This is exact later today, the 19th February, just before 4 pm GMT.
The moon and sun will be at 0 degrees of Virgo and Pisces, respectively. 0 degrees of any sign is very concentrated and potent energy. In addition, the rulers of Virgo and Pisces – Mercury and Neptune – are nearly exactly conjunct in Pisces at this time.
It's a beneficial melding of Virgo and Pisces themes. Virgo is about cleanliness, order, health, routine and painstaking attention to detail, and Pisces is about spirituality and ego loss. So under this full moon we should be trying to find the holiness in the everyday – ordinary tasks like washing the dishes and taking out the garbage are inherently spiritual. Instead of hating and avoiding these everyday chores, you can approach them with attention, care and mindfulness. Getting your external house in order is a prerequisite to making internal spiritual progress – these things aren't separate.
There's a very transformational vibe to this full moon -- recall that we are still under the influence of the new moon in Aquarius two weeks ago, which was all about breaking free. It's no accident that Marie Kondo's show about decluttering is one of the most-watched things on Netflix at this time, and it fits the symbolism of this full moon precisely.
Now is a perfect time for internal or external spring cleaning and you can make great progress in whatever you set out to do. The full moon is beneficially aspecting Mars and Uranus, which are conjunct. This is like having some rocket fuel behind you, and as Mars is in Taurus, it's a slow and steady burn. Once you get started, you can carry through to the end and achieve a transformation, however enormous the task looks at the beginning. Just start.
We also have Venus, Saturn and Pluto conjunct in Capricorn at this time, which is about solid value in love and money matters. It's not an easy or feel-good influence, but it's definitely something you can use. All this Capricorn can be pretty ruthless about weeding out what is not essential, be it a possession, a situation, a habit or a relationship. Focus on keeping and maintaining only what supports your constructive growth. Remove your energy from what you know to be toxic or stagnant, and if that means allowing certain relationships to die, so be it.
At this full moon, it's important to remember that the motto of the Virgo-Pisces axis is “serve or suffer” - both signs need to serve something larger than the ego or they're prey to a lot of self-involved angst. With Virgo, the angst takes the form of endless worrying and nitpicking; with Pisces it's emotional turmoil and addiction. The way out of this angst is to do something practical and/or to help someone else. It's a pretty foolproof formula.
We are heading into some heavy Pisces influence over the next month, so please keep this formula in mind. Also, it's a good idea to avoid boundary-dissolving substances such as drugs, alcohol and fairy-tale romance. We'll have a new moon in Pisces on the 6th of March, with Uranus re-entering Taurus on the same day for extra weirdness. We'll also have a Mercury retrograde in Pisces beginning the day before the new moon, and running till the end of March. The Mercury retrograde will end on the 28th March, with Mercury exactly conjunct Neptune as he is now.
I think you put it all together and March looks like a real head-melting scenario, with a lot of weirdness going down around Mercury themes especially (that's thought, communication, travel, vehicles, appliances, trade, infrastructure, Brexit talks, etc). So the more you can get things streamlined, clear and functional at this time, the better prepared you'll be for the topsy-turvy weirdness ahead.
So here we are the first new moon of 2019, and it's an eclipse, which means it's a supercharged new beginning. We also had Mars changing signs on New Year's Eve, from Pisces to 0 degrees Aries, the “Aries point” or birthplace of the whole zodiac. So all signs point to 2019 being a doozy of a year. It's certainly starting off with a lot of heavy, dramatic symbolism.
This solar eclipse is heavy and dramatic for sure – but in a very cold, stark way. It's like being stuck between a rock and a hard place: the sun and moon are wedged between Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn. Saturn is about hardship and karma and Pluto is about death, depth psychology and transformation – so neither of these are fun planets. They are especially not fun in Capricorn, a grimly realistic sign. We also have thought-and-communication planet Mercury in Capricorn, meaning communication will be terse and factual.
So all in all, it's a lot of Capricorn, and Capricorn is about structure, authority, rules and slow, dogged achievement. The Neptune-fueled excesses of the holiday season are over, and we're back on planet Earth. It should feel sobering and real and grounded - depressing even. There isn't a lot of fun to be had here. Instead, there are responsibilities to be attended to and hard realities to be faced.
Shirking your duties / trying to avoid your demons is inadvisable here – Saturn and Pluto reward focus, commitment and going deep. They do not look kindly on escapism and self-delusion, and if that's what you've been doing, you can expect this eclipse to feel harsh: a stark, painful wake-up call. Time to grow the hell up.
This energy is not a fleeting influence. The eclipse is a lead-up to the big event of next year, when Saturn and Pluto will be exactly conjunct in Capricorn. They will be approaching that conjunction all this year, so this harsh, hardcore energy is something we should all get used to working with.
With Saturn and Capricorn, you get back what you've put in. And with Pluto involved, this is so to an extreme degree, and it applies to the psychological work you do as well as to your outward life. Achievement and progress come from hard work, there will be no magical windfalls here.
So whatever you're starting this new year, commit yourself to it as much as you can and devote serious time and effort to it. The payoff for hard work and seriousness is great under this sky. The payback for frivolity and slacking is also great.
This eclipse is also defined by Uranus stationing direct later on the same day. What this means is it's a big shift in tone – an upheaval really. Change is afoot, and the structure of your life is going to be altered, for good or ill. And you might as well get with the program.
It's not all harsh drill-sergeant stuff though: we also have a beautiful grand water trine in effect between Venus in Scorpio, Chiron in Pisces and the north node in Cancer. This is about healing of psychic wounds via emotional honesty and compassion. Again though, it's not light. It's deep and painful stuff, potentially cathartic.
So this new moon eclipse is a pretty heavy dose. It opens up a heavy month and a heavy year. We'll have Uranus re-entering Taurus in March, where he will disrupt the stable structures of our lives. We'll have Saturn and Pluto moving toward full conjunction in Capricorn all year, and both conjunct the south node of the moon into November – a situation that means the default tone will be stressful, harsh and punitive as established structures fall apart and we all have to pick up the slack.
Remember the north node is in Cancer, so however bitter and emotionally guarded you may feel, the way forward this year is about opening your heart and being gentle and nurturing toward yourself and others.
That might be hard this month, as frustrations abound. January culminates with a shocking and disruptive full moon eclipse in Leo on the 21st. I'll write about it closer to the time, but I think the main thing to do with this new moon eclipse energy is get yourself grounded in reality and commit yourself to the road ahead, even if it looks like an uphill battle.
The longing to escape reality is present in the form of a square from Jupiter to Neptune, exact on the 12th January. This is the first of three: the others come on the 16th June and the 21st September, so it's an influence we'll be dealing with all year. Given the harshness of this year's astrology, I can't blame anyone for wanting to escape into some kind of internal or external Shangri-La. But with the Saturn-Pluto stuff happening in Capricorn, there's really no way out of difficulty but through.
Libra is about relationships, aesthetics and social graces. It also has to do with justice, fairness and equality, as for relationships to work harmoniously, the balances of interpersonal give and take have to be roughly equal.
As new moons signify new beginnings, a new moon in Libra can be about new artistic projects or beauty regimens. Primarily though, we are looking at new beginnings in the realm of relationships. And the relationships being addressed here are deep, intense ones. The sign is known for wanting to keep things light and pleasant, but this new moon looks quite heavy and dark and obsessive – potentially uncomfortable. This is some Libra noir.
The sun and moon are squaring Pluto, king of hell, newly direct in the no-nonsense sign of Capricorn. That aspect makes for plenty of psychodrama in relationships. In addition, Libra's ruler (and dispositor of the new moon) Venus has just stationed retrograde in Scorpio.
Scorpio is an obsessive and intense sign, and Venus doesn't function very well here – you get a lot of toxic power dynamics, hidden corruption, betrayal, jealousy, triangles, emotional manipulation etc. You can also get fanatical loyalty and love unto death – it's either the best or the worst of relationship, with no grey areas. But the ugly stuff is unfortunately more common.
And with Venus retrograde till the 16th November, you're likely to have old lovers or friends popping up from the grave, messaging you on facebook or whatever. Or old relationships may reappear in your head for re-assessment. You might gain some clarity on why dead relationships had to end, and understand how to avoid making the same mistakes and enacting the same pathologies again.
Suffice it to say, relationship karma will be hitting hard this month, and it's inadvisable to start any new relationships until after Venus stations direct on the 16th November. (The same goes for making luxury purchases and investments, or re-vamping your look drastically.)
It may be hard to hold off, because we'll also have a square between Venus and Mars in Aquarius which speaks of hotted up romantic urgency and frustration, but if you want more than a fling, wait. If a fling is all you're after, go ahead – but don't be surprised if things get complicated and punishing under this sky. With Saturn and Pluto now both direct in Capricorn, sobriety, integrity, hard work, realism and limits are very important. These grim gods do not look kindly on flightiness or flings. They reward focus and commitment.
We are headed for an explosive full moon in Taurus on the 24th October, the culmination of a very intense month. Aaargh, let's see what happens. It should be interesting. Try not to get your knickers too twisted up before then. Sublimation of sexual angst into some kind of creative work might help.
This is early tomorrow, the 16th April – around 3 am UTC.
A new moon in Aries is a slate-clearing event and a rebirth. New moons symbolise new beginnings, and Aries, as the start of the astrological year, is about birth. This is the time we see the new spring growth zooming up out of the ground in the Northern hemisphere. It's always a bit of a shock to me how fast it happens.
Shock and surprise are big factors in this particular Aries new moon. It's more zingy with sudden born-again energy than usual.
For one thing, we have Mercury in Aries stationing direct the day before the new moon on the 15th April. This represents a release of pent-up mental energy. There are still blocks on communication, as Mercury will be squaring Saturn in Capricorn for the rest of April. There will be an imperative to be very clear and correct in the way you express yourself, and to rein in your hotheadedness. But it's definitely an improvement on the Mercury retrograde scenario, which involved a ton of frustration and pent-up violence.
The most important thing about this new moon, though, is that it is tightly conjunct Uranus in Aries. And Uranus is known as “the awakener” - a planet symbolising revolution, upheaval and lightning insight. Combine that with the urgency and self-starting drive of Aries, and you get a burst of pure autonomy and bravery.
So the month this new moon ushers in is all about YOU and what you want, going forward – and it's not supposed to be the same old stuff you've always wanted. This is the time to make space for something radically new to enter your life – something which, compared to what's gone before, might look quite weird and unlikely.
To that end, I'd advise a bit of ruthless spring-cleaning – internal and external. You have to get rid of your useless old garbage before you have the space for the new and weird. I think stripping down to the essentials is the way to go here.
This is the last new moon in Aries where Uranus is also in Aries until the 2090s, so it's a big deal. On the 15th May, Uranus will enter Taurus, the sign of physical stability and possessions – at nearly the exact time of the new moon in Taurus, no less. The roughly 7-year transit of Uranus through Taurus is likely to bring a lot of turbulence to the physical structure of our lives: to our money, our possessions, and our values. If you're very attached to your possessions, your physical/emotional comfort, your habits – I think this transit will be pretty distressing for you. You won't be able to hold on to these things. We are in for a bumpy ride, and the bedrock solidities we rely on are not going to hold up so well.
This is why I think it's so important to get rid of what's inessential at this time. It's practice for Uranus in Taurus – the point is to get skilled at letting go of things.
The autonomy and go-it-alone spirit of this new moon is also good preparation for Uranus in Taurus. It's important to get very clear in yourself as to what you want and where you want to go. Having a strong core of self and being unafraid to strike out alone is crucial when the external solidities are no longer reliable.
To that end, I'd advise you to make some sort of artefact about what you want at this time. Aries is visual, so a drawing is good, or a collage made of images cut out of magazines. Put your desire (and it has to be about what YOU want, not what you think you should want or what you want for others) into some sort of concrete, visual form, and then put it away for a a few months. It's surprising how well this exercise works in clarifying what you want and opening up the paths for it to happen, and it is potent magic at a new moon in Aries.
We have a lot going on this month. Chiron shifts signs the day after the new moon, on the 17th April – he's moving from Pisces into Aries, so it's more Aries action. Chiron in Aries is about a wound to our sense of self, a feeling that we have no right to exist – and the consequent need to build the strength to be ourselves and occupy our own space in the world. I think this ties into the symbolism of the Aries new moon pretty well. It can be hard to muster up the bravery to do your own thing in spite of your insecurities. But it's what we'll be learning to do over the next 9 years of Chiron's transit through Aries.
On the same day as Chiron moves into Aries, Saturn stations retrograde. And then a few days later on the 21st April, Pluto stations retrograde. Both these planets are in Capricorn, the sign of worldly status and achievement. I think this denotes blockage and delay in our ability to forge ahead and get things done. Don't be discouraged if you hit roadblocks; use the delay to refine your plans.
We'll have a Mars-Pluto conjunction on the 26th April, and this is a bit troubling. Mars and Pluto together make a focused, brutal energy – a kind of blood lust or killer instinct. It is utterly ruthless in going after what it wants, and you can use this to your advantage, but I'd be careful and avoid angry people and conflict scenarios at this time. Violence can escalate fast, and with Pluto involved it's all-or-nothing, a fight to the death.
Mercury in Aries will square Saturn in Capricorn exactly on the same day, and it looks quite tense – it may be necessary to bite your tongue hard to avoid saying something that will trigger violence.
On the same day, though (26th April), the moon in Virgo will trine the Mars-Pluto conjunction and sextile retrograde Jupiter in Scorpio. This looks very beneficial for internal excavation work: getting to the root of your pathologies and cutting them out.
So it really looks like the best use of this month's Mars-Pluto energy (and retrograde Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto) is to focus on your internal work. Mars-Pluto allows for focused intensity and ruthlessness, and you can put this to work in culling anything in your life that needs to die – relationships, habits, addictions, attachments, whatever.
This leads in to the full moon in Scorpio on the 30th April, where the tension between holding on to our security, staying habit-bound and comfortable (Taurus) will be facing off against an uncomfortable drive for intensity and transformation (Scorpio). I'll write about it closer to the time, but it looks like more preparation for Uranus in Taurus: it's all about holding on vs. letting go.
I think the things to learn this month are: how to let go of what's inessential, which is most things. And how to be centered in yourself in the midst of instability. Both are qualities Uranus in Taurus will demand of us.
This is tonight, the 2nd March, about 12:50 am UTC
Virgo is the sign of fact-checking, order and discrimination, and we are really going to need that focused attention to reality here, because we have a big stellium in sensitive, dreamy Pisces: the sun, Neptune, Mercury, Venus and Chiron – and this is very foggy, and potentially delusive and self-defeating. It's going to be hard to know what's true and what's false at this time – reality is blanked out. (This is literally true where I live. We are having a freak snowstorm, with white-out conditions predicted for tonight.)
With all these planets in Pisces, it'll be a task to see clearly and not be carried away by emotion. Thankfully, we have the moon in Virgo, which is organized, grounded, nitpicky and analytical. This can help us sort out fact from fiction.
We also have Jupiter in Scorpio beneficially aspecting this Pisces stellium, and this is really helpful. Jupiter in Scorpio is an intuitive bullshit detector, so you can rely on your intuition and “gut feeling” as a guide at this time.
Often when you have this many planets in Pisces, it feels like a mess: swampy and muddled. But the outlook at this full moon is much better than that. This is partly because of the involvement of Jupiter, the great benefic, and partly because of helpful aspects from Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn. Saturn is serious, Pluto is deep, and Capricorn is all about structure and stability – so having these planets supporting the Pisces stellium is a stabilising influence.
All in all, I think this full moon should feel lovely, in a huge, swirling, ethereal way. Like a big romantic snowstorm. It's a nice influence for artists especially - very inspired. And having faith in the larger design will be beneficial: magic is real, and things can come together in ways you can't predict or control. You can trust that going with the flow will take you somewhere interesting.
That said, it's very important to hold onto your grip on reality and pay attention to the details. Don't go overboard with enthusiasm. Pisces always carries the potential for disappointment, delusion and loss, so it's imperative to stay clear-headed and realistic as much as you can. And it's probably a good idea to avoid alcohol and drugs as well, because it's easy to get swept away by addictive impulses at this time. Do your healthy Virgo stuff instead: clean the house, organise your stuff, drink some carrot juice.
We'll have a new moon in Pisces on the 17th March, and it ushers in a sensitive, touchy month, where it looks like it will be easy to wound or be wounded, so caution is advised. I'll write more about that closer to the date.
This is tomorrow morning: Sunday the 9th July, around 5 am GMT.
It's a tough one - brutal, actually. There is bound to be conflict with this, and it could get violent. See the picture above: dragons, volcanoes. Something's about to spew fire, so please be careful.
The moon in Capricorn signifies a guarded, fearful, security-seeking emotional tone – quite cold and authoritarian really. And this full moon will also be conjunct Pluto, which adds an undertone of deep compulsion and hellish intensity.
Basically this denotes an obsessive, emotionally driven need for power, control and security. And on the other side, we have the sun and Mars in Cancer, which is about fired-up emotions, defensiveness and rage – especially concerning family stuff and primal needs.
Also we also have Jupiter in Libra aspecting the sun, moon, Mars and Pluto in a cardinal t-square. Jupiter can be protective and beneficial, but he also inflates everything he touches. Needless to say, we don't need any inflation of the emotionally-driven ugliness.
Mars opposite Pluto is not a nice aspect, and we have it here. It has to do with killer aggression, fights to the death, extreme competitiveness, brutality. As this is an opposition, the vibe is likely to play out interpersonally. As this is a full moon, we are dealing with high drama, culminations and endings.
People get killed under a sky like this. Don't be ashamed to back down from a fight – it isn't worth it. With Jupiter in Libra, blessed are the peacemakers and those who can see the opposite point of view. And with Neptune beneficially aspecting the full moon, compassion, forgiveness and acceptance will be helpful.
This is the culmination of Cancer lunar phase, which began with the emotionally-charged new moon in Cancer two weeks ago. Look to the issues you were dealing with at that time, as they are likely to intensify now. This full moon is a flashpoint, and the point is resolution and justice. It can either be an eruption of atavistic brutality and a fight to the death, or a catharsis that shifts a compulsive, ossified situation.
Because Pluto is involved, there is an imperative for deep transformation, and you would do well to obey this imperative. There's really no resisting it – resistance is useless with Pluto. Pay attention to what makes you feel most uncomfortable, and get to the root of it. Look at your addictions and compulsions – what are you using them to avoid? You are not going to be able to avoid it so easily, this full moon. Your most fucked-up shit will be all lit-up – and as we are dealing with a cardinal t-square, change is required.
On the plus side, this is a great opportunity for healing. Things fester when they're hidden away; they can only heal if they're exposed to light and air. If the fierceness of this full moon takes the form of ripping some putrid psychological band-aid off a festering wound, it could be a very good thing.
If it all feels overly uncomfortable and violent, please keep in mind that in two weeks' time, the cardinal t-square will have broken up and we'll have a new moon in Leo, and it looks a lot less harsh and a lot more fun. So hang in there! Deal with the discomfort, make the required changes, and have faith that things will feel less shitty soon.
We have a big stellium in Cancer for
this new moon: sun, moon, Mercury and Venus. So this is a heavy dose
of Cancer energy.
I think it's much-needed after the
crazy mutable intensity of the past month. This is like a big
soothing duvet over our frayed nerves and minds. It's a bit of a
break – a chance to retreat, regroup, lounge around at home eating
nice food and rebuilding our reserves.
Cancer is about home, family, our
roots, motherhood, nurturance, emotion. It is ruled by the moon, and
can be as changeable – it is a moody sign, with a lot of
fast-shifting emotional intensity.
Our Cancer stellium this new moon
opposes Pluto in Capricorn. So expect the emotional intensities this
Cancer season to be a bit amped-up. Please cut yourself and others
some slack if things get kind of PMS-y and hormonal... It's probably
not a big deal, and not worth starting WW3 over. It's just a mood
that will pass. Maybe it's a mood that you need to examine and go
deeper into, instead of acting it out with others or trying to block
it out.
Despite the Pluto opposition, the new
moon is well aspected overall. It looks good for emotional catharsis
- Neptune in Pisces and Jupiter and the north node in Virgo send
support. Maybe there's some emotional processing to be done after all
the shifts and WTF moments of June. Things have changed pretty
drastically – we are all trying to get our heads around the changes
and what they'll mean in a practical sense. (And with Saturn squaring
Neptune, this is extremely hard – the road ahead is lost in fog.)
This month looks like a good time to
let our hearts catch up with our heads. There are probably a lot of
pent-up feelings we haven't had time to look at, busy and buzzing as
things have been. I think it's a chance to focus inward and let
those feelings come up and be acknowledged.
Not in a melodramatic way
– with Jupiter and the north node in Virgo, the point of this kind
of emotional processing is very practical and sensible. It's about
reaching a point of calm in ourselves, because what's ahead will not
be this calm again for a good while.
So please use this month to be
kind and motherly to yourself and others. Eat well, rest and focus on
healthy, practical things. There are more intensities ahead –
August looks quite cruel, as the t-square across mutable signs
regroups and tightens, and Mars (now direct in Scorpio) catches up
with Saturn in Sagittarius.
I think retreating a
bit now in order to rebuild the reserves is not a bad idea.
Neptune is very close to the south
node, so beware of using drink and substances to blot out stress. The
hangover will be pretty swampy. (This is a good influence for anyone who wants to make art, though. This month is full of creative potential.)
And please remember you can't go far wrong if you focus
on the Virgo stuff: health, everyday routine, humility, order,
service to others.
The current Cancer stellium - which is all about emotional nurturance - supports this focus
on Virgo themes. So taking care of ourselves and others in a very
practical, gentle way is what the sky is asking us
to do this month.
That includes letting yourself feel what you feel - not beating yourself up over it, suppressing it, or using it to construct a sob-story that perpetuates your suffering. Pluto is about purgation and clearing-out of old gunk. So Pluto's involvement with this new moon indicates it's time to let whatever's emotionally dammed up or stagnant in you start flowing and moving again. You're allowed to feel what you feel and to let it flow through you.
You don't have to use it against anyone - please don't! But it's important to honour your own feelings, and make the space and time for them to come up out of the watery depths. It's healthy and pragmatic, irrational as it may feel.
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.
This is on Monday the 28th September, 3:50 am (GMT).
We are in the middle of a tough week, and we're headed towards an intense and difficult full moon.
It's a supermoon, meaning the moon will be at the closest point to earth in her orbit, and will therefore appear freaking huge.
It is also a lunar eclipse, the fourth in a much-hyped tetrad of “blood moons” which some people believe heralds the end of the world, as in the Book of Revelations or some such shit.
Well I don't think it'll be the end of the world. But it does look quite violent. And as eclipses represent supercharged culminations or endings, the effects of this one will be long-term. So it's good to approach this with caution.
But before we look at it, let's look at the week leading up to it. What a crazy week.
We had the equinox – the balance-point of light and dark, the hinge between seasons – on the 23rd September (Wednesday), as the sun moved into Libra, sign of balance and harmonious relationship. And straight into conjunction with the north node at 1 degree Libra. Meaning Libran themes of balance, fairness and relating to the Other are paramount right now. This is the aim of the whole story, remember. It is about relational harmony and balance, even as everything is falling to shit around you. Civility and basic manners will get you far.
They will be needed, as we have all kinds of mental and interpersonal misunderstanding and nastiness going on right now. This is courtesy of retrograde Mercury in Libra, in lousy aspect to Uranus and Pluto. The Mercury-Pluto square was exact on the 24th September (Thursday) – and on the same day, we had Pluto, king of hell, stationing direct. Painful.
This is the sort of thing that incites verbal nastiness and suspicion. Or obsessive, stinging doubt and worry. Very mentally uncomfortable and lacerating stuff.
So there's just some very ugly, painful and dangerous – but potentially honest and transformative – thought and communication going on here. These influences are in effect (and culminating) at the full moon. And remember this full moon is in Aries, a fiery, warlike, impulsive sign. So there is the possibility of verbally eviscerating people, blowtorching your relationships all to hell...Or setting things on a new footing via radical honesty.
We also had Mars moving into Virgo in the early hours of the 25th (Friday), straight into a square with Saturn in Sagittarius. This Mars-Saturn square speaks of extreme frustration and potential cruelty. You put it together with the Mercury-Pluto stuff, and it's the perfect set-up for all kinds of nastiness. This can be internal (in your own head) or interpersonal – but there's so much pressure involved in this, it might feel like your head's in a vice. Or you might be on the receiving end of nastiness coming from other people.
Again, civility and basic manners will get you far with this. Seeing all sides of a story, not just your own prejudices. Fighting for accommodation and compromise, instead of fighting to 'win'. With the north node at 1 degree Libra, the story is supposed to be about 'we', not 'me'.
OK, and here's something kind of amazing about this eclipse: it involves a massive and very interesting clash of female archetypes. The sun in Libra will be conjunct Lilith (the lunar apogee) and asteroid Juno; the moon in Aries will be conjunct Vesta.
As we've seen, the north node in Libra is about a focus on relational issues - so these should be all lit up at this time. And the relationship story, as influenced by these three female celestial points, is a real wife vs. mistress dynamic. Or Madonna/whore.
Juno is named after the long-suffering and perpetually enraged wife of philandering Jupiter, king of the gods. She represents the good wife and mother: the woman who stays within the bounds of established patriarchal order and gets served a shit sandwich in exchange for her fidelity, over and over again. In the mythology, Juno's fury at Jupiter's recurrent betrayals was directed in extremely cruel ways toward his conquests, not at him. (Nevermind that these 'other women' were often actually raped by Jupiter.)
Lilith on the other hand represents a bitch goddess or outlaw woman – someone who cannot be held within patriarchal norms, who refuses to submit to any authority save her own, and is ostracised and demonised for her independence. Classic temptress / mistress stuff here. This is the one who lures men to their doom...a representation of dark, uncontrollable, wild feminine power and rage.
So these two opposite, but equally angry, destructive and powerful archetypes of femininity are hanging out together in Libra, the sign of balance and interrelationship. And on the freaking equinox to boot, the balance-point of light and shadow, the time of year when the day and the dark become equal. And at a full moon eclipse. I think it's all highly significant!
Plus we have Vesta conjunct the moon in Aries, and this is another powerful female influence. Vesta was the goddess of hearth and home, and keeper of the sacred flame. In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins were women specially chosen to tend Vesta's temple fire, the heart of the city of Rome. They took a vow of celibacy for 30 years, and were freed of the ordinary obligations and strictures put upon women in a rigidly patriarchal society. They were highly respected and independent – as long as they kept to their vows. Because the life of the city was thought to depend on their sexual purity and integrity, Vestals who transgressed their vows were scourged and buried alive.
So we have these three very powerful archetypes of femininity bound up with the eclipse – but all three are to some extent defined by their relation to patriarchal structures of control over women. They are also defined by their relation to their own sexuality, and by how female sexuality is contained and controlled within patriarchal structures.
We have Juno, the married one who outwardly is highly revered and respected because of her association with a powerful man – she gets to be freakin Queen of Heaven after all. But inwardly she's frustrated, dishonored, hurt and furious at his infidelities – and she takes her jealous rage out on other women.
We have Lilith, the dark temptress who could not give a fuck about marriage or respectability or 'belonging' to a man – but she's also defined by her bitterness and destructive rage because of her treatment by men.
And we have Vesta, the sacred virgin, whole and complete unto herself, independent and respected – as long as she renounces her sexuality in service to the patriarchal state.
It's all very interesting! These archetypes, when you look into them, are a lot more alike than they might seem at first glance. They are all images of dishonored or feared (or tightly controlled) female power.
And with Pluto in Capricorn (representing rotten, corrupt old power structures which must fall away or be transformed) squaring this full moon, maybe it's a good time to look at how we are all affected by these constricting gender dynamics. Things have to change. The 'good' wife, the 'other woman', the saintly Madonna – these are shitty roles for women to be caught in, and they put women at odds with each other in a destructive way. They don't serve men too well either: they prevent men from seeing women as actual, complex human beings.
I keep thinking of this movie. Saddest thing ever:
Or this one:
Or this song:
Anyway, all in all, a very powerful and intense eclipse - for women especially. Potentially very shocking, cruel and hurtful thought and communication - but it can also liberating.
I think the sacred hearth-fire imagery associated with Vesta is a key thing to focus on. As Vesta is in Aries, which has to do with selfhood, I think it's all about defining your own internal core of meaning / value / intergrity / autonomy. What do you hold pure and inviolate; what fires do you devote yourself to keeping lit, no matter what? What is sacred to you at your core, and how do you protect and nurture it?
If we can keep the focus on what keeps our internal heart(h) fires lit, it should be easier to transcend the rage and darkness associated with the Lilith/Juno stuff.
Anyway, beware of nastiness directed toward you or coming out of your mouth – maybe cut people some slack this week, because this moon will be stressful enough. And remember your manners (Libra). Basic civility is pretty important right now.
OK, so this is an intense and really stressful full moon. Maybe you can feel it building.
Today (1st May) the moon in Libra is tangled up with the Uranus-Pluto square, which is still in effect, though loosening. This is a jagged and disturbing emotional tone. Painful, eruptive, explosive...
People will definitely be on edge heading up to the full moon, which happens early on the 4th May, around 4:40 am GMT.
A full moon in Scorpio shines a stark light on what is viable in your life vs. what is unviable. It should be pretty damn clear. Full moons represent culminations or endings, and that's exactly what we're looking at here.
The moon at 13 degrees Scorpio (intense desire, emotional unrest, transformation) will be opposite the sun in Taurus (comfort, habits, values, self-esteem), and both will be in exact square to Jupiter in Leo, which amps up the intensity and tension. Ugh.
This looks like a very uncomfortable reckoning, especially as far as love and money stuff is concerned. Commitments and contractual obligations will be cemented and solidified – or ended.
It's kind of a life-or-death thing. What's viable, you commit yourself to. What's unviable – you let go of or amputate, painful though this may be.
It's very simple...but also hard as hell. It can be as grindingly difficult as breaking a long addiction.
Breaking an addiction is a good way of looking at this scenario, actually. We have Taurean comfort-seeking and habit coming up against the Scorpionic imperative for transformation and purgation, and something's gotta give.
Look back to the new moon in Scorpio in October of last year – that was the start of this cycle. What began for you then, or ended? What kind of psychological roller coaster have you been on for the past half-year, as we moved through the last of the Uranus-Pluto squares?
Basically, if you are still holding onto things that are draining or harmful – well you'll have had a good six or seven months of wake-up calls and revelations by now. Longer, probably! You can't really pretend not to know any better anymore, can you?
This full moon is a culmination and a cut-off point.
That's not to say we'll be done with the particular Scorpionic issues it raises...We still have some psychological reckoning to do, as Saturn heads back into Scorpio from June to September of this year. This is about the karmic fallout – the consequences. Or the processing period and recovery.
Scorpio issues revolve around sex, death, emotional intensity, trust, power, pathology, the Shadow. Also debts, shared resources, inheritances.
Energetic transactions, basically – and these can be emotional, monetary, physical. But you'll know what belongs in your life by the way it makes you feel: what gives you energy vs. what depletes your energy. If something – a habit, a relationship, a situation – consistently drains and devitalises you, it has to go. Or if leaving it is impossible, it has to be transformed somehow...
But please rein in your illusions that situations or people can be transformed if they have consistently disappointed you. With Scorpio, the most viable option is usually amputation. Cold turkey, yo.
Scorpio is ruled by Pluto, and retrograde Pluto in Capricorn supports the full moon with beneficial aspects – this is about internal reckoning, depth work and restructuring. Neptune in Pisces (dreams, compassion, intuition) also offers support – so it looks like there'll be compassion, hope and faith on offer. This is all nice, given the level of discomfort and intensity we're looking at.
Saturn is now at 3 degrees Sagittarius, moving backward toward Scorpio, which he'll hit in six weeks. We'll have Mercury in Gemini (hyper communicativeness) opposite Saturn (blockage) for this full moon, and both will be squaring dreamy, delusive Neptune in Pisces. And this looks tough. Blocked or deceptive communication; communication hitting a wall. A requirement for truth and free expression, or for absolute clarity – denied. Negotiations hitting an impasse. Anxiety, depression and the inability to think straight. Mental confusion.
I dunno – the whole thing just looks hard. Like something very deep and of far-reaching importance has to be hammered out and decided – and the emotional imperatives driving this are huge. But actually solidifying anything via thinking or communication will be difficult, with this Mercury-Saturn-Neptune square going on.
In circumstances like this, where you can't necessarily trust people's words or your own thinking – it's best to go with your gut instinct. If you feel like someone is lying to you or obfuscating, they probably are. If you feel you might be deluding yourself, you probably are. Don't talk yourself out of what you know deep down.
A Scorpio moon can be a ruthless bullshit detector, with great instinctive insight into people's deepest motivations and trustworthiness. It's a kind of tingly spider sense. That bodily knowing is much more reliable than verbal communication right now – so trust it.
Here is a link to hexagram 47 of the I Ching - it seems relevant. The hexagram is about fated adversity and constraint - a situation where words won't change anything, and you have to stake your life on following your deepest intuition and will.
This full moon setup also reminds me of the Tarot card for the 9 of wands:
It's like a line drawn in the sand. An energetic blocade - and the willingness to defend what you value. And what's at issue is crucial - this is a matter of psychic survival, and of safeguarding your will to live.
“but set down This set down This: were we led all that way for Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death, But had thought they were different; this Birth was Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death. We returned to our places, these Kingdoms, But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation, With an alien people clutching their gods. I should be glad of another death.”
As of today (20th December), we have 3 planets in Capricorn: Venus, Mercury and Pluto, all conjunct and squaring Uranus in Aries and the north node in Libra. We also have Capricorn's ruler, Saturn, on the last minutes of the last degree of Scorpio.
This is intense heaviness and seriousness. A profound reckoning is coming due. Capricorn and Saturn are about commitment to earthly reality, perseverance, work. Sobriety and absolute realism. What's before you may not be easy, but the path will be coming clear now...
Venus conjuncts Pluto exactly later today, and squares Uranus. The sextile between Mars in Aquarius and Uranus in Aries is also nearly exact.... This stuff is about endings, final ruptures – also commitments. Breaking with the past and starting anew.
The Venus-Pluto conjunction is difficult, and might involve the ghost of Christmas past rising from the grave and shimmying around in front of you beguilingly. Dead loves come back to fuck with us under Venus-Pluto aspects, and you have to beware – remember what's dead is dead for a reason. “The best indicator of future behaviour is past behaviour”, per Dr Phil.
But there is such a counterbalancing push for the new at work - I don't think the ghosts are going to be able to do much damage. This looks more like a summation or final reckoning than a scenario where you get pulled back into past patterns.
The death-and-rebirth symbolism of the next few days is extraordinary. One door is closing forever, another door is opening. It's profound and it may be very painful - but it must be accepted. We are dealing with reality here, which is as it is, not as we might wish it to be.
Tomorrow (21st December) is the winter solstice: the darkest day of the year, but also the moment when the light begins to return. It's marked by the moment the sun enters Capricorn, which this year happens at around 11 pm (GMT). At around the same time we have Uranus (revolution and liberation) going direct in Aries, a sign representative of birth and new beginnings. This is a big jolt of light amid darkness – a significator of intense change. It's really beautiful and hopeful.
Then we have the new moon a few hours later, as the moon enters Capricorn. 22nd December, around 1:30 am GMT, 0 degrees Capricorn. New moons represent new beginnings – in Capricorn, we see the beginning of something austere, true, reliable. The symbolism here couldn't be clearer or more stark – or more beautiful. Like the face of the Madonna del Parto above: she looks like she knows exactly what she's getting into.
This is the 3rd in a series of 0 degree new moons – we are moving from possibilities (Sagittarius) to realities (Capricorn) here. This is the door opening into a new world. It might not be the life you've dreamed of, but it will be something you can trust – it will be credible.
Hope and change we can believe in. (Ha. Black humour. Black humour is very Capricorn.)
Then, the next day (23rd December), Saturn changes signs – from Scorpio, where he has been for the past 2 years, to Sagittarius. Because Saturn moves so slowly, a sign-shift is a momentous occasion.
Saturn is about limits, karma, duty, responsibility. He rules Capricorn, and we will have a total of 5 planets in Capricorn as he shifts signs. And this is all about the concrete solidifying on the road ahead.
Saturn in Scorpio was about dealing with our psychological shit, and it was not an easy transit. Many of us have been to some very dark places over the past two years. Hopefully we've come out of it with a lot of our garbage and dross burned away.
Saturn in Sagittarius is not as psychologically heavy at all – it's more about grounding (Saturn) a vision of the future (Sagittarius). So again, we are looking at a death-and-rebirth scenario with Saturn's sign shift - from purgation (Scorpio) to building a future (Sagittarius) - and this is fully in keeping with the symbolism of the winter solstice and the new moon in Capricorn.
There are some difficulties to be expected of this transit, though. For one thing, Saturn in Scorpio has been in a mutual reception with Pluto in Capricorn over the past two years. Pluto in Capricorn is about the rot underlying the old order – the process of unearthing that rot (Scorpio) has been relatively measured and grounded during Saturn's transit of Scorpio. But with the end of that beneficial relationship, we may see accelerated societal breakdown, and extremism spreading like wildfire.
Another difficulty is that Saturn will be squaring Neptune in Pisces for much of his transit of Sagittarius. This is about reality dissolving, and it reinforces the theme of societal breakdown that the end of the mutual reception portends.
“All fixed, fast-frozen relations, with their train of ancient and venerable prejudices and opinions, are swept away; all new-formed ones become antiquated before they can ossify. All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned, and man is at last compelled to face with sober senses his real conditions of life and his relations with his kind.”- per Marx.
How do you build a new reality when the ground keeps dissolving underneath your feet? That's a question we'll probably be looking at in detail over the next few years.
But for now I am not going to speculate - we have enough to be dealing with over the next few days, and into Christmas (as detailed in the post below as well). Happy solstice to all.
This is tomorrow, the 12th July, around 12:30 pm GMT.
Full moons signify culminations or endings. This particular full moon is a real exciting one, with an end-of-era feel about it. Big shifts are underway! It's a “one door closes, another door opens” scenario.
Specifically, the issues that are being wrapped up relate to old family issues, old emotional dependencies and baggage, old power hierarchies.
Some Morrissey. Don't much like this song, but it expresses the mood.
“Break up the family, let's begin to live our lives.”
Time to shut the door on something old and outworn in your life...some closet full of rotting family mementos and clothes you wore 10 years ago. Fiery new portals are opening all around: opportunities for new alliances, creativity and self-expression, fun and mayhem.
But you can't step through a fiery portal of fun and mayhem carrying all your old crap and your parents' old crap and their parents' old crap...that doesn't work.
So what is the story here? We have a cardinal grand cross again, but it's looser this time than the ones we've been dealing with all summer. So tension is still in effect, but it's starting to break up.
We also have a grand water trine involving the sun, Saturn and Chiron. It actually makes a kite formation with the sun-moon opposition as the axis.
So we are looking at jagged tension, drama and power struggles via the grand cross. But also inward emotional strength and deep feeling via the grand water trine.
Plus we have some madcap social stuff going on: Venus and Mercury in Gemini trining Mars and the north node in Libra. That's easy communication, mental energy, lots of romantic options, excitement.
All in all, a big weekend! If you have scores to settle, this is the right time to settle them. And hopefully without too much ugliness either. There'll be plenty of emotional restraint available, and shiny new doors opening for every door that's closing.
Underlining this theme of shifts and endings, we have three major shifts happening in the weeks after the full moon, leading up to a brash new moon in Leo on the 26th July.
First Jupiter switches signs, then Saturn goes direct, and then Mars switches signs. This is what I mean by new doors opening.
Let's look at these changes.
Shift 1: Jupiter moves from Cancer to Leo on the 16th July. This is huge! Jupiter has been in Cancer for a year, so the emphasis this past year has been on home and family stuff. Nurturing those closest to you, dealing with turbulent emotions, taking care of your nest, makin' babies, wiping snotty little noses, lying around on the couch eating comfort food and watching boxed sets, etc etc.
But now our faith / hope / luck (Jupiter) shifts to Leo, which is about self-expression, drama, creativity, fiery self-regard, fun.
What this means is for the next year, it's not about dealing with your crazy family and their issues anymore... We've done that for a whole damn year and now it's over for another 12 years, thank god. The emphasis for the next year is going to be on YOU and how freaking amazing and special you are. How you are making a unique work of art of your own life. That's where your luck is going to be at.
Shift 2: Saturn goes direct in Scorpio on the 21st July after a retrograde period that started in early March. Karma comes due and starts being a bitch again.
If you've done your Saturn in Scorpio work and cut away the deadwood in your life, this will probably come as a relief. If you are still hanging onto crap that no longer serves you, it will hurt.
Saturn in Scorpio is about a kind of emotional ruthlessness – with yourself first and foremost. It's about taking responsibility for your pain. There are trade-offs to be made here for the sake of survival...the stakes are very high.
It's like, if you're walking around with a gangrenous leg...you are going to have to amputate the leg, and it will hurt like hell, and you'll have to learn to live differently. But if you don't amputate, this rotten thing attached to you is going to poison and kill you. It's that stark.
For 'gangrenous leg', substitute whatever in your life you know is rotten or unsound – it could be a relationship, a habit or addiction, a way of thinking. Bite the bullet.
(That expression comes from the days when wounded soldiers were given a bullet to bite while undergoing amputations without anesthesia. Very apt here.)
Shift 3: Mars will leave Libra and enter Scorpio early on the 26th July. He has been in Libra (the sign of his detriment) since December of last year – 8 damn months already. (He usually spends around 2 months in a sign.)
This was a long time for the planet of raw male energy and war to be stuck in the sign of peace and social harmony....like forcing Mike Tyson to sit around drinking tea in a never-ending BBC regency drama. And his stay in Libra was made even more fraught by the cardinal t-squares and crosses he got involved in there. Just a very drawn-out and frustrating time.
Well anyway, that's nearly done and he's moving out... to Scorpio, which is more his style. We go from passive aggression, enforced politeness, metrosexuality and wussiness to...film noir. Mars in Scorpio is a private dick (ahem) out of film noir: obsessive, secretive, probing, boiling with concealed passion.
Here is Mars in Libra:
And this is what he looks like in Scorpio:
And I know which of the above pictures I'd be happier in, if I were Mars.
--So anyway, these big shifts are underway and you'll feel it. The full moon tomorrow represents the last stand of the issues we've been dealing with all this summer – and really since the start of the year. Look back to the new moon in Capricorn in January and think about what you've been slogging through since then. Time to draw a line under all that stuff and move on.
--OK, I could leave it at that, but I'll write a little more background on the full moon tomorrow. The sun at 20 degrees Cancer will be facing off against the moon at 20 degrees Capricorn.
Capricorn is about the old order: the tried and true. Authority, stability, duty, responsibility, following the rules. And Cancer is about home and family, roots, nurturance, emotions, the past.
They are also about public life vs private life: Capricorn is the outward image or persona, and Cancer is the inner world. Career and worldly status vs. home and family life.
They are very 'parental' signs: Capricorn is patriarchal, and Cancer matriarchal. Ideally these polarities should work together: the point about polarities is they are two sides of the same thing, requiring each other. So Capricorn's rules and discipline can turn into cruelty if they don't originate from a Cancerian will to nurture and protect. And Cancer can get lost in emotional turbulence and sentimentality without a dose of Capricorn's restraint and pragmatism.
Anyway, Pluto in Capricorn is widely conjunct this full moon, meaning part of what's lit up here is the corruption and abuse underlying the old, patriarchal order. And the sun in Cancer is applying into a conjunction with Jupiter in Cancer, meaning truth (Jupiter) is on the private, emotional side of the equation. And these poles are bound into a grand cross involving Uranus in Aries (individual revolt) and Mars in Libra (fighting for justice).
We have been dealing with this scenario for awhile, and this is just another iteration of it. One way of translating it is to say that it represents a stand-off. The corrupt old forces of outer power / authority / respectability / status... vs. your own inner emotional truth.
Pretty tense. Again, Jupiter (luck) is on the side of the inner truth stuff, so I would pay attention to that. If you have some kind of stand-off in your life between what is expected of you, what you 'should' do and what you truly feel...well your own feelings are the thing to trust here, of course.
But with a caveat: restraint and an awareness of limits are called for. There are responsibilities to be attended to even if you don't like it.
The sun and Jupiter in Cancer are disposited by the moon in Capricorn, which represents emotional containment. Don't go spilling your messy emotions all over the place...now's not the time. Try to be realistic, pragmatic and disciplined about what you feel and what you need.
Bearing this out, we are moving into a conjunction between Mars in Libra and the north node, exact on the 14th. The story for the next few weeks is still about enacting a balance, fighting for fairness and right relationship.
A full moon is a balancing act really: you have two opposing themes (in this case Cancer and Capricorn) that must be reconciled. Hopefully in yourself: the point of all this astrology stuff is self-understanding. Otherwise you mindlessly play out one side of the equation and someone else comes along to play the other side and it's just a battle of puppets.
The real work is this alchemical thing of reconciling the opposites within yourself. This is tricky and takes a lot of awareness. And it's also always a work in progress: you have to keep at it forever. But ultimately there's no other way to be free.
With this full moon, we're dealing with these parental signs, Cancer and Capricorn, and a conflict between emotional truth and practical necessity. And then Jupiter moves from Cancer (which is about the undertow of childhood, mama and the past) to Leo (which is about the self, YOU in all your glory). And we have Saturn going direct in Scorpio, which is about the sloughing off of an old skin.
So I think the story here is about taking responsibility, becoming your own authority, your own parental figure – and that means you rely on what you know to be true deep down, not what the powers that be try to force down your throat.
And also you get rid of the psychological baggage of the past: the stuff you can't bring through the fiery portal. Your granny's lovely tablecloths, moldering in the attic; your father's sense of inadequacy; your mother's rage; whatever. It's not yours and you don't have to carry it anymore. Something new is trying to be born - your life, maybe.
(Yeah. Always.)
We are the sons of no-one, bastards of young!
And here is some Tsunami. I used to listen to this when I was a teenager. Sitting in my room, waiting for my real life to start - ha.
