Crescent Moon to Full: Diving Gear Ready!

prepare to dive ...

First Crescent Moon
February 17, 2013 3:30 pm EST
Gibbous Moon
February 21, 2013 6:44pm EST
Full Moon in Virgo
February 25, 2013 3:26 pm EST

As we turn the corner with the growing Moon (who rode faint but clear in the early afternoon sky as I liked in the woods a few hours ago), let's take a moment to appreciate the First Quarter Moon chart.

It's an intense chart, yes, and maybe the energy has been a bit crazy and jittery. I mean, it's not every week that meteors strike the earth on one continent and flame across the sky in another, while NASA monitors a near-miss asteroid fly-by.

Notice that in the First Quarter chart, everyone is moving direct. Everyone! That won't be true for a while, so we should appreciate it today.

Tomorrow, Saturn turns retrograde in Scorpio, where he'll be backing up until mid July. On February 23 (Saturday), Mercury goes retrograde in Pisces, right in the middle of the cosmic Pisces party.

Saturn and Mercury both turning retrograde in water signs, when there's such a concentration in water already––this is interesting. It is not time to panic. (Although you might want to have your Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy handy ... the one with the large friendly letters on the cover which say, Don't Panic.)

This is a big shift in energy that does not point inevitably to disaster. Honestly. The shift will feel less jarring if you're aware it's coming, and go with the flow. We've been in a time of forward motion that has (at least in my life) felt unpredictable and squirrelly. We are entering a time that is likely to feel slower, more fluid, more languid, more reflective, and also possibly foggier.

Any planet is more powerful when stationing (preparing to turn either retrograde or direct), so Saturn in Scorpio is pretty heavy right now. He could be showing up as the voice of paranoia and fear, or justice and retribution. Making those easy flowing trines to the Pisces guys (Chiron, Mars and Mercury are in range), it might feel easy to get pulled into conspiracy theories, or just get really jumpy about a lot of vague stuff.

This is not the approach I recommend.

Dana Gerhardt's take on Saturn in Scorpio (shared in chart readings) is, this is where he's at his most wizardly. How can we work with this mystical powerhouse? Instead of being taken over by fear, we can explore what our fears are, gain insight into their shape and size, and lessen their control over us.

Notice that the Gibbous Moon is in her home sign of Cancer, just past a trine with Saturn. We'll be experiencing multiple Water trines during this quarter, including Grand Trines in Water among the Moon, Saturn and the many planets in Pisces.

At a recent workshop about living an authentic life, Gregg Lavoy shared the story of the great Buddhist Milarepa who, during a long meditation retreat, found himself beset by his worst demons. After trying in vain to vanquish them, he shifted strategy. He made tea and invited them all to sit down.

In other words, he got to know them. He got to know them as challenges separate from himself, energies he could explore without being controlled. In his book Callings, Gregg quotes the actress Naomi Newman who says "If we wait until our hands stop shaking, we will never open the door."

At the New Moon in Aquarius, we dared greatly, setting intentions for our brightest dreams. During this First Quarter phase, we saw, perhaps, the first unfurlings of those dreams and probably got a few shocks along the way.

In this next quarter, reaching toward the Full Moon, we'll be diving into deep emotional, intuitive and magical territory. With Saturn on our side (and this is possible), we have the chance to channel great power and learn vital truths. This is a time to dive in, open the door, and invite our demons for tea.

The alternative is to stay frozen, and that's no fun. In the spirit of full disclosure, I am myself exploring tea with my demons as part of my writing practice. It's not easy. Scarey things are scarey, and ugly as well. It's really interesting, though. Just like these charts. Go for it!