes love breaks hearts and wreaks havoc on our psyche. The Mayans did not view Venus as the ‘harbinger of love’ but rather violence. Sometimes Venus rises before the Sun which is known as Venus Lucifer “Light Bringer” and at other times after the Sun which would be Venus Hesperus. Currently we are in Venus Lucifer phase. Venus relates to desire whether it be love, money, power, material possessions, strength or anything else captured by desire. If we look at the dark side of desire, we may experience lust, materialism, manipulation, and superficial presentation for “all that glitters may not be gold”. We see examples of a Venusian crisis as women and men seek to alter their natural born image to fit with what is deemed most desirable and beautiful in our culture, leading to eating disorders, issues with self-esteem and potentially sexual violence arising out of the need to possess and have power over another. We don’t like to look at these realities stemming from a Planet that we often want to glamorize and deem positive, but it is not hard to find evidence or personal experiences that correlate to the tragedies of love. There can be a fine line between love and madness. This is not to indicate that pure healthy love does not exist, however, we need to look at the dark and the light in order to find balance. Currently, the Lord of the Underworld, Pluto is interacting with Venus. Pluto relates the deep psychological shadow material, the unconscious. We need only spend some time in a psychologist’s office to know that this is not easy terrain. It often brings up our wounds, parts of us that have powerless, and scars that need a healthy dose of healing to make one feel whole again. As Pluto moves slowly through the sign of Capricorn, we are focusing on structures and the framework of our soul and the structures of society at large. It addresses our responsibility, our commitments, our integrity, logic and reason. Like a butterfly, Pluto denotes transformation. In the process of transforming, we may have to first address the ugly, the dark shadows to arise from the ashes renewed. Venus is also nearing an opposition with Uranus, the rule-breaker and the god of thunderbolts and lightning and it can have the effect of unexpected changes or alternative realities that seek to foster authentic expression by shattering the “norm”. Mercury has just shifted from Scorpio into Sagittarius as I am writing this. As Mercury is the “Messenger of the Gods”, we may have recently come into contact with our own psychological material which may have stirred some things inside us to be released. Now as Mercury moves into Sagittarius, we may be have our minds seeking adventure and the higher meaning of things. As times may be challenging and shifting at this time, remember that nothing is more certain than change and “this too shall pass”.
Five days ago Venus left Virgo and entered Libra, and now Mars has followed suit. Virgo relates to the Craftsperson and the Servant who humbly works to perfect a skill motivated by helping others whether it is tending to the crops or organizing every last detail. Libra relates to the Diplomat, the Negotiator, and the Artist as one is motivated by harmony, beauty, balance and justice. With Venus in Libra, some astrological camps would say that is “exalted”, or a preferential placement. It is true that Venus rules Libra so it feels at home but all placements have their positive and negative possibilities. This balanced approach demonstrates the Libran quality of equality, not seeing anything as better than another, just an opportunity to work with different energy. So as Venus enters Libra, we can see our relationships working towards cohesion trying to work towards playing well together. Mars is ruled by Aries and can have a bit of a fighter mentality as Mars holds the force of will to face obstacles and be courageous. When placed in Libra, the aim would be directed towards consideration of all in order to feel victorious. This could feel somewhat less forceful, but there is power in compromise and knowing when to keep the peace. As we currently have Saturn and Neptune in early degrees as well, we will have some interactions with these Planets to Venus and Mars. Saturn is stimulating Venus and Mars to “go steady” and remember the “higher vision” or greater meaning of it all. This may add a grounding force to striving for harmony or help to ground the artistic vision. Neptune will be nudging the Mars and Venus to drift occasionally and enter the great mystery so daydreaming and paying attention to dreams may ask for some adjustments to keep things in balance. With the Moon in waxing crescent phase in Sagittarius, we may feel a bit of a spark, a charge or enthusiasm to engage in life. After an emotional Scorpio New Moon, this may offer us some optimism to our hearts. Following that which leads us to open up to all possibilities whether totally rational or realistic may warm the heart and carry us forward.
This New Moon is in Scorpio meeting up with the Sun and Mercury and has quite a story to tell. As the Moon will be at 19 degrees Scorpio, many other Planets are also around that degree making for some interesting interactions. If we look solely at Scorpio for a moment, we may find ourselves thinking about sex as we may have come across that stereotype at one point in our lives. The essence of Scorpio may play out to have a strong sexual appetite, but there is a lot more at play. Scorpio lives in the watery, emotional and psychological caverns of reality. Not impressed with surface level understandings, they want to dig into the dirt, the grit, the layer below that which seems obvious. Compelled to seek the raw truth and grasp an understanding of the core workings of life’s existence, this sign is not for the faint of heart. Fueled by the limits of human existence, riding the edges of the shadow realm, we find issues such as immortality, the deep subconscious, and the dramatic intensity of human relationships. When looking at the real motivations and propensities of human existence and what is driving the chariot, we start to expose the layers of the onion which enthrall the Scorpion. As the Sun is in Scorpio every Fall in the Northern Hemisphere, we see a beautiful and intense color display as many foliage is having their “last hurrah” before falling to their death, unable to absorb the sun’s life energy when they were filled with green chlorophyll. If we are in the Southern Hemisphere, the Season of Spring is emerging and we find the dramatic blooming and birthing of life. This cycle of death and eventual rebirth mirrors the Scorpio experience. In this New Moon, we are invited to delve into our shadows- the raw and intensely beautiful aspects of being a human energy filled with light and shadows, and a soul essence. In this exploration, we come into contact with our own power and also where we must surrender to the limitations of our power. As the Moon contacts Chiron, we find messages relating to our wounding that we can transform into healing, resulting in a place of strength and service to others. As Jupiter stimulates this Moon to keep with routine and to take the necessary steps to analyze the dark details, we may find that walking through the darkness brings humility and leads to renewal. Pluto, the Ruler of Scorpio is also encouraging us to have the fortitude and discipline to transform our lives by releasing that which does not serve our greatest good and may have become hardened or calcified. To add some fire to the equation comes Uranus who makes us feel just a tad bit irritated or uncomfortable in order to help us to muster up the courage to claim ourselves, to claim our birthright. In this time, we can walk into the dark night of the soul to heal, forgive, release, and re-emerge whole beings embracing the dark and the light of our humanity.
Find 19 degrees Scorpio in your chart to determine your individual influence seen through the house placement that reflects the area of life highlighted for you. At this time, we can set intention around what we seek to become and claim for ourselves as we walk towards our soul’s manifestation, blossoming at the Full Moon in 2 weeks. To find out more about my astrological services, please visit my website at www.crescentmoonastrology.com. The Moon has just passed the waning last quarter phase in Leo and will be laying low until it moves into Virgo this evening. We call this stage where the Moon doesn’t interact with the Sun or the Planets as ‘Void Of Course’. During this timeframe, it is suggested to not take on initiating new projects or starting anything new as the Moon is almost in a dreamy state, acting alone, and connecting us more with intuitive feeling states rather than the more yang or action-oriented energies. We can mediate during this time and choose to connect in with the more mystical, enchanting aspects of the Moon as time is less concrete and rational. Paying attention to dreams or the desire to take a nap may prove worthwhile activities during this time. It can be a time that works well for revising projects that were already started or cleaning out the “old clutter” that we don’t feel serves us anymore. As we may be a little distracted and entranced by the dream like flow of time, we may lose track of time or things may be misplaced. We may choose to gather with old friends and play, enjoying this creative and ethereal time. The main idea is that “nothing will come of this” as things started under Void Of Course Moon do not seem to lead where one expects or just go nowhere at all.
The Scorpio Sun is being stimulated by Pluto over the next several days, enhancing the energy to see the real truth and intensity in validation of the raw and core parts of our existence, unleashing the shadow material. The things we may have chosen to conceal or not work with at this time may be asking us to stay committed to the process and hold a candle of light to the dark edges. With the Virgo collection of Planets Mars, Venus and Jupiter, getting down to details and probing are reinforced. If we put our efforts into reorganizing or restructuring with an eye on the minutia, we may find support from the universe in these mundane endeavors. |
Jen PetersAstrologer Archives
December 2020
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