Full Moon trine Pluto

Virgo Full Moon

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The Heron (1853–56) by John Dillwyn Llewelyn

Virgo Full Moon

The Full Moon in Virgo on March 18 illuminates an astrological atmosphere split between the hard edges of Mars-Saturn and the boundless vision of Jupiter-Neptune. Full Moons bring storylines and emotions to a head, and so to avoid becoming overwhelmed by stress it will be necessary to mediate whatever tests and challenges we are facing in association with Mars and Saturn heading toward a conjunction in Aquarius, while simultaneously being open to receiving the insight and inspiration available in correspondence with Jupiter and Neptune heading toward a conjunction in Pisces. Both alignments will not occur until April: Mars and Saturn will conjoin on April 4 at 22°24’ Aquarius and Jupiter and Neptune will unite at 23°59’ Pisces on April 12. In between now and then, Venus will move through Aquarius past a conjunction with Saturn into Pisces, weaving and leaving a golden thread to follow through whatever creative processes you engage. Moreover, the Full Moon in Virgo is ideal for discerning how to utilize time and prioritize tasks to configure how to best utilize energy. The Virgo Full Moon can help in probing and sifting through available resources and time, analyzing how to best achieve outcomes out of all of the infinite possibilities being offered by Jupiter and Neptune.

Vitally, the Virgo Full Moon announces the heliacal rising of Jupiter, the period in which the star of Zeus returns to visibility as a Morning Star heralding the rise of the Sun. This brings the divine presence of Jupiter into a more intensified expression in our daily lives. Listen for the messages being transmitted by Jupiter for creative solutions, deepening of understanding, opening of compassion, and kindling of inner purpose. It’s a mistake, however, to think that Jupiter becoming visible in its nocturnal home of Pisces means that the events in personal and collective events will all be positive and beneficial. This is not the work of Jupiter in Pisces. Jupiter in Pisces loves the flaws in humanity, the imperfections of forms, the mistakes and the leaps toward grand vision that fall short of perfectionist vision. Jupiter in Pisces supplies love and heart-centered focus, compassion for those that are oppressed, fallen, and vulnerable. Jupiter in Pisces supplies the fertile life force that can lift us through periods of despair, the grace of an angelic hand helping us find a trail of light to follow through a passage of darkness.

Moreover, Jupiter becoming visible in Pisces also will amplify the potency of the conjunction forming between Jupiter and Neptune (to read an article I previously wrote about the Jupiter Neptune conjunction in Pisces, click here). As I previously wrote:

” . . . the nocturnal water of Pisces slows down the pace of Jupiter and invites inward exploration that can enable us to sink into embodiment of our soulful essence. The waves of Jupiter in Pisces can wash over and weave in between the places where we have been fragmented, coalescing a presence that can bring together parts of our inner multiplicity that have become disconnected. By taking our time and acting with the flow of surrounding natural cycles rather than trying to force things to happen, Jupiter in Pisces can create an experience of abundance that allows us to feel more expansive with less by aligning us with our authentic nature and values.

Yet with the dissolving whirlpool of Neptune present with Jupiter in Pisces, the coherence we gain through Jupiter will be important to question. The combination of Jupiter and Neptune in Pisces will necessitate a descent into the dissolution of our previous beliefs, embodying the essence that will eventually coagulate out of the disintegrating stirring of our inner life. There will be a need to embrace nonlinear processes rather than insisting on linear progress, as we may need to pass through a disorienting phase of fluidity before we are able to differentiate and clarify the deeper meaning we receive.”

There is an invigorating and pragmatic earth triangle formed during the lunation between the Full Moon in Virgo, Pluto in Capricorn, and the north node of the Moon in Taurus. Rather than insisting on absolute perfection of ideals, the earthy triangle supporting the Virgo Full Moon can be best utilized in focusing on the tasks and work at hand in the moment, allowing the creative process to open up possibilities of new directions that go astray of initial ideals of vision and expectation. Allowing for the communion of creativity can bring the incredibly immense imaginal potential of Jupiter and Neptune in Pisces into the forms that want to emerge from being fully engaged in the creative process. Assisting in this process is Mercury. Mercury in Pisces rules the Virgo Full Moon and is applying toward a conjunction with Jupiter it will complete on March 20 and a conjunction with Neptune it will complete on March 23. A true synthesis between Virgo and Pisces is possible at this time, and the results can be stunningly beautiful when allowing for new directions to emerge from the process.

Snake and Moon (1938-1939) by Morris Graves

While the zodiacal sign of Pisces features Mercury, Jupiter, and Neptune coming together, the zodiacal sign of Aquarius has Mars, Venus, and Saturn coming together. However, before Venus and Mars form conjunctions with Saturn in Aquarius, they first must pass through catalyzing square aspects with Uranus in Taurus. Venus will first square Uranus on March 19, followed by Mars forming an exact square aspect with Uranus on March 22. The tension between Venus and Uranus is especially creative and inspirational, as Venus is receiving Uranus into her earthy home of Taurus. There can be liberating flights of creative vision and exciting new developments within relationships, especially when experimenting with new directions and experiences rather than staying stagnant in old patterns and routines.

Venus and Mars have been on a long journey together, moving across the sign of Capricorn into a conjunction with Pluto within the past month. Now that they are engaging Uranus, whatever deepening of feelings and desires have been building now seek release. It will be helpful to find creative outlets and ways to express the energy, allowing the “body electric” as penned by Walt Whitman to sing the song of whatever inspirational force is passing through awareness.

During the waning half of the present lunar cycle, Venus will form a conjunction with Saturn on March 28 only days before the New Moon in Aries occurs on March 31. During this time we can work with Saturn and Venus to apply hard work and diligent effort into bringing into form whatever visions of inspiration we receive in the days following the Virgo Full Moon. We may also experience a sobering of perspective regarding anything we have become too inflated about. It can be a productive time for bringing new forms into reality as long as we remain remain realistic about available time and resources and do not try to take on too much or stretch ourselves past the limits of what is truly possible.

10 of Pentacles by Pamela Colman Smith

Virgo 3 Decan

The Full Moon in Virgo will illuminate the third decan of Virgo associated with the Ten of Pentacles card illustrated about by Pamela Colman Smith. Fitting for an image of a family enjoying the fruits of their ancestral legacy, the third face of Virgo is ruled by Mercury and Venus. T. Susan Chang in 36 Secrets named special attributes of the Ten of Pentacles including the study and practice of magic, ancestral communication, “an ability to finalize the process from raw material to usable product, a through understanding of monetary infrastructures,” and “the judicious use of rest and silence.” Austin Coppock in his book on the decans 36 Faces connected the image of “the pensive nature of the elder” in the Ten of Pentacles card with a fundamental question this face asks about wealth: “What, given the fate of all created things, is truly valuable?”

Coppock ascribed the image of “The Sarcophagus” to the third decan of Virgo, writing that “the spirit gazes upon its inevitable separation from matter here, contemplating the consequences of its brief union.” A decan of decay and death, old texts such as the Picatrix and Liber Hermetis contain images of mummification, while Abraham Ibn-Ezra pictured a woman praying with leprous hands. Coppock stated that the third decan of Virgo “has the power to break the pride of all created things by showing them their inevitable end,” yet through facing this inevitability “it grants far reaching sight . . . the ability to look beyond the present, seeing consequences as clearly as actions.” It’s a decan that asks us to come to terms with the legacy and value we wish to leave behind for our future ancestors, a face of learning to embrace the moment due to the death that awaits all of our loves in the end.

Doubling down on the long game during the Virgo Full Moon, the Hellenistic text the 36 Airs ascribed the goddess Hestia to the third face of Virgo. Hestia is a sublime guide for the Full Moon, as she holds within her purified gaze the focus necessary to stay true to the essential value we wish to invest into our relationships, work, and community. Hestia is the devoted one with roots in a legacy of sisterhood we can draw from, a spiritual lineage that across tumultuous centuries has sustained respect with every breath for the living force of creation. Hestia holds within her heart a moral compass impossible to manipulate or distract away from the path of love and service that does not abandon. During the Virgo Full Moon, follow the guidance of the life force flowing through your heart as Hestia devotes herself to her flame, allowing the authority of your heart to help in navigating whatever sea changes come your way.

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References

Chang, T. Susan. (2021). 36 Secrets: A Decanic Journey through the Minor Arcana of the Tarot. Anima Mundi Press.

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: The History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans. Three Hands Press.

Full Moon in Taurus

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Watercolour showing a surrealist moonlit landscape [c.1927-30] by Ithell Colquhoun 1906-1988

Ithell Colquhoun (1927-30)

Full Moon in Taurus

The Taurus Full Moon brings illumination into the underlying pathways between our inner sense of purpose and our external work and presence in the world. Although the Full Moon is exalted in Taurus, there is volatility fermenting underneath its light since it is separating from an opposition with Mercury retrograde while applying to a flowing trine with Pluto in Capricorn. As a result, it will be important to monitor any deep seated shifts we notice are altering our internal landscape, so that we can begin reordering and rearranging our outer expression in accordance.  The Taurus Full Moon can be utilized for taking a break from recent conflict in order to gather one’s resources and discern the way forward based upon whatever inner changes in values have been taking shape.

The Taurus Full Moon is not only separating from an opposition with Mercury retrograde, but also from a harmonizing sextile with Neptune in Pisces and a stabilizing trine aspect with Saturn in Capricorn. As the Taurus Full Moon is further applying to a trine with Pluto, it is in an ideal position for bridging our vision of what we desire to manifest with the hard reality of our circumstances and the necessity of needing to address certain issues. The influence of Mercury retrograde upon the lunation demands turning toward tension and utilizing the friction of resistance to deepen in your resolve for taking the responsibility to complete whatever you have already set in motion.

Playing the role of an angelic kindler of inner light is the asteroid Vesta, as it is forming a conjunction with the Full Moon in Taurus. The influence of Vesta in Taurus on the lunation sharpens focus for whatever current resources and issues are truly valuable and necessary for us to engage with, versus which ones are distracting us from our greater purpose. Vesta in Taurus brings clarity of consciousness and transfigures tension into creative expression when we are fully embodied with our higher purpose and centered in devotion to our essential values and authentic presence. Pay attention to any areas of life in which you feel out of alignment, for the Taurus Full Moon and Vesta can facilitate any retuning and rebalancing that is needed.

marlene-seven-roasting-cinnabar

Roasting Cinnabar (Dragon’s Blood) by Marlene Seven Bremner (2017)

The Taurus Full Moon arises at the midpoint of Mercury retrograde in Scorpio, just a day after Mercury experiences a rebirth in the heart of the Scorpio Sun on November 11. As a result, the Moon’s full light will shine down upon whatever new thoughts, ideas, plans, and intentions have been seeded by the union of Sun and Mercury. Moreover, the Full Moon will also illuminate previously concealed aspects of self and circumstance that we can begin to address and integrate as Mercury retrograde continues its process of dissolution. Now that the most intense period of decay and decomposition with Mercury retrograde is over, we can gain clarifying insight into the matters that have come up for review and resolution since Mercury stationed retrograde at the end of October.

As the Moon wanes in light during the week following the Taurus Full Moon, Mercury will remain within its chthonic invisible phase as it begins to tunnel up from its underworld passage. Mercury retrograde in Scorpio will form a collaborative sextile aspect with Saturn in Capricorn as well as a flowing trine aspect with Neptune in Pisces on November 13, creating a potent period in the days following the Full Moon to intuit how to reorder plans and structures in our life to come into greater alignment with whatever core changes have been emerging into awareness. Up until Mercury re-emerges into visibility again on November 19, it will be more important to imaginatively explore new insights and ideas to the fullest extent possible than to try to rush into making them fully manifest

Mercury will finally return to visible light again as a Morning Star on November 19 while beginning to station direct, a week before the New Moon in Sagittarius on November 26. As Mercury undergoes a process of recovery from its retrograde motion after stationing direct on November 20, it will gain an added dose of vitality from the entrance of Mars into its watery home of Scorpio. The co-presence of Mars in Scorpio with Mercury stationing direct will catalyze forward momentum in implementing the revelatory insights received in the light of the Taurus Full Moon.

ithell-colquhoun-gorgon-1946

Ithell Colquhoun (1946) Gorgon

The Full Moon in Taurus is ruled by Venus in Sagittarius. In contrast to Mercury,  Venus is shining bright in twilight as an Evening Star while heralding the rise of the Moon in Taurus. Although Venus has little essential dignity in the fiery home of Jupiter, she is within her Egyptian bounds at the time of the Full Moon giving Venus greater capacity to direct her interests in pleasure and harmonious aesthetics than normal in Sagittarius. Venus is not forming a major aspect with the Full Moon, but is applying to a catalytic square aspect with Neptune in Pisces that will complete on November 14. The tension between Venus and Neptune may be felt in the disconnect between the reality of present circumstances and idealized visions of what we desire to manifest. If the Full Moon’s light unveils disillusionment regarding certain hopes or dreams, Venus will be in position to facilitate a reorientation with realistic visions of growth and a shedding of unrealistic expectations during the waning half of the lunar cycle.

After Venus completes her square with Neptune she will begin applying toward a conjunction with Jupiter in Sagittarius that will complete on November 24. As a result, during the waning half of the lunar cycle Venus will trigger the last quarter square phase between Jupiter and Neptune that has been one of the dominant astrological themes of 2019.  While the last quarter square phase between Neptune and Jupiter may have led you to release old illusions during the past year, it also has brought invitations to embrace a more expansive vision of the creative gifts you have to share with others. Venus can therefore bring encouragement in taking the risk to embody more of your potential, as in Sagittarius she enjoys the thrill of adventure when following quests into the unknown.

In addition to Venus being co-present with Jupiter in Sagittarius, Mars in Libra is applying to an exact sextile aspect with Jupiter in Sagittarius during the Full Moon in Taurus. The harmonizing sextile between Mars and Jupiter is a further boost for embarking on an expansive pursuit of vision. In previous weeks, Mars in Libra has traversed a difficult passage of moving through intensifying square aspects with the lunar nodes, Saturn, and Pluto that stirred up conflict and has made us acutely aware of the obstacles and barriers we must contend with. As Mars moves through its stabilizing sextile with Jupiter its broken sword becomes reforged and its courage revivified. Likewise we can feel our resolve for resiliently persisting through whatever difficulties we have been facing renewed.

pents06

6 of Pentacles by Pamela Colman Smith

Taurus 2 Decan

The Full Moon peaks in the final degree of the second decan of Taurus, associated with the Six of Pentacles card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith.  In the image we witness a mercantile figure carrying scales of balance in his left hand, while dispensing gold coins with his right hand to figures kneeling on the ground with tattered blankets begging for money. The Six of Pentacles card is typically associated with giving and receiving on the material plane, whether that be through monetary sources or tactile, healing touch. The unifying theme is that there is receiving found in the giving, and giving found in the receiving, with the image of the scales further signifying a sense of internal balance and authenticity found in the process. Through inner harmony transmitted within collaborative exchanges with others, great success and productivity can be achieved in the material realm.

Austin Coppock in his book on the decans 36 Faces ascribed the image of “A Linga-Yoni” to the second face of Taurus, bridging images of “procreative unions” and “wanton fertilization” with the practice of virtuous action. Coppock described an alchemical process for the second face of Taurus that mirrors the second face of Scorpio where the Sun is currently residing. Notably, Coppock advised that the matters generated in this face “must be attended to carefully and consistently,” as “dedication must join fecundity and passions to complete the picture this face provides . . .Passion is necessary for continuing fructification, but those raw powers must be tempered by means of an ordered effort” (p. 75).

The Hellenistic text 36 Airs ascribed the Horai to the second decan of Taurus, a trinity of goddesses of the seasons and natural cycles of time who are the daughters of Zeus and Themis, goddess of divine law and order. Diodorus of Sicily wrote in the 1st century BC that each of the “Horai was given a responsibility named after her for the ordering and arranging of life for the greatest benefit of mankind” and “furnishing a prosperous life” through “lawfulness {eunomia}, justice {dike}, and peace {eirene}.” In keeping with the Taurean metaphor of cultivating crops, the Horai were worshipped by those planting and tending their field of harvest in alignment with the rising and setting of stars. The presence of the Horai with the Full Moon in Taurus suggests the wisdom of knowing the right time for action performed in the right way.

The Moon rules the second face of Taurus, giving the Full Moon the powerful essential dignity of being in its exaltation, triplicity, and face. While we are each bound to the constraints of our current situation, we each also have the ability to put our whole heart and soul into expressing and sharing whatever resources and gifts we are able to harvest from our circumstances. May the potency of the Full Moon’s light pour down upon whatever hopes and dreams you are nurturing and whatever purposeful vision you are enacting with your fully lived life.

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References

Anthology of Classical Myth: Primary Sources in Translation. (2004). Edited and translated by S.M. trzaskoma, R.S. Smith, and S. Brunet. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: The History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans. Three Hands Press.