Mercury Retrograde in Aquarius

 

'Free Your Mind' by Catrin Welz-Stein

Mercury Retrograde in Aquarius

1/30/21 – 2/20/21

 

How does Mercury express in Aquarius?

 

Mercury in the fixed air of Aquarius sends messages in waves that connect through networks of people.  This can link us telepathically, often to greater understanding of our social systems.  These days, such a ‘communal bath’ for the collective mind tends to come through the internet (and especially our social media outlets)…where we have the opportunity to instantaneously share our unique gifts as individuals while we connect to our global community. 

The World Wide Web was first introduced to us when Saturn was last in Aquarius, and now that Saturn is in Aquarius again…this invention is approaching its Saturn Return.  When we go through our first Saturn Return (around the age of 29), we are often tasked with the many responsibilities of reaching full-blown adulthood.  It is a Rite of Passage where we must commit to something with newfound maturity and carry it through for the next few decades of our lives.  For us humans, by the age of 29, we have gone through a series of tests where we confront the concept of Authority outside of ourselves, only to return to the Authority within ourselves.  It will be interesting to see how this will play out with the Internet, a non-human entity that humans so often use.  And Mercury in Aquarius will likely be including this as part of the collective retrograde story this time around. 

Of course, any form of connection with community (especially when using your individual gifts for a common goal) is linked to this Mercury in Aquarius energy.  But technological innovation does speed up the process of Group Consciousness.  Keep in mind that this energy does not dissolve our differences to make us just like everyone else.  More often, it combines many unique viewpoints and shares them in ways that inform our world with whatever group dynamics we create together.  So Mercury in Aquarius inclines us to be more consciousof what we’re contributing to the group or community.  We may be asking ourselves, ‘how does this thing that sets me apart from others actually offer something integral to my community?’

 

What is the purpose of a Mercury Retrograde?

 

Mercury, the Messenger, has a gift for storytelling.  The Mercurial function is to spell the message out in various ways to get the point across…usually from point A (let’s say that’s you) to point B (let’s say that’s me).  But in transit, bearing the collective message, sometimes Mercury loops or zig-zags back and forth from point A to point B three times.  It is a message so important that it needs repeating from multiple perspectives.   A Mercury Retrograde expands the message into a 3-part storyline.    

From my view as an Astrology Writer, Mercury’s first direct pass of the coming retrograde degrees is the Prologue of the story.  During this time (January 15-30), Mercury introduces us to the world and the main characters of the story.  There are hints of what is to come, but much of the detail is left out.  Mercury catches our attention, and promises to reveal more throughout the retrograde.  It is a time where, because we were speeding along in our everyday lives, Mercury invites us to slow down and pay attention to something we all zipped past without giving much time for thought.

Mercury Retrograde, the heart of the story, is the Deep Think we all need (multiple times a year).  This part of the story begins during Mercury’s station…when our Messenger planet appears to slow down to a halt and change directions in our sky.  This, of course, only appears so from our view on Earth…which is why these messages are so poignant to us Earthlings.  Mercury is also closer to us in proximity during retrogrades, so it feels more like an intimate Storytime for all of us.  And the closer the degrees to our natal storyline by dynamic aspect, the more we take in the story as it inspires us on a personal level. 

Because this is true, it means that the lessons contained within each retrograde storyline are not always so specific to us.  But they will be specific and personal to many…so the more we interact with others during this time, the more we can learn of the message.  Contrary to popular belief, Mercury Retrograde is not a time to hide under a rock and cease all communications.  Our connections bring out more meaning to the story.  However, there is definitely an inward journey happening during any retrograde.  And with Mercury as the guide, there is great potential to shift our inward thought patterns into unexplored territory. 

Throughout this apparent backtrack through what was hinted at in Mercury’s Prologue, every aspect (new or repeated) is given a fuller description.  There is time to go deeper and develop a different perspective on the story.  It becomes more meaningful to us…just as a reader falls in love with or increasingly identifies with a character.  We become more engaged with the story.  We are immersed in it.  Mercury has a multitude of gifts for keeping our attention stimulated throughout. 

Within the Retrograde storyline, there is an Interior Conjunction between Sun and Mercury that plants the new thoughtseed within each of us that grows, gives, and composts through the rest of Mercury’s cycle.  In a way, this is the main point of the retrograde…to finish one cycle of thought so another can replace it.  However, the Retrograde story doesn’t end here.

The Retrograde concludes when Mercury carries our awareness all the way back to the degree where we missed something important as the Prologue began.  This happens during Mercury’s direct station.  The Messenger planet once again slows down to a halt and shifts directions…but not before pointing us to a priceless message we need to retrieve and integrate for ourselves.

The Epilogue, where Mercury describes the events in the story after all plotlines are revealed, is the 2^nd direct pass of the degrees Mercury has traveled thrice.  During this time (2/20 – 3/12), we are offered an opportunity to integrate the meaning of this story into our lives.  The events that play out during the epilogue are signals on how to move forward with what we retrieved of the meaning. 

 

How do I know if this Retrograde relates to me personally?

 

Not everyone speaks the language of Astrology, I get that.  There are ways to learn these things…but most prefer to just consult an Astrologer for such advice.  That is my job, and I love it.  However, I was born in the Aries season so I also tend to champion the way of self-reliance.  If you’d rather learn to fish, I’m willing to teach that.  But since I have a mixed group of readers and clients (from novices to professionals), I’ll include more detail than the general information.  I was born at Mercury Cazimi (the Exterior Conjunction of Sun and Mercury) after all, so ‘show and tell’ is a big part of my personal toolkit. 

If you are familiar enough with your natal chart, you can first look to the part of your chart where Aquarius 12 – 27 is.  This will show you the area of life (the Astrological House) where this story will be set.  For example, this retrograde takes place in my 10^th House…the House of Career and Public Contribution.  Then you may notice if you have any planets or angles in this part of your natal chart.  If you do, you will have some distinctly personal lessons throughout this time.  If you don’t have anything in this part of Aquarius, as it is in my case, you’ll see the lessons playing out by other aspects with your natal chart. 

The next thing to look for is whether you have natal planets or angles in any of the other fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, and Scorpio) between 12 – 27 degrees.  It is likely that you do.  So, in this case, Mercury will bring up dynamic square aspects (to Taurus or Scorpio) or a tense balancing act with your personal Leo lessons.  For me, it’s all about the squares to my Taurus Ascendant-Chiron and my Scorpio Moon-Ceres.  In fact, there will be a square between Mercury Retrograde in Aquarius and Mars in Taurus on Feb. 10 that will highlight my exact Ascendant degree.  At that time, I’ll no doubt be pressed to take communicative action in some way.

For those who have it relatively easy, and Mercury is not making any dynamic aspects to your natal energies, you may find trines or sextiles to natal planets in other air or fire signs (Aries, Gemini, Libra, or Sagittarius).  In that rare case of only harmonious aspects, you may find you float along during this time with a great deal of ease where nothing pushes you to engage with this story.  It is possible, then, that you will be the one who falls asleep during this Storytime and you miss the message.  Or, if you do respond to the creative flow and the opportunities this story presents for you, a lot of good can come from your participatory engagement.  Cancer, Virgo, Capricorn, and Pisces are the parts of your chart that might not relate to the Mercury Retrograde storyline much at all (as they are non-aspects to Aquarius)…but it is highly unlikely that everything in your chart is only in those signs. 

And if you want to get really Astro-geeky with me, you may find my outline of Mercury’s retrograde journey to be useful for timing purposes.  I’ve included Sabian Symbols of the degrees that will be highlighted throughout as well…which can give you some clues to the story’s action. 

Keep in mind that the degrees listed are rounded up.  So, where this whole Mercury journey begins in 11.01 Aquarius, it is considered the 12^th degree of Aquarius. 

 

1/15 – 1/30:  Mercury’s Prologue (AQU 12 – 27)

          1/20:  Aquarius Mercury trine Gemini North Node (part 1) (AQU/GEM 20)

Mercury-  ‘a white dove bearing a message’

North Lunar Node-  ‘a cafeteria’

South Lunar Node-  ‘men cut ice for summer use’

1/30:  Mercury stations retrograde (AQU 27)

‘An ancient pottery bowl filled with violets’

1/30 – 2/20:  Mercury’s Retrograde in Aquarius (AQU 27 – 12)

          2/8:  Interior Conjunction of Sun-Mercury (AQU 21)

‘a woman, disappointed and disillusioned, courageously faces a seemingly empty life’

          2/10:  Aquarius MercuryRx trine Gemini North Node (part 2) (AQU/GEM 19)

MercuryRx-  ‘a forest fire quenched’

North Lunar Node-  ‘a large archaic volume reveals traditional wisdom’

South Lunar Node-  ‘pelicans seek safer areas to raise their young’

          2/10:  Aquarius MercuryRx square Taurus Mars (AQU/TAU 18)

                     MercuryRx-  ‘a man’s secret motives are being publicly unmasked’

Mars-  ‘a woman airing an old bag through an open window’

          2/13:  MercuryRx conjunct Venus (AQU 15)

                     ‘two lovebirds on a fence’

          2/14:  MercuryRx conjunct Jupiter (AQU 14)

                     ‘a train entering a tunnel’

2/20:  Mercury stations direct (AQU 12) ‘People on a vast staircase, graduated upwards’

2/20 – 3/12:  Mercury’s Epilogue (AQU 12 – 27)

          3/2:  Aquarius Mercury trine Gemini North Node (part 3) (AQU/GEM 16)

                     Mercury-  ‘a big businessman at his desk’

                     North Lunar Node- ‘a woman activist in an emotional speech’

                     South Lunar Node- ‘seagulls fly around a ship in expectation of food’

          3/4:  Mercury conjunct Jupiter (AQU 18)

                     ‘a man’s secret motives are being publicly unmasked’

 

 

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

Full Moon in Leo: Courageous Expression through the Cutting Edge

 

'The Tightrope Walker' by Roweig

Full Moon in Leo:  Courageous Expression through the Cutting Edge

Moon opposite Sun- 1/28/21 @ 1:16pm CST

 

It is the Full Wolf Moon, when Luna’s call encourages us to express authenticity within the pack.  And since it is a Leo Full Moon, her call also encourages the pride.  Amidst the roars and howls of the collective at this Full Moon, what sound radiates from your heart center?  What do you feel encouraged to express?

Every year, the Full Moon in Leo commands attention…and this year brings a ‘cutting-edge’ quality more dynamic than most.  In a 90 degree square aspect to our luminaries, Mars and Uranus in Taurus are activated.  Taurus is fixed earth, and usually solid…even predictable in its unfolding.  But this combination of Mars-Uranus we’ve been feeling this month is groundbreaking.  Like navigating crackling ice beneath a continuous snowfall…it’s not the most sure-footed feeling.  We have to really trust our bodies to hold us steady. 

So while the Leo Moon calls us to emit our radiant heart, Aquarius Sun shines consciousness on group awareness.  In all oppositions, we are challenged by the tension between what appears to be opposite expressions.  In this Full Moon, we meet this challenge by expressing the creative light of our individuality through our collective experience.  The square from Mars and Uranus in Taurus shows us how we are urged to express it. 

The cutting edge of Mars and Uranus in Taurus earth is guided by Venus, who is currently conjunct Pluto in Capricorn.  This is Love’s Wisdom from the depths of Earth, giving sound advice for our actions.  Venus orchestrates these Taurus vibrations with a powerful understanding of the Plutonian seed of this lunar cycle.  New Moon began conjunct Pluto, and the cycle has grown since to a Uranian crescendo.  With these outer planets involved, the charge of change is received by Earth.  It is a time where what once may have been predictable becomes unpredictable.  There is a wildness emerging from fixed earth that is as exciting as it can be unsettling.  Can you trust yourself to harness it and put it to good use? 

Remember that the way of Taurus grounds us with the senses, whether we’re responding to something quick as a bolt of lightning or gradual as new wings emerging from a chrysalis.  Taurus is not averse to change…it’s just that it must be aligned with Natural Law.  After all, it is both the fertile soil and the productive unfolding of Mother Nature.  Taurus earth’s fixedness is in the determination to grow.  And growth requires us to respond to changes.

What kind of changes are moving our response?  The Leo Moon is conjunct the asteroid Hygiea, a clue that one of the greatest resonances in her call has to do with health.  Hygiea (whose name gave us the word ‘hygiene’) is the Goddess of purification and holistic health.  It is not mere coincidence she is so present when vaccine rollouts are being amped up…and she raises the question of what practices are the most beneficial for the body when the collective desire is to prevent any further damage to our health.  In Leo, Hygiea encourages self-awareness to determine what is healthy for each individual.  After all, we are not the same…even as we are part of a collective.  The tension arises in our varied responses to what is being amplified in our collective awareness.

The Aquarius Sun is conjunct Jupiter…and this gas giant is all about amplification and expansion.  If you’re in any way connected to any community that speaks of Astrology, you’ve no doubt heard an amplified buzz about ‘Aquarius energy’.  People are positively giddy about it, which is an inclination of Jupiter’s current influence in this air sign.  Some expand the current energy so far as to herald it as ‘The Age of Aquarius’.  Those who understand the enormous breadth of the Astrological Ages are not so quick to punctuate the flow.  These are transits in Aquarius we are feeling, a much more particular resonance than the precession of our ages.  Such a predominance of transits in Aquarius, however, do clue us in to what our Descendants will be working with over a century from now. 

And yet, not all of the ideals included in the 5^th Dimension song give a full picture of what is on the horizon for humanity.  There is a distinctly technological factor to our collective experience of Aquarius that has become increasingly engrained in the fixed Air of this sign.  There are also some lessons to learn about ‘Groupthink’…so the current opposition of Jupiter and Hygiea means to challenge our previous ideas of ‘Herd Immunity’, whatever they may be for each of us.  This Leo-Aquarius combination brings up the importance and benefit (Jupiter) of Holistic Health practices (Hygiea) to prevent illness. 

But you’ll see, because of the rather bullish nature of this T-square pooling the tension in Taurus, that there isn’t actually a whole lot of Aquarian agreement on what will give the best results for each individual as well as the collective.  In many cases, even the Leo heart-radiance is overshadowed by fixed reactions to opposition and challenge. 

Leo Moon’s fixed fire reminds us to respond by leading with love.  Treat others as individuals who are blessed with the ability and the will to be their authentic Self.  In this quickening Aquarius season, the lesson is to encourage the unique expression of each of us to creatively contribute to the health of the whole.  When amplifying this underlying wisdom, we can break new ground in our Earthly unfolding. 

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

New Moon in Capricorn: Commitment to Transformation

 

'Threshold III' by Jake Baddeley

New Moon in Capricorn:  Commitment to Transformation

Moon conjunct Sun- 1-12-21 @11:00 pm CST

 

So many transformations we’ve been going through…for over a decade, it has accelerated.  Humanity is becoming more attentive and attuned to Natural Law.  Not that we have it all figured out yet…this is a long but necessary process.  And we keep coming to these initiatory points that evolve us further along the path of reconnection to Earth.  Some are huge societal and world changes like the bookends of 2020, the Saturn-Pluto and Jupiter-Saturn Conjunctions.  But within those larger changes, there are smaller (but no less important) changes that occur.  This Lunar Cycle is one of them.

But the fixed air of Aquarius is the dominant theme now, right?  Jupiter-Saturn on December Solstice ushered in this new wave…and the struggles of Capricorn Saturn-Pluto that marked the beginning of 2020 are in the past, yes?  Well, yes…and we’re still learning our Saturn lessons this year.  These are not the same lessons, but the underlying theme is the same:  Responsibility.  Saturn guides the lessons of both Capricorn and Aquarius like the two-headed Janus that gave this month its name.  Janus is a threshold guide, God of Doorways.  One head looks to the past, one to the present.  Two perspectives in one entity, a conjunction of opposites.  Where we have been and where we are going are two sides of the same coin, and our response in the present joins what we have learned to what we will learn.

This present initiation is marked by our luminaries conjunct Pluto in Capricorn.  Pluto has been traveling through this cardinal earth sign since 2008.  Slow-moving as this outer planet is, Pluto’s lessons are deep and enduring…always prevalent just under the surface of things until crisis brings it out for catharsis. 

Tonight’s conjunction is in the same area of the sky where the Capricorn Council met throughout last year.  The emphasis on Capricorn now brings our recent past to the present for another transformation, one which will bring us through this lunar month.

 

Moon-Sun in Capricorn 24

Sabian Symbol:  ‘A woman entering a convent’

This symbol represents our initiations of intent where we dedicate and commit ourselves to a life transformation.  We step beyond the threshold from what was known to what is unknown.  We make a commitment to follow through with our choice.  For each of us, this is a personal choice…though you may feel you have no choice in the matter, as we are following a soul urge that is calling us to surrender to change.  But the very foundation of this choice is in responsibility…in our ability to respond.  It is how we respond to the call of the transformational initiation in this lunar month that guides our change. 

In the initiation of this New Moon, our previous comforts may be stripped away…revealing the bare bones of who we really are.  Whatever it is personally that requires your total commitment now is likely to take you beyond your previous comfort zone.  That which was excessive or frivolous in your life will not help you transform into who you are becoming.  It may be that a health issue requires you to give up certain foods, or maybe time management is required in the weeks ahead to bring focus to your priorities.  Whatever it is, this is a good time to set yourself up for success in your endeavors.  If you come out of this lunar month feeling like you took care of your responsibilities through hard work and dedication, you’ll have made the best of this time.  But if you focus on all you’ve had to give up rather than what you’re giving it up for…you may find this lunar month to be particularly difficult. 

Pluto in Capricorn 25

Sabian Symbol:  ‘A store filled with precious oriental rugs’

The woman entering the convent chooses to no longer rely on the comforts and conveniences of the outside world, no precious rugs beneath her as she kneels to pray.  While Pluto’s influence is always about the depths of the transformational process, this God of the Underworld also rules material wealth.  With this symbol, Pluto is bringing up the deep chasm between comforts that the affluent may take for granted and the hardships of those who struggle just to live or provide for their families.  Pluto here is dismantling traditions of Wealth Comfort through Soul Crisis.  This larger transformation in our world enters the personal experience through understanding what we can live without and what is necessary for our survival. 

Some may cling to their comforts and not make the changes that their soul urges them to make.  They’re likely to learn these lessons the hard way.  But if you choose to let go of what no longer serves you and find a new way to move forward, you’ll thank yourself for that choice later. 

 

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

 

 

Full Moon in Cancer: The Medicine of Requiem

 

Art by Lisa Evans

Full Moon in Cancer: The Medicine of Requiem

Moon opposite Sun- 12/29/20 @ 9:28pm CST

 

As we lay to rest a year that faced us all with our mortality, may we find solace in the requiem song of all that passed.  Our final full moon of 2020, known as the Long Nights Moon in our Northern Hemisphere, sings a song of comfort and care from the cardinal waters of Cancer.  Again, as the New Moon whispered weeks ago, these comforts are not without some sadness as we look back at all that transpired this year.  But we who are greeting this Full Moon now…we made it through, and we can sing for those who didn’t.

Often, this Full Moon in Cancer each year is one which illuminates the importance of emotional bonds and familiar protection, no matter what we may be going through.  This time, our luminaries are in a 90 degree square to Chiron in Aries, the Cosmic Shaman who has been teaching the Aries medicine of self-reliance with a call to ‘heal thyself’.  Alongside Chiron is the asteroid Requiem.  This main-belt asteroid was discovered and named in 1977 by Nikolai Chernykh, whose mother (Melaniya) died the day he discovered it. 

Chiron’s wisdom, at the end of this year, tells of the great healing power in honoring all we have lost in 2020 with a collective prayer of Requiescat in Pace (Rest in Peace).  And, at the same time, this dynamic square calls for a Requiem of Woundedness that has been viral for centuries longer than Covid19.  May we lay it all to rest in this year where we learned we cannot live well without each other.  May we lay it all to rest in this year where we learned our natural world can heal in the absence of who we were.

And may this teaching provide the solid foundation from which Humanity creates a future of Peace with all life on Earth.

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

Art by Luqman Reza Mulyono (aka. 'Jongkie')

 

 

 

 

 

Total Solar Eclipse in Sagittarius: The South Node Seeding

 

Art by Susan Seddon Boulet

Total Solar Eclipse in Sagittarius:  The South Node Seeding

Moon conjunct Sun- 12/14/20 @ 10:16am CST

 

In the shadows of Eclipse Season, we begin the last lunar cycle of 2020, a year to remember.  Here in the Northern Hemisphere, as we approach the Midwinter Solstice, we welcome the Long Nights Moon cycle.  Our sisters and brothers in the Southern Hemisphere, as they approach Midsummer Solstice, welcome the Strong Sun Moon cycle.  Together, we are welcoming a shift of season that holds a solar standstill and a Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. 

We also say our goodbyes to the previous Jupiter-Saturn cycles so we may usher in the Aquarian air of the next.  As the story goes with the 20 year conjunction cycle of these two planets, ‘one king dies as the next king reigns’.  This Aquarian conjunction happens on December 21^st, Solstice Day, and carries a strikingly similar theme to a story of our Solstices.  Within each solar standstill, the Holly King and the Oak King engage in battle.  Each rules for half a year, before the other usurps them.  This story tells of the growing, dying, and rebirthing of the Sun throughout our seasons. 

'The Riddle of Strider' by J.R.R. Tolkien

And within this total solar eclipse, this ‘death and rebirth cycle of the Sun King’ theme is accelerated as the shadow of Moon sails across our Sun for 2 minutes and 10 seconds of darkness.  Not all Earthlings can visibly observe this totality, but every one of us can feel it.  On the other side of this eclipse portal, a rapid rebirth of light ensues…reminding us of so many ‘changing of the guard’ moments in our Earthly lives. 

This total eclipse is at Moon’s South Node…seeding a new cycle with Sun that honors the fruit, flower, and root from whence it came.  Within this seed, past provides future potential as we approach Solstice.   

Yes, but shadows…so many of us would hide from seeing the truth within them.  The Shadowland seems dangerous territory…we cannot rely upon our sight and we are challenged to practice the extra-sensory navigation we were born with, but often forget how to use.  The Unknown envelops us as we cross into the Void.  We search for some comfort or safety as we have known it before…but there is only what can be birthed from this darkness.  Even the words to describe where we are now have acquired some dreadful connotation from a past that has tried to dissociate from Goddess Wisdom.  But as all Dark Moons in Dark Nights teach us, light is reborn in the dark. 

 

South Lunar Node in Sagittarius 20

Sabian Symbol- ‘in an old fashioned Northern village, men cut ice from a frozen pond for use during the Summer’

 

There is an interplay of hindsight and foresight within this last month of the 2020 vision…one in which the shadows of the past reveal a message for the future.  Where we come from arrives at this threshold in a transformed state, supporting our growth into where we are going.    We are leaving something behind in a South Node Eclipse, but we carry forth the past that matters most to our growth:  the wisdom of experience.  This is where hindsight gives birth to foresight in Sagittarius South Node medicine.  We anticipate the needs of our Collective Soul by surviving and learning from past experience.  Within this symbol, we carry forth what we need of “frozen” memory as a way to care for each other in times to come.  The South Lunar Node, a portal to the soul’s past, carries experiential wisdom from our Ancestors that they pass through to us.  In bringing forth the ice cutting symbol, our Ancestors of many realms provide insight to the natural cycles.  As Earthlings, this is our rhythm…the drumming of Gaia’s Heart.  Listening to that rhythm, even in the dark, connects us to the beat of our Collective Earthdance.  There is a message in that song, being seeded now within the compost from past cycles, of planning for our Descendants…considering who we are as Ancestors and how we may show our support for the future Now.  This message, this cyclical rhythm of Mother Nature, it holds true for us even through the Shadowlands of our journey on Earth.

 

Moon-Sun in Sagittarius 24

Sabian Symbol-  ‘a bluebird perched on the gate of a cottage’

Our luminaries resonate with the medicine of Bluebird…often considered a threshold guide in many cultures.  Bluebird sings a Sacred Song to the rhythm of our earthly cycles and invites us to show our true colors. 

You may have heard of the Bluebird of Happiness.  As a child, I first encountered this winged symbol in my favorite Shirley Temple movie…where her character follows a bluebird into a magical Otherworld much like White Rabbit leads Alice and a Twister guides Dorothy.  The coming-of-age journey of these young girls mirrors Bluebird medicine, which guides us through our passages in life.  The search for happiness brings us through unexpected realms…what we once knew can go through reversal to be understood more wisely.  And so not all experiences on the path to happiness are as joyful as we hoped.  

When Bluebird perches on the gate, as it does in this symbol, there is an invitation to a journey guided by what illuminates happiness.  There is a promise of joy and good fortune here, when we move beyond the gate, and yet happiness is not separate from the blues of our sadness.  There is a type of joy that is only experienced through grief…one where compassionate care and support embraces us in both states at once. 

Sadness and Joy with core memory
in 'Inside Out'

This is a theme seeded now and amplified in the Solstice Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn.  Jupiter expands, Saturn contracts.  Jupiter is jovial and festive, Saturn is serious and solemn.  And their conjunction has them expressing as one for our Collective…just as a New Moon marries the Spirit of Sun and the Soul of Moon in the Matter of Earth. 

 

Perhaps, in our pursuit of Happiness during this holiday season, we may find the truth of that journey in our Sadness.  What we have collectively experienced throughout 2020 has largely been a Saturnian lesson of limits and responsibility.  The year began with a Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Saturn’s nocturnal sign of Capricorn earth, a necessary breakdown of our societal structures through soul crisis.  The year closes with a Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Saturn’s diurnal sign of Aquarius air, a productive progression of ingenuity for our societal systems.  As we head into 2021, multiple planetary cycles are seeded in Air signs.  But what have we learned of our Earth cycles?  We will carry forth the wisdom of those past experiences, both happy and sad, to inform and provide for our future.

You may ponder, in this eclipse, what you have learned from your past adventures…in the saddest challenges and the happiest blessings.  What truth have you found there that can sustain you through the months ahead?  The hard work initiated this year does not disappear after 2020 closes and the new year begins.  We are to see it through in new ways.  And in this renewal of many cycles, we have a responsibility to ourselves, to each other, and to our future…that this new vision of society is sustainable and supportive of Life on Earth.

I wish you all a Blessed Solstice, Happy Holidays, and a Prosperous New Year!  May our light shine bright, even through the dark.

 

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

 

 

 

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