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New Moon Solar Eclipse in Gemini

Sun, 20 May 2012 16:47:24 -0700

We are once again in another eclipse cycle: a solar eclipse at this New Moon and a Lunar Eclipse will follow at the Full Moon on June 4th. Solar eclipses are a time when the shadow of the Moon passes across the earth, creating an omen of things to come to those of us who pay attention to the signs and signals of planetary movements. This eclipse seems to be saying, “Watch your thoughts!”

In the very beginning degree of any sign, we are looking at new experiences, or we could say we are looking at inexperience in the areas denoted by that sign. As we move around the zodiac, each sign is a progression of the development of the psyche, a movement forward from the previous sign. At 0˚ of Gemini, where this eclipse takes place, we are just beginning to come out of the sign before it, Taurus, with its emphasis upon the material world, and the hope of security it provides for us. In Gemini, we are learning that we can exchange information with each other, communicate in intricate ways that really distinguish us from other living beings. This is certainly a signature of our times. Caught in the world of material attachments, we can forget that learning to see both sides of an issue (Gemini is a dual sign) can bring us a richer understanding of the world around us, and is the path to peacemaking.

Or, we can use our the art of communication to remain unevolved, and further our materialistic selfish goals, as is evidenced by the vast sums of money being spent to discredit political candidates. This is old news. We are learning that to speak our own truth, state what is true for us, rather than casting stones at others, puts us in our integrity, leaves our slate clean from attachments to those we have an aversion to. Whether we know it or not, our negativity toward others attaches us to them, and those traces follow us around in our unconscious lives.

This eclipse is square (forms a 90˚ angle) to Neptune, the planet that rules the unconscious and dreams/visions. When two configurations square each other there’s a lot of energy there that can go into places that are dodgy and unsafe. Sun and Moon square Neptune can be a signal that we are being delusional about ourselves and our conclusions about others. We can easily go off on a tangent that has nothing to do with reality, or with relating to others. Watch your thoughts! Before making any kind of important decisions in the next few weeks, consult with others and use the Gemini aspect of communication to get other points of view. Eclipses have influences that extend often to the next eclipse cycle (6 months from now) and even beyond.

Venus and Saturn are both retrograde right now, but they are trine to each other (forming a harmonious 120˚ angle). Venus is the love of beauty, aesthetics, and Saturn creates structures for us, and so this is a time to use your right brain activities to invoke a poetic and aesthetic awareness in order to find a way through to self-expression. Mars is also trine Pluto and this gives us a deep energetic awareness that can be used to join with others and help them make necessary changes. This is the transforming power of right action, of learning where to put your energies so that they help others as well as yourself, and to bring a new understanding of the power of connecting through community.

Mercury and Jupiter join forces at this New Moon eclipse, both in Taurus. Jupiter brings a sense of expansiveness to Mercury’s otherwise rather stoic Taurus placement, adding a feeling of pleasure in working with projects that help increase our sense of security and self-worth. Both form an inconjunct (an angle of 150˚) to Saturn, which is a caveat to that exuberance: be cautious in observing what the long-range effects of your actions might be.

Eclipses emphasize the shadow contents in our lives, in this case, in our thinking and ways of communicating with others. We can use this influence to see patterns in our belief systems that may be contributing to holding us back from doing what we are called to do. If we are unafraid to scrutinize ourselves and examine where such beliefs might have resonance to familial and even ancestral roots, we can use this energy to increase our self-awareness. As we begin to change how we hold and contain these old beliefs, we are modifying the threads that connect us to the past, and paving the way for a future in which we are able to hold shadow without fear, and most importantly without projecting it onto others.

It is essential that we do this work now, for in the next two weeks many important astrological events are happening. A lunar eclipse takes place around the same time as a rare Venus transit across the Sun which will not happen again in our lifetimes. And there is an upcoming exact square between Uranus and Pluto. More on these later. Suffice it to say for now, that cleaning out our inner closets, ridding ourselves of unnecessary habits of negativity, cultivating mindfulness even when we are being negative, will serve us well when the pressure begins to mount and life gets even more intense (could it?) than it is now. We are on a wild ride of transformation, these are the times we have bargained for, and we are the people who will ride the river through the historic changes that are taking place all around us.

Full Moon in Scorpio 16˚ 01

Sat, 5 May 2012 20:35:59 -0700

This Full Moon is a SuperMoon, meaning it is at its perigee, the point in its orbit that’s closest to the Earth, as well as being directly in line with the Sun and Earth (called syzygy). The Full Moon will actually be a larger disk in the sky this month. This event is often coupled with higher tides, shifting tectonic plates, and shifting psyches as well. The Scorpio Moon intensifies our feelings, often resulting in sensitivity to what others are saying to us, over-reacting to life situations, and possible tantrums and fits of pique. But it is also a time to focus upon relationships where we feel trust, to bond and deepen that trust, to refresh oneself in a profoundly feeling way. Coupled with the intensity of the Moon at perigee, this could be a very powerful Full Moon.

At this Full Moon the Sun is conjoined with Ceres, an asteroid symbolizing the Great Mother archetype, from whose abundance we obtain sustenance that gives life to all beings on Earth. And Jupiter is also conjunct the Sun, bringing a strong emphasis upon the magnificence of the Earth’s bounty, and of the need to steward its resources. We, all of us, need to change the way we handle these precious resources, starting from small mundane things we use and take for granted, questioning “is this really necessary?” so as to become more and more the ones who steward her resources, in all of our kitchens and households, together.

At this Full Moon, Mercury, symbolizing our mind and thoughts and communications with others, very tightly opposes Saturn which symbolizes limitation and restriction. Coupled with the emotional intensity of the Scorpio Moon, this could signal arguments, disagreements, and situations which challenge our belief systems. We are being asked to evaluate our judgements at this time, to weigh them against our feelings and examine our thinking. We may be challenged by others to examine ourselves and our behaviors. Venus in Gemini, is acting as a release for this opposition, as it trines (forms an angle of 120˚) Saturn and sextiles (forms an angle of 60˚) Mercury. This is the time to engage humility coupled with loving kindness, but also to express oneself artistically through writing, singing, movement, or whatever way will serve as an outlet for feeling jammed, cranky or chaotic.

Mars in Virgo is still asking us to critically examine the motivations behind our actions with others, and in its opposition to the ongoing Neptune/Chiron conjunction, to know that this is a time to look at our shadow. The shadow represents the parts of ourselves our conscious mind is absolutely convinced that we are not like that! If there is someone you absolutely detest, then you can be sure they are holding shadow for you.

We are at an age where the changing understanding of the human psyche and of reality in general are profoundly affecting the ways in which we see our lives. As Jung said, “You always become the thing you fight the most.” We as a race of humans have yet to fully learn this truth, and yet we as individuals can understand the profound implications of projecting our shadow outside of ourselves onto others. As we more and more come to accept wholeness as the healing paradigm of our time (“whole” and “heal” have the same root word) we are faced with a dilemma of having to look within to understand the nature of “evil” and suffering. If we are enraged because we have been wronged, will we carry that rage in our hearts for the rest of our lives, and will it then make us ill?

The planets now in earth signs tell us that in our bodies lies the answer. In being physically held by another, in being nurtured by community, we can heal those old wounds, and allow hatred to transform and dissolve. In connecting with the Earth beneath us, we feel the wholeness of all Life, and it heals us. In moving our bodies through these feelings, allowing the passionate dance of being human to carry us into the next moment, and the next, we breathe new life into ourselves, and into all of Life around us.

This Scorpio Full Moon will bring us fully into the intensity of our passions. As human beings with choices as to how to use these energies, we can acquire the wisdom necessary to heal, if we can open ourselves to the generosity and counsel of others around us, and listen to their stories and experiences. Connecting with others is important now, as we prepare for the upcoming significant planetary alignments that are relevant to this year of the dragon, 2012, the year of great changes.

New Moon in Taurus 1˚ 35’

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 00:18:09 -0700

Taurus is an earth sign, and the sign of the Buddha, who was born and died under this sign. This New Moon signifies a new beginning in realizing our Buddha natures, which means simply to understand, embrace, and become aware of how we can take care of the earth, steward her resources, live as lightly as we can with over 7 billion people sucking at her breasts day in and day out. The Moon, which is astrologically the fastest moving planetary body, goes through thirty degrees of a sign of the zodiac in a couple of days, but is said to be exalted astrologically when it’s in Taurus, where it can rest and be much more stable than in other signs. The emotional body can then take stock of itself, and be more at peace, come home to what’s important.

This New Moon is beautifully aspected in a Grand Trine of planets, that is, it forms the most harmonious angle (120˚) with two other planets, forming an equilateral triangle of energies, with the earth at the center. This configuration at the New Moon speaks to rebirth, to the opportunity for a renaissance within each one of us, and in the world as well. We as individuals are responsible for activating the possibility within our consciousness to believe that yes, the world could change, it will change, and it will change for the better. Living within this awareness is part of the force that gets the ball rolling on a larger scale. Either we dedicate ourselves to being a part of that world that can change and improve, or it will pass us by and we will then tell ourselves that we were “right” in knowing that nothing ever changes, that we’re on the road to extinction, and the world we see will be that world.

In essence, I am speaking of faith. Or vision. Without it we perish. Without it, we are just getting by, and unconsciously contributing to making the load heavier for everyone else we connect with, and the rest of us on the planet.

The Grand Trine involves Mars (us taking action) and Pluto, the planet of powerful transformation and alignment with our soul’s calling. This is where the Grand Trine’s energy becomes a little dizzying for us. Pluto demands absolute dedication to being aligned with the truth of our existence. Which is? Which is that we are all deeply connected to one another. The times predicate that there is no more hiding from this truth. Treating someone as if they were separate from you, pretending that what you do to another will not at some time be reflected back to you, will activate Pluto’s imperative. It demands that we integrate our unconscious material, that we look into our shadowy underworld self and connect to it with humility. How this gets activated is often through the reflections given back to us in our relationships.

Enter Saturn in Libra, pulling at an opposition, though out of sign in late degrees of Libra, to the New Moon in Taurus. Saturn represents our lessons, it contains the restrictions that show up in our reality that seem to limit us, to head us off from where we were going, that demand we pay attention them. Sometimes we think Saturn’s pull is an interruption to our having fun, to enjoyment of life. But in the long run, if we meet Saturn’s demands for self-discipline and responsibility, we profit greatly from these so-called interruptions.

Since the Pluto energy is in harmonious trine aspect to the New Moon (forming a 120˚ angle) this is a golden opportunity to take note of where in our lives we are being asked to transform ourselves, to live differently and move in new directions that are more aligned with our soul’s calling. As such, we are being asked to see where we are ignoring our heart’s desires, and what our dreams are asking us to pay attention to.

Enter Neptune, the planet of dreams. It is pulling at an 180˚ opposition to Mars, one of the points of the Grand Trine. Neptune and Mars are like oil and water, they don’t mix. Mars is our physicalized desire to move and act in the world, and Neptune is our unconscious drives. When they oppose, we are often unaware of the motives behind our actions. Again, we are being asked to scrutinize our actions, especially when they don’t meet with desired results. We need to resist the urge to blame others when things don’t go the way we wanted them to. That’s the time to look at ourselves not with blame or shame, but in the direction of correcting our intentions, looking at how we might shift our focus to include what might have been lurking in our shadow, asking to be recognized.

Since the last Full Moon, Pluto has shifted direction and will be retrograde until September 17th. This is a time of getting more in touch with our shadow, allowing an internal exploration to set the tone for the next few months. The more comfortable we are with this process, with mining for gold, the easier a Pluto retrograde will be upon us. Uncovering and bringing non-judgemental consciousness to challenging parts of ourselves allows us to have more agency in the world, so that we are less threatened by people who reflect these qualities back to us. This is the secret of Pluto’s power.

Uranus and Pluto are coming closer and closer to squaring each other (forming an exact 90˚ angle) which I’ve been writing about off and on for the last few years. The drumbeats are getting louder as we approach the first exact square on June 24th of this year. With Uranus, the manifestation of this energy is unpredictable, but one thing is certain: big changes in our world are on the horizon. The day after Pluto goes direct in September, Uranus will exactly square it again, making that week a very intense time. The last time these two outer planets formed a square was 1932-34, a period of intense changes worldwide.

There is no doubt we are a critical time in the history of humanity. Since the times have changed but our governing structures have not, there must be breakdown and what follows will be the necessary restructuring. With the ongoing trine between Saturn and Neptune, we are at a time when vision is here among us, when if we keep the faith moving in our hearts and bodies, we will be making important energetic contributions to the more collective movement of change that is already happening. This positive change is not going to be reported by our corporate-owned media, but it is happening, it is ongoing, and I believe that the Uranus-Pluto squares are the energy that is needed for this movement of change to surface and be recognized as the true voice of the people. With Jupiter in Taurus unaspected at this New Moon, we may wonder where that faith is, and how our deep feelings can connect with the outer world, how we may be of use to others. Saturn tells us to look into our relationships with others, to interact and connect in ways that promote peacemaking and genuine “aloha.” Aloha is a word that encompasses many things: it is a knowing that you are a part of everything around you, and within that there is respect for all in Creation, that you are to care for, cherish and protect the beauty of Creation. This is true for Taurus energy as well; the earth body is all of our bodies, sharing Creation together, moving as One. In this deep feeling of connection is the faith that allows us to continue, that keeps the home fires burning, that brings true joie de vivre.

Full Moon in Libra 17˚ 23’

Fri, 6 Apr 2012 12:19:52 -0700

It has been quite a three weeks with Mercury retrograding back through Aries, stopping on its way to conjoin Uranus making driving in the city even more hazardous than you thought possible. Now in its last gasp before it shifts direct again, it’s in watery, shifty Pisces, not the greatest placement for retrograde Mercury, the planet that is supposed to be about communicating our needs, wants and desires. So as of April 4th, it has stationed and gone direct, meaning its force is moving out of the more subconscious realms and coming back to hopeful conscious clarity. In about 2 weeks, just after the next New Moon it will re-connect with Uranus, the planet of creative surprises and unpredictable sudden events.

However, for now we can celebrate its direct motion, (especially good for Geminis and Virgos) and await the coming station and direct movement of Mars on April 13th, which has been retrograde since January 23rd. If there’s projects or ideas that have been put on hold, after next Friday there should be some movement forward. And less confusion abounding in getting things done.

But the cosmic testing has already begun, and this Full Moon in Libra, the sign of the peacemaker, is putting our peacemaking abilities to the test. The Aries/Libra polarity speaks to the individual’s needs to assert itself versus the need to create cooperation in relationship. “I” or “we”? How about both? Saturn in Libra, also retrograde, is widely opposed the Sun, which sets the tone for this Full Moon. Watch your boundaries, and keep your heart open at the same time.

Venus is in a T-square configuration, being the planet that forms a right angle to the opposition of Mars and Neptune at this Full Moon. She’s in Gemini, and willing to talk, but Mars in Virgo (retro) is tugging at Neptune in Pisces. How do our actions measure up to our dreams and our ideals? Are we visualizing one thing and doing another? And is our heart (Venus) suffering the consequences? The T-square is a “cross to bear,” and this one is a testing of our ability to speak with the voice of our heart when what we thought was happening (both Gemini and Virgo are ruled by Mercury) isn’t measuring up to what we’re sensing or feeling (Neptune in Pisces). Mars opposed Neptune speaks to repressed desires, often complicated by unconscious or even underhanded actions. We may discover our shadow lurking in even the best of our actions, or we may project our shadow onto another and be quite certain they are the cause of our suffering. But there is gold in the shadow, as Jung said, energy which has been locked away and can enlighten us once we become conscious, once we become aware of our investment in keeping shadow projected outside of ourselves.

And the Sun opposition Moon (the Full Moon) is also in a T-square to Pluto, which represents the force of change, transformation and the planned obsolescence of all things. We are all dealing with breakdown in many of the areas of our lives. But Pluto is trine (forming a harmonious 120˚ angle) to Mars and Jupiter, and so has lots to offer us if we can lift up our eyes and spirits to see why these changes have to occur in our lives, why they are inevitable. Jupiter, which rules spirituality, is in the earth sign of Taurus and is encouraging us to remember the roots of earth-based spirituality, which is grounded in the inescapable progression of the seasons, of our existence. Change is inevitable, and when stable systems become outmoded, then too many disturbances occur, and they will become chaotic, thus paving the way for new systems to develop which are better adapted to the changing needs of life.

We all know we are in a time of great changes. In my lifetime, the population of humans on the earth has tripled! We are so much closer to each other, and share so much more information about our world, that hiding the truth, from each other and from ourselves, is becoming increasingly difficult to do. Pluto’s force of change is inevitable. Breakdown is inevitable, but it is the only way that a corrupt and damaged system can transform.

Back to the Full Moon in Libra. Despite the challenges of our time, becoming a peacemaker and valuing relationship above all leads to healing. Libra knows this. Maintaining relationships is often a delicate balancing act. But nurturing the ones that feed us, and help us to grow and love deeply, is what makes our lives worth living, worth going through all the suffering and grief and moments of darkness and despair. We cannot rely upon our profit-based propagandist media and our present warrior culture to reflect this to us at this time in our history, but it remains of ultimate importance.

This Full Moon is an opportunity to take stock of your connections to others, to the earth and to yourself as well. And to remember that compassion is the glue that binds us together as human beings. We all must suffer in one way or another. The way of relationship is to know that another’s suffering resonates to your own. Saturn is exalted astrologically in the sign of Libra, precisely because Libra is ruled by Venus, and love is the ultimate judge of our actions, the ultimate balancing force of Creation. What we love and how we love makes for what we reap from the world. Venus in Gemini is asking us to reach out and communicate our caring to each other, to paint beauty in the world around us through the canvas of our words and our actions.

New Moon in Aries 2˚ 22’

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 07:38:40 -0700

This New Moon occurs within a few days of the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, the time of Great Beginnings, and in many cultures, the actual New Year’s Day. These few days are when the earth enjoys equal day and night in both hemispheres; for a brief period of time we are all harmonically tuned to the same experience of living here on this beautiful jewel of a planet.

The Milky Way galaxy is a cluster of billions of stars which all rotate around a single point. But the Milky Way and other galaxies around us are in a grouping of galaxies that rotate around another common central point called the Super Galactic Center, which is astrologically located at 2˚ of Libra, exactly opposite this New Moon at 2˚ of Aries. While some may consider this alignment to be subtle, the ancient dictum, “the more subtle, the more powerful” here applies. The center around which our center rotates calls to mind the much larger truth of how we are a part of an immense universe, enormously complex and immeasurably vast. The alignment of this New Moon with that cosmic center of the center reminds us at this time to remember that we contain far more power and awareness than we know, that this is a time of learning to walk into this mystery, to grow and learn from it. We are only limited by what we believe we cannot understand.

Since we are at a time of new beginnings, the New Moon, the New Year astrologically, and the coming warmth of Spring, we are once again at the time when we are blessed with the energy of renewal. What needs to be renewed? What needs rebirth within each of us, and with our society at large?

I am noticing that most if not all the conversations with people today are about what’s wrong with the world, with politics, with our culture, etc., and the general feeling that we are at the end of times, that corporate hegemony has ruined the planet, and so we are at the end of business as usual, and especially at the end of many of the millions of species on this planet. According to scientists, the Earth is in the midst of the sixth mass extinction of both plants and animals, with 50% of all species disappearing. The last mass extinction was 65 million years ago, and now we’re at another turning point in the ecology of the Earth.1 This is a disruption of everything we know that sustains us: food chains, oxygen levels, climate changes, etc. There is no doubt that we are in for massive changes in the ways in which we live our lives on this planet.

So how do we mark and observe this new moon/new beginning of a cycle, given such extreme circumstances? With four planets in Aries at this juncture, all squaring Pluto, the god of transformation and rebirth, the choice is clear: we must all transform ourselves in order to learn how to go across the bridge to the next world, the one that allows us to co-exist peacefully with the planet and its life forms, and with each other. Every one of us is an ecology, and the ways in which we exist in our own bodies affect the world around us in subtle (yet powerful) ways.

The planets in Aries form what is called a Yod to Saturn and Mars. The Yod configuration is a powerful transformer, it acts as a pointer, the tip of a divining rod, to show us what is under the surface of our reality, the powerful forces underground that we need to embrace and recognize, and what is our coming destiny. Saturn is one handle, representing the need for new structures, especially how we exist in relationships (Libra), and the ways we relate to each other. For example, practicing the understanding that everyone around you represents and resonates to a part of your own psyche. As Alan Watts used to say, God is playing hide and seek with itself, projecting parts outward that appear to us to be strangers, when in reality they are all parts of ourselves, of the Whole.

But the game of hide and seek is over for humanity, and we can no longer pretend that the enemy is outside of us, that it is someone else’s fault. Our biggest enemy is our own ignorance and stupidity, and we all are guilty of it. Mars in Virgo, the other handle of the Yod, is asking us to pay attention to the inner connections that are evident now (both Mars and Saturn are retrograde) the connections to those hidden and darkened rooms of our psyche. The positive parts of Aries, where the Sun is said to be exalted astrologically, are about stepping forward into a new reality in a brave and fearless way, moving forward toward the light of consciousness that dispels ignorance. We cannot move forward if we are lost in the darkness of our own shadow, and yet it is our shadow that helps us to see where our light is.

The Grand Trine (three planets, Mars, Jupiter and Pluto each at 120˚) in earth signs at this juncture signifies a rebirth of Earth consciousness, of awareness that our planet is not just a play-station, but a living organism that must be cared for and respected above all else, or we will lose our lease and our race will be foreclosed upon. The Grand Trine can give us the faith that allows us to withstand the fires of transformation that the square (90˚ angle) of Pluto and Uranus are now pushing us into. The structures of our governing bodies (Capricorn) must be transformed (Pluto) and revolutionized (Uranus). We can expect a few changes and surprises during this coming Moon cycle, since the New Moon joins the ongoing square between Uranus and Pluto, the signature of broad and difficult changes that must happen in the next few years if we are to continue as a race of humans.

Above all, the energy of Aries gives us faith in ourselves; faith in our ability to redefine ourselves, to re-invent how we see ourselves. Whatever needs to be shifted and changed, must now be enacted, for Aries, ruled by Mars, is the sign of action. This is the time to put into action the inspiration garnered from the previous New Moon in Pisces. Use this Mercury retrograde time to clean out old closets, whether in your house or in your psyche, of stuff you no longer need, that no longer serves you or those you love, so that we can ready ourselves to a new reality, one which is shared with others rather than competitive, one in which we learn to dance with our differences so that all of us may contribute to each other’s growth and healing.