The Cosmic Story: Sagittarius Full Moon, 2017

The Cosmic Story: Sagittarius Full Moon 2017

Truth, Lies and Choices

Today I was listening to NPR’s On Point and the talk was about the fact that human beings are hard-wired to lie. I don’t know if I agree with them completely. I think our culture hard-wires us to develop shadow personalities, and so we learn to lie to protect ourselves from the harsh rules and judgments of patriarchy. Our religions have made us feel unworthy and afraid of any minor infringement of the rules. But who is to say that if we had a different society, we would not lie, because we wouldn’t have to be someone we’re not.

 

But then again, Gemini’s ruling guide is Mercury, the god of lies and cons as well as the psychopomp who leads soul between realms. And other cultures have their gods of lies and deception, so is it built into our human nature or is our nature shaped by our society?

It is true that all of us tend to lie at some point in our lives. I know that many women will lie when they don’t feel they have the right to state their needs and desires, especially when they don’t want to make love to their husbands. Our fifth chakras need lots of work if we’re going to speak our truths instead of hiding behind lies. Lies aren’t always bad – they can be as simple as a woman’s cultural conditioning to say ‘yes’ to helping when she really wants to say ‘no’. But lies can also destroy trust between people, especially when the liar refuses to admit he’s lying when he’s caught out.

Or the lie can be big, so big that it controls people’s lives. Like the lie that America is exceptional – better than anyone else. Like the lie that capitalism is the best economic system in the world and it will work for anyone willing to work. Or that a certain religion is evil. Or that a rich man, who has never cared for anyone but himself, suddenly says that he has compassion for poor and struggling people and they believe him, even when he takes away the very government programs that help them, while shunting more money to the wealthy and powerful.

Lies are cons, and we all have a little conman in us. The worst lie, the worst con, is the one we perpetuate on ourselves. When we lie to ourselves. The lie that we’re right and everyone else is wrong. The lie that the life we’re living is good – even though most of us are addicted to something that takes us away from life. The lie that we can’t do anything to change our lives, that we’re stuck where we are. Lies become truths when you can’t see the big picture. That what this week’s Sagittarius Full Moon can show us. The Big Picture.

Are we predisposed to lie? Maybe. But we all have choices—it’s called free will. The one rule I had for my kids was that we didn’t have to lie about things. That they didn’t have to lie to me if they fought, got high, snuck out of the house or got bad grades. And they didn’t. The truth helped us all stay true to ourselves. I find that for the small and big issues in life, if you don’t have to lie to your parents, you don’t lie to yourself.

And that’s what we need to do now, as we continue the roller-coaster ride through the next decade as the revolution unfolds. Our operating system needs an upgrade. Too many old ways of thinking are no longer viable. They just don’t work in this new world we’re creating. They twist our thoughts and words to fit into an old schematic. And so we lie. We can keep what is good from the old ways while letting the rest go. But the powerful don’t like to give up their power, and so we each have to stand in our truth so that there is so much Truth shining out we can’t ignore it. The future is calling us. And we need to see and speak the truth if we’re ever going to make it.

Sagittarius Full Moon

This week’s Sagittarius Full Moon lights up the issue of truth and lies. Sagittarius is the archetypal energy of the journey, the Quest to find the Truth. Christina at Zodiac Poetry speaks about Sagittarius’ quest as the hero’s journey, the goal which is attained is really the self-discovery and growth of the hero. As we journey toward our life’s goals, our old, outworn prejudices, beliefs and values are outgrown and left behind, and we emerge into a new world. What we discover there is eternal. 

Sagittarius -- the Archer

 

Sagittarius is the sign of cosmic law as well as mundane laws,: the sign of spirituality as well as of mundane religions, the sign of expansion, optimism and vision as well as religious fanaticism, which is basically a narrow, pessimistic, rigid vision. The Moon in Sagittarius is comfortable when she knows her beliefs and lives them. But most of our beliefs are unconscious, created at an early age before our ego develops. So rational thinking can’t change our lives; we have to change our limiting beliefs. We do this through the imagination, through working with our dreams, through journeying within to discover what energies are holding us hostage. Then we can discover our Truths. We might be surprised at what we find. But the gift is that then we can change those beliefs.

We have a Sagittarius Full Moon when the Sun is in Gemini. Gemini is the archetypal energy of the Mind, the energy of experiencing life through the Mind: the fact-collector, seeking information and putting it in categories that help us frame our world-view. Gemini loves to connect with people, experience everything and act as the go-between. But Gemini is so busy categorizing life’s experiences – fun, boring, interesting -- that he often doesn’t find the meaning of those experiences.

That’s where Sagittarius comes in – Sagittarius finds meaning for us. When we understand the meaning of our experiences, we can let go of the stuck energy around the wounds, freeing up that energy for new life. Understanding gives rise to greater consciousness, which opens us to new and greater experiences. This is what archetypal Mind is for. We need to heal our collective Mind to enter the Age of Aquarius, the sign of a future-oriented group consciousness. We have to unite the left & right brains and operate out of a whole brain, opening to the wisdom of our imaginations so we can name and organize that information with the rational mind. Finally, any conclusions we arrive at must hold true to our spiritual beliefs. This is how we live a meaningful life. 

 

 Saturn

 

This Sagittarius Full Moon falls close to Saturn retrograde, adding a dimension of reality and discipline to the mix. What is the Truth? What is my Truth? Those are the questions everyone is talking about today. We are living in the energies of last year’s Saturn/Neptune square and this Full Moon re-engages with those energies, with the Sun and Moon/Saturn squaring Neptune in Pisces (which turns retrograde on June 16^th). Saturn in Sagittarius formed a waning square to Neptune in Pisces all last year, opening up a Pandora’s box about truth and delusion, fake news and ‘real’ news, facts and alternative-facts. Neptune’s realm of the imagination can deceive us if we operate out of our personal desires. We can cloak ourselves in delusions and believe we are seeing the truth. Or Neptune can bless us by opening us to the voice of Spirit. The difference comes through our ability to let go of our ego’s need to be right and to actively listen. By now, we need to make friends with Neptune in Pisces and get over being deluded by it. It is a great opening of the creative imagination, so stay centered and listen.

Neptune

The Cosmos is asking us to look at the world and see the Truth. Nations talk about democracy, equality, fairness and freedom, but do we really live those ideals? Do we ignore the disconnect between how we see ourselves and how we act? Are we living up to the best of humanity, to our beliefs and values, or are we hypocrits who say one thing and do another? As we come to the end of an evolutionary cycle, we get to see our Shadows because we can’t advance into the future without healing the darkness of the past. We heal it, not by throwing money at it and not even by apologizing for it, but by understanding the truth and meaning behind our actions so that we can leave that behavior behind us. But it cannot be the old patriarchy’s truths which will give us the wrong meanings. Being gay is not evil! Loving two people isn’t evil! Trying to control a woman’s body IS EVIL! We have to open ourselves to freedom, see the big picture and choose who we want to BE. This is the task that Saturn on this Sagittarius Full Moon sets for us.

Take into your hearts the Truth and change!

Hermes, the Alchemical Mind

Gemini’s ruler, Mercury, also works through the Mind, and unfortunately, in our present culture, we often limit him to the rational, left-brain. But Mercury is the messenger who travels between worlds and so he’s also the right-brain imagination. Mercury is the communicator, the translator, our vehicle of expression and he wants to use both sides of the brain to make decisions. This month, work with the mind as he travels quickly through three signs of the zodiac: in Taurus from 5/16-6/6, where he looks at practical applications of his ideas, in Gemini from 6/6-6/21, where he looks for many options about where to go from here, and in Cancer from 6/21-7/6, where he dives deeply into the feeling of ‘being home’. This month is all about shifting our attention, opening our Mind and listening in different ways to what life is offering us.

Caroline Casey offers us a way to work with our Mercury: “Ask for the power of words and articulation so that you may be more effectively and uniquely expressive. Ask for tolerance for the modes of expression of others. Inculcate a willingness to speak to everything in its own language. … Offer yourself as a voice for those things that have no voice.” (Caroline W. Casey, Making the Gods Work For You, Piatkus, 1998, p. 233.)

Jupiter

Another dimension to this Full Moon is that Jupiter, Sagittarius’ ruler, stations and turns to direction motion within an hour of this Full Moon. Jupiter is in Libra, the sign of peace, partnership, equality, justice and the Arts. Retrograde since February 5-6, we’ve been on an internal quest to achieve that balance and find our creative voice. Jupiter trines the Sun in Gemini, adding a more balanced view of things to Gemini’s usual bag of tricks. Jupiter is the archetypal storyteller, the one who carries all those stories in his traveling bag. Art is one of the most effective forms of communication we have, strong enough to break through the hypnotic trance of mass media. Tell your story in whatever medium it wants to inhabit. With its powerful curiosity and seeking, Jupiter’s archetypal energy gives us the optimism to expand our lives and the potential for healthy growth and positive change.

With Jupiter starting to head back into his T-Square with Pluto in Capricorn and Uranus in Aries, the revolution continues. Don’t forget to be part of it in whatever way you can.

And there is a brilliant grand fire trine – the flames of desire that inspires – that will liberate us from our inner darkness and free us to bring that light into the world, where it is so needed. Uranus, Pallas Athena and Eris in Aries awaken us to what we need to do. The North Node moved into Leo from Virgo on May 10^th, awakening our creative expression and finally it connects to Saturn and therefore the Moon, in Sagittarius, bringing our new hopes and visions into these fires of creation, fires of liberation.

The personal planets connect to each other in early degrees of their signs: Venus is in her own sign of Taurus, opening us to the Earth and to what we value. Mercury is in his own sign of Gemini, twirling faster as he breaks free of earth-bound Taurus. Mars just moved into Cancer, so you might find yourself or your loved ones being over-protective and steamy.

This is quite a strong Full Moon, cradled in the arms of the Revolution/Resistance, exploring the eternal truths and leaving behind useless information and illusions of grandeur. Settle back into your instincts and let your original Mind do its work of making sense of your world. For those of you who are tired of the news, try re-watching the old TV show, The West Wing. It will inspire you with a vision of how mortal men can still uphold Truth with power.

So let’s finish with some Sabian Symbols to speak to your right brain imagination.

The Sagittarius Full Moon occurs on Friday June 9, 2017 at 6:09am PDT/ 9:09am EDT/ 1:09pm GMT. 

The Issues

The Sabian Symbol for the Sun at 19* Gemini is: Two Chinese men converse in their native tongue in an American City. Dane Rudhyar sees this as the feeling of isolation we feel when we expand our horizons into the unknown. We want to connect with like-minded people, people who speak our language.

The Sabian Symbol for the Moon at 19* Sagittarius is: Pelicans, menaced by the behavior and refuse of men,seek safer areas for bringing up their young. Rudhyar sees this as the need for people concerned for the future to discover new ways of living that are sustainable. So find your people and go back to the land and learn how to sustain yourself. Just in case.

The Initiation

The Sabian Symbol for Saturn at 25* Sagittarius is: A Sculptor at his work. We are tasked with envisioning our future and then manifesting it.

The Sabian Symbol for Neptune at 15* Pisces: An officer instructing his men before a simulated assault under a barrage of live shells. There is going to be a struggle between the old and the new, both within each person and in society. This image asks us to be prepared, while not falling into the delusion that all is lost.

The Gifts

The Sabian Symbol for Jupiter at 14* Libra: In the heat of the noon hour, a man takes a siesta. Remember, there will be moments of Grace and blessings.

The Sabian Symbol for the North Node at 27* Leo is: The luminescence of Dawn in the eastern sky. There is a new Dawn coming and we are challenged to find the new opportunities it offers us. A new Day is Dawning.

The Sabian Symbol for Uranus at 28* Aries is: A large audience confronts the performer who disappointed its expectations. I think we all know who this one is talking about. Just don’t forget to look at your own shadows as well. Let’s take our own responsibility for letting the world go to hell in a hangbag.

We are living in exciting time!

Walk in the Light,

Cathy

There are two poems today. Thank you Joe Riley!

Let's Remake the World

Let's remake the world with words.
Not frivolously, nor
To hide from what we fear,
But with a purpose.

Let's,
As Wordsworth said, remove
"The dust of custom" so things
Shine again, each object arrayed
In its robe of original light.

And then we'll see the world
As if for the first time.
As once we gazed at the beloved
Who was gazing at us.

~ Gregory Orr ~
(Concerning The Book That Is the Body Of The Beloved)

Hope

Old spirit, in and beyond me,
keep and extend me. Amid strangers,
friends, great trees and big seas breaking,
let love move me. Let me hear the whole music,
see clear, reach deep. Open me to find due words,
that I may shape them to ploughshares of my own making.
After such luck, however late, give me to give to
the oldest dance.... Then to good sleep,
and - if it happens - glad waking.

~ Philip Booth ~
(Lifelines: Selected Poems 1950-1999)