The Cosmic Story: Sagittarius Full Moon and Summer Solstice.

The Wheel of the Year

As we approach Summer Solstice here in the northern hemisphere, we are experiencing the full extent of sunlight for the year. Summer Solstice this year occurs on June 21^st, when the Sun enters the sign of Cancer.

As the Wheel of the Year turns, we are moving from the energies of Spring Equinox to the emerging energies of Summer Solstice. Let’s look back at what the cosmic energies of this Spring tell us.

The Aries New Moon was conjunct Mercury and Chiron, planting the seeds to reclaim our own Minds – to understand who we are – from the collective miasma (bad smell) of our corporate society. Then on April 12^th, the Jupiter/Neptune conjunction in Pisces opened a connection to Spirit and the needs of both humanity and the Earth. The Libra Full Moon of balance and responsibility to Self and Other was squared by Pluto in Capricorn – challenging us to see what is happening in our world – the dis-information and delusions, the gender and wealth inequality, the dominator war in Ukraine, the move on the part of Republicans to take away our freedom and our votes, the worsening climate crisis, the murder of our children. The breakdown of our civil society.

Then began eclipse season with the North Node in Taurus and the South Node in Scorpio. Our cosmic instructions are to release old emotional trauma (Scorpio) and come back to the intelligence of our bodies. To stay in the present and Be Here Now. Taurus Solar Eclipse was conjunct Uranus, hopefully shaking us out of our complacency about the issues facing us personally, as a country and as a world. At the Scorpio Lunar Eclipse, also conjunct Uranus (opening us to Earth’s creative genius), we were offered a chance to release our old traumas and let go of our old stories.

With Saturn in Aquarius squaring the lunar nodes in Taurus (NN) and Scorpio (SN) at both eclipses, we are challenged to look at what’s going on in the world with objective eyes and arise to stand by our values and to speak our truths. What are we dedicated to? If we want to be the change we’ve been waiting for, we have to engage in our society in some way. First, we have to align ourselves with our inner truth so we bring a calming energy into play. Then we have to really understand that if we want to live in a democratic and free world, we have to engage in it to keep it viable. We can’t sit back and let ‘them’ take care of things. It is up to us to become good citizens and help renew our democracy.

 

 

Mercury went retrograde during May to return to those truths as it trined Pluto in Capricorn from Taurus three times – the third and final time on June 10^th, the day after the January 6^th committee broadcast. Mercury trine Pluto – revealing what is hidden so we can talk about it. The message, at least for Americans, is clear: since Pluto is in its first return in the U.S. chart, what is being revealed is the need to renew our government in ways that make sense to our modern age. Our task is to do it peacefully. It’s time to put down our guns and turn them into plowshares.

The Gemini New Moon was interesting because it didn’t make any aspects to other planets, so it offered us an opportunity to align with our pristine Minds so we could come to our own realizations about what we see going on in the world.

As the last energetic pulse before Summer Solstice starts a whole new season, the Super Moon Sagittarius/Gemini Full Moon on June 14^th offers us a chance to change our perspective and find our inner truth. Super Moons occur when the Moon is at its closest to the Earth, so its pull effects us more than usual.

Gemini/Sagittarius Full Moon

This week’s Sagittarius Full Moon occurs on Tuesday, June 14^th at 4:51am PDT/ 7:51 am EDT/ 12:51pm GMT.

 

 

This late Spring Full Moon shows us how we use our Mind – both the logical mind and the intuitive mind. The truth is: What we believe shapes our vision of reality. And as we’ve seen in the past 7 years, ‘social reality’ is much harder to perceive than ever before. The initiation is to find our soul’s truth.

With the lunar nodes in Taurus and Scorpio, we have to deal with the trauma of living in environmental crisis. Despite everything that’s going on, the climate crisis is the most important crisis we face. It’s been over 60 years since we collectively became aware of what our consumer, war-like society has done to the Earth. We are at a tipping point and if the citizens of the world do not rise up and demand change, our children’s future is stark. 

 

 

This Gemini-Sagittarius Full Moon calls us to examine our beliefs and think of new ways to face the reason we’ve all incarnated. We are here to raise humanity’s consciousness and our initiation is to deal with our innate selfishness that won’t sacrifice (to make sacred) for the good of all. We have to shift our concerns from our individual welfare to our collective welfare. Our initiation is to know we are all one.

This Full Moon in Gemini-Sagittarius is all about the journey to our higher truth. How we use our ‘mind’ to shape our world determines how we’ll act in the world. If you stay focused on the darkness and chaos, you will see the world as a deeply dangerous place. If you stay too focused on the light, you can’t see the truth of the world. Our task is to see both light and dark in a balance.

With Neptune in Pisces squaring this Full Moon, we can get lost in more delusions and let petty tyrants rule our world. Or we can open our imaginations and find ways to dissolve old patterns of belief that no longer serve us individually and collectively, and re-imagine what we want to create.

Jupiter, the ruler of this Sagittarius Full Moon, is in Aries, ready to help us stand in our own power and beliefs. Mercury, the ruler of the Gemini Sun, just returned to his own sign of Gemini, with our mind refreshed and renewed. Mars in his own sign of Aries is conjunct Chiron, giving us the energy to become who we were born to be. 

 

Venus and Uranus have just met up in Taurus, urging us to embody ourselves; to use our senses, our instincts and intuition to show us what is real and then to use our minds to figure out what we need to do about it.   

The Sabian symbol for the Sun at 24* Gemini is: Children skating over a frozen village pond. Dane Rudhyar says of this symbol: the use of inhibiting circumstances for the development of character and a transcendent approach to the environment. So instead of complaining about what’s going on, it’s up to us to develop this time to develop our character.

 

Mountain Bluebird

The Sabian symbol for the Moon at 24* Sagittarius is: A bluebird perched on the gate of a cottage. Rudhyar states: the reward that meets every effort at integration into a social environment for those who remain true to their own selves. This is the ‘blue bird of happiness’ we’ve all heard about and it is a sign of good luck. What happens if we’re just ourselves?

As we understand what the Cosmic Story has been telling us, it is up to us to find ways to incarnate what we know into action. That’s what Summer Solstice is bringing our way.

Summer Solstice: June 21, 2022

Summer Solstice occurs on Tuesday, June 21, 2022 at 2:14am PDT/ 5:14am EDT/ 10:14am GMT.  This chart is set for Washington, D.C.

 

 

 

This year when the Sun enters the sign of Cancer, the Aries Moon is in a waning square to the Sun. The waning square indicates a ‘crisis in consciousness’ – a time of maturation and awareness of what you’ve already created and imagining what you want to create in the future .  It's a time to slow down and reflect and recharge.

The Sabian symbol for the Sun at 1* Cancer is: On a ship sailors lower an old flag and raise a new one. Rudhyar states: A radical change of allegiance exteriorized in a symbolic act: a point of no return.

As the Wheel of the Year turns at the Solstices and Equinoxes, we are energized to act.

The Sabian symbol for the Moon at 4* Aries is: Two lovers strolling on a secluded walk. Rudhyar states: in order to respond fully to the potentials released by a sense of identification with a greater Whole, human beings need to be whole ourselves. First we have to Be whole to create wholeness.

As you can see, we keep coming back to two issues: how do we unite our inner feminine and masculine energies (Yin & Yang) to become whole in ourselves, and then how do we act out of that wholeness for the good of the Whole?

As Cancer is the sign associated with Motherhood, we know that a mother will do anything to protect her child (as that mother in Uvalde did). Perhaps we need to stop supporting patriarchy and start working to make sure that all our people are safe and protected (Aries is the protector!).

This next season until Fall Equinox will be a time to think about our new allegiances. This is important because on the U.S.’s Election Day, November 8, 2022, there will be a total lunar eclipse in Scorpio involving wonderfully disruptive Uranus, and you know that means there will be dissension about those elections results. The only way to stop the take over of our democracy and change it is to engage in the system.  Transformation from within and without.

 

The inner chart is America's 4th of July natal chart.  The outer wheel are the progressions for November 8, 2022.  

 

 

On Election Day, we’ll see America’s 4^th of July progressed Moon almost on its natal degree in Aquarius once again. We the people (Moon symbolizes a nation’s people) are remembering our freedom. If we want it.

I hope the blessings of Summer Solstice will bring you joy and abundance just as they bring you the responsibility to grow your ‘garden’ well.

Cathy

 

 

In Blackwater Woods

Look, the trees
are turning
their own bodies
into pillars

of light,
are giving off the rich
fragrance of cinnamon
and fulfillment,

the long tapers
of cattails
are bursting and floating away over
the blue shoulders

of the ponds,
and every pond,
no matter what its
name is, is

nameless now.
Every year
everything
I have ever learned

in my lifetime
leads back to this: the fires
and the black river of loss
whose other side

is salvation,
whose meaning
none of us will ever know.
To live in this world

you must be able
to do three things:
to love what is mortal;
to hold it

against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go.

~ Mary Oliver ~

(American Primitive)

The Cosmic Story: June is the month of Nurture: Gemini New Moon 2022

 

The Cosmic Story: Gemini’s June Story

June is Juno’s Month

 

Juno

June breezes in on the fragrances of May, as the blossoms blow away and the buds and leaves begin to appear. Much more secure and comfortable than in early Spring, we feel summer on the way. June is the month of Nurture, for it is the goddess Juno – Queen Mother of the Roman pantheon – who holds rulership over this month.

As the Sun approaches Summer Solstice, its gifts of life and warmth promote growth and ripening in nature and in our human lives. June’s warm comfort is like the contentment and feelings a mother has nursing her newborn baby – or any parent with a bottle and a rocking chair. If any of you have experienced that calm and peace of feeding your precious child, you know how the Romans experienced the month of June. (Remember, they didn’t have heat or electricity!)

During June, we begin to feel contentment; we know life holds promise. The month of June was dedicated to the Goddess as Mother nurturing her young, the Queen of Heaven and her Child. It was also a time when Heaven and Earth join together to produce Life, this Sacred Marriage celebrated at the Summer Solstice.

Both these acts are her Blessings. Juno, Mother of the Gods and Queen over Rome, was both nurturing mother and equal partner with Jupiter. (Italians and their mothers!:) She represents a vital energy of life; the energy of youth, of possibilities. That’s what mothers do while they nurse their babies – they dream a life for them. 

 

Juno, Queen of the Gods 

She was like her Greek counterpart, Hera, who was called ‘the perfect one’ and who was celebrated as the Full Moon. Juno was the Goddess of Love and Marriage, and we all know about the ‘June bride’. Yet, Romans considered it dangerous and unlucky for a woman to marry until June’s Full Moon. Romans believed that the Moon brought good fortune to women – perhaps in memory of that earlier Goddess, who could be perfected at the Full Moon.

While the Romans honored their Divine Mother and Queen during June, the Goddess Vesta was also honored. Vesta was the goddess-energy of Fire – the village/city/home fires. Vesta was the life-force of the village, and later for Rome, the state. For Romans, the Vestal Virgins had to stay virgins. But their real purpose was to be a light to their community. We remember them whenever we do rituals, for all ritual begins with the lighting of the sacred fire. That is Vesta, the sacred fire of life, used for life. And that’s what was – and still is – celebrated in June.

June’s Astrology

June begins with an end-of-May Gemini New Moon on May 30^th. There are a few astrological energies that occur in this last week of May that are connected to June’s astrological signature. 

The Sun entered Gemini on May 20^th and on May 21^st met up with Mercury retrograde in the first degree of Gemini, initiating a new 4-month mindset that will (hopefully) make us look within ourselves and at our shadows (both collectively and personally). The Sabian symbol for 1* Gemini is: A glass-bottomed boat reveals undersea wonders. Will we see monsters or mermaids, horrors or exquisite beauty? Will we see the Other and know that it is really ourselves we are seeing?

 

 

First though, our collective task is to deal with the planetary energy that is already creating waves in the U.S. and around the world. Mars left his deep dive into the undersea wonders/horrors of Pisces and entered his own sign of Aries on Tuesday May 24^th, just hours after the horrific elementary school massacre in Texas. Mars is associated with anger, violence and battle. But it is also the energy of engagement, of stepping up, of protection. It’s time to force our leaders to do something or vote them out!  Integrate your Mars and become the protector of life!

 

 

Mars was in the last few hours of his stay in Pisces (where he met up with Neptune) as the tragedy occurred, creating a tsunami of cries for a better world. Our collective unconscious wants to get it through our thick collective heads that our leaders are complicit in all these deaths by not doing anything to stop the violence. In fact, they are creating the violence with their hypocrisy and vitriol.

Hopefully, the death of these children will finally open people’s eyes to the state of our decaying political system – our Pluto return can show us the swamp and also how to drain it. Hopefully, we will rise up and have a peaceful revolution this year and let this tsunami of sorrow and anguish over unnecessary deaths and twisted psyches wash away the ‘old white boy system’ here in the U.S. and around the world. These ‘dominators’ keep allowing our precious babies to die to defend the ‘freedom’ to buy a gun, yet want to force women to have unwanted babies. Their so called prayers are worthless, for their connection to the god-force is lost. They are not leaders. They are dominators.

While the Earth changes intensify, patriarchy goes on a killing spree – it would rather kill everybody and everything rather than die. Instead of turning our energies to healing ourselves and the Earth, we are being led to turn our energies to fear and hatred. It’s time to break out of our old paradigm of power, domination and death, for it is killing us and killing the Earth.

With Mars, Jupiter, Chiron and Eris in Aries as May ends, it’s time to discover who we really are and what we really want. Mars and Jupiter will meet up on Sunday, May 29^th. Jupiter will lend its expansive energy to whatever Mars actions we choose to take. Will we choose more death and destruction, or will we stand up for a better world? Find Aries in your natal chart and see if you have any Aries planets – they will help you channel Mars and Jupiter’s energies, as will planets in any of the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn).

 

Mercury

Mercury has backed up into Taurus, grounding our Minds in our bodies again. How do we feel now? The world is in total chaos, the hypocrisy is overt, the climate is extreme, and people are devastated by the inflation caused by corporate greed and monopolies. What keeps us as complacent as cows in a field? What stops us from participating in creating a new, better world?

Mercury’s initial energy this retrograde calls for us to re-align ourselves with the cosmic OM, the vibration of creation. Mercury is slowing down at this New Moon so it has a more powerful effect on us. What are we going to do about our world, our life?

When Mercury, the divine messenger, turns direct on June 3^rd at 27* Taurus, it squares Saturn at 25* Aquarius, as Saturn stops to turn retrograde on June 4^th. This aspect touches on the idea that we have to focus on what benefits the whole. But we also have to stay open to new ideas, not letting old, rigid beliefs hold us back from opening to the future. Watch your language and see if you go to extremes – always, never etc. It’s a time to stay balanced and hold the tension of opposites.

The Sabain symbol for Mercury turning direct at 27* Taurus: An old Indian woman selling the artifacts of her tribe to passers-by. This is a symbol of bringing our gifts back into the collective in a wiser way. 

 

 

The Sabian symbol for Saturn turning retrograde at 25* Aquarius is: A butterfly with the right wing more perfectly formed. The butterfly is an ancient symbol of Psyche or Soul. This image speaks to the need to use our right-brain imagination the way it is meant to be used – as a spiritual tuning fork that aligns us with Nature’s evolutionary genius. If we open ourselves to our imagination, it will show us how to meet these multiple challenges.

Mercury will rise in the morning sky a few days after this New Moon. It will appear in the morning sky along with Mars, Jupiter and Venus. If you wake up early, go take a look at this beautiful sight.

 

 

Will our collective (Aquarius) Mind stop and focus on the real issues facing us? Will we grow up and take responsibility (Saturn) for our world and our society? Are we willing to sacrifice some of our comforts (Taurus) to make the changes necessary to create a healthy, peaceful world – a better world (Taurus). Can we play with our imagination to discover new ways to understand what is happening in our world?

Find the natal houses where your Mercury and your Saturn are, to understand how you are affected by these planets. And then find the houses where Taurus and Aquarius lie to see where these planets are moving through your chart, so you can look deeper into your soul to discover what you are being called to.

Gemini New Moon

The Gemini New Moon occurs on Monday, May 30^th at 4:30 am PDT/ 7:30 am EDT/ 12:30 pm GMT.

 

 Gemini New Moon 2022

Gemini is the first air sign of the zodiac wheel. It is the sign of the Twins, of our binary nature, of duality, of knowledge and perception. This duality can also symbolize the two sides of the brain – our rational, left brain and our imaginative, right brain. Reason, intuition, feeling and sensation help us understand our world. These are the Gemini tools that help us shape our world.

Mercury, as the ruler of Gemini, is a god who travels between realms, uniting different dimensions and different perspectives and learning how to communicate what he sees and understands. Gemini brings two opposites into a tension that can result in a new, 3^rd thing or idea through the transcendent function. This brings about the new insight, the new understanding, the new integration.

This Gemini New Moon is interesting because the Sun and the Moon only form an aspect with each other. There are only weak energetic connections between this New Moon and the other planets – meaning there are no major aspects to this New Moon. Therefore this Gemini New Moon is openly on-track with the realizations of this Mercury retrograde. Is your mind free? Is it free to let your imagination shape your thoughts? Is your mind free to look at those thoughts and choose how you want to work with them – will they control you or will you use those thoughts to understand something new about your life? And where do your values comes in (Mercury in Taurus)? Can you come to an understanding of yourself and the world based on those values you want to shape your life?

With Mercury retrograde in Taurus, values will need to shape our thinking going forward. The world, our country, our people are at a cross-roads – we really are! The only resolution to this chaos is for each of us to contribute whatever our gifts and talents are to our families, friends, communities and world.

With this free-floating Gemini New Moon, we can shape what we want to plant without other energies shifting things. What do we really intuit/feel/think about the world (Gemini Moon)? What do we want to do about the world (Gemini Sun)?

Take all those Aries planets – Mars, Jupiter, Chiron and Eris – and use their energies to figure out who you are. You can always change things at a later date when you know more about yourself. But just be who you are now.

Be Here Now!

With Venus, Pallas, Uranus, the North Node, and Mercury retrograde in Taurus, let your body lead the way. Venus conjuncts Uranus on June 11^th, so stay open for surprises. Listen to your body. What does it feel like? If you’re tired, rest. If you’re hungry, eat. If you’re nervous, go out into nature. Get back to your original nature. We’ve been so cut off from our body and its wisdom. It’s time to pay attention and begin to let go of old destructive behaviors that were generated by patriarchal advertising agencies and big corporations. Get over your negative body image and just be and love it.

Gemini/Sagittarius Full Moon

This Sagittarius Full Moon occurs on June 14^th at 4:52 am PDT/ 7:52am EDT/ 12:52pm GMT.

 

 Sagittarius Full Moon 2022

The message of this Full Moon, which squares Neptune in Pisces, is this: are we going to listen to the voices of those in need – the children, the elders, the poor, the war-torn – and re-adjust our beliefs. Can we focus on what we’ve learned since the New Moon and reflect on our lack of understanding of the forces at work in our world? Can we be curious about what is happening around us as well as to us? Can we finally understand that we depend on each other to make life worth-while?

 

The Sagittarius Moon is out-of-bonds, meaning that it can embrace and encompass more than usual.  Hopefully, we can embrace new beliefs and ideas and possibilities .

This Sagittarius Full Moon comes about a week before Summer Solstice, so I’ll end here and write something for the upcoming Cancer season.

Until then, stay grounded. Bring in peace, love and understanding to whatever you do. The world needs it.

Cathy

 

 

For a Parent on the Death of a Child

No one knows the wonder
Your child awoke in you,
Your heart a perfect cradle
To hold its presence.
Inside and outside became one
As new waves of love
Kept surprising your soul.

Now you sit bereft
Inside a nightmare,
Your eyes numbed
By the sight of a grave
No parent should ever see.

You will wear this absence
Like a secret locket,
Always wondering why
Such a new soul
Was taken home so soon.

Let the silent tears flow
And when your eyes clear
Perhaps you will glimpse
How your eternal child
Has become the unseen angel
Who parents your heart
And persuades the moon
To send new gifts ashore.

~ John O'Donohue ~

(To Bless the Space Between Us)

In memory of those lost

in Manchester, United Kingdom

The Cosmic Story: May & the Divine Feminine Taurus Lunar Eclipse & Mercury Retrograde

 The Cosmic Story For May 2022

The Romans worshiped the Goddess Flora, the flower maiden, in May. For them, May was the time to blossom, just as the Earth was blossoming. Flora was a nymph who became the bride of Zephyr, the god of breezes. As a wedding gift, he gave her the gift of Spring and the Garden. (As usual with patriarchal re-tellings, it is the god’s gift to Flora, instead of recognizing that Flora, blossoming, is the growth aspect of Mother Earth, who also sends the gentle breezes of Spring to awaken that blossoming. In reality, they work together. Equal partners in creating the awakening of new life. Sort of like pregnancy being caused by a penis.)

 

Flora

Like the cross-quarter holiday of Beltane (May 1-5), May is a time of wild delight, innocent wonder and open sensuality. Our senses come alive as the fragrant blossoms open to the Sun. In May, we are bathed in beauty – our sight is filled with vibrant rainbow colors, our smell is intoxicated by the heady fragrance of lilac, hyacinth and rose, our touch by the feel of the Sun’s warmth and soft breezes on our skins, and our hearing by the sounds of birds, insects and leaves filling our heads with the music of life. My heart is always blown open by the sheer beauty all around me in May here in Rhode Island. But then again, I’m a Taurus. A May baby. I incarnated to embody that season’s beauty.

 

 

The Romans honored Maia and the Bona Dea/ Earth Mother in the beginning of May. This time of blossoming was also allotted to girls who were just coming into their sexuality and womanhood, the new beginning which promised them growth and change. But I know all women feel this awakening to life, no matter what our ages. It is the Goddess’ call to us to continually create and grow. As the goddess of flowers, Flora invites us to make flower garlands and crowns to adorn ourselves with the scents and beauty of the Goddess herself.

May and the sign of Taurus exemplify the light-filled side of the Divine Feminine (her dark side manifests in the opposite sign of Scorpio, for She is all things, all possibilities, all mystery) – its beauty, its sensuality and its ability to manifest life. Out of the divine spark of Aries’ fire, Taurus takes that energy and manifests it into something tangible, beautiful and life-giving.

In its truest form, Taurus is The Garden – the earthly paradise that our planet once was. And still could be.

 

 

For the most part, humanity experiences the Earth as a Mother Goddess – the One who carries us as we grow, the One who nurtures us, the One who clothes us in our human body. And the One who takes us to our final rest. Most surely, She is the One who embodies Home.

Just so is the quantum field – for it is the most subtle form of Mother Earth – the place where manifestation begins. And so we see the energy we call ‘the Divine Feminine’ as the foundation of the universe. We see it in the Tarot card The World, as the Woman dancing in the snake of time.

The Divine Feminine is not just our physical world. She is the Source of mystery and life, love and wisdom, our soul and its power to manifest. She is the ground of our being. The foundation and cosmic laws of Life.

She has been called many names, for she is Maia, the Magic/Illusion of the world that keeps us from seeing the Cosmic Unity. In fact, She is Life in all its many forms. She is the Goddess with 10,000 names because She is Matter that knows she is also Spirit. She is the mirror of our self-reflection, helping us see who we are. She becomes illusion when we don’t listen to our souls but rather to collective, rigid beliefs.

In Hinduism, Maya is illusion, a veiling of the true, unitary Self—the Cosmic Spirit also known as Brahman. The illusion these religions warn us about are the societal rules and perspective we each live in. Maya is what entices us into life so we get the experience we incarnated for. It’s how we respond to the experiences that make them an illusion, which are meant to trap us. When we see past the illusion, we get past the societal traps, and see ourselves clearly. Then Maya comes alive with the beauty of deeper experiences and lessons. The Buddha had to remember all his past lives before he became an Enlightened One under the Bodhi Tree at the Scorpio Full Moon of May.

In the I Ching, the second hexagram (although some feel this used to be the First) is the sacred Yin energy of life The Receptive. The feminine is open and allowing. It is also the source of Yang energy, since masculine doing is the externalization of feminine being. This is the energy of the Quantum field, the place where creation begins.

It’s interesting, and practical, that the Romans also got cautious by mid-May and knew that ‘lemures’ and other night stalkers could hurt the newly blossoming growth. Birth is always a dangerous time and new growth must be cultivated tenderly.

These ‘lemures’ are our shadows, our old unconscious behaviors that kill off new life and growth. We’ll see this at the Scorpio Lunar Eclipse – a perfect time to look deeply at who we are – our shadows, our fears, our gifts and our desires. Watch that you don’t cut off the new feelings and visions that want to live this year by shutting down that new life.

Mercury retrograde: May 10 – June 3, 2022

Shedding superficiality for self-assurance,

and mediocrity for authenticity.

Our dear traveling companion, Mercury/The Mind, is once again turning retrograde on May 10^th. With so much going on in the world, I’m sure most of our minds are spinning. So why not take a break? Instead of looking outside for ‘the news’ why not turn your attention inside yourself and see what you really think about the past few years. To really blossom this May, look at what happened from a deeper perspective, hold on to the lessons learned and then let it go.

 

 

According to The Gene Keys by Richard Rudd (a system that unites your astrology chart with the I Ching), Mercury goes retrograde at the 20^th Gene Key – The Sacred Om. This retrograde is a call to re-align ourselves with the sacred sound of the Universe. This entails a change of frequency. While we have measured Earth frequency and reproduced it, it’s always best to just go stand/sit/lay on Mother Earth and let yourself get tuned.

The shadow quality of this hexagram is superficiality – an apt description of so much of our cultural conversations and the media. But all too often also a description of our society. One of the lessons we’re being asked to learn this Mercury retrograde is to recognize our shadow behaviors that keep us living superficially, so we can step into the light of our own decisions, our own visions, our own purpose. It’s time to own who we are. And rejoice in it.

The war playing out in Ukraine is happening all over the world. How lucky we are that most of us don’t have to physically fight in a war for our liberty. The old dominator/patriarchal/corporate culture is trying to stop a new world from being born: a world focused on freedom, on diversity, on community, on creativity, on peace. A world in balance, where both Yin & Yang, Feminine & Masculine Spirit are valued equally. Isn’t it time to stand up for what we value? It is the season of Taurus, after all. Taurus asks us to find out what is of value to us and work at it and refine it.

In America and the West, perhaps liberty comes from not engaging in what is expected of us. Freedom comes from putting time into the things and experiences we value (a Taurus trait) rather than shopping (a patriarchal twisting of value and self-worth). One need we all share is our need to value Mother Earth, not only because our lives depend on Her, which they do, but because we are part of Her and of each other. This is our home. Why are we killing ourselves?

What creative options can we come up with to live differently, to enjoy life more, to engage in community? First we have to change our minds – change our perspectives so that we can see ourselves clearly – see what’s important to us. We need to look from the inside out – from the inner feminine knowing of heart and gut that knows what we long for.

The conjunctions between Neptune, Jupiter, Venus and Mars in Pisces this past month opened us to our collective unconscious needs and desires. Those waters are still stirring. While you wait to see what life brings you this year, ask yourself important questions. What is important to me? What do women desire most? What are men willing to do to preserve life rather than kill it? What can I do to make this beautiful world a better place to live in? How can I take up my stewardship of Mother Earth?

If we can hear the Sacred Om in everything (Maya – May), we can change the Story.

So what is it that Mercury is going back to reclaim? Mercury travels from 5* Gemini back to 27* Taurus. This is Gene Kay #8: The Diamond of the Self. This is the point where we either choose mediocrity or our own unique wildness and freedom. If we embrace who we are without fear, if we choose life’s adventure instead of a fake security (see how the money keeps disappearing), we can bring this back to Mercury’s original purpose – to know the truth, to speak the truth, to vibrate to the sacred OM.

Mercury retrograde occurs on May 10, 2002 at 4:48am PDT/ 7:48am EDT/ 12:48pm GMT. 

 

 

This chart is interesting because the only planet Mercury aspects (just before it turns retrograde) is the Virgo Moon. This shows us a mind at odds with the plans of the heart. It makes sense, since this retrograde is all about deciding what is important to us.

The other interesting thing going on is that Aries Venus is inconjunct the Virgo Moon. They can’t see each other’s point of view. Venus in Aries wants to fight NOW. Moon in Virgo wants to make a plan. Venus might be too impatient to wait for Virgo’s plans to take shape. But to make wise choices, we’ll need to be patient (Mercury is retrograde!) and make sure our hearts are clear.

Pluto, which just turned retrograde April 29^th, is in an easy aspect with Neptune, Jupiter and Mars in Pisces. As it retrogrades back to the second hit of the US Pluto return, can we take the concerns of the world’s suffering seriously? Can we leave behind the old divisive wars (so many of which use religion as an excuse), and see that we’re all in this together? Time will tell.

The Pisces trio is also in an easy flow with Uranus, Sun and North Node in Taurus, feeding our soul’s hopes and dreams into the new world we’re building for ourselves and hopefully for the world. While at the same time, Saturn in Aquarius is squaring the nodes, once again questioning us about our desires. Are we fearfully clinging to the Old or will we take the risk to embrace the New?

Scorpio-Taurus total Lunar Eclipse, May 15-16, 2022

The Scorpio Full Moon total lunar eclipse occurs on Sunday and Monday, May 15-16, at 9:14pm PDT/ 12:14am EDT/ 5:14am GMT.

 

 

This is a total Lunar Eclipse because the Sun and Moon are quite close to the Nodes. The eclipse is expected to last about 85 minutes. This total eclipse is central, meaning the moon passes centrally through the axis of Earth's dark (umbral) shadow. This is also a super moon, meaning the Moon is orbiting close to the Earth. The eclipse lasts from around 9:30pm to 1:55am EDT, with totality occurring from 11:30 pm EDT to 12:30am EDT, with maximum totality at 12:14am EDT.

The Taurus/Scorpio axis of the zodiac energizes our search for values, for what is worthy of our attention, for what is needed for growth. Both feminine signs, Taurus adds the earth element while Scorpio adds the water. These two signs are concerned with growth – both our physical and emotional growth, which depends on us living up to our values and knowing our worth.

While the Taurus Sun has been dancing on a daring edge with Uranus, Scorpio’s deep waters have been stirred up by the tumultuous energies moving through Pisces. Perhaps if we truly see how it is our culture that creates the traumas we’ve all been through, maybe we can share our grief over those emotional wounds and forgive ourselves for incurring them. And let it all go! While Taurus wants to grow our lives and experiences, Scorpio wants to release emotional pain what no longer serves life so we can grow.

The Full Moon of May/Taurus is also called the Buddha Moon, because it was under the Scorpio Full Moon that Siddhartha achieved enlightenment and became The Awakened One. (I had to bitch for a moment – our superficial culture has even taken this most important aspect of spiritual growth – to awaken to our divinity – and turned it into ‘being woke’.)

 

This Full Moon deepens our need to polish the Diamond of the Self. If we can do it properly, we will be clear about our goals and desires. The eclipsed Moon will need to work with the idea of compromise – how we continually compromise our beliefs and values by not standing up for them. By working at jobs that don’t nourish our souls. By living without a sense of personal freedom. By being too afraid to really love another. By never developing our imaginations or seeing our own uniqueness.

This is our opportunity to look at those shadow qualities that keep us in our ruts, that stop our growth and leave us dissatisfied with life. We’ve allowed a killing society to shape how we live our lives. This is a good time to break free and rediscover how you want to live your life.

At its best, this lunar eclipse calls us to become a driving force for humanity, to bring something new and vital into the world. When we do, it has the power to attract others, who can help us with the birth. It is time to create something in our lives that can help us blossom.

Saturn in Aquarius squares this Full Moon as well as the Nodes, so we get another challenge to choose between the Old vs the New. What possibilities will help us create a new reality? Saturn is probably part of your shadow. Look to your natal Saturn to see what might be holding you back from freedom.

Mars is about to conjunct Neptune in Pisces, both in a helpful relationship to this Lunar Eclipse, so be prepared to start acting on what Spirit has been telling you. Jupiter leaves Pisces on May 10^th after Mercury goes retrograde, adding some passion for action to our self-reflection. And giving us many new opportunities to search for our new identity.

Venus has just danced with Chiron in Aries, so I know she’s feeling healed and self-confident to meet the demands of this eclipse, since she is the guardian planet of Taurus. She’s in charge, and it feels like Chiron was mentoring her on her self-worth, especially after hearing how the conservative judges on the US Supreme Court are about to take away women’s right to an abortion. And yet these people allow their children to be trained in the military as killers, so we know this is not about murder and death. This is about control. Our Aries Venus is not going to stand for it. But she has to remember to have a plan.

It’s always easier to make changes when you connect with the cosmic energies operating at the time. These times are enlivened by many big changing energies. It’s time to fasten your seatbelts – the ride is going to be rocky for the rest of the year.

(There’s a Taurus/Scorpio total Lunar Eclipse on the U.S. Election Day – it should be interesting!)

Blessings of the Season

Cathy 

 

Matins II (excerpt)

I arise today

Blessed by all things,
Wings of breath,
Delight of eyes,
Wonder of whisper,
Intimacy of touch,
Eternity of soul,
Urgency of thought,
Miracle of health,
Embrace of God.

May I live this day.

~ John O"Donohue ~

(Eternal Echoes)