The Cosmic Story: Aries/Libra Full Moon 2017

The Cosmic Story: Aries/Libra Full Moon 2017

The Sacred Marriage: Equality, Union, Balance

What if we really believed that Mother Earth is alive and responsive to our heart’s hope? What if we live in our bodies as the temple of our spirit? What happens when we reunite Spirit and Matter?

These are the questions that the Virgo New Moon brought to our attention. The Virgin unites spirit and matter, soul and body. If we live in that consciousness, can we discern what Mother Earth is trying to tell us?

What happens to our sorrows? Are they drawn up into the sky and transformed into Mother Earth’s tears, which can cleanse and nourish us? When we are out of balance, our emotions overwhelm us. Is our collective anguish so great that Mother Earth is responding with floods of rain, winds that tear up and topple our reality, quakes that shake us out of our complacency? Are the fires burning throughout the western US the anger that burns within our hearts at the chaos our leaders are creating? Is Mother Earth responding to our heart’s despair that the old order refuses to acknowledge the Spirit in the world?

It’s time to decide what we believe. And then live out that belief. Saturn is moving forward through the last 10* of Sagittarius, giving us a final chance to clarify our beliefs. If we truly believe that we are incarnated Spirit, we have to let our Spirit shine out of this temple we’ve been given. We have to let our body awaken to the fullness of Spirit, so we can enjoy our life and create that heaven on Earth we were sent here to create.

The issue, as Maurice Femandez correctly points out, is whether we’ll finally accept that living fully here on Earth is our spiritual initiation. Spirit is not ‘out there or up there’, as all our patriarchal religions would have us believe. For the past 2000 years, these patriarchal religions have punished the body and the Earth, believing that our ‘rewards in heaven’ were more important than living a fully creative and joyful life in the body. It’s time to remember that Spirit lives within us and is all around us. This is the basis of Goddess religions and pagan belief and as a ‘Pagan-o’, I know that being rooted in the cycles of Earth’s year can bring us into relationship with the Earth’s spirit.

Our ‘flat-earth’ belief that only the things we can see are ‘real’ must go. While fanatical Christians are quick to point out someone they hate as anti-christ, the reality is that our whole corporate culture is ‘the anti-Christ’ – the belief that we are not spiritual beings, that we only need money and physical security in life. That we become ‘consumers’ rather than Stewards of the Earth. Christ consciousness is suppose to be the goal of Christianity; we are here to acknowledge the Spirit of Mother Earth and to infuse our spirit into the life we live and share.

The Leo Solar Eclipse and the New Birth

The Leo solar eclipse speaks to this necessity (ANANKE was the primordial goddess (protogenos) of necessity, compulsion and inevitability or destiny). The Sabian symbol for the degree of the solar eclipse, 29* Leo, is: A mermaid emerges from the ocean waves ready for rebirth in human form. 

Edward Burne-Jones

 

A mermaid is a feminine spirit that understands the longings of the heart, living as she does in the ocean of the collective unconscious. Because she has a fish’s tail, she is a feeling consciousness that has no ‘legs to stand on’ in the outer world. This eclipse changes that. Now our inner mermaids are going to have legs to stand on and feet to walk on. She is going to ‘incarnate’ within each of us if we nurture her.

I’ve always felt like a mermaid (especially since most of my personal planets are in the 12^th house of the collective unconscious). And I tease my friends, telling them that “Next lifetime, I’m going to the mermaid planet.” Anais Nin shared my feelings. “I must be a mermaid...I have no fear of depths and a great fear of shallow living.”

This eclipse has awakened me to the need to fully incarnate. It’s time to stop longing for a better ‘home’ and just ‘be home’. While I’ve been swimming toward it all my life, now I can feel the shift in my body. I am home. ARE YOU?

We are the Stewards of the Earth, the Guardians of the Sacred Flame of Life. It is our job to keep our Light burning brightly, not by ignoring the Dark but by bringing a light to bear on what is unconscious within ourselves and then what is unconscious in the world.

Here’s some more information about the archetype of the Mermaid.

The Aries/Libra Full Moon 2017

This Aries/Libra Full Moon is the Harvest Moon. The Harvest Moon is the full Moon that occurs closest to the Autumn Equinox. It’s called the Harvest Moon because at Fall Equinox the Moon rises more swiftly than at other times and for three days it looks almost full. With it rising so close to sunset, the Moon’s light gives farmers more time to harvest their crops—even in the night! For more information about the Harvest Moon, see the Farmer’sAlmanac.

The Aries Full Moon occurs on Thursday, October 5^th at 11:40am PDT/ 2:40pm EDT/ 6:40pm GMT.

This Full Moon is all about relationships, balance and the union of feminine (Being) and masculine (Doing) energies, not only because the signs of Aries and Libra symbolize Self and Other, but also because the ruling planets of Aries (Mars) and Libra (Venus) unite and begin a new cycle just hours before the Full Moon.

So let’s take a look at what’s going on in this important cosmic story.

After the Leo solar eclipse we were instructed by the Cosmos to bring together Spirit and Matter (Pisces/Virgo Full Moon) and then integrate them within our own bodies, souls and spirit (Virgo New Moon). Once we ‘belong to ourselves’ we can go out and relate to others (Aries/Libra Full Moon) and discover just how ‘fair and balanced’ we are.

The mass murder in Las Vegas Sunday night is an extreme example of how out of balance our society is. While we point fingers at the whole Muslim religion for the acts of just a few fanatical men, we refuse to call out as terrorists the fanatical Christians/white males who commit these horrific acts. Why are men creating terror at a time of crisis, when we are called to participate in conscious evolution by choosing to change our way of living for the good of the future and the healing of the Earth? Is it because patriarchy sees death as a final stop on the road of Life, so why not kill everyone? Instead of taking the more feminine view that life is a cycle, and while we might be in the death aspect of the cycle, we are also heading back to the rebirth part of the Wheel?

We refuse to implement responsible laws to keep automatic weapons out of private hands. In part because of our president’s bad example of giving military weaspons to police departments; in part because gun manufacturers have bought our politicians; in part because Americans seem to be so afraid they feel we need guns to protect ourselves. (I know some gun owners like the sport of it, like archery. That’s not the issue here.) Who are we so afriad of? Obviously, each other. Why? Why are Americans so cowardly that in the midst of what most of the world would deem ‘plenty’, we feel the constant need to protect and defend ourselves? Why isn’t America the land of the free and the home of the brave we keep tooting our horns about?

Pluto just turned to direct motion on September 28^th. He quickly got back to work showing America another aspect of our society we need to let die so we can evolved into a more brave and responsible nation. Why do we feel so insecure? Perhaps because we’ve been naughty? Have we engaged in domination, terror and repression? Are we the Shadow we project onto others? Is it because we’ve made money our god and will have ‘no other gods before money’? Just where is all this fear coming from? Is this why fanatical Christians think the End is coming? Because they’re afraid of change? Where is this fear living within our souls? Isn’t it time to heal ourselves of this collective wound so we can help others heal? How do we get over this existential fear of life?

We do it by living life fully!

Susan Seddon Boulet ~ Libra

Pluto plays a big role in this Full Moon, squaring both the Sun in Libra and the Moon in Aries while it’s still almost stationary. It exerts a big pull on this Full Moon, demanding that we look at our society and its wounds when we consider how we contribute either to the fear or the peace, the truth or the injustice, the collapse or the creativity of our society.

The Sabian Symbol for the Sun at 13* Libra is: Children blowing soap bubbles. This image speaks about engaging with others in playful imaginations using collective rituals, rituals such as Full Moon ceremonies, parties, sports events (players kneeling!), and drama (The Handmaiden’s Tale). I just watched 25 little children get mesmerized by a bubble machine – it was magical. Let your magic out and play with others.

The Sabian Symbol for the Moon at 13* Aries is: An unexploded bomb reveals an unsuccessful social protest. This is an image of an immature refusal to take the time to change the world peacefully to match your idealistic hopes for the future. This is adolescent frustration at its worst.

What a contrast of images! Children playing with bubbles vs. a desire to blow things up. This Aries Full Moon is challenging us to learn patience by using our imagination and allowing oneself to play with possibilities. Being horrified by what is going on in the world isn’t enough. We have to start imagining how we can change things. First change our own lives, then the world’s.

The Sabian Symbol for Pluto squaring this Full Moon at 17* Capricorn is: A repressed woman finds psychological release in Nudity. Pluto challenges this Moon and us to break free from the repressive rules and beliefs of patriarchy (work-worthiness, sex-sinful, relationships—unequal, otherness—enemy). We do this by listening to the wisdom of our bodies – to our own inner guidance rather than trying to meet with society’s approval. We need to relearn how to trust our natural instincts.

So how do we work with our fiery Aries passions—anger, assertion, desire, doing? Aries’ lesson is identifying what turns you on and gives you vitality (life-force). The Sabian symbol indicates that we have to see how our unconscious anger, assertion or desires need to be expressed differently. It’s time to grow up and take the time to imagine (the soap bubbles) different ways to give form and voice to those emotions instead of letting them control our decisions unconsciously through the Shadow.

The Shadow throws the bomb! Don’t project your Shadow – embrace your anger and discover what it’s trying to tell you. Own your desires – if you repress them you twist them out of shape. Be assertive when you need to, and when not, let others lead.

The Libra Sun shines her light on the questions of balance, equality and beauty. With Mercury and Vesta close by, truthful communication is a must to bring things into balance, especially in close relationships. We have to be willing to disagree as well as compromise to come into balance. What can we do about violence? How can we help our devastated neighbors? How can we create beauty in our relationships rather than ugliness, while staying true to ourselves?

Being conscious is hard work. It takes discipline and courage and honor. We need more of these values in our society, don’t you think?

Pluto’s square to this Full Moon gives us an energetic push towards transforming old complexes and habits. If we don’t take the opportunity and make the right choice for ourself, these energies escape our intent and control and can cause havoc as they mingle with our collective chaos.

The Venus/Mars Conjunction

Astrology is all about cycles. Two planets orbit the Sun, coming together and moving apart at regular intervals. The previous Venus/ Mars cycle started on February 21-22, 2015 at 1* Aries, whose Sabian symbol is: A woman just risen from the sea. A seal is embracing her. Can you see a pattern here? A new feeling (woman) is arising in the world. Along with the Leo solar eclipse symbol of the mermaid, Life is asking us to incarnate the feelings arising from the collective unconscious (ocean), from the matrix of life itself. Life itself needs us to consciously evolve so we can once again vibrate with Mother Earth and strengthen her life energies.

Venus is the archetypal energy of our heart’s hope, the love that connects us to our world. She connects us through our bodies, our senses and our heart’s values. Mars is the energy of our will and intention, our desire to get what we need and the actions we take to get it.

The Sabian Symbol for this Venus/Mars conjunction at 20* Virgo is: A caravan of cars headed to the West Coast. Dane Rudhyar states that this image speaks of the ‘need of cooperative effort in reaching any ‘New World’ of experience’. A caravan speaks of people banding together to share resources and companionship on the journey to a new life. We hold a unique vision for the future and so must journey in the knowledge that we ourselves must embody the vision. It’s time to leave the past behind and step into the great ‘unknown’ adventure. The call has gone out. Will you respond?

Venus and Mars in Virgo are the priestess and priest who embody the new energies and use them for healing and health (Virgo), for self-knowledge and wisdom, for integration and wholeness.Meet each person in your role as priestess or priest, so that each encounter is sacred and blessed.  This can change the whole dynamic of any relationship you engage in, deepening it and making it meaningful.

The Venus/Mars conjunction squares Saturn in Sagittarius. As a waning square, the energy produced calls on us to make conscious choices. The Sabian Symbol for Saturn at 23* Sagittarius is: A group of immigrants as they fulfill the requirements of entrance into the new country. Need I say more! Just remember, moving to a ‘new world’ or experience of life means that the old rules might not apply. We have to discover the new rules of our newly incarnated embodied soul. Consciously acknowledging Spirit in all of life daily and with gratitude in our hearts, no matter what comes. Take it slow, but do it. This waning square calls on us to exert more self-discipline and to aim for a purposeful direction.

Pluto trines the Venus/Mars conjunction, giving strength and power to our discipline as well as honing our instincts about what needs changing.

With Jupiter ending his year-long journey through Libra on October 10^th, it’s a good time to ask yourself if you’ve deepened your relationships, if you’ve balanced your masculine and feminine energies and if you stand for justice and equality. Jupiter takes us deeper into intimacy, death and rebirth as it swims in Scorpio for the next year.

Walk in the Light,

Cathy

Sonnets to Orpheus, Part One, XII

Bless the spirit that makes connections,
for truly we live in what we imagine.
Clocks move along side our real life
with steps that are ever the same.

Though we do not know our exact location,
we are held in place by what links us.
Across trackless distances
antennas sense each other.

Pure attention, the essence of the powers!
Distracted by each day's doing,
how can we hear the signals?

Even as the farmer labors
there where the seed turns into summer,
it is not his work. It is Earth who gives.

~ Rainer Maria Rilke ~

(In Praise of Mortality, translated and edited by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy)