The Cosmic Story: Cancer Full Moon, 2018

The Cosmic Story: Cancer Full Moon January 1, 2018

Feeding the Soul. Finally.

I’m writing this newsletter as the Taurus Moon waxes past the first quarter, the Earth sign concerned with what we value and how we value things. Taurus is a fertile sign – just think of May and all the beauty of that season. And this Moon phase is all about nourishing the sprout that was seeded at the Sagittarius New Moon, which occurred on the Galactic Center (the Cosmic Womb) on December 17-18. It’s time to open to the cosmic mystery that we each birthed this Winter Solstice and pour our love into that new life.

Every January, while the Sun is in Capricorn, the sign that symbolizes fathers, our dharma and our collective institutions, we have a Full Moon in Cancer, the sign of our emotional body, the family, the mothers, our security. Every year, we look within to figure out what our emotional needs are for ourselves but also so our collective institutions can adjust to the needs of the people. This year, it seems like there is a bigger disconnect between people’s needs and the government’s agenda. Do we really need ‘millions’ of jobs in the military to keep us happy and safe? Doesn’t a happy, prosperous citizenry create more security than a global police force? 

 

This year, it is especially important for each of us to understand what will make us secure and content, fertile and creative. It’s always about choices and opportunities. If your life and your work are not serving you, what do you need to do to change that this year? What is your heart’s hope? If our government is not serving our collective needs, what do we do to change that? We live in a democracy, which means we need to know how we want to live our collective life and make choices that support those visions; otherwise, we will be controlled and corralled into corporate agendas rather than life-giving ones. 

 

The universe knew who it needed at this point in time – us! So do whatever needs doing – band together and help each other. Share you gifts and talents with others who need them as we re-build our society from the ground up. If you’re a techie and a healer needs some help, find ways to exchange your services – money, barter, alternative ‘money’, ?. Who knows what we can all create if we let our hearts sing us a vision.

At least, that’s what my inner Council of Grandmothers is telling me. 

 

The day after the Cancer Full Moon, the planet Uranus turns to direct motion, so we need to take those inner awakenings we’ve experienced in the past 5 months and use them to re-create our outer lives. So watch what happens on Tuesday, January 2, 2018 when Uranus stations. Surprises, revelations, awakenings, rebellions are energized.

The Sabian symbol for Uranus at 24*34’ Aries (25*) is: The possibility for people to gain experience at two levels of being.* We can only experience what we believe in. We need faith to accept this new level of consciousness. Dane Rudhyar comments on this degree: “Be open. Be able and willing to shape your translucent mind in the form revealing spiritual fulfillment. And you will be able to experience life and power on inner as well as outer planes.”

 

This is the awakening that Uranus brings to us. We can live our spiritual lives in the outer world. In fact, that is our real purpose in life. To open to the great mystery of life, to live our spirituality and see where it takes us.

Cancer Full Moon

This year’s Cancer Full Moon occurs on January 1, 2018 at 6:24pm PST/ 9:24pm EST and on January 2, 2018 at 2:24am GMT.

Cancer symbolizes the Great Mother, the ocean's depths, the source of life and creativity. Cancer is a cardinal water sign – once Cancer senses what is needed, she does something about it. If you’re hungry, she’ll feed you. If you’re afraid, she’ll comfort you. If you’re hurt, she’ll try to heal you. What do you need? Like any loving Mother, this Cancer Moon wants to nurture you so that you grow into your Higher Self. Accept that you are loved and watch how you blossom.

Elana Gibeault ~ Cancer Sea Priestess

The Cancer Moon is supported by planets in the other two water signs, forming a grand water trine, which certainly can reduce any stress and tension in our lives. The grand trine can even make us so complacent that we don’t do anything! With the stress of the holidays, this can be exactly what we need. A little self-nurturing goes a long way.

It’s also a great time to do some inner work. Just because we’re not acting in the outer world doesn’t mean we can’t engage with the inner world while we meditate and relax. The Cancer Moon can sense what is needed to feel safe and secure. Jupiter and Mars in Scorpio can help us decided who is most helpful in getting us those things – and who is not. Neptune in Pisces opens us to Spirit through our dreams and imagination. While the Cancer Moon digs deep to feel our needs and Neptune feeds our dreams of a better life, Jupiter and Mars can go after the resources we need to fulfill those needs. 

 

Why not engage in active imagination with these energies. See what they want to tell you. Our unconscious has so much wisdom to share. But like all children, young or middle aged, we very rarely want to listen. 

 

When you work with these planets, they open us to our psychic abilities, so trust your intuitions, trust your heart and trust your gut. Our left brain rationality needs to support these feelings rather than create fear around them.

 

What saves this watery grand trine from stagnating is the Capricorn Sun, along with Saturn, Venus and Pluto in Capricorn. The Sun and Venus take that watery grand trine and turn it into an aspect called a KITE. With Sun/Venus opposite the Moon and connecting energetically with the other water planets, we have the opportunity to use the Capricorn energy to ground our feelings and steady our emotional body. It gives us an outlet for all that water, the ground to pour it into. So that our original Sagittarius New Moon seed may flower. What was your vision for that New Moon?

Capricorn and its ruler, Saturn, are good at structuring things. Especially at this Cancer Full Moon, the Sun can use its Capricorn energy to focus our Cancer feelings into something productive. We can build on them if we’re brave enough and strong enough to believe in our heart’s hope. 

 

This is our chance to re-structure our lives and bring them into alignment with our soul’s purpose. So let your soul sing to you during this Full Moon – as you relax from your New Year’s Eve celebrations. 

 

With Uranus in Aries stationing within 6* of its square to Pluto in Capricorn, we are still in the revolutionary energies that were strongest from 2012-2015. This is the Hero’s Journey phase of their cycle – we have to overcome obstacles in the outer world to ground our vision of peace and freedom (from the 60s) into our society. This will be a peaceful revolution, so it takes time for people to rouse themselves and it has to be world-wide. We are all in this together. Know that you can change your life. Know that we can change our world. It’s all about choice and opportunity.

The Sabian symbol for the Moon at 12* Cancer is: A woman nursing a baby, haloed by the light of a single star.* This new child within us is the Divine Child. We each birth this Child when we live with spiritual awareness and compassionate understanding. Our soul’s work is to take part in this spiritual evolution. So nurse your inner child – give it what it needs to grow strong. 

 

The Sabian symbol for the Sun at 12* Capricorn is: In an old diamond mine, a showcase displaying and explaining different crystalline structures.* These crystalline structures are the basic structures of life. Perhaps symbolizing the archetypes, those basic laws of life. We need to reconnect (Venus can help us here) with this most ancient knowledge because our society is sick and in need of restoration. We need to release the past that holds us captive to unhealthy situations, just as we need to let those institutions that no longer serve us die, so that new life can grow up in its place. 

 

Venus is traveling very close to the Sun – but on the far side of the Sun – for the next 54 days. She is treading the underworld path of death and rebirth as she rises as the Evening Star of Wisdom. She takes with her the #metoo energy that has bounded women from around the world – women and children of all races have experience the degradation and fear of sexual assault – because our culture gives men all the power but never the blame of their sexual violence. ‘It’s always the woman’s fault’ is the patriarchal #notme! 

 

Venus will conjunct the Sun and then Pluto on January 8-9, taking her transformation so deep we don’t know how she’ll manifest in us and in the world. Venus will embrace both life (Sun) and death (Pluto) within a few hours of each other, taking that shining solar energy into the depth of inner space – to discover what? And then Pluto communicates to the Sun what Venus is birthing.

 

The Sabian symbol for Venus at 10* Capricorn is: On a sailboat, seamen are feeding a tame albatross.* Venus is the energy that connects us and here she is connecting the human world with the animal world. An Albatross is a sign of good luck to mariners, so feed your luck through compassion and sharing. 

 

And if you’re journeying into deep space with Venus, do not fear. Stay open and make offerings to whatever flies your way. Like the helpful animals in fairy tales, our inner beings can help us.

It’s time to let our emotional intelligence take the lead. We can retreat back into our shell out of fear, choosing the safety and comfort of our old, known life, or we can trust life’s flow as we navigate the changes coming our way.

When Saturn passed into Capricorn on December 19^th, it passed over the Galactic Center – the womb of our universe – and seeded us with the new life intentions for the coming age. There’s around a 50 year period (perhaps starting in the 70s) when the Earth’s plane is aligned with the galactic center, so as planets pass from Sagittarius to Capricorn, they are energized by the galactic womb. After that time, the planes will separate. Perhaps we are being seeded by cosmic intelligence with information on how to survive our environmental crisis and create a new type of society – perhaps one that will go out into the stars one day.

 

So play with your vision and listen for messages on how to shape it to your needs. As you know, things take time to grow.

Mercury in Sagittarius connects one last time with Uranus in Aries on Saturday, January 6^th. Watch for revelations, insights and changing choices.

Then Mercury reaches the degree it retrograded at on Wednesday, January 10^th. That signals the end of the entire Mercury retrograde period. What have you learned about your beliefs and your spiritual practices?

Mercury goes into Capricorn – passing over the Galactic Center – later that same day, January 10^th – 11^th. Then Mercury conjuncts Saturn on January 12^th – 13^th . Watch for any dreams or sychronicities that might bring you messages. Perhaps your plans will come into sharper focus now. Let the shape arise from your unconscious – don’t force things. Shape them once they appear if needed.

With Venus traveling so close to the Sun now, they both connect with Neptune in Pisces on January 2^nd – 3^rd. Venus will connect with Neptune’s message strongly and take it up with the Sun. Then on January 8^th they connect with Jupiter in Scorpio, aiding us to see our real goals and connect with people who share them. Later that day, Pluto in Capricorn empowers Mars in Scorpio to really commit to our new life.

On January 9^th, the Sun, Venus, Pluto in Capricorn and Mars in Scorpio dance with each other, weaving together their energies and birthing a new Venus energy, one that will raise up the Divine Feminine strongly this year. Venus will emerge from the Sun’s rays as an Evening Star in late February in Pisces. This Venus, like Kuan Yin and Sophia, is wise and compassionate. She will be our guide for the next part of our journey. Open to her Wisdom.

The intensity of these first two weeks of January ends with the Sun and Venus in Capricorn squaring Uranus in Aries on January 14^th, sparking our hero’s journey once again to change our lives and change the world. And finally on January 15^th, Jupiter in Scorpio energizes Pluto in Capricorn to keep going with his wrecking ball, getting to the root of the problems in our society.

 

Looks like quite an exciting few weeks. What a way to start off 2018!

Connect with heaven’s energies and work with them to download cosmic information. Then trust it, hone it and share it. Remember, we don’t have to do things on our own – we have our tribe to help us. Don’t go it alone anymore. Ask for help.

This is our new beginning. 

May the blessings of new life fill you.

Walk with the Light,

Cathy

*Steve Eardley, The Revised Sabian Symbols.

For the Unknown Self

So much of what delights and troubles you
Happens on a surface
You take for ground.
Your mind thinks your life alone,
Your eyes consider air your nearest neighbor,
Yet it seems that a little below your heart
There houses in you an unknown self
Who prefers the patterns of the dark
And is not persuaded by the eye's affection
Or caught by the flash of thought.

It is a self that enjoys contemplative patience
With all your unfolding expression,
Is never drawn to break into light
Though you entangle yourself in unworthiness
And misjudge what you do and who you are.

It presides within like an evening freedom
That will often see you enchanted by twilight
Without ever recognizing the falling night,
It resembles the under-earth of your visible life:
All you do and say and think is fostered
Deep in its opaque and prevenient clay.

It dwells in a strange, yet rhythmic ease
That is not ruffled by disappointment;
It presides in a deeper current of time
Free from the force of cause and sequence
That otherwise shapes your life.

Were it to break forth into day,
Its dark light might quench your mind,
For it knows how your primeval heart
Sisters every cell of your life
To all your known mind would avoid,

Thus it knows to dwell in you gently,
Offering you only discrete glimpses
Of how you construct your life.

At times, it will lead you strangely,
Magnetized by some resonance
That ambushes your vigilance.

It works most resolutely at night
As the poet who draws your dreams,
Creating for you many secret doors,
Decorated with pictures of your hunger;

It has the dignity of the angelic
That knows you to your roots,
Always awaiting your deeper befriending
To take you beyond the threshold of want,
Where all your diverse strainings
Can come to wholesome ease.

~ John O'Donohue ~

(To Bless the Space Between Us)

The Cosmic Story: Sagittarius New Moon 2017

The Cosmic Story: Sagittarius New Moon 2017

Winter Solstice: Saturn into Capricorn

Time to Birth a New World

Milky Way Galaxy

This very powerful Sagittarius New Moon occurs days before Saturn’s ingress into Capricorn and the Winter Solstice. The New Moon conjuncts the Galactic Center – the black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy – close to where Mercury turned retrograde on December 2-3rd, to go back to retrieve any last messages from the Sagittarian Sun on December 12^th (the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe) and to be integrated once Mercury stops to move forward on December 22. Saturn leaves Sagittarius after 2 ½ year and moves into his own sign of Capricorn on December 19, beginning our journey toward the big conjunction between Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto in 2020. And of course, Winter Solstice arrives in the northern hemisphere on December 21^st when the Sun ‘stands still’ for 3 days before starting to move back North. For those of you in the southern hemisphere, Happy Summer Solstice!

Saturn into Capricorn

 

Where to begin? Let’s start with Saturn, since his energy signature is all over these three events. Saturn has gotten a bad rap from ancient astrologers who saw him as a hard taskmaster and even as a malevolent force in life. Saturn represented limits, fear, depression and melancholy. But those are the dysfunctional expressions of Saturn. So don’t go into fear when thinking of him, since that’s the most negative manifestation of Saturn. In reality, Saturn is the energy of our material reality, the reality that there are limits in life, that we have to take responsibility for our life and that often takes discipline and perseverance. He is the trickster of delays and denials. He is teacher, tester, mentor of life. Saturn is our teacher of self-discipline and self-respect.

Saturn was originally the ruler of the Golden Age, a time of peace and prosperity. He rules time – so in Capricorn, slow down – and initiates us into our fate. He often evokes fear and anxiety and tests you with them. He represents authority. so we have to ask, ‘Who is the author of my life?’ When this planet passes through a sign, we know we will be tested on our maturity and our willingness to accept the limitations of life and do something with them. In alchemy, Saturn is the lead that the alchemical process turns into gold. Our work is to turn our unconscious acceptance of our collective reality into a conscious spiritual self-awareness and responsibility. 

 

Saturn has been in the sign of Sagittarius since late December 2014, forcing us to look at our beliefs – both religious beliefs and our personal beliefs about life and what is possible. We’ve been struggling with ideological divisions – my truth, not yours. We’ve seen the death of moral authority in government and religion. During those 2 ½ years, we’ve had to deal with the question, ‘What is true and what is false?’ Fake news has been a sticking point since the Neptune in Pisces square to Saturn in Sagittarius in 2016, asking us to discern between what is real and what is illusion. I find it heartening that Judge Roy Moore was just defeated in the Senate race in Alabama, perhaps Saturn’s last gift to the U.S. before he heads into his own sign of Capricorn. 

  

As the 3^rd fire sign, Sagittarius asks us to be the flame and the fire, to invoke the power of light in our lives and in the world. 

 

So the question is: Have we finish our Sagittarian work of knowing in our bones what we believe? Sagittarius is the sign of cosmic law – the laws of the universe which our patriarchal society has tried to ignore or overrule to our detriment and the Earth’s degradation. Our culture is out of balance with those laws and so we are at a turning point. We have to become our own moral authority. As Saturn leaves Sagittarius, are we ready to act? 

 

The whole Earth is suffering from our unconscious and compulsive conspicuous consumption, which has become the whole focus of life under capitalism. Our corporation culture has turned us into consumers so we won’t engage in the active responsibility of being citizens. It’s time to take responsibility for our world as Saturn enters his own sign of Capricorn, which is concerned with our social structures and communal life, as well as government and our financial systems. 

 

Thank you to Daniel Giamario for enlightening me about how some ancient cultures saw Capricorn as a Council of Grandmothers, who shared their wisdom for the common good. This is the wisdom of the Earth and also the body. How do we bring in our spirit’s purpose into the world. Through our bodies! It’s called Incarnation. This aligns with Capricorn’s connection to our dharma – our soul work and responsibility to our society to bring it peace and prosperity. 

 

The last time Saturn was in Capricorn was in 1988 – just a year after the Harmonic Convergence in August 1987. Remember that? That was the beginning of a world-wide spiritual revolution that is about to manifest in our society in a big way if we’ve done our inner work. That was a big year in my life. What was going on in yours? Perhaps you’ll get a chance to finish up some old business in a more mature way now. What have you learned in the past 30 years (assuming you’ve lived that long!)?

You’ll be hearing much more about the big happenings in 2020 as we get closer, but let me begin by saying that we cannot predict how this big energy will play out. But we can look at the different energies involved. With Saturn in Capricorn, now is the time to step into your maturity and wisdom and manifest your vision. It’s time to show up. Do it with integrity, please. Whatever you know is enough now. What can you do with the tools you have gathered? We are all called to heal the Earth and our society. If we’ve healed ourselves, now it’s time to heal others. Look at the house(s) where Capricorn lies in your chart. And if you have planets in early Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn – you’re the ones who will be challenged the most. Lucky you!

Pluto has been bringing down those institutions which are no longer viable – we are seeing their last gasps in the Trump administration as it tries to turn the clock back to unfettered greed and domination by ‘old white guys’. But it isn’t working. And they’re going down – maybe, hopefully in 2020. Jupiter will accelerate and enlarge whatever Saturn and Pluto bring up. 

If Saturn is the energy of structure and limits, and Pluto is that of death and rebirth, and Jupiter is the energy of faith, curiosity and expansion, we could be looking at the re-birth of our republic and a renewal and re-structuring of social institutions that will support our collective well-being, not just the well-being of those 1%ers. But in the end, it’s up to each of us to make that happen. We need to do it for ourselves and each other, for Mother Earth and most importantly, for our children to the 7^th generation. We are the Ancestors of the Future and what we seed now will determine what that future looks like.

Winter Solstice

 

Saturn is also associated with the Winter Solstice, not only because it will conjunct the Solstice Sun as it enters Capricorn, but because back in ancient Rome, the time of the Winter Solstice was called ‘Saturnalia’ a 12 day period of death and chaos, when the rules of society were turned upside down – when slaves were equal to their masters, when a fool, the Lord of Misrule, could sit on a throne. (Sounds like this whole year, doesn’t it?) 

 

Many cultures had days or weeks that were ‘out of time’ due to the working of their calendars, and these were viewed as times of chaos, a time out of regular time so the world could be renewed. During this time of chaos, the old king was sacrificed to make way for the birth of the New Light, dies natalis solis invicti – the birthday of the unconquerable sun. And of course, we have the birth of Baby Jesus on December 25^th and the 12 Days of Christmas, which are supposed to foretell the future year. 

 

(I’ve been doing the 12 Days of Christmas dreaming for over 30 years. If you’re a dreamer, starting December 25^th into the 26^th, record your dreams each day and they will stand as a prophesy for the 12 astrological months.)

Saturnalia, like our Christmas and most other Solstice celebrations, was a time to evoke abundance, joy, generosity, hope, fertility and life, so these ancient ancestors of ours celebrated much as we do, with music and dance, food and laughter, community and worship, fun and games, evergreens (for eternal life) and light. We need to bring these elements back into our Solstice celebrations as well as our own family traditions. Let’s bring back singing and storytelling, dancing and games to our Christmas/Hanukkah celebrations as well. Gifts are wonderful expressions of love and appreciation, but when most of us live in such abundance, do we really need to keep shopping – which is the need of our economy but is it our need? Don’t we need community and laughter and hope just as much as another tech toy? 

 

Make it a ritual – create a great holiday happening that goes against the stereotypes of our modern holiday season. Create, create, create, moments of laughter and joy and shake off the old year so a new possibility can start to take shape. And then go out and keep up the good work of stopping the outrageous measures our government is fostering on us. 

 

The Sagittarius New Moon, December 17-18, 2017

The Sagittarius New Moon occurs on Sunday, December 17^th at 10:30pm PST and on Monday, December 18 at 1:30am EST/ 6:30am GMT. 

 

This is the first New Moon to trine the degrees of the total solar eclipse New Moon in Leo. So we are also bringing that energy into the mix. Remember the Sabian symbol for the eclipse: A mermaid emerges from the ocean waves ready to take on human form. She is the longing of our collective heart – the longing to create a better world. And she is going to take on that human form through those women and men who see a better, possible future.

There are 5 planets in Sagittarius at this New Moon, so the cosmos wants us to pay attention. Sagittarius is the sign honoring truth, vision, belief and optimism that can light a fire within each of us. Occurring during the darkest time of year in the northern hemisphere brings the image of Light into clear focus. In the dark, we seek the light. Our purpose (Sun), our emotional body (Moon), our mind (Mercury_Rx), our body’s wisdom (Venus), and our authority (Saturn) want to be clothed in that light. But Sagittarius is also playful and fun. So don’t forget that the Divine Feminine manifests through the imagination, through play and fun.

This New Moon is seeded in the Galactic Center, so let the eternal truths of the cosmos take root in your hearts so they blossom in these next, oh so important years for humanity. Let go of old perceptions and open to extraordinary possibilities that might whisper in your hearts during meditations and journeys. Trust that the Universe knows what It’s doing when it chooses YOU to channel its creativity and vision.

Mercury is retrograding back over the Galactic Center degree, so it will go over this degree three times – and you know that the Goddess always works in 3s. So just let the information come in – you won’t know it all until after the New Year. 

 

Saturn at 30* Sagittarius is also conjunct this New Moon, offering us the grounding we need to internalize these higher frequencies. Take authority for what wisdom you receive and find ways to make it a living source of life for you and the world. Saturn will make you grapple with your vision so it will come to birth in the best possible way. 

 

So slow down. It’s not going to happen all at once. It’s going to take time (Saturn) to manifest. 

 

There’s a grand fire trine in this New Moon chart between Eris, Uranus and Pallas in Aries, the North Node and Ceres in Leo and this New Moon with Venus, Sun, Moon and Saturn in Sagittarius that adds inspiration, creativity, passion and purification to the New Moon seeding. 

 

We also have a water trine between Neptune in Pisces and Jupiter/ Vesta/Mars in Scorpio, which adds deep emotional healing, imagination and empathy. It’s time to embrace our feelings instead of suppressing them. Emotions (energy in motion) flow through us to tell us how we’re reacting to life. When we name those emotions they become feelings and we can put a value on them – how should I act on these feelings instead of reacting to life.

The Sabian symbol for the Sun and Moon at 27* Sagittarius is: A sculptor at his work. Here is the image of creation, of projecting a vision into matter. That’s our goal.

The Sabian symbol for Saturn at 30* Sagittarius is: The pope blessing the faithful. While many of us are turned off by the idea of the pope, Dane Rudhyar asks, ‘Are you willing to live a transpersonal life as a symbol?’ Here’s the need to take on an archetypal role – whether it’s The Healer, The Bard, The Leader, The Magician, The Priestess – we need to find our archetypal pattern and live it out.

The Sabian symbol for Venus at 22* Sagittarius is: Jehovah looking down on the Earth from his heavenly throne. This is an image of divine justice and protection. Venus is beginning her underworld journey, traveling and disappearing behind the Sun until February 20 when she rises as an Evening Star of Wisdom. She is in the process of transformation and this image implies she will be protected.

The Sabian symbol for Mercury retrograde at 16* Sagittarius is: Equatorial explorer drifts down a jungle stream in a sailboat. This feels like an image of a grand adventure which will take all our determination and spirit to accomplish. That’s the kind of passion we’ll need to complete our task here. A sense of adventure and a sense of determination, powered by the winds of clarity, upheld by the waters of the imagination and enclosed by the fertility of Mother Earth. 

 

Mercury is retrograde until December 22^nd. It turns to direct motion at 14* Sagittarius. The Sabian symbol is: The Great Pyramid and the Sphinx. This is symbolic of the power of our spiritual ancestry. These great structures symbolize archetypal energies which are still available to us today. 

 

Jupiter is the ruler of Sagittarius and it is at 15* Scorpio, the power gate of Scorpio. The Sabian symbol is: Laughing children play on five mounds of white sand. This is about our need to play in our physical bodies, play with the five senses, to get a firm grounding in the physical world. It’s fun! If Saturn is our ground of being and Jupiter is our spiritual vision, we have to become as ‘little children’ again to ground that in.

I love this time of year. The evening sky is cobalt blue, the air is cold and crisp, and it’s alright to stay inside and get cozy. Winter is a time for inner work, inner reflection and stories! Pay attention to your dreams now – especially during the 12 Days of Christmas from December 25 – January 6. 

 

May the peace and love of the Goddess, who births the Light, be ever in your hearts.

Cathy

 

A Winter Solstice Prayer

The dark shadow of space leans over us. . . . .
We are mindful that the darkness of greed, exploitation, and hatred
also lengthens its shadow over our small planet Earth.
As our ancestors feared death and evil and all the dark powers of winter,
we fear that the darkness of war, discrimination, and selfishness
may doom us and our planet to an eternal winter.

May we find hope in the lights we have kindled on this sacred night,
hope in one another and in all who form the web-work of peace and justice
that spans the world.

In the heart of every person on this Earth
burns the spark of luminous goodness;
in no heart is there total darkness.
May we who have celebrated this winter solstice,
by our lives and service, by our prayers and love,
call forth from one another the light and the love
that is hidden in every heart.
Amen.

http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com

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© Copyright 2017 ~CATHY PAGANO  All Rights Reserved

The Cosmic Story: Gemini Full Moon 2017

The Cosmic Story: Gemini/Sagittarius Full Moon, 2017

Who Owns Your Imagination?

Remember the Scorpio New Moon?

We come to this airy Gemini Super Full Moon from the deep, watery mysteries of the Scorpio New Moon, a New Moon centered in the hidden heart of who we really are. The flowering of those seeds comes to us as questions and answers, as information for us to shift through, as perspectives that need to be reviewed, especially since Gemini’s ruling planet, Mercury, turns retrograde hours before the Full Moon. This Full Moon can be tricky, for we can get caught up in too much irrelevant information and end up stuck in our old perspectives and beliefs, or we can see multiple possibilities and choose our highest potentials. Take the time during Mercury’s retrograde until December 22^nd to review the information you have and make those wise choices.

The Scorpio New Moon asked us to stop hiding our power, our passions and our truth. What intentions did you plant at New Moon? Have you discovered how you repress what your heart knows because you didn’t want to hurt someone or are afraid to go against the rules? Scorpio aligns us with those shadowy aspects of our psyche which want to come into the Light. And often, especially for women, those Shadow qualities are very bright and beautiful. Since the Scorpio New Moon resonates energetically with Cancer, have you used these two weeks to indulge in self-care, self-nurturing, and self-awareness? What new story emerges when you do?

Our society has all these rules that constrict behavior – especially for women. Can we share our power, our sexuality, our intelligence without fear that we’ll be rejected, violated or ignored? Or for men, can you be tender and strong, protective and non-possessive? Have you learned what is inappropriate behavior towards women and children? What rules have been broken that shouldn’t be broken? What rules need to go?

As Gemini Brett (Joseph) says, Scorpio is about fixing myself to fix the world. 

 

As a water sign, Scorpio processes our emotional depths to make us stronger, for in really knowing who we are and what our heart wants for us, we access our innate power. Scorpio wants to give us that emotional power, but only if we channel it rather than trying to own it. That power is Scorpio’s gift to us. We just have to learn to use it correctly.

This New Moon began in Scorpio, the fixed water sign where we stop and concentrate on what we’re feeling and dealing with. That’s what makes it ‘fixed’ – it’s concentrated and stubborn. But the rest of the Moon cycle is in mutable signs, due to the shift in the lunar cycle that began on the August 21^st solar eclipse. The cycles are flipped, which means that we are given a different way to work on the energies born at each of the New Moons of this cycle.

For this lunar month, our intention to generate emotional growth (Scorpio NM) manifests in the mutable signs. Mutable signs are flexible and adaptable, ready to change shape to fit the demands of the situation. Mutable signs use the fiery energies of Aries and Leo to spread out and discover new energy pathways. This resourceful energy is ready to stretch and grow beyond the obvious. These signs – Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius & Pisces – symbolize the energy of spirit manifesting in multiple forms.

So what happens when Scorpio Water meets Gemini Air? I think Air plays with it. Air creates waves. Air holds up the water when it evaporates and transforms into rain and clouds. Air bubbles up in water. There are lots of permutations depending on conditions and the presence or absence of the other two elements. So watch all the permutations that occur in your thinking around this Full Moon!

The Gemini/Sagittarius Full Moon

The Gemini Full Moon occurs on December 3, 2017 at 7:47am PST/ 10:47am EST/ 3:47pm GMT.

Gemini/Sagittarius Full Moon 2017

This Gemini Full Moon is conjunct the fixed star, Aldebaran, the Eye of the Bull. Aldebaran is also called the Eye of Illumination, referring to the 3^rd Eye and Buddha’s awakening under the Taurus Full Moon. Aldebaran is one of the 4 ancient Royal Stars, along with Regulus, the heart of the Lion that conjoined this summer’s eclipse.  The Sagittarius Sun is on the opposite side of the zodiac on Antares, the heart of the Scorpion. And finally, between Aquarius and Pisces i the 4th Royal Star, Fomalhaut, the Mouth of the Fish. 
We have the blessing of this ancient power of Illumination on the Full Moon as the Moon and Sun align with these powerful fixed stars.. Use it wisely.

Aldebaran in the constellation of the Bull

The Sabian symbol for the Moon at 12* Gemini is: A black girl fights for her independence in a city. Dane Rudhyar indicates that this image is about leaving the past behind so we can entertain new possibilities. The image before this spoke of new lands and opportunities and with this symbolic figure of earthy feminine spirit breaking free, we are indeed finally seeing the rise of the Divine Feminine in collective consciousness. She’s Back! Black Moon Lilith to war against injustice to women. Black Madonna, come to heal. She is the one collecting information: she is the women speaking out about sexual harassment. The rejected feminine knows what needs to be done.

The Sabian symbol for the Sun at 12* Sagittarius is: A flag turns into an Eagle; the Eagle into a Chanticleer saluting the Dawn. It is time to live out our truth. We can’t live like the flag, an abstract ‘2-dimensional’ symbol, saying we believe something but not living that truth. We have to embody the spirit of the Eagle. We have to become leaders. And then there will indeed be a new dawn and a new day.

The Sabian symbol of Neptune at 12* Pisces is: Candidates are being examined by the Lodge of Initiates. We are being called to a larger cosmic consciousness, a sign of our readiness to participate in the transformation of the world. What will we craft with our imaginations to meet these tests?

This is a Super Moon, which means the Moon is close to the Earth and therefore has a stronger tidal pull on the waters of Earth, both within us and outside us. This is the time to communicate! Gemini Moon gets nurtured by talking and learning and experiencing. Talking about your feelings helps clarify what you’re feeling. Or go within and communicate with yourself. Go out into nature and commune with Mother Earth and Father Sky. Communicate with your whole Mind: your gut, your heart, your rational brain, your imaginal brain, your mystical brain and your reptilian brain.

Then journal about your experience and take it deeper until you pop back out on the other side, to the Sagittarius Sun. What have you discovered that can change your beliefs about yourself and the world? What new story comes to you as you shed your old story? What adventure do you want to undertake? What hero’s journey beckons you to change the world? Or perhaps it’s the Heroine’s Journey, which is focused on the inner journey of self-discovery.

We have been given the tools of Gemini/Sagittarius – the whole brain Mind, the fact-gathering, information junkie mind combined with the intuitive, spiritually aware story Mind. This is all about the stories we tell ourselves about life. Too often we gather facts that support our point of view so we don’t have to change our old story. The truth is, we no longer have that luxury. The world is at a tipping point of change. Which way it goes depends on each of us. The old patriarchal story is no longer viable. Neither male entitlement nor capitalistic greed are sustainable any more.

The world needs a new story. Each of us needs a new story. 

Isn’t it better to create our own stories rather than have another uncomfortable story like patriarchy imposed upon us? When we create our own story, we truly live the American dream of freedom. It’s time for us to be free.

What if we use these cosmic energies to gather the information we need to create that new story of who we are? And who we might become?

Engaging the Imagination

The planetary energy most aligned with this Full Moon is Neptune, the energy of the creative imagination, of the Source and unseen dimensions. But these more subtle realities can give rise to delusions and illusions if we’re not attuned to them. With the square from Neptune we’re challenged to listen to our soul’s point of view, rather than getting lost in an ego day-dream. Because we’ve let Hollywood and the media colonize our imaginations with their advertisements and stories, these are our unconscious defaults. 

T-square: Sun, Moon & Neptune

As children our imaginations run free as we explored our world. Now TV and computer games all too often capture and shape our imaginations, especially since we’re told that imagination is just for children. Neptune energizes us to go deeper to reclaim our imagination. It’s time to stop using our imagination in the service of worldly gain and unsustainable desires and start using it to delve into our souls and recreate our world.

Check in with your Higher Self to make sure the images and stories and ideas are in your best interest. The Collective Unconscious is like an old magical antique shop, with treasures as well as dangers.

But when we work consciously with Neptune and the Creative Imagination, we can weave a story that sings to our hearts. Don’t forget to weave in bravery, because from the ‘lower’ vibration worldview, you’re going to be seen as weird, different, strange because you believe in a different story. So find your tribe who shares your story and loves you for it! If you live out your story well, you will attract other people out of that dark, dead-end story into their own heart-stories. Weave in joy, because new life is always joyful. Weave in creativity and love and wisdom. These are gifts that make life worth living. Weave a story of beauty and power and peace and whatever spicy values and virtues you love best. This new story is still a mystery, and yet it isn’t. It’s already written in your heart and soul.

Let it fill you with the energy and will to follow the dreams that inhabit your story.

Life’s synchronicities are wonderful, aren’t they? I was listening to On Point on NPR this morning and Tom Ashbrook was talking with virtual reality pioneer Jaron Lanier, who now says “VR could be the evilest invention of all time.” I didn’t get to hear the whole discussion, but I think this speaks to the upcoming Full Moon square Neptune. Virtual reality takes us out of this ‘reality’ and lets us feel as if we’re inhabiting another ‘reality’. Like the Holo-deck on the Star Ship Enterprise, without the physical immersion in it. 

I feel that if we all had ownership of our creative imagination, we would see other dimensions of reality that are suited to our purpose and life. Not some reality that a gamer makes up for us. VR takes us out of reality into a fake reality (fake news) rather than deeper into the mystery and magic of life. And shouldn’t we be questioning the mindset that encourages people (capitalism) to invent things like this when we could be inventing ways to make life here on Earth more joyful, more adventurous, more mystical. Why do we waste our creative imagination on games and delusions when we could use it to create a heaven on Earth? As you can see, I agree with Jaron Lanier.

Spiritual Pregnancy

Another energy at play in this Full Moon is Jupiter in Scorpio trine Neptune in Pisces. The two planets of higher wisdom, spirituality, and story merge in ways that strengthen Neptune’s pull on the Full Moon. Jupiter in Scorpio accelerates exposing sexual predators, tax predators, wealth predators, and death-dealers. Exposing these secrets helps us acknowledge the wrongs that have been ignored for generations. And gives us strength that we can now name it and call it out for what it is. In naming truth to power, women have stepped up once again to re-ignite the revolution. Part of that revolution is for women to create our own wild, passionate, heart-centered stories.

There’s plenty of fiery inspiration around now. With 7 planets, asteroids and the North Node forming a grand fire trine, the energy and inspiration to create a unique story of our purpose and passion. And with the waning but still potent Juno/Pluto in Capricorn square to Uranus/Pallas in Aries also squaring Mars in Libra, the revolutionary energy to do the right thing needs to manifest in our emotional body – Cancer, the missing leg of this Cardinal T-square. We have to change ourselves before we can change the world. And it is images which change us the most, because they evoke emotions and feelings. Thinking doesn’t change us. Feeling does.

Do some inner work as the Winter Solstice approaches (which in fact is what many cultures did during this time as the darkness grew) and wait until Mercury goes direct after the Solstice. Then give birth to this new story of Light. We are all spiritually pregnant right now. Until the Solstice, keep it a secret mystery growing within you like a promise.

Who Owns Your Mind?

Mercury turns retrograde hours before the Full Moon on Sunday, December 3^rd at 30* Sagittarius—the culmination of the purpose of Sagittarius – challenging us to find our truth and stick to it. Mercury is heading back to meet the Sun, to get new instructions and will become a Morning Star on January 1, 2018, bringing us a new mindset to face our lives.

 Saturn is conjunct Mercury, stating quite clearly that we have a responsibility to figure out what we believe and then live it! Who owns our mind?  Who owns our heart?  Who owns our soul? Know what you stand for!

We can’t pick on fundamentalist Christians for not living their beliefs if we don’t live ours. We can have different beliefs about life. Different guiding stories. It’s our responsibility to live them. This is the last energetic tweak from last year’s square between Saturn in Sagittarius and Neptune in Pisces – a cosmic signature that asked us, what is true and what false? The world of the Donald took it and ran with it. But we don’t have to. We get to choose what is true based on this physical reality as well as our inner psychic reality and our spiritual reality. We get to choose. The time is now.

The Sabian symbol of Mercury going retrograde at 30* Sagittarius is: Sitting motionless on his throne, the Gnome King surveys his vast underground palace, piled high with gold and treasure. Steve Eardley says this symbolizes alternative realities which jostle people out of their spiritual sleep, as well as visualizing power and the need to attend to your own growth. I would add that the Gnomes are Earth Spirits who create and guard the hidden treasures of the Earth. So this retrograde is all about recovering some ancient jewels from your inner horde.

Saturn is about to exit Sagittarius after traveling through it since January, 2015. Mercury retrograde conjoins it on December 6^th, so pay attention to your dreams, meditations, interactions. You have this great opportunity to work with Saturn and Mercury before Saturn moves into his home sign of Capricorn just before the Winter Solstice on December19th-20th. Write your story down. Make it concrete in as many ways as you can. Saturn will appreciate that.

The Sabian symbol for Saturn at 29* Sagittarius is: A hairy Hun cutting grain with a sickle. The first thing I think of with this symbol is that a very war-like man has turned his sword into a sickle to harvest the grain. We need our warrior spirit to let the old die to make way for the new. We might also need to cut through obstacles to that future story. A major life cycle is at an end. We need to take what nourishment we can from it and then create something new.

We are entering the darkest time of the year in the northern hemisphere. Venus is disappearing from the morning sky, about to go into the rays of the Sun and descend to the Underworld from November 28, 2017 to February 20, 2018 when she’ll re-appear as an Evening Star. She can guide you now in the Dark. Go into the Dark and listen to its Silence. It is the Dark Womb of the new year.

Walk in peace,

Cathy

“We watch a sunlight dust dance,
and we try to be that lively,
but nobody knows what music those particles hear.

Each of us has a secret companion musician to dance to.
Unique rhythmic play, a motion in the street we alone know and hear.” 

Rumi

“THE ONE THING YOU MUST DO

There is one thing in this world you must never forget to do. If you forget everything else and not this, there's nothing to worry about, but if you remember everything else and forget this, then you will have done nothing in your life.

It's as if a king has sent you to some country to do a task, and you perform a hundred other services, but not the one he sent you to do. So human being come to this world to do particular work. That work is the purpose, and each is specific to the person. If you don't do it, it's as though a priceless Indian sword were used to slice rotten meat. It's a golden bowl being used to cook turnips, when one filing from the bowl could buy a hundred suitable pots. It's like a knife of the finest tempering nailed into a wall to hang things on.

You say, "But look, I'm using the dagger. It's not lying idle." Do you hear how ludicrous that sounds? For a penny an iron nail could be bought to serve for that. You say, "But I spend my energies on lofty enterprises. I study jurisprudence and philosophy and logic and astronomy and medicine and the rest." But consider why you do those things. They are all branches of yourself.

Remember the deep root of your being, the presence of your lord. Give yourself to the one who already owns your breath and your moments. If you don't, you will be like the man who takes a precious dagger and hammers it into his kitchen wall for a peg to hold his dipper gourd. You'll be wasting valuable keenness and forgetting your dignity and purpose.”
― Jalaluddin Mevlana Rumi, The Soul of Rumi: A New Collection of Ecstatic Poems

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