The Cosmic Story: Leo Full Moon 2021
Just under a year ago at the last Leo Full Moon on February 9, 2020, we were just hearing about the Covid virus. I had flown out to the West coast to visit family and friends and run a workshop. All without really knowing that this deadly virus was spreading. What a difference a year makes.
Last year, Mother Earth sent to our rooms to contemplate the important things in life. What did we learn about ourselves and our world? How have things changed?
In ancient cultures without our modern conveniences, these winter months were difficult, for everyone went into survival mode as the cold temperatures turned the natural world dormant, making food and fuel scarce. This mid-winter Moon was called the Snow Moon or the Wolf Moon as our brother wolves searched for their own sustenance. Winter was the time to test oneself against scarcity in the cold, dark days and nights.
But our lock down wasn’t as harsh and unrelenting as Winter in those ancient times. Despite our isolation, we have our modern conveniences. Which makes it sad to see that even in such a wealthy country as the United States, people are going hungry and being left out in the cold. In survival mode. Especially during this world-wide pandemic.
Hopefully, we’ve all come to recognize the importance of family and community. But why isn’t that part of our national agenda? It seems that whenever our government tries to implement social safety nets, environmental protections and equal rights, there are powerful forces that would rather concentrate all the wealth for a very few, rather than for the good of the many. What would Mr. Spock think of that!
It makes me wonder why we let our leaders pour billions of our tax dollars into the military and corporations instead of using those resources for the betterment of the people. Maybe we let them because our collective psyche is constantly filled with images of war, fighting, explosions and death from films and TV. Maybe it’s because our corporations prosper when the imagined danger of war takes precedence over the promise of peace. This is the powerful military-industrial complex that President Eisenhower warned us about. This powerful group and their minions in government hold the rest of society hostage here in the US and in most governments around the world.
And it saddens me to see how these power players turn us against each other rather than uniting us to deal with the real problems we face: climate change (we have 9 years to limit global warming to 1.5*C), loss of our wilderness (down to 30% of the Earth), social and economic inequality and equal rights and freedom. So instead of working to heal the Earth for future generations, bringing our infrastructure online with clean energy, creating jobs which pay a living wage, we get into inane ideological arguments that have spilled over into outright rage and rebellion.
We, the People, have to find a better way. Because if we don’t, nothing changes.
When I saw Wonder Woman 1984, I wasn’t exactly sure what it was supposed to be about. And then I realized that it was about how America was turned into a consumer society back in the 80s, when corporations steered our focus onto all our petty desires to the exclusion of the greater good. The corporate message was: if you just buy enough things, you’ll be happy (and they get wealthier).
But we didn’t get happier. Instead, we became a nation of consumers, who are never satisfied, but who feel entitled and exceptional. And instead of planning for a better future, we chose our own immediate gratification over the well-being of our children’s children’s future.
Have we changed since then? Is our society ready to handle the most basic crisis any world can face – the mass extinction of the planet? The question that faces us is, are we willing to sacrifice for the future? Are we grown up enough to stop being seduced by useless pleasures and unnecessary things so we can get on with being stewards of the Earth, as is our true purpose in life.
Those rioters in Washington D.C. were right about the need for a second American Revolution – we’re about to have our nation’s first Pluto return, which means there needs to be a transformation of our national interests and reforms in government.
The American Revolution was fought to break away from a delusional king and corporate control (the East Indian Trading Company’s tea!). The similarities to what is happening now are interesting when you think about how history repeats itself if we don’t pay attention and learn its lessons.But they were so wrong to think that by listening to a demagogue’s delusions and his demand to stay in power they would achieve that revolution. The way forward has to be a peaceful revolution, one in which we all contribute our talents and values to making our country and our world the paradise we actually have the ability to create.
We have the means. We just need to find the Will.
As Amanda Gorman so eloquently put it:
When
day comes we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid,
the
new dawn blooms as we free it.
For there is always light,
if
only we're brave enough to see it.
If only we're brave enough to
be it.
~The Hill We Climb
Now we just have to make it so. We can begin to do it with this Leo Full Moon.
Leo Full Moon 2021
The Leo Full Moon occurs on January 28, 2021 at 10:16am Alaska time, 11:16am PST/ 2:16 pm EST/ 7:16pm GMT.
The sign of Aquarius deals with the collective mindset of a society – how we operate as a unit and the values we work together to implement. The sign of Leo is about our individual talents and how we express them. When we have a Full Moon in these signs, we’re asked to consider how our individual creativity can be of service to the whole.
With the Sun conjunct Jupiter
at this Full Moon, things can get blown out of proportion. Or we can
feel expansive and so lucky we take risks. A positive Jupiter
engages our generosity, warmth, wisdom and open-heartedness.
Hopefully, with Saturn in the mix, we can tame a bit of that
expansive energy, especially since Mars is part of the equation. So
people might be argumentative now. Try to listen to people without
prejudice and not get into arguments. We can stand back in silence
and let the other have time to hear what they’ve just said.
The Sabian symbol for both the Sun and Jupiter at 10* Aquarius is: A man who had for a time become the embodiment of a popular ideal is made to realize that as a person he is not this ideal.
This is a synchronistic symbol for our times here in the U.S. Not only does it capture the reality of a deposed leader, but it also speaks to each of us individually and as a country. Are we really the people, as a country and as individuals, who we think we are? It’s time to some self-reflection and re-evaluation. Jupiter with the Sun can expand our delusions or help us break free of those delusions to see our shadows. And to heal. What will we choose?
The Sabian symbol for the Moon at 10* Leo is: Early morning dew sparkles as sunlight floods the field.
Dane Rudhyar says it beautifully. “The cold air of night having precipitated upon the field of man’s consciousness the moisture of his deepest feelings, this widely spread dew is blessed with the light of signification by the rising sun of the new day. Even tears can be transformed into jewels in the light of victory over night and sorrow… The building of a new society, and of one’s renewed personality as well, is just as much a process of artistic creation as the making of a delicate glass vase or a symphony. The keyword is Transfiguration.
This is a call to focus our passions and deepest feelings on creativity and self-awareness. The Leo Moon shows us what stories we’ve been telling ourselves. It asks us to express ourselves through our creations. And it’s about the joy and fun of being a child. We have to recover our child-like wonder to create something.
We’ve all been learning new things during the pandemic lock downs. How has that creativity changed your view of life? How has it changed your life? Leo gives us the confidence, the generosity, the open-heartedness to meet the future with creativity and imagination. Now how can that creativity serve the whole group?
All Full Moons offer us a chance to reflect on the growth of the seed planted at the previous New Moon. This Leo Full Moon is the offshoot of the intense Capricorn New Moon which was conjunct Pluto, a New Moon that called for soul growth and evolution. The seeds we planted can bring about personal and cultural transformation and intense change. It won’t happen this week or even this year, but we are preparing the ground for it.
Now at the Full Moon we can see if we are on the road to accomplishing that seed objective.
The Aquarius Sun speaks to our idealism, our goals for the future, our unique genius and our need for authentic freedom. With Jupiter and Saturn in the mix, we are reminded of the recent Jupiter/Saturn conjunction on December 21, 2020, Winter Solstice, which began a cycle of a new social paradigm that we haven’t seen since before the Renaissance. We are about to embark on a cultural renaissance, but where will it come from? The bottom up, as in the past, or the top down, as government and many tech companies would like to see happen?
Saturn in Aquarius wants to rebuild structures that no longer work for all of us, and it will test those innovations and possibilities that Jupiter in Aquarius will want to press forward with. We have to bring our ideals down to earth in practical ways. By keeping open-minded and being patient, any challenges we meet along the way can be turned into opportunities to release what no longer works for us.
While Aquarius does rule technology, it also signifies working together as a community, like the Knights of the Round Table, for the common good. King Arthur was born on the Winter Solstice, so the Round Table is an apt symbol for this new cycle of conjunctions in AIR signs. Jupiter helps us expand our reach, through technology and through community, while Saturn makes us face our responsibility for being practical about its applications.
The energy of this Leo Full Moon is already intense. As you can see by all the red lines in the Full Moon chart, there is a strong tension between 6 planets. To make it even more intense, all these planets are in fixed signs, meaning that they are all inclined to want their own way. It’s like a bow string pulled to its furthest extent before release. Picture Robin Hood pulling his bow in front of the Sheriff of Nottingham, knowing that if he hits the bullseye, as he knows he can, he’ll be discovered and perhaps captured. Decisions, decisions!
The square to both Uranus and Mars in Taurus adds to the intensity. It can be disruptive or it can help with the process of manifesting those Aquarian ideals. When Uranus is in Taurus, the most earthy of the earth signs, it opens us to Mother Earth’s fertilizing creative genius. We are finally looking to the wisdom of the Earth, to how trees communicate and nurture each other, how mycelium connects everything in a unified net, how the animals we thought were ‘dumb beasts’ have shown us how to cooperate and thrive. There is even a movement for a new business model called the ‘circular economy’ which is inspired by Nature’s capacity to eliminate waste by transforming it into new fodder for ecosystems.
Uranus, the ancient sky god, awakens us to our place in Mother Earth’s biosphere. The question is, will we join her?
With Mars also squaring this Full Moon, we get the determination and stubbornness that Mars in Taurus always displays. Mars in Taurus gets the work done, no matter the pain and toil. Mars in Taurus will sacrifice immediate gratification for the bigger picture. While Mars and Uranus can make an explosive mix, the Saturn square to Uranus, which will occur all year long, will limit our reactions and hopefully keep us on the straight and narrow. Mars can get angry and combative, but if we use a little self control, we can harness his initiative and enthusiasm to make things happen.
The Sabian symbol for Mars at 11* Taurus is: A woman watering the flowers in her garden. Mars is using his dynamic here in the service of life and growth. He helps fertilize Mother Earth and create beauty. So use this energy well!
So, how to simplify this intense configuration. The Chinese fortune cookie simplification might be: Your unique creativity that can awaken your tribe must be organic and dynamic.
Saturn Square Uranus 2021
The square between Saturn in Aquarius and Uranus in Taurus is the big astrological aspect this year – February 17, June 14 and December 24. It is the waning square of their cycle which began in 1987 – 1989 in late Sagittarius and early Capricorn. Waning squares of a cycle remind us of what we believe and value, and how those values have to be included in anything we do. It is a time to re-evaluate our priorities and life-direction, so we can refine to our soul's purpose.
When these two planets work together, they bring in new ideas, innovations, inventions and discoveries. Uranus is the Divine Mind and Saturn is the Reality principle. Together they work to make those visionary ideas a reality. In this waning square of their last cycle, we will see new breakthroughs in technology, science and politics. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be tension between Uranus, the planet of awakening, revolution and freedom and Saturn, the planet of limitation, responsibility and authority. This is the tension between the old and the new. Will we relapse into an old story or create a new collective story?
This year-long square will bring us the tension that arises between our independence and freedom and our responsibility to the group. Should we wear masks in consideration of others? Or do we have the right to not wear them? The key is to stay flexible and look for opportunities as they present themselves. How can we be responsible and maintain our freedom? By learning to be free within ourselves. Then, being asked to be responsible for others isn’t so hard.
There are a few planet which aren’t part of this tense square.
Venus conjuncts Pluto in Capricorn for this Full Moon, joining him like Persephone in the Underworld, bringing in a more balanced feeling to the task of transformation. She tames this deep energy and makes it available to us to use for our own transformations. Venus is the Wisdom we can access when we listen to our bodies, our intuitions and our hearts. It’s time to rebirth our core values about what we really desire and how we want to work for our society.
Mercury Retrograde: January 30 – February 20, 2021
The Messenger of the Gods
Then there’s Mercury, pretty much on its own at the end of Aquarius, except for a weak connection to Venus and Pluto. But Mercury doesn’t mind because it’s about to go retrograde on January 30th at 27* Aquarius. You’ve probably been feeling its influence since around January 15th, when it entered its shadow (the degrees it will go back to). It will stay retrograde until February 20th and leave its shadow again on March 13th – giving us a 2 month exercise in finding common ground with each other.
Mercury will retrograde 3 times this year in AIR signs, so we’ll be asked to look at how we communicate and socialize and share stories. It will meet up with the Sun, Venus and Jupiter on its retrograde journey, so stay aware of what’s going on for you on February 8th (Sun), 10th (square to Mars), 12th (Venus) and 14th (Jupiter) and March 4th (Jupiter). Perhaps we’ll learn to communicate our truths in a better way. Isn’t it time to listen to each other once again?
Mercury in Aquarius is very opinionated – he knows what’s best – and yet is also objective. Aquarius is a fixed air sign so Mercury, while brilliant, is also fixed in his opinions and judgments. During the retrograde, we are going to have to re-evaluate, revisit, revise and review what we think we know. It also helps us figure out how we can work together to create a better society, one where each of us is equal and free and yet willing to bond in community.
Since Mercury usually effects our technology, especially in Aquarius, when things go south technologically, we’ll be challenged to be creative about keeping in touch with our tribes. That’s when we need to work on our innernet, our psychic connections and our telepathic abilities! So have fun with it.
The Sabian symbol for Mercury at 27* Aquarius is: An ancient pottery bowl with fresh violets. Violets are symbols of humility, simplicity and peace. They are also symbolic of twilight, the between times when the veils between worlds are thin. Violets are sacred to the Faerie Queen, so it is a magical flower that enhances our psychic sensitivity – so pay attention to your dreams.
Perhaps this image also asks us to remember traditional skills and values that our fast paced modern lifestyle ignores. Now that we’ve all had to slow down, perhaps we’ll reclaim deeper ways to connect to our world and its beauty, and older skills that we’ve let drop by the wayside.
Re-mythologizing the World:
St. Brigit’s Day/Candlemas/Imbolc – February 1 – 4
Perhaps it’s time to ‘re-story’ the world. So much of our American culture is new and cutting edge that we’ve lost touch with the old, ancient meaning of the important things in life.
Like the seasons, for one thing.
Do you know that we are about to enter the second phase of Winter, the time when the light will grow quickly now?
We keep a remnant of the old beliefs about this time of year in our celebration of Groundhog’s Day, when the groundhog peeks out of his hole and determines if Spring is on its way.
What is actually happening is that the Sun, on its journey back North, has reached a point where it can now bring more light to the northern hemisphere.
There were many ancient festivals celebrating this fact.
In ancient Rome, February was the month to clean out your inner and outer living space, letting go of the old year to make space for a new beginning in your life.
In the Celtic Wheel of the Year, this is the celebration of Imbolc, one of the four cross-quarter fire holidays that occur halfway between the solstices and equinoxes at 15* of the fixed, power signs of Aquarius, Taurus, Leo and Scorpio.
Imbolc or St. Brigit’s Day, signals the first signs of Spring and the return of light and life. It is the quickening of the year, the time of pregnancy and expectancy of life which is still hidden but just beginning to be seen. It’s the promise of renewal and the awakening of Earth’s life-force. It is also a time of prophecy and vision – the groundhog looking for his shadow!
Brigit: Goddess of the Fires of Creation
St. Brigit/Bridget/Bride was the ancient Irish Mother Goddess, who was so beloved that the Catholic Church turned her into a saint. She is the Triple Goddess, but at Imbolc she is in her Maiden aspect. She is a Goddess of healing, poetry and smithcraft. She is a Goddess of Fire, of the Sun and of the Hearth. She brings fertility to the land and its people and is closely connected to midwives and new-born babies.
Finally the Catholic Church called this festival Candlemas, celebrating the purification of Mary, the Lightbearer. This is the time when the Church blesses all the candles they use during the year in ritual, and they have a ritual where they bless people’s throats to protect them from colds during the late winter months.
So if you want to start to ‘re-story’ your world, take time out to create a ritual to envision what your year will bring to you. Light a candle, take a journey to the goddess’ cauldron of life and let your creative imagination give you the clue to the next stage of your life.
To learn more about Imbolc and St. Brigit, go to The Bard's Grove!
Enough for now!
Blessings and gratitude for new beginnings,
Cathy
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