Today’s full moon in Libra reaches its fullness at 11:48 a.m. Pacific. Though the moon is in balanced, thoughtful Libra it is opposite the sun and Venus in Aries. This gives this full moon a fiery energy. The moon in Libra looks to Venus for direction as she rules the sign of Libra. Venus is next to the Sun in the sky and picks up that fierce, driven energy of Aries. This is a time when it will become clear what your next desire is and you will have the drive to go fiercely after that desire, be it a relationship, career move, or personal goal. Tap into that spring Aries energy to manifest your dreams and use the discerning, contemplating moon energy to determine the best moves to reach your goal. With the fiery energy of this full moon, be cautious in your relationships not to be too pushy or quick to argue. You may feel like any suggestion that varies from your vision is a personal assault on your goals. It is not, you just feel very passionate about where you want to go right now. It is a great time to dream but remain discerning and balanced in your approach.
Today’s new moon in Aquarius finds itself at the late degrees of a 6 planet stellium in Aquarius thus amplifying that Aquarian energy as we set this cycle’s intention during the birth of the new moon. There is much debate among astrologers as to when the Age of Pisces ends, and the Age of Aquarius begins. As a studying astrologer, I do not wish to go against those with much more experience than I and say definitively that we are entering that new Age. But, after December’s Jupiter/Saturn conjunction in Aquarius and today’s emphasis that features a Jupiter/Venus conjunction, Aquarian themes are at the forefront of the planet’s collective.
It is a time to be innovative, idealistic, imaginative, and inventive. This is emphasized with the square aspect that Uranus is making today to Aquarius’ traditional ruler of Saturn. Many modern astrologers will give Aquarius rulership in Uranus as well which makes this conversation between Saturn and Uranus especially interesting. Uranus sits in the strength and beauty of earthly Taurus but both Taurus and Aquarius are fixed signs. Thus, there may be a tendency to be a bit too rigid in our thinking. You may feel fixed in your opinions and that your way is the “right” way for things to be done while others who disagree with you are wrong. Be careful not to be inflexible. Be gentle and patient as you focus your personal intuition to see where you can be innovative within your own life.
We are currently in a Mercury retrograde until February 20 so communication may be crisscrossed, and technology may have a mind of its own. I have seen some talk in the media villainizing technology. Comedian Bill Maher claimed on his program last week that phones were “ruining” the youth. Everything has a positive and negative side. Do your best not to dwell on the problems of technology that you miss the benefits and beauty of living with the advanced technology we have. Thanks to technology we can still communicate and have some sort of human connection while keeping the most vulnerable safe from the current pandemic. As above, so below. All manners are the balance of opposites. We are best to not over emphasize what we judge as “good” or “bad.” The sweet spot is the spot of balance which we are reminded of by the favorable trine today’s Aquarian planets have with the north node of moon, indicating that through balance we can evolve into a diplomatic and humanitarian future.
What is your role in this evolution? Consider that today, February 11 as the moon births anew at 11:05 a.m. Pacific.
May you find some time to rest and reflect today as we honor the winter solstice. Astrologically, the winter solstice is when the sun ingresses into Capricorn in the tropical zodiac.
Winter solstice is a time of rest and renewal. It is the darkest day of the year encouraging the next crop’s seeds to incubate in that darkness. As the sun is reborn in the coming months, the seeds that we incubate in the season’s darkness will sprout and grow. What are you seeding for your coming year?
We can feel the season in our ancestral bones as we all descend from agricultural societies. We are still dependent on that land for survival in our modern day though we may not be the ones personally tending and harvesting the land. This connection to the land and our ancestors carries forward as we respect and honor the seasons and the agriculturally based holiday times of our ancestors.
This winter solstice is especially powerful as a time to set intention for the coming year and beyond. Today we are also seeing the Great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, which only happens every 20 years. The conjunction today marks the beginning of a new era as the two planets conjoin at 00 degrees Aquarius. For the last 200 years, the conjunctions between Jupiter and Saturn have happened in earth signs (Virgo, Taurus, Capricorn) except for one in the 80s which was in the air sign of Gemini serving as a herald for the ushering in of the new age of Air that we are now fully crossing the threshold of.
Over the next 200 years, we will see our society change from a very earth centered material world, into a more technology based, community-based society. We are planting those seeds on this darkest day of the year and will watch them start to sprout over the coming years. This change will be slow, methodical and follow the rules of Jupiter and the structural limitations of Saturn.
Take some time to reflect today on what you want to bring forth in the coming year. What do you want to expand in your world that will take discipline to accomplish? Now it is the time to do what you may have been putting off but you know is your destiny. Leave what doesn’t serve you behind and step forward into a new age of yourself. Enjoy the restorative long night of darkness and nurture the seed within.
Monday’s (November 30, 2020) full moon at 8° Gemini is extra special as it is also a partial lunar eclipse. The sun and moon are opposite one another close to the moon’s nodes so that the earth’s shadow will cross the moon dimming its light. Generally, the moon in Gemini is a time of duality, looking at both sides of a situation and adjusting our point of view. As the moon is near the north node at 20° Gemini, we are focused on where we are going as souls and what will help us evolve further in our own personal spiritual quests. This lunar eclipse starts the eclipse session as it is prior to the upcoming total solar eclipse on December 14, 2020 at 23° Sagittarius. A lunar eclipse prior to a solar eclipse focuses on the emotional, unconscious underpinnings that may bring about sudden external events per the energy of the upcoming total solar eclipse.
The full Moon is opposite the sun in Sagittarius. The sun is near the south node which offers a reflection of where we have been and what is comfortable to us. What areas of our personal comfort that we heavily identify with are holding us emotionally back? The eclipse season tends to bring sudden change and will influence us for the next 6 months. This eclipse cycle started in 1634 at the south pole and brings with it the energy of the midpoint between the planets of Venus and Pluto. We may see sudden breakups in our relationships and patterns. This full moon is a time of considering what has run its course in our lives that we may be led away from.
Gemini is a fast thinking and mutable sign which can quickly jump from graven to joyful. It easily sees issues from both sides. The cup is always both half full and half empty and wisdom is in seeing it as both. At a time when the people of the United States are extremely polarized, we could all stand to embrace Gemini’s mutability and see that togetherness lies in more flexibility. Remaining at odds keeps us from moving forward and keeps us stuck in that south node past. To move towards the future through the north node in air is to consider both sides objectively and find workable compromises that moves us forward as a united community.
This year has been a time of forced isolation for all of us due to the pandemic. There are emotional gifts that come from isolation though it has been a painful experience for most of us. Gemini moon is an intellectual, fast thinking time where we can emotionally identify our blocks without as much attachment as we may have in other signs. Let it go and avoid attachment to prepare yourself for the changes the coming eclipse season may bring.
This time of endings is further emphasized as we approach the Jupiter/Saturn conjunction at 00° Aquarius on the December 21 winter solstice which will mark the beginning of a new era that is more community minded, intellectual and technology driven.
This evening’s new moon in Scorpio is setting the stage for the upcoming full moon/lunar eclipse on November 30, which starts the eclipse cycle. The upcoming solar eclipse on December 14 is a Saros South 4 series eclipse indicating an emphasis on relationships, especially the ending of relationships.
The sun and moon are conjunct tonight in Scorpio which digs in the depths of our souls to help direct us. This new moon is a good time to review what has bothered you about your relationships over the last weeks that Mars has been retrograde. You have been in a state of review and now Mars is starting to move forward again and you may feel compelled to start taking actions on what has been reviewed by you. Consider that relationships speak to more than just interpersonal relationships. You have relationships with your work/life balance, with news, with politics, with food, with hobbies. What is no longer serving you? Do you need to control how much access you give to the news and political turmoil of our day?
We are on the edge of a paradigm shift during this time as well. After the December 13 eclipse, we come into Saturn and Jupiter conjoining at 0 degrees Aquarius on the winter solstice, December 21. This is significant as it starts a 200-year cycle of Saturn and Jupiter interacting in air signs. We finish the 200-year cycle of them interacting in physical earth. The emphasis on material items will change to a more intellectual, community-based paradigm. It is the end of an age and a new beginning that one could argue kicks off the switch into the age of Aquarius from the age of Pisces.
Tonight’s new moon is sextile the Jupiter/Pluto conjunction we experienced last week. We are looking deeply into what expands and gives us power both emotionally and spiritually. We also see Venus squaring that Jupiter/Pluto conjunction again highlighting where relationship change is needed.
We all have the ability to create a safe, spiritual space for ourselves mentally, whether we are in the city or out in the remote countryside. We do not have to feed into the turmoil we see playing in front of us. We can find our own inner peace within and then radiate that out into the world. From our depths, comes the light. This is what we are asked to do during these “end” times. We are birthing a new world, a new way of being. There are those that will cling to the old and suffer for it. This is a time of cutting cords and building new relationships. It is time to evolve.
We experienced a special full moon this morning at 7:49 a.m. PDT as it rang in the time of Samhain, known as Halloween. The full moon in Taurus is opposite the sun in Scorpio giving us a time of deep reflection into what we honor as beauty and comfort. Uranus is conjunct the moon indicating that some unexpected changes may occur in our unconscious. Uranus brings us a look into the primordial chaos. We may be jolted to start new habits. You may feel the urge to change your appearance today, beyond tonight’s costume!
The Sun, Moon and Uranus are all at the midpoint of Mercury and the mid-heaven today as well. According to Reinhold Ebertin’s The Combination of Stellar Influences, this is about one’s own self-knowledge and personal outlook. This is a time of inner reflection and possible sudden change in our thoughts. We may experience a push to act on those new insights.
Halloween is known as Samhain for most pagan traditions. It is the New Year’s Eve feast for the Celts and many pagans today. According to the Witches’ Bible, it is “the mysterious moment which belonged to neither past nor present, to neither this world nor the Other.” It is a time outside of time and thus a time when the veil between the Otherworld and physical world is at its thinnest.
Alexei Kondratiev writes in the Apple Branch of five dominant themes of Samhain: renewal, hospitality for the dead, dissolution, timelessness, and sacrifice. I’m going to explore folklore and traditions through these 5 themes.
Theme of Renewal
Samhain marks the death of the light half of the year and the birth of dark half of the year. It is in darkness that all beginnings hatch. Seeds sprout under the ground and humans begin to form in the darkness of the womb. As we enter the dark half of the year, we enter the goddess’ cauldron of transformation.
Samhain is a time of affirming that physical death is not the final act of existence. Samhain celebrates the triumph of life over death.
In ancient pagan times, the bonfire was a symbol of renewal. All household fires were extinguished before Samhain. Then a large bonfire was lit on a hill. In Scotland and Wales, these were built for days ahead on the highest ground near to the house. Then, all the households would relight their own fires from the Samhain bonfire. This was the marking of the New Year and new projects.
Samhain was also the time that agricultural field work was to be abandoned to make room for the new. Any crops that were not harvested by Samhain were left to rot. There was a belief that the “Pooka” came through and poisoned any leftover crops after Samhain.
Theme of Hospitality for the Dead
The theme of hospitality for the dead is one that crosses over many cultures. For the celts, Feile na Marbh, was the feast of the dead where deceased ancestors and other friendly spirits are invited to the feast and to be reunited with loved ones who are otherwise separated by time and dimensions of existence. It is considered a time to strengthen karmic ties with those that you wish to be with again through another lifetime.
Christianity tried to take over the holiday much like they did with other pagan holidays. The aspect of communion with the dead was Christianized as All Hallows. The date was moved to November 1 and extended to the whole church by pope Gregory IV in 834. The reformation abolished it as it was “too pagan.” It was formally restored by the church of England in 1928 when they assumed that the old pagan associations were dead, which we know is not true.
Mexico has their Day of the Dead festival which also falls during the window of Samhain. They honor their ancestors with drinking and feasting and to toast the personification of death, who was believed to take this day off as his one day off for the year.
Other cultures have a dumb supper which is a feast for the dead. Some cultures believe in eating with the dead while others feel that the food left for the dead should not be eaten by the living.
Theme of Dissolution
Samhain is also known as mischief night and the start of the reign of the Lord of Misrule. It is a time of looking primordial chaos in the face to discern in it the seeds of a new order.
Samhain is a time of dressing up in masks and putting on a different face which breaks the bonds of what society expects and helps to bring about the realization of the authentic self. Cross dressing was common during Samhain as it was a way to shed the trappings of gender. “The dissolution of the incomplete and spiritually unproductive social persona allows the emergence of a fresh identity more open to Otherworld gifts and thus capable of magical influence of the environment,” explains Kondratiev in The Apple Branch.
Pranks are common during Samhain. It was a time of tricking those in power to help balance the power of society. In Rome, Samhain was known as upside down day when kings were slaves and slaves were kings.
The practice of carving pumpkins and gourds come from ancient times when faces where carved into gourds to scare off evil spirits.
Theme of Timelessness
Celtic Mythology sees Samhain as the partial return to primordial chaos. It is the dissolution of established order in order to start anew. This escape from the linear progression of time makes it ideal for divination.
Most of the divination of the ancient ancestors was for future marriage partners. Today we see divination of upcoming events of the year or issues that should be considered for the year. There was much circumstance over who was the first visitor to the house after Samhain. Thoughts were that a dark-skinned or darkly clothed individual brought protection to the home for the year.
Druids used hazelnuts in their divination and read the nuts as they jumped while roasting in the Samhain fire. Today we use scrying, tarot and pendulums as ways to divine our focus on issues for the new year.
Theme of Sacrifice
Samhain was a time of giving sacrifice to the earth for blessings for the coming year’s crop. Past ancient cultures participating in physical sacrifices as a gift of life energy to the land spirits.
Today, the theme of sacrifice on Samhain is one of personal sacrifice. We sacrifice our old self and issues into the Samhain fire to transform the energy into new growth within ourselves.
Resources
Sabbats: A Witch’s Approach to Living the Old Ways, Edain McCoy, Llewellyn Publications, 2001; ISBN 1567186637
The Combination of Stellar Influences, Robert Ebertin, American Federation of Astrologers, 1972; ISBN 086690087
Avalon Within: Inner Sovereignty and Personal Transformation Through the Avalonian Mysteries, Jhenah Telyndru, Ninth Wave Press, 2005; ISBN 1419600206
The Apple Branch, Alexi Kondratiev, Citadel Press, 1998; ISBN 0806525029
A Witches’ Bible: The Complete Witches’ Handbook, Janet and Stewart Farrar, Phoenix Publishing, 1996; ISBN 0919345921
The pressure is on as the moon conjoins the sun in Libra today at 12:30 p.m. PDT. As Mercury continues to retrograde in Scorpio, this is a time of digging deep within one’s shadow and identifying those places where you are off balance. The moon/sun conjunction is in opposition to Mars, also retrograding through its home sign of Aries. How are your own or other’s actions throwing you off balance? Are there conflicts that you are absorbing that are not your own? Where do you need to shore up your boundaries to bring yourself back to equilibrium?
These have been hard, trying times and the intensity continues with this Mars to Sun/Moon opposition also at a hard 90 degree angle to the planet party we have going in Capricorn with Pluto, Jupiter and Saturn all within 3 degrees of each other. This is bringing an earthy grounding to the new moon opposition and offering choices in how we regain our balance. Are there destructive ancestral patterns of behavior that you need to identify and release? Are their habits and actions you should expand on? And finally, what is working and should remain?
As we approach the upcoming major conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in Aquarius, we want to be thinking about what we want to bring forth in the new paradigm we are moving into. This new moon is a time to reflect and set those priorities of what needs to be released and what needs to be built as we walk through those gates on the winter solstice of December 21, 2020.
The skies also indicate a time of sudden epiphanies with Mercury retrograding in Scorpio into a direct opposition with Uranus retrograding in Taurus. This becomes exact on Monday evening. As we dig into our shadows, Uranus supports flashes of insight and changes in our perspectives.
This new moon is in Libra, so it is heavily influenced by Venus, the Lady of Libra. Venus is currently in Virgo and moving into an opposition with Neptune in its rulership of Pisces. We may be discriminating in our relationships, but we must counter that with our dreams of what we want to create and the love we wish to bring into the world. This is supported as Venus moves into a supportive 120-degree angles with the Capricorn party, known as a trine. Venus trines Jupiter on Monday and then moves into trine with Pluto and Saturn throughout next week. This is supportive in finding that ground of what we want in our relationships and creative pursuits through this moon cycle.
There have been a few astrologically significant events that have led up to the October 1st full moon which affect its energy and any workings one may do during this celestial event. The sun shifted into Libra on September 22 beginning the dark half of the year. We can already see and feel the shift in light.
On September 28, Mercury moved into Scorpio. Mercury is the planet of messages, communication, intellect, and critical thinking. Scorpio likes to dig down deep, into the murk and feel. Mercury in Scorpio is a time of emotional shadow work. Taking time to dig down deep into one’s feelings and critically analyze what is working for us and what is not. What unconscious behaviors or thoughts may be limiting us and keeping us from our goals?
Nature provides a self-care guide when we honor her ways. This time of year, is a time of drawing in, picking the last of the harvests, getting yourself and your home ready for winter and the loss of light. Mercury in Scorpio helps us take that drawing in into ourselves and our psyches as well. Mercury always ingresses into Scorpio at some point in the fall but this year, we get a longer run than most years. Mercury turns retrograde on October 14 traveling backwards through Scorpio and back in Libra on October 29 prior to our next full moon on October 31. We will then have the opportunity for further shadow work with Mercury traveling back into Scorpio on November 11 where it will remain until the messenger planet moves on into Sagittarius on December 2.
Looking at this with the moon cycles, it supports deep critical analysis these first two weeks after the full moon. Then, just before the new moon of October 16, Mercury’s retrograde motion brings a time of reflection on what came up for us after the full moon. For the next full moon on October 31, Mercury has moved into Libra to give us a more “balanced” view of our inner work.
Another celestial event that is coloring this full moon is the square between Saturn and Mars which occurred on Tuesday, the night of the most embarrassing presidential debate in recent history. Both Saturn and Mars are in their home signs of Capricorn and Aries respectfully and they faced each other in the sky at a 90-degree angle indicating a conflict between the two archetypes. Saturn in Capricorn encourages progress but in a methodical, practical way, respecting the limits of physical manifestation. Mars in Aries wants to get things done at whatever cost and as quickly as possible. It acts first and thinks later. Sound like that debate?
In this planetary cage fight, Saturn has the upper hand as it is “overtaking” Mars in that it is moving ahead of Mars in degrees as Mars is in retrograde motion right now, which also weakens its action. Saturn also turned direct on Tuesday, increasing its power. Retrograde Mars encourages us to reflect on our actions, especially those we tend to make passionately and spontaneously. That square is still active for the full moon Thursday as the planets are just one degree apart in each of their signs. Thus, for our reflective time this full moon, we want to think about what structures we want to build and what impulsive actions may be hindering their construction. Dig deep with that Mercury in Scorpio to consider the ways in which you are not serving yourself with your anger or impulsiveness.
The moon is in Aries for this full moon opposing the sun in Libra. The moon in Aries highlights those unconscious habits and actions that we take impulsively. This is the time to look at our unconscious behaviors with the balanced energy from the sun lighting them up. What in the shadows is hindering our personal growth? What is taking away from our own sense of beauty both within us and with what surrounds us in the physical world?
Shadow work can be challenging as it takes looking within in an observational rather than judgmental way. It is important to take on this work from a place of self-love. This is supported by the planets this full moon as Venus and the Sun are in mutual reception. Mutual reception is when two planets are in each other’s ruling sign and thus look to each other for how to act. The Sun is in Libra which is ruled by Venus and Venus is in Leo, ruled by the Sun. This full moon is a time to shine the light of love on that shadow.
The full moon in Aquarius with the Sun in Leo marks the ancient festival of Lughnasadh/ Lammas or Gwyl Awst in Welsh. Lammas is the beginning of the harvest, the time when the sun vitalizes the grain providing our nourishment for the coming year. What are we starting to harvest personally during this time?
This year’s Lammas Full Moon is a time to realize the fruits of our individual unique path. The full moon is the balance of the axis between signs with today’s full moon being a balance of Leo and Aquarius. Leo being ultra-individualistic and courageous in expressing its authentic self and Aquarius being a thoughtful sign whose ideas are with the concern of the greater community. On this full moon we are looking at the balance of our own personal authenticity and what gifts does our authentic selves have to offer to the betterment of the community. The key is authenticity, not the mask that you show to society, but who you really are. Too many of us hide who we really are and ultimately don’t accept parts of ourselves due to societal pressures. Yet, the reality is we can’t properly serve our community until we are truly our authentic selves. Bowing to societal pressure and wearing the mask that you think society wants you to wear, does not help the community but holds it back.
This full moon is forming a T square with Uranus in Taurus. A T Square is when two planets opposite one another while at the same time the opposing planets both form a square angle to the current placement of another planet. Since it is a full moon, the sun and moon are opposite each other, but they also are both at a 46-degree angle to Uranus. Uranus in Taurus is about a steady strong change or acceptance of a unique, individual path. This gives extra emphasis about how important it is during this time of harvest to be true to your individual path as that will serve the community.
As the harvest affects our months to come, we see in the full moon chart aggressive Mars in its home sign of Aries making a square to Jupiter in Capricorn. Through the upcoming months Mars will square Jupiter, Pluto and Saturn as it turns retrograde on September 9. For today’s planetary conversation, Mars has the upper hand as Jupiter does not like to be in Capricorn. Jupiter is in “fall” in Capricorn which is the opposite of being exalted. Capricorn does not have much time for Jupiter and it’s jovial, big expansive ideas. The danger here is going after what you want regardless of the consequences. You may feel motivated to push forward with the big energy of Mars, the planet of action. Think about the consequences of your actions prior to taking them and make sure you are acting from a place of authenticity! Jupiter is also making a positive sextile aspect to Neptune in Pisces where it can provide you with intuitive flashes of your authenticity and tune you into the collective consciousness.
Mercury in emotional cancer is opposite Saturn in its home of Capricorn. Mercury is also quincuix Venus in Gemini meaning it can not see or access knowledge from Venus. Be cautious in your communications this Lammas especially with your loved ones. Saturn can be exacting and very sure it knows what’s right. Couple this with feeling an emotional push to communicate, and there could be words said that hurt. Be careful to not emotionally spout off as you’re feeling that big Martian energy to push ahead with your plans.
It’s been years since I’ve wrote regularly. In my early life, writing was my outlet, my release, my anger management. I set it aside after college to make a living and raise my kids. Oh, the writing tools are always used in the working world, but the free, unabashed sharing of my strange ideas was set aside to do more “adult” things.
I’ve felt the pull to share again through writing as I move into my nodal return in Gemini. I am a child of the 60s whose life started during a time of social unrest and of prophets like Martin Luther King. Many of those astrological energies that I was born under are back today as the universe continues to evolve and send humanity down a path of choice leading to our future as a beautifully diverse collective. As I am now moving towards the crone stage of life and enough years lived on this planet to be considered an elder, the time has come for me to free my voice.
As I’m sure every single blogger has said before they took on this public writing endeavor, I have no idea where this will go. I’m an adult with ADHD who consistently thinks in circles. There will be a heavy nod to astrology as that is my current study and passion. I hope to share with readers the insights I am gaining through formal astrology study at Kepler College. But like everyone, I identify in many different circles.
Many people know me from my work as a music publicist working with progressive rock and jazz artists. I retired from that business to work with students with disabilities. I’ve served as a speech to text interpreter for deaf students and currently work at a university as an advisor and advocate for students with disabilities. I’m a mother of two college aged children and a fierce advocate of transgender and disability rights. I’m also a vegan for many personal reasons most notably that I feel it is the biggest impact I can personally make towards fighting climate change.
Those are my roles and identities in the community that influence my personal truth. I have the communication planet of Mercury retrograde in my natal chart and I’ve always tended to look at things differently than those around me. I hope to express those different views in a way that will be inspirational to some and thought provoking to others. The pages of this website will be my views and the personal truths that I have encountered. I believe we all have our own personal truths that we must search out and honor for ourselves. The only way you will ever know what is true is to look deeply within yourself and find it within you. Let’s begin . . .
