The Cosmic Story: Imbolc Festival of Light Returning

(Note: I’m going to combine the astrology of the seasonal Gateways of the Wheel of the Year with the Goddess work I’m doing. So while I will look at the New and Full Moons of each of these seasons, it won’t as detailed as my old astrological reports.)

While this edition of the Cosmic Story is about the season from February 1 to March 20^th, I have to start with a brief mention of the American Inauguration chart and the Women’s March the next day.

 

Inauguration Chart 2017

Just a quick look at the Inaugural chart shows us that the President (the Sun in the 10th house) is basically isolated, since the Sun makes no major aspects to other planets. An unaspected Sun is a wild card energy, one that can’t be controlled from the outside.  

The closest aspect is a wide square to the Moon in Scorpio in the 6^th house—not a happy placement for the Moon, which symbolizes the public. The President and public are at odds, challenging each other. The Scorpio Moon shows us a distrustful public mood, at odds with the Aquarian Sun’s urge for freedom and equality. As a sign of how this administration will operate, the outer ‘show’ of all inaugural charts set for January 20th is the Aquarius Sun of unity and freedom—the US myth, while the Moon shows what the mood of the administration is—dark, power-hungry, violent, controlling.

The blessing of the chart is that the chart ruler (the Ascendant is Taurus), Venus, is in the sign where she is ‘exalted’--Pisces. With both Venus and Mars, as well as Chiron and Neptune in Pisces in the 11^th house, we’ll see more women (and men) uniting to bring about the end of patriarchy during this administration.

Hence the world-wide Women’s Marches on Saturday. That chart for Washington D.C. has a Pisces Ascendant with Uranus in Aries in the 1^st house – the urge to freely express ourselves in a show of heartfelt unity.

I guess we had to remove the blinders about the utter depravity of patriarchy so that we’d stand up together and protect our Mother Earth, our lives and the future. As visionary activist astrologer Caroline Casey says – this is our beautiful, dangerous assignment in these times of change.

February 2^nd - 6^th: Imbolc—the Return of the Light

Imbolc is the Celtic fire festival that celebrates the first signs of Spring, even if most of us are still in the throes of Winter. The name Imbolc comes from ‘ewe’s milk—oi melc in Gaelic, because it coincided with the birth of the spring lambs and the lactating of the ewes. In America, we celebrate Ground Hog’s Day on February 2^nd, when we look to see if the ground hog can see his shadow and predict the coming Spring. (As most of us have seen the movie Ground Hogs Day, you can see how archetypal the movie is in dealing with the shadow. Which is why it’s so popular—it resonates with us on a deep level.) This year, more than ever before, we have to look at our Shadow and work through it to see what we can become.

At Imbolc, we look for the first signs of life and light returning, and you’ll notice that after Imbolc, the days begin to visibly lengthen. We’ve arrived at a time when we look more deeply into what we want to achieve in the coming year. It is a quiet festival of light, when we light candles and go into the silence to listen to the voice of Spirit. It is a visionary time, when we journey to the Goddess to get a clearer vision of what our soul assignment is each year.

 Brighid

Imbolc is sacred to the Celtic goddess Brighid/Brigit as well as Ceridwen, the Welsh Goddess of the Cauldron of Inspiration and of Bards. Brighid is the Goddess of poetry, healing and smithcraft, which was a highly magical skill for the Celts—the smith was a practitioner of skilled manual arts – creating, forging, fabricating. As you can see, a poem, a story, a song has to be crafted as well as a sword or a plow.

Brighid is also connected to sacred springs (her healing role) as well as the heat which warms them (her sacred fires). The Celtic Brighid was associated with an eternal flame which was kept going by her nine priestesses. As the Goddess of Inspiration, she is associated with the Greek 9 Muses. Both Brighid and Ceridwen are goddesses of inspiration and vision.

The season of Imbolc is the time to ask the Goddess for inspiration for the coming year as well as offering our services to her. That means asking how can we serve something bigger than our own personal agenda. This year, that shouldn’t be hard to do. If we want to be inspired, we have to take our role as concerned stewards of the Earth seriously. So it is important to take time to clear our own inner source of inspiration, our inner wellspring of creativity and vision. It’s the season to nurture the tender shoots of our new dreams for the year. It’s time to celebrate the return of Life and Light.

The Element of Air

While Imbolc is one of four Celtic fire festivals (Imbolc, Beltane, Lammas and Samhain), we work with the element of AIR and the direction East from Imbolc to Beltane. East is the direction associated with Spring, sunrise and new beginnings. Air is the element that symbolizes the energies of the East.

Air is associated with intelligence as well as eloquence, with clarity and reason as well as inspiration. The word inspiration comes from the Latin inspirare "blow into, breathe upon," figuratively "inspire, excite, inflame," from in- "in" + spirare "to breathe" "breathe into" to "infuse animation or influence," thus "affect, rouse, guide or control," especially by divine influence. Inspire (v.) in Middle English also was used to mean "breath or put life or spirit into the human body; impart reason to a human soul." It also means someone who inspires others.

So this is a season to get inspired and to inspire others. The Christian Holy Spirit (which in essence is the Goddess Wisdom) is associated with Wind/Air as well as the Celtic Awen, which means flowing spirit, their word for inspiration. Air flows between us and is exchanged between us with every breath we take. So air is connected with speaking and communicating. When we speak,we fill our lungs and activate our voicebox and send out a vibration through the air. We connect through our ability to communicate. 

 Crowley Deck

 

The Sword is symbolic of Air, the ability to be precise and to discern between truth and falsehood—a topic that’s been brought to our attention all last year with the square between Saturn in Sagittarius and Neptune in Pisces. That square tested us to see if we could discern between what is true and what is illusion—hence the idea of ‘fake news’ was important. At the moment, it looks like delusion won out with many people but also gave many others a chance to stand up for their truths.

So this year, be clear about what you want to communicate so you can inspire others instead of shutting them down. It’s time to relearn the art of conversation. Learn to listen and ask questions. You already know what you believe, so be open to other people’s beliefs and let the give and take of differing opinions open you to new insights.

Words can heal or harm, bless or curse. Choose your words carefully, but speak your truth. The Buddhist’s ‘right speech’ says it all – you should speak at the right moment in the right place. And unless you can say something useful, keep silent.

Imbolc Chart: February 2, 2017--Dawn

 Imbolc Chart 2017

Since I’m writing about a season from Imbolc to Spring Equinox, we can look at the chart for February 2, 2017 at dawn and see what energies are available to us for the next 6 weeks. The Imbolc chart is intense. The Aquarius Sun is unaspected, meaning it makes no connections with other planets, so it seems we have to find our own independence as we rise to stand up for our vision of a just society. An unaspected Sun gives us more freedom, along with the danger, to act on our own.

It’s the Moon that comes alive in this chart. The Aries Moon is conjunct Uranus and Eris, the planet of discord—that which goes against the heart. When the Moon and Uranus hook up, our unconscious impulses and psychic abilities are strong. Listen to those intuitive hits and trust yourself. Don’t go against your heart’s wisdom. It’s time to act out-of-the-box and instigate change. Re-invent yourself!

The Aries Moon is action-oriented and mixed with Uranian energy, it can mean that each of us has to embrace our vision of what our purpose is (the Imbolc gift) and stand up against what goes against the heart/discord/Eris. This Moon is opposite Jupiter in Libra, embracing justice for all in our stand and squares Pluto and Mercury in Capricorn, helping us see exactly what is wrong with our society. The Moon also trines Saturn in Sagittarius, giving us the discipline to protect our heart values. With Venus at the very end of Pisces, we have to remember to be compassionate. Just in case we forget, Venus will retrograde back to 30* Pisces on April 3^rd and once again moving forward at the end of April.

The New and Full Moons of this Season

The Aquarius New Moon occurs just before Imbolc on January 27^th, beginning a yearly cycle where we take the needs of the many into consideration. In this time of radical change, we have to become true citizens of the world. The New Moon in Aquarius is unaspected, leaving us to find our own independence. The other major aspect is a Venus square to Saturn, making sure our hearts are in the right place. Just after this New Moon, Mars moves out of Pisces and into its own sign of Aries. Time to take strong action in the area of your chart where Aries resides.

The Leo Full Moon is a lunar eclipse on February 11, 2017 at 23* Leo/Aquarius. A lunar eclipse helps us become conscious of our unconscious feelings. The eclipse cycle is changing signs by May, but we’re getting a preview now of that change from Virgo/Pisces to Leo/Aquarius. The Leo/Aquarius axis will open us to use our talents and creative self-expression (Leo) for the good of the group (Aquarius). We can already see that our artists are ready to use their talents for a larger purpose. Let’s continue it with our own creativity. The Leo Moon forms a grand trine (planets in all three fire signs) with Saturn in Sagittarius and Uranus/Eris in Aries. That’s a lot of fire! How we use our passion and inner light to transform our lives is crucial now. It’s not a time to lash out at those we disagree with. It’s time to use our creativity to create a new story that others want and need. Instead of using our energies to go against things, use it to envision something new. There is a ‘finger of God’ aspect at this eclipsed Moon, from a base of the Moon sextile Jupiter in Libra up to Chiron in Pisces. Once again, don’t be afraid to use your creativity to help heal the world.

The Pisces New Moon on February 26^th is a solar eclipse occurring at 9* Pisces. We’re back for one more eclipse from the Virgo/Pisces axis, hopefully releasing old habits of martyrdom, victimhood and delusions. This is our chance to dream BIG since the Sun and Moon conjunct Neptune, Pisces ruler and the energy of mysticism, vision and imagination. Pisces energy—our ability to sink back into the unity of the collective unconscious—is strong now with the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Neptune, Chiron, Pallas, and the South Node working together to cleanse our souls from the karma of the Piscean Age. We are truly entering the Aquarian Age where freedom is more important than sacrifice and our original blessings are more important than our original sins. We get to keep compassion and vision and imagination as we release the fears instilled in us by our religious past.

Mars in Aries joins up with Uranus later in the day, activating the potent Pluto in Capricorn square to Uranus along with the opposition to Jupiter in Libra. We’ll still be resonating to that radical energy for the next few years so keep moving toward your vision of the possible future. These next few years will see the change we’ve been talking about as we actually act on the changes we want to manifest. The Women’s March was just the first step in taking back the world from the power elites. The election of Donald Trump is the last vestiges of patriarchy. It’s time to leave the Father’s House! There’s no time left to linger.

The last Full Moon of the Imbolc season is the Virgo Full Moon which occurs on March 12, 2017. This Pisces/Virgo Full Moon squares Saturn in Sagittarius, focusing once again on bringing our soul’s purpose into full manifestation. That means we have to have the discipline and focus to unite our logical brain with our intuitive brain. Mercury, the ruler of the Virgo Moon, is in Pisces. We can either get confused or we can listen to our intuitions and imagination to figure out a way to unite body, mind and spirit.

Planets in action

During this 6 week period, we begin with all 10 planets moving forward. That changes quickly. Let’s look at the planets for this season.

Jupiter in Libra turns retrograde on February 6^th until June 9^th. This is the time to deepen our relationships and bring more positive energy into them.

Venus begins this season at the very end of Pisces, and swims into Aries on February 3^rd. The big news is that Venus in Aries turns retrograde on March 4^th until April 15^th. Venus goes retrograde every 18 months and moves from an evening star to a morning star on March 30^th this year. Venus retrograde is the time to look at what you value and re-evaluate your life. Love, money and possessions are examined and you can decide what really matters in your life.

Mercury moves into brilliant Aquarius on February 7^th and then slides into imaginative Pisces on February 25^th. On March 13^th, it jumps into Aries. Mercury symbolizes how we use our minds, and this season, we’re asked to open to higher powers—the brilliance of the universal mind and the compassion of the universal heart. Once it integrates those two mysteries, it takes action in Aries.

Mars strides through its own sign of Aries this season until March 9^th, when it moves into grounded Taurus. Mars stays in a sign for about 6 weeks.

During this season of Imbolc, use these energies to enhance your vision for the year. Once we arrive at Spring Equinox, you can take your vision out into the world for a test run.

See you at the Equinox!

Walk in the Light,

Cathy

"Affirmation of the Disciple" from World Goodwill

(posted by Alan Okan)

I am a point of light within a greater Light.
I am a strand of loving energy within the stream of Love divine.
I am a point of sacrificial Fire, focused within the fiery Will of God.

And thus I stand

I am a way by which humanity may achieve.
I am a source of strength, enabling them to stand.
I am a beam of light, shining upon their way.

And thus I stand.

And standing thus, revolve
And tread this way the ways of men and women,
And know the ways of God.

And thus I stand.

The Cosmic Story: January 2017

I'm in the midst of travels and change, so here is a quick review of January's Cosmic Story.

The Pluto/Uranus square that occurred 7x’s between 2012-2015 is again being resonated by Jupiter’s passage through another cardinal sign, Libra. All these planets energizing cardinal signs signify the tremendous challenges awaiting us in 2017. 2017 is a great year to creatively and fearlessly play with these energies of change. 

 

This month while the Sun travels through the sign of Capricorn, it will connect with the Pluto in Capricorn/Uranus in Aries/Jupiter in Libra T-Square (when 2 planets oppose each other and both square a 3^rd planet). This tension-filled aspect opens us to change. The Sun in Capricorn joined Pluto on January 6^th; it will square Uranus on January 10^th and Jupiter on January 11^th, hours before the Cancer Full Moon. 

Are we ready to make a change? We’ll find out on this month’s Full Moon in Cancer on January 12^th. The Moon at 23* Cancer moves into the 4^th leg of the T-Square, grounding and resolving some of the issues it presents. Cancer urges us to pay attention to our emotional body, our family, our homes and our communities. We have to bring in the Divine Feminine, the source of our soul’s nourishment. What feels right must be rooted in our feminine wisdom, not in an unconscious lashing out over hurt feelings as some of our male leaders seem to be doing.

Uranus opposed Jupiter (Dec. 26th), calling for a balance of freedom and fairness in our relationships. Did you experience that? I did with my family, which was really wonderful. With both planets squaring Pluto, creating tensions that effect us and our society. Can we be civil even to those people who have ‘different’ values, especially since many times, we have the same values, just with different names? it’s so important to engage in civil discourse again, so volunteer to do it next time you find yourself in a conversation.

Pluto is moving slowly ahead to 19* Capricorn, continuing to expose what’s dead and offering us a space to imagine the possibility of new life if we let go of the old. Then if we can adapt to any opportunities which come our way, we might discover what we have to offer the future. Uranus challenges us from 21* Aries to experiment, to take ownership of our purpose this lifetime, which is to help create a new society. Forge ahead! You are a pioneer! Jupiter in Libra expands our vision of social justice and partnership possibilities. We will see may people standing up for equality of gender, sexuality, race, religion.

Mercury goes direct on Sunday, January 8^th at 29* Sagittarius and will move ahead into Capricorn on January 13^th. Mercury in Capricorn is practical and organized. If you didn’t do it already, clean up your files and leave space to dream.

Mars in Pisces is a spiritual warrior, more apt to stand up for others then himself. Mars squares/challenges Saturn in Sagittarius on January 19^th, just minutes before the Sun enters Aquarius. What are our goals and which might need to be changed? In what ways have our goals changed since the late summer? We might have one goal at harvest time that no longer is viable as the Winter sets in. What do we want to focus on now that we see a new year shaping up?

Venus is also in Pisces, a sign she is very comfortable in. Here she can express herself as Divine Love, Compassion and Wisdom. She meets up with spiritual, imaginative Neptune hours after the Cancer Full Moon on January 12^th,, adding her compassion and care to Cancer’s nurturing. Venus will square Saturn on January 27^th, hours before the Aquarius New Moon, focusing us on what our compassion can accomplish if we stand for the Truth.

So, this month stay conscious of all the challenges facing our world—and facing you. Your practical mind and compassionate heart will be tested. Stay true to your values and your beliefs.

See life as an adventure and everything that happens to you as a blessing in this time of wild beauty.

Walk in the Light,

Cathy

The Cosmic Story: Gemini/Sagittarius Full Moon 2016

The Cosmic Story: Gemini/Sagittarius Full Moon 2016

Truth or Dare?

Where to start? This will be an 'end of the year' astrological look at the energies at play in the cosmos during this most intense, chaotic, antagonistic year. Let's look at these big aspects that set the stage for this Full Moon and the New Year.

Evolution & Revolution

That old Pluto/Uranus square that rocked our world from 2012-2015 is again being resonated now and next year by Jupiter's journey through Libra, mirroring the effects of its transit through Cancer in 2013-14. (These energies are especially affecting the United States because of our 4^th of July Cancer birthchart, with Jupiter as our ruling planet.) Originating in the 60s, this Pluto/Uranus first quarter square brought together a clash of the titans.
 

Look at the economic chaos that's taken place here in America and around the world since Pluto entered Capricorn in 2008. Pluto rules all those things that need to accept death. (Accept is the right word – patriarchy refuses to accept its death and instead creates death all over the world.) Pluto is the ruler of the underworld, that part of human experience which we tend to ignore, repress and fear. Since patriarchy hasn't accepted its death yet—in fact, it came back stronger than ever during the US elections—it gets to exhibit, in front of the whole world, those shadow values and qualities that have taken root in this social paradigm: domination, greed, competition, misogyny, cruelty, death, hypocrisy and terror. Patriarchy's shadow thrives on terror. It appears we've voted for a close encounter with the zombie apocalypse 'coming soon to a neighborhood near you'.

Now look at all the social upheaval that's occurred since 2012, when Uranus entered Aries to awaken us to our archetypal identities and a new sense of ourselves as having an impact on the world. Uranus rules the upper world of the heavens, the immense possibilities of life, which naturally want to break free of old, constricting attitudes and stereotypes that no longer express their true archetypal meanings. Uranus in Aries gives us a sense of future possibilities of who we can be. We all get a chance to see ourselves in a new light as we realize how far we've come from the myth of America as 'the land of the free and the home of the brave'. Now we get to see out in the open how the top 1% controls all aspects of our collective life—especially under a Trump presidency. We got to see prejudice and racism in the highest levels of our government under President Obama. We get to see the prevalent misogyny of American culture, with Christianity offering the excuse, just as Islam does, for its need to control women's bodies. We get to see a complete disregard for the Earth as our only home, which is being polluted for profit.

And the cosmos asks each one of us, 'what are you going to do about it?'

Pluto killed us as consumers and Uranus awakened us as citizens.

Our cosmic instructions concern how we are relating to our collective culture (Pluto in Capricorn)—our economics, our social structures, the 'rules of engagement' that have shaped our collective purpose for quite some time now. What parts of this collective mindset no longer serve the goals of humanity and freedom? What parts do we need to preserve and expand on? Let your part of this old story go! The fabric is rotten and the weave unravels.

What does the future demand of us? How can we keep harvesting the gifts and treasures of Mother Earth without a thought of what future generations might need? How can we stop the train wreck of continual progress and find new ways to create a better life? To do this, the patriarchal mindset has to crumble. Once it does, it can be replaced by a partnership model of culture that values feelings as well as thinking, intuition as well as sensation, women as well as men, the Earth and all of nature as well as humans. It's up to each of us to go out and make the new story happen.

This is the energy Jupiter in Libra is bringing into this powerful engine of change. A sense of balance, of fairness and justice, of courtesy and honor, beauty and art. It's offering each of us (Uranus) a way to engage in the transformation of the culture (Pluto). We can begin to create this possible future with our art and our actions. Our actions, like what happened at Standing Rock with the Water Protectors, now will have more affect since we'll do it as a group (very Aquarian of us). We show our Aries courage in standing up to the wrong use of power, to the stupidity of self-destruction. Life is what matters. Uranus is energizing our pioneering spirit again, though this time let's seek the unknown for the good of all, rather than personal aggrandizement. 
 

Artists have a big part to play now too. The Arts used to be healing tools for the collective psyche, unlike how they are seen today as a commodity. When we return the Arts to their archetypal purpose—to teach, to heal, to create, to enliven, to imagine, to share, to learn—they will lead the revolution just as John Lennon and the Beatles opened up the world to a new paradigm. (written on December 8^th-RIP John) Artists can bring the message home to the heart. 
 

When the North Node leaves Virgo and goes into Leo next year at Beltane, our cosmic destiny is to express ourselves, especially through the arts. The Broadway show Hamilton is doing it—bringing history alive again so we understand what moment in history we're at and how we've changed but stayed the same. When America has its first Pluto return in 2023 (yes, we still have a few years to go of this rot) the revolution will happen. If we play our parts in truth, it will be a peaceful revolution, because it will be the right thing to do. 
 

And now we turn to the whole issue of truth vs. illusion, fake news, strong beliefs and the end of the world.

Truth or Delusion

Wow! What a year! It's been all about our beliefs, whether they reflect the Truth or not. With Saturn journeying through Sagittarius, all of our beliefs, our tenuous connection to the cosmic laws of life, are being scrutinized. We like to think that our scrutiny reveled deep-seated beliefs that reflect our overt religious beliefs and spiritual aspirations. And yet, with Neptune in Pisces throwing his glamour over everything, we had to work hard (Saturn) to discern what was true from what was illusion. Instead of revealing our integrity, our honor, our sense of unity, the US presidential race revealed something else about our country. It revealed America's shadow: our misogyny, lies, tax evasions, racism, competition, bullying and hypocrisy. Instead of truth and imagination (which is a very conscious option of these energies) we got sex, lies and videotapes (the dumbed-down version). 
 

What can we believe? Saturn is a taskmaster but he only sets us tasks that our soul requires us to learn. Instead of being afraid, feeling limited and wanting to hide under the covers, Saturn can help us focus on finding our cosmic rhythm – he does rule Time and Space, our 3-D reality. He's the Reality Check who grounds us in who we really are or trips us up when we pretend we're someone we're not. Truth or Dare? What will it be?

Saturn is connected to the archetypal Father, the energy that guides us into the world, the bridge between self and other. When we have a hard time creating our lives, perhaps we have a poor relationship with the Father/Saturn. Or maybe, we just never fit into the Father's agenda and so stayed limited on the edge of things. Either way, Saturn trained us. We probably are more disciplined, more organized, more grounded knowing our limits and filling them out. Now if we've embodied our Saturn, what happens next? With Saturn in Sagittarius, we stand up for our beliefs—whether they're bullying, racist, dominator beliefs; morally, enlightened religious beliefs; or compassionate, fierce protective beliefs. 
 

Enter Neptune, swimming with both dolphins (to lead us on) and sharks (to devour the dead). Neptune entered his own sign of Pisces in February 2012, just after Uranus entered Aries. Neptune in Pisces awakens our longing for spirit and for a better world, a unified world, a healthy world. And it rules mob psychology and delusion—we saw a lot of that during the campaigns. Neptune deludes us with the illusions that feed our ego needs (delusion is a belief that, though false, has been surrendered to and accepted by the whole mind as a truth) rather than our soul's needs. Conscious Neptune enchants us with the magic of the imagination. Neptune sends us dreams from the collective unconscious, where the hopes and fears of humanity lie. Neptune only deludes us if we are can't find our center. That's Saturn. If our Saturn is too rigid and fearful, we can't stay centered in ourselves, so we are easy victims of delusions. The need for control arises from our fears. Let them go. 
 

Pisces is also our collective heart and Neptune has us listening to different dreams, dreams not controlled by collective consciousness but by our heart's desire. Patriarchy fears that most of all, so it seeks to control our imaginations through its use of the media, overwhelming our collective psyche with images of their choosing, not ours or the Earth's. But if we pull back and listen in the silence, Neptune's mystical voice tells us that it is our heart which knows our true desire and it is our imaginations which will show us new possibilities for life. Not the corporate media.

All year long, these archetypal opposites challenged each other. Neptune's energy enhances our receptivity, our feelings, our imaginative visions and probably multi-dimensional wormholes. Saturn is form and structure, time and space, limits and responsibility. Very opposite energies. The argument about Fake News is an aspect of these conflicting energies. What's real or just illusion? With a president-elect who can't seem to tell the difference, we'll have to find out for ourselves. The challenge of a square is that we have to see which energy has to give and where and see what we come up with. 
 

If we let Neptune dissolve some of Saturn's formative beliefs, we can realize that some of our beliefs are childish, outworn or just not true. These are the beliefs that don't hold true for our grown-up experience of cosmic laws. They need to be taken back into the collective unconscious and dissolved back into their essence. If we let Saturn give some form and structure to our visions and feelings, we can build our new life story. So the gift of this square is to see through our limiting beliefs and choose to create a new ground of being for ourselves based on our soul's purpose. What would our life look like if we lived with empowering beliefs rather than limiting ones? We create a whole different story, don't we? It does involve standing up for our beliefs, but without the rigidity of needing to be self-righteous. Instead, we can let our imagination enchant someone awake instead of insisting that they wake up.

Now that Saturn is moving a bit beyond its square to Neptune, the asteroid Chiron becomes Saturn's Neptunian partner in this portion of the Cosmic Dance. What can Chiron teach us about the needs of humanity at this evolutionary moment? Chiron in Pisces teaches us we are here for everyone else and that we need to know who we are and what we value to succeed in our individual quest. Perhaps next year we'll get a chance to heal the divisions within ourselves and within society. Wouldn't that be the best outcome for our current situation? I think once we see what kind of government our corporate leaders give us, the middle will become more radicalized and we will unite and find our common interests aren't so different. In part, we will recognize that our religious beliefs no longer suit the multi-dimensional world we live in. The hope of the Aquarian Age is that each of us gets to live out our soul's purpose with creativity, respect and integrity, and that our lives will benefit the whole without taking away our uniqueness and freedom.

The Moon in Gemini now becomes part of this truth-seeking mix, so let's turn to the Gemini-Sagittarius Full Moon.

Gemini-Sagittarius Full Moon 2016

The Gemini-Sagittarius Full Moon occurs on Tuesday, December 13, 2016 at 4:05pm PST/ 7:05pm EST and on Wednesday, December 14, 2016 at 12:05am GMT.

The Sabian symbol for the Sun at 23* Sagittarius is: The torch and spiked crown of the Statue of Liberty. (This image comes from Steve Eardley's Revised Sabian Symbols.) This symbol speaks to “promethean man—urging humankind to attain their full statue'. It speaks to a freedom of spirit which encourages us to fight for political, social and religious freedom and makes us vigilant in protecting democracy from dictators and the rule of force. We are being called to stand up for our freedoms in this image. I love synchronicity! While Dane Rudhyar's An Astrological Mandala gives this image: A group of immigrants as they fulfill the requirements of entrance into the new country. This image speaks not only to our current immigration issues but also on an inner level to the need to consciously accept the new ways of being that a new life demands. 
 

The Sabian symbol for the Moon at 23* Gemini is: Three fledglings look out from their high nest. (This is the same image in both systems.) This symbol speaks to the process (3 is the number of process) of creatively integrating this new reality into our personality. It calls us to step back and look at things from a spiritual perspective, rather than from our fears and anxiety. This attitude can help us share our point of view in a calm and considerate manner instead of needing to 'fight' those we oppose.

A Full Moon asks us to bring together complimentary ideas: Sagittarius wants us to see the Truth of the matter while Gemini wants to communicate the information that can help us see more clearly what our truth is. A Full Moon makes us aware of what we've been unconscious of. So step back and take a look at your core beliefs then look at what you're thinking. What ideas and information and knowledge no longer fit the truth? Are these beliefs the result of old psychological wounds (Chiron in Pisces challenging this Full Moon)? How have we been distracting ourselves with information overload when the truth can be found in our hearts? What thoughts, words and information need to be refined and which need to be let go of?

Saturn joins the Sun during this Full Moon, helping us set up filters for discerning what information is true and what is false. Saturn wants us to take responsibility for our beliefs and because Saturn symbolizes authority, we need to understand that the word authority confronts us with the question, 'who is the author of my story'. The word author means 'one who makes or creates'. We can give away our authority and let someone else write our story or we can take back control and become the authors of our own lives. 
 

The Sabian symbol (Rudhyar) for Saturn at 19* Sagittarius is: Pelicans menaced by the behavior and refuse of men seek safer areas for bringing up their young. If we are concerned for the future, of our planet and of humanity, we have to find new ways of living that protect the environment and connect us with Nature. Ancient traditions about the pelican imply that they are so protective of their young that they will pierce their own hearts to feed and protect them. Are we willing to sacrifice our entitled way of life to stand up for the future?

The Sagittarius Sun and Saturn opposite the Gemini Moon and Uranus in Aries opposite Jupiter in Libra form what is known as a 'mystic rectangle', an aspect of two oppositions whose ends both trine and sextile to each other--positively supporting the energy generated.  Its highest potential is self-recognition and awareness, which can give rise to practical mysticism. (Dane Rudyhar)  

Interesting fact: Donald Trump was born on a lunar eclipse—his Sun is at 23* Gemini and his Moon is at 23* Sagittarius. This Full Moon's Sagittarius Sun sits on his Moon and the Gemini Moon sits on his Sun. It will affect him in ways we cannot foresee. Will he be willing to look in these cosmic mirrors? Will he finally see himself clearly? Will he continue his delusions and his cons? Will he decide reality TV is all he can handle? Stay tuned!

The ruler of the Gemini Moon is Mercury, which is connecting with Pluto in Capricorn just as it's slowing down to turn retrograde on Monday December 19, 2016—the day of the Electoral College vote. Pluto deepens the Mind (Mercury) and strips it of everything that is non-essential. This should be interesting. Will enough electors desert Trump to make the election invalid? Will the vote be challenged and changed? We have all experienced how Mercury retrograde can put a stop to our plans. Mercury is also square Jupiter in Libra and Uranus in Aries. Curiouser and curiouser.
 

The Sabian symbol (Eardley) for Mercury retrograde at 16* Capricorn is: An earthen cave crowded with uniformed men. This image implies that when we're grounded by Mother Earth, within our own psyches, we can find the discipline and focus we need to effect social change. This small group represents the critical mass needed to change things, if we volunteer to take action. Will the electors see what is needed and change the script? The ruler of the Sagittarius Sun is Jupiter in Libra, expanding our vision of fairness and justice. The Sabian symbol (Eardley) for Jupiter at 19* Libra speaks to group protests against unbalanced social injustice. Robbers hiding in a starlit forest, ready to attack a caravan laden with precious cargo. How do the dispossessed find justice?

Upcoming Astrological Events

December 19, 2016: Mercury goes retrograde at 16* Capricorn conjunct Pluto, square both Jupiter in Libra and Uranus in Aries. We have to take ourselves and our world seriously. Mercury is retrograde until January 8, 2017.

December 21, 2016: WINTER SOLSTICE—the rebirth of the Sun in the northern hemisphere.

December 24, 2016: Saturn trine Uranus. There's more flow now and new forms can be created. Responsible changes might be on their way.

December 26, 2016: Jupiter opposes Uranus. It's time to do things differently.

December 28, 2016: Capricorn New Moon.

December 29, 2016: Uranus goes direct. Watch out for wild energies and abrupt changes.

This will be my last Cosmic Story newsletter for a while. I'm taking a break while I travel in December-January and while I contemplate my next writing project. I'm still available for private consultations, so email me at cathy@wisdom-of-astrology.com to set up an appointment. Thank you all for your support for the Cosmic Story these past 12 years. I hope I'll return to it once things settle down.

Wishing you a wild and wacky and wonderful holiday season. And may the New Year bring us all the energy we need to help the world through the dark times ahead.

Solstice Blessings,

Cathy

All The Hemispheres ~ Hafiz

Leave the familiar for a while.
Let your senses and bodies stretch out

Like a welcomed season
Onto the meadows and shores and hills.

Open up to the Roof.
Make a new water-mark on your excitement
And love.

Like a blooming night flower,
Bestow your vital fragrance of happiness
And giving
Upon our intimate assembly.

Change rooms in your mind for a day.

All the hemispheres in existence
Lie beside an equator
In your heart.

Greet Yourself
In your thousand other forms
As you mount the hidden tide and travel
Back home.

All the hemispheres in heaven
Are sitting around a fire
Chatting

While stitching themselves together
Into the Great Circle inside of
You.

("The Subject Tonight is Love" - versions by Daniel Ladinsky)