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 16th).
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 10th,
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)
