This is early tomorrow morning, the 21st January, exact at 5:12 am GMT.
It's a total eclipse and a supermoon, meaning the moon is at a near point in her orbit and will appear larger than usual.
Even without all that though, it'd be super intense. The moon is at 0 degrees Leo, and facing off against the sun at 0 degrees Aquarius. Uranus in Aries is squaring these poles tightly. This is a fixed t-square – a tense and uncomfortable aspect pattern, where change is demanded and yet resisted fiercely. You can expect the unexpected, and crazy drama is likely – you're probably seeing it already. People are going to be stubborn as hell even when they're heading in the exact wrong direction, and explosively angry when challenged. The Brexit mess and the American government shutdown are perfect examples of the energy: big attention-seeking egos (Leo) vs. the future of the collective (Aquarius), with a Molotov cocktail of inflammatory anger and rebellion (Uranus in Aries) thrown into the mix, and no plausible way out because no one is willing to give an inch.
So I'm aware all that doesn't sound so great. But wait, there's more! Mars in his home sign of Aries (where he can be extra aggro and impatient, raring to go) is exactly squaring Saturn in his home sign of Capricorn (where reality is cold, hard and inflexible). Mars square Saturn is not a nice aspect. It's often compared to driving with the brakes on – intense forward momentum hitting a wall, leading to vicious frustration and rage. It's associated with cruelty.
So that definitely doesn't sound so great. You put together the fixed t-square and Mars square Saturn, and it's not the most pleasant picture that's emerging. It's quite harsh - a battle of egos vs. each other and more importantly, vs. a harsh reality that cannot be evaded indefinitely.
But we do have something soothing and lovely in the form of Venus conjunct Jupiter in Sagittarius. Jupiter, like Mars and Saturn, is in his home sign (as is Neptune). That alone is helpful – there's a lot of cosmic backup right now with all these planets in their home signs. But Venus conjunct Jupiter is especially lucky, as these are the two benefic planets coming together. So it's a bright, hopeful prospect, especially for relationship and money matters. The conjunction is squaring Neptune, meaning that hopeful prospect may be utterly delusive, but still – it's nice to have, considering everything else.
The way out of the impasse we face at this eclipse is suggested by the north node in Cancer, disposited by the moon in Leo: get in touch with your heart and your feelings. Not your feelings of outrage, wounded ego and righteous indignation – we've all had quite enough of that stuff, it won't get us anywhere. But your feelings of love and compassion and generosity. Chiron in Pisces also sends beneficial aspects to the eclipse, meaning there is a big existential woundedness underlying all the fixed, opposing positions and gridlock – the deep, impersonal pain of Being. If you can get in touch with that, you might just be able to see your opponent as no different to yourself deep down. It's a long shot, but there doesn't seem to be any other way out.
Rhetoric and analysis and ideology are not going to help – these are functions of the south node in Aquarius, meaning they'll come easy, but they're not what's called for. Cathartic tears, kindness and a change of heart are what's called for.
Also creative self-expression - being fully authentic to yourself, no matter how zany it seems to the collective. It's great for artists, so if you can make art with it, you're using it well. The wierder the better.
A new moon in Scorpio is always witchy – the dark of the moon is a time of powerful, shadowy inceptions, and Scorpio is a forceful and covert sign, having to do with sex, death, the taboo, regeneration and transformation.
But this new moon is especially witchy. It falls nearly on Samhain (now Halloween), the pagan festival of the dead – the time of year when darkness is in ascendancy and life retreats underground. Traditionally, the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was thought to be most porous right now.
And this new moon reinforces the Samhain theme of the thinning of the veil. It is conjunct Mercury in Scorpio (deep, incisive, instinctual thought and communication) and trining Neptune in Pisces (dreams, dissolutions, spirituality, art).
Mercury and Neptune together mean magical communication. So this is about messages from the depths – our minds will be open to the Otherworld / the collective unconscious /the great beyond – or the will of God, if you like. The lunar cycle this new moon opens looks very deep and quiet and full of inward revelation to me. Intuitive in a shadowy, instinctive way.
But the new moon also sextiles the north node in Virgo, which is about humility, realism, routine and systematic work. So this is deep intuition that can be put to everyday use – practical magic.
In short, it's powerfully magical, full of the potential for healing and regeneration. It's the exact right time for doing magical rituals, channeling messages from the beyond, making art and music, committing to a spiritual practice. (Or having lots of sex. There is a big relationship slant to all this, which I'll get to – and Scorpio requires intense merger, ahem.)
I think it looks great. It doesn't make any harsh aspects. Very like last year's new moon in Scorpio, really - a serpent's egg, full of coiled-up power and depth.
You can trust your gut and your intuition here – there is solid guidance at hand. There will be something to build on. A a new idea or revelation, a new possibility, a dream with solid potential.
--And maybe a decisive ending. What is no longer viable will have to fall away so that something new can take shape.
Mercury-Neptune contacts can be flaky and ethereal to the point of incoherence and delusion. But because this is a new moon in unsentimental, no-bullshit Scorpio - and because we have the pragmatic north node in Virgo involved - we are not talking half-baked New Age nostrums here. Quite the opposite. This is about grounding the otherworldly and ethereal in the here-and-now, putting it to work.
The point is regeneration and healing. Virgo and Scorpio both have an association with healing: Virgo is good at identifying problems and crafting solutions in a detail-oriented, systematic way. And Scorpio weeds out energy drains. It zeroes in on whatever is diseased, rotten, false; and it does all the life-or-death, disgusting work no one else wants to do – it drains out the pus, amputates the gangrenous limb, sews in the sutures.
So you put these energies together and you have a very unsentimental, surgical kind of vibe, focused on survival and regeneration.
Reinforcing this theme, we have the rulers of Scorpio (Mars and Pluto) both in Capricorn, sign of work and structured achievement. They are still loosely conjunct for this new moon, and Pluto is beneficially aspecting the Virgo north node.
Mars and Pluto together do not make for the most fun influence – this combination is known for killer rage and eruptive violence. And though Mars is moving out of the conjunction, he'll be squaring Uranus this new moon – an influence that magnifies the potential for shocking violence and accidents. So be careful driving and operating machinery this month, please! And avoid rage zombies.
In spite of this potential violence, I'm inclined to see the Mars-Pluto stuff as beneficial here. It means there is vast energy and drive to put toward whatever needs fixing or (re)building in your life.
With the current Mars-Pluto stuff, if poison bubbles up out of the depths - it is a symptom of a larger problem, and you can potentially address the problem at its roots right now. It is not a time for ignoring the ugly stuff - you have to be willing to dig deep and get your hands dirty.
So I think it's beneficial overall, even if it manifests as some kind of eruptive ugliness.
Another beneficial influence: we have love and money planet Venus now in Sagittarius. Sagittarius is an optimistic, free-spirited sign; Venus in Sagittarius is tolerant and happy-go-lucky. So this is great!
Plus she is in mutual reception with Jupiter in Libra – ie, Venus is in the sign Jupiter rules, and Jupiter is in the sign Venus rules. And these two lucky, traditionally “benefic” planets are also in beneficial aspect.
This is really lovely and bouyant, especially for relationships. A bit of fun and lightness in an otherwise very heavy and serious sky.
But it's not all kittens and ice cream. Venus is also conjunct Saturn, and this is exact the day before the new moon. This conjunction can represent some form of limitation, delay, blockage or fear - especially re. relationships. But it also denotes great seriousness about the future, and a willingness to commit to a vision of what's actually possible. And to work for it..
So there are limits and boundaries here, and maybe endings – what's not actually possible or workable will have to fall away, so that something real can take its place. Trust your gut on this. You will know what cords have to be cut.
At the same time, there is a future for the building here. There are dreams that can come true, given a bit of work.
All in all it looks very positive to me. Jupiter in Libra, remember, is about balance and fairness, being able to see the other's point of view and to compromise... also big love and luck in relationships. And paired up with Venus and Saturn in Sagittarius, this is about realistic plans re. partnerships and money.
It looks like love that can go the distance, or a solid new direction, or a grounded and sincere kind of happiness. You just have to trust in it and be willing to put a bit of work in. Jupiter and Venus together denote a gift, but this is the kind of gift that takes good faith and commitment to secure - and time, and patience. It's not just going to fall into your lap.
Luckily, the Mars-Pluto conjunction will supply the necessary stamina and drive.
--All that said, we are still dealing with the north node in Virgo opposing Neptune and the south node in Pisces. This is a slough of despond – a real swamp of fantasy, delusion, addiction and escapism. So please keep in mind, you have to keep moving past the pull of destructive nostalgia and addiction. There is really no going back; you know that. And no running away either.
The north node in Virgo dictates the way forward: humble, systematic work. Don't let your emotional ungroundedness or moodiness get the better of you. Just focus on the day-to-day details and keep dealing with what needs doing as it comes up. If you start freaking out about the future or obsessing about the past, try to do something grounding and healthy. Or focus on how you can serve others.
The sun, now in early Scorpio, will be facing off against the moon in early Taurus.
A Taurus moon needs stability, physical solidity and comfort. It speaks of a deep attachment to pleasure, routine, habit and the status quo: Taurus doesn't like change. Whereas the sun in Scorpio requires change, discomfort and transformation – it wants to tear its skin off.
So you can see how these two energies are at odds. Further, Taurus and Scorpio are fixed signs – very focused and stubborn. Wherever this full moon falls in your chart is where you'll experience this tension between holding on/consolidating (Taurus) vs. purging/transforming/letting go (Scorpio).
What's nice about this full moon is that it should be easy enough to work with these opposing imperatives. The moon in Taurus is disposited by Venus (love, values, possessions) in Virgo; and the Scorpio sun is disposited by Mars (will, drive, sex) in Virgo and Pluto (death, transformation, sex) in Capricorn – and all these planets are in easy dialogue.
It's all very deep and workable – in a low-key, quiet, pragmatic kinda way. And pretty sexed-up as well. Scorpio and Taurus are a sexy combo, and we have Mars, Venus and Jupiter conjunct, aspecting Pluto – all in earth signs, which are very... physical. It's a real 'sexual healing' kinda vibe, cheesy as that sounds.
Cue the saxophone music!!
O yeah!!
(Sorry, sorry, sorry.)
Besides watching Kenny G videos, you could use this influence to do nice, healthy things for yourself physically. Resting up, eating well, getting some decent sleep. The past few weeks (hell the past few YEARS) have been rough on everyone...so this is a good time for building your energy and resources back up.
Anyway, recall the relationship re-boot theme of the new moon in Libra two weeks ago. What was implied at the new moon – tension, shifts, re-balancings, especially in the context of love and money matters – all comes to fruition at the full. This is where whatever was set in motion becomes a lot more solid and real.
Venus has by now left her square to Saturn and is conjunct Mars and Jupiter – and this stellium in Virgo trines Pluto in Capricorn. So it's time to act now, on whatever you want to create or repair. The blockages and obstructions we've been dealing with since the summer are falling away.
It is entirely possible to fix any relational/money/career problems you have at this time – to shed old problems like a snake shedding its skin. As long as you are willing to make a serious commitment: Saturn is in Sagittarius, and this is about consolidating (Saturn) a vision for the future (Sagittarius). It's serious stuff, and not particularly comfortable – but anything worth having involves work and discomfort. And also some sacrifice. You have to be willing to forgo some short-term comfort for a long-term goal.
It doesn't have to be about relationships, but with Venus and Mars conjunct and the north node at 0 degrees Libra, relationship and money issues take center stage in this.
But it could also be about your relationship to yourself, or to your possessions, values, psychological issues - you name it. It could be about getting clear of an addiction, decluttering your house, dealing with a psychological pathology, fine-tuning a health regimen, making a course-correction re. money/career....
Basically, overcoming inertia in some area of your life that has become stagnant and needs an overhaul – and you'll know exactly what area this is, it'll be hard to miss. Time to pick yourself up and get the ball rolling again.
It's as likely to be about an ending as it is about a re-boot: remember full moons signify culminations or endings. Something has to be dealt with decisively here, or purged in the interests of long-term stability. Something in your life - a habit, a relationship, a job, an ideology, whatever - may be shown to be completely outworn and unviable.
There are some potentially difficult choices to be made here - but deep down, there is really no choice. Trust your instinct on this: what do you really need and value, and what can you dispense with? You'll know.
If what you need or value is broken or damaged in some way, you can fix it with a bit of work. With all this Virgo and Pluto stuff going on, there's tremendous, focused, practical energy available for identifying problems and working to fix them. Deep structural change is easier than usual at this time. Deep healing, compassion and renewal from the roots are also possible – the stellium in Virgo opposes Chiron in Pisces, which represents a wound that confers spiritual knowledge.
Fairy uncomfortable stuff overall – but any kind of growth involves discomfort. A cicada doesn't climb out of its old carapace because it is 'comfortable' there. It climbs out because staying there is uncomfortable – and impossible.
Anyway, there is likely to be some shocking communication or mental re-balancing at this full moon: a message or information that radically shifts your perception. Mercury in Libra is opposite Uranus and squaring Pluto - you won't see it coming, but it looks potentially quite transformative and/or traumatic. This is a wake-up call for sure, if you were in need of one.
If you find yourself in a situation where verbal nastiness is being flung around, be careful. With Mercury still squaring Pluto and the south node at 0 degrees Aries, communicating impulsively in anger will come back to bite you on the ass in short order. Keep your head down (Virgo), mind your manners (Libra) and curb your enthusiasm (Saturn in Sagittarius). There is plenty of work to be done on fixing what really matters to you, without making more work for yourself via destructive conflict.
But first I want to talk about Pluto, everybody's favorite sex-dwarf fascist power planet.
I've written before about how the conditions under which a planet is discovered connect up synchronistically to the meanings assigned to it in astrology. (Here and here.)
Pluto, which signifies the Shadow – the darkness everyone is afraid to look at in themselves and would prefer to project outside – was discovered in 1930, during the run-up to World War 2 and the rise of fascism.
Fascism is about the union of corporate/business interests and government. Money and politics in alliance. It's a relatively new word for a dynamic as old as civilization – but it's basically about power being concentrated in a very small circle.
Fascism, in the 20th century, has also been about scapegoating in order to promote a perfect facade of order and control. The people turned into scapegoats are always the ones whose presence undermines the state ideology of order/purity – anyone with a bit of ambiguity to their identity is targeted for extermination, because they become the repository for the collective Shadow.
So the meaning of Pluto in astrology has to do with death, ruthless elimination, and power in its most brutal form. It is about the ugliness in ourselves that we are afraid to come to terms with – it is more easily projected outside ourselves and disowned.
As lord of death and the underworld in classical mythology, Pluto also has an association with transformation and wealth. Death is a transformation. And precious stones and metals are usually found deep underground, where heat and pressure transform ordinary minerals into something rare and valuable. (And psychologically, the greatest treasures are often found in the deepest, darkest parts of our psyches – the places we're most afraid to go.)
Pluto is also about extremes: the controlled and orderly surface reality vs. the rot at the core. The death drive (Thanatos) hidden in all life.
It's no accident that the 20th century's fascist societies were outwardly focused on creating a vision of peaceful utopia...but to live within them was to know the reality of hell.
Anyway, in light of the intensity and ugliness associated with Pluto, it's ironic that he has been demoted from planetary status in recent years, to dwarf planet. This is exactly what we do with the Shadow – we minimise and deny it. It seems like what this planet represents is too scary to include in the established representation of our solar system!
But psychological growth, per Jung, depends on a reckoning with the Shadow in ourselves – the internal acceptance of our submerged power drives, our socially unacceptable behaviours and ideas, our own darkness. Everything in us that is the opposite of what we'd like to believe we are, or be seen to be by others.
Pluto, in this respect, is one of the most psychologically important of archetypes. It is the descent into hell, into our unconscious darkness, that allows us to become conscious human beings (which just means being capable of acting outside of our unconscious conditioning – a monumental and unending task).
Reckoning with the Shadow involves a kind of dying: the destruction of what we thought we were, the acceptance as part of us of all we'd like to pretend we are not.
It can feel like an abduction. In the mythology, Pluto was an abductor and rapist. He kidnapped Persephone (symbolic of spring or the life force) and took her down to hell to be his queen, holding her there without her consent.
Anyone who has dealt with an addiction, a destructive obsession or an abusive relationship will be able to understand the symbolism of this myth at a deep level. Being in the grip of a compulsion can feel like being at the mercy of something much larger and stronger than you - something intent on your destruction.
In the myth, Persephone doesn't get free of Death – she has to spend half the year in hell for eternity. It's winter on earth while she's down there, summer when she returns. So she is a liminal figure. She doesn't belong completely to the light or the dark, but to both. She has to live with her knowledge of hell in the middle of summer – but she knows summer is coming, even when she's in the depths of hell.
In psychological terms, this is like owning your shadow – your darkness, your 'badness', your destructive compulsions – your death-drive. Your devil, whatever form he takes.
You don't defeat the devil. You learn to look at him, and to live with him, in yourself – and you stop projecting him outside. But this is enough work for most people's lifetimes.
--Anyway, I'm writing about this now because our little downgraded Shadow dwarf planet Pluto has recently come under scientific scrutiny! The NASA New Horizons probe approached Pluto in mid-January of this year, and did a close flyby on the 14th July – just before a very Pluto-influenced new moon, with Pluto opposite Mars and Mercury.
So we now have detailed pictures of Pluto. It's a strange place! There's a heart-shaped plain of moving ice (!), there's apparent volcanic activity, there are 11,000 foot high mountains, there is a methane atmosphere that may be on the verge of collapse – all on a world smaller than our moon.
The heart-shaped glacial plain is symbolically kind of amazing, considering Pluto's rulership of Scorpio, a sign concerned with deep, intense emotion buried under an icy facade. In fact, all the features seem symbolically amazing to me – there are such extremes at work on this tiny world.
So our unknown Shadow-planet turns out to be a very interesting place, and worthy of deep examination!
The New Horizon probe's timing is synchronistic - Pluto is important right now. We are just past the historic Uranus-Pluto square series, which was about radical change on the collective and individual levels. That was some fairly intense and gut-wrenching Pluto action.
And right now we have Saturn in Pluto's sign (Scorpio), and Pluto in Saturn's sign (Capricorn). This is called a mutual reception, and is about an easy dialogue between these two planets. The theme here is deep psychological excavation and restructuring. Unearthing the deep rot beneath the facade of 'normality' or respectability.
We had a Pluto-themed new moon in Cancer on the 16th July, and if anybody has gotten through the past few weeks without some sort of poisonous emotional or psychological vomit coming out of them or being spewed at them – well lucky you! At the very least, we are looking at deep, seismic shifts in family and relational structures and power dynamics at this time. And a reckoning with old hurts and grievances, old pain – our ghosts and demons.
We have a full moon in Aquarius on the 31st July (around 11:15 am GMT) – and this should be the culmination of this process, and a big shift. It looks like relief and a breath of fresh air to me!
It's a blue moon, meaning it's the second full moon in the same calendar month. Astrologically this doesn't mean much. But you can take it as symbolic, especially as the moon will be in Aquarius, a freaky oddball sign: this is something a bit weird and special.
There'll be some drama, no doubt – full moons are good for drama, and for this one, the sun is in proud, shiny, dramatic Leo. But the moon (emotional tone) is in cool, emotionally distanced Aquarius – and this puts a lid on the emotionality.
As full moons signify endings, I think we are seeing the tail-end of the emotional upheavals of the past few weeks. So maybe your pride (Leo) got wounded...who cares? Fundamentally, you are free (Aquarius).
Saturn resumes direct motion in Scorpio the day after the full moon, as if to underline the theme of “job done”. We have gone back into the hellish wreckage since Saturn re-entered Scorpio in mid-June. Hopefully we have wrestled with our demons and stood for our emotional truths and done the deep work. Anything rotten that wasn't dealt with during Saturn's initial transit of Scorpio (2012-2014) will have come up for revision – and hopefully, it is being dealt with now. At this point we know what's viable and what's not in our lives and our psyches – we have sifted through the garbage and know what has to go.
I think the hardest part of this transit will be completed as Saturn resumes direct motion after this full moon. From now until the 18th September, when Saturn re-enters Sagittarius – we are moving forward, amputating what needs to be amputated, clearing out the psychic debris.
The point of all this psychological purgation and energetic re-balancing is, we are clearing space for new things to happen – especially in the realm of money and relationships.
Venus (love and money planet) entered nit-picky, analytical, perfectionist Virgo on the 18th July, stationing retrograde at 0 degrees Virgo on the 25th July. She re-enters Leo on the day of this full moon, and she will be hanging out there until the 8th of October, after stationing direct on the 6th September.
Venus in Virgo is about having high standards in love and money matters, and Venus retrogrades are about relational and financial reconsiderations, recalibrations and fine-tunings. So the fact that Venus stationed retrograde in Virgo, a very picky, pragmatic and detail-oriented sign, is pretty significant here.
The next five weeks of this Venus retrograde are about laying new foundations in love and money matters. Reading the fine print, getting the details right, figuring out what works in the real world, having exacting standards and sticking to them.
With Venus retrograde in heart-centered Leo, this is also about our personal pride and happiness. Figuring out what really makes us happy without compromising our pride and integrity.
In other words, if you are putting energy into loving someone or pursuing some project that is actually detrimental to your happiness and self-esteem, it's time to pause and take a good hard look at what you're doing.
This Venus retrograde is about tempering our love and our creative/entreprenurial endeavours with realism. Laying the groundwork, making sure the opportunities coming our way now can translate into viable relationships and livelihoods. Something or someone might make you happy in the short term – but will it stick? Is it healthy? Is it in accord with your values? Can you bank on it?
If you answer "no" to these questions – well all the love in the world is not going to be enough, and you should be careful of how far you involve yourself.
Venus is currently retrograding in conjunction to Jupiter and in square to Saturn in Scorpio – and this is also significant. There is tremendous luck and opportunity here, but there are also huge, karmic blockages and restraints. You can take the blockages as a signal to slow down, look deeper and be super-realistic about what you're getting into. What's going on under the surface? What do you really want from this – what do you really need? What's it going to cost you, energetically / psychologically / monetarily? What is the actual state of your resources - can you afford this?
Mercury (mind and communication) moves into Virgo on the 7th August, and Jupiter (luck, expansion, blessing) follows on the 11th. This will definitely help us to be super-practical and realistic, to analyse all our options carefully and to come up with ideas that will help us to flourish in the real world.
I'll write more about Jupiter in Virgo another time, because this will be a big shift. We've had him in big, shiny Leo for a year now, meaning our luck this past year was tied up with exuberance, drama and creativity.
But Jupiter in Virgo will be the opposite! Virgo is systematic, analytical, humble and detail-oriented – so this will probably feel like cleaning up after a big yearlong party, sorting the empty bottles for recycling, doing the dishes. Back to reality.
I think this shift of Jupiter (and Mercury) from fiery Leo to rational Virgo is a blessing - because for the first half of August, we are looking at a lot of planets in Leo squaring Saturn in Scorpio, and this looks frustrating as all hell. Big, open-hearted exuberance and passion – shackled by the full weight of reality and the past.
Remember, all the love and passion in the world is not going to be enough if the thing doesn't work in the real, everyday world. Passion is fine for writing songs or making art or starting new endeavours or being Elvis... but it isn't something you can live on, anymore than you can live on a diet of ice cream sundaes. Eventually you are going to find yourself really run-down and sick. (Poor Elvis.)
If we want to be happy, going forward, we'll need to be a lot more grounded, finicky and focused on what works in reality – and on what is healthy. I think August will be a good month for learning about this!
*** Forgot to mention: Uranus in Aries (dispositor of this full moon) stationed retrograde on the same day as Venus: the 25th July. These two retrograde planets will be trining each other later in August (the 19th August) and trining each other again after Venus goes direct (23rd September).
The theme here is the overall theme of the Venus retrograde: we are blazing new trails in relationship stuff and money stuff. We're not doing the same old stuff again or replaying the same old patterns. And we have to insist upon absolute personal authenticity in these matters.
Basically, we are opening up a new cycle here - but it's tricky territory, and full of blockages and delays. Quite frustrating really. There's nothing to be done but bear with it, and don't compromise on your values or on what's really important to you.
I think come mid-September, we'll gain a much clearer view of where this story is going. It might seem like a long way away, but it's only a month and a half.
It's a very tense and angry full moon – full of potential emotional violence. Also full of potential happiness, blessing and freedom. It really looks like a fairy-tale battle to me: the forces of light vs. the forces of darkness, simplistic as that sounds. There is such a contrast between the heavy, dark, emotionally claustrophobic stuff and the joy and release on offer. (But they are two parts of the same story, remember.)
It's like, Perseus cuts off the Gorgon's head – this monster whose gaze has the power to turn life to stone. And Pegasus, the beautiful winged horse representing freedom, inspiration, poetry – is born out of the wound.
I keep thinking of that story in relation to this full moon! I guess it's really an allegory for facing what we fear. Fear ossifies.
Anyway, there are some very scary monsters to be faced here. And there is the possibility of really defeating them, really getting free – getting to the root of the toxicity and amputating it from your life.
There is also some crazy magical aid on offer to help you in this task. I am not exaggerating here – it is actual magic, and it's on the side of human happiness and freedom.
I think this is all about the idea of a 'threshold guardian' - the force you have to defeat before moving to a new level, like in a video game. When you've just reached the crossing between two different states of being, there is always a struggle, and this can be internal or external. There are powerful forces of inertia and fear that manifest as blockages, setbacks or demons you have to fight. If they can scare or discourage you enough, you back down, stay on the same level and stagnate. If you keep fighting to get past them, you eventually break through to the next level - a new world., where you are no longer defined by your pathology or other people's craziness or the family ghosts or whatever.
A new world is definitely on offer - life really can turn on a dime right now. You really can get free between one minute and the next. But it looks like you have to fight for that freedom.
Maybe the freedom on offer takes the form of a painful loss or an amputation – you might have to let go of something you thought you couldn't live without. Loss can open up a space for something new and unimaginable to enter your life.
Anyway, re. the dynamics of this full moon: Mars and the sun in Cancer will be facing off against the moon and Pluto in Capricorn.
Mars in opposition to Pluto is quite violent, focused, brutal energy. It is likely to play out as interpersonal conflict - the kind that feels like a fight to the death.
Having the moon involved with Pluto and opposite Mars – and disposited by Saturn in Scorpio - means there is quite a hellish emotional load here. This speaks of buried emotional stuff coming up to be dealt with – especially family stuff. Toxicity, rage, control issues, manipulation, secrets, debts, illnesses, shattering losses. The full weight of the past. It's tough.
If battles, ordeals or painful revelations are coming up in your life, externally or internally – well you just have to face what you're afraid of. Have to. You can't let fear ossify and block up your life – there are absolutely no rewards for doing that.
Saturn (duty, karma, fear) in Scorpio is the dispositor of the full moon, and the stakes couldn't be higher. Saturn in Scorpio is intense, scary and all-or-nothing. It demands a fierce commitment to emotional excavation and dealing with your shit. Sorting out the energetic imbalances, the debts, the trauma and garbage. Doing the dirty work.
I have written plenty about Saturn in Scorpio and won't re-hash it here. It is quite dark and hellish, but the effort to deal with your demons will pay off.
At the same time, we have heaven on offer: Venus is now conjunct Jupiter and trine Uranus. This is intense, unexpected sweetness and luck. Magical loveliness, lucky breaks, open doors of possibility. Unicorns and rainbows, seriously.
Neptune in Pisces is also involved with the full moon, harmoniously aspecting the moon and sun. Meaning dreams, art, compassion and faith can carry the day.
More unicorns and rainbows!
You cannot go wrong with unicorns and rainbows, and that's a fact.
It reminds me of all the epic fairy-tale battles in Lord of the Rings-type movies. Somehow, against all odds, good always prevails. Life defeats death.
Ask yourself: what's the worst that could happen, if I face what scares me most? Is it worse to take a chance and potentially fail...or to go on living under Mordor's rule?
It's really about life or death – that's the choice on offer. And the life option involves fighting what you're afraid of, fighting for the kind of life you want.
This may involve hardship and pain - but please remember that this story favours bravery, openness, joy. Taking chances, accepting new opportunities, walking into the unknown, getting unstuck.
Unicorns and rainbows, seriously. And magic, and singing frogs.
(Please note - when I talk about fighting, I don't mean fighting by returning whatever ugliness is thrown your way. To win this fight, you have to be better than the forces arrayed against you - more aware, calmer, more compassionate, kinder. You have to be the bigger person and keep doing the right thing, even when it would be easier to just blowtorch everything. Good is all set up to prevail, so you have to put yourself on the side of the good, and not be dragged down to the level of whatever is opposing you.)
For the past month we've been looking at nearly too much mental energy, frenetic socialising, and a driving need to communicate.
This new moon in hectic Gemini, sign of thought, communication and social networking, continues the theme. We are opening up another very busy 30-day cycle here. One in which anything – really anything – could happen.
– It has all the elements of a good fairy story, really. A seed in the mind coming to fruition...then suddenly it's a magic beanstalk, a road to the otherworld. And later this cycle, we come face to face with the giant – what we most fear maybe.
That's at the full moon in Capricorn in two weeks' time. I'll write about it closer to the time - it's a heavy one. But for now we'll focus on the new moon:
The sun and moon in Gemini will be conjunct Mars in Gemini. And all these planets are disposited by Mercury, also in Gemini, his home sign - and direct since the 11th June.
This is just a lot of busy-bee energy. A lot of jittering around, mentally and socially. People are going to be needing to talk and share information.
The new moon will also sextile the Jupiter-Uranus trine, which is nearly exact now. It will be exact on the 22nd June, but it's in effect. Lightning grace is underway.
It's about bravery, eureka moments, sparkly energy. Creativity, magic words; artistry and mastery. Inspired communciation and derring-do.
Magic, per Crowley, is "the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will". This new moon looks like a pretty good setup for magic. Inspired solutions to old problems, or a new point of departure entirely. An opportunity to turn dreams into realities.
But please remember, magic is not something you play around with. Saturn is back in Scorpio as of this morning.
I've written about this plenty (see the tag-cloud entry for “Saturn in Scorpio” below) and will try not to repeat myself here. But this is a last-chance kind of transit – a three month window (mid June to mid-September) for dealing with Scorpio issues (sex, death, power, transformation, the Shadow, shared resources and energetic transactions).
It's time to take your psychological garbage out – unless you want to carry it for the next three decades or so.
There is great opportunity here - also great peril. Great pain, maybe. This transit feels so somber to me, and final. And frightening. It's not for wusses.
But it's what's required. After all, what is magic worth if there's nothing real at stake? What would a fairy tale be without monsters to fight? What is bravery worth without the possibility of loss and failure?
Saturn currently opposes Mercury – and this new moon is all about Mercury (mind, thought, communication, messages). What this means is, beneath all the surface social energy and activity, beneath all the chatter - there are very weighty, karmic issues preoccupying us. It may seem like a light time because of the Gemini emphasis. It is not light.
Further, Chiron in Pisces – representing an unhealable, inchoate sense of wounding – will be squaring the new moon and Mars. This is quite raw and uncomfortable, emotionally and mentally.
Again, very fitting for a fairy story. What starts a story in motion is dissatisfaction, unease, the sense of something wrong or lacking. Something out of joint with the world, something you desperately want, just out of reach...
Mercury is also trining the north node in Libra – so remember the aim of this story is harmony, balance, justice, right relationship.
So as in a fairy story, there are quests to undertake, dragons to be defeated, risks to be braved, prizes to be fought for...and a big alchemical wedding at the end.
--Sometimes I wonder how anyone could possibly find life boring. It's the biggest, most dangerous adventure anyone could ever undertake. People forget - in the grip of routine or inertia or ego – that the ground of our existence is magic and amazement. Magic is our birthright.
Beneath the 'mundane', socially agreed-upon surface of the world, beneath the scripts and programming we live by, life is a deep mystery and an endless strangeness.
There is, it seems to us, At best, only a limited value In the knowledge derived from experience. The knowledge imposes a pattern, and falsifies, For the pattern is new in every moment And every moment is a new and shocking Valuation of all we have been. We are only undeceived Of that which, deceiving, could no longer harm. In the middle, not only in the middle of the way But all the way, in a dark wood, in a bramble, On the edge of a grimpen, where is no secure foothold, And menaced by monsters, fancy lights, Risking enchantment. Do not let me hear Of the wisdom of old men, but rather of their folly, Their fear of fear and frenzy, their fear of possession, Of belonging to another, or to others, or to God. The only wisdom we can hope to acquire Is the wisdom of humility: humility is endless.
OK, so to sum up: we are living in a weird fairy tale this month. (Always really. But especially so this month, and this summer.)
Remember fairy tales are brutal and dangerous, like life. There are awful people in them who create terrible suffering. There are murderous bridegrooms, evil sisters, usurping kings. There are man-eating giants and wicked witches and monsters galore.
Also fairy godmothers, magical helpers, tricksters, talking animals. And moral laws whereby evil ultimately destroys itself and kindness and humility prevail.
There are quests and follies; there are inescapable realities of violence, injustice, loss... and the possibility of ultimate redemption.
And there are lucky portals of dazzling promise that open at a moment's notice – but you have to be brave or foolhardy enough to step through, into the unknown. To leave your known, comfortable reality behind.
Fairy tales and myths encode the way life actually works. If you're in any doubt on that score, watch how reality twists and morphs this summer.
Anyway...Let's look briefly at the next couple of weeks:
--the sun moves into Cancer the 22nd, followed by Mars on the 24th. Mars (warrior planet) is uncomfortable in Cancer, sign of emotions, nurturance and family. He can get very emotionally reactive, moody, manipulative and defensive here.
Mars will be in Cancer from the 24th June till the 9th August – the best use of this is to be a warrior, emotionally – to express feelings, to stand up for your emotional truth, to defend those who are in your care. To feed people like a big Italian mama. It is a fiercely protective energy – like a mother animal defending her young. Fiercely focused on family, clan, 'your' people and belongings and emotional security – your home and personal domain.
The worst use of this is emotional warfare, moodiness, clinginess, guilt trips and general emo crap. And getting all butthurt and sulky over stupid shit. Especially family shit. Over-identification with 'your' people to the point where you think you have a right to control and manipulate them.
(Grumpy care bear)
Another dumb expression of Mars in Cancer is comfort eating (or drinking, or drugging). Stuffing feelings down via food or other addictive behaviours:
On the plus side, having Mars in Cancer should help with Saturn in Scorpio's requirement for deep emotional excavation. Intense energy will be available to do the necessary emotional work - it's just a matter of channelling it properly.
In other words, do not get sucked into moodiness and drama. Do not construct a sob story around your shifting emotional states and use it to manipulate others or turn your life into a soap opera.
But do use this energy to understand your moods at their roots. What is going on way under the surface? What is this really about, deep down? When have you felt this way before – what kind of emotional pattern is being manifested here?
Other things happening in the next couple of weeks: Mercury will square Neptune on the 23rd June. This is about intuition, inspiration and messages from the aether. Beware wooly-headedness and delusion though – and imprecise, confusing communication.
At the very end of the month and during first week of July, we have some hardcore loveliness. Venus conjuncts Jupiter and trines Uranus. This is incredibly sweet and liberating and lucky.
But it's also quite powerful and deep. July 2nd, while all this sweetness is at its height, we have a really heavy-duty and dark full moon in Capricorn. It looks emotionally cathartic and intense – like a full-on fairy-tale battle. Dragons and monsters to fight, like I said. And magical helpers with gifts.
I will write it out closer to the time, but it looks like a great story.
This full moon is tomorrow, the 2nd June, around 5 pm GMT.
It looks like fun to me. Hectic, and full of potential mind-fuckery and confusion – but fun all the same.
It's really hard not to like a moon in Sagittarius! This is about a buoyant, unsinkable emotional tone; very happy-go-lucky. Exuberant, expansive, hopeful.
The moon will be facing off against the sun, Mercury and Mars in restless, mentally excitable Gemini. This is big mental and social energy: jittery, hyperactive, communicative, distractable, relentlessly networky.
So things will be buzzing like a beehive, or a crazy party.
And because Mercury is retrograde, a lot of the buzzing may be internal – it can be hard to get your own mind to shut the hell up under these circumstances. (Physical exercise is a good way to ground excessive mental energy, if you find yourself beset by swarms of angry bees in your head.)
Anyway, things are sure to be busy. Adding to the mayhem, the moon and sun (plus Mercury and Mars) will be squaring Neptune in Pisces, which is about dreams, inspiration, art, faith, compassion, delusion, deception, addiction...
So this is about big dreams, big opportunities, big inspiration and intuitive understanding and faith – or big delusion. A magical portal – or a lot of hot air.
Or a shot in the dark, a leap of faith. Trusting intuition to guide you.
This should be a great influence for artists, musicians, gamblers, pontificators and shit talkers, adventurers.
But you can see how confusing and frenetic this set-up can get. Exuberance, intense mental and social energy, and blurred reality. It's like a big insane super-happy party where everyone gets way too drunk and nobody talks any sense at all.
Or like this:
Nonsensical! And insane! Lots of fun though.
I wrote about the rumour mill running at warp speed in my last post – and this full moon amps it up like crazy. So beware of gossip, check your sources, don't believe everything you hear, watch your mouth. And as this involves Neptune, try not to drink yourself silly in public. It's looking like very drunken cosmic weather out there.
Mercury (mind, communication) and Neptune (dreams, delusions) do some nutty things with each other this month – they both shift direction within hours of each other on the 11th, and will be squaring each other for most of the rest of June. Meaning June is a headfuck, however you look at it – magical and dreamy, blurred and delusive. This can be great if you're an artist or musician or intuitive type; less great if you're looking for clear communication and solid facts.
Anyway, communication should be easier and clearer after Mercury goes direct on the 11th June.
The best use of the Mercury-Neptune stuff is to channel intuition and inspiration. This aspect, at best, is about a surrender to the larger design – a suspension of the ego, which is nothing but a control-structure made of thought.
Ego is useful and necessary, because it's how we get practical things done. But it's only a tool and it's fairly limited. Intuition is much more important, and much more neglected – it's the empty space in us that directs us, the part of us that connects us to the whole and instinctively knows the right path.
It's how all great art happens, and music, and real morality. I think it works like this:
Safe to say, those starlings are not thinking or worrying about anything – there's no ego at work there. There are no concepts or rules to what they're doing.
They are feeling out the unseen paths of least resistance in the air, flowing along them – making the invisible visible, and creating something new and strange.
That's how intuition works. It uses the natural flow of things instead of setting up obstacles to it. And it is inherently magical – it brings what is potential or unmanifested into the visible world, through us.
Anyway, it should be easier than usual to connect with intuition now, because of all this Mercury-Neptune stuff going on.
Plus, speaking of magic: Jupiter, ruler of Sagittarius and dispositor of the full moon, is perfecting his trine to Uranus. It'll be exact on the 22nd of June. The remainder of June and the start of July are coloured by this aspect, with Mars and the sun in Gemini currently supporting it.
This is about sudden, lightning luck and opportunity – magical doors that open out of nowhere and shut as suddenly. So be alert to those openings, and ready to accept your opportunities quickly. Seize the moment, because with Jupiter-Uranus, a moment may be all you're given. Don't be afraid to take a risk, because fortune favours the brave this month.
This is where intuition comes in, because you'll need it to avoid second-guessing yourself into immobility. Trust what you know deep down. Don't let your ego-stuff and incessant thinking and rationalising get in the way.
It's like this song: being a good gambler is all about timing and intuition. Luck too, of course. But there's a lot you just have to deep-down know and trust – and that knowing runs deeper than thinking.
Good gambling is also about reasonable caution. There's a lot of luck and opportunity on offer this summer, but it's still important to be cautious about what you get into, and to stay grounded. Saturn (constriction, duty, karma) retrogrades into Scorpio on the 15th June, for a transit that will last till the 18th September. So if you get yourself into any kind of stupidity involving misuse of sexual energy or other people's resources, Saturn will kick your ass – and I can tell you, it will hurt. Further, Saturn will kick your ass for the energetic stupidities you've committed during his tenure in Scorpio over the past few years (October 2012 to December 2014).
Scorpio is about intimacy, trust, emotional and energetic transactions, psychological issues and pathology, shared resources, sex, death, transformation. These are areas of heavy emphasis under this final transit of Saturn through Scorpio. The karmic backlash for dealing flippantly or unfairly with these matters will be extreme, and long-lasting.
By long-lasting, I mean approximately 29 years. Saturn is no joke, and neither is Scorpio. I think you can actually fuck up your life under this transit – you can set yourself up for long-lasting regret and pain, to a degree that just doesn't happen when Saturn transits other signs. It's serious and frightening.
Mid-June to mid-September 2015 will be payback time for whatever was left unresolved during Saturn's initial transit of Scorpio. It also represents a final chance to put things right to the best of your ability before Saturn leaves Scorpio for another 29 years.
So be prepared to approach Scorpio-themed matters with absolute seriousness and respect over the next three months. There's no such thing as getting into a light romantic fling under Saturn in Scorpio. There's no such thing as 'innocently' misusing other people's energy or resources or trust. There are no excuses for your refusal to look deeply into your own pathologies, and there are no rewards for clinging to situations you know are toxic.
--All that aside – there is a Jupiter-Uranus trine happening, so if a magical dragon offers you a lift to Narnia, you should probably accept ASAP. Or if a warrior cat riding on a unicorn wants to talk to you about philosophy, or whatever. That stuff is all OK.
In other words, if any kind of sudden opportunity opens to you – especially if it involves creativity, travel, opportunities for expansion and learning, or talking fairy creatures – you should accept it, as long as it doesn't potentially harm anyone.
But with Saturn back in Scorpio all summer, remember sexual and romantic (and also financial) opportunities are very fraught. They have to be approached with due caution and respect, and a willingness to follow through. Scorpio is extreme: it's all or nothing.
It may seem like a good summer for having flings, but it's really not. It's a good summer for having fantastic lucky romantic gifts dropped in your lap from heaven – but you have to honour those gifts, and not take them for granted. There is a heavy price-tag involved with Saturn in Scorpio. If you aren't willing to pay it, or you underestimate what's required, your gifts will turn into curses – and I can't state that strongly enough. This is not a time for playing around.
Anyway, re. the fantastic lucky romantic gifts from heaven: Venus moves from Cancer into fiery Leo on the 5th of June, and this heats things up on the relationship front. It happens on the same day that Mars sextiles Jupiter, and Venus will also be trining Saturn. In plain English, this is a good influence for taking (reasonable) risks in love and money matters – for the pursuit of happiness.
Venus will be in Leo until the 8th October, aside from a brief stint in Virgo in July. This is pretty nice! She'll be retrograding through Leo all summer, passing over Jupiter.
Venus and Jupiter are known as the lesser and greater benefics - lucky planets. So these conjunctions in Leo – the sign of loyalty, pride, joy, creativity and open-heartedness – are super lucky and wonderful. They happen on the 1st July and the 4th August, but they color the whole summer. I think people will be hard-pressed not to find something sweet in this – some gift or blessing.
It's shaping up to be a beautiful summer overall. Really truly magical – just please remember this is not the kind of magic to play around with or take lightly.
(I'm nominating Spock as patron saint of this full moon.)
This is tomorrow: 10th August, around 7:10 pm (GMT).
It'll be the largest full moon of the year – the moon will be at perigee, the point in her orbit where she's closest to Earth. Very intense.
I'm going to try to be brief for a change, because I don't have a lot of time to write this!
What we have this full moon are a lot of intense, clashing energies coming from fixed signs. The sun and Mercury in Leo will be opposing the moon in Aquarius, and these poles will be squared by Mars and Saturn in Scorpio.
Fixed signs are...fixed, basically. Stubborn, intractable. They don't negotiate – they insist. Aquarius insists on its ideology and its vision for the future, Leo on its personal importance, Scorpio on its security and control.
What we've been seeing in the news these past weeks are a bunch of conflicts that look hopelessly intractable, involving ideological differences that admit of no resolution.
And the world is getting drawn in, taking sides. It's a kind of contagion - & it's getting out of control. (“Out of control” is how the WHO is now characterising Ebola in West Africa.)
There's a lot of emotionally charged rhetoric going on...a lot of terror and panic. There are bombs raining down on a lot of places right now.
Mars and Saturn are traditionally known as the two 'malefic' planets, and having them mixed up with this full moon is...tough. It's bad enough to have the two of them conjunct: Mars-Saturn contacts are known for their violence and cruelty.
But also they are conjunct in Scorpio, sign of extremes. Black-or-white, all-or-nothing. So we are looking at extreme cruelty and no middle ground – scorched earth. Utter savagery.
Plus Mars and Saturn are squaring the sun and Mercury in Leo, which can be read as hubris and bombast on steroids.
And also they're squaring the moon in Aquarius, which can be about emotional shock and disconnection – shell shock. Or emotional polarization, or dogmatism.
So you can see how bad this can get...how this full moon lights up a very apocalyptic storyline. You have only to turn on the news these days to see these themes playing themselves out. It's tragic.
But remember the word 'apocalypse' comes from the Greek for 'revelation' or 'uncovering'. That's the potential good in this scenario: it represents an intensely powerful potential for revelation, mental clarity, objectivity, deep understanding. Maybe not on a global political scale – though one can dream. But on a personal level, definitely.
Aquarius is about humanitarian ideals and our shared vision for the future. At worst it can be rigid and dogmatic, but at best it is rational, unsentimental, independent-minded – and very concerned with the well-being of the collective, and with creating a better future.
These are all necessary qualities when you're trying to negotiate a peace deal or bring aid to a warzone or see through propaganda. Cool-headedness and clarity are very important right now, what with the overblown and emotionally-driven rhetoric we're being exposed to on all sides.
So in the spirit of Aquarian progressivism and optimism, I am determined to see this full moon as a good thing...as an opening for some kind of rationality and intelligence to get through to a world that is imploding with hatred and violence.
Something nice about this full moon: despite the fact that it is bound up with the two malefics (Mars and Saturn), we are also moving into a conjunction involving the two benefics (Venus and Jupiter). Venus is currently in the late degrees of Cancer, applying into conjunction with Jupiter in Leo, exact on the 18th August. This aspect represents some kind of luck or blessing - something lovely. So that's good, and much-needed.
The sun and moon also make some very nice aspects to the north node in Libra and also to the moon's dispositor, Uranus in Aries. Meaning this story is ultimately not about war, but about a struggle for peace, justice and right relationship. And this struggle takes place on an individual as well as a collective level - though the individual level is actually where it can make the most difference.
It is about thinking for yourself, exercising emotional restraint and discrimination, expressing yourself clearly and calmly... even when self-expression has the potential to get you ostracised. Lilith (a point representing the lunar apogee, or the point in the moon's orbit at which the moon will be furthest from Earth) is conjunct the sun and Mercury in Leo, and this carries the risk of ostracism via communication. But the message of Lilith is that it's better to be alone and free than to go along with the status quo and be enslaved. Even if it means you're demonised for it.
Lilith, in the Jewish tradition, was Adam's first wife, who refused to be made subject to him and was exiled from Eden. She was known as the mother of demons after that.
Well there are plenty of people out there willing to demonise (or worse) anyone who thinks differently from them these days, we know this.
Anyway, because of all these planets in Leo (Jupiter, Mercury, the sun, and in a few days Venus) opposing or squaring planets in signs that deal with the collective (Aquarius and Scorpio) I am inclined to think that this is about a personal, individual response to collective patterns.
That's only one way of reading it, of course. But I think luck and hope (Jupiter) are dependent on how we filter these collective currents through our individual psyches, and how we express ourselves (Leo).
Because the moon is in such an unemotional sign, I think it's probably a good idea to avoid getting too emotionally worked up over the panic-inducing things that are happening. The problems the world is dealing with are a direct result of people losing any sense of proportion or equanimity. And with Mars and Saturn in Scorpio, extremism has very dangerous consequences.
It doesn't matter what form your extremism takes. Leftists can be every bit as extreme in their views as radical Islamists. You have to take the other side of the story into account: that is the message of the north node in Libra, the sign of relating and fairness. You have to take other people's views and experiences into account. Maybe actively seeking out other points of view is a good antidote to extremism...we can easily spend our lives surrounded by people who agree with us and back up our opinions, and information sources that confirm our prejudices. The way things are going, that's a recipe for collective disaster.
Anyway, to sum up: it's extreme, violent weather out there. If you focus on changing yourself, freeing your mind and avoiding personal extremism, you'll be better off and maybe you'll be of benefit to others.
Don't surrender your mind to anyone or anything – not to a dogma or to an emotional appeal or a cause. Try to think for yourself and stay objective. If you feel yourself being swayed by panic or moral outrage, try to take a step back – there is detachment and clarity on offer if you want it.
Maybe ask yourself: "what would Spock do?"
And try to express yourself even if it feels isolating. That's the only way people get to hear alternate points of view at all.
