Full Moon in Libra: The Balance of Rise and Set

Ostara by Helena Nelson Reed

Full Moon in Libra: The Balance of Rise and Set

Moon opposite Sun @ 8:43pm CDT on 3-20-19

Happy Equinox, Stargazers! And Happy International Astrology Day! The Equinox is when we have equal day and equal night...when Sun rises due East and sets due West. In the Northern Hemisphere, this is the Vernal Equinox (while the Southern Hemisphere is having their Autumnal Equinox). Many pagans in the North (myself included) celebrate this day as Ostara...which is the name of a fertility goddess whose symbols are the egg and the rabbit (ever wonder why these fertility symbols are associated with modern Easter?). Another name for this goddess is Eostre (which is where the word ‘estrogen’ comes from). As night and day are in perfect balance, with Sun on the increase, the young Sun God and the Maiden Goddess celebrate their hierogamy (Sacred Marriage), and conceive a child. In nine months time (the Winter Solstice), that child is born...and the cycle continues. On this day, we celebrate this energy of fertility and new growth.

And really, with all the tumult that has happened worldwide already during this Storm Moon cycle (which is likely to shift into new forms toward the dark part of this cycle)...celebrating the change of seasons and the promise of new growth (inward and outward) is the kind of earth-centered healing that will carry us through the dramatic shifts of this Storm Moon. We began this Storm Moon cycle in Pisces, conjunct Neptune-Vesta...a very watery initiation. And now at the fullness of this Storm Moon, we have Sun and Moon at the Equinox degrees of Aries and Libra (with Sun conjunct Chiron in Aries).

Libra and Aries are cardinal signs that are traditionally ruled by Venus and Mars (the Divine Feminine and Divine Masculine planets). Several hours after Full Moon, Venus (in Aquarius) and Mars (in Taurus) meet in a dynamic square aspect of 90 degrees...highlighting the need for change in our relationships. This can be creative (such as birthing new ideas), or it can be stressful (such as arguments that finally address something needing to be said in order to move forward)...or somewhere in between, because the point is to make a move (especially when feeling the ‘something’s gotta give’ vibe that will only be increasing through the next couple weeks).

So what is this that’s increasing...what are these dramatic shifts into new forms that are coming? And haven’t we already dealt with enough drama lately? Well, not according to the Eris-Pluto square in Aries and Capricorn. The Cancer-Capricorn Lunar Nodes have been shifting closer and closer toward a T-square pattern with Eris at the apex (where the stress of the opposition pools and demands action, exact April 2^nd)...and the South Node will be exact with Pluto in Capricorn at the end of this Storm Moon cycle (April 4^th).

'La Discordia'

What does it mean? Well, firstly, Pluto at the South Node is like a karmic cleansing of a lot of build up that has been blocking the soul. It is a transformative release...quite like composting that which is dying to give new life to something else. And Eris at the apex of this T-square...she’s that fierce Warrioress within each of us that emboldens us to fight for our cause and live our true purpose (or suffer the chaotic consequences if we deny her call for integrity and right action). There is no living being on this planet who is not hearing her call ‘round the world during this lunation...and I can assure you that the only ones not answering the call are humans (not all of us, but...well, you know...we’re largely a stubborn species and we tend to deny the kind of instinctual drive that Eris can represent). With Pluto and Eris growing to dynamic aspects with the Nodes...Shadow Work is not only advised, it’s probably inevitable. That part of yourself coming up that you don’t want to see...that you want to blame on someone else or somehow dissociate from it...bring it closer and get a good look at it instead. Try to understand that part of you better and why it is necessary...dance with it, embrace it...let it play in the light instead of having it only act out unconsciously while being repressed. The Shadow holds great wisdom for each of us...and the Collective Shadow as well! Notice all of the people calling it out right now...one of my favorite Eris-like activists making waves lately is Greta Thunberg. Check her out if you’re not familiar with her yet!

Sun in Aries 1/ Moon in Libra 1- Full Moon in Equinox Degrees

'Selkie Blues' by sgorbissa on Deviant Art

A few hours after the Sun’s ingress into the sign of Aries, Moon exacts her opposition with Sun...so this Full Moon happens to be exact while in these Aries-Libra Equinox degrees. The Sabian Symbol for the Sun in Aries 1 is ‘a woman emerges from the ocean; a seal embraces her’. This refers to new beginnings, to potentialities, and to emergence of the individual from the collective unconscious. This is the RISE. The Sabian Symbol for the Moon in Libra 1 is ‘a butterfly made perfect by a dart through it’. This refers to endings, to that which is inevitable, and to returning to the collective unconscious with something perfected...having lived a purposeful life and relating that purpose to others even after death. This is the SET. The Rise and the Set of these degrees...one which evokes imagery related to the mythic storyline of the Selkie (Mermaids who could shapeshift from seals to humans) and one which evokes imagery related to the mythic storyline of the sacrificial God-Man (such as Jesus, Dionysus, Osiris, Odin, Mithras, Attis, etc.)...tell a tale of life and death that is cyclical, never-ending, and purposeful. What this Full Moon evokes in us is the necessity during this time to reclaim our purpose in life by also releasing that which is dying in us. By letting go of that which is no longer necessary to hold on to, we are better able to emerge into something truer to ourselves. This has to do with that Pluto and Eris influence as it relates to the Lunar Nodes. Pluto at the South Node is the letting go of crutches, addictions, or false beliefs that hold us back. Eris is the necessity to step into our purpose. And though this energy is most acute at the end of this lunar cycle...bringing us into new beginnings for the New Moon in Aries (April 5^th)...it is now when we are becoming very aware of how necessary the changes really are. Sun is conjunct Chiron in Aries during this Full Moon, showing us that this is the way to heal.

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi