Penumbral Lunar Eclipse in Gemini: The North Node Calling

 

'The Magician' by Graciela Bello

Penumbral Lunar Eclipse in Gemini:  The North Node Calling

Moon opposite Sun - 11/30/2020 @ 3:29am CST

 

At this Full Moon in Gemini, our Moon is close enough to her North Node that the penumbral shadow of our Earth reveals itself upon Lady Luna’s face.  This shadow may be subtle, but it carries a long history and a hint of where we are headed as a collective. 

There is often some kind of world crisis involved within the lessons of Eclipse Season.  Depending on how each eclipse interacts with your own natal makeup, the personal crisis can also be apparent to varying degrees.  When we navigate through crisis, we are being invited to respond with necessary change and transformation.  Crisis has taken on a rather negative connotation…because there is an edge to it, a transition from known to unknown…where faith can either falter or become our strongest ally.  When we come to these critical turning points in our year, we are faced with what of the past can no longer continue as it was…and faced with potential choices we want to dream into our future. 

There is great opportunity within crises, and much experiential wisdom born from them.  Yet such rewards cannot be reached without entering through that Eclipse Portal and crossing beyond that shadowy threshold.  You are certainly not alone if you are being faced with your fears, the roots of your insecurities, and many of the untruths that have clouded your own truth.  This year, the eclipses have held the added imperative of Neptune squaring the Lunar Nodes.  All these transformations feel a bit hazier and indescribable this year…like we can’t quite put our finger on any of it, really.  And yet, we are inspired to create a new dream within this mystical haze.  We are challenged to take those leaps of faith, not knowing where we will land.  And we are drawn to integrate all the disparate parts of our Collective Soul into wholeness…all without the definition and clear guidelines of ‘How’.

The strongest opportunity we are blessed with during this time, which is still rather subtle, is from Mercury (the Messenger planet and the guide of this Gemini lunation) in harmonious rapport with our social planets, Jupiter and Saturn in Capricorn.  Both Jupiter and Saturn are now in the last leg of their journey through Cardinal Earth, where they have been joining with Pluto all year for the massive renovations of our societal structures.  On December Solstice, they meet in the 1^st degree of Aquarius for their Great Conjunction…ushering in an era of elemental air conjunctions after a long stretch of earth focus.  But we’re not quite in the Era of Air just yet.  The Mercury sextile provides us with some useful information from the depths of Scorpio waters.  Something that has been hidden in the subconscious realms of our Collective Mind is coming to the surface to be worked out before we move on from these Capricorn lessons.  A helpful way to tap into this sextile is to communicate your observations with others.  Also, the Capricorn-Scorpio sextile can be helpful in moving one step at a time with a thought or idea.  In a Neptunian fog, this can be very useful.

Another subtle sextile opportunity arising at this time is that Mars in Aries is inspiring us to move forward again.  Because this is an applying sextile and trine to the Lunar Nodes, our inspiration to work with the Collective Soul’s needs will grow over the next couple weeks.  In this Full Moon, we may catch a glimpse of what we are building toward. 

The harmonious sextile and trine from Chiron Rx to the luminaries is also a helpful healing influence during this eclipse.  The Chiron aspects to the luminaries are fleeting, and already on the wane, but are still accessible in the Full Moon opening of this Eclipse Portal.  Wounding from the past may find healing in the future if its cast into the eclipse cauldron to transform. 

But aside from the very apparent dynamic of Neptune’s mystification, and the subtle harmonies offering opportunity for relief, there is also a waning Venus-Uranus Rx opposition still working seemingly unrelated and strange magic behind the scenes during this eclipse.  And though we may not currently see how the inconjunct aspects to our luminaries apply to this aperture of Eclipse magic, their Strangelove vibration is part of the integration of these lessons.  The exaction of this Venus-Uranus Rx opposition was a few days ago…and whatever new, out-of-the-box observation about love or finances came up this past week will want to be integrated (however uncomfortable, it brings unexpected growth).

'Psyche Opening
the Golden Box'
by John William Waterhouse

It is good to keep in mind the way of Gemini in this Sagittarius Season, not just because this is a Gemini Full Moon (though that’s a very good reason) but also because her North Node has been and will continue to be in Gemini for many months to come.  North Node represents the Collective Soul’s evolutionary needs…what we are taking in for our growth though it is not what we’re used to.  The North Node journey through Gemini asks us to follow our curiosity and fascination.  We may be taking in a lot of new information (Gemini North Node) as we release some old reasons and beliefs (Sagittarius South Node).  As we do this, we feel drawn to communicate with fellow souls when our paths cross.  Because this Lunar Eclipse takes place near the North Node, what is calling us now is to allow Psyche to speak through curiosity.  The asteroid Psyche is conjunct the North Node and strengthening in influence right now.  Her Heroine’s Journey is guiding our Collective Soul Journey throughout this Eclipse Season. 

 

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

New Moon in Scorpio: Entering the Charnel Grounds

 

New Moon in Scorpio:  Entering the Charnel Grounds

Moon conjunct Sun- 11/14/20 @ 11:07pm CST

 

“What you resist not only persists, but it will grow in size.” -Carl Jung

 

As we lead into another eclipse season, Moon conjoins Sun at perigee (where she is closer to Earth in her orbit).  Not only is she closer to us (and more intensely felt), but she is also in a sign that is counter-intuitive to her naturally protective and comforting emotional nature.  Scorpio is a path of complexity, intensity, and extremity.  What is safe, relaxing, and predictable is of little concern on this path.  Scorpio often pushes us to the edges of what we fear most…so that we may find the deeper truth of it and transform.  Along the Scorpio path, that which must die is brought to the charnel grounds to decompose.

Not a pretty picture to open with…but bear with me, I was born under a Scorpio Moon.  It’s almost impossible for me to unsee what is dying of our former lives still walking around and interacting as if it is immortal.  It will not ‘go gentle into that goodnight’…mostly because many of us have been conditioned to fear death as an absolute end.  We hold on to even that which hurts us or holds us back from truly living.  Scorpio teaches that death is necessary and leads to regeneration.

This Scorpio New Moon is in a sextile to Jupiter, Pallas Athene, and Pluto in Capricorn.  The sextile provides an opportunity to begin this lunar cycle with some wise insight about where we need to transform.  By now, as Saturn, Jupiter, and Pallas wrap up some of their last lessons of sustainability in Capricorn (eventually leaving Pluto to continue the transformation process in cardinal earth)…we have witnessed the bare bones of our societal structures being rattled and tested by the force of natural law.  It has been undeniable and unavoidable.  But on the personal level, each one of us is feeling our own necessity to change as well.  Step by step, we are transforming in our own ways.  Some have a harder time with this process than others.  But really, none of it is easy.  It involves so much letting go of what we have previously relied upon.  It requires a great deal of trust in the unknown, and as much patience as we can muster.

There is likely an inclination to fall back into suppression of our feelings so that we can power through all that is being asked of us now.  The feelings are so intense, many will fear they will only further complicate the process and bring us into states where all control is lost.  In Scorpio season, we tend to cling to a desire to control things.  And yet, Scorpio shows us our hidden power to transform when we let go of our desire to control.  That’s a scary lesson for most people to accept.

We often hear that what we resist persists.  But the other part of that quote from Jung, that what we resist also grows, is a large part of the theme of this New Moon sextile Jupiter.  Jupiter, the planet of expansion, amplifies things.  So if we’re trying to suppress our complicated feelings right now…they are bound to grow, eventually erupting from under the surface of that suppression.  Pallas Athene suggests the best strategy is to have a solid emotional outlet.

What might be most suppressed right now is what is coming from Eris in Aries, who squares the Capricorn planets and is in an uncomfortable quincunx with our luminaries in Scorpio.  Feeling unseen, unheard, and unappreciated…Eris, Goddess of Discord, is tapping the masses to sound the ‘Devil’s Tri-tone’ and unleash their chaotic fury.  This has been a recurring theme all year with Eris squared by the Capricorn Council, but the protests continue to evolve into new territories…some more chaotic than others.  Whether we act on it visibly or not, everyone’s feeling that chaos in some way in their own lives.  Eris’s call in Aries has really always been about integrity…but integrity is often challenged when pitted against established societal structures.  Even worse when we are conditioned to be pitted against each other so the establishment can maintain business as usual while we fight amongst ourselves.

 

As Mars, traditional ruler of both Aries and Scorpio, has been retrograding through Aries and recently slowed down to station direct…I have been pondering the Mars-Eris connection and what it has been bringing up lately.  In this New Moon, I feel it is an appropriate time to share my thoughts on this.  The following is something I’ve been writing about lately…

 

Eris, Uninvited

 

In a world gone mad, Discord makes herself known.  She’s not just lurking in dark corners…she is crashing every party that wasn’t expecting her.  Her reputation of stirring up chaos and strife precedes her…but there is much overlooked about the Goddess Eris.  It is when she is overlooked or ignored that she wreaks havoc on what we guarded as our comfort zone. 

In Astronomy and Astrology, we were introduced to Eris in 2005, though this celestial body wasn’t named after the Goddess of Strife and Discord until 2006.  Eris is well known in her mythological storyline for shaking up the order of things…and her discovery led to Pluto being ‘demoted’ to ‘dwarf planet’ status along with her.  Not only was she uninvited to the planetary party by Astronomers, the threat of her importance took Pluto down as well.  Neither Eris nor Pluto will be exiled without a fight, and this year has been one to remember as they square each other multiple times.

'Eris, Goddess of Chaos' by Emily Balivet

Since her discovery, we Astrologers have become more and more acquainted with Eris.  We see the beauty in her chaos…there is great purpose in it.  When we’re ignoring the integral things that seem too complicated to deal with, too outside of our comfort zone, too threatening to our complacency and convenience…Eris arrives to cut through the very fabric of falsity we enable.  In tatters after her blow, we can finally see our true self and what we are really meant to do.  Eris isn’t subtle, though she often creeps up on us unannounced.

And humanity was in a state of complacency before this rising state of emergency alerted us to what has been out of integrity all along.  No matter how many times we’ve gotten her message since Eris let herself be known to us…we still kept falling back into complacency after the dust would settle.  Rejection after rejection, Eris’s message has by now reached a fever pitch in 2020. 

Slow as her faraway orbit is, the vast majority of people alive today were born with Eris in the cardinal fire sign of Aries.  This is a sign ruled by Eris’s brother (Ares/Mars), whom she would join on the battlefield to ensure that justice was served.  She’s quite powerful here in Mars’s fire sign, and is acknowledged with respect as a fierce warrioress by her brother.  Perhaps this is part of why she spends more of her 560 year cycle in Aries than in any other sign.  Like Mars, she has a lot of agency in cardinal fire.

Mars has been enjoying an extended stay in his home sign this year too, retrograding through the last half of the Aries degrees lately.  From August through October, Mars has made conjunctions with Eris…calling upon her warrioress gifts to aid him in the battle this year.  This has strengthened Eris’s presence in our collective awareness along with discordant square aspects activating her from the Capricorn Council. 

And what interests me most, since I was born in 1982, is that this Mars Retrograde in Aries has been either doubly or triply activating the natal Eris of each person born in the last 38 years.  Really, for most of us under 80 years old…we’ve been at least twice within the orb of influence with Mars activating our natal Eris.  Mars stationed direct at 15 degrees of Aries on November 13^th, the very same degree Eris was in between 1982-1987.  When anything contacts our personal Eris degree, it stirs up whatever has been keeping us out of integrity with our purpose.  The discord becomes more pronounced internally so that we feel we have to do something about it. 

And at this Scorpio New Moon, which follows both the final Jupiter-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn and Mars’s direct station in Aries, all signs point to a big change toward greater integrity with our soul’s path.  Perhaps if we actually invite Eris to the party, rather than shunning her out of fear for what chaos might ensue, she’ll help us grow through our discomfort.

 

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

Full Moon in Taurus: Samhain Illumination

 

Full Moon in Taurus:  Samhain Illumination

Moon opposite Sun- 10/31/20 @ 9:49am CDT

 

“Those who have died have never, never left.

The dead are not under the earth.

They are in the rustling trees,

They are in the groaning woods,

They are in the crying grass,

They are in the moaning rocks.”

-‘Breaths’ by Sweet Honey in the Rock

 

This Full Moon ushers in Witches’ New Year, and we begin what we call ‘the time which is no time’ from now till Solstice.  For those of us who celebrate it as such, the Full Moon closest to the Scorpio cross-quarter is known as ‘Lunar Samhain’, which just so happens to fall on Halloween this year.  There are few subtleties of cosmic timing in 2020, you may have noticed. 

Samhain Greetings from the Kavi House

And though the seasonal cross-quarter (‘Solar Samhain’, when Sun reaches the midpoint of Scorpio) is on Friday, November 6^th…Lunar Samhain initiates this week where the Otherworld is in closest contact with us.  Stepping beyond the veil of sensory consciousness, we invite the Ancestors in for an extraordinary celebration of life and death on Earth.  We may communicate with them, we may feast with them, we may put on costumes and perform for their amusement, we may pay our respects to the dead in ceremony.  No matter what you do, or don’t do, to celebrate this time of year…the vibration of this Full Moon will be felt one way or another.  Don’t let it spook you.  Seeing more ‘trick’ than ‘treat’ right now is part of the vibe this year.  However, the blessings far outweigh the unfortunate events surrounding us.  

'Taurus' by Cynthia Sheppard

Moon loves being cloaked in the earthy comforts of Venusian Taurus…and here she is, in full, to show herself in exaltation.  But at this Lunar Samhain, she is closely conjunct Uranus Retrograde.  This stirs many surprises into the cauldron of our High Priestess, Luna.  It is an improvised recipe bubbling within this strange brew when Uranus Rx is in the mix.  Since Uranus has been traveling through Taurus (May 2018), this earth sign has not felt as stable and dependable as it often is.  There is an electricity surging through solid earth…that’s what Uranus in Taurus feels like.  All of our sudden changes for 2 and a half years (so far) have been pushing us through our own resistance to change drastically.  It isn’t the easiest sign for Uranus to express, but no matter.  Innovation, currently through retrograde renovation, is inevitable where we least expect it for the next several years.  In the way of Taurus, you can’t force a flower to bloom until it is ready.  But with Uranus here, you also can’t resist the acceleration of awakening.  So where we see our strongest resistance, we may also see our necessity to change. 

And this is quite like Death…unpredictable, often sudden, not what we’d expect even if we thought we’d had a pretty good grasp on it.  Tis the Scorpio Season where we either greet or hide from Death, decay, darkness, loss, and transformation.  I choose to greet the season with open arms toward all that is dying and all that have passed beyond the veil.  And this year…there were so many deaths.  It seems fitting we have such cosmic synchronicity to attune us to the wisdom of the departed.  It is so apparent that we need their assistance to navigate this coming season as much as we need each other. 

Scorpio medicine, which Sun illuminates while conjunct the asteroid Astraea, is the path that brings us to the edges of what we have felt to find deeper truth beyond the liminal spaces.  This is a path of transformation and regeneration, brought forth through emotional catharsis.  It can feel intense, because it requires us to be ‘all in’ to reap the rewards of rebirth, even through the pain of separation.  It is Mars’s domain, where cutting away that which must die is the way to move forward. 

Astraea, the Star Maiden of Justice, may straddle that threshold…both aiding the transformation of what is being composted and what is being seeded for the coming year.  Astraea’s strength is in her compassion and her fairness.  Her influence right now tells us we must learn when to let go, but with grace and gratitude for what it was meant to be for its time. 

'Vesta' by Pamela Matthews

We also have a Grand Earth Trine with Taurus Moon-Uranus Rx as she harmonizes with the asteroids Vesta in Virgo and Hekate in Capricorn.  This creates a pattern called a ‘Kite’ with Sun-Astraea as the watery anchor for the earthy flow.  This kite vibration allows for creative manifestations rooted in the depths of our feelings.  Vesta the Priestess is the Guardian of the Sacred Flame, Goddess of hearth and home.  Hekate the Mother of Witches is Guardian of the Crossroads, Goddess of magic and night.  Together in harmony with this Uranian Full Moon at Samhain, they invite us Earthlings into a Sacred Passageway.  When we approach a passage, the soul of us calls out for ritual.  We may do this in varied ways during this time (which is ‘no time’)…but when we do this with reverence for the dead and gratitude for our Ancestors, we are fully supported.

'Hekate' by Kaysha Siemens

 

You don’t have to be a witch to do this, though many of us are.  Everyone has Ancestors and loved ones who have passed.  You may call it Halloween and think of candy, costumes, and creepy creatures first.  But Halloween has sacred origins, too.  Even the candy, costumes, and creepy creatures are part of the Rite. 

So, whether you’ve ever done something special in the past for this holiday or not…this particular one is uniquely magical.  You may simply find your awareness pulled toward the Moon on this night.  You might have already felt this as she’s traveled past Mars this week…and you’ll likely continue to be drawn to her brilliance in the days following the Full Moon.  Lady Luna is a visible reflection of what is wide awake within us now.  Sing to her, dance with her, bless the way she guides us toward swift change in her monthly cycles.  Join us witches in drawing her reflection down to our Earth, bathing in the radiance of her exaltation.  There is much to celebrate, even during the heavy chaos of this year.  And really, we could all benefit from a little magic right now.

Remember your Ancestors, and blessed be.

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

New Moon in Libra: Patience in our Impatience

 

'Woman Holding a Balance' by Johannes Vermeer

New Moon in Libra:  Patience in our Impatience

Moon conjunct Sun- 10/16/20 @ 2:31pm CDT

 

Satisfaction, success, peace, and the ‘Aha’ moments of our lives are the very things that shift us into who we are as humans.  But they don’t happen every day.  For some, they don’t happen very often at all.  Sometimes it just is what it is, and sometimes we’re actually missing opportunities to shine.  In the latter case, we’re almost always standing in our own way to achieving the many things that make us happy with ourselves. 

And so we become frustrated, bitter, angry, and disappointed with ourselves or the world around us (often both).  For many, these dissatisfied feelings are more frequent and obvious.  It’s especially obvious because it often hurts to feel them.  We can’t miss what hurts. 

And, depending on the circles of voices you surround yourself with, you may hear so often how you have the power to manifest anything with intention at any time.  The truth is, not everyone is wired with that Manifestor Magic.  Most of us have different, but equally important, magical wiring.  Most of us have to wait for invitations to respond with our magic.  Some very lunar beings have to wait a moon cycle.

And in this culture of convenience…patience is a lost art. 

I bring all this up because we are all wanting to manifest dramatic changes in our lives and in our world…even those who want a change against these growing changes so that things can stay the same. And pretty much everyone is dissatisfied on some level…with the state of the world, with humanity, with ourselves.

For those who follow Astrological transits, we can see this tension pool into the heavy emphasis of the Capricorn Council at this New Moon…creating a sharp edge that demands a big structural change to outmoded operating systems.  The Capricorn Council (especially Saturn, Pluto, and Jupiter) have had a weighty influence on this year already.  And now they’re at the apex of a Cardinal T-square with Retrograde Mars-Eris in Aries and our luminaries in Libra.  We humans notice the frequency of squares, especially in activating Cardinal signs, whether we have technical terms for the feeling or not.  We notice them because, often, they hurt in some way.  They create enough dissonance with ourselves to provoke a change.  And creating a change to alleviate the clash is really the point of the squares…the dissonance itself is actually the invitation we’ve been waiting for.

'The Magdalen with the Smoking Flame'
by Georges de la Tour

So while our frustrated efforts to push forth our will to act have been getting many of us down lately…this Libra New Moon opposite the Retrogrades of Aries invites us to be patient in our impatience.  Mars Retrograde in his own sign shows us that there’s a perspective on activity that we’ve been missing in all our rushing.  And this Libra New Moon illuminates how peace grows patiently from a seed.  In these newly planted perspectives, there is also the death of old ones that we are asked to make peace with.  The amplified death cries of what is on its way out are so loud now and full of fight that it appears as if they are getting worse…getting out of hand…getting stubbornly fixed into the very fabric of who we are as humans.  This is an illusion.  What is real is that everything is changing.  We’ll all look back on 2020 as a crucial turning point between the way things were and what we were meant to become.

So, the opposition to this Libra New Moon clues us in that we may get increasingly frustrated in this long process of change we’re moving through.  Libra, full of consideration for others, teaches us to not react out of anger when we feel frustrated by having to weigh things out before we respond.  Consider that we are all feeling some level of this personally…even those you don’t want to relate with as human beings.  Libra New Moon points to the purpose of relating. 

In every New Moon, we don’t see Luna in our sky.  A potential is born from this darkness, but it takes some days to grow into our awareness.  If you notice you have been feeling frustrated, or continue to feel frustrated, with your desires being impeded lately…sit with that frustration.  Feel it.  Let it wash over you and finally dissipate…every time it arises.  It is not your natural state of being…it is a momentary indicator to realign.  No matter how long, or how many times, it takes.  This is how we adapt in these hard times.  This is how we make peace with our feelings.  We feel it so that it may move us onward. 

Things we couldn’t possibly plan for are coming our way in this lunar phase.  Some may seem good, some may seem not so good.  Ultimately, it’s all neutral…but still shocking.  Mercury (the Collective Mind) has just stationed retrograde in Scorpio a few days ago…and is now moving back into opposition with Uranus Rx in Taurus, the planet of Group Awakening.  By the Full Moon in Taurus (Oct. 31^st), these Uranian surprises will be fully illuminated, fully felt.  So taking the time now to rest in our potential for peace in these times of great change, as the Libra seed of this year is planted, is crucial to our adaptability in whatever changes are coming.  And with this New Moon at Libra 24, the Sabian Symbol is ‘a third wing on the left side of a butterfly’.  The very symbol carries the imagery of one of our most transformative (Pluto) creature teachers with a surprising and unique (Uranus) adaptation. 

And because Libra is a Venusian air sign, allow yourself some time to connect with others who help you to feel at peace with yourself and what you are experiencing.  It is true of humans that in our toughest times, we get by with a little help from our friends. 

 

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

 

Full Moon in Aries: The Healer’s Moon

 

'Gift of Healing' by Kirk Reinert

Full Moon in Aries: The Healer’s Moon

Moon opposite Sun- 10/1/20 @ 4:05pm CDT

 

This Full Moon is closely conjunct Chiron Retrograde in Aries, illuminating the wisdom of the Wounded Healer/Mentor archetype.  On September 29^th, about an hour before Mars Retrograde was exactly square with Saturn, the exact opposition between Sun and Chiron occurred.  In these aspects, much of the pain of our identity wounds (Chiron in Aries) was illuminated (Sun in Libra) as we felt the frustration of our will (Mars in Aries) being blocked, stifled, or altogether halted (Saturn in Capricorn).  And the feeling is still present with us, being further reflected upon now as we enter this Full Moon period. 

Where the Full Moon is will show us where our emotional needs can be met now that the initial seed of the New Moon is in full bloom.  And Full Moon in Aries shows us Chiron, the Cosmic Shaman, here to guide us through the healing process of re-membering who we are.  In the Virgo New Moon, we were feeling into the various pieces of what we were starting with in this lunar cycle.  We were discerning between what is essential now and what needed to be discarded to make room for the new we were ushering in.  Now we see, in the full light of Luna’s reflection of Libra Sun, how we have grown into our self-expression.  What is revealed in this lunation is who we are as healers, teachers, mentors, and guides for this larger process of healing that we are all moving through together.  The Healer within is illuminated now…as we heal our own identity wounds to better be able to heal the collective identity wound.

Whatever ‘who am I?’ process you have been going through internally through this Chiron Retrograde has reached a point of illumination now.  We are more conscious now of our own innate abilities to heal from whatever has fractured our sense of self in the past.  Chiron may bring up other healers, teachers, and guides into our awareness surrounding this time…yet, we now understand how crucial our own part in our healing is.  Aries energy teaches self-reliance and integrity…so this Chiron Full Moon illuminates the integral role we each play in the healing process (within and without).

To learn more about the themes of Chiron in Aries, you may want to retrograde back to when Chiron entered Aries in 2018.  Here is my post from that time:  Chiron in Aries:  Heal Thyself.

And if you missed this interview from June of this year, where Stormie Grace and I explored the many facets of the Chiron journey, it will help to illuminate the main themes of this Full Moon.

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

 

New Moon in Virgo: Intelligent Design

 

Art by Cameron Gray

New Moon in Virgo:  Intelligent Design

Moon conjunct Sun- 9/17/2020 @ 6:00am CDT

 

This Virgo New Moon reflects a critical turning point in our Collective Soul experience of this year, as it is square to the lunar nodes (at the ‘Northern Bending’).  Something new is seeded here that is expressed in outer events.  With Virgo’s attention to detail and organization…one can hope that whatever we’re all taking in at this time will provide some much-needed discernment (or help us ‘get our shit together’, if you like). 

In many instances, outward choices look pretty grim to most on either side.  How do you separate the wheat from the chaff when what we’re handed is mostly all chaff?  We’re going to need something new to consider.  If everything still looks to be all ‘same-old, same-old’ during this lunar cycle…a shift of perspective may be in order.  After all, both Saturn and Pluto will be stationing direct in Capricorn during this cycle (and Mercury will station retrograde in Scorpio before this cycle ends and the next New Moon begins).

This shift holds true both on the collective level as well as the personal, though it may be more apparent on one level than the other (depending on which you are more focused on right now).  On the personal level, you may be feeling the necessity of making an important choice between what you’ve grown used to (whether you have grown to like it or not) and the unknown new (whether you think you’ll like it or not).  This is where Virgo discernment comes into play to start us off with a well-examined feeling.  What feeling is predominant right now in your experience?  Begin to strip it down to ‘brass tacks’.  What is it made of?  How does it function (or dysfunction)?  And if the need is there, how can you tweak it to a frequency that is more efficient for you?

 

New Moon in Virgo 26

Sabian Symbol:  ‘A boy with a censer’

 

Art by Elizaveta Galitskaya

This specific degree of Virgo illuminates the purposeful rituals we do in service to what is greater than us.  In performing these rituals, however small they (and we) may be, it acknowledges the sacred within the mundane.  It attunes us to the Cosmic Order.  We are more conscious, then, of how our individual efforts influence the whole…and how the whole influences us.

You can be very literal here, as Virgo does incline that, and light some incense to purify your New Moon intentions.  You can also consider what sensory input you are infusing into your body and mind at this time.  Virgo also inclines holistic health consciousness. 

 

The Seed of the Cycle

 

'Virgo' from Cyril Rolando's Dancing Zodiac

Essentially, Virgo Medicine guides us toward intelligent design.  I don’t mean our anthropocentric (human-centric) ideas of intelligence.  I mean the kind of intelligence you can observe in plants, where it is the root tip that learns the best path for growth.  ‘Down and in’ intelligence.  We humans are a bit backwards with our brains so far from the ground.  We would do well to recognize the many forms of intelligence outside ourselves.

If we are in accordance with the lunar energies, we are seeding something at each New Moon (whether we are conscious of it or not).  If we are seeding something, the first thing sent forth from that seed is the embryonic root (the ‘radicle’)…essentially the nourishing intelligence that moves downward/inward, feeling our way toward what will sustain us.  We are rooting each New Moon seed within ourselves first, before the shoot can sprout upward and grow outward as the Moon waxes…and bear fruit from full to waning. 

To help this New Moon seed along, our luminaries form a trine to Saturn Retrograde in Capricorn.  Capricorn is the nocturnal domicile of Saturn (down-and-in expression of Saturn at home).  Saturn’s Retrograde, already at the degree of the direct station (exact on 9/29), is at the most inward part of the retrograde journey…the very lesson we needed to return to before we can move forward on our commitment to Aquarius expression. 

Saturn’s just making sure we got the point of Capricorn this year.  And much as we’re pleading, ‘alright already, we get the point!’…we actually haven’t, and that’s why we retrograde.  It’s not a bad thing, just a necessary thing.  And now we’re back to whatever Saturn lesson we neglected in February this year.  Perhaps we should commit to it this time around.  Saturn often teaches in ‘shoulds’, after all.

And though Mars and Eris (both retrograde) have been squaring off lately with the Capricorn Council (especially Saturn-Pluto, both retrograde), there is this ease of earthy energy happening between this New Moon and Saturn.   It provides a steady flow of practical magic to sustain us throughout this cycle.  We only need to give it welcoming ground to take root.  What grows from such an invitation is infused with Saturn’s commitment to sustainability and solid structure. 

 

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

 

Full Moon in Pisces: Opportunities for Inspired Work

 

Painting by George H. Lewis

Full Moon in Pisces:  Opportunities for Inspired Work

Moon opposite Sun- 9/2/20 @ 12:21am CDT

 

Welcome to the Harvest Moon, Northern Earthlings!  Welcome to the Seed Moon, Southern Earthlings!  This is the time where, no matter the hemisphere we call home, Luna illuminates the sacred in the work we are doing for our Earth. 

At the New Moon of this cycle, we were kissed by the Muse but unable to see around the barriers for a direct outlet to shine.  Now we have a clear opportunity to use the inspiration that has been building…even with those barriers still present.  It’s tricky, but perhaps we’ve learned a trick or two while attempting to integrate our ‘needs’ with our ‘musts’ through the waxing moon.

'Out of the Box' by Reuben Howard

The opportunity illuminated now, which can set us up well for the waning phase to come, is from Uranus Retrograde in Taurus.  This planet of sudden innovation, moving with an alternative perspective in the Venusian fixed earth, is inviting us to step out of the box.  In good rapport with the luminary opposition, Uranus can provide the nudge we need to get our inspiration flowing.  From Pisces Moon to Virgo Sun, the illumination is about service and how we marry the details of our mundane efforts with the larger story. 

Virgo Sun reminds us that even the minutia of our mundane lives holds the sacred within it.  When woven with care and conscious attention, the tapestry of what we are creating in each day reflects the cosmic order of all things.  Pisces Moon reflects that earthen wisdom with a mystical and watery flow.  Moon whispers, ‘remember the symbiosis between the microcosm and the macrocosm…dream your inspiration into being.’

Of course, many may be ambivalent to this call.  Even with Uranus bringing a jolt of opportunity, it’s still more subtle than the cardinal square energy of this time.  Venus, Mars, and Saturn Retrograde are in a dynamic T-Square now…and a somewhat ‘punchy’ Mars in Aries is at the apex, activated to respond to the tension.  That’s not a dynamic we can ignore…and it feels more necessary to address. 

But what Uranus Retrograde is suggesting is, ‘let’s address these oppositions with something we haven’t tried yet.’  The whole theme of this lunation seems to be pointing to the urge to ‘get creative’.  And the Uranian version of that is often something unconventional.  The conventional use of Mars in Aries dynamics is to get angry and burn through something quickly.  It’s an unchecked reaction that is pretty common for humans to employ when things get frustrating.  It inevitably leads to burnout at best…and battle-hunger at worst.  But Mars is also approaching a retrograde station…with the imperative looming to slow down to a halt and shift gears by September 9^th.  How can we, too, slow down when everything seems so pressing?  Well, what haven’t you tried yet?  There is an alternative route awaiting our response…one that gives an option for our creativity to shine.

What’s the subtle call that awakens the dream for you?

'Awakening Gaia' by Minjae Lee

 

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

New Moon in Leo: The Fire’s Flow and the Blindspot of Societal Timing

 

'Kiss of the Muse' by Alex Grey

New Moon in Leo:  The Fire’s Flow and the Blindspot of Societal Timing

Moon conjunct Sun- 8/18/20 @ 9:41pm CDT

 

“Every creative act inspires every other creative act.” -Alex Grey

 

In the seed phase of this Harvest Moon cycle (which would be the seed of the Seed Moon for our Southern Hemisphere family), there is a fiery undercurrent of creativity flowing within this beginning.  Since we are starting this Harvest cycle with a grand trine in fire signs, the fire will be prominent and subdued all at once.  It’s not so much a raging fire, more like the first cracklings of a campfire…the first feelings of warmth in the dark. 

'Sacred Flame' by Jia Lu

The Grand Trine holds some interesting players in harmonic flow: 

Moon-Sun-Mercury in Leo

Mars-Eris Rx in Aries

South Lunar Node-Galactic Center-Osiris-Isis Rx in Sagittarius

Each point of the fire triangle is connected to harmonious mythic pairings through the celestial bodies at play.  The Moon and Sun, our luminaries.  Mars and Eris, warrior siblings in the Greco-Roman pantheon.  Osiris and Isis, married siblings of the Egyptian pantheon.  There is something there about partnership in all forms being supportive of the creativity being birthed in this cycle.

Trines are easy flowing vibrations…sometimes overlooked because there is often something more dynamic gripping our attention.  The key to making good use of this creative Fire is in the Gemini North Lunar Node, which makes a ‘Kite’ pattern with this Grand Trine.  In Gemini, North Node is the directive of the Collective Soul to take in nourishment through absorbing new information with a willingness to learn.  For more about this, see ‘The Dragon’s Flight into the Gemini-Sagittarius Axis’.

And still…even with this creative, soaring Kite aspect pattern…this New Moon highlights a blindspot (quincunx aspect of 150 degrees) with Saturn Rx in Capricorn.  This same blindspot is growing into a dynamic square with Mars, adding to the discomfort steering our attention away from the flow.

To me, it felt like an overwhelming ‘not enough time to create right now’ vibe…which has an irritating (but not an ‘emergency’) feel.  It’s like when you have a lot you meant to do, but you didn’t get any sleep (which was true in my case).  Saturn is the Roman name of Kronos, the Greek God of Time (where we get words like ‘chronology’ and ‘chronic’).  Instead of flowing in the creativity of this time, many of us felt like we had to work on and monitor the structure of things set up for us by outside forces instead.  Of course, it was likely it was so apparent to me in this way because transiting Saturn is conjunct my Midheaven (high noon of my natal chart).

But yes, we should discuss the ‘blindspot’ of the quincunx aspect to unpack what was going on here at the start of this new cycle…because we’ll be working with it throughout too.  The quincunx is considered a ‘non-aspect’ in Astrology.  Because the word ‘aspect’ refers to how the planets see each other…a non-aspect means they don’t see each other.  So, when New Moon is in a quincunx with Saturn…they don’t work so well together because they can’t see each other’s point-of-view.  There’s little in common between the fixed fire sign of Leo and the cardinal earth sign of Capricorn.  They express in very different ways.  So, the tendency with a quincunx is to feel like we need to compartmentalize the two because they aren’t working together.  And yet, the very thing we need to do is integrate both in efforts to bring growth from that discomfort. 

So, the Leo energy wants us to create…to play…to enjoy and celebrate life.  It’s the Sun’s sign…a time to shine.  And the Capricorn energy wants us to do the work needed…to be mature and responsible…to achieve something substantial.  It’s Saturn’s sign…an influence of wise restraint, endurance through obstacles, and sustainability.

This ‘uncomfortable growth’ aspect was never more apparent than today…when my son had his first day of Remote Learning with his Kindergarten class.  In the living room he is used to covering in train tracks, legos, and various other toys for his amusement…a desk, a chair, an Ipad, and school materials were set up as an attempt at a structured learning environment.  The first day felt like quincunx energy, as both teachers and students (and let’s be honest, the parents too) tried to be patient with figuring out how to do this effectively.  There were fails…but irritating as they may have been, they were also learning experiences for all involved. 

And here, we also had this Kite with a Fire Trine tugging gently at us…coaxing the kids to play instead of sit and wait for things that were largely too advanced to be interesting to them.  Imagine 20 kids learning basic conference call courtesy like keeping themselves muted so the teacher can be heard and understood.  Yeah, they weren’t all going to get it on the first day.  During Library time, the Librarian read a few stories that nobody heard because multiple kids were unmuted.  Instead, Felix sat bored while listening to the dissonant sounds of many households (and one daycare) having multiple things going on at once.  One parent was working from home at the same time, on a phone call.  One kid was sitting next to her older sibling who was on her own Ipad…so we heard a bit of her teacher explaining something.  A few kids were just playing with their toys, talking to themselves.  What we couldn’t hear was the librarian…we couldn’t even see her book on the video.  It was a bit chaotic (thank you, Eris).

That’s the quincunx.  Saturn, the Librarian, trying to read us a story and help us learn something while the kids (the luminaries and the fire trine) just wanted to play and draw.  Beyond the slight irritation of it…there was some humor in it, which is often important to lean on in times of ‘everything is slightly off’.  The creative teachings of humor are both sustainable in trying times (Capricorn) and playful (Leo).  Perhaps this is how we can best integrate things that don’t quite see each other in the month ahead. 

Whatever your experience with this New Moon, give it a couple of weeks for the light within it to grow. It will be worth it.

 

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi