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

Square Five of The Fool’s Tower: Awakening on the Cross

Square Five:  Awakening on the Cross

4-21-2014 (Uranus Square Pluto in the 14th degree of Aries and Capricorn) @ 5:02am

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 April, the two are met by Mars Retrograde and Jupiter to heighten the experience.  The opposition of Jupiter and Pluto (now retrograde since the 14^th) are aligned near the galactic center, while the opposition of Mars and Uranus are aligned near the galactic edge...making this particular cross distinctly important in our collective evolution...so near the solstice and equinox points and in the Eclipse Cauldron (the window of time between April’s lunar and solar eclipses).  While a whole lot is brewing on a global scale, every individual is essentially ‘on the cross’ as well in some way.  Keeping that in mind may help you navigate through the irritations of this time and into the mindset of creative restructuring that the cross represents.

The Cardinal Grand Cross of April 2014

The atmosphere is heavy…and the world around you feels like it’s teetering on the brink of something amazing, or something disastrous.  At the same time, you feel stretched in multiple directions and that many things (including yourself) are sabotaging your own needs and desires.  How do you balance your energy, attention, and time between all of these things?  Where is your center between what you need for yourself, your family, your relationships, and your community/work?  Why, when you try to focus your effort on one of those things exclusively, does another come at you full-force with something that needs to be taken care of immediately…throwing you off balance again, ad nauseam?  Maybe work obligations or community related projects seem the most pressing…some shifts, changes, or new opportunities are demanding your time and attention at the expense of taking care of yourself, your family, or your relationship…and then suddenly, you or your whole family comes down with whatever nasty bug has been floating around, and you’re forced to take a few sick days.  Or relationship issues are throwing you off your game in all other areas of your life.  These are a couple of scenarios I’ve been seeing a lot lately, but there are many others.  On a daily basis now, especially since the Sun has been highlighting these squares since the beginning of this month, we’re faced with obstacles to overcome. Most of it has to do with needing to find a balance amidst a rapidly active and transformative cycle in our earthly lives.  It also has to do with finding our identity within the 4 areas of life I mentioned.  So many opportunities to make necessary changes, pulling us at once from all directions…the thing about it is that it’s not just you, this is happening in the lives of everyone around you in their own ways.  So what are we all to do?  Meet me in the middle.  Allow me to describe what the path to center looks like during this time so that you all may find your own ways.  We can make good use of the highly active, transformative, and initiating Cardinal Grand Cross (CGC) this time, together.

The Archetypes on the Cross

Essentially, the CGC is a great initiator of action. The uncomfortable tension of the right angles may cloud the fact that its design is like a nucleus of structure and strength that can be a tremendous resource. Finding the point of balance and integration in order to use this energy properly is a difficult challenge, but it can be done. The key comes from developing balance between the two oppositions. When balanced, they are wielding the same amount of force on the planets that are connected by the 90 degree squares, creating a solid foundation.

Many times, these four cardinal points activated will call forth issues of identity. The Aries planet (in this case, Uranus “the innovator”) inspires action that impulsively expresses the self. The Cancer planet (in this case, Jupiter “the patriarch”) inspires action that sees to the nurturance of the emotional identity. The Libra planet (in this case, Mars “the warrior”) inspires action that connects the social and intellectual identity. And finally, the Capricorn planet (in this case, Pluto “the transformer”) inspires action toward recognizing the tangible manifestation of the identity.

In the energy building now, Uranus is illuminating enthusiastic energy toward self-improvement through change. Jupiter is illuminating opportunities for growth and the emotions surrounding them. Mars is illuminating the active participation of our social and intellectual skills with others. Pluto is illuminating the mundane transformations we are being forced to make with the hidden resources of personal power we don’t always recognize. All of these illuminated aspects of our identities (individual and collective) are pushing and pulling in four different directions.

In many cases, this Cross can represent an identity crisis if not balanced…and during this month, that crisis is on a global scale. The four points involved are each pushing to express a facet of the identity, yet each operates from a different level and perspective of the self. This can cause people to feel overstretched or pulled apart. The influence can also cause frustration based on the desire to take action without a sense of focus or direction.

The 14^th Degree of Cardinal Signs

Aries: A Serpent Coils Near Lovers

For some this image will suggest the Adam and Eve (or Ish and Isha) archetypes, while others may immediately be drawn to the idea of Kundalini arousal.  Both have some merit here, but the focus is on self-realization as a shared transformation of Universal Consciousness.  The coiled serpent is all about potential lying dormant within us, waiting to be activated, and often being activated by encounters with ‘the other’ rather than the self.  The coiling itself represents the spiral-like process of evolution.

 

Cancer: A Very Old Man Faces a Dark Space to the Northeast

The Northeast (true north) is the direction of Changeless Reality, solitude, stillness, and silence.  It is the space that occupies the void between individuality and transcendence.  It is the chrysalis of transformation, the cave of hibernation, and the shedding of the skin that no longer serves us.  Jupiter faces us with our emotional baggage an effort to release what we have been clinging to that is no longer needed.  He urges us to let go of the blockages that keep us in the darkness, and awaken the sleeping energy within to bring us to illumination.

Libra:  A Man Takes a Noon Siesta

And speaking of sleeping energy…Mars Retrograde in Libra is an interesting combination of energies (I was born with this combination myself).  Mars is a passionate and active planet while social-butterfly Libra (ruled by Venus) inclines balance and diplomacy which tends to soften the hard edges of the planet of war and aggression, focusing the energy on relationships of all kinds.  In addition to this, the retrograde brings this energy inward…inclining the most necessary actions to be on the internal level, the relationship with the Self.  You may just want to sleep it off in the heat of what’s all coming at you (and from you) lately…but be careful of avoidant tendencies.  So we don’t like conflict and confrontation, but at the same time it’s these very things that are getting us somewhere now.  Do take time out to recharge…meditation, yoga, or power naps can go a long way in getting us through this Spring…but only as a means to relax and rejuvenate, not as an escape.  Escapism, in this time, will only bring about more conflict.

Capricorn:  An Ancient Bas-Relief Carved in Granite Remains a Witness to a Long-Forgotten Culture

This is a symbol which again brings up something that lies dormant until unearthed…wisdom from the ancients. It reminds us to unearth what has permanent value and to let go of non-essentials.  What is needed in this time is effort founded upon a valid historical perspective, which applies both to an individual’s past as well as to the history of a nation or group.

“At a time when in nearly every land men are questioning and challenging the validity of traditional beliefs and customary attitudes, it becomes necessary to separate permanent values and great principles or symbols from the many individual habits and the socio-political developments which more often than not have perverted or even negated the original ideals of the culture. We must strive to free these ideals from the wild growth of personal and class selfishness, from the greed and ambition so prevalent in human nature, and learn to appreciate the excellence of what is the immortal seed-foundation, as well as the spiritual harvest, of any culture — and by extension of every sustained and complete work produced by a man's indomitable effort to achieve creative perfection.” –Dane Rudhyar

Total Eclipse of the Seed Moon

The Full Moon Eclipse at 2:43am CDT on Tuesday, April 15^th initiated a time (between April eclipses) that is an opportunity to consciously connect to the shadows within. The way in which we work with these eclipse energies will have reverberations for the next 6 months, until the next eclipse window opens.  During a Lunar Eclipse, the Earth passes between the two luminaries and the Earth’s shadow falls on the face of the Moon…so while it evokes experiences that confront your own shadow nature, it also evokes the collective shadow of the Earth itself.

This energy is an emotionally intense transformation of death and rebirth…where the shadow conceals the light of the self (Sun) from being reflected in the emotional body (Moon) for a brief time before the light returns. Eclipse energy is a quickening of time, healing opportunities, and confrontation with who we really are and what no longer resonates at the vibration of our highest frequency. We often come across times that are astrologically sound for ‘out with the old, in with the new’ cleansings of our lives…but this particular eclipse window (the 15^th through 29^th) would be a key chance to have the universe act as a cosmic converter for everything that no longer serves us on our planet. Most of this process will not happen easily…crumbling foundations will leave a mess and people facing drastic confrontations of self may react with kicking and screaming victimization. However, there is a wide open door for those who wish to do the work required and get right with themselves for their own sake, and the sake of those they love.

Eclipse energy often highlights accelerated changes, clearing, eliminating, releasing, and transforming so new energies have room to manifest and grow. This can be like opening up a dark storage closet that hasn’t been opened for years, and thinning out the excess by determining what can be kept and what can be thrown out. Most of the things you find here will bring up shadows of your past, and you’ll have to let go of those attachments so that your new, more true to you, life has room to breathe.

This eclipse illuminates symbols that carry great potential.  The Sun in the 26^th degree of Aries highlights “a man possessed of more gifts than he can hold” while the Moon in the 26^th degree of Libra (where my natal Pluto is…which means this eclipse is highly transformative for me, personally) highlights “an eagle and a large white dove turning into one another”.  Essentially, the eclipse is showing the shadow side of being good at too many things and not being able to choose between them…often, instead, we will try to mix them together and ‘turn one into the other’ somehow in order to keep it all together.  All of us will be confronted with this now in some way specific to each of us.  It may be that too many people are vying for your attention and you finally have to choose who is most important to you, or it could be that you finally have to decide which career path to take, or that you have too many things going on at once (this is likely for all of us, because of the CGC) and you have to scale it all down to make the best use of your time now.

The four main feminine asteroids (Juno, Ceres, Vesta, and Pallas) are lining up with this eclipse, as well as the lunar nodes (mentioned in my post from last month).  Juno is in Aries conjunct the Sun and South Node…making primary relationships a focus now.  Ceres and Vesta in Libra are conjunct the Moon and North Node…making nurturance and spiritual dedication an almost necessary (though in many cases, underdeveloped) means to get through the rest of the month.  And then Pallas in Leo gives a beneficial outlet for these oppositions, giving us a sound and opportunistic strategy for making the best of these initial energies. Pallas illuminates the symbol “After a heavy storm, a rainbow appears.”  It suggests we keep in mind what happens after we make it through the toughest of life’s challenges.  With this, fear can dissipate…and action can be taken with commitment and confidence.

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 from June 2012.  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, and 4^th squares, you can find them at these links: September 2012 May 2013 and November 2013.