The Cosmic Story: Libra New Moon 2018

The Cosmic Story: Libra New Moon 2018

The Libra New Moon on October 8^th - 9^th sets the stage for a new garden – a community garden that feeds all of us. We are no longer alone in our undertakings and we’ve realized that we have to feed each other to achieve our goals. 

 

Libra knows the art of partnership, the need to relate and have an Other who gives us a new awareness of ourselves. Libra is an air sign, so it’s not about passion – save that for Scorpio! This Libra energy is all about living in ‘right relationship’ with each other and the world.

But love is always a part of our relationships, isn’t it? If love is our ability to connect, then it is present in some form in every one of our relationships. When we’re young, our loves begin with projection – the assumption that the Other has characteristics that, in reality, probably belong to us. Whether it’s love of our parents, our siblings, our friends, our first romantic loves, we often see those we love through the emotional glasses of our own needs and beliefs.

As we grow older, we expect other things from our romantic relationships – shared responsibility, emotional balance, help, acceptance, companionship. And hopefully, there’s still passionate sex involved! Even our disagreements provide energy and passion to the relationship. Opposition doesn’t really call for splitting apart; opposition calls for finding the correct fit, for holding the tension of opposites until the third option appears. Another opportunity for some great make-up sex!

When our partnerships aren’t romantic, we might find ourselves being more courteous, respectful and open to other ways of seeing the world because we feel more objective towards them – not so vulnerable to their emotional demands. We try to love them, seeing the divine spark within them. We learn collaboration and diplomacy from Libra’s partnership energy, knowing that the more perspectives we have on an issue, the more likely we’ll discover the truth of the matter.

So how can we start our community gardens? How do we share ourselves and our gifts with others in our lives?

This summer, my small apartment got inundated by many, many boxes of books that I love and value, finally out of storage after 10 years. And I’m happily re-acquainting myself with them. Many I have to let go of for lack of space (so it you live in Rhode Island, come and get some!). But the important ones, my mentors, I’m keeping. I figure I can re-read them all and be re-inspired. 

Part of my library

 

I also keep thinking of ways to share these treasures with my friends. A lending library? A book club? A bookstore/coffeehouse? And then I remember the Sabian symbol for my Cancer Moon is ‘a beautiful old library that is shared with friends’. I love the synchronicity! I get to share not only my own knowledge, but the vast knowledge of all these teachers.

I stop by the bookshelves every day and when a book catches my eye, I open it (as many of us do). I pulled out an old book from the 80’s I loved and now with the internet, I found this beautiful teacher online. She is Dhyani Ywahoo, a Cherokee Wise Woman and Buddhist Elder, who runs Sunray Meditation Center and Sunray Peace Village.

Nine Precepts in the Code of Right Relationship

1. Speak only words of truth.
2. Speak only of the good qualities of others.
3. Be a confidant and carry no tales.
4. Turn aside the veil of anger to release the beauty inherent in all.
5. Waste not the bounty, and want not.
6. Honor the light in all. Compare nothing; see all for its suchness.
7. Respect all life; cut away the ignorance from one’s own heart.
8. Neither kill nor harbor thoughts of an angry nature, which destroy peace like an arrow.
9. Do it now; if you see what needs doing, do it.

~Ven. Dhyani Ywahoo, Voices of Our Ancestors, pp 20-21~

Let’s remind ourselves daily of these qualities and walk with them so that we learn how to be in right relationship to the Earth and all her other children. That is the Libra blessing!

Another side of Libra is the need for justice, fairness and balance. We’ve seen this ideal upset by the American Senate, caring more for partisan politics than for truth and justice. But if we can’t stop Mr. Kavanaugh from being elected to the Supreme Court, we can deal with our own ‘inner Judge K’. This is the judgemental part of ourselves where our logical mind is split off from our emotional heart. This gives rise to having our emotions overwhelm logic or logic repress our emotions. We have to ask ourselves, where do we do that to ourselves and others? These weeds in our communal garden need to be rooted out.

Once again, I go back to my library. I find some interesting old mystery novels about a Chines Sherlock Holmes, Judge Dee, and find this quote. 

Judge Dee

 

This is the Confucian belief about judges.

Heaven created an immutable pattern for 10,000 ages,

Regulating sun and stars above, mountains and rivers below;

Thereafter the sages of old did model our sacred social order,

Taking Heavenly Justice as warp, and man-made Law as woof.

A wise and honest Judge is Heaven’s unerring instrument,

The people’s father and mother, both compassionate and stern;

In his court the oppressed obtain redress of all their wrongs,

No criminal there escapes, despite base fraud and guile.”

This is what a Judge is supposed to be. Let’s bring back this archetype.

It’s up to us to create the peace and balance, justice and beauty that Libra desires most.

Libra New Moon 2018

The Libra New Moon occurs on October 8^th at 8:47pm PDT/ 11:47pm EDT and on October 9^th at 4:47am GMT.

The Sabian symbol for both the Sun and Moon at 16* Libra is: After a storm a boat landing stands in need of reconstruction. This symbolizes the need to keep the links open between our ego-consciousness and the vast realm of the Collective Unconscious. The Collective Unconscious is stirring up a storm – the forgotten ones will no longer remain silent. We need to make sure we’re open to the revelations we get from the Unconscious Mind, for they can give us new ideas and perspectives on life. That’s why remembering your dreams are so important for a healthy balanced life.

We’ll be helped or hindered by an inconjunct to Neptune in Pisces to this New Moon, depending on how sturdy your ‘boat landing’ is. Neptune can inundate our psyches with images and feelings that belong to the greater Collective Unconscious, especially now with everything going on in our society. We need to make sure that the messages we’re receiving steady our ego while expanding it. We can be deluded and deceived and inflated by the archetype if we’re not rooted in our center.

If we stretch ourselves without losing our sense of Self, Neptune can provide us with the imaginative answer to our needs. Spirit is always standing by to help!

Psyche in the Underworld feeding Cerberus

~Edmund Dulac~

Libra’s ruling planet, Venus, just turned retrograde on October 5^th in Scorpio, beginning her descent into the Underworld, releasing her old forms, embracing her anger and rage over what is happening in the world and letting her death and rebirth as a Morning Star (around Samhain) signal a return to power of the Divine Feminine. You can read about the beauty of Venus’ cycle in the heavens in Part 1 of my series on this Venus retrograde.

The Sabian symbol for Venus retrograde at 11* Scorpio is: A drowning man is being rescued. This symbol speaks to the depth of love for others, that you might lay down your own life to save someone in trouble. This speaks to our inter-relatedness and our responsibility to act for the sake of others. For women and children all over the world who have endured sexual harassment and rape, this is especially poignant as we watch the patriarchs (both men and women – the father’s daughters who stand for the masculine in all things) ignore our pain in their grasping to remain in power.

With Scorpio Venus trining Neptune in Pisces, we have a direct line of communication open between our own unconscious (Scorpio) and the Collective Unconscious (Pisces). This can help us sort through the intense feelings and images arising within us. We are not alone in our suffering and we will help each other survive. We are no longer alone with our pain.

Venus retrograde is challenging Mars in Aquarius, squaring each other on October 10^th, to stand up with her to fight injustice and inequality. This square can also overwhelm us with intense feelings of either love or hate for people in our lives, but we have to resolve these deep emotions within ourselves, as squares indicate inner issues. Scorpio’s energies help us deal with our Shadows, so work on your own darkness before pointing out the darkness in others.

Pluto in Capricorn challenges this Libra New Moon to open to our common humanity, urging us to stand together as we watch patriarchy try to make its last stand against the future. And it personally challenges each of us to look at our relationships and let go of the old collective expectations surrounding love and relationship which often keep us tied down to people and situations that no longer serve us. Open up to possibilities in all your relationships.

Libra loves beauty, harmony and intelligence that brings opposites together rather than pulling them apart. Seek the balance in yourself to bring balance and harmony to all your relationships.

Walk in Beauty!

Cathy

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Tiny Gods

Some gods say, the tiny ones
"I am not here in your vibrant, moist lips
That need to beach themselves upon
the golden shore of a
Naked body."

Some gods say, "I am not
the sacred yearning in the unrequited soul;
I am not the blushing cheek
Of every star and Planet--

I am not the applauding Chef
Of those precious sections that can distill
The whole mind into a perfect wincing jewel, if only
For a moment
Nor do I reside in every pile of sweet warm dung
Born of earth's
Gratuity."

Some gods say, the ones we need to hang,
"your mouth is not designed to know His,
Love was not born to consume
the luminous
realms."

Dear ones,
Beware of the tiny gods frightened men
Create
To bring an anesthetic relief
To their sad
Days.

~ Hafiz ~
(The Gift - versions of Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky)

Venus Retrograde in Scorpio/Libra 2018

Venus Retrograde in Scorpio/Libra 2018:

Awakening the Soul Through Love

Part 1

The heavens are always moving and changing and telling us stories about the energies of life and death, love and desire, responsibility and possibilities. Since ancient times we have projected our experiences of life onto the night skies, telling stories about the star-groups we call constellations and onto the planets as we all revolve around the Sun. And we do this because intuitively we know we are part of the awesome mystery that sets the stars shining and the planets spinning.

Once thought of as gods and goddesses, the planets have become symbols of the archetypal processes of life. The archetypes are the cosmic laws of life, giving structure to collective energies that we each individually incarnate and make our own. They are self-organizing principles, so we experience them even when we’re unconscious of it. When we work with these archetypal energies consciously our own transformation quickens and we understand the meaning of our experiences.

Then we get to use our Free Will, making choices from a deeper understanding of who we are and what we really want.

Collectively, we have been immersed in a story of cultural transformation for the past 60 years, and it has only intensified over the past six years. The crises of climate change, overpopulation and continual warfare, and the pain and suffering they create, have to be faced consciously and resolved so we can let go of the past and create a different future for our planet and our children.

That means each of us has the responsibility to open to that change. The planetary energies and their cycles can help us understand what we can do to change not only ourselves but the world. While all the planetary cycles effect us, there are two important planetary energies we must look at and transform, for they are very personal and relate to men and women, and to how we work with the energies of the masculine and the feminine. These two planets are Venus and Mars.

Botticelli's Aphrodite & Ares

This summer when Mars, the planet of action, assertion, will power and desire, went retrograde in Aquarius over the South Node of the Moon, we hoped for a realignment of our collective masculine attitudes and energies. We see in the news that the old masculine attitudes are still entrenched in the places of power, but with ‘regular’ people, there is a new masculine attitude arising in men and women that gives us the courage to defend life rather than dominate it. I believe it will win out. Evolution happens.

Now it’s Venus’ turn to re-evaluate her priorities. On Friday, October 5^th, the planet Venus turns retrograde in Scorpio. Planets appear to ‘turn retrograde’ when the Earth passes that planet’s orbit and from Earth’s perspective, the planet appears to go backwards in the sky. During a retrograde, that planet’s energy turns within and we engage those energies within ourselves rather than projecting them out onto others.

What are the energies we’ll be healing and renewing as Venus disappears from the evening sky to later reappear in the morning sky? Aphrodite, the Greek version of Venus, is the goddess of Love, Wisdom, Sexuality and Harmony. She shows us what we value and why. As the spirit of Love and Wisdom and the Body, she is really at the center of our being. Perhaps that’s why Aphrodite is the only other goddess besides the Virgin Mary to survive under patriarchy, pretty much intact despite her degradation by the patriarchs.

Astrologically, Venus is said to represent sex, self-worth, values, beauty, relationships, money, the sacred Feminine and the Arts. In the ancient world, she also symbolized war, especially in her Morning Star phase. Why does this love goddess also go to war? Because we fight for what we love, don’t we? The struggle, as well as the surrender, is part of the process of loving and valuing people and things. 

Aphrodite's Bath ~ William Blake Richmond 

As we work with this Venus retrograde energy, we can descend into the Underworld with Venus, where she (& we) can shed old skins and emerge renewed from her sacred bath. It is a time to reassess our values (ruled by Venus/Aphrodite) and let go of ideas, people and things that no longer serve what we value most. In the intense sign of Scorpio, you can be sure that women and the divine Feminine will persevere until we achieve equality and some justice for our wounding by patriarchy and its adherents. Venus will see to it. And she will challenge Mars to help her.

 

The Venus Cycle

The planet Venus and her unique 584 day cycle is getting much deserved attention in astrology these days. The beauty and elegance of her repeating 8-year cycles forming pentagrams in the sky speak to the order and unity of our cosmos. 

 

In Gnosticism, it is said that Sophia, the Wisdom of God, would not permit anyone to enter her Realm of Light unless they were in complete balance within themselves. And the sign of this balance was the pentagram/ pentangle. This endless 5-pointed star (you can draw it without a break in the line) is a symbol of the Divine Feminine energy of life, the energy of incarnation. Its five points hold the energy of the integration of the 5 elements: air, fire, water, earth and the quint-essence, spirit.

The association of the 5-pointed star with the Goddess is as ancient as those long ago astronomers/astrologers who studied the planets as they moved across the night sky. They saw this pentagram drawn upon the heavens, experiencing the truth of the Alchemical saying: As Above, so Below. As Within, so Without.

The Venus cycle was studied by ancient astronomers/astrologers (they were one and the same) from ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt to the Maya in South America. There are many phases of the Venus cycle (see Adam Gainsburg’s The Light of Venus) but let’s keep it simple and stay with the four basic phases of the cycle.

Also see (http://www.astro.com/astrology/in_mrmvenus_e.htmhttp://www.astro.com/astrology/in_mrmvenus_e.htm) for a fuller explanation of the Venus cycle.

There’s the Morning Star phase, the superior/exterior conjunction to the Sun (when Venus is on the other side of the Sun furthest from Earth), the Evening Star phase and the inferior/interior conjunction to the Sun (when Venus is retrograde and closest to Earth). When Venus rises before the Sun as a Morning Star, she is called Venus Lucifer the Light-Bringer. In this phase, she is spontaneous and impulsive, ready to experience life on her own terms. Many ancient cultures saw this as a dangerous time and attributed warlike qualities to it. And perhaps it was for patriarchy. When Venus becomes an Evening Star, she is in her wisdom aspect and is called Venus Hesperus, which is a more mature, responsible expression of her nature. In general, Morning Star Venus is spontaneous as she searches for new values while Evening Star Venus integrates the meaning of those values and makes them part of our social expectations.

We’re about the enter this last/first phase as Venus disappears from the evening sky, turning retrograde for 40 days and coming closest to the Earth (interior/inferior meaning between Earth and the Sun) and getting lost in the rays of the Sun. She goes invisible and so we talk about Venus’ ‘descent into the Underworld’. Because Venus is close to the Earth, once she goes retrograde they pass each other rather quickly. Unlike the external superior conjunction that initiates the Evening Star phase, when Venus disappears from our skies for weeks, Venus reappears after about 10 days in the morning sky before the Sun.

While both of the Venus conjunctions to the Sun take us down to the Underworld/Innerworld, Venus is retrograde for only the inferior/interior conjunction. This is when the planet is closest to Earth; when our feelings are most involved. It is a time to reorient ourselves toward the future and reassess what is of most value to us. It is a time that initiates us into the deep feminine mysteries of life – the mysteries of death and rebirth – because we have to let go of someone or something we love that no longer serves us. And because we love them, it’s hard. But we have to let it die so it can be reborn on a higher level of consciousness; we get to realign our collective and personal relationship to the Divine Feminine’s continuing evolution, in both women and men.

The Divine Feminine has returned to us as many end-time stories have prophesied. We saw a sign of Her return when Venus transited across the face of the Sun in 2004 and again in 2012. This rare ‘conjunction’ of Venus and the Sun happens twice (within 8 years) every 105 – 122 years. This pass was especially potent since it occurred as our solar system finished a 26,000 year cycle in 2012 over the galactic center. 

Venus cycle over many years creates this!

 

I saw both these Venus transits and the beauty of it made a deep impression on those of us who saw it, and it definitely brought hope to my heart. It also reminded me of the true heroine of our Christian end-time story, The Book of Revelations. While many Christian fundamentalists like to point to this Book as a sign that we are entering the ‘end times’ (which we are as we leave behind the Piscean Age), they neglect to address the fact that the catalyst for real change is ‘a Woman clothed with the Sun, standing on the Moon, crowned by 12 stars, in labor giving birth to the Savior’. It is the Divine Feminine, who I believe comes to us now as Wisdom, who will birth this new age of ours. And it is women who are leading the way to a ‘new heaven and a new Earth’. Much to the dismay of these patriarchal fundamentalists.

The synchronicity of Venus’ upcoming retrograde in Scorpio, the sign dealing with sex, power, money, death and rebirth and the public spectacle of the Supreme Court hearings about possible sexual harassment by Brett Kavanaugh is hard to ignore. Venus turns retrograde on the day the FBI has to report back to the Senate on Dr. Christine Blasey-Ford’s (as well as others) accusations. There isn’t a woman I know who hasn’t been sexually harassed, abused or raped, just as this mighty goddess has also been denigrated by patriarchy and turned into the Scarlet Whore of Babylon. It is patriarchy which has turned sex into sin, pornography and violence. Aphrodite’s sexuality is sacred.

So as Venus descends into the Underworld for renewal, we will all be watching to see which side of the issue the power structure of the American government stands for. Have women’s rights progressed since 1991 when the Senate voted in another man accused of sexual harassment to the top court in our land? Astrologically, this time is different. But we’ll have to wait and see what our collective psyche has decided.

Will this be a defining moment not only for women’s equality but also for the need to accept the truth of other, more feminine ways of knowing? As Dr. Ford and many women know, when you’ve been attacked like this, the knowing stays with you, despite not remembering the facts. The return of the Divine Feminine demands more than the literal equality between men and women; it demands that we also recognize the validity of emotional intelligence and intuition alongside facts and rational reasoning. It’s interesting that during the Senate meeting it was the men who come across as over-emotional and ‘irrational’ as they fight to maintain their dominant position in our society. Their own feminine natures need renewing.

Sometimes we need something to help fire up our passion for change. With the help of the stories and myths of Venus/Aphrodite as well as those of the planet Venus, we can recognize, release, birth and integrate the new energies associated with this planet and this archetype.

I’ll be back to talk about this Venus retrograde through looking at the astrology of the retrograde as well as the myths associated with Venus, Aphrodite and the other ancient goddesses associated with the planet Venus.

The Cosmic Story: Aries/Libra Full Moon, 2018

Growing into a New Life: Our Initiation into Love

Center of the Milky Way Galaxy

If we’ve worked with the Virgo New Moon’s energies, grounding in new behaviors and ideas, we’re ready to grow into our new life, our new story. It’s going to be an initiation and a stretch for us to listen to the voice of our soul rather than the chaotic voices of our world. So how do we keep on track as we learn and grow into our new selves?

We need a story to walk with. We need a vision that holds us in wonder and awe, in magic and possibilities. That’s what good astrology and mythology and sacred stories do. They walk with us through life and change how we see ourselves and our possibilities. When we walk with someone as a companion, we want to be the best we can be. Because we’re walking in a field of love. Whether it’s love of God/Goddess, love of partner or child, love of nature or for poor, suffering humanity, we are most ourselves in the interchange of love.

Unbeknownst to most people, we have a living mythology we can relate to and walk with. The cosmic story that the planets tell us every day. Most especially the Moon, which moves through the astrological signs every 2 ½ days, receiving the light and energy of all the other planets as she circles us every month. The Moon tells stories if we know how to listen.

 

Mystery Moon

The Moon is a mystery-keeper as well as a time-keeper. Working with the cycle of the Moon can keep us centered in the NOW as well as in Eternity. For there are two types of time. Chronos time is our clock time, the time we agree to share with others. Kairos time is Spirit’s time – real time, eternal time. The Moon can ground us in both.

This Aries/Libra Full Moon is the beginning of a another cycle, since Aries is that fire-bolt from heaven that starts the whole thing rolling. Every year at this time, we begin a new emotional, lunar cycle through the zodiac. While the solar cycle starts in March/April with the Sun in Aries and impels us to find out who I am, the Aries lunar cycle begins in August/September with the question, who am I in relationship with others?  It coincides with the harvest times in the northern hemisphere.

  The storyline for each Aries Full Moon is the Libra mystery: how do you and I compliment each other? How well do we fit together? How do we achieve some kind of balance between me and my desires, and you and your desires? How do I relate to others? To my family and friends, lovers and strangers? How do I relate to the world?

So if that’s the energy of this Full Moon, let’s walk with that story for the next astrological month of Libra. 

\

 Sunset over Cape Cod Bay

All of the planetary energies are filtered through our Moon, which aspects them all as She moves through the month. As the Moon Mother, she sheds the Love of the Universe down on each of us. Libra and the 7^th house are associated with relationships, perhaps because, if we look at the astrological chart, it is when the Sun comes down from the heavens to be welcomed by the Earth as mate and partner before slipping below the Equator for the next few seasons.

If you know your chart, these stories will have deeper meaning and resonance for you. But they still describe the energies available to each of us, energies that reshape our lunar life each year.

Aries/Libra Full Moon 2018

This year’s Aries/Libra Full Moon occurs on September 24^th at 7:52pm PDT/ 10:52pm EDT and on September 25^th at 3:52am GMT. 

 

This Full Moon’s energy is enhanced by Mercury and Ceres in Libra, Chiron Rx in Aries and Saturn and Vesta in Capricorn.

The Sabian symbol for the Sun at 2* Libra is: The light of the sixth Race transmuted to the seventh. (SS) This can be understood in terms of the meaning of the numbers 6 and 7 and is illustrated in the Seed of Life. The number 6 represents the synthesis of descending spirit and ascending matter – the union of opposites and the fruition of all our past efforts. Within the six-fold fruition the seed is found – the seventh. 

The Seed of Life

 

It’s time to live out of this seed Self. This is the new birth we are striving to grow into. We need the emotional strength and courage of the Aries Full Moon to achieve it.

The Sabian symbol for Mercury at 6* Libra is: A man watches his ideals taking a concrete form before his inner vision. (SS) We have to learn to visualize what it is we want to create, so that this new creation will manifest as we will it to be.

The Sabian symbol for Ceres at 9* Libra is: Three ‘old masters’ hanging on the wall of a special room in an art gallery. (SS) It’s always important to reground ourselves in eternal values. The number 3 symbols a process of manifestation – something is happening that is essential. How we relate to power, Love-Wisdom and intelligence-in- action depends on being grounded in great, unchanging spiritual realities.

These three planetary energies are engaged in a new birth – a new way of being grounded in the Self yet opened to the Other, nurtured by Ceres’ spiritual realities and Mercury’s inner visualization. We can achieve our goals if we ground them in the spiritual necessities of our times. We are not here for ourselves anymore – we are here for the future.

Often the Full Moon in Aries is seen as a struggle between being ‘self-centered’ and ‘other-centered’. But if we keep in mind what we’ve learned through this year, this Aries Full Moon could be a game-changer. With Chiron retrograde conjunct the Aries Moon, we can either spend our time being re-traumatized by our old wounds or finally free of them. And free to start a new life with Aries courage and leadership.

We call Chiron the wounded healer because in the myth, he was wounded by a poisoned arrow and, being immortal, couldn’t die. But before his wound, Chiron was the mentor of heroes. And that’s his function now if we let him mentor us into a true sense of who we are that doesn’t take away from who the other is. If we take up our archetypal identity, our deep soul identity, Chiron can mentor us so we do become the person we’re meant to be.

And integrating our Aries emotional body with the conscious Libra Sun, Mercury and Ceres, we can become the hero/heroine of our own story. And that story includes our purpose in the world and for the world.

The Sabian symbol for the Moon at 2* Aries is: A comedian reveals human nature. (SS) Comedians give us an objective view of ourselves and others and show us both our strengths and our weaknesses. At the moment, they seem to be the ‘real news’ carriers. And they do it with humour because if we can laugh at ourselves, we won’t get caught up in pride, stubbornness and anger. A good way to deal with an Aries Moon!  Chiron’s mentoring will help us hear the truth and perhaps live that truth.

The Sabian symbol for Chiron retrograde at 1* Aries is: A woman just risen from the sea. A seal is embracing her. (SS) Here Chiron can heal and mentor the new form arising from the ocean of the collective unconscious. We are all participating in this awakening, and we each have to do our part in our own re-birth. 

Mermaid - Woman Rising from the Sea.

 

But we are also part of collective humanity’s awakening and evolution, which includes nature. We are part of Mother Earth’s ecosystem, and we have to re-claim our place in it. In Celtic mythology, the seal holds a special connection to humans and is believed to have the ability to shed its skin and become a human. But it is the mournful song of the seals, so human-sounding, that tugs at the heart. A magical call of the sea, the seal song reminds us that we too came from the great ocean of life and long to be united with Spirit. (A great Neptune retrograde in Pisces image!)

This woman, arising along with the Leo Solar Eclipse’s mermaid desiring a human form, is the New Feminine, ready to give birth to a new world. It is a call for women to embody our souls, and for men to listen to their souls. And it’s time to step forward and be the vanguard of the future. Let Chiron heal the wounds to your old identity and mentor you into your new archetypal identity, with Love at the center.

Saturn and Vesta come into this picture via a Cardinal T-Square, a tense 90* aspect to the opposition of the Full Moon. With these planets in Cardinal signs, there are three different urges for action that have to be integrated – Self, Other, Society. 

Saturn: Lord of Boundaries

 

Saturn is the Great Initiator, the energy that tests us with limits, frustrations and obstacles. And yet, his gifts are responsibility, authority and manifestation. Coupled with Vesta, the great Priestess of the Fires of Life, they will test our will to success in this new birth. Vesta can help integrate the Cardinal call to action, uniting the three needs of self, other and society. Call on the Priestess to guide you through these initiations, always staying true to your Self and open to the Other.

The Sabian symbol for Saturn and Vesta at 3* Capricorn is: The human soul, in its eagerness for new experiences, seeks embodiment. (SS) Here we see a strong desire to prove oneself in this new life we’re creating. We need our emotional body to embody fully now. So the 4^th leg of this triangle, which is in Cancer, suggests that we really know what we need and then ask for it to ground in this new life. (It’s what your heart needs, not your head!)

Our initiation challenge is to desire this new life with passion, love and vision. To do this, we have to listen to our hearts. Gregg Braden has a program on Gaia that speaks to how we can listen more clearly to our hearts. The exercise is simple: 1) touch your heart to bring your consciousness there. 2) slow down your breathing and 3) feel appreciation, gratitude, care and/or compassion for at least 3 minutes. Do this exercise every day, and it will open up your heart’s channel of communication with your brain so you are more in touch with your intuition, feelings, and creative imagination.

So we do have some tension at this Full Moon, but it can be the exciting (Aries) tension of adventure and determination rather than fear. Fortunately, we do have the tools to meet our initiation and pass through it.

However, there’s another T-Square of tension between the rulers of Aries and Libra which has to be resolved. And it is linked to the Full Moon by an inconjunct from Uranus in Taurus to the Sun and Moon. This aspect forces us to stretch ourselves to bring in this new energy. We have to look wider afield than we usually do. A new world needs new forms of energy, vision and empowerment. And Uranus can awaken us to these new forms, especially because it is still in a helpful trine to Saturn/Vesta. The old is giving way to the new. Believe it!

There is a Fixed T-Square between Aries’ ruler Mars in Aquarius (conjunct the South Node), Libra’s ruler Venus in Scorpio and Uranus retrograde in Taurus. Fixed signs shape and form the energies. It can be stubborn about it too. With this T-Square, the forms have to learn to be compatible.  It is grounded in the 4th leg of the North Node in Leo, asking us to own our creative self-expression -- what we are sent here to develop!

Love Conquers War.

Mars has just come out of its retrograde and is moving ahead in Aquarius. Mars is our action-oriented energy, and in Aquarius Mars is altruistic, and so the energy is unselfish and public-spirited. So right there we see that this Aries Full Moon probably won’t descend into selfishness. Our Mars energy is transforming from aggression to assertion, from competition to cooperation, from domination to equality. We can see that our society still has a long way to go, but at least the injustice and inequality is out in the open now.

Venus is the ruler of Libra, bringing her beauty, harmony and artistry into our lives. She is willing to compromise to keep the peace because she understands the fine art of diplomacy. But more importantly, She describes what and how we value and give meaning to our life experiences. It is Her values that motivate our Mars actions and guide our life goals. She is the heart of the matter – Goddess of Love/Goddess of Wisdom.

(see Wisdom’sDaughters: How Women Can Change the World for more on Venus/Aphrodite.)

Venus is traveling in the underworld of Scorpio now and is about to turn retrograde as she hurries to meet up with the Sun. All bets are off now. What will She be willing to do to find justice and equality as She ends her journey in Libra once again? Venus will be ending her cycle as an Evening Star of Wisdom and after the retrograde will become a Morning Star again. The Morning Star is the Warrior Maiden, springing new and fresh from the Underworld. Just so you know what to expect!

Venus turns retrograde on October 5^th at 11* Scorpio and travels back to 26* Libra by November 16^th. Venus in Scorpio can release our old relationship wounds, whether from parents, siblings, friends or lovers. Dane Rudhyar calls it a ‘new quality of will and purpose.’ The fierce feminine is rising up.

(I will be writing about Venus retrograde and the myth of Psyche and Eros during her time in the Underworld.)

With Venus opposite Uranus retrograde, a real breakthrough is possible. What this means for this T-Square is still a mystery, a mystery that we must each discover in our own hearts. Once again, try out Braden’s Heart connection exercise to keep in touch with your Venus as she travels through the underworld.

(I’ve been using Dane Rudhyar’s book on Sabian Symbols: An Astrological Mandala (SS) but the meaning it gave for the following energies just doesn’t feel right. So I explored other astrological meanings and I like using David Cochrane’s (DC), an  incredible vibrational astrologer. )

During the Full Moon, Venus is at 9* Scorpio. The meaning of 9* Scorpio is that of intelligence, spontaneous inspiration and expression of feelings, and the capability to deal with the public (DC). These might be qualities we need to release from the Underworld and bring back with us. And with Venus, the shadow quality most likely would be jealousy, of others who do what you do, or love who you love.

Until we love and value ourselves, we will be insecure and need to deal with our Shadows. When we embrace all of who we are, we do much better at living life.

The meaning of 4* Aquarius is idealistic, sensitive, compassionate, concerned with inner, spiritual development (DC). With Mars here, it confirms the transformation that occurred during Mars’ retrograde.

Venus and Mars are in a challenging square to each other, but it is a waning square, so it’s about preserving the seeds of our values and true beliefs. Uranus retrograde will help inspire these two energies. Prepare yourselves! And keep your journal close by.

The meaning of 1* Taurus is inner strength and intensity, deeply loving and magnetic. (DC) And the Sabian symbol for 1* Taurus is: An electric storm.(SS) That’s what this might feel like! (We’ve been having them all day during Mars square Uranus – also a waning square.) It fits Uranus to a T.

This is the Harvest Moon. Go out and let it shine on you.

Blessings of the Harvest and Autumn Equinox,

Cathy

Zion National Park

I should be content

to look at a mountain

for what it is

and not as a comment

on my life.

~ David Ignatow ~

(News of the Universe, ed. by Robert Bly)

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