Square Six of The Fool’s Tower: Reuniting Individual Will to the Universal Self

Square Six:  Reuniting Individual Will to the Universal Self

12-14-2014 (Uranus Retrograde Square Pluto in the 13^th degree of Aries and Capricorn) @ 6:45pm CST

Uranus and Pluto are two of the three Generational Outer Planets that allude to the collective experience of our global community.  These planets take much longer to move through our solar system, and so their energies have an enduring effect when triggered by alignment.  Though I am writing this series as they approach each of the seven exact square alignments, the powerful effects can be felt months before and after (as they gradually approach and recede from the alignment).

This month, the two are met by Hygeia (asteroid of health) retrograding in the 13^th degree of Cancer.  With Hygeia’s influence, these three celestial bodies are in an aspect pattern called a T-Square…where Uranus is at the apex of the energy.  Uranus in the hot seat of this alignment makes for very unpredictable, though potentially innovative energies breaking ground during this time period.  Impetuousness is likely to be an underlying theme…and this could go either way, of course…giving us the boldness to break down barriers and start something new by using our creative intelligence or rushing into something before we are ready resulting in plans going awry.  The choice is ours…and it is between acting through ego immaturely and prematurely, or acting with patience, discernment, and care for all rather than only ourselves.

Uranus Retrograde in Aries 13:  “A bomb fails to explode, revealing an unsuccessful social protest”

Though practicing patience now may seem like a waste of time, the timing isn’t right for forceful transformation of the status quo.  Think gently about this change that must happen, and act peacefully and patiently.  Immature evaluations about how to speed the process along more aggressively will be met with more resistance and will likely fail.  Consider this season a hibernation of energies that mean to burst forth at a more proper time in the Spring (when the 7^th and final square of this series will occur). 

On the global scale, there is much ego-power thwarting premature attempts at popular revolution.  Mirroring that, on the individual level, we are struggling to resolve conflicts between our own ego self (eidolon) and higher self (daemon).  There may be some negative attempts at reconciling the spiritual ideal and the very earthly reality because we are denying the latter.  When we learn to accept and appreciate the earthly reality from which we came (and the purpose it serves), we will finally allow room for harmony and peace.

Pluto in Capricorn 13:  “A fire worshiper meditates on the ultimate realities of existence”

“The mystery of fire has always captured human imaginations because it is the mystery of all transformations wrapped in the enigma of death.” –Dane Rudhyar

‘Worship’ has many connotations, but the root of the word is actually ‘worth’…as in, honoring the worth of someone or something.  In this way, rather than the ‘bow down and be subservient to’ connotation that has become the norm, the worshiping of fire is really the respect and care taken when tending to it and appreciating the benefits of a reciprocal relationship. 

Yet, even beyond the mundane worth of fire…there is a sacred magic to it.  This magic can be felt by the individual who meditates upon the flame of a candle or a group sharing songs and stories around a campfire.  The fire brings focus and the ability to center ourselves around a source (rather than center everything else around ourselves); to reveal what must burn away and what must grow from the ashes.  Symbolically, fire has the power to illuminate who we truly are as well as the path that will get us there.

This symbol is a call to transcendence…to experience death and return to the same body.  When we allow our higher self to shine, the death that happens is not that of the ego self…but of its control over us.  The lower self must learn to see the worth of the higher self, rather than fight against it, and the higher self reciprocates the same care and respect.  A friendship forms, rather than one usurping position over the other in a continuous struggle. 

Hygeia Retrograde in Cancer 13:  “One hand, slightly flexed, with a very prominent thumb”

The thumb, in cheiromancy, represents the will of a person.  A very rigid thumb shows an unbending will while a more flexible one shows a more pliable individual.  In this symbol, it is suggested that the character is more flexible, though with a lot of will power.  The basic meaning here is that individuality expresses itself through strong character. 

With Hygeia here, the situation confronting us (globally as well as individually) has to do with health in some way (or in many ways)…health of the planet, physical health, mental health, etc.  This symbol suggests that a strong will is required to face the issue at hand.  Also, that this situation activates our will and, in turn, shapes our character.

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

P.S.  If you haven’t read the information I posted in June 2012 about the first of these squares as well as the general information about what these alignments mean, please check out this article:  Attunement to the Visionary Archetype.  Here you will find the overview of the squares and their relation to the Fool’s Tower of the tarot.  If you also want a refresher on the themes of the 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th and 5th squares, you can find them at these links: Manifesting Our Future, Commitment to Change, The Turning Point, and Awakening on the Cross.

New Mourning Moon Eclipse: The Soul is Not the Sum of Its Parts

Before I Begin...

There is something I need to address in the dark of the blood moon before moving on to the next phase.  There are just some obvious things we all need to release before stepping forward into new territory.

Many have been confronted with illness of some kind during the waning half of the blood moon this October.  Maybe its your illness, or that of loved ones, but one thing is certain…we either understand and accept the changes we are needing to make in our lives in order to heal, or we risk the spread of such things to others.  Negativity, avoidance, and ignorance are debilitating diseases that spread so easily, we often aren’t even conscious of the exchange. 

Let me be clear, by ‘negativity’ I mean that which starts out as a simple (though annoyingly common) recipe of disappointment, stress, and frustration (which is normal when faced with new obstacles to overcome, and is meant to give you the energy to face and fix such things), eventually can become skewed out of proportion, stirred up with stale emotions, swallowed down as the wrong medicine, and then spewed out at others in the form of complaining, misplaced anger, unfounded fears, etc.  That’s the negativity to avoid.  I’m not saying everything is always sunshine and roses (that would fall under the other two categories of avoidance and ignorance)…I’m saying try not to make it worse for yourself and others.

Now, let me be clear about ‘avoidance’.  There are obvious things (and people) to avoid for your own safety and sanity, and the safety and sanity of others.  However, if something keeps recurring…a certain feeling, a thought, a dream, a physical pain, a bit of advice from multiple people…it is often a problem that is demanding to be solved.  Avoiding the necessity of taking an active part in the solution leads to the kind of escapism that can make a problem much worse.  No matter where you run or where you hide, those things you’re avoiding will tag along until they are fully addressed. 

And let me be clear about ‘ignorance’.  I don’t mean stupidity…no, we all have some of that (even if we’re highly educated)…that’s normal.  Nobody knows everything.  No, I mean what ignorance is really all about…ignoring the facts.  It’s like avoidance, but instead of running and hiding...there is a stubborn refusal to acknowledge whatever it is staring you right in the face.  In time, ignorance begets ignorance.  And eventually, you might start believing your own lies out of loyalty to the family of lies you’ve created. 

Let me also be clear that I am not immune to these failings myself.  After all, you may think I write these blog posts just to help others (and that is partially true, because I aim to move in unison with the collective and not just assimilate)…but I am also the only one who’s been reading along since the beginning, chronicaling these changes as they come.  I write to myself just as much as I write to you.  These warnings are not coming from the top of some high horse.  These are reminders I’m digging up from my own stumbling grounds.  If they seem to hit close to home, as if I’m talking directly to you…it is one part coincidence, two parts understanding of human nature through the relations of above and below, within and without.

If you’ve been falling into one or more of these traps lately, the end of this moon phase is the best time to pull yourself out of it and make healthier choices.  That means now. The partial solar eclipse begins in the last 10 minutes of the Blood Moon phase, continuing through the beginning of the Mourning Moon phase.  Every eclipse brings about things that will have a lasting effect through 6 months until the next one…so try to make whatever it is a positive thing. The new moon phase will start tomorrow afternoon, and you don’t want to be carrying a lot of unnecessary baggage throughout the Mourning Moon, which can (for some) be a heavy enough time as it is.

And now that we’ve got this end of the Blood Moon addressed, let’s move on to the fast approaching Mourning Moon and the new chapter of possibilities coming.

New Mourning Moon Eclipse:  The Soul is Not the Sum of Its Parts

10-23-14

Solar Eclipse @ 4:45pm CDT

New Moon @ 4:55pm CDT

"It has been said: The whole is more than the sum of its parts. It is more correct to say that the whole is something else than the sum of its parts, because summing up is a meaningless procedure, whereas the whole-part relationship is meaningful." -Kurt Koffka

This new moon phase begins with a 7^th House Sun and Moon conjunct in the 1^st degree of Scorpio.  But there is more to this conjunction this time because Venus is also conjunct the luminaries in the same degree.  But there is even more still, because Pallas (the asteroid of feminine wisdom) is part of this conjunction as well in the 2^nd degree of Scorpio.  The combination of more than two celestial bodies in close conjunction is called a stellium, where the energies of each are shared and strengthened…and focused like a laser beam in one area.  In the collective chart, these energies are focused in the 7^th house (the house of relationships, partnerships, marriage, and the other).  So, no matter where this stellium is transiting in your own natal chart, the overall feel of what it is highlighted in all of our lives now are our relationships…particularly primary partnerships. 

However, it is also beneficial to know where this New Moon stellium is transiting in your personal chart.  You can always look up your own chart wheel for free on sites like astrolabe or astrodienst.  Or, if you’ve given me your birth info at some point to look up your chart before, chances are it is stored in my software and I can look it up for you as well.  For those of you who don’t know what house placement this New Moon has in your birth chart, you just need to know your birthdate/ time of birth/ location of birth.  The last two parts are important for finding out house placements, which shows an astrologer what area of your life is being triggered during any transit.  For example, the beginning of Scorpio is in the 6^th House of my natal chart.  The 6^th House is the house of health, healing, service, daily work, and routines.  It is the house of getting your scheduling straight, your health back on track, and your daily activities focused on meaningful goals.  In my own natal chart, this is a very full house already.  Now it’s being triggered by this New Moon stellium providing an intense ray of focus to areas of my life that overlap between my own health and routines as well as those of my husband and daughter (as well as the baby growing bigger every day in my womb).  This has been going on for over a month now…but this transit suggests the focus is to become more of a pin-point than a scattering about of all of these energies (which it has certainly been for a month or so). 

If you need to know what area is being triggered in your life to make these necessary changes and intentions of focused energy, look it up or let me know (or both, if you look it up and still don’t know).  Now, on to the specific degrees and the symbols that describe the energy of this stellium…

Venus, Moon, and Sun in Scorpio 1:  “A crowded sight-seeing bus on a city street”

Venus brings an appropriate amount of friendliness and sociability to this New Moon eclipse already, but this particular degree leans toward expanding one’s social horizons…so even though we are met with some shadows on this journey (brought on by the partial solar eclipse), the point of all of it is to experience the results of collective achievements and new ways of life, communing in new awareness of the whole rather than only seeing it in scattered parts.   

As active observers banding together to initiate and appreciate collective values, we are not only expanding our social sphere, but also our collective consciousness as well.  A widening of experience is underway, through the narrowing focus of energy this stellium inclines.  When we are less distracted and scattered, we are better able to see the bigger picture.  Odd as it may seem to some, there are times when it does take a village to accomplish this goal.

Pallas in Scorpio 2:  “A broken bottle of spilled perfume releases its fragrance”

Pallas Athene rules creative intelligence, strategy, patterns, feminine independence, the prodigal child, support for the corporate and political state, and the father-daughter relationship.  Her contribution to this New Moon Stellium is an important one, adding even more depth to an already deep concentration of Scorpio energy.

This is a symbol of the seemingly accidental nature of opportunities that incline us to break away from our past, the remembrance of which is still poignant and cherished.  Something to which we have grown accustomed must be sacrificed in order to gain a new realization.  Even as we move into a new and wider sphere of experience, old feelings will likely be strongly surfacing.  There is a certain air of ‘farewell’ to this degree of Scorpio, as memories pull us in the usual direction one last time (though perhaps more intensely than before) so that they can be released and become part of the whole again, rather than be held captive by our own desires. 

This is not to say that what is gone will be forgotten.  There is a lasting impression…but the need for it to always be there in the same way will dissipate.  This may be a very nostalgic time for some, particularly to those with natal transits happening.  There may be some difficulty dealing with the past as we enter into a new realm of feelings, but part of Scorpio’s lesson is that real control of one’s life cannot be attained without surrendering control and allowing what must happen to happen.  Scorpio is a highly transformative, deeply healing energy.  Starting this Mourning Moon off with some focused healing is a good thing (even if it makes you really FEEL).

Astraea in Aries 2:  “An entertaining comedian reveals human nature”

One more piece of this puzzle from the opposite side of the zodiac wheel may help to round out the experience of this New Moon/Solar Eclipse Stellium.  This 7^th House Scorpio Stellium mentioned above is quincunx Astraea Retrograde in the 1^st House (House of Self).  What is a quincunx and who is Astraea?  Good questions.  They are the energetic links to why the above-mentioned release might feel a little painful or resistant.  A quincunx (also called an inconjunct) is an aspect of 150˚ between celestial bodies.  The energy relationship between these bodies then feels a little off balance and slightly dissonant.  This is an aspect that encourages growth through challenging feelings.  Astraea is the asteroid of the Star Maiden of Justice.  She rules what needs to be brought to equilibrium, what is difficult to let go, truth, judgment, balance, karma, fixations, desire for closure, and attitude toward endings.

And how will this energy play out?  Well, it will be most significantly played out by the serious and nostalgic mental-emotional patterns of Pallas being jostled out of her comfort zone a bit by Astraea’s energy coming out in a way that means to break up the seriousness by poking a little fun and making people laugh.  If someone is revealing your stubborn refusals to heal by making fun…try not to take it too personally (hard as that can be when we get in a serious mood).  Laugh with them.  Laugh at them.  Laugh at yourself.  Understand that this is a valuable insight, however jarring it may feel at first to be called out.  If no one else is doing this, do it for yourself.  Do it for others (though use appropriate tact).  Remember not to get too caught up in any kind of sadness, longing, or feelings of loneliness or hopelessness without pulling yourself up for a breath (and a laugh) for a bit. 

Invite the challenge to look at yourself and others objectively.  This is a large part of the new consciousness being built in ourselves and others…the ability to see ourselves as if reflected in a mirror, and allow ourselves to laugh at the inadequacy of the form we see.  Thus, objective consciousness can triumph over subjective feeling or moods…and involvement in oneself makes way for interaction with others.

In closing, I would like to point out that there is a cosmic healing underway…a collective soul retrieval that means to bring us one step closer to wholeness.  It will not be without its challenges.  Plenty of energy is there to resist.  I urge you to be part of the energy that accepts the transformative healing that can occur at this time.  After all, what happens within an eclipse window has implications for 6 months, at least.  Let’s be part of the better side of change.

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

Full Blood Moon Eclipse: Recovery in the Realm Less Traveled

Full Blood Moon Eclipse:  Recovery in the Realm Less Traveled

10-8-14

Full Moon @ 5:50am CDT

Lunar Eclipse @5:55am CDT

“I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence:  Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”  -Robert Frost

 Moon in 16^th degree of Aries:  Nature spirits dancing in the setting sunlight

The Sunset is often a symbol of personal fulfillment.  In such times, we may be able to establish a life-giving contact with natural forces.  Such forces are active any time growth processes take place, but our individualized minds are usually too focused on working for consciously set goals to be able to realize the presence of invisible forces in operation. 

Still, these forces of nature act as guiding, balancing, and harmonizing factors in all life.  It is when our own individualized energy becomes less dominant (symbolically, at sunset), or the body is weakened by illness, fasting, sensory deprivation…or even set aside in meditation, altered states of consciousness, or sleep…that it becomes easier to perceive these ‘nature spirits’ and to give them forms that symbolize the character of their activity. 

The Sunset also indicates the end of a long day’s labors.  In this time, these forces of nature want to take over…while we rest, relax, and step back from all emotionally-charged concerns.  These nature spirits, then, examine just what is needed and dance in order to shift and balance our vibrational realities into harmony, healing, and healthy function. 

This Full Moon Eclipse is an invitation to open our minds to the possibility of approaching life in a holistic and nonrational, intuitive manner.  This backs up what I previously wrote about this Mercury Retrograde being a time when logic is less leaned upon…while intuition takes us on a journey of necessary discovery and, in many cases, rediscovery. 

 Sun in 16^th degree of Libra:  A boat landing washed away after a storm

Boats, themselves, are links between distant places.  They even enable humans to find food from the sea (a symbol of grasping new realizations which previously only existed in the unconscious realm).  A boat landing in need of reconstruction, then, symbolizes the need to keep in operation steady links between the vast Unconscious and the ego-consciousness.   

This temporary destruction by psychic storms sometimes will happen when venturing too far away from the consciously defined and socially structured ways of life…but Mercury Retrograde has much valuable information to retrieve in this alternate route.  It has moments of extreme confusion, but by next month…the journey will make much more sense.

Just as with the previous symbol, his indicates a time of rest dictated by forces beyond human control.  After all, when the boat landing is washed away…nothing leaves the harbor and nothing comes in.  Let the body and the rational mind rest…and see what you come across while floating in subconscious waters.

Aspects of Action and Agitation:  The Desire for Stability in the Stormy Seas of Change

“Profound desire, true desire is the desire to be close to someone.” –Paulo Coelho

Setting the stage for the next 6 months, really…the many aspects supporting this Full Moon Eclipse highlight the light and shadow of who we are and what we want, especially as it relates to how we identify ourselves and how we relate to others.  We aren’t necessarily in new territory with this…as planetary alignments have been stressing the Cardinal signs, with little relief, for years.  In that time, we’ve been trying to navigate through a collective identity crisis and finding new, inventive ways to take action and trying to break free of the limitations of old, crumbling structures to make way for the new.

Amidst all of these weighty world undertakings, we have similar things happening to us on the individual level.  Yet, often, in these individual struggles…we are trying to break free of false structures of our own design.  This month, though, is heavily focused on our relationships (all relationships, but especially the ones most important to us).  Habits have formed over time and new ways of relating must replace complacency in order to make progress with the many things that are bombarding us in all directions for attention in our lives right now.  It’s become very apparent that we can’t do it all alone.  We need help to navigate this twisted sea.  But we need right relations in order to keep us all afloat. 

Kite Aspect Pattern:  Let the Sunshine In

“When the Moon is in the 7^th House and Jupiter aligns with Mars, then peace will guide the planet and love will steer the stars.”  -The Fifth Dimension

Okay, not exactly…but the alignments are correct.  The Moon (conjunct Uranus) was in the 7^th House during the Full Moon Eclipse, and in a Grand Fire Trine with Jupiter and Mars in the 11^th and 3^rd Houses.  And with this, the Sun’s opposition to the Moon at that time created a harmonious aspect pattern called a Kite—which is a good guiding energy to follow if you could successfully manuever around the psychic storms of the rest of the energetic atmosphere this week.  The key was, and still is, to ‘let the sunshine in’…hippie-dippie as that may sound during a shadowy week of eclipse energy.

Out of the tumult of feeling stranded in the deep without a lifeline, hoping for some kind of miracle from the universe to correct our course while we sleep off the overwhelming exhaustion of our conscious awareness…a glimmer of light from the unconscious realm beckons us in our dream state to seek within instead of out.

This is not a fleeting aspect pattern.  In fact, this lesson is still unfolding throughout this weekend and into the middle of next week (switching from the opposition of the luminaries to being carried along by the lunar nodes soon after).  The Sun, though, is making direct contacts with the rest of the angles of this Grand Fire Trine for the next 5 days…each time furthering the lessons we began to glimpse at the time of the Full Moon.  For most of us, the message was unclear at that time…we were still in the thick of it all.  But as we are reconnecting the bridge between the unconscious and conscious realms this weekend, we may start to reconnect other things we’ve brought back with us from fathoms below.

The first parts of the lesson had to do with Rest and Relaxation…which, though we all want permission for such things (from ourselves and others), we are somehow more inclined to react in the mode of Repair and Respond because we are focusing outside of ourselves on things that seem to need our attention.  Guilt may set in if we allow ourselves an actual break from even thinking of every little detail in that big  tangled ball of ‘to do’.  What we learned quickly (either the easy way or the hard way) during this week of the Full Moon influence, is that avoiding our own needs is what keeps us from being fully able to address the needs outside of ourselves. 

Now into the weekend, the lessons shift to tests.  We are meant to release some negative behavior patterns and realign with group consciousness.  Those energies glimpsed in the unconscious realm during the Full Moon Eclipse will come to light by the end of this weekend…perhaps we can even channel them into ways to serve and inspire others.  After these steps of the process are finished, the beginning of next week has potential to start off with feelings of reinvigoration and renewal, as long as you don’t meet the whole process with resistance to change.

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

Mercury Retrograde of Autumn 2014: Shapeshifting Through the Shadows

Retrograde Shadow Begins 9-14-14 @ 4:02am CDT

Retrograde Begins 10-4-14 @ 12:02pm CDT

Retrograde Ends 10-25-14 @ 2:16pm  CDT

Retrograde Release 11-10-14 @ 6:13am CST

The Shadow of the Mercury Retrograde

The Shadow period began on the morning of September 14^th, when Mercury entered the part of Libra that it will be in again once it turns direct on October 25^th.  This time period, before the retrograde, is often when we are moving along full-speed ahead and missing a few important details in our journey.  The main one likely happened on or around the day of September 17^th, when Mercury exacted a conjunction with the North Lunar Node, and someone influential likely had a message for you that could help you advance your plans.  Whether or not you were paying attention then, the opportunity (or another like it) may arise once more on October 29^th when the same aspect happens after Mercury is in direct motion again, and we are retracing our steps in the final shadow period.  Aside from the nodal conjunction and a few fleeting aspects with the Moon, most of Mercury’s relationships to other celestial bodies throughout the initial shadow period indicate quite a bit of mental stress and/or exhaustion.   Of course, other great things are happening, or have the potential to happen, in the midst of this mental frenzy…but are we all-there enough to notice and take advantage of opportunities that arise?

Rain Check!

After a few weeks of overstimulation and mental congestion, Mercury in Scorpio detects an underlying issue:  we’ve been ignoring our intuitive sense, thinking we’re being more productive without the clouds of confusion that it sometimes brings before answers are clear…or maybe we’ve just been dumbing it down with other things altogether.  So, Mercury holds everything momentarily (when it stations retrograde) and gives Neptune Retrograde in Pisces, his psychic friend, a call to set up a meeting.  “You have to go back and look at things from a different perspective before you can understand, and benefit from, the near future.  Meet up with me on the night of 11-11, after you’ve taken your time inward and gotten back on track.  What almost is now, will be by then.”

And cryptic as Neptune often is, Mercury already senses the need for this shift.  Accordingly, he begins an inward journey through what already was and dares to find some hidden truths previously overlooked.  The day this shift occurs (the exact shift is at 12:02 pm CDT on October 4^th), the global mindset is a bit shaky.  We were just in the middle of things that needed some focus and logical communication to accomplish…and now what’s happening?  Delays, confusion, transportation issues, scheduling snafus, and Murphy’s Law in full effect?  Sure, that can happen as Mercury stations retrograde, but is that what it’s all about?  Absolutely not.  And, does irritation in the daily grind have to be your experience of this time?  Not even close.  It’s all about perspective.

The Retrograde Station (in effect from 12:02pm CDT on October 3^rd to 12:02pm CDT October 5^th)  is the big slowdown, when the ordinary activity of the mind—as well as the ordinary conduct of business and commerce—sometimes seems to have stopped in its tracks, unwilling to continue its course.  Once Mercury begins moving in retrograde, though, our minds begin to turn toward vistas of knowledge and wisdom that call us from a distant past beyond our present lifetime.  And since Mercury retrograde periods often have topsy-turvy inclinations on our minds and communications…rational intellect may be replaced with gut instinct as logic gives way to intuition.  However, during a Mercury retrograde, our actual ability to think and communicate doesn’t slip into reverse—it is our perceptions, assumptions, and projections that turn things around.  After all, the trickster planet in its orbit stays on a steady course; it never actually goes backward.  It is only from our perspective on Earth that we see Mercury (or any planet in retrograde) appearing to reverse its course. 

On the morning of October 5^th, the past comes calling briefly…likely while you are still sleeping…with a lunar trine to Mercury.  But during the station, not much else arises as a harmonious opportunity besides those memories from the Pisces Moon and the echoes of that 11-11 trine to Neptune retrograde.  The weekend may feel like one where your mind just checks out for a while…where either the exhaustion catches up with you, or you just take a weekend retreat to reconnect with your spiritual side.  If you have other plans, don’t worry.  What does come up or is already scheduled (providing plans aren’t canceled last minute), is likely a necessary starting point to this retrograde process.  Embrace it and make the best of it, as it could prove to be exactly the thing that will open your mind to other perspectives.

Enter Mercury Rx, the Cure for What Ails Ya

I doubt I’m the only one who’s noticed that the Rx symbol for a retrograde is very similar to the symbol we use for a prescription.  It seems appropriate to me though, considering that the initial shadow of the Mercury retrograde often presents us with the root of whatever ailment arises during its retrograde station.  Throughout the duration of the retrograde then, Mercury (who has always been seen as somewhat of a shapeshifter for his associations with the gray area between polarities) becomes the shaman travelling through non-ordinary reality, retrieving scattered pieces of what we left behind in our recent past, in order to provide some holistic healing.   

On the morning of October 8^th, the Full Blood Moon (exact at 5:50am CDT) brings about many revelations…while the Lunar Eclipse (beginning at 5:55am CDT) brings our awareness to the shadows.  Many of these insights will have to do with relationships of all kinds.  However, our primary partnerships are specifically poised for healing as Mercury Retrograde makes a rare aspect pattern with Mars, Chiron Retrograde, and Juno while the Blood Moon in Aries conjuncts Uranus Retrograde and the South Lunar Node in the 7^th House for some surprising insights into the shadows of our past connections.  Many other aspect patterns surface at the full moon eclipse as well, so be sure to mark your calendar for an interesting week and pay attention to what surfaces.  The full moon’s effect can be felt two days before and after the opposition of the luminaries is exact…and when there is an eclipse along with it, what surfaces from the shadows has implications that can last for 6 months afterwards.

On the morning of October 13^th, Mercury Retrograde lines up with Pallas (the asteroid of the female warrior) to combine metal strength, strategy, the ability to understand patterns and the wisdom to use it together with Mercury’s retrograde quest to reconnect the pieces. 

By October 16^th, Mercury Retrograde enters into combustion with the Sun.  On a chart, that means they are conjunct.  In the sky, that means Mercury seems completely swallowed by the sun’s light and appears invisible.  And symbolically, the combustion indicates that Mercury’s worldly significations are eclipsed, but its spiritual significations become even stronger.  So there may be some awkwardness in the areas of your life that Mercury rules in your natal chart, but your spiritual intellect will be heightened during this time.  Venus is conjunct in this Libra stellium as well, and by the next day, Mercury and Venus will exact their own conjunction while making a sextile to Mars….opportunities abound when the inner planets connect harmoniously, but you have to keep your eyes and mind open to find them.  Your best bet is midday in a public place, either during lunch or at work.

Another series of beneficial opportunities presents itself the next week when Mercury Retrograde makes a sextile with Jupiter then conjuncts the North Lunar Node (afternoon and late evening on Oct. 20^th).  Both of these are extremely good indicators that fortunate opportunities can arise from contacts with helpful people.  Then the Moon in her balsamic phase conjuncts with Mercury Retrograde (afternoon on Oct. 22) before the Solar Eclipse (beginning at 4:45pm CDT) and New Mourning Moon (exact at 4:55pm CDT) on October 23^rd to make a 7^th House Scorpio Stellium between Venus, Sun, Moon, and Pallas that will have lasting effects for another 6 months in the area of primary partnerships, once again.  Are you sensing a recurring theme?  After all, Mercury began this retrograde journey in Scorpio, but quickly made its way back to Libra, the sign of relationships, compromise and harmony.  The focus is very much on the important people in our lives and our relationships with them as well as with ourselves.

Mercury as the Pathfinder

Mercury stations direct at 2:16pm CDT on October 25^th (though the station goes on for 24 hours before and after that exact shift), just in time to back out of a Cardinal Grand Cross with Uranus Retrograde, Pluto, and Hygeia before things get too serious.  The main goal now is to take some time out during this weekend, reflect on where your spiritual compass has directed you throughout this journey, and chart a new course through familiar, though newly understood, territory.

After an eye-opening sojourn through non-ordinary reality, Mercury returns to a calmer state of being.  In this station, the mental state is restored and Mercury (along with those channeling him) can pass the knowledge and experiences of that retrograde on to others, helping them to successfully navigate life. Stability as well as the benefits associated with Mercury’s usual course are restored as the planet of communication moves forward again from our perspective.

Release from the Retrograde Shadow

Almost there!  One last leg of this journey that is often overlooked is the final shadow period and eventual release.  October will be a month of shadows, for sure.  In this shadow period, we are retracing steps our minds have already covered forward and backward…but this third time, we’re ready for what’s coming (whatever it may be). 

On October 29^th, Mercury reconnects with the North Lunar Node which can, again, lead us to someone who has an important message for us and can connect us to future goals.  Be sure to communicate those goals and best intentions for future plans on the night of Samhain, because Mercury and Jupiter return to a sextile (exact the following morning on Nov. 1^st) and what you communicate will grow with abundance. 

As far as the rest of the shadow period, much like the time-which-is-no-time after Samhain, Mercury makes no major aspects again until after the release (Nov. 10^th @ 6:13am CST).  The release is when Mercury makes it past the point of the zodiac where it first stationed retrograde…so at this point, we’re no longer re-tracing our steps and our minds can move on to new things.

Have a lovely autumn, an insightful Mercury retrograde, and a blessed Samhain!

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

Strong Sun Moon: Point of Experience Before Crossing a Threshold

Happy Full Moon!  While many Americans who are west of the Eastern Time Zone have been somewhat mistakenly proclaiming this Full Moon to be on Friday the 13th...the Full Moon was actually exact for us (Central Daylight Time) last night, Thursday the 12th, at 11:11pm.  No big deal, just wanted to clear up the exact moment of the Solar-Lunar opposition.  We can still consider the moon as full tonight too.  I usually consider it full for two days before and after the exaction.

Preparing for New Journeys Ahead

The symbols of the specific degrees the Moon and Sun were in last night both have to do with getting to the point of arriving at a new stage of development or experience.  The Sabian Symbol for the Sun at Gemini 23 is 'Three Fledglings in a Nest High in a Tree' while the one for the Moon at Sagittarius 23 is 'A Group of Immigrants Fulfilling the Requirements for Entering a New Country'.  Both degrees show the possibility and hope for better things and a new way of life...as well as the developments that need to take place to get us to these thresholds of initiation.  This full moon is about the reorientation of self, learning new ways, and passing tests to further our progress.  We may feel like fledglings preparing for a first flight, or immigrants getting ready to embark on a new life in a new country.  We may feel underprepared or fear being out of our comfort zones, out of our element.  Or, conversely, we may be excited to step into the unknown and see where our leap of faith will take us.  Either way, as long as we 'fulfill the necessary requirements' and don't jump too hastily into the unknown, we'll be just fine.  So, these symbols reinforce another thing about Mercury Retrogrades that I often highlight...go back, make sure you've crossed your t's and dotted your i's, get your ducks in a row...then proceed with where you were headed once Mercury goes direct on July 1st.

The Full Moon of the Summer Solstice

This Full Moon has many names.  It is often called the Strong Sun Moon, as it is closest to the Summer Solstice when the Sun is strongest.  It is also called Strawberry Moon, because strawberry picking season reaches its peak in June.  Other names for this Full Moon are Lovers Moon, Honey Moon, Rose Moon, Mead Moon, and Dyad Moon...all of the names suggest what is often 'in bloom' at this time, including love and relationships...as June has long since been a month of handfastings and marriages (while May was said to be sacred to the marriage of the God and Goddess, the summer months that followed were usually the ones chosen by mortals for their own marriage rites).

What is in full bloom in your own life?  Now is a time to take stock of the year so far.  This is the mid-point, so review what you've accomplished and what is left to do (which is always a good thing to do during a Mercury Retrograde anyway...just reinforced by the approaching solstice).  Take responsibility for what is happening in your life presently.  Reward yourself for what is positive, and strengthen yourself in the recognition of the negative.  Work on those personal inconsistencies and make conscious decisions to improve things with the turning tides.

Other Cosmic Influences Surrounding This Moon

There are good things happening cosmically to reinforce the energy of the Lovers or Dyad (pair).  Venus, Saturn, and Chiron are all linked up currently in an aspect configuration known as a Feminine Mystic Wedge.  With these energies combined in this way, during this time, commitments in relationships (romantic or otherwise) are strengthened and can provide a source of healing.  Tap into this energy in whatever way possible...it's so much more important than the frustrating irritations that can be a side effect of a Mercury Retrograde...focus on the positive and you'll no doubt be rewarded.

We are approaching another square between Mars and Pluto soon, which can be rather volatile without the effects of love, patience, and wisdom that the current Feminine Mystic Wedge provides.  So, this Friday the 13th, feminine elements abound in order to provide some auspicious, pleasant energy to us mortals...even in the midst of a Mercury Retrograde complete with solar flares and possible CMEs as well as a strengthening square between masculine energies of war and death.  In other words, masculine energies may be in a panic, frenzy, or a state of aggravation or aggression...while feminine energies may be the calming influence, balancing out fears with love and wounding with healing.  This is not to say that all the men are going to be jerks and the women will be the voice of reason.  If you read me in black and white terms, you're reading me wrong.  All of us have both energies present within...just as both energies are present without.

Calming Feminine Influence Side-Note to Dispel Fears of Friday the 13th

Most of you who have known me a while and have been reading along have read many times already the origins of Friday the 13th being considered unlucky and how it has been perpetuated over the centuries both in misogynistic ways as well as by misguided fears or glamorized sensationalism.  I don't want to sound like a broken record by going over it all again, so I'll just say the absolute best compilation of information on the subject would be Chapter 7 of Dan Furst's book 'Dance of the Moon:  Celebrating the Sacred Cycles of the Earth'.  Chapter 7 of that book is called 'Time Out!  How 13 Got Unlucky'.  So, if you're interested in the origins...I encourage you to read this chapter (really, the whole book).  Nope, no easy links for you...you actually have to go out and find a book and read it.  ;)  I personally know the author, and I can vouch for him as an authority on many of the subjects I often write about.

Love and Gratitude,
Felina Lune Kavi

New Moon Eclipse in Taurus: Celebrate Your Greatest Gifts

This New Moon Eclipse (at 1:13am on April 29^th) marks the beginning of the Flower Moon phase…many things will be coming into bloom in our lives in the coming month, mirroring the blossoming Earth.  The degree of Taurus illuminated by our luminaries carries the symbol of ‘A decorated Christmas tree’.  This symbol may seem seasonally out-of-place, however, the meaning of the symbol goes much deeper than what it appears to be.  This is a time to celebrate the gifts with which we have been blessed during what may have seemed to many as a particularly dark or difficult time this past month.  It is a time of celebration, a conjuring up of some warmth and joy within even though the environment outside of us may have recently been either barren, difficult, or even hostile in some way.  We are beginning now to come off of the Cross of the previous week and into our new identity...the same soulful being, but one that has endured an experience that has elevated their outlook.  This symbol suggests that we transform the darkness and deprivation of a low point in our life cycle by celebrating the good moments, inviting them to return in abundance.  The symbol of the Maypole is one that holds a similar feeling of celebration more in line with our current season, and encourages fertility in its many aspects.  Perhaps those of us who celebrate Beltane at the beginning of May with maypoles and flower baskets will feel a bit like the Yuletide season stretched into Spring.  Or it may hold joyful echoes of the Yuletide to come.  ;)

Every New Moon is a time where an old cycle ends and a new one begins, but during an eclipse this initiation becomes even more powerful.  After those new opportunities from the New Moon present themselves, a glimpse at our collective shadow appears. After identifying what it is we need to do, and what it is we need to leave behind, in order to be the change we wish to see in the world…we may be backed into a corner by that which has held power over us for so long now. It’s important not to give in and go the easy route that takes little effort but has far-reaching drawbacks and debilitating limitations. There is light and shadow within each of us. Many of us hide from our shadows by playing the victim and pointing fingers outside of us…whether it be at parents, relationships, or the world around us. We have these experiences, though, to teach us the whole truth about ourselves and our interconnectedness to what we experience. Those people, those situations, those struggles…they are mirrors reflecting what we refuse to acknowledge about ourselves.

The shadow side of our personalities is the part of us we don’t want to identify with…the aspects of ourselves that we hide, repress, or dissociate after society teaches us various things that aim to correct what is ‘wrong’ or wild about us. We’re conditioned to watch our tempers, hold back our tears, look presentable, concern ourselves with money, keep our heads out of the clouds, not say something stupid or crazy, or any other variation on what blocks our self-expression. This is not to say that letting children run wild is the way to raise them. My parents laid down ‘the law’ for us, just as I find myself doing with my daughter now. But discipline is about teaching right from wrong and guiding along a morally sound path. Those are not the limitations to which I am referring. I’m talking about what makes us feel worthless, unloved, misunderstood, maladjusted, less than, wounded, afraid, disconnected or wrong. Harsh judgments stay with us, whether they come from outside or within. It’s those ideas that keep us from our highest potential. That is the shadow side at work…phantom pains from old wounds that demand that we heal them in order to discover our gifts.

This eclipse hastens us to begin or resume our healing process. Step out of self-defeating cycles and forge a new path filled with new discoveries. Identify your wounds, integrate your shadows in your healing and loving light, and identify yourself as whole in the process. Shed the limiting skin of the past and welcome the new you, The Healer.

This is a chance to focus the spotlight of the luminaries within and find previously undiscovered truths about life, and about ourselves.  Every eclipse offers us a new perspective.  This particular annular solar eclipse is rare because it is non-central (the central axis of the Moon's antumbral shadow misses Earth entirely while the shadow edge grazes the planet).  We won’t be able to see it, but as usual, we will feel it.  The eclipse will only last about 12 minutes…and its energetic influence will be relatively short as well, lasting about 2 months.  In a Solar Eclipse, the Moon occults the light of the Sun, showing only the Sun's corona.  This sight represents the brilliance of consciousness that we don't see everyday because we are blinded by the glare of everyday life.  In an annular eclipse like this one, we are able to see the outer ring of our consciousness by taking a step away from the 'core' of our lives (because, usually by this point, something in our 'core' has gone awry and we need a new perspective on life).

What's under the surface of how you've been presenting yourself lately?  When you take away everything that is superfluous, not really you, or accumulated from your environment or social upbringing...what reveals itself as the clearest path to your true aspirations in this life?  Remember that your circumstances, crises, and the stories about yourself that you've accumulated so far are not you...though they are likely representative of your previous actions.  We are meant to learn from our past only...not to take it with us for the long haul. What is important is the NOW of every moment.  The future will take care of itself, and the past is already taken care of.  In the now, we can actively create the world around us.

So, celebrate and create.  You’ve endured a lot, and it’s about time you had a chance to enjoy yourself, your life, and all of the amazing people in it.  Here’s a new start, so use it wisely.  Taurus is about our values and resources…so this would be the time to set them straight and accumulate more of what you really need for yourself and your loved ones.  You can’t create abundance while holding on to the debts of your past, so move forward with the mindset of ‘like attracts like’…attract those things you need in your life and allow them to blossom under the Flower Moon next month.

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi