Mercury Retrograde in Gemini

 

Art by Francesco Jacobello

Mercury Retrograde in Gemini

5/29/2021 – 6/22/2021

 

How does Mercury express in Gemini?

Art by Ciro Marchetti

When Mercury is in the mutable air sign of Gemini (May 3rd to July 11th this year), the planet of communication is at home…multi-tasking with the myriad of fascinating ideas and ways of conveying them.  Mercury’s Trickster/Sacred Clown archetype is active in this sign, where important messages are often relayed through humor and opposites…often so that we may better think on them without absorbing them through emotional reaction.  Appealing to our sense of humor during heavy times is a clever trick, and one that better stimulates the thought process.

And from May 7th to May 30th, Mercury the Magician has been travelling out-of-bounds from the ecliptic…inclining us to follow our curiosity off the beaten path of where rational thought would dare go.  With this boundless Mercury in Gemini inclination, the Collective Mind is exploring and expressing much more freedom of thought.  With curiosity piqued, we may follow many fascinating avenues of thought at once…trying to learn as much as we can at this time. 

The Gemini influence invites us to share ideas with our brothers and sisters, network in our immediate environment, and communicate as we learn.  Throughout this long stay of Mercury in Gemini, it may feel to some like too much mental activity to sift through.  For others who work well with a lot of mental stimulation, it will be a breath of fresh air to ride this wave of information.

 

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 (May 14 – 29), 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 intensely we feel the story and take it all in (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 communication may not be operating the same as usual, but connections with others 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 (June 10th) 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 2nd direct pass of the degrees Mercury has traveled thrice.  During this time (6/22 – 7/7), 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. 

 

What is the collective theme of this Mercury Retrograde in Gemini?

Collectively, we’ll all be working with a theme brought up thrice by the Gemini Mercury square Pisces Neptune transit.  When that transit was first exact, during Mercury’s prologue, I wrote:

These dynamics can create the kind of cognitive dissonance that Alice experienced when she encountered Wonderland. She followed the rushing rabbit (who was full of square energy imperatives) into a world where everything seemed illogical to what she has been taught. But in this confusing Wonderland journey, she found herself changing in imaginal ways.

A square urges us to make change a necessary action…like the Caterpillar must become the Butterfly. There is some urgency within a square dynamic, and it is ultimately creative. But it will also bring up a clash of energy to inspire a turning-point shift.

Just as Mercury and Alice, we release some of the insistence upon logic, detail, and knowing. And just as Neptune, we allow for Knowledge to take a trip through our Otherworld realm, critiquing and questioning until arriving at an expanded awareness from what was known.

Give yourself more room to explore the dream you sometimes mistake for reality. Is it really what it seems? You don't have to answer that definitively...just follow where it leads you.

Currently, you may be swimming in the unknown. Find beauty in the weirdness, then let it inspire you to learn from a different perspective. Follow your curiosity into ‘curiouser and curiouser’ concepts. You may arrive at something magical beyond the looking glass.

Have a conversation with what is otherworldy. Yes, it might be riddled with uncertainties...but the journey is worth the bewilderment it takes to arrive at a shift of consciousness.

 

How do I know if this retrograde relates to me, personally?

'Music of the Spheres' by Fiona Watson

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), 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 Gemini 17 – 25 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 2nd House…the House of Resources and Values.  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 Gemini, 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 mutable signs (Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces) between 17 – 25 degrees.  In this case, Mercury will bring up dynamic square aspects (to Virgo or Pisces) or a tense balancing act with your personal Sagittarius lessons.  For me, transiting Mercury is very close to opposition with my Sagittarius NeptuneRx, but it turns retrograde before reaching that degree.  So, that opposition will resonate on May 29th, when Mercury stations retrograde…but it is something that comes up stronger once Mercury’s epilogue ends. 

For those of us who have it relatively easy this time, 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, Leo, Libra, or Aquarius).  In that 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.  For me, transiting Mercury will be providing some beneficial hints to my natal opposition of Sun-Mercury in Aries and SaturnRx in Libra.

Taurus, Cancer, Scorpio, and Capricorn are the parts of your chart that might not relate to this Mercury Retrograde storyline much at all (as they are non-aspects to Gemini)…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 this Mercury 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 the Mercury retrograde station is in 24.43 Gemini, it is considered the 25th degree of Gemini. 

 

5/14 – 5/29:  Mercury’s Prologue (GEM 17 – 25)

5/22:  Mercury square Neptune (part 1) (GEM/PIS 23)

          Mercury- “Three fledglings in a nest high in a tree”

          Neptune- “Spiritist phenomena”

5/29:  Mercury conjunct Venus (GEM 25)

          “A gardener trimming palms”

5/29:  Mercury stations retrograde (GEM 25)

          “A gardener trimming palms”

5/29 – 6/22:  Mercury’s Retrograde in Gemini (GEM 25 – 17)

6/5:  MercuryRx square Neptune (part 2) (GEM/PIS 24)

          MercuryRx- “Children skating on ice”

          Neptune- “An inhabited island”

6/10:  Solar Eclipse conjunct MercuryRx (GEM 20/21)

          Moon/Sun- “A cafeteria”

          MercuryRx- “A labor demonstration”

6/10:  Interior Conjunction of Sun-MercuryRx (GEM 21)

          “A labor demonstration”

6/22:  Mercury stations direct (GEM 17)

          “The head of health dissolves into the head of mentality”

6/22 – 7/7:  Mercury’s Epilogue (GEM 17 – 25)

7/6:  Mercury square NeptuneRx (GEM/PIS 24)

          Mercury- “Children skating on ice”

          NeptuneRx- “An inhabited island”

 

 

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

 

Total Lunar Eclipse in Sagittarius: Tangled Up in Old Ideals

 

This total eclipse can be viewed from the Western Americas,
the Pacific, Australia, and South-East Asia.
(Eclipse Art by Donia Lilly)

Total Lunar Eclipse in Sagittarius:  Tangled Up in Old Ideals

Moon opposite Sun- 5/26/21 @ 6:14am CDT

 

The Full Flower Moon blossoms big and red in some parts of our world, as perigee Moon conjunct her South Node will edge into our Earth’s umbral shadow for 14 minutes and 30 seconds of Total Eclipse.  A South Node eclipse carries the shadows of our past into our immediate present…confronting us with the need for rapid change.  Transforming old karmic lessons into newly discovered wisdom is never easy. We can neither escape the confrontation nor erase what has brought us to this point in our evolution.  The nodes are knots of fate where all kinds of storylines become entangled over time…yours, mine, and everyone else’s.  But every once in a while, an eclipse will draw out a thread from the knot so that we may make a significant change to the collective story.  But like with the Wheel of Fortune, the results can go either way.

At the apex of a T-Square with our luminaries, Jupiter in Pisces is pressed to find peace in our conflicts…but inclines us to either expand upon it or escape entirely into a dreamscape.  Jupiter is strong in Pisces, where our largest planet is traditionally in his nocturnal rulership.  And such strength while at the apex of a T-square can certainly amplify things.  Essentially, Jupiter has a benefic and jovial influence…yet, when stressed, it has the inclination to increase the stress.  Jupiter can also bring about ‘too much of a good thing’.  So with the Piscean desire to escape this ‘Mad World’…we may see significant shadow effects of ‘Spiritual Bypass’. 

But there are more subtle energies aligned at this time to provide a bit of a safety net for our experience.  Saturn in Aquarius sextile Chiron in Aries bring opportunities to work with the lunar nodes in beneficial ways.  Saturn’s influence reminds us to establish Aquarian structure with a more humanitarian and progressive approach.  And Chiron’s influence reminds us to tap into Arian self-reliance and heal ourselves to heal the whole.  Together, they are calling for integrity through responsible healing. 

 

Saros Series 121:  The Shadowlands of Utopia

Thomas More's 'Utopia'

This is the last of the Total Eclipses from this Saros Series 121…as the ones that follow in this series will recede from partial to penumbral for centuries to come.  In 1516, when the first Total Eclipse of this series happened, Thomas More completed and published his book ‘Utopia’…a fictional and socio-political satire that has had significant impact upon humanity ever since (even influencing those who have never read it).  The name of this fictional island, Utopia, is derived from the Greek prefix ‘ou’ (meaning ‘not’) and ‘topos’ (meaning ‘place’)…together meaning ‘nowhere’, as in the place does not exist.  Yet because the pronunciation is the same as ‘Eutopia’, which is Greek for ‘Good Place’, the word Utopia is more often considered now to be an ideal place, or a paradise, where everything is perfect.  And the reality is that, because humans are fallible, such a place cannot exist under human rule…and especially with our ways of settler colonialism still taking up space across our lands. 

Fast forward to the last time we had a total eclipse from this Saros Series, in 2003, and a U.S.-led coalition began the invasion of Iraq…the first stage of the Iraq War.  In the same month of that eclipse, George W. Bush gave his infamous ‘Mission Accomplished’ speech, assuring that “major combat operations in Iraq have ended.  In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed…” and televised in front of a banner that read ‘Mission Accomplished’.  This stunt was heavily criticized as premature, at best, especially later as the guerilla war began.  It is no coincidence that hints of false, utopian idealism were present during that eclipse season as well…when the reality was that ‘nowhere’ prevailed with this controversial conflict. 

Today, the long-standing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is heightened after attempts were made by Jewish settlers to evict Palestinian families from their homes in East Jerusalem.  Jerusalem has long been a divided, disputed city (though it was captured by Israel in 1967, the year of another Saros Series 121 total lunar eclipse).  Its ownership is still disputed, but Israeli officials claim it as the undivided capital of Israel.  And though the Trump Administration showed a formal recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital by moving the U.S. Embassy there in 2018, most nations do not acknowledge the city as belonging to either Israelis or Palestinians.  In the future hopes of those in conflict, Jerusalem has long been wished for like a type of Utopia.  Politically, it is like a ‘nowhere’ land that cannot be claimed by any of its occupants, and yet the on-the-ground experiences of it is something much more dystopian. 

At this time, we’re being asked once again to take a hard look at the shadows brought about by our collective and national quests for the utopian ideals of humans.  In almost every instance of a people or nation trying to prevail as bigger, better, faster, or stronger…it is at the expense of other people, the wildlife, or the Earth as a whole. 

 

And though these are some of the larger, collective threads being pulled at from the knot of the South Node…there are individual threads we’ll each be discovering in our personal experience.  We may ask ourselves about our own Sagittarian ideals…what ideological, philosophical, political, or religious remnants from our ancestral past are asking for release and transmutation in our own lives?  In your natal chart, the house where Sagittarius is will show where the eclipse shadow will show up to be confronted.  And if you have any planets in close aspect to the 6^th degrees of Sagittarius or Gemini, they will give you more clues about the lessons you’re working with at the beginning of this Eclipse Season. 

 

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

 

P.S.  For a deeper look into the nodal knots of this Eclipse Season, I have detailed the Gemini-Sagittarius lessons in this previous post:  The Dragon’s Flight into the Gemini/Sagittarius Axis

 

 

New Moon in Taurus: Black Moon Seeding

 

'The Seed' by Pawel Jonca

New Moon in Taurus: Black Moon Seeding

Moon conjunct Sun- 5/11/21 @ 1:59pm CDT

 

At the opening of this Flower Moon cycle, we are preparing for Eclipse Season (which begins during the Full Flower Moon, a Total Lunar Eclipse on the 26^th).  What we are seeding now will bring significant change as it blooms.  But right now, we are feeling Moon at her most subtle influence on our Earth…even as she is exalted in the Venusian Earth sign of Taurus. 

The path the Moon describes around the Earth is in the shape of an irregular and constantly changing ellipse.  At the farthest point in this path, Moon is at apogee (Black Moon).  During Lunar Apogee, we Earthlings are feeling the lunar influence more objectively.  When at perigee, Moon is closer to Earth and the lunar influence is amplified in more personal ways (as it was around the time of our previous Full Moon).  This New Moon in Taurus is near apogee…so she is not only invisible to us while conjunct Sun, she is also farther from us.  Her influence may be subtle…but this New Moon seed of the Flower Moon cycle allows for us to experience the other transits at this time with greater emphasis.

Aiding us in that extrasensory feeling sense of this time, our Luminaries are sextile Neptune in Pisces.  This is an invitation to explore the mystical and magical Dreamtime of this lunar initiation.  Neptune is also conjunct Pallas Athene, which allows us to better understand the patterns inherent in the Dreamtime influence of Neptune in Pisces.  The Taurus-Pisces connection is fertile and full of opportunity for creative growth.  Both signs are traditionally ruled by the two benefic planets (Venus rules Taurus, Jupiter rules Pisces).  So this sextile, subtle as it is, holds a wealth of good fortune when we tap in.  Neptune (considered the modern ruler of Pisces) is resonant with this water sign…and invites us to swim into the waters of the Unconscious.  Dreaming, listening to music, creating art, connecting with Spirit…all of these things can help you benefit from this influence.

And because this New Moon is in Venus’s nocturnal sign, Venus acts as guide to how we may nurture this seed as it releases its taproot.  Venus is in her process of Heliacal Rise as Evening Star, when she begins to be visible to us again on the Western horizon after sunset.  Some have had the good fortune of viewing her rise as early as Beltane (May 1^st), though others of us may still be waiting to see her…depending on our location.  Currently in Gemini, Venus teaches us the value of communication and networking.  So as she keeps rising into the evening sky, she encourages the roots of this New Moon seed to branch out and connect with what nourishes us.  In a couple days, Moon will meet up with her in Gemini and Venus will begin reclaiming her new life as Evening Star after months of Underworld transformation. 

The main aspects emphasized at this time involve Chiron, the Wounded Healer.  Mercury conjunct the North Lunar Node in Gemini is in a beneficial sextile with Chiron in Aries, while Mars in Cancer is moving into an exact square with Chiron.  We will be feeling that square most, as it is dynamic and applying.  The Mars square Chiron influence in Cardinal signs may feel like a sharp blow to what we want to initiate at this time…forcing us, instead, to care for our wounds.  But it is in the act of caring for these wounds that we may continue to make better use of the Mercury sextile, strengthening our mental health as we attend to our physical health.  This healing emphasis fortifies us for the Eclipse Season ahead. 

 

Moon-Sun in Taurus 22

(Sabian Symbol:  “White dove flying over troubled waters.”)

 

Art by Anastasia Zabrodina

There is a peaceful message of hope in this symbol highlighted by our luminaries.  This is a symbol of spiritual guidance, where we can benefit more from looking to universal signs than to our own subjective understanding, which may be too unsettled at this time to bring clarity.  We may be asked to simply have faith in the process currently unfolding…relax into our bodies to calm the troubles of our emotional mind.  The healing involved now reminds us to take some time to tune out the emotional and mental disturbances of the current human experience.  In this initiation, we may feel the direction of the energy that guides us through our troubles. 

 

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

New Moon in Aries: The Pregnant Pause

 

Art by Claudia Tremblay

New Moon in Aries:  The Pregnant Pause

Moon conjunct Sun- 4/11/21 @ 9:30pm CDT

 

It’s my birthday today.  A new year for me, and a new lunar phase for all of us.  There is something about the New Moon in Aries each year that stirs up the seeds of creation and sets things in motion…even as that lunar motion is imperceptible to our ‘see it to believe it’ views of life. 

Most would never equate the Cardinal Fire energy of Aries with stillness.  There is an initiatory spark to it.  It inspires movement, liveliness, creative action.  And yet, within the silent song of Sun’s exalted rays, there are unseen elements in pregnant pause…growing in meaning before being revealed. 

Venus, who descended into invisibility behind the Sun this February, has only just experienced her Exterior Conjunction with Sun on March 25^th.  She is still transforming in the Underworld before she reveals herself as Evening Star next month.  Like the unseen Moon at this time, the stillness inherent in this pregnant pause is that we cannot yet see what will be birthed from this Aries initiative.  We may be ‘expecting’ new life…but we are in the ‘waiting womb’. 

And it isn’t easy to wait for anything during Aries season…especially while all planets are moving in direct motion.  It isn’t easy to wait for things when you were blessed with Aries energy at your birth either.  There’s always this desire to launch into new endeavors, to blaze a trail, to express boldly from the ‘I Am’ of our existence. 

But the quality of time, the Kairos, we are feeling at this lunar initiation is so weighty and purposeful that even an Aries native will want to take this time to consider the way ahead before jumping into action.  For anyone, it can be fearful to not see the path ahead.  What if we fall into a chasm and the Underworld swallows us?  I mean, that’s extreme…but extremities are part of the larger lesson of these times.  This Aries season confronts us with our own edges, and we must engage the inner strength to pass through them.

The seeds are stirring…but they’re underground.  We need only to shoot our roots down to find support. Tapping into the underneath is crucial to the integrity of what we grow from this beginning.

 

The Aries Stellium and the Plutonian Underworld

Art by Sandara

 

Full-speed-ahead as most other planets are now, Pluto has been slowing down significantly in Capricorn and will station retrograde by April 27^th.  And this already slow-moving outer planet is in a 90 degree square with this New Moon.  But it’s not just the luminaries coming into square with Pluto.  It’s Venus, Persephone, Eris, and Ceres too…all of them in Aries, conjunct our luminaries and squaring off with Pluto at this time.  All we can see of this square in our sky is the brilliance of our shining Sun…but there is so much happening behind the scenes. 

Pluto square Eris is definitely an enduring undercurrent of our times…we already experienced 3 exactions of that square in 2020.  And the next exactions occur surrounding Pluto’s direct station in October this year.  Because both are slow-moving outer planets…they’ve been within the orb of influence with this square for a while and will continue to be as we navigate a time where ‘heavy discord’ that demands purposeful action seems part of the ‘new normal’. 

Less than an hour after New Moon, Venus exacts this square with Pluto.  As Venus’s cycle relates to the mythic storyline of Inanna and Ereshkigal…this Underworld part of Venus’s journey is where Inanna learns the value and meaning of death from the Chthonic Mysteries taught by her older sister, Ereshkigal.  The Queen of the Underworld (Pluto) confronts the Queen of Heaven (Venus) with her own shadows and her own death (Sun conjunct Venus).  And yet, there is a revivification process taking place now.  Ereshkigal has had her redemption for her sister’s involvement in her husband’s death.  She is weary from her own pregnancy with Ninazu and allows the galla to take Inanna’s corpse in her gratitude for their help through her labor.  Now Inanna is redeemed as well by being slowly brought back to life…but there are still a few weeks before her return to the sky (Heliacal Rise of Venus in early May). 

There are many correlations between the Chthonic Mysteries of Inanna and Ereshkigal and the Eleusinian Mysteries of Demeter/Ceres and her daughter Persephone/Kore.  And, at this New Moon, Ceres and Persephone join Venus/Inanna in her Underworld transformation.  All of them are at a turning-point crisis with Pluto/Ereshkigal.  In this turning-point we see the seasonal shifts that these stories reflect.  In the Southern Hemisphere, Ceres is mourning her daughter’s return to the Underworld as this hemisphere experiences the introduction to their colder months.  In the Northern Hemisphere, Ceres is rejoicing in the return of her daughter…and the growth of the warmer months springs forth.  Persephone conjunct Venus at this time really highlights the power of the Queen of the Underworld, and the important decisions she must make in those depths. 

And all of these celestial bodies, along with Eris and our luminaries, are square to Pluto…adding quite a bit of weight to an enduring dynamic echoed from last year.  So while it is a collective Soul Crisis we’ve been moving through for over a year, we may each be feeling it very personally now.  Something is transforming deep within us, and we are pressed to make important decisions that could alter our course.  The planets suggest that, in this process, we don’t disregard the parts that are hidden beneath the surface.  Those are the crucial elements in what we need to process (sometimes from fear into fuel) throughout this lunar month.

Aiding us in this task is a sextile opportunity between this Aries Stellium and Mars in Gemini.  Mars is out-of-bounds from the Sun’s path, and bringing in a rogue energy to guide all that is in Aries into new territory.  Mars has been offering a lot of information to act upon.  And all that is in Aries asks us to move only toward what, of many options, is in integrity with us.  There is also a mutual reception between Mercury in Aries (Mars’s diurnal domicile) and Mars in Gemini (Mercury’s diurnal domicile).  This mutual reception will be growing into a sextile throughout the week ahead, building opportunities to put our ideas (Mercury) into action (Mars). 

Adding to this opportunity is that Jupiter in Aquarius is in harmonious aspect as well, creating a Blessing Triangle with a trine to Mars and a sextile to the Aries Stellium.  Yes, there is a great blessing in all that is stirring within us right now.  We may not see it at first, but we are supported in this Aries initiation.  As with Inanna/Venus…there is promise of new life. 

 

New Moon in Aries 23

Sabian Symbol:  “A woman in pastel colors carrying a heavy and valuable but veiled load.”

'The Blessing' by my friend,
Shannon Bagley Hilson.
Gifted to me when I was pregnant
with my daughter.

 

In this symbol that the luminaries highlight now, there is lightness and heaviness co-present.  In Dane Rudhyar’s interpretation of this symbol, he specifically defines ‘a pregnant woman in a light summer dress’.  The symbol is about inner fulfillment, as well as the weighty value in the task of creating something meaningful.  Both versions of the symbol are protective about what is being carried.  It also suggests that what is currently veiled will soon be revealed.  So, whatever it is that we each are carrying…whether it be an idea still forming within, a new venture awaiting its proper timing, or even a heaviness we are transforming (maybe all of those things and more)…may this Aries New Moon bless us through our Sun’s rays.

 

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

 

 

 

Full Moon in Libra: Relating with Venus

 

Full Moon in Libra: Relating with Venus

Moon opposite Sun- 3/28/21 @ 1:48pm CDT

 

The Wind Moon is full and near her perigee, meaning she is closer to our Earth.  She is bright and she has a powerful pull.  In Libra, the lunar mood is relational.  Sun and Moon are illuminating the Aries-Libra axis of how one individual relates to another.  Feelings about justice, fairness, and equality are in full light.  We are called to relate with each other and to do some harmonic maintenance in our relationships.

This Full Moon is reflecting the Venusian mood of Cardinal Air.  When fully illuminated in this air sign, Moon communicates the feelings of Venus (currently in Aries) through us.  Just two days ago, Venus was in her Exterior Conjunction with our Aries Sun, and the Libra Full Moon is now giving her voice through the opposition.  She is still in the invisible realms behind Sun, and she is still feeling the intensity of her enduring transformation from Morning to Evening Star.  There are some strong feelings that brought her through her descent from our sky and into the depths to surrender her previous life, and Moon asks us to consider what it feels like to transform the heart.

Photo by Daniel Vasquez

That Morning Star Venus life was birthed in Gemini last summer during her Interior (Retrograde) Conjunction with Sun.  She was born into the excess of information flying about in a peak of pandemic panic, as well as the heightened cries for justice from police brutality protests in the U.S.  What was being communicated was crucial, and both had an underlying message of ‘listen to what is being denied the air to express.’

That July, Gemini Venus reached the height of her Morning Star brilliance and showed us how to care about what we are communicating.  Following that peak, she began her slow descent in our sky…unpacking with us all the information she had accumulated in the mercurial air of Gemini.

Fast forward to today, 9 months later, and Venus is in the liminal stages of another rebirth…this time from young queen to elder queen status.  As she moves forward, and eventually reclaims herself through ascension in our sky…she gains a great deal of wisdom on the matters initiated last summer.  Now in Aries, she will carry that pioneering spirit into her home sign of Taurus for her heliacal rise as Evening Star by early May.  ‘Showing up’ in her Taurus way is the heart’s reclaiming of what is truly of value on Earth.

This transformation is aided by Chiron, met by Sun and Venus in the 9^th degree of Aries at this Full Moon.  This Aries stellium joins together the activating forces of an exalted Sun, the Cosmic Shaman, and the Shamanic Initiation of Venus.  Chiron in the middle of this shows us the healing path as our collective identity transforms.  Chiron’s wise guidance is ‘follow your heart to heal the identity wounds of Humanity within you’. 

 

Astrological Aspect Patterns at this Full Moon

The Kite:  Sun-Chiron-Venus anchor, Grand Trine of Moon, Mars-North Node, and Saturn (Aries, Libra, Gemini, Aquarius)

The harmonious flow of air between Moon, Mars at Moon’s North Node, and Saturn can inspire some ease in communication…especially if we’re actively listening as much as we’re thinking and talking.  The fiery Aries stellium of Sun-Chiron-Venus provides an anchor point to keep this kite from floating away in the wind.  So if we keep a grasp of these creative ideas available to us (Air Grand Trine) from the standpoint of our Aries transformation, we can make good use of our mental flow.

 

The Finger of Gaia Kite:  Moon Apex, Sun-Chiron-Venus anchor, Uranus sextile Pallas base (Libra, Aries, Taurus, Pisces)

Libra Moon is being pointed to by Gaia as the apex of what we must integrate from the opportunity Uranus and Pallas offer us at this time.  Their sextile is a subtle but fortunate offering to revolutionize our strategies moving forward.  They ask us to consider a new and unconventional approach to how we are relating with this Libra Moon energy.  Moon is in quincunx (150 degrees) with both, which makes this integration somewhat uncomfortable but beneficial for our growth.  Again, the Aries Stellium provides an anchor point so that Moon in Libra can better express this subtle opportunity.  Sun-Chiron-Venus reminds us that, through the discomfort, we can heal.

The Magi:  Moon, Saturn, Uranus (Libra, Aquarius, Taurus)

While Libra Moon is in a harmonious trine to Aquarius Saturn and an uncomfortable quincunx with Uranus…Saturn and Uranus are interacting in a dynamic 90 degree square.  This particular fixed square holds the underlying theme of 2021, as it endures throughout the year with 3 exactions.  It is meant to bring some solidity and substance to the changes we’re making this year…but it isn’t easy.  Together with Libra Moon in this triangle (often called a Magi pattern), the Saturn-Uranus necessities of this year are revisited in this Full Moon.  So even though there are some subtle nudges toward harmony and integration at this time, we are also being pressed by the more crucial changes our society must enact.  There is magic in such a combination, as without the dynamics of a square…we might not even pick up on the benefits of the subtler vibrations on the wind.

 

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

 

New Moon in Pisces: Afloat in the Flow

 

Art from 'Song of the Sea'

New Moon in Pisces:  Afloat in the Flow

Moon conjunct Sun- 3/13/21 @ 4:21am CST

 

The Wind Moon cycle begins with a subtle opportunity to rest in the change from one season to the next.  The call is to listen to the flow of water, within and without.  Our rest is not stationary…it floats and it moves us along in the waves.  Pisces is mutable water, after all, and it allows us to adapt to the fluctuating currents in our environment…whether we find them to be turbulent or peaceful. 

Many of us tap into our own Pisces expressions through listening to music and expanding our internal imagery.  Some of us tap in through a mystical or spiritual connection.  All of us tap into Pisces by our connection to the mutable water within our bodies, as well as our connection to the mutable water of Mother Earth’s body.  Pisces is the everlasting wisdom state that returns us to Source for rebirth.  Though it is also the meandering journey to get there, and the confusion along the way asks us to follow the thread that can fuse it all together.  For humans (a largely detail-oriented species), the Pisces process can feel a bit otherworldly at times, as it often includes forgetting in the process of remembering.

Joining our luminaries in Pisces are the planets Venus and Neptune along with the asteroids Iris and Isis.  Together, they are like a Pisces Pod of Merfolk singing us into Dreamtime through the vast sea of the Unconscious.   What is this Sea Song about? 

Art by Jenny Lee

Venus leads us through lessons of vulnerability as she makes her way to the Exterior Conjunction with Sun by March 26^th.  While the heart is wide open and vulnerable, it is full of courage to face whatever transformation will come from loving.  We are in the last stages of Venus’s release so that she may rise later as Evening Star.  Her part of the Sea Song is bittersweet as she separates from her Morning Star majesty at this midpoint Rite of Passage in her cycle before she can step into her Evening Star wisdom.

Art by Richard Fields

Neptune has been gliding through Piscean waters for 9 years already, basking in the boundlessness of his element.  When met with a stellium of celestial bodies, his mystical nature envelops them.  The Unseen realms are at play.  Things are a bit more like a dream and less defined.  Neptune’s part of the Sea Song is an undercurrent of spiritual connection…like echolocation to help us navigate when things are feeling nebulous and foggy.

Art by Crystal Rose-Thompson

Iris, named after the Rainbow Messenger Goddess, is in between Venus and Neptune.  Her part of the Sea Song communicates, through words that paint a picture, the truth within the dream.  In the same degree of Neptune, Iris has a mitigating effect on the kinds of illusion and deception that often run rampant when Neptune is stirred by transit.  It is not that the illusions have passed, but Iris pours the waters of truth into them so that we may better understand them for what they are.  Since her father was a marine god and her mother was a cloud nymph, Iris is a bridge between water and air…said to collect water from the sea to replenish the rain clouds.  In this way, the sometimes indistinguishable messages from the waters of Pisces can become more clearly communicated through the air.  This reflects the semi-sextile bridge between this Pisces Stellium and Aquarius Jupiter (the traditional ruler of Pisces), offering support even when they can’t quite ‘see’ each other.  Iris also carried water from the River Styx to the Gods as a means to see who lied under oath.  This connection to the Underworld shows that Iris is facilitating communication to and from Venus in her Underworld passage (as Venus’s cycles relate to the mythic storyline of Inanna), bringing hope when all hope seems lost.

Art by Hrana Janto

Isis, named after the Greek version of the name for the Egyptian netert who was the Queen of Magic and Motherhood, is closely conjunct Moon and Sun in this Pisces Stellium.  In Astrology, Isis brings up the kind of powerful magic that can (like the way of Pisces) reassemble disparate parts into the whole.  Her part of this Sea Song amplifies the enchantment to reconnect with what was seemingly lost in our recent past. 

Art by Daniel Vazquez

And in a harmonious sextile to this Pisces Pod, Pluto in Capricorn promises the opportunity for subtle transformation.  As the only remaining member of the Capricorn Council that presided over most of 2020, Pluto continues the long process of breaking down those long-standing structures in our lives that must meet their end.  In the U.S., we are nearing our own Pluto Return which has been applying for a couple years now and will exact throughout 2022.  There is no doubt this grueling transformational process has been underlying our experience in this country since even before the pandemic…but it has been increasingly obvious in the last year.  As we will see, the breakdown to who we are becoming as a nation is still in the first stages of the process.

But at this time, in this New Moon, the subtle opportunity presented requires us all to tap in and make our own personal changes for this lunar cycle.  Underworld as the vibrations are at this time, there is an abundance of harmony in the sky.  We may be stripped down to our essence as we navigate in the dark, but we are well supported in our vulnerability to create meaningful change. 

 

Art by Gert J. Rheeders

Moon and Sun in Pisces 24

Sabian Symbol:  ‘On a small island surrounded by a vast expanse of sea, 

people are living in close interaction’

As we begin this lunar cycle, we may feel somewhat isolated from the rest of the world…not an uncommon feeling in our recent experience.  But what we are finding is that even in our seeming isolation, we have support when we reach out and interact with our community.  This is a mutual support…a reciprocity that allows everyone to thrive through connection.  In this degree, we see the compassion inherent in the way of Pisces forming bonds between people who have a similar experience.  It’s another reiteration of what we have come to realize over the course of a difficult year:  We are all in this together. 

 

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi