Full Moon Eclipse in Scorpio: Hecate's Magic

Hecate

Full Moon in Scorpio
April 25, 2013 3:57pm EDT

Full Moons are hard to miss. Even when the night sky is full of clouds, somehow we feel a full Moon. Life becomes a bit crazier, wilder, over the top.

THURSDAY's Full Moon comes with a partial lunar eclipse, opening this year's "eclipse season" –– May brings two more eclipses, one solar and another lunar. Lunar eclipses always accompany Full Moons, giving this Full Moon extra strength––think espresso, or really dark chocolate.

Eclipses are turning points, times of emphasis and change. Eclipse patterns repeat at roughly 19 year intervals; to understand what might be coming up for you at this Full Moon, look back to what was happening in your life 19 years ago. This eclipse might revisit that same territory in new ways.

Now factor in the sign of this Full Moon: Scorpio, sign of the underworld, the subconscious, the Shadow; sign of the detective, the therapist and the spy. Scorpio knows who has skeletons in the closet and where the bodies are buried.

A Full Moon to prepare for.

This Scorpio Full Moon eclipse arrives with deep emotion, boatloads of karma, long-term effects, and high voltage. Am I planning to hide under the covers, or, better yet, leave the planet? Nope, I'm not. I'm looking forward to pressing yet another cosmic reset button on my adventurous way. Honest.

Full Moons illuminate. Their spotlights show us where we are, and how we're doing with whatever that is. With this Full Moon in Scorpio, we're likely to see one or more of the following on our personal large screen:

• Power! This lunar cycle began with an Aries extravaganza. Mars (Aries ruler) is also the ancient ruler of Scorpio, and will conjunct the Sun at the Full Moon. So ... how are we handling power? Are we responsible? Afraid? Controlling? In denial? This will be a headliner.

• Deep emotion. Scorpio is a Water sign, so our feelings selves will be awake and aware. This Full Moon is part of the Grand Trine in Water that includes Saturn (conjunct the Moon in Scorpio), Neptune in Pisces, and Ceres in Cancer.

How are we feeling? What do we feel deeply about now? Where are we confused (Neptune) about our feelings, or perhaps unsure if our feelings are justified, accurate, or reciprocated? Where do we feel insecure, or compelled to nurture others? Where are we facing the consequences of emotions, perhaps because we became obsessed, or codependent, or overcommitted?

• Where we're stuck. Scorpio and Taurus are both fixed signs, and can be beyond stubborn––immovable, in fact. Mars and Saturn, conjunct the Sun and Moon, might push us to move, or might just decide to stay exactly where they are.

Meanwhile, there's a yod (finger of fate, as aspect pattern that points like an arrow) aimed to the North Node, which also happens to be in Scorpio. This yod is pushing, with Mercury energized in Aries and Jupiter expanding in Gemini, asking, why haven't we changed already? Are we waiting for an engraved invitation, or what?

Uranus in Aries, the revolutionary trickster, is inconjunct the Full Moon, adding his own considerable power to the equation. At this Full Moon, we're likely to see where we're stuck and (if we pay attention) what we can do about it.

• Self care. Taurus is the sign of nurturing the body; Scorpio is the sign of tending to the psyche. Finding balance between the two can be challenging, but is essential. With issues of power, emotion, and stuckness coming up for review, we also need to attend to how we're doing overall. Kindness and self compassion are good watchwords, and this Full Moon may point out where we need to bring some of that to the fore.

Why the scary goddess Hecate? She's a goddess of the crossroads and dark places, a goddess of choices and deep knowing. She's demonized as a witchy death goddess, but then, Scorpio gets a pretty bad rap a lot of the time too.

Hecate is a goddess of great power, connected to deep emotional issues, who knows how to move us on when we're standing at the crossroads not sure where to go. She helped bring Persephone out from Hades, restoring the Earth's capacity to grow and be fruitful.

One of Hecate's symbols is the torch. At this Full Moon, as we begin a new 19 year eclipse cycle, calling on the energy and guidance of a goddess who can navigate in dark places seems like an excellent plan.

Checking where this Full Moon will fall in your birth chart offers extra information about where and how this Full Moon will illuminate your life. Which house will this Full Moon appear in, for you? Will any of your planets be touched by the patterns this Moon will form? These are the pointers to look for, to see where Hecate's light may shine into shadowy places.