The Cosmic Story: Taurus/Scorpio Full Moon 2017
Samhain’s Blessings: Seeing with the Eyes of the Soul
Samhain blessings to you all.
Samhain is the Celtic festival that celebrates the beginning of
Winter on the Wheel of the Year. It marks the death of the old year
and the beginning of the new. In Celtic lands, it was a time when
all the harvests were in and livestock was slaughtered for the winter
months. It is also a time when the veils between the worlds are
thin and the spirits of the dead walk abroad and are honored. In
most ancient cultures, people honored their ancestors as well as
feared their uneasy ghosts. While we still celebrate Samhain on
October 31st – November 1st, astrologically
it occurs on the power gate at 15* Scorpio, which occurs on November
6–7 due to precession.
We celebrate Halloween (All Hallows’ Eve) and dress up as those
very ancestors and ghosts, taking on another persona for a night, but
without knowing and honoring its real purpose. The Catholic Church
celebrates All Saints’ Day on November 1st and All
Souls’ Day on November 2nd in memory of these ancient
celebrations. And of course, the Mexicans celebrate Día de
Muertos, the Day of the Dead, a day to remember and honor those
family and friends who have died.
Samhain BonFire
Perhaps more than ever, Americans need to celebrate these holidays
because we need to face the fact of death
with a different attitude. Our corporate culture hurries by
Halloween and shifts right in Christmas – the renewal and birth of
the Light. Don’t want us to dwell too long on death,
do they? Our western society so often tries to get us to ignore
that death is a part of life – just look at how patriarchal white
men can’t deal with the death of their power and the sharing of it
with women, other cultures and races. Masculine consciousness is
afraid of death – because it thinks it means ‘the end’
rather than seeing it as a stage in the cycle of Life. It wants to
hold onto its life,
even if it causes death and destruction to everyone else. And that
is exactly what patriarchy is doing – causing the death of our
planet and of our people, rather than letting go of its power so a
new way of living can be born.
This is what our American government
and its economic overlords are doing right now. They are struggling
to maintain their power, here and around the world. As we come to
the end of America’s 1st
Pluto cycle in 2021-23, centered on our obsession with wealth and our
need to dominate the world, we are experiencing the worst aspects of
our culture as those very structures breakdown and decay. This is
known as the Sunset Effect: as things start to fundamentally change,
there is a backlash and the old tries very hard to maintain itself.
(In the Book of Revelations, this
is symbolized by the old Dragon who wants to kill the New Life that
the Woman Clothed with the Sun gives
birth to. Or in Greek Myth, this is Chronos eating his children
rather than letting one of them take over. ) But it is doomed to
failure. Life will see to that. So while we’re struggling through
these last few years against the corporate zombie
Apocalypse, know that as you let
the old patriarchal rules die within you, the cosmos is also working
to make it so in the
outer world.
Americans have been given a chance
to awaken to a new reality – or return to the reality of the myth most of us were brought up with, of America as the land of the free and the home
of the brave. With this
summer’s total solar eclipse running through, and only through,
North America, we have the cosmic go-ahead to embody the feelings and
imaginings of the mermaid rising up out of the ocean to
take on human form. She embodies
all our longings and hopes that a free, peaceful, creative life is
possible here on Earth.
With the 2012-15 square between Uranus in Aries and Pluto in
Capricorn winding down, it’s now up to each of us to engage in the
hero’s journey and overcome the obstacles the old patriarchy is
throwing in our way. And we will do it. Have no doubt. But not
without going through the hard work of meeting those obstacles
head-on. We are not entitled to more of Mother Earth’s resources
than others. We have to grow up and learn to share the wealth. We
have to realize that we are all in this together. We have to
sacrifice our old life-style of conspicuous consumption and
entitlement and work to create a more perfect union that asks each of
us to be responsible citizens and engage in our communities to make
sure we’re all pulling in the same direction – A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE.
Stop wasting water. Save
electricity by shutting off lights and unused electronics. Walk or
bike when you can. Bring your own bags to the grocery store.
Car-pool. Use renewable energy if your electric company allows for
it. Stop eating meat altogether – or at least beef, which
contributes a lot to greenhouse gases and takes up too much of our
farming needs. Go to your town council meetings and know what’s
happening in your town or city. Band with others to help create the
changes that need to take place if we are to reverse the damages to
our environment and heal Mother Earth. She will survive – our
children won’t. That’s the best way to be compassionate – to
think of others as we enjoy the benefits of our lifestyle. I saw a
bumper sticker today. If you want peace in the world, work
for justice. We are here this
lifetime to bring a new balance into the world, so that the entire
human family as well
as Mother Earth can prosper.
Scorpio and Samhain
Having the Full Moon so close to Samhain boosts Scorpio’s purpose
into high gear. Scorpio is the sign that demands that we learn to
shed what’s old and no longer serves our life. Since Scorpio is a
water sign, it means we have to shed those emotional wounds that we
hug close to the chest – the hurts, betrayals, the jealousy, the fears and
anger that derail us from being able to open to others. Just as in
winter we gather together to help each other through the dark and
cold, so Scorpio needs and wants to engage on a deep level with
others about the important things in live. It’s all about shared
values that we can grow with together.
So let’s look at how Samhain embodies the essence of Scorpio.
Samhain, the Day of the Dead, the great Goddess Hecate of the
Crossroads and dark Hades, Lord of the Greek Underworld.
Hecate the Crone
- where veils are thin so many dimensions converge;
- where we find ourselves at a crossroads, a marker of choice and decision;
- where we step – or are pushed – into a new world and a new role;
- where we have the perspective that only death gives us to understand our life’s true story.
With
Samhain falling on this Taurus/Scorpio Full Moon, we have a chance to
bring through the veils a part of our soul that can help us on this
next stage of our journey. Taurus’ energy builds a container for
Scorpio’s emotional depths, enabling us to really look at what’s
in there. Our hidden fears and prejudices, our hopes and desires,
our hidden wounds as well as our proud victories. And our past lives,
with our talents and desires still resonating within us. Scorpio
feels it all – the betrayals, the hopes, the intensity, the
passion. Our life up until now. Our many lives up until this
moment, perhaps?
Taurus/Scorpio Cauldron
What
do you have to say about
this lifetime?
Happy
or discontent?
Write
it out because
it’s time now to enter into that ‘in-between place’ where you
are dead to your old life but not yet born to your new. You are in
the gray zone of understanding, awakening and choice. What will I do
in this transformational time to help myself
and
humanity move peacefully and gracefully into the future?
We
are being called to step forward and offer our healing energy, our
open minds and our loving hearts to our communities and see where
we’re needed. Mother Earth wants us to work with her, to listen
to her, to cooperate with her. Our dream group was talking about
how we have to stop thinking we have to be ‘perfect’ to use our
talents and just DO IT. We will grow in skill and wisdom by doing
the work, not waiting to
take one more class.
Taurus/Scorpio Full Moon
This Taurus Full Moon occurs on November 3rd at 10:22pm
PDT and on November 4th at 1:22am EDT/ 5:22am GMT.
This
Full Moon is a super Moon, meaning that the Moon in its orbit is
closest to the Earth, so it will appear bigger on the horizon as well
as having a stronger effect on the tides and on us.
Scorpio is the sign where we emotionally engage with other people.
You know how that goes. Some people you naturally resonated with –
as if you’re family and you can be yourself and ‘let it all hang
out’. With other friends, you have
to work a little bit harder to feel comfortable, and often you can’t
share all of yourself with them. Then there are business associates,
neighbors, service people and strangers who you wear your persona for
and therefore try not to engage emotionally with them. Then there
are the ones you know you’re not aligned with, because they are
discordant in themselves or with your own energy and values. They
annoy you.
Scorpio deals with all these kinds of emotional entanglements. The
more you are both centered in yourself and open to the other person,
the more real your encounter can be. If you can get by the
unconscious Scorpio part of yourself that constantly needs to defend
itself and fly like the Eagle of Scorpio, being emotionally open is
like a dance. And that’s the promise of the Phoenix of Scorpio:
arising from the ashes of fear, insecurity, entitlement, domination,
jealousy, greed and cruelty, Scorpio is certain of his values and
emotionally secure enough to dance with your values and emotions.
That’s what intimacy is: the dance of our emotional lives, a dance
that take courage and strength, love and responsibility, openness and
hope.
Easier said than done. Especially if we’re still awash with our
own emotional dramas. But, Scorpio goes deep, wants to explore the
mysteries and grapple with the Shadow. If we have a handle on our
Shadows – Jupiter is presently in Scorpio for the next year and
will certainly expand on any shadowy areas of our emotional lives –
we won’t fall into a shadow dance with others, even if they are
lost in it. It’s amazing what a conscious standpoint can do for
emotional flexibility.
Spring Maiden
Taurus is the sign that ushers in the Summer on the Wheel of the
Year. We celebrate Beltaine across the Wheel from Samhain. So
Taurus enlivens all the traits of late Spring/early Summer:
fertility, beauty, sensuality, values and inherent talents. May is
when the trees and shrubs blossom, when the sunlight grows stronger,
when we feel the wild desires of life rise up within us just as the
fire of life is rising up through the Earth. Taurus gives form to
that fire of Life and those necessities that make for a good life:
food, shelter, sex, security, peace and prosperity. Yes, Taurus can
be indulgent and sensuous, reveling in the goodness of material life.
And that makes it a perfect match for Scorpio’s need to let go
of what’s dead, because
we have to clean out if we want to savor the good things in life.
So what happens when we’re in the time of death and the Full Moon
of Taurus shines down on us? We embrace those primal values of life
and hope! As we go into the Dark, we take with us the memory of Life
– of the body and of the Earth. That is what we retain when we let
the rest go.
Jupiter in Scorpio is intimately connected to this Full Moon, adding
his expansive energies to the process of release and accelerating
transformation. Jupiter will be in Scorpio for a year, stirring up
the depths, expanding our awareness of how our emotional life
separates us from or unites us with others.
This Taurus Full Moon is blessed by a sextile (60*) to Neptune in
Pisces, which also trines (120*) the Scorpio Sun, adding imagination,
opportunities, luck and spiritual insights to the mix. With
Scorpio’s deep, penetrating vision, we can let go of the
superfluous and give the Goddess her due, while holding on to the
eternal. Pluto adds his power to this Full Moon as well, trining the
Taurus Moon from Capricorn and sextiling the Sun. These aspects to
the Full Moon offer us opportunities to both incorporate new knowledge
from our experiences as well as reshaping ourselves and our world
through using our intuition and self-expression.
Finally, Ceres, the ancient Mother Goddess, squares (90*) this Full
Moon from Leo, forcing us to look at where we ignore our creative
voice and abandon ourselves in the face of opposition, rather than
descending into the underworld and allowing ourselves to ‘not
know’ for awhile. Ceres, like her Greek counterpart Demeter,
understands the rage, despair and anger that comes from losing what
is most precious to us. Let her help us honor those places in us
that mourn for what never was or what can no longer be, and then move on to the wisdom that
comes from letting go of those feelings so we can get on with Life.
Aphrodite/Venus' Bath
Venus, the ruler of our Taurus Full Moon, is also in the spotlight.
Venus in Libra opposes Uranus in Aries around the same degree as the
Libra New Moon a few weeks ago. Be open to new and different
relationships but even more important, wake up to your own beauty,
self-worth and power. Now is not the time to hide your light under a
bushel.
One last energetic movement in this Samhain dance. Saturn in
Sagittarius near the galactic center exactly squares Chiron in Pisces
on November 2nd, helping us face the pain and suffering
our collective consciousness of consumerism has inflicted on the
world. What will you do about it?
The Sabian symbol for the Moon at 12* Taurus is: A woman
looking out of a latticed window. The woman is hidden from
view but has a view of what’s going on. This seems to be a symbol
of both inner and outer vision, perhaps even clairvoyance. Really
look at and understand what’s going on in your world and in
yourself.
The Sabian symbol for the Sun at 12* Scorpio is: A latecomer to
an embassy ball surveys the scene before making an entrance.
Another image of watching, looking, seeing and understanding, this
time in a specific, important setting. This Full Moon activates the
virtues of prudence
(seeing ahead, sagacity), temperance (self-control), and honesty.
The
Sabian symbol for Ceres at 13*Leo is: Rugged old
sea captain watches a boat approach, its golden hull gleaming in the
afternoon sun. This
is another symbol that speaks to watching, looking, seeing. This
time, the eyes are those of long experience and understanding. The
past is valued (golden hull) for the lessons learned, thereby giving us the
strength, courage and wisdom to meet the moment.
The
Sabian symbol for Neptune at 12* Pisces is: A
squirrel hiding from hunters in a hollow tree. This
symbolizes our need to retreat in the face of outer threats but once
again, having an eye opened to what is coming.
All of these symbols tell us to keep our eyes open – both our
outer eyes and our inner, 3rd
eye.
Eyes symbolize the window of the soul, as well as clairvoyance,
intelligence, light, vigilance, moral conscience and truth.
The Sabian symbol for Pluto at 18* Capricorn is: Heavily armed
destroyer bearing down on an enemy ship.
This energy is a force to be reckoned with. Watch what is happening
in the news. Pluto’s recking ball is once again on the move.
The
Sabian symbol for Venus at 26* Libra is: An Eagle
and a large white Dove change into each other. This
image speaks to the interchange between Will and Love, between
spiritual vision and heart wisdom.
The
Sabian symbol for Uranus at 26* Aries is: Standing
in the center of the fiery fountain of Life, a man is overwhelmed by
hundreds of new inspirations. This
is the overwhelming passion for life, the creative genius of
potentiality that calls us all now.
The
Sabian symbol for Saturn at 25* Sagittarius is: Little
boy flying through the air on a brightly colored rocking horse.
We have a need for play and imagination. With it we can feel the
whole world. In this case, imagine the world’s suffering.
The
Sabian symbol for Chiron at 25* Pisces is: After
drastic reforms, a purified clergy officiates anew. Seeing
the state of our world – we are fast approaching the tipping point
of climate change – we need to rededicate ourselves to our
spiritual purpose and ideals and stand up to the corruption in our
society that fosters this disregard for Life.
So
there you have it. Lots of imagery to work with as we experience the
energies of this strong Full Moon.
Have
a blessed Samhain.
Cathy
Sabian symbols from The
Revised Sabian Symbols
by Steven D. Eardley.
Ask Me
Some time when the river is ice ask me
mistakes I have made. Ask me whether
what I have done is my life. Others
have come in their slow way into
my thought, and some have tried to help
or to hurt: ask me what difference
their strongest love or hate has made.
I will listen to what you say.
You and I can turn and look
at the silent river and wait. We know
the current is there, hidden; and there
are comings and goings from miles away
that hold the stillness exactly before us.
What the river says, that is what I say.
~ William Stafford ~
(The New Yorker, 1975)
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