New Moon in Taurus: Good Stewardship

In the Garden by Childe Hassam

New Moon in Taurus
Annular Solar Eclipse
April 29, 2014
2:14 am EDT / 7:14 am BST

In the midst of our cosmic transformational program, we're about to experience a New Moon in Taurus with a solar eclipse––which means this is an especially strong New Moon, really powerful in the energy it carries, and with longer echoes forward than usual.

This is a good thing, because we've all been in this process long enough to have some clue (an inkling, at least) of what's emerging for us and what we may want to do about it. At this Taurus New Moon, we'll plant seeds for those new directions, and they'll have extra-potent eclipse fertilizer.

Now, it's true, Taurus can be a bit stodgy, loving the familiar and the comfortable, and letting anything upsetting just go right on by. But THIS Taurus New Moon won't be doing that. No, THIS Taurus New Moon breaks through to everything that is deep in us, what is truly fundamental, where our roots truly are.

This Taurus New Moon includes the utterly alchemical Cardinal Grand Cross of Pluto in Capricorn, Uranus in Aries, Jupiter in Cancer and Mars in Libra AND Pluto is sending energy via a trine to the New Moon itself with an especially strong link to Mercury. This is not couch-potato Taurus, this is get-out-there-and-till-that-ground-deep Taurus.

It's the Taurus that underlies Reject and Protect (are those Taurus words, or what?), an alliance of (yes!) cowboys and Indians to stop the Keystone Pipeline. This grassroots group of ranchers and native communities has been in Washington, D.C. this week, and they chose a Taurean style of action: riding in on horseback and setting up camp. This is stewardship of the land, of culture, and of the future.

This is a powerful time we're in, between the Full Moon and New Moon eclipses. Even if you don't usually check your birth chart, this time you really want to. Where does this New Moon eclipse fall for you? Which of your planets are involved?

One of the great posts I found this week is Molly Hall's discussion of how eclipse aspects to our natal planets can affect us. These two eclipses, lunar and solar, Full and New Moons, touch my birth chart in significant ways. My experience of these transformational times has led to a decision I'll share here, and then talk a bit about the astrology of this for me:

This is the last post I'll write for my blog Rising Moon Astrology. This decision became very clear for me yesterday, during the Balsamic Moon. And while I'm feeling sad and nostalgic in a balsmic-y way about it, I know it's the next step for me.

First, a look at how these eclipses have touched my birth chart. The Full Moon eclipse happened right on top of my Mercury–Neptune conjunction, trined my Pluto–Ascendant conjunction, and squared my Uranus–Neptune conjunction as well as my Chiron (who opposes Uranus–Jupiter while all square Mercury–Neptune).

Yes, it's true, that Full Moon eclipse was on one of the key aspect patterns in my chart that has to do with things like my creative work, my writing, how I think and communicate generally, what my core wound looks like (ouch), what my mission is in the world.

The New Moon eclipse is in my Ninth House of journeys (all kinds) and trines my Moon, is inconjunct my Sun, and trines my North Node–Mars conjunction. That same North Node–Mars conjunction is right under Pluto at the moment, and therefore part of the Grand Cardinal Cross.

Have things been shifting for me? You bet! Does that mean I know exactly what I'm doing now? Heck no! But I do have a wee bit of clarity on what needs to happen next, and that includes not writing the blog for now.

What do I know? ... For those of you interested in working with me, I will still offer readings. I am aware that stopping the blog will probably limit my ability to reach new clients and yet, this is the right thing for me now. I think I will be doing more writing, traveling, and shamanic exploration. I'll be interested to see what emerges ...

I began my journey with astrology back in 2004 when I was invited (told) in a shamanic journey to get to know Mercurius better. Turns out Mercury is absolutely central to my chart, and (as I said) strongly affected by these eclipses. Now it seems I'll be invited into new ways of learning about Mercurius.

A Fond Farewell

This is the 636rd post in this blog, the first of which was a Capricorn Moon on May 4, 2010. I began sharing New Moon updates earlier, in a virtual world, sometime in 2008––the oldest note I have there is for October, 2008. I have learned a tremendous amount from the writing, and even more from every chart I've explored.

There's one more echo here I want to mention. Eclipses come in loooong cycles, nineteen year cycles. I hadn't looked at the eclipse linked to this New Moon eclipse until this morning, and it turns out to be very significant for me.

The last eclipse that occurred close to the Taurus degree of this one happened on April 29, 1995, nineteen years ago.

Which for me is the time when I suddenly developed symptoms that completely changed my life. In a few weeks, that Spring, I went from completely healthy (if overly stressed) to flat on my back in bed, where I stayed for several months.

If you've met me, you know I am much healthier now, yet rheumatoid arthritis continues to be a struggle and a limiter. So now I'm wondering what this new horizon holds for me, and planting seeds for good stewardship of my own self, the life I have yet to live, and the planet I live it on.

So, more personal info than I usually share but then, these aren't usual times we live in, and this isn't my usual post. Thank you to all my readers, to everyone who's sent messages of support and hugs and thanks. I hope what I've shared has been interesting, and maybe helpful, as we all try to be the best caretakers of this one precious life.
    

Waning Moon: What Did You Just Say??

Think before you speak!

Disseminating Moon in Sagittarius
April 18, 2104
5:38 pm EDT / 10:38 pm BST

Exact Pluto–Uranus Square
April 21, 2104
3:21 pm EDT / 8:21 pm BST

Last Quarter Moon in Aquarius
April 22, 2104
3:52 am EDT / 8:52 am BST

Balsamic Moon in Pisces
April 25, 2104
1:37 pm EDT / 6:37 pm BST

New Moon in Taurus
April 29, 2104
2:14 am EDT / 7:14 am BST

Looking at the charts for this waning Moon time, I had to laugh ... I mean, we might as well, right?

The Full Moon eclipse illuminated some important things for us about how we relate to pretty much everything, and now the waning Moon charts offer a series of cautions about what we say (and do) about that.

Remember, we're in the maximum impact period for the Cardinal Grand Cross, with the exact Pluto–Uranus square landing on April 21, so this isn't just about personal communication. We're likely to see some startling examples of public, political and corporate speech too.

Tomorrow's Disseminating Moon kicks things off with the Sagittarius Moon in a powerful trine to Uranus, and the Sun at the possibly explosive end of Aries. With Mercury, Eris, Juno and the South Node also in Aries, there's a whole lotta Fire goin' on.

A Sagittarius Moon is usually upbeat, optimistic, happy-go-lucky, which is nice for a Friday––but a Sag Moon is also often convinced she has THE ANSWER and catching lots of energy from Uranus could make it all too easy to make pronouncements, lay down the law, or have something suddenly pop out of our mouths that might be true but also highly unfortunate.

Venus continues to hang out with Chiron, not too far from Neptune, in Pisces, so holding on to our highest goals and compassionate souls would be an excellent and supported practice.

When the exact Pluto–Uranus square arrives on April 21, the Moon is in Capricorn along with Pluto while the Sun has just entered Taurus. Having the two luminaries (Sun and Moon) in Earth signs could help stabilize things and keep us grounded.

On the other hand, Taurus is notoriously stubborn and Capricorn can be heartlessly pragmatic, so if we've crossed a line in communicating already, it could be hard to step back. Flow with the transformational energies of the Grand Cross if you need to, no matter how hard it is. Remember, with Pluto involved, resistance is futile anyway ...

The Last Quarter Moon arrives April 22, with the Moon now in Aquarius. Squaring a Taurus Sun, we could again find ourselves between a rock and a hard place. We're absolutely sure we're right (Aquarius Moon) so we won't budge (Taurus Sun). With Mercury in Aries, we could find ourselves doing more talking than we should.

At the Balsamic Moon of April 25, the mood shifts. The Pisces Moon joins Venus and Chiron, while Mercury has shifted into calm and quiet Taurus, sitting with the Sun. If we've gone too far, we may now be able to let go of our "rightness," shift back into compassion, and reconnect with a bigger vision.

If we've been on the receiving end of someone else's fiery communication, the Balsamic Moon might allow us to find inner peace and outer harmony. As always, the Balsamic Moon is about releasing the old to prepare for the new. This month, the letting go can reach far and deep as we seek creativity, connection and healing.

The New Moon in Taurus will invite us to slow way down. With a trine from Pluto and a sextile from Jupiter, we'll be planting seeds to nurture our newly transformed and transforming self. There will be more on the New Moon later, but keep in mind our time of change continues.

For the next few weeks––and especially for the next few days––pay attention to thoughts, words and actions. Yes, sometimes hard truths need to be said directly and clearly. If that's coming up in your life, the energies in the sky support you!

At the same time, we all need to take extra care that we're saying what needs to be said for the greater good, not just because we're irritated. Whatever is communicated now will have extra power, and we don't want to spend weeks putting out a fire we never meant to start.

Think first!

Full Moon Eclipse: The Instability of Stasis

new day dawning

Full Moon in Libra
Full Lunar Eclipse
April 15, 2014
3:42 am EDT / 8:42 am BST

In the middle of April, the cruelest month, we walk through a Full Moon Eclipse in Libra, dramatic sign of our nonstop-high speed-unpredictably changing times. (Like we needed another ...)

This Full Moon will shine most brightly on Monday night. The Full Moon alignment occurs Tuesday morning. The total lunar eclipse with its blood-red Moon will be visible in most of the United States beginning at 2am EDT.

All this month, we're cooking in the crucible of a Grand Cardinal Cross with powerful agents of change Pluto and Uranus triggered by Jupiter (let's make this really big!) and Mars (and then we can blow it up!). There's plenty written about the pattern, with Steven Forrest's essay one of the more balanced.

Not only is this powerful Full Moon highlighting an extra-powerful Grand Cross, it's opening a series of four total lunar eclipses, called a tetrad (scientists call it that ... this time it's not astrological jargon).  Learn more about the cool science here at NASA's Space.com and dive into an amazingly thorough exploration of the astrology part here at Blue Moon Astrology.

OK, now you've got multiple windows and tabs going, the virtual equivalent of piles of books and papers strewn across the desk and drifting to the floor ... and you ask, What does it mean?

One look at the chart for this Full Moon shows us the incredible focus we have. This is not just a Full Moon––this is a Full Moon PLUS. Libra and Aries polarized: This is what we're looking at.

The Full Moon herself is in Libra, sign of balance, harmony, fairness, diplomacy, charm, and consideration for others. She is joined by the North Node (our path of becoming), Demeter (goddess of fierce mothering), Vesta (goddess of hearth and home) and Mars (of all people! the warrior and ruler of Aries).

The Sun opposes her in Aries, sign of action, singularity, hard-driving focus, compelling energy, and protector of the self. With the Sun, we see the South Node (what we've brought with us), Juno (goddess of fair partnership), Eris (edgy goddess of karmic justice), and a Mercury–Uranus conjunction bringing instant messaging from the cosmos.

Are you noticing the same interplay of checks and balances here?

Mars who rules Aries is in Libra. Juno who rules fair partners is in Aries. Past and future are both implicated, as are gentleness and fierceness, with lots of energy all over the place.

So, this Full Moon will illuminate how we're doing balancing the many balls we've got in the air right now, especially in the arena of relationships.

As always, check your birth chart. Where does the Full Moon fall? This area of life, and any planets touched, will receive extra high-watt spotlighting. With this Full Moon, watch the world stage too. The Grand Cardinal Cross signals change at every level of life, and that too may be illuminated with this Full Moon eclipse.

This Full Moon is not likely to feel comfortable. (I don't know about you, but I'm feeling pretty jumpy already, but that could just be me.) With Aries and Libra facing off, we're looking straight into some of our toughest issues:

• When do I hold tight to me and what I want, and when do I let go and focus on others?
• How do I say what I want in a convincing, compelling way and still include, invite and take care of important others in my life?
• When is it ok for me to go it alone, and when do I need my team? How do I be on someone else's team while still reaching my own goals?

None of these are easy, and we can really start to squirm when we're forced to face them. What can we do?

Well, notice another group in the chart: The ruler of this Full Moon is Venus, and she sits right between visionary Neptune and Chiron the wounded healer. She's telling us sailing through these knotty problems calls for special skills:

In these times, we want to follow our dreams, use all our senses to be in the right place at the right time, learn from what's happened in our lives, and turn that learning into gold.

So, what about that blood-red Moon? The ancients saw it as blood, a sign of war, conflict, pestilence, endings. Today, we know a bit more about what creates the color, which leads to a new, deeper, more hopeful view of this sign.

Because the Moon is smaller than the Earth, when they line up and obscure each other (which is what happens at an eclipse), the edge of the Earth still shows. Around that edge is a bright red ring of light. That ring shines back to the Moon, coloring it red.

That bright red ring is every sunrise and every sunset happening on Earth at that moment, all shining at once. So, if you're watching the eclipse at night, you're seeing all the other places, all over, where the day is dawning or ending.

In other words, you're looking at change, at transition, and it's beautiful.

These days, the world won't let us stay still. Somehow we have to find the right place between the poised balance of Libra and the headlong rush of Aries. Looking at the eclipse, we're seeing a world full of poised balances rushing into what comes next.

We can do that, too.
    

Waxing Moon: Sailing Off the Edge of the World

At the edge ... ?

Crescent Moon in Taurus
April 3, 2014
5:03 am EDT / 10:03 am BST

First Quarter Moon in Cancer
April 7, 2014
4:31 am EDT / 9:31 am BST

Gibbous Moon in Virgo
April 11, 2014
6:57 am EDT / 11:57 am BST

Full Moon in Libra
Full Lunar Eclipse
April 15, 2014
3:42 am EDT / 8:42 am BST


Think of something you've always wanted to do, dreamed of doing, known you were MEANT to do, forget 'want'––would LOVE to do, would be more of who you're really meant to be if you did it.

Got that thing in mind? Does it scare you?

Now, do it. (I'm serious. DO it. Start working on it NOW.)

We've sown our Aries New Moon seeds. We're sailing toward late April's Cardinal Cross. The coming Full Moon arrives with a full lunar eclipse. These are days for MOVEMENT, for ACTION, for living life full on.

Every single Moon in the next few weeks emphasizes the gathering Cardinal Cross, with its focus on complete and utter change.  

Today's Crescent Moon rests (ha!) in the final degrees of peaceful Taurus, but the Aries Sun blazes right next to Uranus the Awakener and makes a very tight square to Pluto the Alchemist.

That Taurus Moon is sextiling Mercury in visionary Pisces, so watch and listen for dreams. Here's a perfect Taurus–Pisces dream: A dreamworker friend reported yesterday his two-year-old son dreamt of holding flowers. Taurus the patient gardener visits us with dreams of a hopeful Earth.

In a few days, the challenge of the First Quarter Moon arrives as the Sun and Moon both align with the gathering Cardinal Cross: The Sun remains with Uranus and the Moon in Cancer has moved to fund Jupiter. Meanwhile, Mercury clings to the final, powerful degree of Pisces.

April 7, look for something that looks like a BIG challenge (Jupiter does BIG) that. when you look more closely, turns out to be something you can totally own. Yes, it's a challenge and no, you're not stopping, thank you very much.

When the big-bellied Gibbous Moon arrives on April 11, the Sun will be lighting up the sky between Uranus and the South Node, showing us exactly where we need to shift out of the past (South Node) to move into the now (Uranus).

Meanwhile, the Virgo Moon will be opposite a Venus–Neptune conjunction in Pisces, while getting an edgy nudge from Mercury now in Aries.

Are you noticing how strong the energy of dreams is here? Aries is a time for action, and throughout, we are offered insights through dreams and visions. These are our navigation aids now.

The Full Moon arrives April15 with a full lunar eclipse, which means the Sun and Moon are aligned with the Moon's Nodes. Mercury will tightly conjunct Uranus, and asteroid Lilith squares the Full Moon.

There will be a full post just on this Moon later, and we can note right now we're heading for an especially intense Full Moon that will resonate for months to come.

So ... why would anyone choose to sail off the edge of the world? (Apart from the fact that that's where the dragons are, and dragons are always worth finding.)

Here's the interesting thing: We are all told at some point that sailors thought the Earth was flat. (Oh no!) We are all told how wonderfully courageous they were to go sailing at all, let alone approach those nasty edges.

BUT sailors, more than any other people, knew all along the Earth was round. They had the knowledge, tools, insight and experience to know they were NOT going to fall off.

And so do we.

It is really, really easy to find fear-mongers anywhere and everywhere. If we don't have them in our lives, we have them in our heads: "Don't try it, don't do it, it will never work, you're not [whatever] enough, you'll fail." Familiar, right?

These are the days we recognize in a new and wonderful way that all those messages are coming straight from the Flat Earth Society and our world is wonderfully and completely round.

That thing that looks like an edge is really a lovely curve, and if we use the tools, insight and experience we already have, we know that.

Sail on, sailor!
    

New Moon in Aries: Singularity

New Moon, New Fire

New Moon in Aries
March 30, 2014
2:45 pm EST / 6:45 pm BST

One look at the chart for Sunday's New Moon in Aries tells the story: A strong point of focus on this New Moon of new beginnings, pioneering, stepping out and up into whatever is heading toward us.

This New Moon aligns with Uranus, the revolutionary trickster who shakes us and wakes us up. Squared by Jupiter and Pluto, there is no way we can miss the alchemical fire.

The Spring Equinox highlighted where we needed to clear out and clean up. Now, with the New Moon asks us to set our personal trajectory. Where are we heading? What's the direction? What's the goal? What do we WANT?

Detachment is a lovely value, and it is NOT Aries. With this energy of initiating Fire, we move directly into the heart of our own desires. This is the moment to connect with our true longings. Forget playing it cool, and turn up the heat.

Aries is passionate. Did you know we can't remember things we have no feelings about? Emotion is what moves us, what gets us going, what drives us.

So, at this New Moon, touch the core of what you feel most strongly about. How can you honor that in your life, infusing all you do with light, passion and fire?

As always, check you birth chart. The House in which the New Moon falls, and planets and points aspected by this Moon (anything in and around 0 to 19 degrees, especially if close to 9 degrees and in the cardinal signs of Aries, Cancer Libra, and Capricorn and the other two Fire signs, Leo and Sagittarius). Molly Hall offers a good overview of the impact of this New Moon through the Houses.

Our passions can definitely bring problems, so check in with those too. Here are some questions that might highlight Aries issues:

• Where am I letting my emotions rule my behavior, acting out, displaying anger inappropriately, or dominating others?

• Where am I letting my desires run the show? Where do I find myself unable to make good choices because I want something too much?

• Where am I taking unwise risks or acting impulsively in ways I later regret?

At this New Moon, we can set intentions and make wishes to channel our passions clearly and strongly toward heartfelt goals, while releasing tendencies to let anger or desire run amok and ruin our lives.

This New Moon wants its own banner saying THIS IS IMPORTANT. An Aries New Moon arrives every year around this time, so, what's the big deal?

The big deal is right there in the chart: All those triangles pointing at the New Moon, with all those transformational energies doing the pointing.

We live in unusual times, surrounded by heightened energies. The next Full Moon brings an eclipse, followed not long after by the Cardinal Grand Cross of Pluto, Uranus, Jupiter and Mars. These converging patterns bring us a singular energy, one we won't see again in our lifetimes (or for lifetimes after).

Singularities are crazy events. In mathematics, in the sciences, in technology, a singularity happens when limits are reached and we can no longer predict what might occur. This is interesting to study, but possibly unnerving to live through.

Aries, though, LOVES singularity. Aries represents the point focus of something new made manifest. At this New Moon, we align our personal energies with our own goals so we're ready to engage with whatever happens in the weeks to come.

This waning Moon time is the "READY." The New Moon will be the "AIM." The coming weeks will bring the "FIRE!". Let's make sure we've got the first two steps down, at this, the opportune moment.
    

Void-of-course Moon Moving into Libra

Well! A mistake at the end of yesterday's entry stated that the void-of-course cauldron of transformation ended at 6:42 AM EDT when it continues throughout the day, ending at 6:42 PM. So, what is a void-of-course Moon and how does it affect today's energy?

The Moon is the fastest moving body in our sky, container of moods and feelings, signifier of the natural rhythms of life. She focuses our feelings as she moves through astrological space, touching other planets in the sky as well as points and planets in our own charts. We look to the relationships between the Moon and these other planets and points to gain insight and guide action.

The Moon moves through each sign of the zodiac, from 0 to 29 degrees of each, in about two and half days. Within each sign, she touches everything located at the same degree, in some way. When she no longer touches any other planet, the Moon is said to be void of course. She continues in her path, but has no other touchpoints until she enters the next sign.

Because this void-of-course concept emerged from classical astrology, it takes note only of the classical planets and the Ptolemaic aspects, which are the conjunction, opposition, trine, square and sextile. This leaves out the asteroids, including Chiron, as well as aspects like the inconjunct (also called the quincunx).

The standard advice is to avoid starting anything new during a void-of-course period, as whatever is begun, will not prosper. This comes out of electional astrology, choosing when to sign a contract, make a major purchase, or take some other important action. Voids of course are also considered to be more inwardly focused, reflective times, while the Moon is on her own, not in dialogue with other energies. On the other hand, some astrologers, and many people, pay no attention to voids of course at all.

Voids of course times, as with anything else in astrology, are patterns for us to explore. Astrology is one of many ways the cosmos communicates with us. As we move through our lives, we listen, look, use all our senses to take in the world around us. Then we respond. Are voids of course meaningful for you? Ultimately, only you can answer that.

As I attend more closely to the Moon's patterns, I find that voids of course do feel more reflective, and allow myself more time for meditative thought and practice. Some things about the classical approach I'm not comfortable with, though. It's time to change how I view this pattern, and see where that leads.

Chiron, the wounded healer and mentor who urges us to fully embody our unique selves, is an important archetype and energy in my astrological practice. He's at 28 degrees of Aquarius now, and no other planet is later in degree. So although he is omitted from standard calculations of when the Moon goes void of course, he's actually the last body touched by the Moon at this time. I plan to recalculate the beginnings of voids of course to include Chiron.

The other change I'm making is to include the inconjunct. This awkward angle that requires active adjustment seems to be a powerful one for the emotion-filled Moon. The inconjunct is also the key to the yod pattern, the isoceles triangle formed from two inconjuncts and a sextile.

These changes in my approach have an immediate impact. Classically, the Moon has been void of course since 8:04pm EDT yesterday, and will remain so until she enters Libra at 6:42pm tonight. If we include Chiron and the inconjunct aspect, the Moon is not yet void.

The careful, practical Virgo Moon is moving toward an inconjunct with visionary Neptune that will be exact at 2:41pm EDT. This will be followed by an inconjunct with Chiron at 4:59pm EDT. If you find your moods and reflections today touched with a felt need to balance visionary healing (Neptune and Chiron) with practical everyday life (Virgo Moon), perhaps these patterns are part of your Moon experience as well.

At 6:42pm EDT, the Moon steps gracefully into balanced Libra, and immediately confronts the Cardinal Cross. She will need all her Libran charm and diplomacy as she opposes Uranus (6:46pm), conjuncts Saturn (10:01pm), opposes Jupiter (11:06pm), and squares Pluto (11:38pm). What a lineup! The Moon then moves toward conjunctions with Venus (4:58am EDT Friday) and Mars (9:21am EDT Friday).

The Moon's transit through early Libra becomes a kind of swan song for the Cardinal Cross, as Uranus will retrograde back into Pisces at 11:36pm Friday. Powerful aspects will continue to unfold, and our time of great change is far from over, but as Uranus slips back into the sign of cosmic visions, we can expect an energy shift in that direction as well.

Amid the technical details, here's the emerging theme: The Moon today moves through a reflective time includes some difficult terrain. We may feel uncomfortable, a bit out of balance, as we try to hold both the practicalities of daily life and larger visions of change and healing.

Tonight, the Moon moves into Libra, a sign usually marked by grace and balance, where she will face a series of significant planets and patterns. The Moon brings our feelings into focus around the changes we see around and within us. What does global change mean for me? How am I feeling about what has emerged so far, and where this might lead? Where is my personal balance point? These are perennial questions, to be sure, and the Moon leads is there once again.

The images of the waterlily and the pointe shoe are available through Wikimedia Commons.