Full Moon in Aries: The Eris Moon

 

Art by Emily Balivet

Full Moon in Aries: The Eris Moon

Moon opposite Sun- 10/20/21 @ 9:56am CDT

 

This Full Moon will no doubt be a dynamic one…it’s why we’ve been needing so much rest leading up to it.  The dwarf planet Eris, named after the goddess of strife, is conjunct this Moon in Aries.  She is opposing Mars, who is conjunct the Sun in Libra.  And this opposition creates a T-Square with Pluto in Capricorn at the apex (where all the tension from the opposition pools and demands action). 

Eris and Mars (Ares) are warrior siblings, usually working together on the battlefield…but they are currently at odds.  And this opposition heightens the enduring Pluto-Eris square that has been exact 5 times between January 2020 and this month.  The added Libra element, this time, puts more pressure on Pluto in Capricorn to respond with dramatic alterations. 

When Eris is in the mix (and she’s been stirring the pot for years now), an element creeps into our unassuming lives to wreak all havoc (you know, like a virus that changes everything).  It’s not that Eris seeks to destroy, though.  Her intentions are to reveal what is false about the status quo.  And there’s nothing like a bit of chaotic crisis (which is at the crux of this long-running Pluto-Eris square) to show us how out of integrity we humans have become.

Eris and Hades from 'Hercules'

Consider that pre-covid, many of the strongest supporters of ideas like ‘my body, my choice’ were on one side of the partisan spectrum while the other side was vehemently against that idea.  Now consider the most polarizing issue at hand these days…covid vaccine mandates.  Again, we’re hearing ‘my body, my choice’…but the opposition to that call is now predominantly coming from the same political side that championed choice in the abortion debate.  Eris, Mars, and Pluto are suggesting that we all take a good hard look at the underlying motivations and influences behind our often wavering ideas about choice.

In any conflict, Eris is a champion for those who are being ostracized or exiled from society in some way.  She knows what that feels like, and she’ll make it her mission to expose the injustice. 

Her brother, Mars, though…he’s more of a dutiful warrior.  If his orders are to oppose his sister, as they are currently, he’ll put aside his feelings before entering the battle and go for the glory.

The problem is, both sides of the conflict believe they are acting in the best interests of the greater good and protecting the rights of the people.  And yet, the square to Pluto (from both sides) suggests that hidden motivations are influencing the conflict on both ends.  And our luminaries at this Full Moon are illuminating the underlying Plutocracy controlling the controversy. 

Pluto at the apex of this T-Square suggests that we, the people, need to take back our power to initiate total transformation of the societal structures that have been crumbling under their own weight for over a decade now.  Yes, it’s a heavy imperative we’re facing…but that’s what a Pluto square presents us with.  In this, it comes across as a ‘do or die’ kind of choice…which doesn’t feel much like a choice at all.

Now, that is the global picture…but what of this influence on the more personal, individual experience?  That all depends on what you are personally battling.  An illness?  An imbalance in your life?  A fear?  A bad habit?  A soul-crushing work environment?  A more personal injustice?

The key with Pluto at the apex is to look deeper into your own motivations, transform them if they are out of integrity with who you truly are, and reclaim your hidden power that has been buried underneath it all.  Easier said than done, I know.  But that’s what’s up right now.

We do have a bit of a saving grace from Jupiter in Aquarius at this time.  This benefic influence brings a subtle opportunity for release of the tension through a sextile from Moon-ErisRx and a flowing trine from Sun-Mars.  The natal house that holds the Aquarian energy in your chart can show the area of life where you may feel the benefits of that release.  Still, it is in your Capricorn house where the stress will ultimately demand a necessary change. 

It will be a challenge to balance your Aries initiative for personal integrity and self-reliance with your Libra initiative for social harmony and diplomacy.  But the key is to surrender to what structures need to transform (Pluto in Capricorn) while envisioning a brighter future (Jupiter in Aquarius).

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

 

Mercury Retrograde in Libra: The Story of Relating (Part Three, The Epilogue)

 

Art by Vladimir Kush

Mercury Retrograde in Libra:  The Story of Relating (Part Three, The Epilogue)

Prologue- 9/6 to 9/27 (LIB 11-26)

Retrograde Story:  9/27 to 10/18 (LIB 26-11)

Epilogue:  10/18 to 11/2 (LIB 11-26)

 

 

Part Three, Mercury’s Epilogue (10/18 – 11/2)

In Mercury’s third and final journey over these degrees of Libra, we see the story presented at the end of the previous Mercury cycle tie in a new, and often wiser, light.

During this Epilogue to the Mercury Retrograde, the Cosmic Messenger wraps up the lessons we needed to take our time learning.  The lessons, then, inspire ideas to come forth into fruition throughout the coming months.  I like to think of this third pass as an integration of the wisdom we learned during Mercury’s Retrograde Journey. 

Mercury took us on a Magic Carpet Ride backwards through the air of Libra.  Now we’re bringing that Mercury Magic back into ordinary reality to share in a direct way.  It only took a shift of perspective and a non-ordinary experience to get our minds re-aligned with the Cosmic Mind.    

That is, if you were paying attention to how this story has been speaking to you personally.  From what I’ve seen, many of us couldn’t ignore the underlying messages coming through to us from this particular Story of Relating.

 

Epilogue (10/18 to 11/2)

10/18:  Mercury Stations Direct (LIB 11)

          Sabian Symbol: ‘a professor peering over his glasses’

Story:  As we return once more to the degree of Libra where we started this story, the Mercurial Professor gives us all a wink and a knowing smile.  ‘You thought, at first, you had it all figured out, yes?  Ah, but now…you see the fuller picture of what this story was really about for you.’  With a trickster twinkle in his eye, the Professor begins to tie it all up for us so that we may bring those lessons into our lives with a fresh perspective.

10/25:  Mercury’s Maximum Elongation (Morning)

Story:  At this point during the end of this story, Mercury begins to move us ahead on the ideas he inspired in us.  Our new mental outlook gets some wings, and we carry those thoughts into more direct communication with others for the next few months. 

10/27:  Mercury in LIB 17

          Sabian Symbol:  ‘a retired sea captain’

Story:  Mercury brings us back to the degree of its previous retrograde conjunction with Sun to wrap up the story arc of this character.  During the Retrograde Story, the sea captain had much to learn about relating to others, himself, and his environment in new ways.  Gruff as he may have become after being long at sea, he experienced a softening element to his interactions in retirement.  Awkward as the transition was at first, he learned to adjust to a less critical pace and gentler exchanges with others.  In the end, he was better able to convey to others the wisdom of his experiences…building new friendships on solid ground.  What have we learned of relating to each other after our own high pressure experiences of the recent past?  We might liken our journey through lockdown and social distancing as being ‘out to sea’, navigating through a storm.  The return has been a slow (and somewhat awkward) process…many of us forgetting how to relate to others after so much distance.  Like the story of the retired sea captain, Mercury encouraged us through his retrograde to find our footing.

10/31:  Mercury trine Jupiter (LIB 23)

          Sabian Symbol:  ‘Chanticleer’

Story:  This third trine between Mercury and Jupiter heralds some good news, an optimistic message we can take forward to inspire new ideas.  Chanticleer, the Rooster, crows at dawn to alert us to a new consciousness…awakening the senses and inspiring us in a ‘carpe diem’ sort of way.  This is a very social aspect, and may present ideas in an amplified way.

11/2:  Mercury square Pluto (LIB 25)

          Sabian Symbol:  ‘information in an autumn leaf’

Story: The meaning within the story deepens in this last square with Pluto.  This is when all the symbolism we encountered, the hints that Mercury dropped for each of us personally, really come together and illuminate the whole process we went through during the retrograde.  While we endured the focused heaviness of this square throughout the beginning of the retrograde (at Mercury’s retrograde station, toward the end of September), some of us may have thought the point of this story had something to do with death…or some kind of ending at least.  The sea captain thought so, at first, as he had to settle into his retirement.  He watched the waves of the sea from his home on land and thought ‘this is the end of my journey’.  But the apparent death of an autumn leaf is not an end at all.  It is a transformation that feeds a new beginning, as it returns to the earth and provides what is needed for new growth in the coming spring. 

11/2:  Mercury finishes Epilogue (LIB 26)

          Sabian Symbol:  ‘an eagle and a large white dove turn one into the other’

Story: What we were not fully ready to wrap our minds around at the end of last month, we now return to so we can integrate it.  As Mercury finally passes through the whole of this degree, we experience a full transformation of relating through the wisdom of balanced reciprocity.  Within us, what this means is a better understanding of the partnership between heart and mind.  And how that reflects in our interactions with others has to do with our ability to maintain a balance between giving and receiving. 

 

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

 

P.S. Click this link for a recap of 'Part One, The Prologue'

And click this link for a recap of 'Part Two, The Retrograde Story'

New Moon in Libra: Take a Break

 

Art by Nuriko Kun

New Moon in Libra: Take a Break

Moon conjunct Sun- 10/6/21 @ 6:05am CDT

 

In times of multiple retrogrades, there are starts and stops and changes of perspective.  It all ends up being rather necessary, whether these changes are welcome at first or not.  Of course, when we’re being busy people in societies that don’t stop…changes often throw us for a loop.  How we deal when things get loopy often determines the outcome. 

At this New Moon, two of our retrograde planets (Pluto, then Saturn) are approaching a full stop to station direct.  Pluto is already stationary, turning direct not long after this New Moon.  Saturn has significantly slowed already and will station direct at the end of the weekend.  During any planetary station, there is an amplified focus on all things to do with that planet. 

With Plutonian vibrations amplified this whole week…we may have already been thoroughly haunted by the underneath we didn’t ask to see.  Now Pluto urges us to shift our perspective and integrate whatever shadows have reappeared over the last 5 months.  These are matters of the Soul, when Pluto is prominent.  Denying the urges of the Soul can lead to crisis.  Instead, you may want to take some time out to meditate on all the ‘heavy’ that has hung over you, what treasure can you unearth from all the wreckage?  You may sit with Pluto and ask the ‘why’ to reveal itself…pay close attention to the symbols around you that show you the deeper meanings of that lesson. 

Art by Jan-Niklas Bogatka

And with Saturnian vibrations slowing down and preparing for pause by the weekend…all that has been up for restructuring since the end of May is coming into focus for redirection.  Saturn reminds us of our responsibilities as human beings and our reasons for maintaining sound boundaries.  These are often societal matters that have become quite personal throughout the Saturn retrograde period.  All that is coming up now about our boundaries/limits and our societal rules, systems, and structures is also heading for a perspective shift.  It’s time to focus in and prepare ourselves for moving forward on these matters. 

Art by Vladimir Kush

So, already, there are two reasons to take a breather.  A New Moon is a good time to pause and just breathe anyway, as we begin a new lunation…so there’s a third reason.  But there are even more indications at this New Moon that we could all use a good rest. 

 

Moon-Sun-Mars in LIB 14

Sabian Symbol- ‘a noon siesta’

Is it easy to take a break when all the heavy seems to have so much weight right now?  Not really.  And yet, it does often bring us to a state of being worn out…necessitating the rest.  Whether you’re riding the chill out vibe willingly or have only found it through exhaustion, it happens to be the medicine at this New Moon.  With Warrior Mars at the end of a journey, future battles can wait.  This is meant to be a time of renewal…even though it may not be the most comfortable sleep we’ve ever come to.  Mars doesn’t ever really ‘relax’…even after he’s expended all his energy.  The drive to keep going is still there.  So in Libra, with our luminaries as well as Mercury Retrograde, Mars may have us feel like fighting the call to relax before the new Mars cycle begins (less than two days after this New Moon).

Libra is the diurnal air sign of Venus.  Venus brings a challenge to the Libra Stellium of Moon, Sun, Mars, and Mercury Retrograde through a semi-square aspect from Scorpio.  Scorpio is the nocturnal water sign of Mars.  Venus and Mars are in mutual reception (in each other’s signs)…but there’s a bit of static in the reception.  While Scorpio Venus brings up the underlying motivations of how we’re relating, Libra Mars is irritable about the inequalities and injustices in our societies and relationships.  Venus wants Mars to soften into her Libra ways of maintaining peace, but she’s a bit edgy herself in Scorpio right now.  Hidden behind the Sun, Mars may not be fully conscious of all that Venus is intimating at the moment.  Venus is better able to reach this Libra Stellium through the subconscious world of symbols…so she’ll call in a favor (through harmonious trine) from ‘Mr. Sandman’ himself, Neptune.  ‘Let Mars dream a little dream of me.’ She says to the Dreamtime planet. 

It takes some force to get this Libra Stellium to relax while in an irritating quincunx with Uranus in Taurus.  But Venus does have authority in both these signs.  A quincunx from Mars to Uranus alone is an unsettling vibration.  Venus is pooling all the power she can muster while in Scorpio just to transmute that unrest to rest.  But this is also a quincunx from Moon and Sun to Uranus…and though both luminaries would prefer to rest into this lunation’s beginnings, they are just as bothered by a noise they can’t see.  Uranus, of course, is just trying to shake up the fixed earth of our expectations in Taurus…but none of the other planets are really in agreement with those upsets right now.  Pallas in Pisces supports these Uranian shocks through a sextile, aiding Uranus with some wise strategy…but both of them are in quincunx with the Libra Stellium.  This points a ‘Finger of Gaia’ pattern right to the Stellium, so Libra shows the way.

'Finger of Gaia' pattern

Essentially, nothing very revolutionary is likely to be accepted at this time (sorry, Uranus…you’re time is coming soon enough).  The Libra Stellium is just trying to maintain some balance as they begin multiple new cycles throughout the coming days.  Upsetting the ‘apple cart’ at the moment isn’t the wisest use of this energy…doing something reactionary while irritated is the expected route for humans.  Pallas sextile Uranus suggests there is wisdom in doing something more unexpected (like taking a ‘time out’ even while you feel things aren’t settled yet). 

The stellium is also opposing Chiron in Aries…showing where we need this balance, this cooperation, to ease some tensions.  Chiron is the mentor, the healer, in the diurnal fire sign of Mars.  ‘Healer, heal thyself’ is Chiron’s mantra in Aries, where self-reliance is key.  And yet, all of that Libra energy has been focused on others…maybe even on how we perceive others to be complicating the healing process, or how our need for others seems to distract us from what we need to do for ourselves.  Can we let go, even just a little, to trying to solve all of our problems (and everyone else’s problems) for a bit?  Maybe sit for a spell…give it a rest…relax into the idea that the adjustment we need (in order to avoid more of a dilemma) is to just take a break?

The significance of this ‘noon siesta’ symbol does go deeper than ‘taking a break’, of course.  Noon is the height of solar activity, a time when (if we take a break from activity) we can better digest all the information we’ve taken in throughout the day.  As we transition between multiple planetary cycles, and feel the first stationing shifts from retrograde planets, we do have plenty to digest before moving ahead.  Sounds like we could all benefit from a rest to digest. 

 

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi