The Bring-It-On Aries Full-to-Bursting Moon

I'm feeling this Moon as an invitation––a challenge, really––to step into our best, truest, juiciest, wildest selves.

This is a dance-like-nobody's-watching Moon, a what-will-I-do-with-this-one-precious-life Moon.

Uranus the revolutionary trickster is front and center, and the question is not, what have you got to lose, but what do we have to gain? If we step up, step out, deal ourselves into this game of life ... the jackpot is right here, and the prize is real.

I lost my Dad this month, a world-altering event even when it's something to be celebrated as much as mourned––he's now left behind the Alzheimer's and arthritis that held him back and is dancing among the stars, watching out for all of us in a new, more powerful way.

This Moon is about what we do when life throws challenges our way. The Aries Moon, arm and arm with Uranus, does not bow down, does not give in, stands tall, lives large, and laughs. This Moon is a fighter in the best sense. Big wave knocks you down? You spit out the sand and water and dive in for another go.

I love Simone Butler's blog post for this Full Moon, featuring Ruth Flowers, who at age 72 DJ's in clubs around the UK––a second career she dove into at 58, when she unexpectedly lost her husband of 40 years. Mummy Rock is rockin' this Aries Full Moon!

One of Joseph Campbell's stories was about an Irishman who walks into a bar, sees a fight in full swing, and instead of leaving, says, is this a private fight, or can anyone join in?

My Dad was an Aries and an Irishman who––in his own words––never changed his shirt to lose. Don't mistake me, this is not a fist fighter, but a man who stood up for what he believed in and fought for his values and his family.

This Full Moon is conjunct my Dad's Aries Sun, so today I'll raise the parting glass and toast a great man. You rock, Dad.
    

Heading into the Full Aries Moon: Lightning Rod!

Full Moon Over Kilauea by Jules Tavernier

Gibbous Moon in Aquarius:
September 26, 2012
Full Moon in Aries:
September 29, 2012

The bases are loaded for this Saturday's Full Moon in passionate, risk-loving, fiery Aries. With Uranus lined up with the Moon and Pluto squaring, all bets are off and anything goes.

This Full Moon calls for clear sight and steady hands ... have I mixed enough metaphors up in there?

Since the Pluto–Uranus square came exact on September 19, the Moon, Mercury and the Sun have taken turns triggering the square by moving through early Libra, and in the case of the Moon, moving through early Capricorn too.

This has kept those Pluto–Uranus issues of transformation, alchemy, polarization, and power struggles front and center in our consciousness. For some, it's been a time of quick, unexpected changes. Some have experienced unlooked-for opportunities, others traumatic shifts. Some have felt surges of energy that have been enlivening, in other cases, overwhelming.

The Gibbous Moon leans into the Full Moon by bringing more of the edgy feelings we've had plenty of this week.

The Sun is already turning the Uranus–Pluto square into a T-square, with the Moon a square-and-a-half away in Uranus' home sign, Aquarius. The Moon creates a Grand Trine in Air with Mercury and Jupiter.

This pattern offers insight into how the big transformations around us will affect both our lives and our communities. With the Sun, Moon and Mercury in Air, we get perspective, objectivity, and the long view.

With Mercury, Jupiter and the Moon in flow, we can articulate our thoughts and feelings, putting energy into words. We might get philosophical. We might also talk too much.

There's also a Grand Trine linking Neptune and Chiron in Pisces with Ceres in Cancer, and Saturn in late out-of-element Libra. This connection also offers support for putting feelings into form, although Neptune also offers her usual opportunities for zoning out and missing the point.

Adding to the intensity, Mars in Scorpio and Venus in Leo form a tight square. Mars is conjunct the North Node. Venus anchors a Finger of the World as she makes sesquiquadrates to Uranus and Leo.

Again, we see personal planets (Venus and Mars) connected to major cosmic energies (Pluto, Uranus and the Nodes of the Moon) in ways that present a challenge. This pattern calls for a courageous balance of inner and outer, the Self and the Shadow, what we admit to publicly and what we only let out in private––Leo and Scorpio.

Whew! And we're not even at the Full Moon yet.

This Aries Full Moon promises a blast of full-power illumination on issues of how well we're honoring our own needs in relationship (the classic Aries–Libra opposition).

Uranus, standing with the Moon, puts his thumb firmly on the side of honoring our true selves. He reminds us we can't create authentic relationships unless we're allowed to be our true selves as part of the package.

On a mundane level, a Full Moon in Aries conjunct Uranus with Mars in Scorpio squaring Venus in Leo suggests a time of intense passion––wonderful with the right partner, dangerous in the wrong place at the wrong time. Avoid unnecessary risk.

Where does this Full Moon fall in your birth chart? In this area of life, you may receive new information about authenticity, power, desire, and transformation.

This Full Moon aspects my early Libra Sun, and lies across my 2nd House–8th House axis. At first glance, this might suggest a need to look at money issues. But with Venus transiting across my Ascendant and Mars just inside my 4th House, I'm thinking this will be more about deep-seated values, personal authenticity, and a frank look into my psyche. I can't wait. Really.

Venus and Mars still square each other in Leo and Scorpio; Mars still aligns with the North Node while Venus squares the Nodes.

The Neptune–Chiron–Ceres–Saturn Grand Trine is still in effect, maintaining the focus on feelings and form, although without the Grand Air trine of September 26, those feelings may move into passionate expression. Another reason to avoid unnecessary risk.

This Full Moon offers great power for change. Channel its energy into reaching your best goals and deepest desires. It also offers a chance to look, under bright light, at who we truly are––if we're ready to go there.
    

The Solar Return: Happy Astro Birthday (to me...)!

Autumn colors

Exploring Solar Returns

I was born at the Autumnal Equinox, which is today, astrologically speaking, as the Sun steps into Libra. I love this time of year: crisp air, cool nights, the shift in energy from stillness, heat and completion to movement, change and beginnings.

This day is significant for me astrologically, as it brings my annual solar return, the moment the Sun comes back to its exact position in my birth chart. (0' 45" Libra, exactly). Today is my astrological birthday, although my calendar birthday is tomorrow.

We all have solar returns, every year, right around but not necessarily on the same day as our usual birthday. The civil calendar we use, the Gregorian, is based on the Sun's annual trip around the Earth––scientifically, of course, it's Earth's annual trip around the Sun––and so it makes sense that we get back to where we started once a year.

The difference between our solar return day and our Gregorian birth date is due to the fact that humans like things to be regular and orderly, even when they're not, so the day length gets rounded off and we make it up with an extra leap day every four years. The Sun, meanwhile, pulls us around according to his time, which is a bit different.

But why are solar returns important (and interesting)?

In astrology, we pay attention to patterns and cycles. We watch the great dance unfolding in the skies, and note changes in our lives that seem to echo the dance. You've probably heard of the Saturn returns, which happen when we're 28-30, then again around 56-60, and maybe a third between 84-90, when we transition into new phases of life.

Autumn fruits

Saturn is a heavy hitter, and his returns only happen a few times. Solar returns offer a different kind of insight: They tell us something about the year ahead, from birthday to birthday, what sort of year this new one might be, what to prepare for, how to flow with the energies to get where we want to go.

We cast a solar return chart for the moment the Sun returns to its position at our birth. This is a kind of transit chart, looking at how planets have moved. This particular transit chart says something about the astrological weather we'll be sailing through.

A solar return chart does not replace or change the birth chart. It's a way to see where we are in the cycle of life, where our attention will be drawn (and where we might want to direct it), what areas of life will be highlighted.

Let's say your solar return chart highlights Mars––maybe he's trining your Sun, or in Aries or Capricorn, or otherwise strongly placed. This points to a Mars kind of year, with lots of energy to get things done. If you've been getting a bit couch-potato-ish, this is the year for a new exercise regime. Moving ahead with career goals might seem effortless.

At the same time, depending on your birth and solar return patterns, it could be a good year to avoid risky behavior and rein in an unruly temper. Good or bad––and probably both––Mars energy will be highlighted.

What about location? 

To create a chart, we need date, time and location. Solar return charts can be cast for where you were born, where you currently live, or where you happen to be on your solar return.

Location will not affect the placement of planets by sign, or the aspects among them. If you've got a Sun–Saturn square in this year's solar return chart, you can't make it go away by moving to Tahiti.

Location changes the house placement, allowing you to change the placement of that Sun–Saturn square from the 4th–7th to ... hmmm ... what would be a good choice here? Maybe 1st–4th, which would support lots of personal work and self discipline.

Astrologers differ in which locations they prefer for solar return charts. Using current residence is a way to reflect our choices. We decided to move away from where we were born, and this affects our destiny. Taking a trip just to change a chart, though, smacks of playing games with the gods, which tends not to turn out so well as a way to avoid what is.

Getting a solar return reading

The months leading up to your solar return are a great time for an astrology reading. Our lives shift, new energy comes in, and opportunities realign.

Autumn beauty

I had a wonderful solar return reading this past week with Joyce Mason, whose calm, upbeat approach gave me a handle on some strong patterns in my chart this year.

Last year's amazing solar return reading was with Dana Gerhardt, whose magical insights into astrology opened the door to a new relationship with my Saturn. Working with different astrologers helps me learn more about astrology, as well as giving me different insights into my own chart.

When scheduling a solar return reading, let your astrologer know your focus. Is this a career year for you? Are changes in personal relationships on the horizon?  Maybe you're planning a new creative direction. There's so many layers to any chart; cueing your astrologer in will make sure you learn what you need to know.

I love doing solar return readings. It's intriguing to connect the chart with where we are in our lives, and consider (com + sidus, with the stars) approaches, options, and ideas.

My year ahead

This year's Autumnal Equinox brings the Sun into a T-square with Pluto and Uranus, the power duo changing our world. Today's Moon is conjunct Pluto, so my solar return Moon is also a player in this high-voltage pattern, squaring my Sun. Moon–Pluto, as aspect I also have in my birth chart, is trining my solar return Ascendant.

This will be a transformational year for me, in a very personal way. My first response to seeing the chart was a strong desire to pull the blankets over my head and hibernate for a year, which with this pattern is not the best option. Sometimes the only way out is through!

Mercury is also implicated in my transformational T-square, and is also in a strong trine to Jupiter in my 10th. So, I'm choosing to begin my personal new year with some Mercury–Jupiter in Air activities: Writing, publishing, sharing.

It's bound to be a wild ride. Hope you'll join me!
    

Virgo New Moon Cycle: Chop Wood, Carry Water

Wikimedia's Picture of the Day ... perfect!

We're just past the New Moon. The window for wishes and intentions is still open, as Virgoan ears gently listen.

Today's post looks ahead through the week to amazing events coming our way, with that New Moon window open, lace curtains fluttering in the breeze. Looking ahead, noting the possibility of challenge, tucking a few extra provisions in our pack––these are Virgo moves.

September 18, Pluto stations direct, which means he's especially powerful that date, and a few days on either side. Calling Pluto "especially powerful" sound like a message from the Department of Redundancy Department, so think of this as a time when we notice in a deeper way how power is moving, where it's moving, and how it works, both in our own lives and in the world.

The Moon and Saturn are conjunct in Libra this day, semisextile the Virgo Sun, which also pulls attention to how things are structured and how they work.

On September 19, we reach the Crescent Moon, a time when we first see the shape of what's to come peeking through the soil. Have we set intentions for more mindful living? We may begin to see what that looks like for us.

Also arriving on September 19 is the second exact square between Uranus and Pluto, revolution and tradition, the explosive and the tectonic, the lightning and the glacier. Pluto's first direct action, in other words, is to engage Uranus.

This Crescent Moon, pulling away from the careful Virgo Sun in an edgy semisquare, is in psychic and wary Scorpio. Life is not as simple as it seems! How can we expect to continue living simply, taking small steps, when events are exploding around us, when our foundations are rocked and split open? The night is dark and we have far to go.

And yet, this is the message of Virgo and mindfulness and simple living: When all hell breaks loose, there is still that next step. The garden needs tending, the dog needs a walk, we are hungry, we need to sleep, the baby is laughing.

Whether we experience tragic upheaval, or the wondrous beauty of spiritual joy, the laundry is there. Virgo invites us to look past the burdens of ordinary life and see loveliness, comfort, symmetry––not to overlook the burdens, but know them, deeply, as beautiful.

Can we breathe through whatever comes, and still walk the path? This is the question of the Crescent Moon arriving with the Uranus–Pluto square.

On September 22, we reach the First Quarter Moon and the Autumn Equinox. The Equinox arrives first. Astrologically, this is the moment when the Sun enters Libra, cardinal Air. 

For those who love Autumn, this is a longed-for moment, a breath of fresh, cool air after the overheated stillness of late summer. Now life feels possible again. New books, sharp pencils, crisp apples, clear nights.

At the Equinox, the Moon sits in late Sagittarius, optimistic and expansive, opposing Ceres in Gemini, abundant and generous. Saturn in harmonious Libra trines Ceres and sextiles the Moon, supporting realistic appreciation of all we have.

How is this a challenge?

When the First Quarter Moon arrives a few hours later, the Moon has shifted into 0 Capricorn, squaring the Equinox Sun. The waxing Moon continues to pull away from the Sun, eager to move on, move ahead.

At 0 degrees, the opening degree, each sign is focused and intent. These are cardinal Air and cardinal Earth, the Moon ready to take action and the Sun wanting to be sure the plan is clear.

Do we really understand what we've committed to? Have we fully explored the risks and benefits? Are we prepared? The Libra Sun wants to know.

Strike while the iron is hot! says the Capricorn Moon. Time and tide wait for no man. This push-pull reflects one of Virgo's core issues: Do we take the small steps we can see, or do we suffer the paralysis of analysis?

Virgo is careful, anxious, keenly aware of the many pitfalls and errors out there, and the inordinate consequences of failing to prepare properly. Virgo is also the helper, the healer, the willing servant who sees what needs to be done, and simply does it.

At this First Quarter, with the Sun poised at a balance of the year, in Libra the sign of balance, our Virgo equanimity is tested.

Here, we see where we're holding ourselves back with overplanning, trying to control what cannot be controlled. We also see where we're avoiding information we find troubling, moving ahead with the plan as it is.

Neither extreme will work; we need just-right planning and timely action. In fact, one informs the other. Action brings response, which is information. Thought allows us to anticipate and gauge the effects of action. At the First Quarter, we bring ourselves into balance.

A lot for one week. A good time for mindfulness and caring.
    

New Moon in Virgo: Wheat and Chaff

preparing for winter

New Moon in Virgo: September 15, 2012

The intensity and drama of the Leo New Moon cycle comes to a close, the players take their final bows, and a new scene opens. We're entering Virgo time now, when delicacy, precision, accuracy, deftness and care come to the fore.

Virgo is transitional Earth, the practical concerns of harvest. Feet on the ground, to-do list ready, we're all about preparation.

At the farmer's market, we choose the freshest, brightest fruits. At the grocery, we check expiration dates and ingredients lists. Cleaning closets, garages and in-boxes, we look for a fresh start for the cooler days of Autumn.

The Sun and Moon are conjunct Mercury, focusing our thoughts and communication on planning and analysis, and adding to the Mercury vibe. Jupiter in Gemini makes a wide square to the New Moon, which adds more Mercury, since he rules Gemini as well as Virgo, and Jupiter makes everything bigger.

This New Moon is all about getting stuff done. Flowing easy support to the Nodes of the Moon, we can find those next steps clearly marked now. Saturn the manifestor is semisextile the New Moon and trine Neptune, adding an edgy nudge to our ability to make things happen.

New Moons are a time for setting intentions and making wishes. We're invited to ask for the Moon's best energies, and release any tendencies toward the worst. Where are the fruitful berries of grain in our lives? We choose these, and let the chaff blow away.

This is a New Moon to release tendencies to worry, anxiety and fearfulness. Virgo is so focused on the details, it can feel overwhelming. Resolve to let all this go.

If you live in the US, take a break from political television, radio, newspapers and magazines, and blogs––just one day, and see what a difference tuning out relentless negativity can make.

This is also a great time to release self criticism, and uninvited criticism of others. Detailed analysis and feedback are Virgo strengths, essential in the right time and place.

Do not tune in to Virgo when looking in the mirror. Stop trying to keep up with anyone else; we can't see how hard they're treading water underneath anyway. Offer feedback only when asked, with gentle compassion.

Having let go of criticism and anxiety, turn toward how things flow in the world. Where is it easy and effortless to get things done, and where do things get stuck? This New Moon is a great time to wish for ease, focus and precision in accomplishing work.

Mercury energy abounds at this New Moon, making this a great time to ask for quick, nimble thinking, innovative problem solving, and clear, concise communication. Virgo is a craftperson, so extend that request to skill in craft.

Mercury is also a god of good humor, so in these challenging times, asking for a light touch, the ability to see the positive, and the gift of laughter is also a great idea.

Where does this New Moon touch your birth chart? The New Moon happens at 23 degrees Virgo. Look to the house of the New Moon to see which areas of life will benefit most from Virgo new beginnings. This New Moon falls in my Second House, making it time for me to get my financial accounting cleaned up and straightened out (*cough*) and set up systems to track things better in future.

Anything in the mid-20 degrees will receive some kind of aspect from this New Moon. This one lights up my chart like the jackpot on a pinball machine: conjunct my Sun; semisextile Mercury, Neptune, Ascendant, Moon and Pluto; sextile Uranus and Jupiter, trine Chiron. Highlighting how tightly these parts of my chart are connected, the New Moon invites me to see how these disparate energies can work together. All hands on deck!

Virgo values thrift, careful planning, and clear-sightedness, yet this tender-hearted energy could never turn away anyone in need. The focus is on husbanding common resources for the good of all, not hoarding for oneself. Making sure the table is laden with good food, with a place for all––this is the Virgo harvest ideal.
     

Balsamic Moon: Alchemical Magic

Antony and Cleopatra

Balsamic Moon in Leo: September 12, 2012

At the Balsamic Moon, we turn toward the darkest Moon time, a time of letting go and preparing the ground for the New Moon to come. Balsamic moons are often nostalgic, quiet, calm, a little sad ... but not this one.

We're closing out the lunar cycle that began with the New Moon in Leo, and this Balsamic Moon takes the stage for one last passionate performance. This Leo Balsamic Moon is conjunct Venus, which amps up the drama, romance, creativity, and sheer beauty of this waning crescent.

Think of great scenes with passionate couples. Beatrice and Benedick will do, but also Macbeth and his Lady, for what we make of our stars is up to us. This couple need not be a romantic pair, either––think of Lear and his Fool.

Picture a stage, dark except for a spotlight front and center. There stand two people, deeply connected, tied together by fate, but not (yet) of one heart and mind: They have things to work out. These two might well be voices within the psyche, and what they choose at this Moon will have a lasting impact.

Tremendous power focuses in on the Moon and Venus, who sit at the apex of a Yod with Chiron and Pluto at the base. The presence of the wounded healer and the great transformer make this an alchemical Moon. We're in the cauldron––what will we become at the end of the process?

The Moon and Venus in Leo suggest the final, red stage of alchemical transformation: the rubedo, associated with the phoenix, the rose, and the king. This is the moment of success, when the alchemical gold, the philosopher's stone, is within our grasp.

Poised in the final moments of a delicate process, we know things can still go wrong. How many alchemists failed again and again and again, in search of the magical elixir?

This Balsamic Moon flows energy with Uranus in Aries, accessing a fiery energy very difficult to control. Great care is needed.

Meanwhile, the Sun in Virgo is conjunct Mercury, and both are semisquare the Moon and Venus. Here are the careful practitioners of secret arts, consulting their notes, moving deftly, hands and eyes steady. To return to the stage, these are the behind-the-curtain technicians who create magic unseen.

So much has gone into this experiment that is our life. Time, toil, heart, mind, and soul. Hopes, dreams, desires, and fears. We have made mistakes. We have learned. We are poised at a crucial point, to make or mar what we have worked on so long.

This is no time to hesitate. Be not faint of heart! (Excuse the flowery language, but seeing the Moon and Venus in Leo staring down Pluto and Chiron, and trying to balance Uranus as well, makes me feel all Shakespearean.)

Having made it through this Leo lunar cycle, your heart knows what to let go of, and what to hold on to. Listen to your heart, and follow.
    

Last Quarter Moon: Too Many to Count

monarch butterflies wintering together

Last Quarter Moon in Gemini:
September 8, 2012

At the Last Quarter Moon, we turn the corner from what we've gained to look at what we've lost––or need to let go of. We began with the heart-filled, heart-felt New Moon in Leo, sailed through the misty oceans of the intense Full Moon in Pisces, and now reach the final stretch in this particular lunar race.

Each stop in the cycle presents a challenge. At the Last Quarter, the Moon and Sun square each other, and our resolve to move successfully through the path we've laid out is tested. Are we ready to take the final, and possibly hardest, steps?

With the Moon in bright, active, talkative Gemini, we might be hoping someone will talk us out of it––or maybe we'll talk ourselves out of it. The Moon is conjunct Jupiter, making the temptation to talk fast, tell a few jokes, dazzle the audience, and exit stage left before the tough part could feel overwhelming. Whatever this Moon brings up for us, Jupiter makes it bigger.

The Sun is in careful, critical, analytical Virgo, conjunct Mercury. Mercury has a large presence at this Last Quarter, as he rules both Gemini and Virgo. So, thoughts and speech are front and center now.

The worst options at this Moon include dominating any and all conversations, deflecting important conversations with humor and sleight of hand tricks, offering unsolicited advice, getting lost in overwhelming detail, avoiding important stuff by giving in to easy distractions, and simply talking too much.

The best options include offering our gifts of language and humor in service to others, making new connections between ideas and people we've never noticed before, finding the perfect words to bring healing to others, creating innovative and skillful solutions to knotty problems, and understanding things quickly and effortlessly.

Moving from the worst to the best could be as simple as choosing silence over speech, listening carefully, and widening our perceptions to include things we might usually ignore.

Venus in Leo, holding the space opened up at the New Moon, stands exactly between the Sun and Moon, semisquare to each. She reminds us where we were at the New Leo Moon and how we opened our hearts. Holding that compassionate, vulnerable place will help us turn this corner with grace.

At this Last Quarter, we can see and understand much, if only we can keep quiet long enough to notice what's already here.
    

Disseminating Moon: Emerging Flame

lighting a new fire

Disseminating Moon in Aries: September 4, 2012

The Blue Moon in Pisces was intense, mystical, and for some, life changing. The sense of cosmic connection, of things sensed dimly through veils or in dreams, still lingers.

At this Disseminating Moon (the square-and-a-half that follows the Full Moon), the wheel turns. After the dissolving-into-all of Pisces, we experience the bright, sharp emergence of the new.

The Moon shifted into Aries, and it was like the first deep breath after being underwater; rebirth. The Moon reached conjunction with Uranus, and something unexpected came into focus. Now we reach the Disseminating Moon and we see more clearly what the Full Moon brought.

Can we take the revelations of the Full Moon into the world? This is the question we're asked.

At this Disseminating Moon, the Moon opposes Saturn in Libra as Venus in Cancer squares them both. The Moon is ready to begin something new, Saturn supports while urging caution, and Venus wants to know that emotional needs are being recognized and met.

Around the wheel, the many planets at 6, 7 and 8 degrees form an intricate pattern that includes action, intensity, transformation, healing, and attention to detail. With Pluto, Uranus, Chiron, Mars and Mercury involved, the questions of what to think, and what to do, in the face of great change, are put before us.

This Moon is eager to act, facing the future without fear, curious about what is to come. This spark lives somewhere in each of us, to be cradled gently until the tinder catches and the new flame is strong.

With this Moon, we can relight hearth fires that have gone out, bringing new light, new warmth, and new life to what has been cold.