11:02 pm, 12/14/24 AHST, 

  1:02 am 12/15/24 PST

  4:02 am 12/15/24 EST

  9:02 am 12/15/24 GMT

This Full Moon is the culmination of a series of powerful events that have taken place in the previous week, events which presage key shifts in the mass consciousness.

First of all, Mars went retrograde on December 6^th, then almost exactly 24 hours later, Neptune went direct on December 7^th, the day that “shall live in infamy,” when Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japanese forces that led to the inclusion of the US in World War 2. Neptune had been retrograde since July 2nd. It’s been dancing around that critical 29˚ of Pisces, the last sign of the zodiac, soon to be making a bridge connecting the end of a long cycle and the beginning of another. The new cycle will begin when Neptune enters Aries, starting in April of 2025.

Neptune takes 168 years to complete a zodiac cycle, spending an average of 14 years in a sign, and so a shift from the end (Pisces) to the beginning (Aries) of the zodiac is extremely significant. One could say new understandings of our deeply unconscious motives are going to be brought to light. The last time Neptune entered Aries in 1862, the US was in a civil war, the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 forever changed US history. This cycle will once again re-awaken the wound of slavery in the US, the split in the country’s consciousness that is still in need of healing.

Being the planet of our collective unconscious, Neptune rules the essential oneness of all beings, the impulse toward inclusion, collectivism, our dreams of advanced ways of being. It rules also—what has been made into a dirty word lately—socialism. Neptune also governs illusion, fraud, and sedition, anything that deceives us. Its recent direct motion brings these elements into the forefront of our awareness. Often when unconscious contents begin to bubble up to the surface, it’s felt as an undercurrent of extreme anxiety.

At the moment of Neptune’s station (change in movement), Venus, Pluto and the asteroid Ceres were all exactly conjoined at 0˚ of Aquarius, opposed Mars in Leo, which was also stationing, but going retrograde. Venus, Pluto and Ceres were all trine (at harmonious 120˚) to Uranus, Aquarius’s ruling planet. Two planets in a pause, while three planetary bodies conjoined in the sign of revolution. This is the signature of a bridge moment into 2025.

Astrologers take note of such exact occurrences, as they are rare. That 0˚ Aquarius mark, and the degree before it, 29˚ Capricorn, are pivotal markers of our present place in history. Slow-moving Pluto, which governs massive changes in the zeitgeist of human endeavors, had just emerged from 29˚ Capricorn (where it was on election Day in the US, and hence concerning the country’s past), and gone into into 0˚ Aquarius, the sign bearing future possibilities. Ceres, the largest of the asteroids, represents the Great Mother archetype, that which sustains all life. And Venus represents our social and personal relationship to the Feminine, also ruling loving connection, and peaceful resolutions of conflicts.

This is an omen to me that something huge is beginning to emerge in the subconscious of humanity, (the zero degree mark is a new beginning, not yet manifested). This could be a movement toward the major surfacing of the power of the Feminine into the mass awareness. Having been denigrated for so long by thousands of years of patriarchy, Pluto’s power of transformation is working to bring this aspect of all of our psyches to the forefront of world organization. That these three are lined up in opposition to Mars in Leo (symbol of masculine pride) at this critical degree, is a strong cosmic foretelling.

Mars is in a prolonged opposition to Pluto, Mars being the ruler of the military, wars, terrorism, etc. but basically at its core, it is how we take action, given our beliefs and morals. Pluto rules great wealth, great power, but also the higher powers of metamorphosis, bringing out from the underworld what has been hidden from our awareness. These two planets will be in and around an opposition to each other through January of next year, and once again on April 26^thwhen Mars catches up from its retro period motion. Whenever these two planets oppose, it’s a test of our individual desires and will, versus where we are on our evolutionary path, how well our actions compare to our ideals. This is also true for countries. Pluto’s power eventually exposes and reveals our true nature, since the path of evolution often brings breakdown, and then renewal.

Eleven hours after this exact Full Moon in Gemini, Mercury, its ruling planet, which is already slowing down, will station, (“stop”) and go direct. It’s definitely a kind of Full Moon that feels like a stopped moment in time, so we may feel more disconnected in our thinking, especially with Jupiter, brilliant now in the night sky, still retrograde in Gemini. Be very careful with communications till the next New Moon, pausing to think first before speaking, writing, or challenging others, since Mercury is trine (flows into) retro Mars, (too-quick action) and square (90˚ challenge) to Saturn, planet of limitations and karma.

With the resurgence of the archetypal Feminine simmering in the collective, we need to consider the dwarf planet Eris. She is prominent here, nearly exactly trine (120˚) the Sun and sextile (60˚) the Full Moon, both angles signifying a coordination of energies. Eris is the goddess of Strife (Roman, Discordia) as well as a host of other ascribed undesirable attributes, often in our day and age now recognized as negative projections onto the Feminine. Astrologically, Eris can be thought of as an energy that loves to point out where there is arrogance, pride, narcissism, in those who are largely unaware. She delights in stirring things up, and is enraged at not being valued. Her rebellious energy in our psyches is a double-edged sword, which may or may not be useful given the tentative nature of our global situation and our generalized level of anxiety. But she is active. Choose your battles wisely, preferably after Eris goes direct next year on January 10^th.

With Neptune more prominent and Mars retrograde, our actions might not match what we imagine we are saying or doing. As always, the task is to become less identified with our thoughts, and more aware of the larger picture, our gut and our heart, acting from what we trust, rather than what we think. Caution is advised at this Cold Moon. Expressing our discontent is tricky, it’s a dance of striking the balance between not suppressing our feelings and yet not contributing to creating negativity around us. With Solstice coming on the 21^st, we are in a time of deep introspection, meditation, and visioning, a good time to take advantage of those actions that deepen our awareness as mindful human beings, able to connect and receive guidance from within.