Full Moon in Virgo: Evolving to Serve Beyond Self

The Quickening Moon is also known as Crow Moon,

both refer to the first signs of Spring.

Full Moon in Virgo: Evolving to Serve Beyond Self

Moon opposite Sun @ 6:50pm CST on 3-1-18

Last month held a difficult eclipse.  I wrote Release and Rebirth days before the New Moon last month, and posted it on the 13^th.  Then on the 14^th, our country was hauntingly shaken by yet another mass shooting…this time at a school in Florida.  This happens far too often to ignore.  Ghosts of Columbine and every other massacre in our recent past came up within the closing of that eclipse window.  We saw more than we wanted to see, and the collective felt the blow to our humanity.  Some mourned, some reacted…and some lifted each other up to find hope, love, and peace in action.  All manner of feelings shot out in protective response. 

Our last eclipse season (August 2017) brought up similar re-openings of old wounds.  You may remember the planned race riot by armed white supremacists that was met by much more allowance from authority than, for example, unarmed Water Protectors banding races together peacefully to preserve our land and water.  And here we have another instance that points out a similar polarization of values.  Again the question for the collective arises, what is priority to protect? 

Instead of talking or writing it out between February’s New Moon Eclipse and this Full Moon, I let the incoming Pisces energy wash over me…just feeling it.  I remembered myself, a week past my 17^th birthday, feeling the gravity of kids shooting kids at school.  The idea was unknown to me until Columbine.  It shook me to my core.  I realize now that these kids in Florida were not even born when the Columbine Massacre happened.  Yet they became part of a continuing storyline that had never been resolved.

I looked back to what I had posted the day before this recent shooting.  The symbol for the New Moon Eclipse degree…”a tree felled and sawed”.  Not knowing what would happen the next day, I wrote “Think of the tree within this symbol as someone or something that you have grown close with over much time…in fact, you’ve grown together.  There was a real relationship here.  You shared space and the breath of life together for some time.  But now there is a necessity to release that attachment for a transformative rebirth to happen.”  And, “The cosmic cocktail in this eclipse cauldron has been a heady mixture of spirits.  The results can be anything from exhilarating to stupefying.  So many celestial bodies have been congregating in the air sign of Aquarius since the 31st, passing over the South Lunar Node of Fate one after the other.  And now they’re reaching the end of this sign, inclining us toward a culmination of these karmic lessons.  What is it we’re learning from all of this?”

And then I wondered, what did we learn from last August’s eclipse season?  I re-read my words from then too:  “Being reintroduced to a place that has been wounded and scarred by these traumas, and more, is a shaky process.  It is important to both have support from others and to understand the importance of each individual carrying out personal responsibility for making the world around them a safe and welcoming environment during the integration process and beyond.  Things can surface in this time that are difficult to deal with…painful to feel.  But we can’t ignore them…no, ignorance is what got us to this place to begin with.  We have to nurture what comes forth with love for our healing collective soul and forgiveness for past traumas it has endured.”

I will leave it there for now, because we are still at a point of processing.  Revelation is sure to come along with this Quickening Moon in full, and then we can hope to integrate what we are collectively learning.  The same is true on the personal scale.  What came up for you during this eclipse season is now approaching a period of illumination with this Full Moon in Virgo.

Moon in Virgo 12:  Initiation, Unveiled

This Full Moon is illuminating the symbol of “a bride with her veil snatched away”.  Visions of ‘unveiling’ resurface at this time…recalling what transpired when Mercury (conjunct Vesta) stationed retrograde in this degree last August.  Mysteries are revealed.  And all things that seek the security of secrecy may have the veil lifted from them as more things come to light for the sake of transparency in this next stage of our becoming.  Some form of ‘innocence lost’ is followed by “knowledge gained”.

Sun in Pisces 12:  Initiation, Examined

The Sun is illuminating the Sabian Symbol of “An examination of initiates”.  The symbol refers to those initiations into the Mysteries where our lives must be examined to reach new levels of access and participation.  The larger description of this symbol is ‘in the sanctuary of an occult brotherhood, newly initiated members are being examined and their character tested’.  So it is each of our own characters that are being tested now.  And in any situation where we find ourselves being tested, scrutinized, or judged…the best option is always to try to perform at our best.  The lesson illuminated here is to ‘prove yourself’ to yourself.

Neptune in Pisces 14:  Protection As We Shift Between Worlds

The Sabian Symbol for this degree is “a lady in fox fur”.  This symbol can be seen in many ways, and such is the nature of Neptune’s shapeshifting influence as the planet of Group Mystification.  The conjunction between Neptune here and the Sun in the ‘examination of initiates’ degree recalls Neptune’s extended stay on Pisces 12 in the final months of last year, when Neptune stationed direct in that degree…ushering in the “Me Too” movement that coincided with Jupiter’s ingress into Scorpio.  As I wrote about Neptune then, “Neptune’s lessons are often the kind that are shrouded behind some kind of veil, only to be revealed in stages of discovery after periods of being ‘in the dark’.  Initially confusing and disorienting, Neptune’s tests are meant to take us beyond what we know and into uncharted waters…it’s a process of gaining clarity in an unclear world”. 

'Fox Maiden' by Susan Seddon Boulet

In this image, the subject is a kitsune (a shapeshifting fox spirit)

Keeping with this revealing and unveiling theme, the ‘lady in fox fur’ likely has her own secrets to tell.  And in keeping with the other theme of past symbols resurfacing even while all planets are still direct, this is what I wrote about this Fox Lady degree when it applied to the Full Moon in September last year:  “At one moment, you may see the symbol as a socialite rubbing elbows with powerful personalities.  You may even immediately have a reaction to the excesses of luxury accumulated and flaunted at the expense of others’ lives.  At the next glance, you may witness the actual fox totem medicine she draws upon in order to move in unison with society, simply by shapeshifting how she appears.  After all, who’s to say she isn’t the self-reliant trapper herself, living a scaled-down life off the modern beaten path?  The symbol itself leaves the interpretation very open…and we all have our own unique first-glances of it based on our own experience.  My own personal experience of this energy has more to do with what fox medicine has taught me throughout my life, as it is a personal totem of mine.  Two years ago, I posted about Fox Medicine in this blog.  I encourage you to read that post for a deeper insight into what wisdom this creature teacher has for all of us to tap into through this lunar energy.  We’ve all heard tales of how swift and clever foxes are, but their adaptability and familial connections may also be of great importance to learn about for many of us who are currently navigating through various life changes or family crises. 

Not only does this symbol specifically bring up the fox totem, it also brings to our awareness how beneficial our own personal totem connections are right now.  Some of us have one totem that is very prevalent as an animal connection in our lives.  Others have multiple medicines from which they can draw upon.  Fostering stronger connections to all the many creature teachers in our lives provides us with the power to work with Mother Nature in ways that modern humans have tended to stray away from.”

Mercury-Venus-Chiron Stellium in Pisces Trine Jupiter in Scorpio:  Re-integration of Received Wisdom

Do you remember embarking on the ‘Mountain Pilgrimage’ during the mid-January New Moon in Capricorn?  So many cosmic archetypes convening at the summit to share their wisdom?  It was that first real rush of ‘All Planets Direct’ energy coupled with the first New Moon of the year…we were inspired to commence the climb. 

Of course, we had no idea what the journey would entail.  I mean, some of us knew the experience would include multiple lessons throughout, a seasonal celebration, and a stirring of the Eclipse Cauldron before we would journey back with our particular cupful of the elixir we could use to heal our society.  But not even an astrologer can know all the contents of such an experience ahead of time…we can only prepare ourselves for possibilities. 

At that time, we had Jupiter and Mars both supporting the climb from the Scorpio waters below…and additional support from Chiron in the vast ocean that is Pisces.  Jupiter was then in an opportunistic sextile to Pluto in Capricorn, but it was the Mars-Chiron trine that gave us the creative inspiration to initiate the healing process of the pilgrimage. 

Now, as we’re coming down from that heightened experience, Jupiter (still sextiling Pluto) is the one building a trine with Chiron (as Mars has already moved on to his Sagittarian Vision Quest).  And this time, not only is it Chiron in Pisces, but also Mercury and Venus are swimming in the Piscean sea with him.  Both of these inner planets will exact their trine with Jupiter surrounding this full moon (Venus the morning of the 1^st, Mercury the morning after)…flowing harmoniously with the social planet of expansion.  This is the energy of selflessly giving to our society (where it is needed most) our unique understanding of the wisdom received.  Re-integrating ourselves back into society (just as the Quickening Moon welcomes the return of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere), requires a symbiotic exchange of energy with the land and her people.  We have received new energy from the light beings of the Apus (mountains) not just for ourselves, but to better contribute our unique medicine to Pachamama and all life that calls her ‘Home’. 

Jupiter, only a week away from his retrograde that will end this two-month long sojourn of ‘All Planets Direct’, is slowing down in this degree for these coming expansions.  The Sabian Symbol where Jupiter is pausing to reflect just happens to be “after having heard an inspired individual deliver his ‘sermon on the mount’, crowds are returning home.”  This is a symbol of integrating these lessons and ‘peak experiences’ into our everyday reality and consciousness.  This can often be a challenge that follows spiritual transformation…and an inconjunct to Eris-Uranus does present this uneasiness along with the promise of growth.  As Dane Rudhyar explained about this degree, “The return home from the high mountain, or from any upper chamber of the consciousness, may lead to a sense of oppression by the normal realities of existence, or else the soul that has been illuminated may retain enough of that light to transfigure every daily situation.”

Mercury is also sextiling Pluto in Capricorn, giving us the opportunity to communicate the transformative wisdom we’ve learned, from the 23^rd degree of Pisces.  The symbol here is “a materializing medium giving a séance”.  Mercury in Pisces often communicates in symbolic and spiritual ways, and even more so in this degree.  Here, Mercury gathers the group and acts as medium for otherworldly messages.  This can take many forms:  poetry, music, or even feelings beyond words…but it can also take the form of getting spiritual advice from someone who communicates with energies beyond the veil, or being that medium for others.  The ‘materializing’ part of this symbol indicates that though the wisdom that is currently of value to our community is metaphysical in nature…we have an opportunity to translate it into this physical realm with our own unique gifts. 

Venus, who recently emerged as Evening Star, is in the 24^th degree of Pisces. Here she illuminates the symbol “an inhabited island”.  This is the place where we’re ‘returning home’, as she is now ascending back into our night sky.  The inhabited island symbol can be the return to the land on which we live, our own home and family, our body, even a return of pieces of our soul to re-integrate back into wholeness after a trauma.  It can be many things, but the message is to rediscover your center so that you can better take on your role in the larger interactions of human existence…small as the ‘island’ of human existence is in the whole of the universe.  Cohabitation works best when each inhabitant is contributing their unique talents in integral and constructive ways.  Just as within each of us, each part serves functions that keep the body going.  Venus asks us, “what value have you discovered in your own drop of this vast ocean?”

Chiron, the slowest-moving celestial body in this Pisces stellium, is in the 28^th degree of Pisces.  At the first new moon of the year, he was highlighting the symbol of “a new moon that divides its influence”.  At this full moon, his degree is “a fertile garden under a full moon”.  The eclipse season linked January’s Snow Moon with this Quickening Moon…giving us a couple months to really soak in this ‘Mountain Pilgrimage’.  Now we’re at an illuminating phase of this eclipse experience, and the ‘garden’ of our lives is blossoming from the seeds we planted earlier.  This is the gift within the wounds we discovered this eclipse season.  And as Mercury and Venus unite with Chiron in this degree on March 4^th, the Pisces Stellium peaks to inspire the world through the compassionate Healer/Teacher archetype.  This full moon prepares us for that energy…and Chiron asks, “By what example do you teach the world to heal?”

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

New Moon in Aquarius/Partial Solar Eclipse: Release and Rebirth

Aquarius by Josephine Wall

New Moon in Aquarius/Partial Solar Eclipse:  Release and Rebirth

Moon conjunct Sun @ 3:05pm CST on 3-15-18

For many of us, this has been a difficult eclipse season.  The two week window in between eclipses, which I call the eclipse cauldron (because of the unique elements brewing each time), is rarely a joyride.  Shadow work is often inevitable.  Past can come back around…seemingly to haunt us, but ultimately to heal us.  The luminaries, planets, asteroids, and lunar nodes each add their own lessons into the brew that will become the elixir we’ll need in the coming months.  At the close of this window, the partial solar eclipse also begins the Quickening Moon phase which will peak to fullness on March 1^st.  We’ve been experiencing all planets direct since early January…which is almost like another form of quickening that has nothing to do with our seasonal cycle.  On March 8^th, though, Jupiter stations retrograde to give us some time to pause and review all that has transpired.  Until then, we still have some pressing work to do.  And the Sun and Moon meet at this time to wrap up some more lessons from this heavily emphasized Aquarian energy.

The Sabian Symbol for this New Moon Eclipse on Aquarius 28 is “a tree felled and sawed to ensure a supply of wood for the winter.”  Tree-hugger that I unabashedly am, I can grow just as attached to a tree as I can to a family member, close friend, or beloved animal.  Think of the tree within this symbol as someone or something that you have grown close with over much time…in fact, you’ve grown together.  There was a real relationship here.  You shared space and the breath of life together for some time.  But now there is a necessity to release that attachment for a transformative rebirth to happen.  This great tree, firmly rooted in the earth, is felled and sawed into firewood…and we are grateful for the new warmth it provides as its Spirit releases into smoke and rises into the Aquarian air. 

As with every New Moon, one chapter closes as a new one begins.  The feeling of loss that one can imagine in this image may not manifest as literally for some as it will for others.  You could be needing to give up anything in order to move on.  Although there is a definite note of relationships played by the greater cosmic song throughout this eclipse cauldron that has been brewing since the end of last month…there is also a note of releasing addictions in the form of both attachments and detachments that no longer serve us.  Releasing the past, in general, is an overarching eclipse theme…and this can be releasing old patterns of behavior, crutches we no longer need to lean on, fears and thought patterns that hold us back from contributing our light to this world, or the need to solve everyone else’s problems while we struggle with our own.  Illnesses are a common expression as well, especially with this ‘flu season’.  Again, we’re meant to release.  Those unnerving feelings surging through your body?  Ground and release.  My go-to for releasing excess energy is often dancing…but you may want to find your own creative ways to do this.  Find what works for you.  The cosmic cocktail in this eclipse cauldron has been a heady mixture of spirits.  The results can be anything from exhilarating to stupefying.  So many celestial bodies have been congregating in the air sign of Aquarius since the 31st, passing over the South Lunar Node of Fate one after the other.  And now they’re reaching the end of this sign, inclining us toward a culmination of these karmic lessons.  What is it we’re learning from all of this?

In the larger sphere on our Mother Earth, we’ve been needing to release attachments and detachments that only serve to further separate us from our own humanity as well as this world that sustains us.  More and more, we are hearing the call to let go of our unhealthy attachments…but what does it mean to let go of unhealthy detachments?  They are opposite words, but both can be wrapped up into whatever we’re needing to release.  Let’s just consider social media, for example, as something we need to release in one way to repurpose it as something to better serve our evolving needs.  Many of us have some form of attachment to it…some of it may be healthy (it’s how I communicate with those who live far away), and some of it may be unhealthy (how did I just lose an hour of my life to cat videos?!?!).  But the other side of the coin is that it also brings about unhealthy detachments (less gatherings and heart-to-heart hugs…more likes, loves, and laughs that pale in comparison to the real thing).  Of course, this is just one example...but one that is distinctly Aquarian in nature.

Since this is the beginning of the Quickening Moon…so called because it begins the thaw that ushers in the spring (in our Northern Hemisphere)…making plans for gatherings in the warmer months ahead, to hold physical space for our many transformations, is good medicine at this time.  Much as some of us prefer times of introversion, we are human beings who all long for heart-to-heart connections in our lives.  Ceres and the North Node in Leo are still calling for nurturing connections with others.  Of course, if you have succumbed to the flu going around…the main guidance from Ceres is still self-care.

Though many of the same celestial ingredients are still at play from the previous eclipse…there are a few energetic shifts of note.  Immediately after the eclipse on the 31^st, Mercury moved into Aquarius as well and has been speeding along through this sign over the past two weeks.  Mercury is now conjunct the Sun and Moon, just two degrees behind at the time of the Solar Eclipse.  As if so many energies in Aquarius weren’t firing off in our mental sphere enough, Mercury’s presence here adds to the mental energy already apparent and gives us the impetus to communicate what has been on our minds.  Currently, the emphasis is on communicating innovative ways to make this new phase work for us…despite, or likely because of, all the breakdowns the waning phase of the last may have brought to pass. 

Mercury in Aquarius 26 highlights the Sabian Symbol of ‘a man testing a car battery with a hydrometer’.  This symbol has much to do with maintenance.  It can be maintenance of any system we use to get us from point A to point B, including our own bodies, though this symbol refers to checking the specific  gravity of the solution within each cell of a car battery to see if it’s holding its charge.  Mercury here gives a definite nod to mechanical and technological maintenance…taking care of something like this is a way of avoiding, for example, your car battery dying in the middle of the interstate.  However, this symbolism can be applied to many other tests and check-ups as well.  Have you noticed a problem with something?  You might want to check in with it to see what you can do to fix it. 

On a larger scale, we’re at a check point as well.  The hydrometer measures the gravity of a substance suspended in another substance (as in the alcohol content of wine, for example).  If we measure the significance of our ordinary reality within the cosmic overview, we have a rather miniscule percentage floating within the larger whole.  And yet, here we are…however small, we are part of it all (at least for now).  What makes us so important?  It should be what we contribute to the whole, and not what we take from it.  In the cosmic view, we are like a floating dream…but within that bubble, we are important (at least we should be…to each other especially).  We are dynamic and creative…and we have the ability to sustain our life for many generations if we recognize that importance in positive ways.  This Aquarian ability to view our existence in an expanded light and then refocus in allows us to free ourselves from being stuck in the belief that difficult situations are insurmountable.

Another energy of note right now is that of Venus.  On the 10^th, she moved into Pisces (often called the sign of her ‘exaltation’) and during this New Moon, she is in a beneficial sextile with Saturn in Capricorn…that much needed water and earth energy returning from the January New Moon to support us at the beginning of this phase too.  This sextile inclines an opportunity for us to really commit to a transformation of values.  Next week, Venus will finally be visible in the night sky again…making her transition from Morning Star to Evening Star after a long period of being hidden from our view by the Sun.  This is another energy of rebirth coming after all the release we’ve felt the need to do, or had to do, during this eclipse cauldron.

An additional, out-of-left-field, opportunity is coming from Eris and Uranus in Aries...now sextiling the luminaries, Mercury, and the asteroids still making their way through Aquarius.  Something surprising that throws us out of our comfort zones may just be the opportunity we need to jump on to make a meaningful shift.  So if you happen upon an unexpected opportunity that wasn’t initially part of your plans but might just light a fire under you to blaze a new trail…pursue it.  You’ll never know unless you take the leap.

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

The Cosmic Timing of My Energy Flow

'Psyche and Eros' by Josephine Wall

The Cosmic Timing of My Energy Flow

by Felina Lune Kavi 

I participated in a Master Class with Anne Ortelee and Astrology Hub during January’s Eclipse.  Anne had amazing insight into ordering the planets by degree using what she calls ‘The Pinball Approach’.  It’s a brilliant idea, so I tried it with my own natal chart.  Another participant, Elke Hutton, asked Anne, 'how do I start the energy flow?'  I thought it was a great question, so I asked it of myself while looking at my own cosmic order.  It inspired me to write my flow...I could even hear it as a drumbeat, then on piano. My own unique piece of the cosmic song.  

I include asteroids and other points that are significant to me, so I begin with Psyche Retrograde and Uranus Retrograde on the 5^th degrees of Virgo and Sagittarius.  This is 90 degree square energy (4^th harmonic) to start off my flow…a necessary action (square) that happens within the mind of my soul (Psyche) with unexpected inspiration (Uranus) from my soul’s past experiences (retrograde).  It explains why I often feel the beginning of an idea (set in motion to flow through me) seems to come from the higher mind experience of my soul through many lifetimes.  I’m not really generating it from my conscious mind to begin with.  That connection comes later, when I communicate it.

Then there’s a rapid fire percussion of activity that follows.  Venus comes right after.  Then Mars Retrograde and Vesta together in a trine (3^rd Harmonic).  Jupiter Retrograde follows.  Then Pallas Retrograde and Juno together in another square (4^th Harmonic).  This section of my song, my flow, details how my energy drums everything up before a rest.  My Psyche and Uranus drum up some inspiration out of the blue from Virgo and Sagittarius (earth and fire signs).  Then my Inner Feminine (Venus, my chart ruler) embraces it, values it, loves it, and takes it to a higher octave through Pisces (water sign).  Then there’s this flowing 3^rd Harmonic of Mars Retrograde and Vesta in Libra and Aquarius (air signs) when my Inner Masculine activates it harmoniously with my devoted Priestess who fans the Sacred Flame…they do the inner and outer work together to translate it for others.  Following that is Jupiter Retrograde in Scorpio (another water sign) which expands upon it and shines a light into the depths of it to encourage its growth.  Then Pallas Retrograde in Libra and Juno in Capricorn provide one more 4^th Harmonic to give it some necessary feminine empowerment, adding in the wisdom of patterns (Pallas) and partnership (Juno) to midwife the birth of this idea over a long stretch of silence. This 4^th Harmonic is air and earth signs.  The elemental flow, to begin with, is Earth/Fire – Water – Air/Air – Water – Air/Earth.

5 counts later, Astraea grabs hold and begins a new syncopation, followed by Eris.  Astraea in Taurus (earth sign) encourages the integration of the creation’s potential by planting it on the earthly plane so it can manifest.  Then Eris in Aries (fire sign) empowers it with purpose. 

A brief pause, then my Ascendant and Lunar Nodes chime in with a sextile (6^th Harmonic) to get me to embody that soul urge and nourish myself with it as I process it to others.  The Ascendant in Taurus and North Node in Cancer (earth and water signs) are the source of this energy, though the South Node in Capricorn (earth sign) is the output.  This very karmic combination is then followed by Saturn Retrograde in Libra (air sign), a planet also associated with karma.  Saturn brings the structure and balance to my inspired ideas and builds upon them with a steady flow of hard work on an inward (retrograde) level. 

Another brief pause, then Chiron in Taurus (earth sign) drums up another section…pulling out the gift within the wound that Saturn brought up.  This transition is often dissonant, but necessary.  Following Chiron is Mercury and Sun in the same degree of Aries (fire sign), adding a powerful unison that fuels my conscious mind into communication of what I created and lets my gift shine.  This is followed by Black Moon and Part of Fortune in Sagittarius (fire sign), adding another powerful unison that channels my cosmic connection into a source of abundance. 

Another brief pause, then Ceres Retrograde in Scorpio (water sign) comes in with Pluto Retrograde in Libra (air sign).  At the same time as I am nurturing myself after all that work, a deep transformation takes place where all manner of things can surface from the depths of my soul.  I have essentially just given birth to something I created…so there might be some subconscious fears that come up at this point that will want to be addressed and resolved. Self-care is essential for this section.  Immediately following this, Hygeia-Moon-Neptune Retrograde sound off on the same beat.  Hygeia in Cancer (water sign) is a necessary healing element, Moon in Scorpio (water sign) checks in with my feelings and emotional comfort, and Neptune Retrograde in Sagittarius (fire sign) sees the big picture of the whole process as a spiritual journey.  Then comes my Midheaven in Capricorn (earth sign), and my highest potential kicks in as my contribution to the world is seen publicly. 

After one more brief pause, Eros in Cancer (water sign) sounds the last note.  The heart of my soul embraces the whole song and falls in love with what I’ve created.  I find it interesting that I begin with Psyche and end with Eros…as they are not only mythical lovers but particularly important energies in my relationship with my husband.  We don’t even really celebrate Valentine’s Day…but we have created our own holiday at the end of January that we call Eros and Psyche Day.  The Image on the header of my blog is of Eros and Psyche from one of my daughter’s storybooks (‘The Arrow and the Lamp: The Story of Psyche’ retold by Margaret Hodges and illustrated by Donna Diamond).  I feel their relationship represents the higher octave of my chart ruler, Venus in Pisces.  They are part of my V.O.I.C.E. (Venusian Octave Inspired Collective Enlightenment).  Each piece I write in my blog begins with Psyche and ends with Eros.

The elemental flow of this last section of my Cosmic Song is Earth – Fire – (rest) – Earth/Water – Air – (rest) – Earth – Fire/Fire – Fire/Fire – (rest) – Water/Air – Water/Water/Fire – Earth – (rest) – Water.

Illustration by Donna Diamond

P.S.  Here is a visual aide of what my chart flow looks like, with some keywords about each point.

Full Moon Eclipse in Leo: Celebration to Shift the Shadows

Art by Donia Lilly

Full Moon Eclipse in Leo:  Celebration to Shift the Shadows

Moon opposite Sun @ 7:27 am CST on 1-31-18

This Full Moon Eclipse during our Snow Moon phase is an extremely potent one.  This is because there are many energetic forces concentrated on the Leo-Aquarius axis at this time.  The predominance of Earth and Water from the start of this phase has now given way to the Air and Fire elements.  This is an energetic shift from feminine energies to masculine energies.  This has nothing to do with gender, of course…it’s a difference between receptive qualities and projective qualities.  Are we still grounded in that initial earth energy?  Are we still emotionally supported by the water energies that guided us to and through the pilgrimage we made to the pinnacle of this mountain?  If we did the New Moon work we were guided toward, perhaps.  But this Lunar Eclipse has the power to shake up whatever we committed to mid-month (yes, even if we were doing ‘the right thing’).  Hold tight for another spin of the Wheel of Fortune with the lunar nodes highly activated. Try to keep your bearings.  The key to holding your ground in all of this is to let go of the need to rely on your head when activity gets heightened…and tap into your heart-consciousness. 

Still, it is difficult for many to think of the heart as a wiser transmitter than the brain.  But isn’t that our first clue?  Many of us can’t wrap our heads around the powerful energetic field of the heart because it’s actually that energetic field of the heart that is wrapped around our heads…around our whole body, actually.  This is a good time to really feel into the wisdom of your heart center and let it guide your head through this time of extraordinary activity.

The stellium of Aquarian forces (Sun, South Node, Astraea, Venus, Hygeia, and Juno) currently shocking our systems is pooling our energy one way…and the conjunction between Moon and Ceres with the North Node is calling for balance in Leo.  The Nodes are a good indicator of our best course of action because the North Node in Leo describes the energy we are taking in (and digesting) that is necessary for both our survival and our nourishment (in through the ‘dragon’s head’).  The South Node in Aquarius describes the energy we are releasing that we no longer need (out through the ‘dragon’s tail’).  The South Node, then, shows how and where we ‘release what no longer serves us’.  This release CAN be like compost…transforming natural waste into fertile beginnings.  However, in our unnatural world…this release can also take on destructive characteristics…where we throw away our garbage, but it piles up there because there literally is no ‘away’.

In either light, the Leo forces (Ceres, Moon, and North Node) are providing the nourishment we need along our collective soul’s path, if we allow ourselves that nourishment.  The ‘dwarf’ planet, Ceres in the same degree as the Moon at her fullness is a double-dose of the Mother archetype…highlighting how we all must nurture ourselves and be balanced in our giving and receiving of nurturance with others.  The North Node then takes in this nurturance which guides us along our collective soul’s path.  The Aquarian forces are our outlet for whatever we’re digesting from this lunation.  There is a definite ‘out with the old, in with the new’ recycling that happens when the nodal axis is activated (as it is during eclipses).  It is part of what brings a particularly karmic element to these times…where our past recycles itself in some way, whether we want it to or not.

To get a better idea of the Nodes in this Leo-Aquarius axis (which are currently reaching the midpoint of this cycle that began last spring and ends this autumn), I wrote a post last year about the lessons involved with these signs.  In this post, “The Dragon’s Flight into the Leo-Aquarius Axis”…you can find both constructive ways to use this energy as well as information about the past cycle (1999-2000) being significant to this time between last spring and this autumn.  

Something that is also useful on the individual level is to know what houses in your natal chart are being activated by these current Leo-Aquarius Full Moon energies.  The houses give us clues to the areas of life where we are taking in nourishment for the soul (Leo) and releasing what we have fully digested (Aquarius).  For example, in my case…the Leo forces are in my 5^th House of Creativity and Children (where I am taking in the joy and creative inspiration provided by my children as well as my own self-expression) and the Aquarian forces are in my 11^th House of Friends and Community (where I am giving out what I have taken in…releasing that creative expression to *hopefully* inspire others).  I must keep it in balance though…as all the Aquarian energy can have me swamped if it gets out of hand, which can cut me off from the very thing that nourishes me.  For me, it’s a balance of my social output and the needs of myself and my children (romance is also an area of life represented by the 5^th house…so date nights with my husband are also a part of that nourishment I need that fuels my creative fire).  If you aren’t familiar with what each house represents, you either search it on the internet (it’s a well-covered subject in astrology) or you can ask me personally.

Now to the specific symbols being highlighted upon this axis.  The degrees of the current lunar nodes are the same degrees our luminaries were in during last August’s Full Moon Eclipse in Aquarius…so, if you’re interested, you can go back to that point in our collective cycle, see where we’re coming from between then and now, and read more about those mid-point degrees of this axis.  

LEO, PARTY OF THREE

Art by Susan Seddon Boulet

Moon and Ceres in Leo 12:  “An evening lawn party”

One of the ways Leo nurtures and nourishes us is through celebration.  Ceres-Moon reminds us how to make life joyful, even in heavy times.  In this degree, all that we need in this moment is provided…food, friends, family, fun, etc.  This is symbolic, of course, but it can also manifest as a literal party (depending on what you have scheduled…or what comes up ‘out of the blue’) This is a specifically social ‘blue moon’ that is purely significant to the calendar month that is a more modern way of tracking time than the stars or the seasons.  The ‘once in a blue moon’ advice still applies, though it is less of a cosmic urge (blue moon within the same sign) or a biological urge (blue moon in a particular season)…and more of a societal opportunity that can arise.  However, the Earth’s shadow (whether you are in a place where you can see it or not) may eclipse some of this energy and remind us of many of the things we’re still working on that can darken the heart’s desire to celebrate.  This can incline the Leo energy toward dramas of the ego.  But this is not the time to get weighed down by all that’s still wrong with the world (or our environment)…this is an opportunity to actually celebrate what is right with the world!  In celebrating life and love and all we’ve been through and survived in these past 6 months, we have the power to transmute those shadows into light energy.  Fluffy-bunny as it is often dismissed, we’re not serving ourselves or the world at large anything necessary if we remain trapped in the dark…just recycling all that is heavy into more heaviness without learning to transmute.  Wednesday may seem like an odd day of the week to have or attend a party…but this whole lunation is a bit out of the ordinary.  This axis is that of the creative performer who shines their own unique energy (Leo) and the revolutionary genius who marches to the beat of their own drum (Aquarius).  If anything, nurture and celebrate your unique gifts, let your freak flag fly, and give creative expression to your authentic self. Mama Moon says, 'your feeling body needs a recharge.'

North Lunar Node in Leo 16:  “After a storm, nature rejoices in brilliant sunshine”

The Wheel of Fortune energy brought back by the nodes from the last lunar eclipse to this one is well represented in this image.  There may be a necessity to digest the wisdom of ‘this too shall pass’.  The clouds will part…life will go on…and we feel uplifted and joyful again as we come out of what may feel to many as another ‘dark night’ of our collective soul.  The key to this energy is trust.  Trust in nature moving us along in cycles and spirals of evolution and involution.  Trust in the Universe doing so on a larger scale.  Trust in our place in this Universe, our place on this Earth, and our path in this life.  Trust in your soul’s guidance.  Trust in yourself…that you can survive any storm.  Take in that trust and learn what it has to offer.  This is another symbol of celebration…so take in that joy for life in every moment it arises and let it fuel your journey ahead.

AQUARIUS STELLIUM

Star card from my Tarot of Dreams deck by Ciro Marchetti

Sun in Aquarius 12:  “People on a vast staircase, graduating upward”

It is important at this time to understand that we are all on different stages of our individual development…but that we are all on this same Earthwalk together.  Each of us has our unique experience, evolving understanding, and role to play in life.  Depending on where we are in our development, our expression of what life has taught us can be detrimental or beneficial to everyone else.  In this image, we’re all moving onward and upward…not just the people who appear more ‘aware’ or ‘enlightened’.  The Sun here is illuminating the bigger picture with this future-minded symbol…that we’re not moving backward or ‘going down’ as a species.  Much as it is hard to see in some who live out more ego-driven existences, we’re all ‘graduating’ in maturity on a collective level.  After all, in the grand scheme of our Earth’s existence alone…we are really just babies.  And even though we’re rather colicky, often sickly, dangerously accident-prone, and we demand a lot of attention…our Mother Earth adores us as much as any of her babies and she continues to offer us what we need in order to be happy, healthy, safe, and secure.  She is the base of that staircase that guides us upward.  She, too, is a baby in the eyes of the Universe…and the staircase in this image is that energetic umbilical cord that always stays connected from the navel of the child to the womb of the mother.  She also continues to teach us our potential, with the help of the Universe (her Mother), our solar system (her immediate family), and all the many celestial bodies beyond (her extended family).  From the zodiacal energy of Aquarius that often wants to detach when attachment is experienced…we can experience this place of healthy attachment to the greater good of humanity (Aquarius's higher vibration).  Our own contributions to others can help accelerate our collective soul’s journey to greater heights…or, it can create obstacles that slow us all down and make the journey harder.  Here, we have an opportunity to make good choices along our path that give others the courage to take each step forward...especially when they feel alone.

South Lunar Node and Astraea in Aquarius 16:  “A big business man at his desk”

The nourishment we’re taking in from the self-expressive, creative, and inspiring energy of Leo translates to organizational leadership…at its best.  In some cases, though, it may be that all of that creative fire is making the workload pile up on the desk.  And in the lower energy realm of this South Node association…we may either be in workaholic mode or lording power over others and trying to control everyone.  If we look at the collective, we may see some obvious indications of any of those energies.  Those operating at a more unhealthy ego level expression will likely be wielding their power in destructive ways, accruing more and more of what feeds their ego and cranking out more and more ‘crazy’ into our world from the detached safety of their own bubble.  Shadows often come out in an eclipse period…and the Sun will illuminate them in our collective consciousness while the South Node can really reveal past karma we need to transform and release.  Astraea here inclines an energy to this Aquarian stellium of not being willing to let go even the things that are destructive.  She’s the Star Maiden who holds out hope for humanity…even when we’re at our worst.  But she is also a goddess of justice.  Her position in the sky connects us to the truths that we must see about ourselves (as individuals as well as our collective) that we must clean up or get rid of.  So in this degree, along with the south node, she is both an agent of re-organization as well as the energy of obsession with our work.  With Astraea here, it will be difficult to let go of the busy-ness of our lives…so she calls for both balance and better organization.  This ‘big businessman’ symbol has created a mess in our environment…and we’ve got some clean up work to do.  Astraea’s journey through Aquarius, and especially now as she transits the nodes, is an important lesson for us at this turning of the Ages.  We must move on from the destructive things that have come up in the Age of Pisces before we can fully bring in this new Age of Aquarius…because they have lead into the lower energies of Aquarius we are seeing now.  Both energies, in their lower vibration, lead to separation.  Astraea wants us to achieve wholeness…though she often has to do this THROUGH the pain of separation so we can integrate the balancing effect of being able to see both sides. 

Venus in Aquarius 17:  “A watchdog stands guard, protecting his master and his possessions”

Venus in this degree is protecting what is valuable to us.  For some, especially the ‘big businessman’…that might be material possessions.  However, Aquarius isn’t exactly a ‘material’ sign.  What is most valuable to Aquarians is often their freedom, especially their freedom to be different.  But with the ‘businessman’ energy hanging around, the shadow side of that ‘difference’ is often one of getting away with unlawful acts because they can wield their power to be above the law.  In that case, the necessity for ‘watchdog’ security would be important so they can go about their business without getting caught.  So, on the individual level, we too have a heightened sense of protecting what is ours…because there is a lot of corruption in a society that glorifies competition, ambition, and success at any cost.  However, if you’re playing the ‘businessman’ card with the best intentions, Venus’s energy then is both a call to delegate your tasks to trusted people so you can be more efficient as well as to make sure you are protected in this dog eat dog world.  This may seem a strange energy coming from Venus…but she is still ‘in the underworld’ (not visible in the sky) until around February 20^th when she rises as the Evening Star.  This is a transformative period for her.  Mythically, when relating her cycle to Inanna’s Decent, the ‘Queen of Heaven’ has given up all of her adornments, faced her shadow in a vulnerable state, and died to what she was previously.  While we can’t see her in the sky after her superior conjunction with the Sun earlier this month (because Venus is still close enough to be blocked from our view by the Sun)…she is symbolically suspended as a corpse in the Underworld, while plans are being carried out for her resurrection.  At this time, her sister (Ereshkigal, Queen of the Underworld) is the only ruling energy.  Ereshkigal, a Queen of Justice, has already lost her husband by the carelessness of her sister…and carries a fatherless child (who later becomes a god of healing).  This is a stressful energy as all is transforming and everyone’s fate is held in the balance.  Most important right now is the protection of all that is left of what she values most.  At this time, both sisters are undergoing dramatic transformations.  Through this story of Inanna and Ereshkigal, I mean to shed a little light in a transition of darkness.  The usual characteristics we associate with Venus don’t really apply at this time.  Her energy now is transitioning between death and rebirth…before she rises again like a phoenix in our night sky, she must reclaim herself anew at the ‘seven gates’.  Currently, Venus is guarded by the ‘watchdog’ of the Underworld.  How this energy plays out at this eclipse will depend on how much we surrender to the transformation happening within us all now.  In order to rebirth the Divine Feminine within during this cycle, we must accept that we must change from who we thought we were.  This is where we find what we really value about our lives.

Hygeia in Aquarius 19:  “A forest fire quenched”

Hygeia, asteroid Goddess of Healing, is part of this stellium offering relief.  Embodying the archetype of the Rescuer here, she assures us that we can be healed into wholeness…no matter how traumatic the wounds.  Damage may be done, but this aspect of the Water Bearer pours out her healing upon us.  This, too, refers to our transformation.  Collectively, her energy is a welcome sign that we can turn things around after we allowed so much destruction to wreak havoc.  Individually, you may feel the call to attend to any health matters you’ve been allowing to worsen while focusing your care and attention on others before yourself.  This is a call to get back on your healing path…and relieve the stress that may have been accumulating as a result of overwork.

Juno in Aquarius 20:  “A large white dove bearing a message”

And, finally, a message of peace from the Bona Dea, Juno.  You may be the one receiving the message from the spiritual plane, or you may be the message bearer.  The message you receive will depend on your circumstances, but it is one of hope after a period of struggle…much like the Star card comes after the Tower in the sequence of Major Arcana in a tarot deck.  Juno in this ‘message bearer’ degree during the eclipse brings along with it the necessity of the feminine messenger, Iris (Goddess of the Rainbow), who brought the messages of Juno/Hera to Earth.  Iris is much like Mercury (Messenger of Jupiter/Zeus)…but Mercury’s communication (while not retrograde, anyway) is often information we process in our left brain, while Iris brings messages that synthesize in the right brain.  Interestingly, the asteroid named after Juno’s messenger is in an exact square with the lunar nodes at this time.  Iris in Taurus 16 holds an important message at the apex of this T-square aspect.  The message reveals wisdom about the Mysteries…but in new forms that represent our evolving world.  There is much to be discovered in the many mythic examples any astrologer can relate to what is currently happening (such as the symbolic dragon of the nodes, or the Sumerian tale of Inanna’s Decent as it relates to Venus’s transformation from Morning Star to Evening Star)…and even though these celestial happenings are like clockwork, it is humanity that is changing over time and some of these Mysteries may appear rather foreign.  Juno, through Iris, holds a message that synthesizes it all together in new, creative forms.  If we tap into our intuitive capabilities, not only can we reveal more wisdom about humanity’s current crisis…but we can also create new forms for these old symbols that will keep the Mysteries alive in our culture.

My Apacheta Crystal Grid for this Full Moon Eclipse

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi