Virgo

Virgo Full Moon

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“Vision of Bernadette at Lourdes”, Church of Saint John the Baptist, Duhill, County Tipperary by Harry Clarke
audio recording of Virgo Full Moon article

Virgo Full Moon

All months are not created equal in astrology. The quality of time tracked by transits can vary significantly from month to month, and sometimes a particular month signals a turning point in reality; a collective threshold that demarcates a radical change in story arcs larger than our individual trajectory. The Full Moon in Virgo on 7 March 2023 heralds a month of seismic shifts within the astrological landscape. Saturn will enter Pisces less than an hour after the Moon in Virgo opposes the Sun in Pisces, while Pluto will enter Aquarius sixteen days later on March 23. The Full Moon in Virgo will support methodical analysis of the potential choices and paths available as we sense the way that the current changes taking shape can lead to both challenges and new opportunities in the months ahead. Yet a rising fog may obscure our ability to gain clarity in the week following the lunation.

The Full Moon in the earthy, mutable home of Mercury can normally support slowing things down and pulling back from action to make careful and pragmatic processing of information. Virgo can be helpful in breaking down issues into smaller concepts, picking apart and separating factors to gain insight into how the details combine in the bigger picture. Yet Mercury will be responsible for the care of the Moon while occupying its fall in Pisces while also moving quickly into its invisible phase of combustion with the Sun. Mercury will also be in the bounds of Venus. These factors increase the imaginative, artistic, creative, and poetic capacities of Mercury more so than its ability to dryly divide and sort through details with linear logic.

The Virgo Full Moon will be closely separating from a flowing trine with Uranus in Taurus and applying toward a disruptive square aspect with Mars in Gemini and opposition with Neptune in Pisces. The innovative and liberating influence of Uranus will be further emphasized by Mercury moving quickly toward a creative sextile aspect with Uranus that it will complete on March 11. The involvement of Uranus accentuates the prudent foresight of Virgo and gaining intuitive insight into circumstances, as well as the experimental nature of Virgo that can ingeniously discover new ways to combine and mix influences and sources of inspiration.

Even more importantly, however, the Virgo Full Moon will bring to a head rushing currents streaming from the Mars retrograde phase in Gemini that began in October 2022. Mars previously formed a square aspect with Neptune on 12 October 2022 and again on 19 November 2022 when retrograde. With Mars and Neptune coming together into a square aspect for the final time in the series, the Virgo Full Moon will amplify the pressure building between them. Neptune does not help Mars gain clarity and can inflate the self-righteousness of Mars, and so their friction may ignite ideological conflicts. Moreover, as Mars approaches an exact square aspect with Neptune on 14 March, the Pisces Sun and Mercury will also align with Neptune, creating an extended period from 14 March through 17 March in which the triple conjunction of Mercury, Neptune and the Sun will clash with Mars. The resulting tension may correlate with disillusionment that brings about an important reorientation to reality. Conflicts during this time will be confusing, requiring an extra dose of discernment to clarify. It will be best to avoid disputes and center attention on creative pursuits in need of imaginative inspiration.

At the same that Mercury will be speeding into conjunctions with Neptune and the Sun, Mars will leave its retrograde shadow zone on 15 March. Thus the Virgo Full Moon will illuminate the final passage of Mars moving forward over the degrees it formerly moved backwards over last November after it stationed retrograde on 30 October. Pay attention to how events in the week following the lunation bring tests and challenges related to storylines from last November, as well as ways in which you can notice newfound strength and courage in pushing through difficulties and achieving results in areas of life that had been previously frustrating.

The Source of the Loue (1864) by Gustave Courbet

Saturn in Pisces

Saturn will leave Aquarius to enter Pisces less than an hour after the Full Moon. The entrance of Saturn into Pisces will be intensified due to the peak of the lunar cycle happening at the same time, as well as the fact that Saturn will have recently returned to visibility as a morning star heralding dawn. Saturn’s ingress into Pisces will usher in a sea change in collective and personal events. Pisces is a boundless and oceanic water sign in which boundaries and containment can often be issues. Saturn will offer a cauldron to tend that can contain the dissolution of the solutio alchemical stage that we will be collectively experiencing in the years ahead with Saturn in Pisces. With Saturn occupying the same water sign as Neptune, old ruling principles and reality constructs will disintegrate as the stirring of Saturn’s cauldron facilitates the coagulation of new, regenerated forms. The force of Saturn’s gravity within the imaginal waters of Pisces can heighten awareness of the ways in which we perceive and shape reality. While Saturn in Pisces can enhance the melding of diverse sources of inspiration into new forms of creative amalgamation, we must also be aware of becoming lost, confused, or sorrowful within the downward spiral of its stirring.

Although Saturn will not move within its traditional orb with Neptune during 2023, coming no closer than twenty degrees away, we will begin to notice an amplification of the balsamic, ending phase of the cycle between Saturn and Neptune due to them occupying Pisces together. The cycle between Saturn and Neptune coming to an end now began in 1989 when revolutions swept across the globe, including Tiananmen Square in China, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the overturning of communist regimes in Poland, Hungary, East Germany, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and Romania that led to the end of the U.S.S.R. The three conjunctions between Saturn and Neptune in Capricorn in 1989 also correlated with the invention of the World Wide Web, the first attempts to genetically modify humans, and the dismantling of apartheid in South Africa. While the impact of Saturn and Neptune coming together will be especially intensified in 2025 and 2026, due to the nonlinear nature of planetary cycles we will have many themes connected with them becoming stirred up in collective events as they begin moving closer together within the same water.

One of the reasons the Saturn and Neptune cycle is of paramount importance is due to them being the two outermost planets – Saturn has always been significant as the outmost planet we can visibly see in the sky throughout its cycle, whereas Neptune is now considered to be the outermost proper planet now that Pluto has been reclassified as a dwarf planet. In these threshold roles Saturn and Neptune are all about the relationship between the visible and the invisible. They are fundamental to our perception and what we personally and collectively consider to be reality – the visible concrete forms and the multiplicity of invisible influences. The Saturn and Neptune cycle reveals how our collective perception of reality changes across time, and now that we are coming to the end of their cycle there will be a reckoning and a reseeding as we approach the rebirth.

With Saturn entering a water sign, the most obvious correspondence will be literal issues of water becoming increasingly important, including corruption of water issues such as toxic pollution and conflicts around water rights and territories. Saturn has traditional associations with water, wells, and waterside trades and this will be amplified by being in Pisces along with Neptune. Yet on a metaphorical, inner level of symbolism, we can expect to be brought back to watery states through the dissolution and coagulation of the solutio alchemical phase. The solutio phase involves the dissolution of solid, differentiated matter into its original undifferentiated state, known as the prima materia. One of the reasons water is associated with spiritual regeneration is due to the alchemical concept that substances cannot be transformed until reduced to prima materia. While the transit of Saturn through Pisces will ultimately deliver solutions by dissolving obstructions, we can expect to pass through some disorienting and confusing stages of development as we adjust to Saturn and Neptune residing in Pisces together.

Chauvet cave paintings

Jupiter & Chiron in Aries

The Virgo Full Moon is additionally significant for announcing the coming together of Jupiter and Chiron into a conjunction on 12 March at 14°26’ Aries, initiating a new cycle between them. The influence of Jupiter and Chiron in Aries will be brought into the mix of the lunation through forming an antiscia relationship with the Virgo Full Moon. Jupiter and Chiron have a cycle that lasts about thirteen years, with their current cycle beginning in 2009 with three conjunctions in the third decan of Aquarius that were also in close proximity with Neptune.

I’ve previously shared an article about the Jupiter and Chiron cycle written by Brian Clark due to feeling deep resonance with his description of its meaning. Though Jupiter and Chiron have vastly different meanings in astrology, Clark shared how their mythology shares the landscape of Mt. Pelion in Greece where two sanctuaries on either side of the mountain brought Chiron and Zeus together into contrasting sides of the same location. Clark made the insightful point that while the sanctuary of Zeus on the southern side of the slope received the full light of the Sun, Chiron’s cave on the northern side of the mountain was shaded. This connects well with how Chiron opens the door to the shady side of our psyche, tending the threshold of our conscious awareness with the deep well of wisdom found within unconscious depths and ancestral influences. As described by Brian Clark, “Chiron’s gaze was down, to an inner landscape, a cave of night. Yet in that cave was also one of the first mythic mystery schools where disenfranchised and orphaned youth were educated in the skills of healing and combat, learning the wisdom of the wound and the insight of a warrior.”

Clark further illuminated that “as an embodiment of suffering, of pain and mortality, Chiron confronts our compulsion to fix, to overcome and resolve . . . In his cave, the instinct to fix it and feel better is held long enough for the soulful symbols in our symptoms to be appreciated as images of healing.” The capacity to tend soulful material will be further accentuated by the presence of Vesta in Aries alongside Jupiter and Chiron. The sacred focus and inner fire of Vesta can help illuminate the messages and meaning found within whatever symptoms of deeper issues have been stirred up by Jupiter and Chiron. There is also an immense quality of courageous resilience constellated between Vesta, Chiron, and Jupiter in Aries, an indomitable spirt that can persist through the kind of difficulties that lead some to believe that all has been lost. Issues around societal oppression, marginalized identities, refugees and the displaced will become more prominent as Jupiter sparks a new cycle with Chiron. Jupiter’s presence with Chiron offers the hope of forming supportive alliances and envisioning ways of organizing action to address inequities.

9 of Pentacles by Pamela Colman Smith

Virgo 2 Decan

The Virgo Full Moon will illuminate the second decan of Virgo associated with the Nine of Pentacles card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. The image is saturated in a golden aura, with an elegant woman covered in flowing, golden robes. On her hand sits a hooded falcon, its capacity for swift flight and hyper vision temporarily restrained. Surrounding her are ripening grapevines and a large estate upon which we can imagine numerous marvels of nature and art residing. Since it is a tarot card associated with gains in wealth and creation of beautiful works, it makes sense that the second decan of Virgo is the face of Venus and Saturn. While Venus is like the guiding star of beauty and love that gives us an overarching reason to seek wealth we can share with others, Saturn functions as the force of necessity, discipline, and hard work required to seed, cultivate, and gather a bountiful harvest or shape prima materia into rarefied form.

In Henrich Cornelius Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy, a “black man” rises in the second decan of Virgo “wearing skins, and the man has wool and holds a satchel; this signifies gain and accumulation of substance and greed.” The Birhat Jakarta has a somewhat similar image, except for the figure being armed with a pen and bow: “a man with a pen in the hand, dark complexion, the head tied round by a cloth, counting gains and expenditure, covered over the body with dense hair and holding a bow.” A similar image was also described by Ibn Ezra, who pictured a man covered in hair with three garments: “one of leather, the second of silk, and the third is a red mantle.” The Picatrix gives a similar image of a man dressed in layers of leather and iron. T. Susan Chang in 36 Secrets made the astute observation that the encasement found within the Nine of Pentacles is similarly found in these traditional images featuring figures covered in hair and different layers of clothing. Chang wrote that the “progression from comfort to protection to display reflects the turning of the mind’s eye from inward to outward, from concern for the self to awareness of the Other.” Chang wrote that the “gain” associated with the second decan of Virgo involves the “differential created by the outer appearance vs the inner reality; the image we put on in order to meet the world. The question is: does that outer glamor connect us to, or separate us from, that which we seek?”

Austin Coppock in 36 Faces ascribed the image of “The Hammer and the Anvil” to the second face of Virgo. Coppock connected the covered traditional images for this decan as relating to the encasing of spirit within matter, a state which “fortifies but also conceals the spirit’s light,” resulting in the “inherent beauty of spirit” becoming “visible only in the clever and gainful manner by which it shapes the world.” Coppock described a theme of continual reshaping and refinement of matter in this decan that results in beautiful products and gains in wealth, yet “conceals the pain and toil utterly necessary for its creation.” Coppock concluded that this face brings alchemical “understanding of the many beautiful and repulsive states the matter attains throughout the Magnum Opus,” while the “residents of this decan oversee the ever-transforming world, guiding and shaping the Great Work on a microcosmic level,” inspecting and keeping track of how efficiently material processes are operating.

On one hand we can consider how the meaning of this decan holds the fact that the ease of comfort afforded by our modern technology conceals the oppression and trauma inflicted on those who must toil in harsh conditions as part of the chain which leads to the final product. On the other hand, we can consider what inner and outer hardships we inflict upon ourselves in order to achieve our conception of perfected form in the world. While there may be necessary trials we must endure to achieve our goals, in other cases we may realize ways to reorder external goals to tend to the quality of our inner life in more fulfilling and satisfying ways.

The Hellenistic text the 36 Airs linked the Moirai to the second face of Virgo. These are the daughters of Necessity, the goddesses of fate: Clotho the spinner of the threads of life, Lachesis the measurer of fateful threads, and Atropos who cuts the threads. In Plato’s Myth of Er, the Moriai not only ascribe ones destiny but also the guardian daimon who can bring guidance in accordance with one’s intrinsic virtue and authentic character. As the Moirai are central to the incarnation of our primal spirit within our material bodies, this connects back to how Austin Coppock described the second decan of Virgo as a place where “spirt has enclosed itself in a dense body here in order to gain control over gross layers of the physical plane and to oversee its processes with a keen eye.”

The presence of the Moirai with the Full Moon in Virgo demands questioning whether we are exerting ourselves in the true work of our destiny or if we are instead putting ourselves through difficulties so that we may merely get by and survive in our materialistic culture. With Saturn entering a new sign, imagine where you would like to be with your life and work by the end of its passage through Pisces in 2026. Let the light of the Virgo Full Moon illuminate the smaller steps you can take now that will lead toward your larger vision.

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References

Agrippa, Heinrich Cornelius. (2021). Three Occult Books of Philosophy. Translated by Eric Purdue. Inner Traditions.

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

Clark, Brian. (2022). The Jupiter-Chiron Cycle: Weaving the Ways of Wisdom.

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

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 Virgo

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Beatrice (1897) by Odilon Redon

Full Moon in Virgo

The Full Moon in Virgo on February 27 serves as a lighthouse guiding us from a period of great volatility and tumultuous rupturing toward a restorative shore. The light of the Sun reflected from the Moon in Virgo will accentuate a sensual attuning to the deep changes underway and emerging processes at work. No matter what trouble or difficulties you have had to endure recently, it will be essential to stay with the processes underway to see where they lead, altering navigation and changing the ways you are participating within dynamics as needed. The polarity between Virgo and Pisces serves transitions and liminal passages, possessing facility for mixing together insight from our past with discerning guidance into where our path is heading into the future. Make whatever space is available for deepening into the changes of the past month, sifting through shifting feelings and the nostalgia of what is passing away as you turn toward what is entering your life and arising anew.

The Full Moon is separating from a trine with Uranus in Taurus and applying to an opposition with Neptune in Pisces. The Virgo Moon is also applying toward a square aspect with the transiting lunar nodes at their northern bending, placing the lunation at the midpoint between the eclipses of December and the ones that will be coming in May and June.  With Uranus forming a flowing trine with the Virgo Moon and a harmonizing sextile aspect with the Sun in Pisces, there can be an exciting reception of inspiring vision regarding future potential as well as insightful revelations regarding how to deal with present challenges. Yet we need to also take account of our dreams with grounded awareness that will enable our imagination to discover creative solutions and innovations that will make a practical, tangible impact within our current circumstances. There can be an experience of forward momentum unleashed that can create meaningful progress and results in the month ahead as long as we do not become unrealistic about available resources and relational dynamics.

Before the Moon forms its opposition with Neptune it will unite with Vesta retrograde in Virgo. Vesta is separating from an extended opposition with Neptune that has been in effect for months, as Vesta formed its first opposition with Neptune while direct on December 20 and its second while retrograde on February 9. The meeting between Vesta with the Moon on February 27 can help in focusing with devotion on the work and interpersonal relationships we wish to prioritize. Since we are in the middle of so many large scale collective changes as well as dramatic personal shifts, it can feel overwhelming to orient within it all especially with so much accumulated grief from the lingering pandemic impacting us. The Full Moon with Vesta can help in centering as much as possible within a period of time full of immense decentering and deconstruction. For some it may be necessary to get extra rest and relaxation for restorative recovery, while for others it may be necessary to become more active in bringing certain tasks to completion. Let Vesta guide you toward whatever needs to be prioritized so that you do not waste time and effort on inessential and unnecessary distractions.

And Another Angel Came Out of the Temple Which is in Heaven, and He Also Having a Sharp Sickle (1899) by Odilon Redon

Mercury in Aquarius rules the Full Moon as a Morning Star visible before sunrise along with Jupiter and Saturn in Aquarius. Mercury stationed direct a week before the Full Moon on February 20 and is presently generating forward momentum as it applies toward a conjunction with Jupiter that will become exact on March 4. As Mercury moves forward for the third time through Aquarius (it first entered the degree it is occupying at the Full Moon on January 16) we will be in position to craft inventive solutions to issues we have been confronting for the past month and a half. Mercury traveling with Jupiter through Aquarius can envision longterm plans and facilitate important decisions that will have enduring consequences. While the groundbreaking changes brought by 2021 are far from over, the week following the Full Moon is an especially fruitful time for reorienting and revisioning the direction forward.

Mercury is at 13°01′ Aquarius during the lunation, and so is not forming a traditional aspect with the degree of the Full Moon at 8°57′ Virgo. However, the Virgo Moon is in an otherworldly seventh harmonic with Mercury and later in the day the Moon will form a quincunx aspect with Mercury. Moreover, the Full Moon is forming a close quincunx aspect with Saturn at 8°17′ Aquarius. There is no common ground between Aquarius (diurnal, fixed, air) and Virgo (nocturnal, mutable, earth) and so the strange connections between the Full Moon with Mercury and Saturn is illuminating material out of the direct line of sight of the planets in Aquarius. Since the lunation is forming a propulsive trine aspect with Uranus, we may receive far reaching visions of potential that feel beyond our present scope to manifest and materialize. Although we may realize certain inspiring dreams are currently beyond our capacity to create, we can continue to incubate ideas in our imagination while finding ways to experiment with bringing smaller aspects of larger visions into reality.

With Mercury, Jupiter, and Saturn visible in pre-dawn skies and increasing in light, we will have opportunities during the waning half of the lunar cycle to make productive steps in developing whatever new ideas have been germinating since the seeds of the great conjunction between Saturn and Jupiter were planted a couple of months ago.  You may notice greater clarity emerging regarding the visions that have been swirling within without taking definite shape. The astrology of the month ahead is not as volatile as it has been since Saturn and Jupiter formed their conjunction, and so it will be an ideal time for making forward progress while continuing to deepen in imaginal engagement with larger goals we can develop that can have far reaching impact within our own lives as well as in the wider community.

Fisher King by Leonora Carrington

Fisher King by Leonora Carrington

Within the light of the Full Moon, Venus in Pisces is applying towards a conjunction with the Sun that will eventually occur on March 26. Venus will spend the next month traveling close behind the Sun, rising and setting under the beams of solar radiance as it remains invisible from view.  Although combust under the burning rays of the Sun, Venus presently has protection due to not only being in its exaltation and triplicity, but also its own bounds. Venus will remain in its bounds until March 3, lending extra potency to Venus during the same time that Mercury is applying toward a conjunction with Jupiter. With Venus possessing a lot of essential dignity while traversing the underworld, there will be deep reservoirs of imaginal resources to access and explore creatively in the week following the Virgo Full Moon.

Vitally, Venus and the Sun will be applying toward conjunctions with Neptune in Pisces during the waning half of the lunar cycle. The Sun will form a conjunction with Neptune on March 10 followed by Venus uniting with Neptune on March 13, the same day as the upcoming New Moon in Pisces. Venus and the Sun ending and beginning new cycles with Neptune within days of one another will create a quality of time vastly different than the recent period in which Venus and the Sun passed through conjunctions with Saturn in Aquarius. The combination of the Sun, Venus, and Neptune within the oceanic realm of Pisces may dissolve and wash any anxiety or emotional overwhelm constellated by the large gathering of planets in Aquarius during February. During the first two weeks of March we can sink into the soulfulness of our senses, finding ways to nourish emotional needs and nurture the imaginative ideas we have been gathering and gestating.

Running Horned Woman, (6,000-4,000 B.C.E.) Tassili n’Ajjer, Algeria

Ceres recently entered Aries on February 20 and will be applying toward a conjunction with Chiron in Aries during the waning half of the lunar cycle. Ceres will form a conjunction with Chiron at 7°56′ Aries on March 13, the same day as the New Moon in Pisces. The mythology of both Chiron and Ceres involves sacrifice, with the sacrifice of Chiron resulting in the liberation of Prometheus and the sacrifice of Ceres resulting in her daughter Persephone claiming rulership in the underworld as well as bringing the mystery initiations to the upperworld of humanity. Ceres and Chiron in astrology also can relate to both core wounds and grief we carry, abandonment and attachment issues we must work through to form healthy relationships, as well as profound capacity for being creatively productive in ways that can bring vital resources to others. Ceres and Chiron together in Aries can foster resilience in following an unorthodox path even when we fear it could lead to us being rejected or misunderstood by others.

In the fiery, cardinal sign of Aries both Ceres and Chiron will be empowered to take action and will be pleased when we go after what we want and determinedly makes things happen. Ceres in Aries has a mothering style focused upon fostering interdependence rather than dependence, tending to needs in ways that will animate a sense of sovereignty and nurture capacity for creatively self-actualizing one’s purpose. If we have been feeling wounded or angry due recent changes that have been occurring, find ways to regenerate just like Ceres in myth did in river currents so that you may regain your ability to productively make change happen in your surroundings. If you feel you are lacking agency in certain areas of your life, make an effort to actively seek the support you need through resources within your relationships or wider community.

While the last time Ceres entered Aries was on 14 April 2016, the last time Ceres and Chiron were together in Aries was in 1975 when they formed a conjunction on April 20, 1975. The last time that Ceres formed a conjunction with Chiron in any sign was on March 24, 2016 at 21°50′ Pisces; there was also a Solar Eclipse in Pisces on March 8, 2016 that was separating from Ceres closely and applying closely to Chiron. It will be revealing to reflect upon what parts of yourself Ceres and Chiron have nurtured into development over the course of their past cycle.

8 of Pentacles

8 of Pentacles by Pamela Colman Smith

Virgo 1 Decan

The Full Moon in Virgo arises in the first decan of Virgo associated with the Eight of Pentacles card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. In the image of the Eight of Pentacles a craftsman is fully engrossed with his art, concentrating with full attention and focus in the moment. This image evokes the importance of taking things step by step, one task at a time, completing each aspect of the process with loving care and attention. Austin Coppock in his book 36 Faces ascribed the image of “A Tree Bearing Fruit” to this face, noting the prevalence of images associated with “fruitful works” developed through “humble observation of, and careful tending to, the created world” in ancient texts. Coppock noted the significance of the “humility” present in the Eight of Pentacles image, writing that “the old apprentice represents a willingness to put away pride and submit instead to the demands of the craft itself.”

The Sun and Mercury are the rulers of the first face of Virgo, pointing toward a potent animistic capacity for relating to the spirit of the land within this face. Indeed, Austin Coppock described the first decan of Virgo as essentially being connected with watching, listening, and tending to the creative processes of Nature rather than imposing or forcing one’s will “rashly.” Both the Picatrix as well as Three Books of Occult Philosophy give agricultural images to this face involving sowing, plowing, and gathering a harvest and wealth. The chthonic nature of this face is further shown in the image found within Liber Hermetis of “a serpent put together awry” whose “head is the likeness of the Moon.” Coppock wrote that the first face of Virgo invites us “into the mysteries of incarnation . . . the prudence of postponing delight until the fruit is ripe.” While Coppock noted the first decan of Virgo involves “humility” at a core level, “it results in works of surprising glory.”

The Hellenistic text the 36 Airs ascribed the Titaness Themis, the divine embodiment of order and natural law, to the first face of Virgo.  To Coppock, the presence of Themis in the first decan of Virgo is significant in relation to “mindfulness” and “observance of divine law,” as Themis spoke with the voice of the Earth from her seat at the Oracle of Delphi. In some stories Themis built the Oracle of Delphi, whereas in others she received it from Gaia before passing it on to Apollo. The divine order of Themis found within the first face of Virgo carries the gravitas of oracles and weighs matters on her scales in accordance with divine, natural law rather than the regulations constructed by humans. In the ancient Greek play Prometheus Bound, Themis is none other than the mother of Prometheus and the one who gave him his gift of foreknowledge. Approach the insights received during the Virgo Full Moon with the humility you would bring to deciphering an omen. Under the radiant light of the Moon, let the sword of Themis cut through confusion so that you may come into deeper relationship with the creative process you need to tend and nurture in the month ahead.

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References

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

Virgo New Moon

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Virgo 1 decan-Agosto,_cosmè_tura_e_maestro_di_ercole,_03

Virgo 1 Decan image by Cosimo Tura from Allegory of August: Triumph of Ceres fresco in the Palazzo Schifanoia (1476-84)

Virgo New Moon

Following the radiant and raging fire set by the Leo Sun during August in which the Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Mars were all occupying the sign of the Lion, the New Moon in Virgo on August 30 initiates us into a month dominated by the cool calculations of Virgo. As the Moon unites in darkness with the Sun in Virgo, they are joined by the co-presence of Mercury, Venus, and Mars in the sign of the Winged Maiden.  It was written long ago that the lack of bright stars in the head of Her constellation is why so many various figures have been identified as the starry Virgin with Wings, including Demeter, Isis, Fortuna/Tyche, Justice/Dike, and Erigone. Mythic themes shared by these figures include facing the grief of loss, whether over the loss of a beloved or the loss of justice, ideals, and integrity within humanity.  Mercury joins the Sun and Moon in Virgo, the home and exaltation of Mercury, saturating the lunation with its capacity for weaving in between and bridging polarities such as spirit and matter, the rational and the emotional. In the forthcoming lunar cycle we will need to rely on the ability of Mercury to serve as a psychopomp guiding us into and out of underworld experiences, gathering the meaning found within the dark.

Underlying all of the changes in 2019 has been the pivotal relationship between Jupiter in Sagittarius and Neptune in Pisces. Jupiter and Neptune are at the waning square aspect of their cycle that began in 2009 and have been calling us to deeply question the beliefs, philosophy, and vision of meaning we have been living life from. Within the waning square of Jupiter and Neptune we can experience a harvesting of wisdom, a gathering and sifting through of ideas and experiences from their cycle through which we can discern meaning and resources to share with others. Yet the final square of their cycle can also incite a dramatic confrontation with how we have been shaped and conditioned by the surrounding culture, realizing where we have been led astray by illusory ideals or beliefs. Though disillusionment brings difficulties, it ultimately guides us to realization of what needs to be released and let go. The Virgo New Moon brings an influx of planets in Virgo that will volatilize Jupiter and Neptune, as the Moon, Venus, Mercury, Sun, and Mars will be forming a catalytic square aspect with Jupiter in the coming month followed by a tense opposition with Neptune.

The Virgo New Moon setting off the charged dynamic between Jupiter and Neptune is an invitation to make time and space for inner contemplation, digesting and processing the changes that have been taking shape within personal and collective spheres during the past year. Vitally, the Virgo New Moon is forming a square aspect with Ceres in Sagittarius and a flowing trine with Uranus in Taurus.  There may be loss to process, anger over acts of injustice, frustration over plans not working out as had been hoped, yet it is only through descending into the depths of inner sensation that we will unearth the necessary insight that will lead to making substantial changes. The Virgo New Moon in Virgo brings gifts for finding solutions that will be wasted by attempting to deny or escape from whatever has been happening. Since Mercury, Mars, and Venus are invisible in transition from old and new cycles with the Sun, the lunation brings the opportunity to descend into inner darkness in order to bring about a metamorphosis of our presence in the months ahead. Yet as part of this process we will need to make space for mending and nurturance, keeping in mind that visible results may take time to form.

In addition to the influx of archetypal forces in Virgo mediating the dynamic between Jupiter and Neptune, the waxing Virgo Moon as well as Mercury, Venus, Mars, and the Sun will be forming a trine aspect with Saturn, the South Node of the Moon, and Pluto in Capricorn in the month ahead. This means that the Virgo stellium is forming whole sign aspects with all of the other planets as well as the lunar nodes, bringing the focused gaze of the Winged Maiden into analysis of whatever has been working effectively as well as ineffectively. The New Moon will promote taking action and doing the necessary work, being in service to whatever needs to be taken care of as well as whatever inspiration strikes. In the midst of handling daily responsibilities, set aside some personal time in which to open your imagination towards new ways to approach old issues as well as reception of inner vision and purpose that can guide you toward the next steps to take.

Mercury in Virgo rules the New Moon while applying to a flowing trine aspect with Uranus in Taurus. Mercury is in both its home and exaltation of Virgo, but is also in its invisible and regenerative phase of transitioning from being a Morning Star to an Evening Star. Since Mercury is at the end of its cycle it amplifies the capacity of the Virgo New Moon to transition us from old endings toward new beginnings, yet patience will be needed regarding the seeds we plant. During its present phase Mercury is moving at its fastest speed toward a solar conjunction on the other side of the Sun from us in orbit. The speed of Mercury during this phase can bring an overwhelming sense of needing to sift through an overabundance of ideas, yet since Mercury is in its home and exaltation we have enhanced capacity to shed the inessential in the days following the Virgo New Moon. As Mercury unites with the Sun a few days after the New Moon on September 3 at 11º16′ Virgo, we can experience a regeneration of clarity and insight that will help with discernment as well as synthesizing meaning. This is a powerful day to meditate, reflect, and seek inner guidance for not only the beginning of new cycles for the Moon and Mercury, but also for a new Mars cycle.

Indeed, Mars is being regenerated by the creative potency of the Virgo Sun at the same time as Mercury. Mars will enter the heart of the Virgo Sun on September 2 at 9º39′ Virgo, and so the Virgo New Moon occurs during the final days of the Mars synodic cycle which began at 4º12′ Leo on 25 July 2017. Mars holds a strong influence over the Virgo New Moon in the archetypal form of the blacksmith who can melt down old martial patterns while reforging our relationship with Mars for the cycle ahead. In contrast to Mercury and Venus being in transition toward their Evening Star phases, Mars is in transition to being seen again as a Morning Star in mid October. Take time to reflect upon the past two years of themes in your life related to Mars, while simultaneously revisioning how you would like to change and evolve the expression of Mars in your life. Consider what is worth fighting for or protecting, areas you need to be more courageous and assertive, places you feel pulled toward directing your passions and vigor.

With Mercury and Venus also beginning new cycles at the same time as Mars, the month of September will be a powerful period of revivification regarding the values and ideas we wish to embody and express in the world. Mercury will unite with Mars on September 3 about ten hours before it forms its exact conjunction with the Sun, bringing the guidance of psychopomp Mercury into the underworld rebirth of Mars. Mercury will then quickly begin to separate from Mars and the Sun into forming a flowing trine with Saturn in Capricorn on September 5, a catalytic square aspect with Jupiter in Sagittarius on September 6,  followed by an opposition with Neptune in Pisces on September 7 and a trine with Pluto in Capricorn on September 8. Since all of these connections being made by Mercury will occur while it is still in its invisible phase, Mercury’s sequence of aspects could help in becoming aware of hidden dynamics that have been impacting us without our conscious awareness; yet there will also likely be a powerful unconscious shaping force due to Mercury, Venus, and Mars remaining invisible.

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Gustave Courbet (1865) Girl with Seagulls

While Mercury and Mars are at the end of cycles with the Sun during the Virgo New Moon, Venus is at the start of a new cycle with the Sun and is beginning to return from being in the depths of the underworld. Not only is Venus in an underworld solar phase, it is also in a place of underworld initiation due to Venus being in its fall of Virgo. Venus in Virgo calls for descent into inner senses and discernment, a willingness to be brought down low to the ground rather than struggling to ascend to exalted heights. While dwelling in low lying places Venus can incubate insight from within, inspecting the foundations and the underbelly with a willingness to get dirty and get to the root of the matter. Under rulership of the psychopomp Mercury, Venus can gather resources from subterranean places like Persephone. Although in its fall of Virgo, Venus has essential dignity at the time of the New Moon due to being in its own bounds, decan, and triplicity and so can use its critical eye to ascertain what needs our focus for reform and improvement.

As the Virgo New Moon begins waxing towards its first crescent light, Venus in Virgo is applying closely to a catalytic square aspect with Jupiter in Sagittarius and a flowing trine with Saturn in Capricorn and the South Node of the Moon. Venus will trine Saturn on September 1, form a square aspect with Jupiter on September 2, and then form a pivotal opposition with Neptune in Pisces on September 4.  As a result our newly revivified relationship with Venus will be shaped by the two major planetary cycles of 2019, the Saturn and Pluto cycle and the Jupiter and Neptune cycle. We may feel stress and anxiety within relationships or have to deal with difficulties in other Venus related areas of life, yet there is a necessity in Venus in Virgo taking us down to confront the underlying factors at play in our present circumstances. Venus and Virgo brings a gift for analysis, details, and craft with a magical capacity for productive distribution of whatever can be harvested from experiences.  In particular the opposition between Venus with Neptune can be useful in stripping away illusions and utilizing the strength of Venus in Virgo for unifying and weaving together meaning from disparate threads of experience.

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8 of Pentacles by Pamela Colman Smith

Virgo 1 Decan

The New Moon arises in first face of Virgo, associated with the Eight of Pentacles card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. In the image of the Eight of Pentacles we see a craftsman fully engrossed in the moment with his art, concentrating with full attention to one direct focus in the moment. This image evokes the importance of taking things step by step, one task at a time, completing each aspect of the process with loving care and attention. Austin Coppock in his book 36 Faces ascribed the image of “A Tree Bearing Fruit” to this face, noting the prevalence of images associated with “fruitful works” developed through “humble observation of, and careful tending to, the created world” in ancient texts. Coppock wrote that the first face of Virgo inmates us “into the mysteries of incarnation . . . the prudence of postponing delight until the fruit is ripe.” While Coppock noted the first decan of Virgo involves “humility” at a core level, “it results in works of surprising glory.”

A maiden is seen in the images for the first face of Virgo in several ancient texts, wearing an old dress while holding a pomegranate in the Picatrix, holding a jug while standing in myrtle in The Beginning of Wisdom by Ibn Ezra. The 36 Airs ascribed the ancient goddess Themis to the first decan of Virgo, a Titaness of divine law and order who was present at oracles to have her voice transmitted to querents for divine guidance. The chthonic wisdom and divination of this decan is further revealed in the image appearing in Liber Hermetis: “a serpent put together awry,” whose “head is the likeness of the Moon.” There is a unique quality of inducing growth in the first face of Virgo which has resonance with its description in the Picatrix of being a place of “sowing, plowing, the germination of plants, of gathering grapes, and of good living.”

The Sun is the ruler of the first face of Virgo, and so since the Sun is in its own face it will seed the New Moon with the creative potency and symbolism of this decan. There is a grounding and self-assured humility that is part of the solar quality to embody in this face, and as the Sun continues to move through the rest of Virgo in the month ahead there will be ample amounts of creative potency to harness into our work.  As the Moon waxes in light we will be able to receive a more realistic perspective regarding the deep seated changes happening as well as configuring ways to find solutions to dilemmas. It’s especially notable that the forthcoming Full Moon in Pisces on September 13 will be conjoining Neptune and opening awareness to potential directions we had not previously considered. With Mercury also co-present in Virgo, remember that Virgo is not only a place of analysis and organization but also a lucid transmitter of imaginal revelations.

References

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

Eratosthenes and Hyginus. (2015). Constellation Myths. A new translation by Robin Hard. Oxford World’s Classics.

Mercury Retrograde in Virgo & Leo

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Iris

Iris

The quieter we are, the more patient and open we are in our sadnesses, the more deeply and serenely the new presence can enter us, and the more we can make it our own, the more it becomes our fate; and later on, when it “happens” (that is, steps forth out of us to other people), we will feel related and close to it in our innermost being. And that is necessary. It is necessary – and toward this point our development will move, little by little – that nothing alien happen to us, but only what has long been our own. People have already had to rethink so many concepts of motion; and they will also gradually come to realize that what we call fate does not come into us from the outside, but emerges from us. It is only because so many people have not absorbed and transformed their fates while they were living in them that they have not realized what was emerging from them; it was so alien to them that, in their confusion and fear, they thought it must have entered them at the very moment they became aware of it, for they swore they had never before found anything like that inside them. Just as people for a long time had a wrong idea about the sun’s motion, they are even now wrong about the motion of what is to come. The future stands still, dear Mr. Kappus, but we move in infinite space.

— Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

Mercury Retrograde in Virgo

In times of destiny, when the threads of fate become loosened to be rewoven within momentous change, we can count on Mercury to slyly guide us in beguiling fashion.  Though Mercury when retrograde has become a scapegoat within popular culture, experience reveals that the Star of Hermes when retrograde enacts its namesake’s role of a psychopomp, or guide of souls.  Even the most frustrating or upsetting events that occur during times of Mercury retrograde ultimately tend to lead us onto a path that will take us into the experiences we need in order to reach our next level of growth.

Thus it is fitting that in between eclipses, periods of time that always signify vital turns of fortune and fate, Mercury will station retrograde and disappear into the invisible realm of the solar underworld at sunset.  While Mercury is retrograde we will experience a Total Solar Eclipse, both the Sun and Mars uniting with the North Node of the Moon, Saturn stationing direct, and Jupiter finally perfecting its long anticipated sextile with Saturn.  Factor in that Mercury begins its retrograde while opposite Neptune and ends its retrograde conjoining Mars at the same degree as the Total Solar Eclipse, while a Pisces Moon waxes full in union with Neptune, and we have an incredibly volatile and fertile mix of astrological transits that promise to bring dramatic changes and opportunities for profound growth.

Even though popular discourse labels periods of Mercury retrograde as disastrous aberrations that bring misfortunes and mishaps, the phase of Mercury retrograde is a regular cyclical phenomenon that happens at least three times every year, an essential aspect of Mercury’s orbit.  Unlike the astrological stereotypes, important actions can be initiated during Mercury retrograde as well as successful contracts signed.  However, during Mercury retrograde it is advisable to sustain mental alertness and be open to signs, symbols, and information in your environment that can help guide your intuition toward which actions to take or commitments to make.

Mercury retrograde is intrinsic to Mercury in astrology, a planetary archetype of contesting and contrasting.  While Mercury signifies insight in addition to communication, the lessons of Mercury do not always come from stability, as experience shows that chaos and disorientation can lead to illumination and realization.  Once Mercury moves retrograde it descends from being a visible Evening Star into an invisible, subterranean guide of soul catalyzing change and growth in situations that range widely from the maddening to the vivifying.  Flowing with Mercury retrograde involves letting go of strict control, opening to the wisdom coming from unexpected sources.   As the changeable nature of Mercury is found in its extremely variable speed, when Mercury slows down to station it is important to pay attention to its aspects in the natal chart as well as to other planets by transit.

This is the second year in a row that we are experiencing Mercury stationing retrograde in Virgo during a time of eclipses, as last year in 2016 Mercury stationed retrograde in Virgo two days before an Annular Solar Eclipse.  This year’s version has a more mysterious opening act, however, due to it occurring in between eclipses rather than just before the beginning of eclipse season.  The days in between eclipses are always full of unexpected shifts and significant encounters, and so adding in the beginning of Mercury retrograde will amplify the strange fatefulness of the time.

Iris as Mercury and Vesta

Mercury stations retrograde while united with Vesta in Virgo and opposing Neptune in Pisces.  During the build-up to Mercury retrograde, which included the Lunar Eclipse in Aquarius, Mercury formed two exact conjunctions with Vesta (Mercury has been within three degrees of Vesta in Virgo since July 26).   A figure of myth who encapsulates the symbolism of Mercury united with Vesta in opposition to Neptune is Iris, handmaiden of Hera (Juno) and messenger to the gods.  Like Hermes, Iris also carries a caduceus, yet the other magical tool she carries, the water pitcher, helps show how her function as messenger differs from Hermes.  Golden-winged and radiant, Iris is a goddess of sea and sky who connects heaven and earth, watering the clouds with her water pitcher full of the enlivening waters she collects from the sea.  She therefore helps produce the rain that brings fertility and cleansing to our Earth, yet she is perhaps most known for her association with the rainbow she also creates.  Iris is as swift as stormy winds, able to descend into the depths of both the ocean as well as the underworld.  Similar to Hermes, Iris connects the world of gods with the world of humanity.

The union of Mercury with Vesta in opposition to Neptune signifies that through devotional focus we may perceive powerful messages and guidance, while at the same time suggesting a downfall could occur when engaged with deception.  One of the mediating roles that Iris plays between humanity and the gods is through facilitating the fulfillment of the prayers and wishes of humans by illuminating them to deities in position of assistance.  Indeed, the golden wings of Iris are capable of bringing light to the most dark of places.  Yet, for those who break oaths or knowingly express falsehoods, Iris will put them to sleep with the water she has collected from the River Styx in the underworld.   Similarly, with Neptune in Pisces playing a monumental role during the period of Mercury retrograde, it will be vital to maintain focus on being honest and authentic so as not to fall into the realm of Neptunian illusion that will be capable of wreaking havoc like a tidal wave.

The association between Iris with rainbows is a beautiful symbol to work with during the upcoming Mercury retrograde that will take us into the zone of an immensely powerful Total Solar Eclipse.   Rainbows not only link heaven and earth with their transcendent and otherworldly colors, they also help to inspire hope and the capacity to believe it is possible for us to lead a more fulfilling life than current circumstances indicate.  It is further fascinating that in some versions of myth that Iris is married to Zephyrus, the west wind, and that their union gave birth to Pothos, one of the winged gods of love (the erotes) whose name translates as “yearning” and is associated with strong desire and longing for a loved one who is oftentimes absent.  It will be important to stay grounded in our earthly realm (Virgo) with clear focus (Vesta) during this Mercury retrograde period, and yet at the same time to fully realize the available gifts we will need to allow our imaginations and desires to open us to potentials that go beyond the confines of our present reality (Neptune).

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The Apparition (1917) by Marc Chagall

Mercury opposes Neptune

The union of Mercury and Vesta in Virgo in opposition to Neptune dominates the beginning of this Mercury retrograde period, with Venus in Cancer playing a facilitating role.  As Mercury stations retrograde, Venus is separating from harmonious aspects with both Neptune and Mercury (a trine with Neptune; a sextile with Mercury), as well as separating from a recent conjunction with Ceres in Cancer.  During the retrograde movement of Mercury, Venus will move on to catalytic aspects with Pluto in Capricorn, Jupiter in Libra,  and Uranus in Aries.  The influence of Uranus is further strengthened by the Moon applying to a conjunction with Uranus as Mercury stations retrograde, as well as the fact that Mercury will ultimately station direct in a helpful trine with Uranus.  However, since Mercury will also station direct less than a day before a Full Moon in Pisces that is united with Neptune, there is an unmistakeable looming influence of Neptune upon the course of events that will accompany this period of Mercury retrograde.

While the totality of the aspects listed above could coincide with many diverse forms of challenge, all of them are amazing catalysts in the realm of artistry and inspiration.  Mercury has incredible strength in Virgo, being both its home and exaltation, and so as Mercury slowly begins to peel itself backwards it can help facilitate deep focus on artistic and academic projects of all mediums and forms, especially those that involve a component of research and analysis followed by expression.  Nine days after Mercury stations retrograde we will experience a Total Solar Eclipse in which Mercury will function more as a subtle guiding influence than a dominant component of the  portal opened with the syzygy.  During powerful eclipse alignments like we will experience this month, new manifestations will appear in our lives coinciding with other elements fading away.  It is a blessing Mercury is retrograde in Virgo, as it is a mutable earth sign that can aid us in staying connected within our bodies and all of the mutating details of our daily lives.

With the strong transpersonal influences of Neptune, as well as Uranus and Pluto, upon the Mercury retrograde, the capacity of Mercury to bring nonlinear and unexpected messages from oracular sources is heightened.  Pay close attention to the messages received from synchronous alignments of your daily path with animals, plants, minerals, music, and all manner of symbolic signs.  Allow your intuition and bodily instincts to transmit impressions that you value at least as much as whatever your rational mind is constructing.  It may prove very difficult to keep events moving in accord with carefully made plans, however opening up plans and projects to the flow and all of the changes that will coincide with the month ahead can improve end results.  Oftentimes the frustrating experiences of Mercury retrograde illuminate the exact components of life that needed our attention in order to be reworked or strengthened.

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The Creation of Man (1958) by Marc Chagall

Mercury in the Heart of the Sun

The rebirth moment for Mercury during its retrograde comes on August 26 when Mercury aligns with the Sun at the exact degree and minute.  This is known as Mercury’s cazimi moment in which it enters the heart of the Sun to be purified and regenerated.  In contrast to the Mercury cazimi that occurs when Mercury is moving direct on the other side of the Sun from our orbital position (known as its superior conjunction that last happened at the Cancer Solstice), the inferior conjunction of Mercury with the Sun occurs during its retrograde when Mercury passes in between our orbit with the Sun.  Symbolically, the superior conjunction tends to bring more spiritual epiphanies or sudden insights weaving disparate strands together, whereas Mercury at the heart of the Sun during its retrograde tends to bring a deeper, penetrating insight into the current reality of our material lives and the pang of incarnation in our earthly flesh.  In the days surrounding August 26 we may feel like resting our Mercurial functions as a part of its regeneration, however, the period of time in which Mercury is within a degree of the Sun on August 26 will bring added strength and power to all Mercurial activities such as all forms of research and expression.

Mercury will enter the heart of the Sun at 3º48′ of Virgo, an incredibly powerful placement of Mercury.  The fourth degree of Virgo is in both the home and exaltation of Mercury as well as within its own Egyptian bounds, signifying that this a section of the zodiac in which Mercury not only has important work to do but also has extraordinary strength.  The Sabian symbol for the fourth degree of Virgo, black and white children play together happily, was interpreted by Dane Rudhyar as signifying “the overcoming of socio-cultural prejudices.”  Though it may seem laughable during a time of such widespread vitriolic discourse in global politics full of prejudice that any sort of collective evolution could be occurring around oppression and prejudice, it is worth bearing in mind the play space of children in which the influence of cultural conditioning has not yet taken hold.  The Sabian symbol for the degree of Mercury cazimi suggests perceptions can awaken that go far beyond the constraints and limitations of how we have been conditioned by surrounding culture to perceive and judge the worth of others.   The idea of playing together happily also highlights the theme of imbibing daily life with as much playful creativity as possible during this time of tumultuous astrological transits.

Mercury will enter the heart of the Sun five days after the Total Solar Eclipse in Leo and one day after Saturn stations direct for the final time in Sagittarius.  At the same time Saturn is stationing, Jupiter will have entered the third decan of Libra it rules and will be applying closely to a last quarter sextile with Saturn.  As a result the period of Mercury entering the heart of the Sun on August 26 is a potent moment to re-center amidst all of the changes being brought forth from external and internal events.  Saturn stationing brings a seriousness to the moment that calls for us to walk and talk in absolute integrity with our inner values and principles, while the harmonious aspect between Jupiter and Saturn can bring opportunities to stabilize and strengthen both the vision as well as the foundation of whatever we are developing and crafting.

Iris_Carrying_the_Water_of_the_River_Styx_to_Olympus_for_the_Gods_to_Swear_By,_Guy_Head,_c._1793_-_Nelson-Atkins_Museum_of_Art_-_DSC08946

Iris Carrying the Water of the River Styx to Olympus for the Gods to Swear By (1793) by Guy Head

Mercury Stations Direct in Leo

Mercury stations direct on September 5 at the same degree as the Total Solar Eclipse in Leo.  Mars will have already entered Virgo by the time Mercury is exactly stationing, but during the course of its stationing Mercury and Mars will unite at the end of Leo.  Both the Sun as well as Mars will have united with the North Node of the Moon in Leo during Mercury’s retrograde, and Mercury will furthermore be stationing direct four degrees away from the North Node of the Moon.  At this point we can receive a important message that connects us directly with however the narratives of our lives has been transmuting during this period of eclipses, and with the new information will come opportunities to create movement within whatever openings came through with the eclipses.  Mercury uniting with Mars while it is stationing can coincide with some heated and difficult conflicts, so it will be important to be actively practicing mediating skills in conversations with others.  There is immense inspirational fire available in this period to push yourself forward dramatically in areas of growth you previously have not fully embraced.

The influence of Neptune looms over the stationing direct of Mercury, since the Moon will be applying to a conjunction with Neptune and within a day of its stationing we will experience a potent Full Moon in Pisces united with Neptune.   Amping up the energy even further is the fact that Jupiter in Libra will be getting closer to its final opposition with Uranus in Aries.   The opposition between Jupiter and Uranus is a breakthrough moment in which many diverse, ingenious insights and messages will enter the collective.  Some of the most powerful moments of the Jupiter and Uranus cycle, however, often come in the private moments of significant conversations and relationship experiences, or the work of isolated artists creating outside the rays of mainstream spotlights.  There is amazing inspiration and imagination available within the surrounding transits of Mercury stationing direct to seize and work with.

Finally, its interesting to note that Mercury will be stationing direct while in conjunction with the Persephone asteroid #399.  The myth of Persephone emerging out of her time in the underworld is a fitting symbol for the fact that both Mercury and Mars will be emerging from out of their underworld experiences while united with the Persephone asteroid.  Demetra George wrote the following about the Persephone asteroid in her book Finding Our Way Through the Dark:

In the birth chart Persephone, as a daughter of the patriarchy, symbolizes the process of a child’s separation from its mother.  Persephone can indicate how and where, either physically or psychologically, we may be abducted and plunged into an underworld experience (sometimes at an early age) where we encounter terror, loss, and confusion, and feelings of abandonment. This descent can enable us to develop a relationship with the hidden forces in our unconscious, activate our psychic abilities, release the past, discover a new sense of our adult self and strengths, and emerge transformed and renewed.  Some individuals who experience Persephone as a tragedy from which they have never recovered may react by developing patterns of distrust, withdrawal, fear of sexuality and intimacy, fantasy life, depression, chemical addictions, separation anxieties, victimizaiton, passivity and powerlessness, and being acted upon by the strong will of others.

–Demetra George

Persephone’s name means “she who is to be feared” (Guttman, p.176), and it is possible to view her abduction into the underworld as more about her destiny than a tragedy, for the unalterable shift she created in the cosmos through becoming a life partner of Hades who would descend and ascend back and forth between the upperworld and the underworld, was a calling that fit the unique gifts she held within her soul.  Roberto Calasso in The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony wrote that Persephone stepping into her role as Queen of the underworld who can re-ascend to the world above implied that the “invisible would now reassert its rights over the body of the visible more strictly than before: their dealings with each other, long diluted and mingled together on earth, would find a new center of gravity.”   Persephone, Mercury, and Mars united at the end of this retrograde signify that the time has arrived to collect all of the wisdom and courage you can draw from the past period of underworld experiences in order to re-ascend into our wider communities with whatever gift or message you have cultivated to share.  Like Iris soaring with golden wings and bearing a pitcher full of underworld water, we can create rainbows out of the stormy atmosphere and commit ourselves to oaths of living and creating in accordance with our essence in good ways for all.

References

 

Calasso, R. (1993). The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony.  Knopf.

George, D. (1994). Finding Our Way Through the Dark:  an astrological companion to Mysteries of the Dark Moon. AFA.

Guttman, A. & Johnson, K. (1993). Mythic Astrology:  Archetypal Powers in the Horoscope.

Rudhyar, Dane. (1974). An Astrological Mandala: the cycle of transformations and its 360 symbolic phases. Vintage.

Virgo Solar Eclipse

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Scott Young Virgo Eclipse

original artwork by Scott Young for graycrawford.net

Annular Solar Eclipse in Virgo

The Annular Solar Eclipse in Virgo on 1 September 2016 has ties with the Total Pisces Solar Eclipse that happened earlier in the year on March 8, but is most deeply bound to release into the Pisces Lunar Eclipse which will arrive on September 16.  Whereas the Pisces Solar Eclipse was an initiation into the dramatic changes of the year, the Virgo Solar Eclipse mediates events of the past six months at the same time it launches us into a new cycle of growth that will intensely flow into the Lunar Eclipse in Pisces that follows.  The ruler of the eclipse is Mercury at home and in exaltation in Virgo, but this is not your typically swift Mercury.  The Mercury ruling the Solar Eclipse is barely moving, having stationed retrograde two days prior.  Motionless in contemplation and analysis, Mercury retrograde is closely receiving Jupiter in a conjunction while also conjoining Venus in Libra, fortunate aspects that counterbalance the Solar Eclipse being opposite Neptune and closely square to the conjunction of Mars and Saturn.  Though the path may be labyrinthine in twists and turns, the Virgo Solar Eclipse will bring about discernment into grounded steps to take forward into the coming season, while letting go of old dreams we now realize were more illusory than practical.

With the Solar Eclipse conjoining the North Node of the Moon in Virgo, and its ruler Mercury also in Virgo, there is clear intent to attune to the natural enfoldment of cycles in our life, accepting and shedding what is passing away while being open to what is beginning to take form.  Liz Greene in The Astrology of Fate connected the winged goddess Astraea to the Winged Maiden of Virgo, a daughter of Zeus who walked the Earth during a Golden Age of prosperity in order to foster harmony amongst humanity with the natural world and its inherent order.  Astraea like Virgo honors the creation and destruction of the natural order, the waning and waxing of the Moon, the cycles of seasons and their connection to growth and decay.  There is Mercurial pleasure Virgo takes in following the order of natural cycles, displeasure when creating disorder from forcing things to happen that go against the appropriate timing of the moment.  If we can let go of whatever attachments are getting in the way of opening to the naturally occurring change happening at the Virgo Solar Eclipse, with the willingness to trust the flow of life will come keen awareness of choices that will lead to essential development.

Annular_solar_eclipse_1976

Annular Solar Eclipse image by Hans Bernhard from 29 April 1976

Since the Solar Eclipse is Annular, it means the fertile void of its blackness will have a ring of light around it.  Annular eclipses occur as a result of the Moon being far enough away in orbit from the Earth that its shadow does not completely cover the Sun.  One of my favorite interpretations of solar eclipses is by Dane Rudhyar, who said the symbolism of the Moon’s shadow covering the face of the Sun suggests that forces from our past, as well as unconscious influences, veil the present with their fecund darkness.  Eclipses can feel like an uncontrollable tidal force taking us into an unknown we do not always feel ready for.  In combination with their unworldly visual element when seen, people have feared eclipses for ages, in ancient times portraying them as a great dragon of chaos and creation consuming our Sun and Moon.  Yet eclipses do not need to be feared.  Dragons are symbols of instinct and chaotic destruction that bring together the spiritually elevated with the chthonic, similar to eclipses in that greater wholeness can be found through the dissolution they bring about.  When stepping into the streams of eclipse season its best to remember the old fragmentary wisdom of Heraclitus:  unless you expect the unexpected, you will not find it, for it is hidden and pathless.

The lunar nodes are wholly metaphysical, as they do not physically exist but are instead calculations originally discovered to predict eclipses. The lunar nodes are points in space found through the intersection of the Earth’s orbit around the Sun with the Moon’s orbit around Earth: the South Node of the Moon being the descending arc of the Moon’s orbit (associated with the tail of the dragon, the past, release, the unconscious), while the North Node of the Moon is the ascending arc of the Moon’s orbit across the ecliptic (associated with the head of the dragon) and therefore has become associated with the conscious ascension of desire for incarnation and manifestation in our material realm.   Vitally, the Virgo Solar Eclipse is conjoining the North Node of the Moon.  As a result, the eclipse will awaken intimations of future growth and activate new methods.  The intersection of the past into the eclipse portal brings a Dragon’s Pearl that has been born from the darkness of the beast’s belly, a natural gem purified across time that now opens awareness to future potential and evolutionary growth.

sara taft merciful tear

Merciful Tear by Sara Taft

There are diverse interpretations of the lunar nodes in astrology, but one unifying concept is that meaning coming from the South Node of the Moon is released in a way that amplifies the meaning of the North Node of the Moon.  What we can all agree on is that Neptune is conjoining the South Node of the Moon, and the Solar Eclipse is conjoining the North Node.  This results in a release valve on Neptune feeding into the eclipse.   Neptune here dissolves old illusions that have been limiting your perspective, washing away fantasies and dreams that are not congruent with the bare bones of your circumstances and achievable in practical, concrete steps.   This does not mean to limit your thinking or keep yourself boxed into a restrictive place, only to fully accept your surrounding environment and what is actually happening, who or what are actually in reach as resources.

Adding incredible intensity to the eclipse is the conjunction of Mars and Saturn in Sagittarius that forms a square to the lunar nodes.  Positively, this alignment can point to what structures need to be torn down, rebuilt or further strengthened, as well as support creation of a blueprint for an entirely new structure that will bolster one’s essential meaning being developed.  For those grieving a loss,  within the hard feelings healing can come from retrieving irreplaceable elements of what has passed away that will continue to bring value going forward.  As awareness focuses on the true change occurring that contrasts with what had been expected or hoped for, the Mercurial element of the Virgo Solar Eclipse can facilitate attuning to the underlying fabric of what is really going on.

The Sabian symbol for the Solar Eclipse is “Two heads looking out and beyond the shadows,” which Dane Rudhyar described as unveiling “the growth of true understanding, born out of the transcendence of duality even while immersed in the world of duality.”  Essentially, Rudhyar meant the tenth degree of Virgo points to our mind operating within the conflicts and oppositions of duality, with potential realization revealing that the opposite sides of duality “are complementary aspects of the one Reality which sustains and encompasses all dualistic modes of existence.”  Rudhyar emphasized this broader awareness facilitates moving beyond the shadows generated by internal conflicts.  This sounds a lot like the transcendent function of Carl Jung,  in which holding the tension of oppositions within the psyche mediates between the ego and unconscious, leading to new awareness that unites the internal opposition creatively.

An ancient fragment of Heraclitus comments on this idea of two opposite things coinciding within one thing utilizing the Sagittarius imagery of the bow and arrow:  the name of the bow (βιός) is life (βιός), but it’s work is death (the word that means “life” and “bow” have the same letters but there is a stress on a different syllable when spoken).  Another fragment of Heraclitus also draws upon this same concept of harmony underlying the asymmetrical through the imagery of the strings of a bow being pulled backwards in two directions at the same time:  they do not understand that what differs agrees with itself; it is an attunement of opposite tension, like that of the bow and the lyre.  Since Mars and Saturn in Sagittarius being in hard aspect to the opposition between the Virgo Solar Eclipse and Neptune in Pisces signifies conflict, if we want to avoid becoming lost in the whirlwind we need to loosen the dogmatic side of Sagittarius and fortify the shifting quality of Sagittarius that synthesizes and coalesces understanding out of change and strife.

eclipse From Compendiolum de praeparatione auri potabilis veri, attributed to M[arcus] E[ugenius] Bonacina, ca. 1790

From Compendiolum de preparation auri potabilis veri, attributed to Marcus Eugenius Bonacina (1790)

Relationship issues will receive care and attention as a result of Venus being at home in Libra at the eclipse, increasing in light as an Evening Star.  As the Moon waxes toward its Lunar Eclipse on September 16, Venus will work on healing the fracturing of Mars and Saturn through forming a sextile to each, and then applying to an opposition with Uranus in Aries.  The building opposition between Venus and Uranus in between the eclipses stokes the intensity and electricity of the eclipse season, with startling insights that jolt us out of previously restrictive relational patterns striking unexpectedly.  Most importantly considering the waves of change occurring that will feel unsettling to many, Venus in Libra supports listening to the needs of others in relationship as well as not only listening to our own needs but expressing them to others in direct communication.

A few days after the solar eclipse, after the waning moon in Virgo passes over Jupiter and enters Libra to conjunct Venus, Jupiter will descend at sunset from being an Evening Star into its invisible chthonic phase in which it will be purified and regenerated under the beams of the Sun.  When Jupiter ingresses into Libra in the following week, it will enter its new sign only a couple of days before the last exact square between Saturn and Neptune.   Jupiter during the upcoming eclipse cycle will illuminate an old vision of who we are in relationship so we can release and let go of how we have been holding ourselves back in our interactions with others.  Additional support for embodying a new presence that may feel unfamiliar, yet allows us to ignore external judgment and express greater genuineness can be found in the conjunction between Juno and the mean node of Black Moon Lilith in Scorpio that forms a sextile with the Virgo Solar Eclipse.

pents08

8 of Pentacles by Pamela Colman Smith

Virgo 1 Decan

The first face of Virgo where the Annular Solar Eclipse occurs is associated with the Eight of Pentacles card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith.  In the image we see an artist and craftsman fully engrossed in the moment with his art, concentrating with full attention to one direct focus in the moment. This image evokes the importance of taking things step by step, one task at a time, completing each aspect of the process with loving care and attention.  Austin Coppock in his book 36 Faces ascribed the image of “A Tree Bearing Fruit” to this face, noting the prevalence of images associated with “fruitful works” developed through “humble observation of, and careful tending to, the created world” in ancient texts:

The first decan of an earth sign, this face provides initiation into the mysteries of incarnation. It teaches the difference between the touched and the untouched, and the prudence of postponing delight until the fruit is ripe. It makes for careful craftsman, thoughtful merchants and wise farmers, though many other transformers of the prima materia are here as well. Though the formulae of this face is one of humility, it results in works of surprising glory. Creation ripens for those who can hear and heed its voice.

— Austin Coppock, 36 Faces, p. 139-140

The Sun rules the first face of Virgo, giving the Sun enhanced ability to bring about its solar significations than it otherwise would by being in the home of Mercury.   Mercury retrograde receiving its conjunction with Jupiter in Virgo highlights a visionary potential to be found in the smallest of tasks performed with integrity and absorbed focus.  To embody our solar potential available at the Virgo Solar Eclipse, however, we need to turn this magical focus within in order to fully embrace and accept everything about ourselves.  With the additional activation of Libra that comes through the eclipse, it is vital not to project inner issues into our relationships but instead listen clearly to what our relationships are communicating to us, not how we are interpreting their message in relation to our own issues.  With full embrace of our current reality within its streams of change, the Virgo Solar Eclipse becomes a powerful stepping stone on the path of creating deeper sustenance and fulfillment out of the shifting tides coming through this September.

VirgoSolarEclipseWRIGC4

References

BBC Radio 4, In Our Time. (7 December 2011). Heraclitus.

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

Greene, Liz. (1984). The Astrology of Fate. Weiser Books.

Rudhyar, Dane. (1973). An Astrological Mandala: the cycle of transformations and its 360 symbolic phases. Vintage Books.

Rudhyar, Dane. (1980). The Astrology of Transformation. Quest Books.

Mercury Retrograde in Virgo

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Splendor Solis Mercury flask

Mercury Flask from the Splendor Solis

We know where [ Hermes ] comes from and what type of consciousness he exemplifies.  He is most likely the same dark depth of being from which we all originate.  Perhaps for this reason Hermes can so convincingly hover before us, lead us on our ways, show us golden treasures in everyone through the split-second timing which is the spirit of finding and thieving- all of this because he creates his reality out of us, or more properly through us, just as one fetches water not so much out of a well as through the well from the much deeper regions of the earth . . .  Despite the thievery and deceit and shamelessness- and this is probably the most wonderful thing about it- a divine innocence is properly suited to and inherent in it.  Hermes has nothing to do with sins and atonement.  What he brings with him from the springs of creation is precisely the “innocence of becoming.”

— Karl Kerenyi, from Hermes: Guide of Souls

Mercury Retrograde in Virgo

It’s in twilight when it comes.  The shift of hue and space arrives, transmuting sunlight into variegated shadow, enveloping life in a polychromatic caress of sensuous mood and mysterious measure.  With a flash of light Mercury descends retrograde into the darkening brilliance of sunset, disappearing into its invisible, underworld phase with a message to receive.  The sign of Virgo where Mercury stations in stillness is the nocturnal home of Hermes, the quicksilver messenger and companion of black night whose serpentine staff enchants and lulls, whose fluttering wings break open any static sleepiness of mind.  As Mercury slows down, comes to a standstill, and then turns backward in retrograde motion through the zodiac, we cross a liminal threshold that invites alterations of mental fixations and openings to manifold perspectives.

In the realm of popular culture, periods of Mercury retrograde are known as disastrous aberrations in which Mercury becomes a scapegoat for all misfortunes and mishaps.  Yet the Mercury retrograde period is a regular cyclical phenomenon that happens at least three times every year, an essential aspect of Mercury’s orbit just like the consistent blackening of the Moon in its orbit.  Unlike the astrological stereotypes, important actions can be initiated during Mercury retrograde as well as successful contracts signed.  However, during Mercury retrograde it is advisable to sustain mental alertness and be open to signs, symbols, and information in your environment that can help guide your intuition toward which actions to take or commitments to make.

Mercury retrograde is intrinsic to Mercury in astrology, a planetary archetype of contesting and contrasting.  While Mercury signifies insight and smooth communication, the lessons of Mercury do not always come from stability, as experience shows that chaos and disorientation lead to illumination and realization.  Once Mercury moves retrograde it descends from being a visible Evening Star into an invisible, subterranean guide of soul catalyzing change and growth in situations that range widely from the frustrating to the enlivening.  Flowing with Mercury retrograde involves letting go of strict control and order, opening to the wisdom coming from unexpected sources.   As the changeable nature of Mercury is found in its extremely variable speed, when Mercury slows dow to station it is important to pay attention to its aspects in the natal chart as well as to other planets by transit.  The Mercury retrograde in Virgo begins with the strange brew of Mercury stationing in a beneficial conjunction with Jupiter and Venus, at the entrance into a dramatic portal of eclipses.

Mercury stations retrograde in Virgo on 30 August 2016 at a Dark Moon two days before an annular Solar Eclipse.  In the blackness of the Balsamic Moon, Mercury will be surrounded by Venus and Jupiter with all three planets visible during the changing colors of sunset.  Since Mercury is both at home and exalted in Virgo, and surrounded on both sides by the visionary Jupiter and the pleasing Venus, Fortuna smiles upon this alignment.  Furthering fortune, at the same time Mercury stations retrograde Venus enters her own sign of Libra where she will luxuriate for the entirety of the backward motion of Mercury, increasing in brightness as an Evening Star.  However, these signs of expansive harmony coexist with Mercury stationing at the time of a potent Solar Eclipse in hard aspect to Mars, Saturn, and Neptune.  Mercury retrograde in Virgo will be the psychopomp guiding us through an eclipse season that will call for the release of old attachments and beliefs, but in the letting go a space will open for nurturing innovation.

MercuryStationRxWRIGC3

Magritte-the-cultivation-of-ideas

The Cultivation of Ideas (1928) by Renee Magritte

In ‘nature’ there’s no choice-
flowers
swing their heads in the wind, sun & moon
are as they are. But we seem
almost to have it ( not just
available death )

It’s energy; a spider’s thread: not to
‘go on living’ but to quicken, to activate: extend:
Some have it, they force it-

with work or laughter or even
the act of buying, if that’s
all they can lay hands on-

the girls crowding the stores, where light,
colour, sold dreams are- what gay
desire! It’s their festival,
ring game, wassail, mystery.

It has no grace like that of
the grass, the humble rhythms, the
falling & rising of leaf and star;
it’s barely
a constant. Like salt:
take it or leave it

The ‘hewers of wood’ & so on; every damn
craftsman has it while he’s working
but it’s not
a question of work: some
shine with it, in repose. Maybe it is
response, the will to respond- (‘reason
can give nothing at all / like
the response to desire’) maybe
a gritting of the teeth, to go
just that much further, beyond the end
beyond whatever ends to begin, to be, to defy.

–Denise Levertov, Beyond the End

Virgo is a mutable earth sign in which Mercury is exalted and comfortably at home, with all of its resources and tools at its disposal.  As a result, the tricks and wayward paths Mercury guides us through during its retrograde promise to make essential aspects of our reality illuminated even when reinforcing the obscurity of our world and the impossibility of knowing everything clearly.  Virgo is an inwardly directed and receptive place for Mercury to burrow into fertile sources of research, devise practical solutions to current predicaments, discern dietary and physical routines to fortify the body, and purify the mind from whatever heavy issues have been accumulating and weighing one down.

The year of 2016 has had the theme of Mercury being retrograde in earth signs (Mercury retrograde in Aquarius and Capricorn in January;  Mercury retrograde in Taurus in April and May),  a sequence of retrogrades that has called for us to reorient to the surrounding material world and the way we create meaning out of our senses.  Our relationship with finances and the flow of resources in our life has also been highlighted by Mercury being  retrograde in earth signs this year, and will again be significant with the God of Commerce being in its home of Virgo.  Since Mercury stations retrograde in sync with a Solar Eclipse in Virgo, and a Lunar Eclipse in Pisces follows, this retrograde in Virgo promises to be most pivotal in terms of adjusting our resources and livelihood in connection with the momentous changes of the current year.

Another theme of the three Mercury retrogrades so far this year is that each of them has had significant aspects with Mars, Jupiter, and Pluto, resulting in cathartic change in our vision of life and the manner in which we use our will-force to manifest fulfillment.  As a result of the surrounding astrological climate, Mercury’s retrograde in Virgo will bring increased emphasis to reorienting personal beliefs, opening awareness more acutely to how perception and knowledge are bound to one’s own sense of culture and existence.  Mercury retrograde in Virgo can be used to uncover how one’s beliefs have to do with whatever one is used to or not used to experiencing.  While Mercury is retrograde in Virgo situations will present themselves in a way that facilitates rearranging or releasing old conceptual thought patterns rooted in belief systems Mercury will be able to loosen.

The pull of Mercury retrograde within to know thyself on deeper levels is amplified by the inner focus of Virgo.  Since Mars and Saturn both signify separation, the beginning of the retrograde involves dealing with whatever difficult losses or challenges have come into our life in correspondence with Mars and Saturn aligning at the Heart of the Scorpion (the fixed star Antares).  Mercury stationing retrograde while surrounded by Jupiter and Venus points toward healing oneself from the vast well within, eventually coalescing what has been fragmented to return to a sense of wholeness.  The Virgo retrograde of Mercury can open newfound self knowledge from within that catalyzes defiant strength in overcoming adversity and going beyond previous limitations.

René-Magritte-The-Castle-of-the-Pyrenees-1959-The-Israel-Museum

Rene’ Magritte (1959) The Castle of the Pyrenees

Swing of the scythe
illuminated, displaced
into my book of hours, the falling
grass, gold leafed
on the uneven
left upper windowpane-

But way up on the hill
the drift of field-air around you,
the scythe singing,
and what birds you may hear.

— Denise Levertov, Down Here and up There

The final last quarter square between Saturn in Sagittarius and Neptune in Pisces  that has dominated the astrological atmosphere in the past year is a core aspect of Mercury being retrograde in Virgo.  Additionally, the overarching influence that Mars has possessed in 2016 is also mediated by Mercury, as its Virgo retrograde begins with Mars having finally moved beyond the shadow zone of the red planet’s retrograde, and finally having activated its new phase with Saturn and its last quarter square phase with Neptune.  Making these themes of Mars, Saturn, and Neptune even more extreme is that Mars and Saturn are in square to the transiting lunar nodes, Neptune is conjoining the transiting South Node of the Moon, and at the beginning of the Mercury retrograde there is a dramatic Solar Eclipse that is opposite Neptune, square to Saturn and Mars, and conjunct the transiting North Node of the Moon.  Since the Mercury retrograde begins with a Solar Eclipse, there is a deeply mysterious element to the underworld journey Hermes will guide us through that will defy full understanding until a later time of reflection.

In part the square between Saturn and Neptune is about the boundaries and structures in every dimension of life.  While Saturn and Neptune in square can reveal ironic insight and the underlying meaning in the bones of any matter, with Mercury retrograde in Virgo we will also sense how the very idea of being able to penetrate with analysis to core understanding and rationally solve all problems through ordering is a fantasy in itself.  Neptune signifies an immaterial dimension that goes beyond intellectual understanding, and so Mercury in its retrograde role will play the part of Socrates, revealing the ignorance of mental frameworks in order to initiate deeper searches for how to live a life of genuine happiness.  At the same time, the limitations and boundaries of Saturn are necessary to effectively integrate Neptune in a manner that keeps one grounded.  The Virgo retrograde of Mercury in tandem with Mars in Sagittarius can focus awareness on the details needed to keep ourselves healthy and operating at an optimal level of energy in our environment.

The sign of Virgo forms a superior square to Sagittarius, a concept that points to the purification of Virgo taking precedence during the retrograde over the hardened, heavy realities of Mars and Saturn in Sagittarius.  The tension between Mars, Saturn, and Neptune at the beginning of Mercury’s retrograde reveal us to be at the tentative beginning of a new cycle, with an old cycle that has already culminated being in its last remnants of disintegration. There has also been a Mars catalyst of activating serious determination to set targets for long range goals.  As a result, Mercury retrograde in Virgo can aid us in purifying the past through weaving elements of what has been lost together with the opening for the unknown future they have created.  Mercury in its underworld journey can guide us to places that will recover and repair wounds of the past cycle, refortifying our capacity to fully embody the present moment.

Chagall the-deer-looking-itself-in-the-water

The Deer Looking Itself in the Water by Marc Chagall

Under the harvest sun the heart
ripens on its wall;
under the heat of noon the mind
like a leaf is cool.
The angelus and the goat bell
sway across the grass;
butterflies in blue mid-air
touch and spin apart.
Any attempted dream must fall
to ruin in this light, must pass
before the mocking glance
of idle animals.
There is no need to escape
from the motionless mountain
there is no need to escape
when here the indifferent lake
accepts a nervous image,
demands no affirmation
of innocence or faith.

— Denise Levertov, Sarnen

Mercury in the Heart

When Mercury is retrograde it is passing in between the orbits of Earth and the Sun, which is what creates the illusion that it is moving backward through the zodiac from our perspective on Earth.  As a result, when Mercury retrograde conjoins the Sun during its retrograde it is in alignment with our planet as close at it ever gets.  This is the Inferior Conjunction of Mercury when Mercury is said to be cazimi, at the heart of the Sun.  This window of time in which Mercury passes within a degree of the Sun (some say it is really within 17 minutes of the Sun) is a magical moment in the synodic cycle of Mercury in which all of its significations are strengthened by the Solar Light.  It is a rebirth of the Mercury archetype in our life, as Mercury has been undergoing a purifying regeneration in the beams of the Sun while approaching the conjunction.   Mercury enters the heart of the Sun on September 12 while also being square to Mars in Sagittarius.  It comes two days after the final exact square between Saturn and Neptune and so has a lot to do with the aftermath of their upheaval.

Though the square between Mars in Sagittarius and the Mercury-Sun union is most exact, it is also significant considering the Saturn-Neptune influence that Chiron in Pisces is in range of a square to Mars and an opposition to Mercury cazimi.  Chiron functions as a bridge between the realm of Saturn and the realm of Neptune that stretches far beyond the rings of Saturn.  As a result of its retrograde movement, Mercury will also end up passing back and forth across an opposition with Chiron three different times.  Chiron’s influence fosters the purification of Virgo and the healing of wounds that can ultimately lead one to embody a higher frequency in which heavy accumulations of the psyche have been burned off.

However, with Mars forming an exact square to Mercury’s union with the Sun it means that there will be a lot of intensity, if not external conflict than internal conflict to face in any rebirth process.  Mercury at the heart of the Sun in this retrograde cycle is incredibly active and martial in force, capable of propelling oneself dramatically forward.  If instead the Mars influence on Mercury’s Inferior Conjunction leads to more of a wounding crash, than the remaining Mercury retrograde period can be utilized to begin readjusting and reorienting as needed.

MercuryCazimiVirgoWRIGC2

Vasily Kafanov mystery of fishtower

Vasily Kafanov (1998) Mystery of the Fishtower

When the white fog burns off,
the abyss of everlasting light
is revealed. The last cobwebs
of fog in the
black firtrees are flakes
of white ash in the world’s hearth.

Cold of the sea is counterpart
to this great fire. Plunging
out of the burning cold of ocean
we enter an ocean of intense
noon. Sacred salt
sparkles on our bodies.

After mist has wrapped us again
in fine wool, may the taste of salt
recall to us the great depths about us.

–Denise Levertov, The Depths

Four days after Mercury unites with the Sun, a Lunar Eclipse in Pisces will illuminate the heart of the Mercury retrograde cycle.  Once again Mars in Sagittarius holds extraordinary influence, as it forms a close square to the Lunar Eclipse.  Chiron is also highlighted once again as it will conjoin the Lunar Eclipse, echoing the extremely powerful Total Solar Eclipse in March 2016 that was also conjoining Chiron.  Mercury retrograde at this point will be moving toward a trine to Pluto and away from its square to Mars.  The Pisces Lunar Eclipse lights up the full polarity of the sign of Virgo with martial ferociousness.  In collective events, it is an ominous configuration in terms of increased violence coming from crusaders, martyrs, terrorists, and persecutors fixated on dogmatic belief systems.  The shadow side of Virgo that can involve responding to chaotic change through overexerting control or obsessing over perfectionistic ideals could come out if we are not careful.  If we can enter the flow of this eclipse, we can instead let go of control and enter the pure space of whatever the moment is asking from us.

Sekhmet temple bw

Fascinatingly, the Sekhmet archetype will be involved in this section of Mercury’s underworld journey as the Sekhmet asteroid #5381 will be conjunct both the Virgo Sun at the time of the Lunar Eclipse (at 24º Virgo) as well as conjunct Mercury’s Inferior Conjunction (at 23º Virgo).  Though some may scoff at the significance of an obscure asteroid placement in this overall astrological arrangement, I had been feeling a strong intuition connected with Sekhmet which is what led me to notice its alignment with the Mercury retrograde.  Sekhmet is an ancient lion headed goddess, primordial and fierce, whose fiery rage brings purification.  Sekhmet, Great One of Magic, Lady of Transformations, At Whose Wish the Arts were Born, Self-Contained, Opener of Ways, Satisfier of Desires, Destroyer by Fire, Devouring One, The One Who Holds Back Darkness, Lady of the Waters of Life, Great One of Healing . . . her epithets are multitudinous, her nature impossible to fully encompass in language.

Sekhmet’s presence during Mercury retrograde makes the virginal maiden of Virgo a lion headed goddess on the prowl through the desert landscapes of our dreams and inner psychic life, destroying old, obsolete, and decaying attachments with her ferocious form.  Since Mars the red planet is so emphasized at this point of the Mercury retrograde, and in fact Mars forms a square to the Sekhmet asteroid at this time, it is further compelling that red is a sacred color to Sekhmet just as red is the shade the Moon turns during a Lunar Eclipse.  Sekhmet has a message that any anger that arises in association with Mars in Sagittarius during the Mercury retrograde can be utilized to purify and burn off whatever needs to be let go and released.

Frida Roots II

Frida Kahlo (1943) Roots

The gleam of thy drenched
floors of leaf-layers! Fragrance
of death and change!
If there is only
now to live, I’ll live
the hour till doom stroke
crouched with the russet toad,
my huge human size
no more account than a bough fallen:

not upward,
searching for branch-hidden sky:
I’ll look
down into paradise.

Thy moss gardens, the deep
constellations of green, the striate
rock furred with emerald,
inscribed with gold lichen,
with scarlet!
Thy smooth
acorns in roughsurfaced
precise cups!
Thy black
horns of plenty!

–Denise Levertov: Forest Altar, September

Equinox Stationing

Mercury will station direct at the time of the Autumn Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, the Spring Equinox in the Southern Hemisphere.  Mercury also stations in range of some powerful aspects:  a trine to Pluto in Capricorn, a square to Saturn in Sagittarius, an opposition to Neptune in Pisces, and a conjunction with the North Node of the Moon.  However, the most exact and catalytic aspect formed by Mercury as it stations is a square with the Moon, as the Moon will be in Gemini creating a Mutable Grand Cross between the Moon, Mercury, Saturn, Neptune, and the lunar nodes.  Mercury will be receiving the Moon as a result, and so this moment of Mercury stationing direct portends a bigger shift in mental framework than is typically the case when Mercury stations direct.  The aspects surrounding Mercury stationing direct in Virgo suggest it is a significant moment of mediation not only for the past Mercury retrograde cycle, but for the events of the entire year so far.

As Mercury stations direct, it shifts from being invisible to once again making an appearance during the fiery rise of the Sun as a Morning Star, a condition that to Hellenistic astrologers signified a transmission of an oracular message.  It is beautiful symbolism that Mercury stations direct at the time of the Equinox, a time of rebalancing between night and day, a season in the Northern Hemisphere in which cool dry winds begin to blow as green leaves shift to shades of auburn and gold.   My personal view of astrology is that all Mercury retrograde phases signify vital regeneration, however, this particular Mercury retrograde in Virgo appears to signify cathartic rebirth that goes beyond the norm for Mercury retrograde.  It may not feel easy at times, but as John Lennon sang “Living is easy with eyes closed / misunderstanding all you see.”  As the Sun enters the sign of the Scales as Mercury begins to move forward again as a Morning Star, our mind will recalibrate to focus with revivified heart on the desires that will bring us greater happiness and fulfillment in the season ahead.

MercuryStationDirectWRIGC1C

References

Kerenyi, Karl. (1976). Hermes: Guide of Souls. Spring.

Levertov, Denise. (2013). Collected Poems. New Directions.

Full Moon in Taurus and the Dawn of Jupiter, Venus, and Mars in Virgo

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Full Moon in Taurus

Blind Minotaur Led by a Girl through the Night (1934) by Pablo Picasso

Taurus Full Moon

The Full Moon in Taurus on October 27 arrives like a temporary rainbow following a savage storm, fittingly at the Sabian symbol degree of “the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.”  In the penetrating streams of the Scorpio season, a full lunation in the sign of the Moon’s exaltation is auspicious for centering within the immense field of depth and death that coincides with our solar light passing through the tropical sign of the sensitive, venomous Scorpion.  Yes, things are always changing, yet we can now add Mercury retrograde to the list of pattern breaking transits we have completed that also includes eclipses and Venus retrograde.  As a result, this Full Moon is an opportunity to find calm in the fateful transitions we can now sense, in order to discern the choices we can make in our highest good through probing deep into the needs and current state of our emotional and physical bodies.

In the Northern hemisphere, it is easy to associate the cold decay and decomposition of Fall that creates the compost of our future growth with the meaning of Scorpio, bearing in mind that in our Southern hemisphere it is the blossoming season of Spring.  The axis of Scorpio and Taurus lit up at this time involves signs of Water and Earth, signs that are nocturnal and yin, the homes of Mars and Venus where we can most acutely feel on internal levels the pang of our human desires.  Scorpio and Taurus are fixed signs that as a result are about stabilizing on internal levels, yet in the constant flux and loss of our material realm in bodies that are vulnerable to the wounds of time and disease, the desire to feel stability through our attachment to certain values and ideas makes us face the multitudinous crises of our human life.

Whereas Scorpio where our Sun currently resides has a martial, plutonic ability to focus with instinctual, psychic sensitivity into the atmosphere of any environment, Taurus where our Moon is waxing full has a fecund, fruitful inner awareness aligned with Venus.  Taurus wants to be surrounded by whatever is found to be beautiful, as Taurus is the inner home of Venus where we can get in touch with our inner values that bring a sense of beauty to our life.  Venus is the ruler of this Taurus Full Moon and making extraordinary aspects of separating from a conjunction with Jupiter and applying to a conjunction with Mars at the time of the Full Moon, as well as closely applying to an opposition with Chiron in Pisces.  Venus and Mars so close together and being the rulers of the two lights at this Full Moon means the messages we receive at this time are absolutely crucial to pay attention to.  There is huge potential at this time to feel our desires and realize whether our current actions are in alignment our out of alignment with a trajectory that will help us with their manifestation.

Jupiter, Venus, Mars in Virgo

The Tree of Life (first half 17th Century) British, canvas with silk thread

 Mutable Magnum Opus

While our two lights are in fixed signs at this Full Moon, the dominant astrological modality is the mutable as Jupiter, Venus, and Mars are in Virgo, Neptune and Chiron are in Pisces, and Saturn is in Sagittarius.  Mutable signs are about shifts, transitions, and being aligned with Jupiter and Mercury their fluid nature is often applied to our beliefs, vision, analysis, and communication. In the mutable meeting ground of Jupiter, Venus, and Mars, we are initiating a new vision of meaning from a place of inner desire and value.

The most exact aspect of the Full Moon is that the ruling Venus is closely applying to an opposition with Chiron in Pisces, while Jupiter is also applying and Mars is separating from being opposite Chiron. Chiron is a celestial body that bridges the Saturn dimension of astrology with the dimensions of astrology beyond Uranus, as well as with the wounds and healing of wounds that coincide with transitions to farther reaching awareness. While the wounds associated with Chiron feel very personal when they are occurring, potentially our experience of facing these challenges and working through them transports us to another level of being.  The triple conjunction of Jupiter, Venus, and Mars being opposite Chiron while separating from a trine to Pluto in Capricorn can coincide with an opening to core needs and desires that source feelings of empowerment if we structure an outlet or practice to express them through.  In correlation we can be shown where we need to get out of our own way in order to access this newfound dimension of strength.

The mutable initiation of a new cycle between Jupiter, Venus, and Mars having a liberating transpersonal quality is augmented by the conjunctions occurring in the sign of Mercury, Mercury concurrently being in the sign of Venus, and Mercury separating from an opposition with Uranus at the time of the Venusian Full Moon. Mercury’s recent opposition to Uranus could have correlated with insight into relationship needs and discernment of opportunities for collaboration that could break us out of past restrictive patterns if enacted. In the mutual accord and shared feeling of partnership we can access a deeper sense of self and wholeness. As Mercury opposed Uranus this past week, we likely felt the magnetic pull of those relationships which can help us activate this opening. Since the Mercury and Uranus opposition is now separating, the illumination of this Taurus Full Moon reveals what has been unearthed on shore following a surge of tidal forces.

However, in our surrounding oceanic field there is a more imposing tidal wave building in the form of a mutable square between Saturn in Sagittarius and Neptune in Pisces.  This is the great celestial backdrop to the current scene of our drama, and while it will not become exact until November 26, 2015 it has now gotten within three degrees and is at it’s closest point yet in this cycle.  Back in March 2015 when Saturn in Sagittarius stationed retrograde, Saturn was also about three degrees away from Neptune so it may be possible with reflection to notice a tie between events culminating now that are bound back to five or six months ago.

Saturn and Neptune have vastly different meanings, including that Saturn governs structures and constructs of consensus reality while Neptune as Dane Rudhyar wrote brings us messages from beyond, beyond here signifying concepts such as the boundless field sourcing our reality and the collective unconscious.  Contacting Saturn enlivens us to work hard and overcome crucial tests, whereas contacting Neptune enlivens us to dream and imagine beyond the constraints of present circumstances.  Both planets being in the home of Jupiter means this square can fundamentally alter our vision of life and how we create meaning for ourselves, with old outworn constructs dissolving in the waves of Neptune.

Venus conjunct Jupiter in Virgo

Sphinx (550 B.C.) Greek

Virgo Jupiter, Venus, Mars

The new cycles beginning now between Jupiter, Venus, and Mars deserve some extra thought and attention as they are the third to occur this year, and the final ones that will finally initiate a new cycle within each dyad.  The exception to this triple phenomenon is Jupiter and Mars, as Jupiter and Mars recently experienced their first and only conjunction of the year in Virgo at the time of the recent Crescent Moon in the currently waxing lunar cycle.  This is in fact the first new cycle to initiate between Jupiter and Mars since July 2013 when they were both in Cancer, and so we are now at the early, disorienting phase of getting in touch with the desires that will be animating a regenerated vision for our life.

The cycle between Venus and Jupiter is more about the relationship between our inner values and our vision for life, and we are now at the third and final initiation of their new cycle since the beginning of July 2015.  On July 1, 2015 Venus and Jupiter were first conjunct in the third decan of Leo (with Venus direct at the time of a Full Moon), and were again on August 4, 2015 (with Venus retrograde and also in square to Saturn in Scorpio) also in the third face of Leo.  The first of this series when Venus and Jupiter were uniting as beautiful illuminated lights in our night sky had a conquering feeling of setting out with passionate hope and ideals toward who or what we found deeply meaningful, whereas the second of the series was more of a trial by fire with the exact square to Saturn coinciding with pivotal challenges we had to solve.  Now, the final conjunction of the series occurring in the second face of Virgo will correlate with a process of refinement, focusing into the details of our circumstances in order to create the sense of quality in our life we find most authentic and desirable.

A week after the Full Moon during the waning Moon, Venus will unite with Mars for the third and final time this cycle on November 2, and we will begin to feel a resolution to relational patterns that not only stretch across the past year but all the way back to 2013.  The last time we had a completely new initiated cycle between Venus and Mars was in April 2013 when they were in Aries, and if you are like me you will notice there is a direct, palpable thread between the issues of our desires and values then and now.  During this previous year, we have had two other conjunctions of Venus and Mars, but neither was truly the beginning of a new cycle because we knew they still had more conjunctions to come.  On February 21, 2015 we had the first conjunction of Mars and Venus in the first decan of Aries, and then on August 31, 2015 we had the second conjunction of Mars and Venus in the second decan of Leo, with Venus retrograde. Similar to the pattern of the first two conjunctions between Venus and Jupiter, the first conjoining of Venus and Mars in February that we could also see in our night sky had a more soaring quality of hope like making a wish on a star.  In contrast, their second conjunction at the end of August with Venus retrograde had a more martial quality of needing to fight or persist in pursuit of our desire.

The Taurus Full Moon is therefore illuminating the final balsamic conjunction between Venus and Mars in this cycle, bringing to the forefront all past attitudes, beliefs, and values connected to present and past relationships that now need to be released.  At the same time, it is a powerful seeding and visioning moment in which the relationships most fertile for our future will become paramount.  Yet our inner relationship with our Self is perhaps most important to monitor since Mars and Venus are conjoined in Virgo.  If we are able to release the old issues that have been weighing us down that we are overdue to be free from, we will begin to feel a sense of Self that has greater integrity as the new cycle between Venus and Mars begins next week.

It is further interesting to ponder how Venus, Jupiter, and Mars are all now brilliant Morning Stars, whereas previous conjunctions between Venus and Mars and Venus and Jupiter occurred as Evening Stars.  It is further compelling to consider that all three planets are in the home of Mercury, the inner reflective, analytical sign of Virgo symbolized by the Winged Maiden who guides us to connect our sense of Self within the natural and celestial order we find ourselves within.  There is support in all of this to mentally focus on the ever changing details of our material realm and organize our myriad daily pursuits to most effectively support our bodily health and the manifestation of our creative endeavors.  Like the cry of the cock at the break of dawn, these morning lights will awaken us to our most pressing values and desires to address and act from.  There is less support for outwardly attempting to work on as much as possible and more support for inwardly discerning a few precious aspects of our life to devote our full attention to.

Taurus I Decan

5 of Pentacles by Pamela Colman Smith

Taurus I Decan

The Taurus Full Moon falls within the first face of Taurus ruled by Mercury and associated with the Five of Pentacles card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith from the Rider-Waite tarot deck.  The Five of Pentacles traditionally relates to worrisome thoughts over a lack of material resources or the ever threatening potential of material loss, guiding the querent to yoke their anxious mental energy to direct action that can help build or nurture resources that can be drawn from in a future time of need.

In the Rider-Waite tarot image shown above, we see two wanderers freezing in a snowy climate and wanting for appropriate material resources to keep themselves warm and secure.  Behind them like a beacon of light is the illuminated stained glass windows of a church, an institution built on proclaimed principles of helping those in need or poverty.  One of my favorite writers on the tarot Kelsey Lynore wrote a more unique interpretation of this image that focuses on the hypocrisy of the church and its oftentimes neglect of those in need, connecting this with a dire situation in which we feel a lack of support from others that leads to ostracized anger.  Lynore’s advised response is to “make certain that you uphold the very ethics that you expect from others, as there is a danger that you may take on the very qualities of those who have cast you out,” thereby refusing to be led “into a lifetime of narrow-minded, narcissistic greed.”  This idea connects well with Mercury’s governship of this face and the importance of maintaining inner mental integrity even in the most difficult of circumstances, so as to better open ourselves to the twists of fate that can coincide with a boon of new resources to draw from.

Austin Coppock in his book 36 Faces: The History, Astrology, and Magic of the Decans suggested that it is this very fear of material want and poverty shown in the Rider-Waite image of the Five of Pentacles that propels us to cultivate the resources of our mind and surroundings in order to create a livelihood that will support our survival needs in the bleakest of times.  Coppock ascribed the image of “The Plow” to the first decan of Taurus that follows the previously martial faces of Aries:

The implements of war seen in the Aries decan have been beaten into plowshares here. Thus this face is traditionally connected to all of the sciences necessary to draw forth fruit from the land.  The plow, which breaks open the soil, is one of it’s most enduring symbols, but not the sum thereof.  In this face we gaze upon the ways that we might make use of our world.  Understanding our resources wisely, we consider how we might multiply their value.

—  Austin Coppock, 36 Faces, page 69

The first face of Taurus where this Full Moon shines being ruled by Mercury is harmonious with the triple conjunction of Jupiter, Venus, and Mars also occurring in the domicile and exaltation of Mercury.  The surrounding astrological aspects of this Taurus Full Moon therefore support us using any fears about a lack of material resources to fuel prudent focus on whatever resources we have on external and internal levels to develop.  There is support in this astrological climate to use the capacity of Mercury for commerce and connections to build bridges and cultivate the assets at hand, finding a solution to whatever predicament we find ourselves in.  The astrology element of Earth is amplified at this Full Moon and likewise we find ourselves with a symbolic fertile field to plow and plant for whatever it is we wish to grow.

References

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

Solar Eclipse in Virgo

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Scott Young Virgo Solar Eclipse

original artwork by Scott Young for graycrawford.net

Virgo Solar Eclipse

On September 12 – 13, 2015 we enter the dark procreative void of a Solar Eclipse held in the arms of the Winged Maiden, the first of a series of eclipses we will experience in the sign of Virgo.  Solar Eclipses are the most intense New Moons, when the alignment of the Moon between the Earth and Sun blackens our solar light.  Although this particular eclipse is partial and not total in its darkening effect, it is potent nonetheless as the ruler of the eclipse, Mercury in Libra, is separating from a square with Pluto in Capricorn and in process of stationing retrograde five days afterward.  This Virgo Solar Eclipse furthermore digs up the roots of the past season of Venus retrograde intensity, as it comes less than a week after Venus has stationed direct and its Mercury in Libra ruler is being received by Venus in Leo through a sextile.

New Moons are known as times to set new intentions and begin new journeys while clearing what needs to be released from the past, yet at Solar Eclipses the changes that arise often feel out of our control similar to a tidal force erupting around us.  Dane Rudhyar in The Astrology of Transformation ascribed this effect of Solar Eclipses to the fact that the Lunar Light obscures our view of Solar Light in blackness, meaning from Earth we momentarily experience the Moon alone without the Sun.  Since the Moon signifies the intersection of our past in the present moment, it means that forces from our past, including unconscious forces, can likewise veil our present experiences in their fertile darkness.  Again, though this particular eclipse is not total and therefore the Sun will not be completely obscured, the same general symbology applies.

Who is the Winged Maiden holding this Solar Eclipse?  To the Greeks she was Astraea, a daughter of Zeus who helped direct humanity to follow natural law during the Golden Age of peace and prosperity on Earth, coming down from the heavens to mingle with ordinary people on the Earth and foster harmony with the natural world of creation.  Over time as humanity became increasingly corrupted, it was said that Astraea became increasingly full of contempt for humanity, becoming so full of hatred eventually that she left Earth forever to become the constellation of Virgo.  Astraea has an association with Justice also found in the following sign of Libra, yet hers is more of a natural justice governed by the order found in the creation and destruction of the natural world, the waning and waxing of the Moon, the cycles of seasons and their connection to growth and decay, and the orbit of our Earth around the Sun within the cycles of cosmos.

The Winged Maiden has also been associated with Erigone, the daughter of Icarus,  as well as with the ancient great goddesses Isis in Egypt, and Atargatis in modern day Syria.   Isis and Atargatis in particular bring to mind the double-bodied nature of Virgo as a Mutable zodiac sign, as Isis was able to take flight on wings and Atargatis was sometimes depicted as a mermaid.  Atargatis symbolically integrates the polarity of Pisces to Virgo, as she is a fertility goddess to whom fish are sacred, and is associated with the bodily reception and transmission of spirit through sexuality and ritual.  Furthermore, Isis connects with Virgo through her clear command of logos and Mercurial magical abilities that brings spirit through matter to heal fragmentation of soul.  Liz Greene has previously explored how the purification of Virgo further connects to the sacred sexuality of Isis and Atargatis that bridges blissful pleasures of spirit with base material desire:

Virgo seems to embody a deep paradox, a combination of upright and almost schoolmarmish Astraea set side by side with the orgiastic lunar goddesses of Asia Minor.   This paradox poses an enormous conflict for Virgo, and it is out of the conflict that Virgo’s pattern of development arises. Whether this is enacted as a collision between personal and professional life, between marriage and independence (a common theme), between spirituality and materialism, between morality and abandonment, Virgo struggles with these opposites throughout life, trying to encompass them both. Often the Virgoan individual will try to embody one while sacrificing the other, and this generally provokes difficulties, for the fate of the sign does not seem to permit such splitting . . .

The harlotry of the virgin goddesses does not mean merely sexual availability to all callers any more than ‘virgin’ means merely sexual intactness.  I would understand it more as an openness to the flow of life, a willingness to trust the natural order, an acceptance of penetration and change.  Contrary to the popular descriptions of Virgo, I feel this paradoxical daimon to form the true core of the sign.  But it is difficult to achieve . . . It is far easier, and more common, for Virgo to flee into ritualised or obsessional behaviour, where the sterner aspects of Astraea submerge the fecundity and joy of Atargatis. This is often the prelude to the arrival of psychosomatic symptoms, for Atargatis is a deity who demands entry through that most basic manifestation of life- the body.

— Liz Greene from The Astrology of Fate

The Virgin in the symbolism of Virgo as we know is not about chastity or saving one’s sexuality for marriage, but rather is about the aspect of oneself which is independent and whole upon itself outside the constraints of marriage or the morality of societal conventions.  Virgo is a sign connected to independently acting from a place of inner morality and Mercurial discernment, and so this Virgo Solar Eclipse arriving in the aftermath of Venus having stationed direct in Leo means whatever now lacks alignment with our inner truth will become eclipsed and released.  Instead of using obsessive, ritualised behavior to shield ourselves from the coming changes, we can instead embrace the change in the moment through ritually purifying and tending to our body in order to receive the full message found within the shifting and shedding.

Virgo Solar Eclipse

by Arrington de Dionyso

For thousands of years eclipses have brought fear, being seen in ancient times as events in which our two Lights (Sun and Moon) were consumed by a great dragon of chaos and creation, with the North Node of the Moon representing the head of the dragon, and the South Node of the Moon representing the tail of the dragon.  The lunar nodes are wholly metaphysical, as they do not physically exist but are instead calculations originally discovered to predict eclipses.  The lunar nodes are points in space found through the intersection of the Earth’s orbit around the Sun with the Moon’s orbit around Earth:  the South Node of the Moon being the descending arc of the Moon’s orbit (associated with the tail of the dragon, the past, release, the unconscious), while the North Node of the Moon is the ascending arc of the Moon’s orbit across the ecliptic (associated with the head of the dragon) and therefore has become associated with the conscious ascension of desire for manifestation in our life.  To many, the North Node of the Moon is furthermore associated with one’s evolutionary path in life, though this path is oftentimes fraught with struggles over our desire nature.  When our Lights align with the nodes we have an eclipse, with the Sun and Moon on one side of the nodal axis at a Solar Eclipse and the Sun and Moon on both sides of the nodal axis at a Lunar Eclipse.

This Solar Eclipse is the first of a series that will occur in Virgo, and our first one since the Pisces Solar Eclipse that happened on March 20, 2015 in range of a conjunction with the South Node of the Moon in Aries.   In contrast, this Virgo Solar Eclipse is in range of a conjunction with the North Node of the Moon in Libra, creating an amplified push toward manifestation of our desires and bringing things into being.  With reflection we can note what changes flowing out of that previous Pisces eclipse are coming to a head at today’s Virgo eclipse, with the crucial difference being that this Virgo Solar Eclipse aligned with the North Node of the Moon in Libra brings a heavy emphasis on our needs within our relationships.  For those who embrace the concept of karma, I have found through my work in astrology that the lunar nodes reveal the karma of our growth and development, a viewpoint that was popularized in astrology by Dane Rudhyar in The Astrology of Transformation:

In the case of the Moon’s nodes, we are dealing with what might be called the karmic way in which the Moon’s function operates in a human being. But the word karma should not be used only in the sense of “bad” karma. Karma simply refers to the fact that any new cycle of existence is always in some manner related to or is a sequence of a previous cycle. The new cycle inherits from the old some unfinished business which needs to be dealt with, but it also inherits the results of some achievements. More specifically, the Moon’s north node symbolizes new possibilities of growth on the basis of what has been accomplished “in the past” — let us say, in “past incarnations”, although the concept of reincarnation is most ambiguous, or at least far more complex than popularly interpreted . . . We should not forget that a person is first of all operating in a biosphere with a long evolutionary past and in a society and culture conditioned equally by ancient, collective failures as well as great achievements. Thus karma is never to be considered solely a personal matter; for it is also produced by a collective situation inherited from a long series of past generations.

— Dane Rudhyar from The Astrology of Transformation

The ruler of this Solar Eclipse is Mercury in Libra that gives even greater emphasis to the fact that the eclipse is conjunct the North Node of the Moon in Libra.  As a result our minds will be focused more on relationships and expressing what we need and desire, and we will likewise be on the receiving end of needing to listen to the needs of those we are in relationship with.  This relational focus through Libra will involve romantic relationships, friendships, business relations, and all forms our interactions with others take, but there will also be added emphasis in the collective on issues around social justice and oppression, with numerous karmic collective strands coming together in a messy knot of conflict.   Thus while the Venus retrograde in Leo has already stirred up the intensity of these collective conflicts, this Virgo Solar Eclipse will further crescendo passions around issues such as the legalization of gay marriage and institutional racism in law enforcement in the United States, the refugee crisis in Europe, and countless other global crises involving conflicts in society that create oppression.

Our draw into the dynamics of our relationships is catalyzed even further by Mercury in Libra separating from a square to Pluto in Capricorn at the time of the eclipse.  As Mercury will also be on the brink of stationing retrograde, there will be key insights into our relationships to be found at this time including awareness for how the conditioning of our culture and early authority figures have helped shape our relational patterns.  We are dealing at this eclipse not only with our own personal karma but also our ancestral and cultural karma, and so part of the Virgoan task will be analyzing what issues are part of our core patterns we need to personally work on, and what issues are more about how our authentic nature has been molded by familial and cultural influences.  Those born with Pluto in Virgo in range of a conjunction with this Solar Eclipse (20-21°) and those born with Pluto in Libra in range of a conjunction with Mercury in Libra (14-15°) have a tremendous opportunity in this eclipse time to feel into the bottom line of their relational patterns.  At times this may feel heavy and in need of grieving, but a metamorphosis into a purified relational dynamic free of past restrictive influences is possible to eventually realize.

Pisces Full Moon

by Scott Young

The recent Pisces Full Moon initiated us into the opposition between Jupiter in Virgo and Neptune in Pisces, and the tension of their polarity has been building in intensity every single day during the waning half of the recent lunar cycle.  At the time of the Solar Eclipse, their opposition is not yet exact but close and applying strongly.  Pisces and Virgo, ruled by Jupiter and Mercury since ancient times, are an essential polarity in astrology through which we develop our sense of meaning, belief, vision, and spirituality.   We need both for healthy vitality of belief and perception:  we need the holistic awareness of Pisces that transcends the labeling and categorization of reductionist thinking, while we likewise need the Virgo ability to penetrate into detailed analysis of the parts that make up the whole so to avoid living our lives lost in illusion of belief.  Neptune has become associated firmly with Pisces because it is the symbol of ultimate reality, the oceanic source that remains beyond the ability of scientists to catalogue and rationally explain.  Jupiter in Virgo coming face to face with Neptune in Pisces therefore means we must come into reckoning with the invisible aspects of reality beyond the ability of language to explain.

As a result this Solar Eclipse marks a pivotal moment of transformation in our beliefs and vision, and you can use astrology as a guide in part by simply looking at the houses in your birth chart occupied by the signs of Pisces and Virgo, and aspects made to the opposition of Neptune and Jupiter at 8-9 degrees of these mutable signs.  Since Mercury in Libra is also the ruler of Jupiter in Virgo, it means the added emphasis on relationships marked by this eclipse also applies to the opposition between Neptune and Jupiter, and so it is in our outer interactions and conversations with others that we will become impelled to reshape our vision and beliefs.

Another astrological force found in the harvesting of this Virgo Solar Eclipse is Ceres, stationing direct at 26 Capricorn a few days after the eclipse in range of a trine.  Ceres has been associated with Virgo in astrology at least as far back as Marcus Manilius in the 1st Century CE, who wrote that “the Virgin with her sheaf belongs to Ceres” (Manilius, Astronomica, 2.433-452, Goold trans., 1977, p. 117-119).  While Manilius was of course referring to the mythic Ceres and not the dwarf planet Ceres, the connection between Ceres and Virgo was further bound by Demetra George in her book Asteroid Goddesses, in which she described Ceres as an agent in transforming our sense of personal awareness into collective awareness through the sign of Virgo and around issues of productivity and acceptance that creation and transformation involves both life and death, loss and birth.  Ceres stationing direct in Capricorn, in range of a trine to the Solar Eclipse in Virgo, could bring up issues of balance around our ambition and if the goals we have been working toward are about gaining external validation to boost our inner worth, or if our work is instead focused upon goals that will bring us intrinsic rewards without the need for outer acclaim.  In the end, by finding the work that will bring us a true sense of joy to perform we will most likely gain recognition from others who share similar interests and passions.

Ceres is the Queen of the asteroid belt and now considered to be more of a planet than an asteroid, but there is one asteroid goddess in particular who is also highlighted at this eclipse:  Pallas Athena in Sagittarius, who forms a t-square with the Solar Eclipse in Virgo and Chiron in Pisces, being square to both.

Pallas Athena in Sagittarius

Pallas and the Centaur (1482) by Botticelli

The most impactful aspect this Virgo Solar Eclipse makes is perhaps its opposition to Chiron in Pisces, the most prominently celebrated of all of the wandering centaurs in astrology.  Chiron bridges Saturn and Uranus, as at its closest orbit to the earth it can at times become closer to the Earth than Saturn, and at its farthest orbit to the earth it can at times become farther from the Earth than Uranus.  This means that the half horse, half human figure associated with Chiron connects the material world governed by Saturn with the boundless realm of the transpersonal associated with Uranus.  As a result Chiron connects to the deep memories and knowledge we hold in our body that can erupt into our consciousness in bodywork and practices aiding our integration of body, mind, and spirit.  Indeed, Chiron’s eruptive impact can be seen in its connection to the Uranian realm of sudden liberation that can feel shocking in its lightning bolt effect, eventually bringing realizations of Self-healing.

Chiron

Liz Greene’s Mythic Tarot

Chiron in Pisces is holding the place of polarity to this Virgo Solar Eclipse, meaning that he has a vital lesson to teach us. Chiron is the master teacher who demands excellence from his students, the mentor of the healing arts including music, plant medicine, and astrology, and the martial arts as tools for self defense and the protection of others in need of help.  There is also the aspect of the mythic Chiron involving his suffering from toxic poisoning and willingness to give himself over to the pain in sacrifice, the “wounded healing” characteristic you have no doubt heard ad nauseam from astrologers.  Although the “wounded healer” analysis may be overused, there is an aspect that I have found tends to be very accurate in terms of Chiron’s impact on us- this is the phenomenon in which the issues we have struggled with and have caused us suffering turn out to be the vehicles that transport us to our greatest strengths and to the gifts of soul we possess to transmit to the collective.

For example, the timing of Chiron’s discovery in 1977 corresponded in popular culture with the development of hip hop and punk rock, two forms of musical expression that countless youths since have seized to express their feelings of pain and suffering in the material realm through, gaining a sense of Uranian liberation, individuation, and higher power in the process.  Chiron wants you to have a vehicle, a tool, a technique, or a practice to express your talents into the collective, and through the interweaving of your inner gift with the outer world, powerful growth and healing can be activated.  This Virgo Solar Eclipse in in range of a sextile with Saturn at the end of Scorpio, while Chiron is also in range of a wide trine with Saturn, so the polarity between Chiron and the eclipse contains a lesson for us that can promote our stability in the material world.

A more challenging aspect is the quincunx between Uranus in Aries and the Solar Eclipse in Virgo.  While this quincunx can bring up fears that our most inspired, boundless visions do not have a realistic chance of manifesting, instead work to find an access point to begin the process and set things in motion.  If you keep putting things off until you feel completely ready or circumstances seem perfect you can continue to put it off indefinitely.   Find a method, practice or form to transmit at least part of your vision through, and work on letting go of criticizing your initial effort through comparison with others or your own idealized standards.  Pallas Athena in Sagittarius being both square to the Chiron polarity with the eclipse, as well as in trine to Uranus in Aries, means that we can use creative visualization to change our lives, both inspiring us to initiate new steps and aiding us in reformulating to address issues once underway.

scott young rose

by Scott Young from http://scottyoung.us

Venus is now direct in Leo and established as divine Morning Star heralding our dawn.  Venus is applying to a trine with Uranus in Aries, and separating from a conjunction with Mars in Leo, giving her a fiery Morning Star presence that wants to go after whatever she finds inspiring and beguiling.  Venus is strongly tied to this Virgo Solar Eclipse since Mercury is the ruler of the eclipse and occupying Libra, the home of Venus, meaning that Venus is receiving Mercury through a sextile.  This sextile between Mercury in Libra and Venus in Leo brings an opportunity to begin stabilizing within all of the transformation we experienced during the Venus retrograde.  Since we are talking about eclipse season I do not mean stabilizing to imply a quiet and peaceful experience, but rather that through the storms of this time we can begin solidifying our reborn Venusian values through our actions in response to life.

At the time of this Virgo Solar Eclipse, we are within a brief period of time in which we do not have a personal planet retrograde, as Venus finally ended her retrograde six days before the eclipse, and Mercury will station retrograde five days after the eclipse.  If you feel raw and vulnerable in the aftermath of this recent Venus retrograde you are not alone, and it is worth remembering that Venus will remain in her retrograde shadow zone through the rest of September and into the first week of October.   Whatever has been reborn in you during the Venus retrograde is vital to tend and keep sustained, no matter how difficult it may seem at times.

Venus is also the ruler of the North Node of the Moon in Libra, bringing Leo passion and a clear push toward fulfilling our desires within relationships.  It also means we will have a difficult balancing process if we want to meet both our own needs and the needs of others in our relationships.  The sabian symbol for this Virgo Solar Eclipse provides a solution in the image of “a girl’s basketball team,” suggesting that through collaboration with others, through being accountable to a role within a team pursuing a common goal, we can find the point of balance between meeting both our own needs and the needs of others we are in relationship with.  The vital point is that if you find yourself in a process of negotiating with a partner over relational dynamics, that you do not suppress and ignore the inner transformation you felt taking form during the Venus retrograde.  While it is important to listen to others and to be supportive, it is also necessary for you to live your own authentic life.

10 pentacles

10 of Pentacles by Pamela Colman Smith

Virgo III Decan

This Virgo Solar Eclipse falls in the third face of Virgo that is associated with the 10 of Pentacles card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith.  In tarot this image of a family enjoying the fruits of their labor and legacy is associated with wealth, both the accumulation of wealth as well as being able to sustain wealth through familial lineages or other legacies.  The image also corresponds with the achievement of a stable, secure lifestyle affording one the possibility of enjoying material luxuries as well as the luxury of a contemplative lifestyle.  In connection to the Solar Eclipse in the third decan of Virgo, we likewise have our own lineages and legacies to draw from in the pursuit and gaining of wealth, though here wealth is more about its root meaning of happiness, health, and well-being than material riches.  This could connect with your blood relatives and ancestors or perhaps more likely with your soul tribe, those beings who are your kindred spirits and have provided you with inspiration and visionary meaning.

The third face of Virgo is ruled by Mercury, giving Mercury added emphasis at this Solar Eclipse that also occurs in the domicile and exaltation of Mercury.  Austin Coppock in his book on the decans 36 Faces took a Mercurial angle to this card by interpreting that “the pensive nature of the elder pictured on this card suggest that wealth is here posed as a question, to be riddled out.  What, given the fate of all created things, is truly valuable?” (p. 151).  Coppock ascribed the image of “The Sarcophagus” to the third face of Virgo, as being the third decan it is about the separation of spirit and matter from previous balance, revealing the ultimate value of the work as the final face of the three Earth signs of the zodiac:

In this face we ponder the ultimate result of material things.  The limits of all created works are here considered.  This decan thus has the power to break the pride of all created things by showing them their inevitable end . . . One gains the ability to look beyond the present, seeing consequences as clearly as actions. The ability to see unto the 7th generation is gained …

Escorted by wealth on one side and death on the other, the residents of this face cross the threshold into the tomb.  Alone in the burial chamber with silent centuries, they dialogue with the corpse all will become about the value of all things.  The importance of legacies becomes clear, for though all works face eventual decay, some endure for aeons.  For just as no thing continues forever, all leave something behind.  There is no life which does not bestow upon the world an inheritance, even if it is no more than a feast for scavengers . . .

In comprehending the ongoing cycle of generation and corruption, one is freed from fear, for most terrors are petty, and disappear when the shadow of inevitability falls across them.  This discussion reveals the importance of things as they are- arising and receding- and deserving of love and attention.

–Austin Coppock from 36 Faces

Though not mentioned by Coppock in his deft portrayal of this decan, in the tables of the appendix he lists that the fragmentary Hellenistic text the 36 Airs ascribed the goddess Hestia to the third face of Virgo.  Hestia is a sublime spirit guide to turn towards at this Solar Eclipse, for she holds within her purified gaze the focus necessary to stay true to the quality of value essential to our vitality that we wish to invest into the work we perform in the world.  Hestia is the devoted one with a far reaching legacy of sisterhood we can draw from, a spiritual lineage that across tumultuous centuries has sustained respect with every breath and action for the living force found throughout all of the natural world of creation.  Hestia holds within her heart a moral compass impossible to manipulate or distract away from the path of love and service to all of creation.  Within waves of shattering change, within the decomposition and death of the old and the hatching of the new, Hestia opens herself to the change of the moment through her heart-centered focus on the eternal power of love and devotion.

References

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

Greene, Liz. (1984). The Astrology of Fate.  Weiser Books.

Rudhyar, Dane. (1973). An Astrological Mandala: the cycle of transformations and its 360 symbolic phases. Vintage Books.

Rudhyar, Dane. (1980). The Astrology of Transformation. Quest Books.

Seven Stars Astrology (2015).  Manilius, Neptune, and the Fishes. http://www.sevenstarsastrology.com/?p=1980

Pisces Full Moon

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Pisces Full Moon

Illustration by Kay Nielson from East of the Sun and West of the Moon (1914)

Pisces Full Moon

The Full Moon in Pisces on August 29, 2015 is full of passion and heralds the coming eclipse season, for  the New Moon to follow is a Solar Eclipse in Virgo.  It is also a Super Moon, and the first Full Moon classified as a Super Moon this year.  Super Moon is a term coined by astrologer Richard Nolle for either New or Full Moons occurring at the Moon’s perigee, when the Moon comes closest to Earth in orbit (Nolle defined a Super Moon as occurring within 90% of the Moon’s closest orbit to Earth).  Super Moons have been measured to have a greater impact on tides, and likewise our emotional tides will overflow as we will be at the culmination of the current lunar cycle that began with the New Moon conjunct Venus retrograde, at the time of a new cycle between Venus and the Sun. This Pisces Super Moon is straight up loaded, with Jupiter in Virgo conjunct the Sun, Neptune in Pisces conjunct the Moon, Mercury in Libra conjunct the North Node of the Moon, and Mars conjunct Venus retrograde in Leo.   We are at the dawn of a new sense of Venus in our lives, as she has arisen from the underworld and settled into a new phase of her retrograde as a Morning Star signaling sunrise.  As a result, this Pisces Full Moon will reveal to us whether or not our life path and structures currently align with our Venusian rebirth of values and desires.

So often we try to convince ourselves we are living a full, contented life.   But there is always something pulling at our heart; ambition, restlessness, are just its shadows.  And it will go on tearing at our hearts until we start to acknowledge what is missing.

— Peter Kingsley from Reality

Jupiter is at home in Pisces, but instead finds itself in the sign of Virgo opposite the Full Moon in Pisces.  Jupiter as the ruler of this Full Moon is activating a polarity of consciousness more extreme than the typical Full Moon, as the Sun will be united with Jupiter in opposition to the Moon in union with Neptune.  Just like Venus being in a new cycle with the Sun, Jupiter is also now in a new cycle with the Sun, the difference being that Jupiter has been initiated into it’s new solar cycle in the sign of the Winged Maiden.  As a result, Jupiter has passed through a purifying initiation administered in Virgo, giving the new Jupiter cycle an emphasis on productivity, refinement of technique, research, analysis, deepened awareness of language, and discerning vision.  While many have been struggling with difficult emotions surfacing during the recent underworld period of the Venus retrograde, Jupiter’s conjunction with the Sun in Virgo can aid us in seeing through facades and the superficial, helping us envision where to focus going forward to bring us a greater sense of fulfillment aligned with our changing state of Venus.

neptune gdansk

Neptune in Gdansk, Poland

As the polarity between Virgo and Pisces has a lot to do with the reception of spirit in one form or another, in service to one’s ideal, the focus on the here and now of the Sun’s conjunction with Jupiter in Virgo is at odds with the otherworldly quality aroused by the Full Moon united with Neptune in Pisces.  Neptune connects to the infinite, oceanic field and in the sign of Pisces has added imaginal emphasis on the potency of the images surrounding us and emanating from within our imagination.  Neptune in Pisces can be like a siren’s call that leads some to crash under waves of illusion, while for others it can dissolve awareness to flow beyond the rigid confines of consensus culture.  Neptune in Pisces can create storms that flood the structures we have grown accustomed to, forcing our identities to mutate and shift in creation of a new livelihood out of the dissolution of the old and outgrown.  There is a balanced reception to strike between Virgo and Pisces that requires self-realization regarding the illusions of belief we have been drifting through in surrounding culture.  For example, we could be under the sway of social programming from religion such as the pervasive influence of the biblical Garden of Eden leading to feelings of shame or judgmental projections.  Or, perhaps we are caught up in the illusory stock market and a financial system of fabrications fabricating fabrications.

Jupiter in Virgo’s reception of this Pisces Full Moon could lead to a penetrating awareness of deeper meaning in our environment, similar to our first realizations in youth of the false pretenses of authority figures, or the blatant evidence of colonial oppression in our surrounding social structures we had previously been ignorant of.  While the Virgo Sun and Jupiter attunes us to the fluctuations of matter made of soul surrounding us, Neptune in Pisces being lit up with a conjoined Full Moon could tap us into another realm of soul seemingly invisible in our surrounding material world.   It feels important to put the emphasis on grounding the insights that arise in the here and now at this Full Moon, and opening ourselves to an unveiling of what aspects of our recent attachments are illusory and which hold a solid foundation for us.

Scott Young

by Scott Young from http://scottyoung.us

There are real fireworks to this Pisces Full Moon, as Mars is applying to a conjunction with Venus Retrograde and creating a heated underlying energy.  We are a week away from Venus stationing direct, and so the arrival of Mars in Leo to unite with Venus amplifies all of the issues we have been experiencing during this Venus retrograde.  Relationships could become a battleground if we are unable to give space for the transformation of each partner engaged in the dance.  As transiting Venus retrograde is ruling the transiting North Node of the Moon in Libra, there is an overall emphasis on re-calibrating and re-aligning our relationship dynamics in order for each partner to feel empowered to act and speak authentically.  We need to speak our mind and have our needs met, yet we also will need to be open to the changes our various partners in our various relationships are going through, and avoid attempting to manipulate or control things in order to stave off the necessary mutation.

The Mars conjunction with Venus retrograde in Leo also brings a call to take courage in taking bold steps in asserting yourself in line with the Venus retrograde shiftings experienced in the past month.  We will be receiving a visionary lift at this Full Moon from asteroid goddesses, as Pallas Athena in Sagittarius and Vesta retrograde in Aries will be forming a Grand Fire Trine with the conjunction of Mars and Venus retrograde in Leo.  There is devotion found here to an essential aspect of self uncovered by the Venus retrograde, and Pallas Athena in Sagittarius can creatively visualize the next steps to take and wants to lead us into direct action forward.  As there are numerous protest movements building around numerous social justice issues, this Grand Fire Trine also feels auspicious for pinpointing and following through with strategies that inspire others to join the movement.

Full Moon in Pisces

Pier and Ocean (Sea in Starlight) by Piet Mondrian

Since Jupiter and the Sun aligned in Virgo are plugged into Mercury, it is further vital to realize that Mercury is conjunct the North Node of the Moon in Libra at the time of this Full Moon in Pisces.  These aspects pull our perception and discernment strongly into the realm of our relationships, both our interpersonal relationships and dynamics within the collective.  Our needs in our most intimate relationships will become obvious and demand attention and expression, and we will need to balance this desire with the same desire arising in our partner.  As Libra also relates to justice, issues related to oppression such as sexism and racism will become even further amplified in the collective with tensions rising between those with opposing viewpoints.

It is wise to bring full attention to issues arising within relationships at this Full Moon with Mercury conjunct the North Node of the Moon in Libra, for at this time Mercury has also entered its retrograde shadow zone in the sign of the scales.  Mercury will be in its retrograde shadow zone for approximately a month, first stationing retrograde on September 17 around 16 degrees of Libra, entering the heart of the Sun on September 30 around 8 degrees Libra, stationing direct on October 9 around 1 degree of Libra, and finally exiting the retrograde shadow zone around October 24, 2015.  This Libran retrograde of Mercury could deepen our relational dynamics and solidify the changes we are beginning to embody from the rebirth of Venus we are now experiencing, but this is a potential outcome that will require cultivation of self-reflection, communication, and listening skills.  If our relationships are badly out of balance at this time, the Mercury retrograde could highlight greater degrees of miscommunication instead of penetrating insight.  As a result the issues arising at this Full Moon are vital to reflect upon going forward into September and October.

Making the alignment of Mercury with the North Node even more potent is the fact that Black Moon Lilith has also recently entered Libra through its mean calculation, and so is conjunct both.  The true node of Black Moon Lilith has previously entered Libra so this is not a completely new phenomenon, but the true node calculation of the actual location of Black Moon Lilith oscillates widely from day to day, and so many astrologers prefer to use the steady, ever progressing forward average calculation of the movement of Black Moon Lilith.  From this perspective, this Pisces Full Moon brings an important ingress of this mean node of Black Moon Lilith into Libra at the same time that Mercury and the North Node of the Moon are also residing there.  Black Moon Lilith brings an added value of what aspects of our Self have previously felt judged, shamed, and even persecuted to such an extent that we have ostracized them in exile away from the personality we take into our daily interactions.  This Full Moon can also therefore shine light on the aspects of our Self we have formerly embodied only at times of complete trust and intimacy, helping us realize it is not only possible but necessary for us to begin to embody these qualities in our mundane, moment to moment interactions in daily life.

First Face of Pisces 8 of Cups

8 of Cups by Pamela Colman Smith

Pisces I Decan

The Pisces Full Moon is in the first face of Pisces associated with the 8 of Cups in tarot, illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith.  Here in this image a hermetic recluse walks away from a watery environment into a mountainous landscape, utilizing a walking stick not unlike a magical staff grounding cosmic awareness into the earth plane.  Above the hermit is an image typically described as a Moon, but I can’t help thinking it also looks like the image of a Sun and Moon in union not unlike an eclipse, not unlike the Solar Eclipse the waning cycle coming after this Full Moon is leading us toward.  The eight cups are stacked in the foreground like a wall or a structural container giving space for penetrating inner awareness, with the base foundation of the stack wider and most solid.  Writing about the 8 of Cups, Kelsey Lynore analyzed that it “marks a significant turning away from tradition and that which has previously given you comfort. Your journey into the future will be long and arduous, leading directly into, and through, the darkness of night. The moon, symbol of the Unconscious, is your sole light and guide. Trust your body, trust your hunches, and trust your intuition. You shan’t be looking back. The 8 of Cups represents that moment when you must say ‘no’ to what is, so that you might create or discover that which will be.”

The first face of Pisces is ruled by Saturn, which aligns perfectly with the image of a hermit turning away from the accepted and familiar in order to receive new visions of depth and penetrating insight.  As Austin Coppick wrote in his book on the decans 36 Faces, the “relationship with what lies beyond the boundaries characterizes all of Pisces’ decans,” and in the first face of Pisces we “recognize our imprisonment in our own reality construct” as well as “the possibility of liberation” from moving beyond our former boundaries into “a world as yet uncorrupted by our assumptions” (p. 244):

Beneath the waves, deep within the labyrinth of images and constructs, lies a revelatory truth- we have always existed in this structure, but we are now only discovering it. When pursued consciously, this phase involves a quest to map invisible walls of reality, to find the subtle structures which guide human life . . .

The discovery of the labyrinth also brings with it the question of its maker, initiating a confrontation with the Demiurgos of the reality structure in question. On a personal level, it is the discovery of our unconscious, and the Maker we find is none other than ourselves . . .

The successful confrontation with the demonized demiurgos leads to an internalization of its power.  In discovering that it was none other than a portion of ourselves which erected this reality, we gain the power to build as we see fit, with what materials we have assembled.  The maze is ours to re-create, our soul the architect.  Yet sometimes the tortuous labyrinth holds within its secret heart a wisdom we did not expect. Its being is no abomination, but exactly as it should be. The realization transforms the structure itself from a prison to a palace. Liberation is achieved here through insight alone.

–Austin Coppock (p. 245) 36 Faces

The Full Moon in Pisces conjunct Neptune, opposite Jupiter in Virgo conjunct the Sun, is a culminating point of realization that leads us into a waning lunar cycle tapped into the vortex of the coming Solar Eclipse in Virgo.  We find ourselves in the atmosphere of Venus retrograde reborn as a Morning Star, united with Mars in full morning glory.  We are at a time in which the old and familiar is being eclipsed with finality by guiding lights arising out of darkness on the horizon, as from within prescient, visionary urges are instinctually helping us find our path on the earth at our feet.  Open yourself to the immense beauty of this large, glowing, radiant Moon in Pisces, and the one cherished life you are living.

And who has seen the moon, who has not seen
Her rise from out the chamber of the deep,
Flushed and grand and naked, as from the chamber
Of finished bridegroom, seen her rise and throw
Confession of delight upon the wave,
Littering the waves with her own superscription
Of bliss, till all her lambent beauty shakes toward us
Spread out and known at last, and we are sure
That beauty is a thing beyond the grave,
That perfect, bright experience never falls
To nothingness, and time will dim the moon
Sooner than our full consummation here
In this odd life will tarnish or pass away.

Moonrise by D.H. Lawrence

Pisces Full Moon August 29, 2015

References

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

Kingsley, Peter. (2003). Reality. The Golden Sufi Center.

Venus Retrograde in Leo & Virgo

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Venus Retrograde in Leo and Virgo

From the Clavis Artis manuscript at the Biblioteca Civica Hortis in Trieste courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Venus Retrograde

  • Venus stations retrograde at 0°46′ Virgo on July 25 and stations direct at 14°24′ Leo on September 6, 2015.
  • Inferior conjunction of Venus with the Sun, or “New Venus,” will be at 22°39′ Leo on August 15, 2015.
  • The shadow zone of Venus retrograde covering the stretch of time Venus is contained within the zodiac range of her retrograde is from June 21 through October 9, 2015.

Aphrodite arose in sea foam following a violent revolution, born in ocean waves with eyes cerulean as the sea and body fully formed with fertile hips and breasts. It is said she enchanted the eyes of onlookers with rapture and with each new step onto the earth created the bright colored growth of grass and flowers.  The planet Venus in astrology has many significations we associate with the mythic Aphrodite, such as the pleasures of fresh fruit and flowers, copulation, love, union, art, aesthetics, perfumed scents, and the luxuries that bring us feelings of comfort and elegance.  The glyph of Venus is the circle of Spirit atop the cross of Matter, symbolizing the living soul and spirit found in all elements of our surrounding material world, and the capacity of our Venusian natures to give us an experience of heaven on earth.  Perhaps above all we link Venus with the inner values we hold most dear and which describe who and what we are attracted to and magnetize into our life, as well as how we project these inner needs into our outer relationships for better or for worse.  In The Picatrix the anonymous magical author wrote “Venus is the source of the power of flavor” (p. 134), and as we all know our tastes can change it is during Venus retrograde that we can experience essential transformation.

When Venus goes retrograde, she returns to her mythic origins connected with active rebellion and revolution.  During the Venus retrograde phase, the nature of Venus shifts from seeking social harmony into a transitional, in-between space in which all established social norms are loosened to such an extent that we can experience a deep reevaluation of our inner values and how we are seeking to fulfill them in external relationships and structures. On a societal level, a realignment can occur within the power structure as well as between elements of the general populace and elements of the ruling class.  As this current Venus retrograde begins simultaneously with an exact square between Mars in Cancer and Uranus in Aries, it creates a charged atmosphere of rebellious confrontations and stormy emotions befitting the mythic origins of Aphrodite.  Amplifying the electricity further, a day after Venus stations retrograde, the shattering and liberating Uranus also stations retrograde on July 26 making the initiation of this Venus journey into the underworld intensely Uranian.  As a result we can find ourselves in great drama at the beginning of this Venus retrograde, and some of the initial experiences could be triggering in surprising ways.  While we could respond by investing passion into our roles in life like the Venus who adores stepping into the spotlight, it will be most important to take time to nurture and regenerate ourselves continually, whenever needed.

Venus retrograde creates a magical atmosphere that is highly structured, holding resonance with the golden mean found in the five petaled form of the rose and numerous forms of life.  The Orphic Hymn to Aphrodite described her as “Crafty, from whom necessity [Ananke] first came,” and also noted that “The triple Fates [Moirai] are rule’d by thy decree.”  Similarly, the synodic cycle of Venus is so consistent and regular that the retrograde phase of it’s cycle brings an air of destiny, fate, and necessity to events and encounters in our daily life.  Venus only goes retrograde once every year and a half or so, five times in it’s eight year synodic cycle with the Sun-  eight divided by five is 1.625 and so very close to the sacred 1.618 proportion associated with the golden mean.  If you trace the points around the zodiac at which Venus stations during its eight year synodic cycle, each point forms a quintile 72 degree aspect, creating the image of a five pointed star when plotted on paper.  The magical result of this is that every eight years, we experience a Venus retrograde in the same general area of the zodiac at generally the same time (this all slowly shifts across time), so that there is a resonance from this time back to July through September of 2007, and then also to July through September of 1999 before that.

  • Previously on July 27, 2007 Venus stationed retrograde at 2°57′ Virgo and stationed direct at 16°36′ Leo on September 8, 2007. New Venus on August 18, 2007 at 24°51′ Leo.  Shadow zone of June 24 – October 12, 2007.
  • Previously on July 30, 1999 Venus stationed retrograde at 5°8′ Virgo and stationed direct at 18°47′ Leo on September 11, 1999. New Venus around August 20, 1999 at 27 Leo.  Shadow zone of June 26 – October 15, 1999.

This will be the last Venus retrograde that involves both Virgo and Leo, as the cycle will shift in 2022 to occurring entirely in Leo.  In the first half of the 20th Century the Venus retrograde cycle in this zone of the zodiac occurred entirely in Virgo until 1959, when it began to slide into the end of Leo.  With each successive eight year Venus retrograde (1967, 1975, 1983, 1991, 1999, 2007, 2015) it has moved deeper and deeper into Leo. In our current retrograde cycle, Venus entered Virgo during it’s “shadow zone” period on July 18, 2015 and will return to Leo retrograde on July 31, 2015- as a result we really only have about two weeks this time around with Venus in Virgo.  There is a thirty day “shadow” period on either side of the Venus retrograde cycle in which Venus is traversing the same zodiac degrees that are part of its retrograde motion.  Since the actual Venus retrograde lasts forty days, in all this gives us one hundred days to do the deep work of Venus.  As Venus is at it’s closest obit to the Earth during it’s retrograde phase, moving in between the Earth and the Sun, it means all things Venusian become intensified during this time.

Venus stations retrograde in Virgo

The Unicorne by Gustave Moreau

Venus conjunct Regulus in Virgo

There is a grandiose cosmic message revealed by Venus stationing conjunct the fixed star Regulus at the beginning of Virgo, as Regulus is the closest bright star to our ecliptic, only 0.46 degrees away.  Regulus spent over two thousand years in the tropical zodiac sign of Leo until the year 2012 when it entered Virgo. Regulus is at the heart of the lion in the Leo constellation, a multiple star system with ancient associations with Mars, Jupiter, and the characteristics of leadership, described by Reinhold Ebertin as conveying “royal properties, noble mind, frankness, courage” (p. 52), and by Vivian Robson as making one “magnanimous, grandly liberal, generous, ambitious, fond of power, desirous of command, high-spirited and independent” (p. 195).   This Venus retrograde cycle beginning on this legendary fixed star means Venus stands still from our perspective aligned with Regulus for weeks, portending that the Venus retrograde will call us to reassess our values and ethics connected with ambition, power, courage, leadership, generosity, and the qualities we feel are “noble.”  If we are someone accustomed to ambitiously pursuing power, we may be confronted with experiences making us question how we have been expressing ourselves and impacting others.  If we are someone who has been repressing the expression of our gifts, circumstances or a burning sense from inside may propel us to seize opportunities to develop our works of passion and to realize ways in which we can more confidently present ourselves and help others as a result.

Regulus is also one of the four Royal Stars of Persia, the Watcher of the North associated with Raphael, the Archangel of Healing.  The angelic healer connection of Raphael to Regulus symbolically connects with the purifying quality of the Winged Virgin, the discerning nature of Virgo that can formulate the necessary medicine and healing practices that will cure whatever ails. Virgo is ruled by Mercury who heightens the Virgo ability to diagnose the appropriate use of medical arts to heal any fragmentation between the mind, body, and spirit.  Likewise, at the beginning of this Venus retrograde while Venus remains in Virgo, it is an excellent time to attune within and deduce whatever emotions, feelings, values, and patterns of relationship we will need to address, nurture, and heal.  Venus in the mutable Earth sign of the Winged Maiden can sense what issues the wisdom of our body is directing us toward, so making the time and space to regularly attend to your body now will help you prepare for the forty nights and days ahead in the retrograde.  As Virgo is crafty and Venus loves the arts, if you are someone who is artistic in some way then it can also be a powerful time to transmute the issues needing to be healed through the process of creating within an artistic medium.

Venus in this initial time of the retrograde in Virgo is a bright Evening Star, and while taking on the rebellious characteristics of her retrograde phase, she has more tendencies toward creating harmony than she will later in her retrograde after entering her Morning Star phase.  Venus stays in Virgo through the powerful Aquarius Full Moon on July 31, shifting into Leo about five hours after the exact timing of the lunation.  Thus, on July 31 we receive an illuminated Aquarian message linked to Venus retrograde in Virgo at this beginning phase of the journey ahead.  As Venus leaves Virgo to enter Leo, her significations shift into issues of creative calling and actualization, leadership, solar flair, validation, and procreative force. Venus stays in her Evening Star phase through the first week of August, and then by mid-August disappears from view into the underworld.

Venus Retrograde in Leo

by Talia Migliaccio from http://www.taliamigliaccio.com

Venus Cycles with Jupiter and Saturn

Venus re-enters the sign of Leo on July 31, 2015 and into aspects with Jupiter in Leo and Saturn in Scorpio that will promote great change in our personal lives as well as in our collective.  In many ways it is Saturn in Scorpio that takes center stage at this time, as a day after Venus enters Leo, Saturn stations direct on August 1, 2015 after having been retrograde since March 14, 2015.  Yet in truth this time is about the relationship between Jupiter and Saturn and the long history of their use in astrology to interpret collective stages within our world.  On August 3, 2015 the current Jupiter and Saturn cycle finally initiates the last quarter square phase between them.  Our current Jupiter and Saturn cycle began May 28, 2000 at 23 degrees of Taurus in the tropical zodiac, and so we are now at the pivotal last quarter square aspect that turns back for a review of everything that has occurred during this past cycle in order to release what no longer serves us in preparation for the new cycle between Saturn and Jupiter that arrives on December 21, 2020 at the first degree of Aquarius.  The last quarter square was famously described as a “crisis in consciousness” by astrologer Dane Rudhyar, and so on a personal level while we sense a visionary, expansive, solar quality of Jupiter pulling us forward like a courageous Lion, we simultaneously feel the constrictive force of Saturn in the penetrating sign of the Scorpion demanding that we utilize it’s scythe to clear and re-structure our belief system at a fundamental level in order to create fertile soil for our new vision to ultimately take root in the years ahead.

The quality Venus embodies in her retrograde phase of rebelling against the status quo and re-centering within on the raw values taking shape in our psyche is like a magical elixir that makes this last quarter square between Saturn and Jupiter even more powerful.  The day after Jupiter and Saturn form their exact square, Venus becomes conjunct Jupiter on August 4 and then a day later Venus also forms an exact last quarter square with Saturn on August 5.  This means that we once again experience a conjunction of Venus with Jupiter with the crucial difference of Venus being retrograde, also meaning that after Venus has her underworld journey and emerges again as a Morning Star, that she will eventually return to conjunct Jupiter a third time in Virgo on October 25, 2015.  Astrologer Gary Caton has written that having three conjunctions between Jupiter and Venus in the same year only happened recently in 1967 and 1991, both years of radical creativity in the artistic and musical realm in our collective.  With Venus retrograde conjunct Jupiter and in square to Saturn at this point, it means we have deep inner clearing to do regarding our beliefs around feelings of inner self worth and our external patterns of relationship.  It seems that if we haven’t realized the message we need to work on at this point, events will force us into necessary awareness.

If that were not enough, there is an even deeper magical planetary element to add to this witches brew of transformation:  Mercury.  The day after the exact last quarter square between Venus and Saturn, Mercury swings through on August 6 and becomes conjunct Venus first and then later in the day becomes exactly square to Saturn.  The following day on August 7, Mercury becomes conjunct Jupiter in Leo.  In alchemy, Mercury is the soul energy utilized to anchor Spirit into the Body or Matter, and similarly Mercury is serving here as a cosmic binding to help us integrate the transformational changes of this week in our mind, body, and soul.  Since Mercury unites with Jupiter after squaring Saturn, the result is a heightened ability to look at our life and our past in an entirely new way, rooted in self-reflection of our past experiences.  Mercury could present us at this time with stimulating new information or a vital new message to receive that helps shift our perspective.

Venus inferior Conjunction

by Talia Migliaccio from http://www.taliamigliaccio.com

Venus Inferior Conjunction

By August 11, Venus will have set as an Evening Star and we will no longer be able to see Venus at night, as she will have symbolically entered the Underworld stage of her journey.  While we may attempt to direct the rays of the Sun with our Venusian mirrors to help us look better or feel better about ourselves, the more we can step into the full flames of the Solar Rays the more we can experience a fiery purification of our past Venusian values in preparation for the new cycle between the Sun and Venus.  On August 15, 2015 we experience the Inferior Conjunction of Venus with the Sun, when Venus goes cazimi into the heart of the Sun and forms an exact conjunction.  The Inferior Conjunction of Venus happens when Venus is exactly orbiting between our Earth and our Sun, and so it symbolizes the meaning of a NEW VENUS much like a New Moon in our life.

This is a powerful day to go within and set intentions for what you want to magnetize and attract into your life in the new cycle ahead.  Astrologer Anne Massey in her book Venus wrote that since the rose is a symbol of Venus, we can imagine ourselves at the New Venus as being a rose bud wet with morning dew, delicately beginning to unfold into a blooming rose at Full Venus.  The Full Venus is the Superior Conjunction that occurs when Venus moves direct into the heart of the Sun, orbiting on the other side of the Sun from our perspective on Earth.  Within the five pointed star formed by the Venus retrograde cycle, we experience a Full Venus four years after a New Venus close to the same day and zodiac degree.  In this case, we will end up having a Full Venus occur on August 14, 2019 at 21°11′ of Leo.  Integrating the other points of the five pointed star, the last Superior Conjunction of Venus occurred on October 25, 2014 at 2 degrees of Scorpio, and the next one occurs on June 6, 2016 at 17 degrees of Gemini.

VenusInferiorConjunctWRIGC3

Bringing in the other astrological aspects of this Inferior Conjunction, it is notable that Jupiter will have recently ingressed into Virgo and is conjunct the Moon in Virgo, and Mercury the ruler of Virgo is in it’s own sign of Virgo and applying to a conjunction with Juno in Virgo, separating from an opposition with Neptune and applying to an opposition with Chiron in Pisces.  There is potential to gain a new sense of the deepest levels of our being at this time, yet in order to receive the insight of this healing perspective it is necessary to strip away illusions of control and to utilize the capacity of Mercury in its Sage phase of Evening Star to open yourself to fully experience the process of your unconscious at work.  As Carl Jung wrote in his Alchemical Studies:

We must be able to let things happen in the psyche. For us, this is an art of which most people know nothing. Consciousness is forever interfering, helping, correcting, and negating, never leaving the psychic processes to grow in peace.

Venus in Leo Strength

Strength arcanum illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith

Venus conjunct Mars

Following the New Venus of August 15, Venus begins to shift into a Morning Star, re-emerging from her Underworld journey around August 23.  As Venus as an Evening Star is more about seeking harmony and attuning with the needs of others in relationship, Venus as a Morning Star is more about going after what we feel we are worth and desire.  It is also important to realize that while on individual levels there is great healing and self-renewal potentially available at the time of the Inferior Conjunction of Venus, on a collective level the vast majority of people are not tuned into this perspective and so events surrounding us could become incredibly dramatic and rife with conflict.  The Morning Star Venus can be more aggressive and linked to the blood-thirsty aspect of the Goddess seen in figures such as the lion-headed Sekhmet who can become intoxicated by the spilling of blood.  Along these lines, Inanna as the planetary Venus in its Morning Star phase was described by the ancient Sumerians in the translated text “The Lady of the Morning” from the Seven Hymns to Inanna:

Honored Counselor, Ornament of Heaven, Joy of An!

When sweet sleep has ended in the bedchamber,

You appear like bright daylight.

When all the lands and the people of Sumer assemble . . .

When they sing your praises, bringing their concerns to you,

You study their words.

You render a cruel judgment against the evildoer;

You destroy the wicked.

You look with kindly eyes on the straightforward;

You give that one your blessing.

Further amplifying feelings of desire and drama in relationships is the fact that with each day of the second half of August, Mars in Leo gets closer and closer to becoming conjunct Venus retrograde in Leo.  On September 1, 2015 the second conjunction between Mars and Leo is initiated at 14°55 of Leo.  Following this conjunction, as Venus stations direct Mars begins to separate but never gets too far away from Venus, who begins chasing after Mars until they eventually become conjunct a third time on November 2, 2015 at 25 degrees of Virgo.  This time of transition from the end of August through the beginning of September, with Venus beginning to station, unites the fiery desire of Mars in Leo to pursue new creative endeavors with a Venus bearing her soul in Leo at the depths of her Underworld journey.  This is not yet a time to have gained clarity, and more so a time to instinctually sense what we are in a process of outgrowing as well as what we are beginning to initiate in a process of becoming.

Wilderness Lion

by Walter Crane

Venus stations Direct

Venus finally stations direct on September 6, 2015 at 14°23′ of Leo, with Mars about four degrees away at a little over 18 degrees of Leo.  Flipping through the vast catalogue of images associated with the Leo II decan from numerous ancient texts in Austin Coppock’s book on the decans 36 Faces, in order to get a sense of the variety of images associated with this section of the zodiac, I was struck by how many of them described a man carrying a bow and arrow or sword, fierce with anger like a lion and sometimes even dressed like a lion.  A good example is by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa in his Three Books of Occult Philosophy in which the image is described as “A man with his hands raised, with a crown on his head, and the form of a man angry and threatening. In his right hand he has a drawn sword and in the left a round shield.”  The power given to this image by Agrippa is that “It has the significations over hidden quarrels, unknown victories, over vile men, and occasions of lawsuits and battles.”  Fascinatingly to me, despite the wide use of images associated with conflict and fierceness across a wide variety of texts, the fragmentary Hellenistic text the 36 Airs of the Zodiac gave the Leo II decan to Isis, the great Goddess of Love, Devotion, Healing, and Magic.

In case you wonder why I am including here references to images associated with the Leo II decan found in ancient magical texts, it is because I feel there is a resonance between them and the current events we will experience when Venus stations direct in the Leo II decan at the beginning of September.  Following Venus stationing direct, we will feel a stronger push from inside to go after what we value and feel we are worth, as we settle into the energy of Venus direct as a Morning Star in Leo.  As Leo is known for creating drama and assertively standing up for itself and others when brought into conflict, the fierce figures found in the old images of this decan make sense from the standpoint that we will have regenerated an impassioned sense of authenticity from the retrograde journey of Venus that we will want to have the freedom to begin to express into our environment and relationships.  The divine figure of Isis being also associated with this decan brings the added meaning that this new authentic self-worth we develop from this Venus retrograde will involve the healing of past soul fragmentation so that we feel more whole and better able to act in accordance with genuine inner values through our personality.  As Austin Coppock summarized about the Leo II decan in 36 Faces:

This decan holds within it the magical power of authenticity- here defined as a harmonious connection between the external sphere in which one acts and the spirit fire within each individual.  The alchemical process necessary to achieve this power is work upon the persona or ego which mediates the spirit and what the world sees. Once the persona has become suitable to transmit the spirit’s impetus, a fierce and potent authenticity is born.  (p. 129)

Indeed, no matter what circles of drama or conflict we become drawn into during this Venus retrograde, in totality the tension and strife will demand that we transform the impetus of our personality to fit in with the values of others around us into a burning purpose from within that will give us the ability to more directly express our true nature and values into the world around us.

Anahita on Lion

Image of Anahita on Lion

References

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

Ebertin, Reinhold. (1973). Fixed Stars and their Interpretation. Ebertin-Verlag.

Greer, John Michael and Warnock, Chris. (2010 – 2011).  Translation of The Picatrix: Liber Atratus Edition. Adocentyn Press.

Massey, Anne. (2006). Venus: Her Cycles, Symbols, & Myths. Llewellyn.

Robson, Vivian. (1969). The Fixed Stars & Constellations in Astrology. The Aquarian Press.

Wolkstein, Diane and Kramer, Samuel N. (1983).  Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth. Harper & Row.

Tending the Fire of the Virgo Full Moon

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Michael_Maier_Atalanta_Fugiens_Emblem_22

Emblem XXII by Michael Maier from Atalanta Fugiens

The Full Moon on March 5 glows radiant in the sign of the winged Virgin, and her presence can help us tend the fiery trine between Jupiter retrograde in Leo and the new conjunction between Venus and Uranus in Aries.  What’s more, the flames of the exact trine between Jupiter, Venus and Uranus are further ignited by Saturn in Sagittarius and an exact conjunction between Mars and the South Node of the Moon in Aries.  Virgo is an internally contemplative sign, and so this Full Moon appearing with Jupiter in the depths of its retrograde journey will reveal the self-absorbed delusions of grandeur we have been harboring that need mitigating.  As a result the inspiration of the grand fire trine of transits can spark realization of how to shed ego obsession and re-align to serve the larger whole of our reality, a helpful course of action considering the multitude of people angrily operating without self-awareness currently.  Yet we do not want to hold ourselves back with self-criticism to the extent that we rationalize away the possibility of pursuing our dearest desires, or avoid examining pressing issues out of fear of wounding ourselves.  Instead, like the woman in the alchemical image above minding the fire cooking her cauldrons, it will be best to take action aligned with our vision and withstand the heat to remain actively mindful of the ever-changing point we are enacting in our process.

Mercury in Aquarius rules the Full Moon and is our guide to how to infuse spirit into our work and inspired vision into daily grounding.  Crucially, Mercury at the time of the Full Moon is closely conjunct Vesta in Aquarius and so integrates the focused, sacred fire sustaining priestess into a greater clarification of Aquarian perception.  In the classic Hermes: Guide of Souls, Karl Kerenyi described the connection between Hermes (Mercury) and Hestia (Vesta):

Hermes’ connection to the center of the house, to the goddess of the hearth, is attested by a Homeric hymn to Hestia . . . He guides souls out of his realm- the world of paths and roads- back into the warm life of the household, which in Greek signifies the “family.” In his official capacity as mediator between the worlds of night and day, spirits and men, and (standing before the temple) between the worlds of gods and mankind, he is . . . closely related to door hinges and therefore to the entrance but also to a middle point, to the socket, about which revolves the most decisive issue, namely the alternation life-death-life . . . Through Hermes, every house became an opening and a point of departure to the paths that come from far off and lead away into the distance.  Standing at the doorway, he indicates that here is a source of life and death, a place where souls can break in, as through he were pointing out a spring of fresh water.  — Karl Kerenyi, Hermes: Guide of Souls, pages 102-103

Being centered at “home” will accentuate our ability to receive the light of this Virgo Full Moon, and the revelation could guide us into how best to house the vivifying spirit or soulful desires we feel deeply and wish to experience manifested.  We do not need to be living in our ideal home or even necessarily have a home, but rather we need to claim a personal space to feel secure within and create an outlet through which to express ourselves.  Since Mercury was recently exactly opposite Jupiter in Leo, our Hermetic guide brings an objective analysis of our developing truth to its conjunction with Vesta in Aquarius.  Vesta unveils the importance of focused, determined action and concentration we can wield with discipline to cut through any fogginess or cacophonous clutter in our environment.  With the illumination of this Virgo Full Moon, Mercury has finally exited its retrograde shadow zone and so the mental processing we have been engaged in since the recent Mercury retrograde cycle began on January 21, 2015 can now more fully elucidate the relevant issues.  Since Mercury and Vesta in Aquarius are also now sextile to the Uranus and Venus conjunction in Aries, the full reflected light of this coming full moon can bring breakthrough insight to help solve our recent dilemmas.

SF461121

Sardonyx cameo of a nymph riding a centaur (Hellenistic, 1st century B.C. – 1st century A.D.)

Our two great lights of this Full Moon are each conjunct symbols of wounding, rejection, and heroic salvation, with the Sun in Pisces conjunct Chiron, and the Moon in Virgo conjunct Black Moon Lilith.  Since Mars is also conjunct the South Node of the Moon in Aries, we could experience amplified feelings of anger and frustration if we become overwhelmed by shadow side connections to Virgo such as guilt, lack, emptiness, and perfectionism that leads to self-criticism for falling short on our ideals.  However, Mars affixed to the South Node in Aries can also coincide with an impulsive or instinctual release of an essential element of our nature that will be vital for us to reflect upon.  In this atmosphere the full light of the Virgo Moon will spiral deep within our core, and the reflected awareness will sharpen our discernment on which practical strategies will be best to focus on to modify our behavior and goals to flow more harmoniously with the chaotic changes erupting in our surroundings.  The key is to tune into the spirituality we can find in the ever changing moment of our mundane livelihood, and to listen to the messages found in the soul material of our environment.  A Virgo Full Moon is perfect for shining light on a prudent path to follow that will help us utilize our essential gifts if we keep our consciousness focused on self-acceptance rather than harsh self-judgment.

In this way it is important to realize this Virgo Full Moon is in a harmonious aspect to Pluto in Capricorn and is connected to the seventh and final first quarter square between Pluto and Uranus that will occur in a couple weeks in the waning phase of the current Moon cycle.   The Virgo Moon will be in trine to Pluto and the Pisces Sun will be in sextile to Pluto, meaning that instead of resisting or being in denial of the deep pull of our Plutonic soul desires, the Full Moon can help us realize the changes of necessity we will need to surrender to that we can no longer avoid experiencing.  With the Sun conjunct Chiron and the Moon conjunct Black Moon Lilith, we can then not only uncover and embody more of our deepest nature, we can also foster the courage to assert our beliefs and passions in the face of surrounding criticism, knowing that by pursuing our deeply felt passion we will in turn manifest a creation that will be meaningful for others of like-mind.

passing of venus

The Passing of Venus (1898) Sir Edward Burne-Jones

Indeed, the burning fires of passion that can coincide with Venus being conjunct Uranus in Aries and in trine to Jupiter retrograde in Leo is the great gift of this Full Moon to open.  In the sequence of zodiac signs that begin with Aries and end in Leo, there is a journey of our personal development from a sense of essential individuality in Aries to it’s ultimate creative actualization in Leo.  The brilliant light of Jupiter illuminating our night these days is like the traditional wishing star that pulls forward our unique gifts and talents (Venus conjunct Uranus in Aries) into such a strong desire to make them real that we discover a way for us to make our sense of destiny actually happen.

Virgo is the sign that follows Leo and tempers the Lion’s delusions of grandeur so that we can interact harmoniously in our intimate partnerships and effectively in our collaborative relationships.  Virgo also makes the tense and awkward 150° inconjunct aspect to Aries, and this Virgo Full Moon will be closely inconjunct the conjunction of Venus and Uranus in Aries.  In evolutionary astrology developed by Jeff Green, this waxing inconjunct aspect is associated with the Virgo archetype and correlates to a feeling of special destiny or vision that we feel deeply called to pursue, and yet simultaneously brings a sense that we are not ready to achieve our ambition.  A potential negative consequence is that instead of taking action toward our desire we instead make excuses through rationalization why we should not bother asserting ourselves toward our dream, all the while observing with tremendous envy other individuals successfully actualizing the same desired path, ambition, or vocation.  The conjunction between Venus and Uranus that is also in trine to Jupiter in Leo is so full of great promise that it would be a huge missed opportunity to follow this line of thought and talk ourselves out of making liberating choices forward.  A solution is to focus on understanding why we do not feel ready to successfully manifest our dream, and then actively engage in strategies and actions to improve and work on the areas of our Self we realize we need to enhance in order to be effective.

the-mirror-of-venus-1875

The Mirror of Venus (1875) by Edward Burne-Jones

We are filled with a sense of magic and lightness when we stare into a luminous Full Moon, and this lustrous dazzlement is a moment to seize in remembrance of what we hold dear to our hearts, in contrast to the heartache caused by the disappointments felt in our day-to-day existence.  For those tuned into the news cycle of current events, there is no end to the horror show of savage murders, betrayals, and mass killings berating our perception.  In our personal lives, the huge influx of Mars, Venus, Uranus, and the South Node of the Moon combined in Aries has likely made us need to confront anger from others or feelings of anger wanting to erupt from within ourselves.  The South Node of the Moon is often connected to either our past lives or habitual complexes in astrology, but remembering that all of the planets have nodes and not just the Moon, we can also think of it as signifying the entire past arc of the Moon archetype in our lives.  Mars and Venus having initiated a new cycle of relationship and desire for us around the time of the past New Moon, at this Full Moon we can feel a burning sense of all our past desires we have not yet experienced, or confront issues from our past that did not turn out the way we had originally hoped.

Instead of feeling guilty or mired in lack, wanting to distract ourselves with meaningless busyness, gaze into the mirror reflection of this Full Moon with the awareness of how beautiful it is also to be simply alive and incarnate in your body.  In the space between our current self and societal position and the sense of where our higher nature wants us to be, open your mind with discrimination toward practical, simple steps you can begin to take today to bridge the distance.  There is a Mercurial discernment of Venusian refinement into our essential nature available now that will lead to discovery of key ingredients in our process of creating our desired work of beauty.

pixie imagination

by Pamela Colman Smith

Opening our mind to new visions found along our daily path can bring true inspiration now.  Instead of searching far and wide for an imagined ideal Muse, sometimes we need to remember that we already have Muses surrounding us and we simply need to invite them to lay down with us in our field of awareness.  When the Moon is full in Virgo in opposition to the Sun in Pisces, we receive signs of how we can align our personal will with a higher will, how we can align our thoughts and behavior with the soul of our surroundings.  This current Virgo Full Moon is in trine to Pluto in Capricorn and so brings in productive, fertile earth energy into an otherwise stormy mix of planets in fire, air, and water signs.  A personal sojourn into the green world, removed from as much of the modern excess of electronics as possible, will be a fantastic activity for this Full Moon time if you can manage it.  Connecting with trees and birdsong on wild paths of untended decomposition and burgeoning growth is a perfect setting to contemplate the concerns coinciding with a full lunation in the mutable Earth sign of Virgo.

pents09

9 of Pentacles by Pamela Colman Smith

This Virgo Full Moon by zodiac degree falls within the Virgo II decan which is ruled by Venus.  The associated tarot card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith displays a golden aura surrounding a Venusian figure lifting her trained falcon within a grapevine estate.  This tarot card is traditionally associated with gains in wealth, and Austin Coppock in his book 36 Faces astutely analyzed how the hooded falcon (a symbol of spirit enclosed in matter) is a protector of the grapevine resources linked to her wealth since it is a bird of prey that feeds on the creatures who would damage the growth of the grapes.  In this way, Coppock stated that when we delight in the end product of a glass of wine, “The beauty of the finished product of the process conceals the pain and toil utterly necessary for its creation . . . It is only through heat, force and sweat that the most delicate and elegant works are created” (p. 145).  Coppock found a theme of continual reshaping and refinement of matter in this decan that unveils the diverse extremes of experiences that unite within the final form of a created work that contains spirit:

Alchemically, this face provides understanding of the many beautiful and repulsive states the matter attains throughout the Magnum Opus.  On an emotional level, the visions that stain this face teach one not to be repulsed by process, nor to be glamoured by the apparent perfection of a finished thing.  On a practical level, this face brings one to inspect material processes and note the efficiency or lack thereof.  The residents of this decan oversee the ever-transforming world, guiding and shaping the Great Work on a microcosmic level.

–Austin Coppock, 36 Faces, p. 146

There is nothing easy about this time we inhabit, but the hard work we exhibit today, the monstrous emotions we feel temporarily overwhelmed by, the radiant glow of bliss we contact in a perfect moment, it all feeds the form we are breathing within in this moment.  Discard feelings of anxiety over not being in the exact job or relationship you want right now, or having not enacted your envisioned plan yet.  This is an important Full Moon to listen to, as it prepares us for the upcoming eclipse season that stretches from the March Equinox into the month of April, pointing us in the direction of necessary modifications needed in our current process.  In the end we will all benefit from the final product you create out of your present dilemmas and circumstances.

VirgoFullMoonWRIGC1

References

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: the history, astrology, and magic of the decans. Three Hands Press.

Kerenyi, Karl. (1976). Hermes: Guide of Souls. Spring Publications.

Super Pisces Full Moon

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Morris-Graves-1941-The-Moon-The-Sea

Morris Graves, The Moon and the Sea (1941)

The Full Moon on September 8 is another Super Moon, meaning that the Moon will be as close to Earth as it gets in orbit, appearing larger in our sky, having a more extreme impact on the tides of our water, and looming larger in our consciousness as well (the term Super Moon was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle and can refer to either a New Moon or Full Moon).  This Pisces Full Moon is also the traditional Harvest Moon in the northern hemisphere, meaning it is the Full Moon closest to the Autumn Equinox.  This is the fifth and final Super Moon of 2014, and the third “Super” Full Moon in a row (July 12 and August 10, 2014 were also Full Super Moons): a time to reap insights from this past year of experiences before we head into the eclipse season of October 2014.

This Full Moon will be stirring up the lunar waters of our emotions and perceptions in the second decan of Pisces (there are three decans, ten degrees each, in the thirty degrees of each sign in the zodiac).  In the recently published 36 Faces, Austin Coppock discerned a core concept of Pisces II: integrating into our material realm the spiritual insights and ideals found in the seeker’s plunge into the deep:

Here the central concept is how to reconcile one’s understandings of the true nature of reality with the world-as-it-is. It is thus a face of finding harmony with apparent reality of things while living and embodying one’s ideals . . . This is the phase in which we are challenged to reconcile beliefs, ideals and the way things are. The result of this successful reconciliation is “Happiness,” which the associated Nine of Cups takes as its name in The Book of Thoth. The result of an inability to reconcile one with the other, will, however, yield the inverse- misery, the state of one for whom there is no harmony between their inner and outer (p. 251-52).

During 2014 we have had many transits correlating to a greater capacity to go within and explore the subterranean world of our unconscious, our deep-set patterns, and all the gems and ghosts within our psyche.  If we have done the hard work of connecting to our true ideals we may feel shocked when re-entering the world at large and not sensing an outlet or receiver for the cherished beliefs we unearthed, the vision resonate with our more fully realized self.  A Super Moon illuminating the polarity of the Pisces and Virgo axis in the Pisces II decan is like wading out of the ocean under a starry sky ablaze with the glow of a luminous white Moon, feeling aglow with an inexpressible sense of pure being as we take our first steps onto moist sand that turns drier with each step back toward land and away from water.

As the insights into the divine or the eternal we received in our oceanic sojourn are essentially inexpressible or impossible to be captured in a true form, the importance at this time is what we do exactly with the presence we have felt within and how we integrate what we have sensed of the profound into our mundane daily reality.  If we deny ourselves our blissful yearning, if we choose to focus on the realistic, secure, and safe direction instead of risking faith in the unknown beckoning us from our depths, we run the risk of living an unfulfilled life that no level of material security may remedy.  And yet this is the crux of this potent lunation, as the Virgo to the Pisces going on wants us to integrate what we have managed to perceive beyond the boundaries of our consensus societal reality into this same society whose folly we can see through.

Jupiter is a key at this time to help us intuit how to function in our world, as Jupiter is a ruler of the second decan of Pisces in addition to ruling the sign of Pisces traditionally.  Jupiter is in Leo at the time of the Harvest Full Moon, and this fiery Jupiter that wants us to creatively actualize our destiny is holding intense aspects to two mythic figures rooted in harvest equinox time:  Pluto and Ceres.  As a result, we likely have attachments that we will have to release, crippling inner fears that must be made aware to be overcome.  There could be a sacrificial element in all of this in which we must willingly or unwillingly release what is no longer useful to the future that is calling us forward, to which we feel we must surrender.

Neptune and Amphitrite

Amphitrite and Neptune, 16th Century French, Lead

Many modern astrologers believe that Neptune in Pisces, and not Jupiter in Leo, is ruling this Full Moon. No matter what your astrological belief, however, Neptune in Pisces looms large at this time, as Venus in Virgo is opposite it.  In fact, Neptune in Pisces has been integral to the entire waxing Moon we have been experiencing, as the last New Moon in Virgo was opposite Neptune.  While Neptune enjoys itself in Pisces, Venus has not been known to have such a rollicking time in Virgo and in fact has been given the label of being in its “fall” in Virgo.  This is because Virgo is seen as a mental sign of critical discrimination that may not be open to all of the pleasure that Venus has to offer.  But while Virgo may be seen by some as too judgmental and too much of a perfectionist for the good of Venus, we also find here in the fertile Virgin the ultimate spiritual receptacle capable of receiving the full expanse of the illumination available at this time.

Venus in Virgo opposite Neptune in Pisces at a time of the Sun in Virgo being opposite a Pisces Moon of great gravity brings with it the issue of reality versus illusion, and spiritual discernment versus spiritual delusion.   Everything depends upon the quality of one’s consciousness at this time and one’s capacities of perception:  some could experience an epiphany whereas others could find themselves lost in a fog of illusion.   Going within, getting away from the associations overwhelming your everyday reality, re-connecting with your source inside of yourself, all of these are ways to help you figure out what is really brewing in between your gut, heart, and mind.  Venus in Virgo can help us with discernment, but we also do not want to discriminate to such a degree that we cut ourselves off from desires connected to us getting more in touch with our authentic self because of a judgmental sense that these desires are not realistic, practical, or capable of manifesting for us in our reality at this time.  This is tricky terrain with no easy answers, so do not take the easy way out.  Connecting with your authentic nature, actualizing more of your core calling, is not only good for you, it is good for all of us.

Along these lines this intensity between Virgo and Pisces is amplified to the highest extremes by Chiron in Pisces being conjunct the Full Moon and opposite the Virgo Sun. In combination with Venus in Virgo opposing Neptune in Pisces, there is an electrical charge to the atmosphere at this time instigating flashes of insight into the entire collective story swirling around all of us, including not only the full arch of this epic storyline across time but also how exactly we are fitting into it in this moment of now.  Yes, Chiron is associated with wounds and we may have a gaping wound of our psyche exposed at this time. Yes, Chiron is associated with unflinching heroism, and we may seize the opportunity to take a courageous stand against the sickening oppression saturating our collective.  Yes, Chiron is associated with healing, and we may suddenly notice something in our environment at this time that is the exact remedy capable of nurturing our needs or injuries.  It may be an overplayed storyline that we are all connected but it is nonetheless true, and we can now more easily feel the inter-connectivity of all and the resulting significance of every daily choice we make contributing at least a small ripple to the wider tides.

amaranth by leo kenney

Amaranth by Leo Kenny

If one opens perception to the asteroid goddesses, there is a Grand Water Trine occurring at this Full Moon between Juno in Cancer, Saturn conjunct Vesta in Scorpio, and the Full Moon conjunct Chiron in Pisces.  This triangular circuit is a mainline into the undercurrents and emotional atmosphere of our surroundings and beyond into the greater collective consciousness of this time.  As there has been a lot of darkness and despair in current events, it would be wise to focus on self-care to purify and nourish our sense of self so that negativity around us does not lead us to turn it on ourselves.  It will please Juno to withdraw for a time in order to develop a greater capacity to return to relationships with a renewed ability to nurture, and Vesta collaborating with Saturn in Scorpio is not going to want us to be in denial of where our focus truly needs to be directed at this time.  All together these aspects align well with the earlier stated intent of this Full Moon in Pisces being about integrating our ideals in some way into our environment.  If we cut ourselves off from our ideal, from that cherished person, desire, or belief that makes us feel alive, these same aspects could make us spin out in despair. We need to use the supreme sustaining power of Vesta and Saturn in Scorpio to find a way to bring our dreams into our reality in whatever way we can right now.

A fortuitous ally in this pursuit will be Pallas Athena, who is joining her supreme creative intelligence with Mercury in the sign of Libra.  This Pallas Athena-Mercury conjunction has a lot of aspects at this Full Moon:  opposite Uranus in Aries, square Pluto in Capricorn, sextile Jupiter in Leo, opposite the South Node of the Moon in Aries, and conjunct the North Node of the Moon in Libra.  Mercury and Venus are having somewhat of an affair at this time, as they are in the mutual receptivity of Venus being in the sign ruled by Mercury and Mercury being in the sign ruled by Venus.  Add in the crafty Pallas Athena to the equation and we have a mix that can help us strategize a creative use of our spiritual perceptions, as both Mercury and Pallas Athena can perceive in between worlds.  Since the material world may seem to be operating on a more distasteful wavelength than the vibe of our desired vision, we may need to be assertively evoke Pallas Athena to preside over the manifestation of our ideal:

Female and male, the arts of war are thine,
Fanatic, much-formed dragoness, divine:
Over the Phlegrean giants, roused to ire,
Thy coursers driving, with destruction dire.
Sprung from the head of Jove, of splendid mien,
Purger of evils, all-victorious queen.
Hear me, O Goddess, when to thee I pray,
With supplicating voice both night and day,
And in my latest hour, give peace and health,
Propitious times, and necessary wealth,
And, ever present, be thy votaries aid,
O, much implored, art’s parent, blue-eyed maid.

–from the Orphic Hymn to the Goddess Athena

http://www.goddess-athena.org/Encyclopedia/Rituals/Hymns/Orphic.htm

We will need Pallas Athena to lend all of her dynamic power to a Mercury in Libra that can move between worlds to unite us with our beloved in the form of a Venus in Virgo receiving emanations from Neptune, because we must face the crisis and catharsis associated with Pluto in Capricorn.  For many of us this is the power structure surrounding us and the constraints and impositions of hierarchical societal systems that do not seem to be open to us pursuing our yearnings and instead seem to want to enslave us through needs to pay off debts, rents, bills, and so on.  Coming in for additional support, however, are a couple of heavyweights who know how to handle Pluto:  Jupiter in Leo and Uranus in Aries.  At the time of the Full Moon, Jupiter and Uranus are beginning to enter a trine of Fire, and though Mercury, Pallas Athena, and Uranus are all square to Pluto, the Sun and Full Moon hold harmonious aspects to the Lord of the Underworld.  All together these are yet another sign that we can have the ability at this time to ignite ourselves from within and configure a way to integrate more of our ideals into our reality.

morris graves offering

Offering by Morris Graves, 1957

All of the Scorpio energy in recent times seems to be heavy on the hearts of many: Ceres, Vesta, Saturn, and Mars all in Scorpio, with Ceres tightly in a square to Jupiter in Leo at the moment.  Jupiter is also inconjunct Pluto in Capricorn, and so our desire to integrate our ideals or insights into our society at this time will be difficult, it will mean we have to release attachments and suffer losses, but it is entirely possible.  There has been a piercing quality to this energy making it difficult if not impossible to be in denial of our core feelings or hide from the truth being revealed about the identity for ourselves we have been fixated upon.  However, Mars is now entering the end of the final decan of Scorpio, giving us a final period of time to root ourselves further into our deepest soul desires.  The more we can connect with our authentic desires with the aid of this luminous Full Moon, the better, for Mars next enters Sagittarius and by the end of September we will have a Grand Fire Trine of Mars in Sagittarius, Uranus in Aries, and Jupiter in Leo to propel us forward with passion toward our ideal.

So much Scorpio energy could have been coinciding with fears of betrayal or being betrayed, grasping and clinging to attachments we are afraid we could lose.  And yet, in Scorpio we also find our capacity to release and regenerate, to enter a death of our old ego identity in order to rebirth a more fully realized self. For now, remember that dark times are necessary in order to fully savor the light, we must become aware of our fears to overcome our inner inhibitions, and we have to realize what we do not want in order to know what we do want.  And if you allow me to insert yet another cliche here, we are at a reaping time: so don’t fear the reaper.

PiscesFullMoonWRIGC1

References

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces. Three Hands Press.

New Moon in Virgo

/ grayastrology / 8 Comments

Astarte_Goddess_Louvre_AO20127

Astarte

This New Moon in Virgo is a potent seeding time that will wax into the fifth and final Super Moon of the year, this time in Pisces.  Mercury, angelic messenger and guide of souls, is the ruler of this New Moon and gracefully moving as an evening star through his exaltation of Virgo.  Mercury is beyond fifteen degrees in front of the Sun, an excellent stage in Mercury’s cycle to assimilate and integrate past reflection with focused pragmatism in the present, especially considering that Mercury is home in Virgo.  Giving Mercury additional electricity is an opposition from Chiron in Pisces which can give us the courage to face whatever is arising in our environment and discern far reaching insight that can turn the tide and light a path in front of us.  The key is to be present with an active and alert Mercury and find practical outlets to move the energy we receive at this time through an intentional mode of expression of our choosing.  Profound insight into the meaning of our circumstances is available and with this New Moon we can focus on planting a solution to our dilemmas that we can tend with the presence of the Virgin.

Last Quarter Square between Venus and Mars

At the time of the New Moon, Mars in Scorpio will be entering into a conjunction with Saturn in Scorpio which is probably the most attention grabbing aspect of this time.  However, throughout this past year I have been tracking the current cycle between Venus and Mars that began in April 2013, and as the exact last quarter square between them will occur soon after the New Moon while the Moon is still in Virgo, I want to delve into its meaning first.  As I previously wrote about in my Mars retrograde in Libra post, we experienced a very drawn out first quarter square and then experienced the opposition of their cycle around May 11, 2014.  Today at the last quarter square, Venus and Mars are not facing off by themselves, instead having each made allegiances with a powerful other.  For Mars in Scorpio, it is a balsamic conjunction with Saturn occurring at the lunation, while for Venus in Leo, it is a balsamic conjunction with Black Moon Lilith.  Make sure to look in your chart for where 17 degrees of Leo is for how Venus is impacting you, and for 18 degrees of Scorpio to see how Mars and Saturn are stirring things up for you.

As I have been doing so far in my writing about the current Venus and Mars cycle, I am drawing upon the work of Jeffrey Wolf Green because I have found his method of exploring their cyclical archetypes to feel resonate with my own experiences as well as with people whose chart I’ve been working with.  Green took the meaning behind Dane Rudhyar’s lunation cycle and applied it to the cycle between Venus and Mars through the lens of his evolutionary astrology.  To start with, reflect back for a moment to the time of April 6, 2013 and what relationships and desires arose or you felt called toward.  The conjunction at that time was at 20 degrees of Aries, so this cycle connects with the Mars archetype and a yearning that came out of that time for a sense of a personal destiny we wanted the freedom to pursue, despite personal circumstances that may not have been adequately aligned to manifest.  

Now Venus is no longer in Aries but is rather in Leo, and this means that our previously primal urge for self exploration has now developed into a fully conscious sense of our creative potential. This is because  Venus in Leo possesses an inner focus that demands creative self-actualization.  Venus in Leo hears the call and sees the vision, and she has the inner radiance bright enough to take a stand to actualize herself however she desires.  This inner shining is an even brighter light at the moment because Venus has recently passed through a conjunction with Jupiter in Leo, and now she is joining up with the defiantly authentic and independent Black Moon Lilith, an archetype that doesn’t give a damn what you think of it.  Black Moon Lilith is not afraid of being an outcast if necessary to stay true to her values, yet as Demetra George has written she is also a resolution point wherein we are not a rebel without a cause, but rather a purposeful rebel whose path takes us deeper into our core self.

This vibrant Leo energy is powerful stuff for the last quarter square between Mars and Venus, because at this stage in their cycle our soul desires to expand into a more universal awareness and we desire to journey beyond our surrounding culture and society, with a willingness to let go of the limitations of our socially defined role and the culture of wherever we are currently living.  At this time we may feel a desire to learn about and merge with ideas from other cultures that give us a different perspective on the meaning of our life.  A crisis emerges because while we desire to live and interact within our current culture, we want to be able to do this while questioning everything about it and the meaning of everything at the same time.  As a result, we may feel alienated and think about withdrawing from society.  Hopefully, the presence of Black Moon Lilith with Venus in Leo will coincide with us overcoming the challenge of maintaining our integration in society while allowing for an inner expansion concurrently.

This lustful Leo energy will also desire an intimate partner who shares an affinity with our soul, someone who is on a similar path with us and shares our values and passions in life.  While this may seem like a typical romantic dream, at this stage in the Venus and Mars cycle it is more like an essential urge that demands satisfaction.  If we are in a relationship, but our current partner is not aligned with us on a soul level, great conflicts around our values could erupt at this time.  We could then experience a sense of increasing alienation in our relationship, a feeling that we have no basis of being able to relate in a meaningful way.  We fortunately do have a strong Virgo Mercury right now ruling the Virgo New Moon to help us discern if it is time to set intention to leave a present relationship behind, or stay rooted and attempt to see if a mediation of differences is possible or not.

In any case, conflict and criticism in our relationships will be difficult to handle with Venus in Leo, as Leo Venus wants positive feedback, and with Venus being in square to both Mars and Saturn, we may get exactly the opposite and have to face confrontations with others in relationship attempting to manipulate us or misuse their power with us in an emotional dynamic.  At a pure level, Venus in Leo can have no sense of limitations and boundless desire that can become deeply frustrated when having to face the limitations of Saturn, such as societal limitations, limitations of authority over us, or limitations of time and space.  With Black Moon Lilith also involved things could really become heated, yet Black Moon Lilith will be able to lend us the power to burn off the false in the fire, and emerge from conflict with a more fully realized authenticity.

Remembering that we are also at the last quarter square between Venus and Saturn in their cycle, this New Moon square between them connects back to the last conjunction of Venus and Saturn on September 18, 2013 at 9 degrees Scorpio.  What was shifting and beginning to come into form last September and October? This current Scorpio cycle between Venus and Saturn has been a deep one that has brought great loss and change into the lives of many.  The changes can allow for a deep re-structuring of our consciousness or awareness, and today’s New Moon is a perfect time to set intention to shift into a new pattern more deeply rooted with our true desires.

NewMooninVirgoWRIGC2

Mars conjunct Saturn in Scorpio

 Mars and Saturn started their last cycle around August 15, 2012 at 25 degrees of Libra (If you would like to track this cycle farther back for increased insight, previously on July 31, 2010 there was a Mars and Saturn conjunction at 1 degree of Libra, and on July 10, 2008 there was a Mars and Saturn conjunction at 6 degrees of Virgo). We are now at the final release of this past cycle: to think of how it impacted you, look to where 25 degrees of Libra is in your chart and track the movement of Saturn deep into Scorpio where it is now, reflecting upon the events that have transpired.  This past cycle initiated in Libra, ruled by Venus, has a more outward Venusian theme to it, whereas the cycle we are starting now in Scorpio will be a more inwardly deep cycle.  Relationships can still be part of this cycle but they will be relationships that take us deeper into our core and soul desires.  

Current events are intense right now, but starting a project during a Mars and Saturn new phase can be a powerful choice for one’s self development.  As a personal example, I started this blog you are reading at the previous conjunction of Mars and Saturn in Libra and it has turned out to be a great realm for me to work on my writing and research skills in connection with astrology.  I did not have anyone reading it initially, but I have seen some slow and steady growth in readership, not unlike the methodical focused energy of Mars and Saturn united.  When I think back to that time period in my life, I had some turbulent emotions and personal issues that fit with the intensity of Mars and Saturn coming together, and so creating this blog gave me somewhere to direct energy in a productive manner for myself.  One of the reasons the intensity has been revving up so much may have to do not only with Mars and Saturn coming together in Scorpio, but also simply that we are closing out their past cycle.  I am sure things will continue to be intense, but look for where things begin to shift and where openings emerge for personal pursuits as the new phase sets in during the next few weeks.  It isn’t necessary to start a project at this time, but it is important to direct energy into something, be it an exercise routine, yoga routine, cooking routine, or space for creative expression of any sort that calls.

Mars being in Scorpio now for the last quarter square deepens the energy of this Aries cycle between Venus and Mars that is under the rulership of the red planet.  Mars is home in Scorpio just like as in Aries, but Mars in Scorpio is more of an esoteric archetype that helps put us in contact with our deepest nature.  Mars in Scorpio has an intense energy that inwardly focuses us on our desires and through exploration, helps us understand our mind frame created from our intentions, motivations, and desires.  Jeffrey Wolf Green has written that Mars in Scorpio gives us an opportunity to cultivate profound understanding in many areas of our life:

  • understanding our emotional dynamics
  • understanding the nature of our anger and rage
  • understanding personal power and both the proper use and improper use of power
  • understanding right use of will
  • understanding how misuse of will leads to manipulating others to meet our own desires
  • understanding the nature of limitations and what is and is not possible
  • understanding the reasons behind our confrontations, both inner and outer

If events do take us into the darker side of the possible meaning found in the Mars and Saturn conjunction in Scorpio, a good recourse will be to use it as an opportunity to learn more about our nature.  In connection to the last quarter square aspect with Venus, if we are drawn into another culture, a new philosophical awareness, or a love interest we desire to become intimate with, in all cases these will be attractions and callings that are resonant with our soul desires.  Pursuing a passion at this time will be a great way to work through the energy and utilize the transcendent potential of the many hard aspects involved in the New Moon.

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Virgo by Johfra Bosschart

Virgo New Moon opposite Pisces Neptune

Virgo Mercury opposite Pisces Chiron

The Virgo and Pisces axis is demanding our attention this lunar cycle, as we begin with the New Moon opposite Neptune in Pisces, ruled by a Mercury opposite Chiron in Pisces. The climax will be a Super Moon in Pisces on September 8, 2014 that will be conjunct Chiron in Pisces, with Venus in Virgo in opposition to Neptune in Pisces.  Some of us are able to tune into Neptune and Chiron more so than others it seems without becoming baffled, but whatever your prior orientation is to the far out Chiron and Neptune, start paying attention.  We have a full plate ahead of us involving Neptune and Chiron in Pisces to digest (fortunately Virgo is associated with digestion, ha ha).

Demetra George has labeled Mercury in its current evening star phase more than fifteen degrees in front of the Sun as being similar to his exaltation in Virgo and what do you know, Mercury is actually in Virgo right now to boot.  To Demetra, Hermes in this phase is an older, wiser Mercury who is the sage and educator of youth, an inventor of letters, interpreter of words, and giver of medicine.  This is a Mercury in Virgo at a stage well suited to oppose Chiron in Pisces and evaluate our current predicament to receive a significant message, insight, or solution.  Remember that Mercury is magical and that he knows how to create remedies and find solutions, and that Chiron is the mentor of heroes who can help charge us forward toward achieving a harvest from what we plant as intention on this New Moon. Mercury in Virgo opposing Chiron in Pisces is harmoniously supporting the Mars and Saturn conjunction, with Mercury sextile and Chiron in trine.  Since both Chiron and Mercury in myth prescribe medicine, as a result they are in position to help us find a remedy for anything weakening our system.

Finally, Ceres in Scorpio is harmonious with this New Moon, in sextile to the lunation and in trine to Neptune in Pisces.  If we are facing issues involving attachment and letting go, we can have no better soul worker on our behalf than Ceres, as she was forced to face ultimate lessons involving letting go of attachments through losing her daughter Persephone to the underworld.  With the New Moon opposite Neptune, Ceres being involved harmoniously can help us mother ourselves, as a Moon and Neptune opposition can relate to desiring an illusory attachment in order to compensate for attachments that we feel were taken away too soon.  As a result we can experience great disillusionment when the new attachment we thought would take care of everything wrong in our life doesn’t live up to our projected ideal.  I do not think it is necessarily bad to want to attach to someone or something at this time, but I do think it is good advice to avoid losing your sense of self in the process.  Invoking some Taurus self-reliance as an antidote to all of the Scorpio energy can help us successfully merge with another without losing ourselves in the process.  As I previously mentioned, there can be a genuine desire for a soul mate in connection with the last quarter square between Venus and Mars that is not an illusion.  Just practice discernment as best as you can.

The story of Ceres is also a lesson that if we are feeling anger, pain, or sorrow, it is better to express the emotions through an outlet rather than try to numb it through the use of drugs or other forms of escapism.  There is strong association between Ceres and the sign of Virgo for obvious reasons, but an additional connection is her extreme productivity and ability to cultivate and nurture growth on all levels of being.  The type of growth we will experience at this time will not be light and airy but instead dense and deep.  Use the New Moon to focus on your true heart’s desire and then use the conjunction between Vesta and Ceres in Scorpio to dedicate yourself to maintaining your focus on making it happen.  Every small choice and step along the way will add up to the grand life we are desiring to live.  The last quarter square between Venus in Leo and Mars conjunct Saturn in Scorpio is a temporary passage along the way there.

References

Green, Jeff. (2009). Pluto Volume II: The Soul’s Evolution through Relationships. Wessex.