New Moon in Pisces: Shiver Me Timbers

Dreaming of Pomegranates, Felice Casorati

New Moon in Pisces
March 1, 2014
3:00 am EST / 8:00 am GMT

We're in a time of dreams and while some may not be "good" ones, they all offer hope and healing. That's what needs to be said about the soon-to-arrive New Moon in Pisces, and if I were really cool like that I'd stop now and sail away ...

... but Mercury is implicated. As I write, the Moon and Mercury are conjunct in Aquarius, as Mercury slows, to stop, to turn back forward. (Back forward? Do I mean that? Well, I do, actually. A good subtitle for this New Moon is: The Myth of Straight Forward.)

Mercury does direct tomorrow. (Brief pause for cheers from everyone experiencing communications and technology issues.) You know, there's so much hoopla about what Mercury does, we forget all the planets are dancing in loopy circles. So as an aide-mémoire, allow me to mention that both Mars and Saturn are turning retrograde right after the New Moon.

Yes, we're trading one direct Mercury for two retrogrades, in Mars and Saturn. Well, a few days later, Jupiter turns direct, so maybe it's more like two-for-two, but you see me point, right? It's not about getting everyone lined up and heading in the same direction. That's not even on the menu. It's about learning to dance in the rain, wind, sunshine, and whatever ever else shows up.

At this New Moon, the paired luminaries are nestled between Neptune and Chiron. If you want to press reset buttons in areas of dreams, visions, lyricism, contemplation, spirituality, poetry, imagery, deep healing, empathy, and swimming, this would be the opportune moment.

If you need to ask for healing in areas of distraction, addiction, magical thinking (the not-so-good kind), sensitivity (as in, too much), and believing you need to sacrifice everything you are to help others, this New Moon is also really good for that.

The thing is, though, parts of this New Moon will be happening offstage and outside our conscious awareness. The New Moon is dark for a reason: We cannot see what's happening inside the chrysalis, inside the seed, inside the egg, without destroying the outcome.

This New Moon features a transformation T-square in which Jupiter retrograde in Cancer opposes Pluto in Capricorn while Uranus squares them both. The forces of tradition, the way things have been, the way we assume they would always be, are undergoing radically profound and surprising changes. 

Likewise, Venus in Capricorn is squaring the Nodes of the Moon in Taurus and Scorpio. She's pushing us to find a balance––a pragmatic, workable balance––between inner and outer, body and soul, the apparent and the hidden.

We're wrapped up in a package of who we think we are, who everyone else thinks we are, who we could be maybe someday, and lots of other selves. The question now, leading into this New Moon, is, how much can we let go of agendas and plans and lists and ... and ... and watch what wants to be born. 

I know, it's all very metaphysical. This New Moon is like that, though. Even the most hard-headed among us may be drawn to the beauty of a sunset, or caught in a memory. It's OK. Just go with it.
    

Full Moon in Pisces: Holding Sacred Space

Spirit of the Night by J.A. Grimshaw

Full Moon in Pisces
September 19, 2013
7:13 am EDT / 12:13 pm GMD

Autumn Equinox
Sun at 0 Libra, Moon in Taurus
September 21, 2013
4:44 pm EDT / 9:44 pm GMD

The official date of the Full Harvest Moon is September 19, but the Moon will look most lusciously full on the night of September 18. With a bit of luck, I will experience this Full Moon on Glastonbury Tor.

We're due for a bit of magic. The intensity of events in public and private spheres has been reflected in a series of oppositions and squares among personal and outer planets. A lot's been happening. A breather would be nice.

While Full Moons are not noted for being calm, this year's Harvest Moon brings a chance for respite. Some of the challenging aspect patterns remain; all troubles are not likely to dissolve. And yet, for once in many months, this particular Full Moon stands alone––Sun and Moon in opposition, without serious entanglements.

There are some edgy patterns, notably a series of sesquiquadrates (squares and a half) that place the Moon at the apex of a Finger of the World, and the Sun and Moon somewhat at odds with the Moon's Nodes.

But compared to many recent Full Moons in which the Sun and Moon were woven into complex cats' cradles of many planets, the Sun and Moon are on their own, talking only to each other. It feels to me like they want it that way, as if they're pushing all the other planets, all the cares of the world, off for a brief time.

This is, after all, the Pisces Full Moon, the Moon for dreams and dreamers. The Sun's reaching the end of Virgo, and maybe after weeks of watching every detail, will kick back a bit and let the Moon lead the way.

A Full Pisces Moon is a time for magic and visions, poetry and music. Despite the Virgo Sun, this will not be the time for logic, or hard and fast decisions––keep in mind that Pisces Moons can also be deceptive and are excellent at creating lovely illusions.

This Full Moon cannot make all our challenges disappear. Saturn and Venus are still close together at the North Node, keeping the pressure on to stay on our path. Mars and Uranus are still sharing energy, keeping the heat on for revolutionary change and also flame-ups and flame-outs.

And Chiron still flows energy to the group around the North Node, reminding us that sometimes change hurts, and still, growth is worthwhile. Alchemical Pluto agrees, sextiling both Chiron and the North Node group.

So it's not as if the whole sky has gone quiet, not at all. Still … the Full Moon will rise, inviting all of us to envision our best possible future, write lyrical poetry, play soulful music. For one night at least, give yourself up to the dream.

The Equinox arrives just a few days later, which is why this is the Harvest Moon––the Full Moon that falls closest to this hinge of the year.

Astrologically, the Equinox arrives when the Sun enters Libra, the cardinal Air sign that marks the beginning of Autumn (in the Northern Hemisphere). Libra, ruled by Venus, loves balance and harmony … can we continue the sense of respite a bit longer?

Maybe, maybe not … the Moon has moved to conjunct the South Node, opposing the Scorpio group of Saturn, North Node and Venus. This could be a reminder to get back on track.

Whatever comes after, though, I am holding out for a bit of time-outside-time. If we can't find refuge in dreamworlds at a Pisces Full Moon, when can we? And those worlds of dreams and visions––those are the places of creativity and hope. Good things.
    

Happy New Moon in Pisces!

New Moon in Pisces
March 11, 2013
3:51 pm EDT

PLEASE NOTE: In my earlier post, I got the time change wrong ... I fell back when I should have sprung forward. The New Moon doesn't arrive until almost 4:00 pm this afternoon. Very Piscean of me ... my apologies!

Everything I said about the New Moon still fits; nothing has changed except the time it arrives.

On this hinge day, author and neoshaman Kelley Harrell offers the rune Ingwaz, and her message about this rune is perfect for where we are:

We tend to look for progress as this steady jaunt to some expected outcome, marking completes items off a list along the way. Ingwaz reminds us that true progress is measured not by our ability to reach the finish line first, but to reach it in a way that supports and fosters our integrity, shares our truth, and inspires others to hold to theirs.

We're not in control, and that's really, really ok, because it means (among other things) that we can let go off the intense self criticism that maintains the message "perfection is possible, it's just me who's screwing up" ... it's not, and we're not, it's the way things are.

If you'd like more on self acceptance, sign on for Sounds True's Self Acceptance Project (which is free). I listened to the first two sessions over the weekend, both were good, and Kristin Neff's talk on self compassion was also perfect for today's Pisces New Moon (and me).

So, enjoy, flow, connect, love, be at peace. Make wishes once the New Moon has arrived.

We're all in this together!
    

New Moon in Pisces: Perspective

Earth from space (and a neat essay)

New Moon in Pisces
March 11, 2013
1:51 pm EDT

Remember how I pledged not to use the word "intense" for a while? Well, I need it for Monday's New Moon in Pisces, which is, yes, intense.

The potential challenges of this much Pisces in the sky, accompanied by Mercury and Saturn retrogrades, include feeling lost in a fog, not knowing what's real, drifting, losing all sense of boundaries, spiritual emergency, falling into overwhelming emotion or addiction, feeling wounded and wounded again.

OK, that's what to look out for––those are the patterns, behaviors, complexes and whatever we intend to let go of during this New Moon.

Now let's go on to the completely amazing opportunities this Pisces rebirth can offer.

One of the first things to greet me this morning online was a post from Upworthy with a link to the trailer for a film called Continuum, about the Overview effect, or what happens to our brains when we see the Earth from space.

This 20-minute film clip features images and interviews with astronauts and philosophers and others about what it means to realize we live on Spaceship Earth, heartbreakingly beautiful, miraculously strong, and breathtakingly fragile.

When we really feel our way into that sense of the Earth as a living community within the huge community of space, we've achieved the perspective of the Pisces New Moon.

We're not alone. We never were.

This New Moon happens within a conclave of Piscean planets. The Sun and Moon are flanked by Mars and Venus. Mercury and Chiron are conjunct nearby, and Neptune rests in the Piscean doorway. ALL of the personal planets are in Pisces. Our focus is RIGHT THERE.

There are no oppositions at this New Moon. We are one Earth, one people, one cosmos.

There are some interesting squares: Jupiter in Gemini squares the Mercury–Chiron conjunction, pushing us to expand our thinking in healing ways. Look out the spaceship window, embrace the new perspective.

Vesta in Gemini, goddess of home and hearth, squares Venus in Pisces. Ceres in Gemini, fierce protective mother, squares the New Moon. The Earth is our Mother, they tell us. See how beautiful she is, how she nurtures and cares for us.

There are lovely flowing aspects: Saturn in Scorpio trines the Mercury–Chiron conjunction, as Pluto sextiles them both. When we really see how we're all together in this life, then transformation flows easily––we simply can't go back to seeing things the old way.

The North Node, our path in this life, sextiles the New Moon. We are offered rebirth, realignment, renewal.

There's a yod, a finger of fate, from Saturn and Pluto pointed at Jupiter: This is important, it says. There's a lot at stake here. How we think, how we feel, how we act all work together synergistically to co-create our experience of life. Pay attention!

Last but not least, Jupiter sextiles revolutionary Uranus is Aries: This New Moon opens the door to a time of change. Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Venus will soon leave Pisces for bright and passionate Aries. The Spring Equinox is coming.

New Moons are time to make wishes and set intentions. Check your birth chart. Where does 21 Pisces fall? Which planets and points will be touched? These will help you tailor your wishes to your circumstances.

For all of us, everywhere, I will be including wishes that we open our hearts. This life, this Earth, are precious gifts. At this Pisces New Moon, hands are reaching out to us in many dimensions to say, we're all in this together. This is a New Moon for compassion, and for awakening.
    

Crescent Moon: The Power of the Mother

Earth and Water in Costa Rica ... Pacific dawn

Crescent Moon
January 14, 2013

Tomorrow, as midnight approaches, we reach the Crescent Moon, the semisquare between the Sun and Moon marking the emergence of whatever we wished for with Friday's powerfully grounded New Moon.

It's not too late to make wishes! Today's Aquarius Moon is a far-sighted visionary, whose just-past conjunction with action-planet Mars want to do something now.

I'm in Costa Rica at the beautiful Blue Spirit resort, and lucky enough to have made my wishes at the Pacific Ocean this morning.

Howler monkeys woke me up at 5 am, and I let them call me up and out to the ocean, where I wrote my intentions in the wet sand and watched them merge with the waves. I don't have this kind of chance every month, and each time, I find a way to make wishes that aligns with the energy of the Moon and where my life is at that point.

Find your best way to let the universe know what you're hoping for––then let the energies help you reach your goals. Stay fluid and open-ended, because the universe is more creative and imaginative than we are, and we don't want to hem her in.

The challenge of the coming Crescent Moon continues the theme of groundedness and practicality finding balance with visionary change.

The Sun and Mercury are conjunct in pragmatic Capricorn, semisquare the Moon and Chiron in visionary Pisces. This is where we come to grips the steps we need to take, to bring our dreams into reality.

The Moon is tightly trining Saturn in Scorpio, the magician who knows how to do exactly that. Between Mercury and Saturn, sextiling them both, are Pluto and Venus together in Capricorn. More magical, more transformation, more power.

Pluto–Venus and Saturn are each inconjunct Ceres, a reminder that everything manifests for us here on Earth. Ceres is the goddess of growth and abundance, who asks for respect and proper boundaries. We can't get what we want by taking what isn't ours––not without consequences, anyway.

This is a very yin Crescent Moon, lots of Earth and Water. There is plenty of power here too, a continuing of the strong feminine power we saw in the New Moon. Never underestimate the power of a mother.

Uranus in Aries sparks quick change and masculine Fire in his square to Pluto and Venus. Still, the overall feeling tone of this Crescent Moon is slow, steady and reflective. There is deep insight here, and relentless power where we know for sure what we're moving toward.

Feel the power; take it slowly; enjoy the journey.
    

First Quarter Moon: Manifesting Our Dreams

balanced

First Quarter Moon in Pisces
December 20, 2012

The First Quarter square challenges us: Are we ready to embrace what the New Moon is bringing us?

The Sun will be at the end of bright, active, optimistic, yang Sagittarius ... the Moon will be at the end of reflective, dreamy, visionary, yin Pisces. We're poised at a moment when yin and yang are equally strong, and very different. This is a mutable square, though, which brings flexibility––there are options here.

This First Quarter Moon wants action. The Moon herself holds tight to her dreams (and mine have been weirdly interesting these last few days). She will stay true to her vision. Around her, we see energies saying, "OK, what's the next step? What can we do?"

Venus trines Uranus, both in Fire. Creative action, surprising events, new perspectives in relationships, finances and our value systems. Sometimes we take trines for granted, but with Venus and Uranus flaming in Sagittarius and Aries, we're not likely to miss this jolt of energy.

The tragedy in Newtown, CT is opening conversations everywhere about violence, guns, young men in need of support, the mental health system, and the safety of children worldwide.

With tomorrow's First Quarter, we may find ourselves changing, feeling a new sense of clarity and commitment around the issues and values closest to home for us.

Mars in determined Capricorn will trine the South Node and sextile the North Node. Here's the action point.

Once our values and commitments become clear, Mars will push for concrete steps forward to address long-standing problems from the past and move toward a better future.

Mars and the North Node will create a yod, a finger of fate, pointing right at Ceres in late Gemini. Ceres, the goddess we know better as Demeter, is the fiercely protective face of the mother. She will do anything to protect her children, and stop at nothing to get there.

The answer to the yod lies underneath the apex, and opposite Ceres we see the Sagittarian Sun. Again, we're called forward into action, not in despair but with confidence that the world is good, people can be loving and want to be loved, and the abundance of life surrounds us with grace.

Some days it's hard to be with Sagittarius. Some days we grieve with the Pisces Moon, feeling deeply every loss, every pain. This feeling is part of the First Quarter Moon too. The challenge is to feel what we feel, mourn our losses, and still move forward into wholeness.
    

Gibbous Moon: It Was a Dark and Stormy Night ...

into the woods ...

Gibbous Moon in Pisces
October 25, 2012

"Gibbous" is an odd word, don't you think? It makes me think of gibbons ... gibbering gibbons.

Its origins are equally odd. Gibbous means something convex or bulging, but comes from the Latin gibbus, a hump or hunch. In the fifteenth century, "gibbous" meant hunchbacked.

This Moon phase, which peaks as the Sun and Moon form a square-and-a-half (a sesquiquadrate), is like hitting a bump in the road. We've met the First Quarter square challenge, we can see the Full Moon reward looking ahead, and––wait ... what? I just fell over something.

This Gibbous Moon is the log you trip over on a foggy night in the woods when you've made a wrong turn, the compass needle spins crazily, the matches are wet, and the flashlight battery's low.

The Grand Trine in Water I've written about earlier in this lunar cycle is still with us, emphasized by a Sun–Saturn conjunction in Scorpio, trine Neptune and Chiron in Pisces and Ceres in Cancer. With the Moon also in Pisces, we're going to have a tough time getting our bearings. These energies are filled with glorious spiritual connection, and the cruelest of illusions. Healing and wounding, clarity and confusion, innocence and decadence, light and shadow.

At times like these, rational logic goes out the window. It just doesn't work. The choice point is, are we driven by fear? Or do we tune in to intuition?

Let's not dismiss the fear option out of hand. When I look at the world, our situations politically and ecologically, the treatment of all people in any way disadvantaged, I am afraid. Fear feels like a realistic assessment.

So maybe the question is, what's the purpose of fear? And, beyond that, what do I do with fear? Where does it lead me? Are there healthy ways I can experience and work with fear?

Karla McLaren describes fear as the mood state evoked by change, novelty, and the possibility of physical danger. Oh, snap. "Novelty" seems like a weak word indeed for the level of change coming at us––even "change" doesn't evoke the speed-of-light flows of information, innovation, and transformation swirling around.

Karla sees emotions as moving, calling us to action. Fear, she says, leads us into our instincts and intuitions, the ways we know, outside of logic, what to do right now to stay safe––sometimes by freezing or running away, but often by orienting to the coming changes and flowing with them.

Fear and intuition are not opposite choices. When experienced well, fear connects us to intuition.

Today, intuition is often glossed as "inner knowing." We think of tuition as teaching, and in as inside, so, intuition is an inner guide who tells you stuff.

The origin of intuition leads back to the Latin teuri, a word so old its origins are lost, which means not teacher, but guardian and protector.

Intuition is the guidance within that keeps us safe, activated when we feel the emotion we know as fear. Nature intended this to work seamlessly––the inner alarm bell goes off, we correct our course of action, the alarm bell goes quiet.

This is not a case of "feel the fear and do it anyway" when the action we're choosing makes the alarm bells get insanely loud. Neither is it a call to stick our heads in the sand because this momentarily reduces panic. This is about learning how to respond in ways that make us safer, by accepting, understanding and responding accurately and effectively to our circumstances.

This is the beauty of a trine, especially a Grand one: Trines flow easily.

Even as this part of the lunar phase leads us into the dark, misty forest and lays a log in our path, the energies out there are standing by to offer powerful, easily accessible experiences of how well intuition can work.

Seriously, with a Grand Trine like this one, plus Mercury conjunct the North Node in Scorpio, if we can't get in touch with our inner guidance now, when can we?

OK, that was a bit Scorpionic and snarky. How these transits affect you will depend a lot on your birth chart and how your life's been going lately. At the same time, we really are offered a chance to experience intuition at work (and at play) this week.

Watch for synchronicities. Remember your dreams. Dust off the runes, I Ching tiles, Tarot cards. Watch flights of birds. Listen to the wind.

Important safety tip: Choose ways of working with intuition that keep you safe and in contact with trusted guides who have your best interest at heart. Plan for invocations, prayers, or blessings.

If fear comes up, try not to immediately shy away. Look for a calm space within. Watch where the fear leads you. Listen to what the message is. Take effective action that increases safety.

Blessings for all of us.
    

Blue Moon: Swimming in Cosmic Tides

The Wind Rose of Jose Aguiar

Full Moon in Pisces: August 31, 2012

The Full, Blue, Pisces Moon arrives Friday morning. This powerfully sensitive Moon will make her presence felt before and after, so have your dream notebooks and mini flashlights ready.

Any Full Moon in Pisces would be sensitive, as Pisces is the most empathic sign in the Zodiac, and the Virgo Sun also has finely tuned antennae. This Pisces Full Moon will feel larger, stronger, more intuitive, more emotionally connected––and potentially more seductively confusing.

This Full Moon is in aspect to all of the outer planet powerhouses: conjunct Chiron, widely conjunct Neptune, sextile Pluto, semisextile Uranus. With the Virgo Sun prepared to take detailed notes, this Full Moon offers amazing opportunities for divination and intuitive work of all kinds.

Whether you receive messages in dreams, read cards or runes, or journey in various ways, this Moon will fill your sails and carry you far.

Mars in Scorpio adds another layer of intensity to this Full Moon. Scorpionic Mars, Pluto in Capricorn, Moon and Chiron and Sun in Virgo, trining and sextiling each other offer deep insights into individual psyches or external situations, strong psychic connections, and powerful sexual connection.

Uranus is at the apex of a Yod formed by the Sun and Mars. This supports the intuitive strength of this Full Moon, and opens possibilities of quick action or sudden changes.

The Moon is also at the apex of a Finger of the World, as Venus in emotional Cancer and Saturn in balanced Libra square each other and form sesquiquadrates to the Moon. This offers insights into relationships, along with strong feelings about whatever those insights are.

The patterns surrounding this Full Moon point to strong appetites, signalling care needed for those with addictive tendencies. This is not the time to overindulge in alcohol or recreational chemicals, and it's possible prescription medications could have an unusually strong effect.

Whichever way you look at it, we're likely to feel highly sensitized.

Staying grounded is vital. Look to the Sun in Virgo, with support from Pluto in Capricorn, to maintain a solid tether to the Earth plane. Virgo is sometimes viewed as an overanxious pencil pusher, but in times like these, having a presence who remembers important details, cares about our health and safety, and pays attention, is a good thing.

Structure, established practices, safe and sacred spaces, protective guides––these support experiences with the Full Moon energies that bring new information, even wisdom, into our lives. So, dive in to dreams, visioning, journeys, any experiences that offer healing, growth, joy and connection. Be compassionate with old wounds and strong emotions. Take a compass.
    

Disseminating Moon: Creative Fire

Fire in Water

Disseminating Moon in Pisces: August 5, 2012

Sunday, August 5, the Disseminating Moon arrives, the square-and-a-half between Sun and Moon inviting us to share our Full Moon illuminations with the world. And what intriguing patterns this Moon offers!

Just as she leaves spiritual, creative, connected Pisces, the Moon finds her sesquiquadrate with the Leo Sun. At that moment, the Moon makes an out-of-sign Grand Trine with Mercury and the North Node in early Leo and Sagittarius––Fire and Water.

These two elements, Fire and Water, are classically incompatible, but )as I've written before), there's an ancient connection known between the two––the intense and inspired creativity of Fire-in-Water.

This is an intense time, as Mercury slows to station direct, as we are in the midst of celebrating the abundance that is the Lughnasadh harvest, and the beautiful fullness of the Moon rides the night sky.

We're being shown that the fiery passions erupting around us, signified in sky patterns filled with Leo and Aries feeding each other, have tremendous potential for creative action.

It's not all about explosions and arguments. We can instead reach deep within ourselves, into the depths of spirit realms, into spaces we may not be sure how to find or even if they exist, for the spark that ignites us.

It's eerie and scary to reach into the depths to find fire. It's a quest not everyone chooses. For those who do, the boon is a level of poetic inspiration we never dreamt of.

Along with the Grand Trine, this Disseminating Moon chart includes three quintiles, unusual aspects of creative inspiration that reach from Sun to Saturn, Sun to North Node, and Ceres to the Moon. The door is open. It's time to step outside our comfort zone.

We each know what draws us on, even as it frightens us. We know where our creative edge is, where the risky part begins. This Moon invites us to step over and see what happens.
    

Disseminating Moon: In the Whirlwind

seeds to the wind

Disseminating Moon in Pisces: July 7, 2012

The Full Moon has passed and the world is changed. It'll be a while before all the changes shake out and we settle into what they are, but something seismic shifted.

This was the Capricorn Full Moon, ruled by Saturn, Lord  of Matter, and we heard that the god particle (originally meant to be the goddam particle), the boson that brings matter to our universe has been found.

This might not seem relevant to daily life, especially in a summer bringing intense heat, drought, and fires to some, and torrential rain and floods to others. Yet working to understand the fabric of the universe leads us toward understanding life, and our lives. This was illuminated at the Full Moon.

Now the Moon is waning, bits of her full roundness disappearing as she shares herself with the world. What reached fruition at the Full Moon is now disseminated, like a ripe seedhead scattering its fruits to the wind.

At this Disseminating Moon, the Moon is at 0 Pisces, conjunct Neptune and Chiron, and sesquiquadrate (a square and a half) the Sun in the middle of Cancer. Sun and Moon in difficult aspect in Water, with Neptune the illusionist (or visionary) and Chiron the wounded (or healer) right there.

Looking at the challenges cropping up in our personal lives, as well as in the world around us, it would be easy to collapse into feelings of fear, anger, stress and being overwhelmed.

There's plenty of overwhelm around. The Disseminating Moon chart includes two complex T-squares, two Fingers of the World patterns, and two Yods––the skies echoing the feeling that things are coming to a point, cannot continue as they are, and something, somewhere will tip us into something else entirely.

We're surrounded also by energies supporting, urging––ok, sometimes it feels like forcing––our transformation. All of the powerful outer planets are included in the T-squares and Pluto is at the apex of one Yod. There's a cosmic dance happening, and we've got our ticket.

The real question is, can we keep up? Is the pace more than we can stand, the needs greater than we can bear?

In answering those questions, it's worth noting that the "answer" to the Yod pointed at Pluto is the Sun in Cancer, who sits beneath that triangle––the Sun at home, nurturing, feeding, supporting, and maintaining vital traditions. One of the Finger of the World patterns points at the Cancer Sun too, emphasizing that Cancerian homeplace.

It's worth noting that the other Yod points at Mercury in Leo, inviting us to speak from the heart, to explore and share our passions in creative and playful ways. The other Finger of the World points at Saturn, the manifester, ready to work hard to make things happen.

The answers to our challenges are not out of this world. They are within each of us, when we act in alignment with what is best in us, and when we respond to what is best in others and in the world.

Yes, change is here, and change is needed. If the seeds we disseminate are the best we can offer, the growth that comes will answer the needs.
    

Last Quarter Moon: Making the Cut

pruning ... where to cut?

Last Quarter Moon in Pisces: June 11, 2012

Last Quarter Moons can be relaxing––the deep exhale before the next round––or shadowy––stepping into the darkest time of the lunar cycle––or nostalgic––looking back at was has been and is no more.

This Last Quarter Moon is none of those things.

This Last Quarter Moon is filled with challenge, a time of contest and striving. And this Last Quarter Moon is in Pisces, whose default setting is to sacrifice everything.

Luckily, one of the key challenges to this Piscean Last Quarter is Mars in Virgo who says, "Really? Can we talk about this?"

Virgoan Mars serves to keep both Sun and Moon in check, in a Last Quarter T-square. All three are mutable signs, flexible enough to find a solution. Neither Gemini nor Pisces are especially good at staying focused; Mars in Virgo makes sure someone is keeping an eye on the ball.

Another T-square brings home the fierce energies rocking our world. The first Uranus–Pluto square is very close to exact, and is now in a T-square with Mercury in Cancer. This interesting pattern links two of the most traditional signs in the zodiac––Capricorn the Father and Cancer the Mother––with Uranus in Aries, the ultimate revolutionary.

The news is full of ideological and political conflicts about what it means to be a woman in this world.

What rights do we have? What health care are we entitled to? How do commentators view us when we advocate for our needs? Why are those commentators predominantly male? Can religious women speak the truth as they see it and explore scholarly topics without sanction?

Gender as a whole is more fluid today––or maybe not, depending on your point of view.

Are we what our anatomy shows? Are we what we feel? Does anatomy define who we can feel attracted to, who we're allowed to love, who we can partner with to build a life?

Pluto and Uranus are prepared to keep presenting us with those questions until each of us individually, and society as a whole, explore every corner and move into a new paradigm. With Uranus and Pluto, change is certain, and may well be swift and sweeping.

The presence of Mercury brings this issue to our conscious attention.  Mercury in Cancer brings in emotions and ancestry. If key information from the past can help in our journey to the future, now's the time for it to come forward.

Neptune in Pisces, now retrograde, continues to square the Nodes of the Moon. Neptune's presence here calls for a deepening of our life path, an opening to spirituality, and a certain fogginess about exactly how to accomplish this. Neptune's fog facilitates deception of all kinds, including self-deception. Perhaps only the intensity of Uranus and Pluto can strip away lies and leave us face to face with truth.

At the Last Quarter Moon, we turn the corner toward the Dark Moon. Questions arise at this time about whether we're ready to move on, to let go of what's finished, and release what we no longer need.

In the garden, pruning is my least favorite task. It's difficult for me to cut away healthy wood just because it's growing at the wrong angle, or in the wrong place, or there's too much, too close together. Isn't abundant growth a good thing?

Yet the Last Quarter is a time for pruning. Which branches are strong, healthy, and placed so they can support future growth? Which branches need to be trimmed, to make room for the best and strongest? But ... what if I cut the wrong ones? What if I do a bad job?

It's tough, but needs to be done to create strong foundations for the future. This lunar phase calls for a good plan, clear vision, sharp tools, and skillful action. What shapes and structures are we trying to create? Which ideas, values, commitments, paradigms, will support that vision? Which need to go? It's time to make the cut.
         

Moon into Pisces: One Last Dive

Monday morning through Wednesday noon
Eastern Daylight Time

Pisces' waters

Monday, April 16
Moon enters Pisces 1:38am
Moon conjunct Neptune (Pisces) 6:25am
Moon opposite Mars (Virgo) 8:43am
Moon semisextile Uranus (Aries) 12:44pm
Moon square the North Node (Sagittarius) 3:39pm
Moon conjunct Chiron (Pisces) 5:35pm
Mercury enters Aries 6:41pm
Moon sextile Pluto (Capricorn) 7:59pm
Moon square Venus (Gemini) 11:41pm

Tuesday, April 17
Moon sextile Jupiter (Taurus) 10:35am
(begin void of course)

Wednesday, April 18
Moon inconjunct Saturn (Libra) 4:03am
Moon semisextile Sun (Aries) 9:52am
Moon enters Aries 11:59am
Moon conjunct Mercury (Aries) 3:28pm
Moon semisextile Neptune (Pisces) 5:04pm
Moon inconjunct Mars (Virgo) 7:34pm
Moon conjunct Uranus (Aries) 11:45pm

The Moon enters Pisces overnight tonight, in the wee hours of Monday, and will join Neptune about dawn. This night of visionary dreaming opens a Moon transit through this last sign of the zodiac in which we're likely to experience Pisces energy in intense ways, rather like one last slow dive before we touch bottom, turn, and push upwards to the surface.

dreams and reverie

On Monday, the Moon will also conjunct Chiron, the wounded teacher who leads toward healing.

There's also a sextile to Pluto the alchemist, determined to remake anything within us that is not yet gold.

Meanwhile, there are edgy and challenging aspects to the Fire and Air planets: Uranus, the North Node and Venus in Gemini. This Piscean Moon needs time for meditation and reverie, and is uncomfortable with rushing.

Mercury enters fiery Aries Monday afternoon, a signal that the energies of the cosmos are shifting into a higher gear. Still, this Moon will not be hurried. We're in the last days of the waning Moon.

Tuesday, the only aspect is a flowing trine between the Pisces Moon and Jupiter in slow and peaceful Taurus. This is the Moon's last classical aspect in Pisces and opens a long void of course time that extends into Wednesday. Again, the Moon says: Soon, but not yet, not yet.

Wednesday morning brings edgy connections between the Moon and Saturn, and the Moon and the Sun. Then, just before noon, the Moon enters Aries and the tide turns. I've included the rest of Wednesday's aspects, to show the dramatic shift in energy as the Moon joins Mercury and later Uranus, setting the world aflame.

With this Pisces Moon, we reflect, dream, meditate, perhaps drift a bit. We can already feel the coming shift and revel in these last days of floating in Pisces' ocean.
   

Moon into Pisces: Dreaming into a New Age

Monday evening through Thursday morning
Eastern Daylight Time

Monday, March 19

Vertical Aspirations – Stephanie's newest!

Moon enters Pisces 8:05pm
Moon conjunct Neptune (Pisces) 11:16pm

Tuesday, March 20
Spring Equinox:
Sun enters Aries 1:14am
Moon semisextile Mercury (Aries) 1:41am
Moon semisextile Uranus (Aries) 4:10am
Moon conjunct Chiron (Pisces) 9:00am
Moon opposite Mars (Virgo)10:25am
Moon square the North Node (Sagittarius) 12:46pm
Moon sextile Pluto (Capricorn) 2:05pm
Moon sextile Jupiter (Taurus) 4:56pm

Wednesday, March 21
Moon sextile Venus (Taurus) 4:39am
(begin void of course)
Mercury (Aries) semisextile Neptune (Pisces) 11:09am
Sun (Aries) conjunct Mercury (Aries) 3:20pm
Sun (Aries)semisextile Neptune (Pisces) 7:23pm

Thursday, March 22
Moon inconjunct Saturn (Libra) 1:58am
Moon enters Aries 5:58am

The Moon swims into mystical Pisces tonight, and then directly into the wide Piscean arms of Neptune. This will be a powerful night for dreaming, and with the Spring Equinox also on our doorstep, a wonderful time to ask for dream guidance in the year ahead. For this is the beginning of the astrological year, as the Sun steps into bright Aries just two hours after the Moon–Neptune conjunction.

In fact, tonight will be an extraordinary night for dreaming, as a look at the aspects for Tuesday show: Just after the Sun enters Aries, the Moon forms an edgy inconjunct with Uranus, and then a few hours later with Mercury, both in Aries.

Doorway

Tonight, we have the Pisces Moon (a dreamer's Moon) in close contact with the two strongest outer planets messengers, visionary Neptune and revolutionary Uranus, and also with Mercury, planet of mind and communication.

This is happening at a hinge of the year, the Spring Equinox, when the Sun steps into the sign of new beginnings.

Set those dream intentions and keep pen and paper close by!

Tuesday morning, the Moon joins Chiron, the wounded healer. The Pisces Moon feels deeply and empathically, and could be swamped by Chironic woundedness. Choose healing and integration instead by allowing time for processing whatever comes up today––dreamwork can help here.

Tuesday afternoon, the Moon gets grounded with the Grand Earth Trine, as she flows energy with Pluto and Jupiter, and opposes Mars. There's also a square to the North Node––some challenge, but keep in mind that challenge clarifies. This is the time to transform Monday night's cosmic messages into something real.

Wednesday, we're reminded that we're in a transitional phase. The end of the waning lunar cycle, with a big both/and: This transition is much more. We're entering a new astrological year, and something larger still. The aspects put this message up for us in bright lights.

The day opens with a lovely Moon–Venus sextile, the last classical aspect in Pisces and beginning of an all-day void of course: one sign of transition. Then we see retrograde Mercury touching Neptune, the Sun joining Mercury, and the Sun touching Neptune. Could we ask for a clearer pointer to the Pisces–Aries doorway?

Overnight, the Moon makes an awkward inconjunct with Saturn before stepping into fiery Aries for her own transition. Thursday will be an amazing day, with a powerful New Moon flanked by Mercury and Uranus, but more of that in my next post...

While the Moon swims through Pisces, we attend to our dreams, listen to intuition, flow with emotions, and hold space for whatever will be emerging.
   

Moon in Pisces: Life, the Universe, and Everything

Tuesday afternoon through Thursday night
Eastern Standard Time

Tuesday, February 21
Moon enters Pisces 12:30pm

multidimensional superstring universe

Moon conjunct Neptune (Pisces) 1:47pm
Moon conjunct Sun (Pisces) 5:34pm
New Moon in Pisces:
Moon semisextile Uranus (Aries) 5:40pm
Sun semisextile Uranus (Aries) 6:58pm
Moon conjunct Chiron (Pisces) 9:55pm
Moon sextile Jupiter (Taurus) 11:10pm

Wednesday, February 22
Moon sextile Pluto (Capricorn) 5:24am
Moon square the North Node (Sagittarius) 7:41am
Moon conjunct Mercury (Pisces) 7:36pm
Moon semisextile Venus (Aries) 9:08pm
Moon opposite Mars (Virgo) 9:23pm
(begin void of course)
Venus (Aries) inconjunct Mars (Virgo) 11:25pm

Thursday, February 23
Mercury (Pisces) opposite Mars (Virgo) 6:25am
Moon inconjunct Saturn (Libra) 8:23pm
Moon enters Aries 9:48pm
Mercury (Pisces) semisextile Venus (Aries) 11:01pm
Moon semisextile Neptune (Pisces) 11:18pm

The Moon enters Pisces midday today, joining a gathering of powerful forces in this most mystical of signs. Neptune, the Sun, Chiron and Mercury await this Moon and have already cast the glamours of Pisces over our world. Today, the tide turns. Now in the last hours of the waning Moon, we hold our breaths as the New Moon approaches and she waxes again.

Pisces lends her energies to poetry, lyrical language, magical experiences, spiritual awareness. Yet theoretical physics seems to have donned a Piscean cloak as physicists reach for a Theory of Everything––which is a very Neptune-Pisces sort of title for a theory, to begin with.

It seems we swim in an ocean of vibrating strings that create not just the four dimensions we're most familiar with, but many more as well.

M-theory, a current favorite, requires 11 dimensions. In string theory, particles have flavor, and some objects are more like membranous connections than things in themselves.

This New Moon invites us into a mysterious and beautiful world very different from the one we thought we knew.

Whether we explore the latest theories in physics, the depths of our own subconscious, or perception-altering mystical experiences, embracing the promise of this New Moon will open doors and windows we never noticed before.

With so many planets clustered in the early or very late degrees of their signs, and the Piscean planets grouped from 0 degrees to 14, all the sky energies are linked to this New Moon one way or another. Check your birth chart, see where this New Moon appears, and understand that new perceptions are emerging here.

Working with this New Moon to set intentions and make wishes, we feel more strongly than ever we're not alone in this cosmos. When the New Moon arrives, and you set intentions for the time ahead, reach out to connect with the allies and guides around you. They are there.

Mars, reflective and retrograde in Virgo, is the only holdout. He gently reminds us to stay grounded and pay attention to details, good advice in these nebulous days. In fact, the Pisces Moon's last classical aspect during this transit is her opposition to Mars on Wednesday night, opening a void of course time that lasts until she enters Aries on Thursday night.

While the Moon is in Pisces, swimming with all the other Piscean planets, except spaciness. Flow with the opening of all those other senses and increase your connections to hidden dimensions. Meditate, pray, journey, envision. Dreaming of all kinds is enhanced. Enjoy!
    

Moon into Pisces: Watching the Current

Wednesday morning through Friday afternoon
Eastern Standard Time

Wednesday, January 25
Moon enters Pisces 4:11am

reflecting

Moon semisextile Uranus (Aries) 7:02am
Moon sextile Jupiter (Taurus) 7:48am
Moon conjunct Chiron (Pisces) 10:13am
Moon semisextile Sun (Aquarius) 1:54pm
Moon sextile Pluto (Capricorn) 7:31pm

Thursday, January 26
Moon square the North Node (Sagittarius) 2:01am
Moon conjunct Venus (Pisces) 8:12am
Moon opposite Mars (Virgo) 11:53pm
(begin void of course)

Friday, January 27
Mercury (Capricorn) square Saturn (Libra) 4:19am
Mercury (Capricorn) semisextile Neptune (Aquarius) 9:21am
Moon inconjunct Saturn (Libra) 12:19pm
Moon semisextile Neptune (Aquarius) 12:58pm
Mercury enters Aquarius 1:11pm
Moon enters Aries 1:28pm
Moon sextile Mercury (Aquarius) 1:31pm
Moon conjunct Uranus (Aries) 4:39pm
Moon semisextile Jupiter (Taurus) 5:46pm
Moon semisextile Chiron (Pisces) 8:07pm

The Moon swam into Pisces' cosmic ocean early this morning, while most of us were asleep and dreaming. We do dream, even when we don't remember. With the Pisces Moon, we can ask to connect in dreams with All-that-is, and to wake with remembering of who we are, even if the details of the dream dissolve into mist.

strong roots

Here, I am on the Pacific Ocean, on the Nosara peninsula, an ancient place of celebration. Ancient cliffs reach fingers out into the water, creating shallow bays of sand and rock, sting rays and scorpions, warm, salty, Piscen waters. And so today, we may encounter the warmth of gentle birth, or the sting of a scorpion, if we are unwary.

This Moon is a bit uncomfortable with the fiery arrows of Uranus and the Sun, preferring to bask in the healing waters of Chiron and the nuturing support of Jupiter. Later, though, we seek the scorpion: The Moon and Pluto flow together to create alchemical change.

Thursday, the Moon squares the Nodes of the Moon, walks in beauty with Pisces and opposes Mars. On this day, we remember something important we forgot, perhaps a long time ago--some piece of our larger selves we need to continue walking our path in this life. With Venus, we weave this piece back into the fabric of our lives, even as we ask Mars to wait. This is easy for Mars, actually, now he is retrograde. So, we reflect, we watch, we weave.

Thursday night's connection with Mars marks the last classical aspect of this Piscean Moon, creating a larger space for floating, for resting.

Friday, hmmmm... This day, the energies shift. Mercury in hard-nosed Capricorn challenges Saturn and Neptune. Perhaps we wake from our Piscean dreams with clear knowing of what to do. Today, we know what the next step is. With the Moon making awkward aspects to Saturn and Neptune, we feel a bit unsure, but today, we go with that mind and allow the intellect to speak.

Friday afternoon sparks into action. Mercury lights up in Aquarius, ready to innovate, communicate and electrify. The Moon ignites in Aries, first sign of the zodiac, the birth of Fire within and without.

During these days of the Pisces Moon, we incubate, we flow, we dream. Then, when rebirth comes, we are ready.
     

Moon into Pisces: Where is our Power?

Wednesday evening through Saturday morning
Eastern Standard Time

Wednesday, December 28
Moon trine Saturn (Libra) 3:09pm

Mami Wata priestess

Moon conjunct Neptune (Aquarius) 4:31pm
(begin void of course)
Moon enters Pisces 6:46pm
Moon sextile Jupiter (Taurus) 7:28pm
Moon semisextile Uranus (Aries) 8:14pm
Moon conjunct Chiron (Pisces) 10:05pm

Thursday, December 29
Sun (Capricorn) conjunct Pluto (Capricorn) 2:42am
Moon sextile Pluto (Capricorn) 8:27am
Moon sextile Sun (Capricorn) 8:56am 
Moon semisextile Venus (Aquarius) 4:04pm
Moon square the North Node (Sagittarius) 7:40pm

Friday, December 30
Moon square Mercury (Sagittarius) 4:40am
Moon opposite Mars (Virgo) 8:38am
(begin void of course)

Saturday, December 31
Moon inconjunct Saturn (Libra) 1:19am
Moon semisextile Neptune (Aquarius) 2:34am
Moon enters Aries 4:49am
Moon semisextile Jupiter (Taurus) 5:37am
Moon conjunct Uranus (Aries) 6:28am
Moon semisextile Chiron (Pisces) 8:33am
Moon square Pluto (Capricorn) 7:26pm

The Moon swims into Piscean waters this evening, a time when we enter into the full, felt experience of what our transformations mean for us. Tomorrow, the alchemy of our times will be highlighted as the Sun shines its light on Pluto's shifting of our deepest foundations. The Pisces Moon allows us to feel what this means, as we also feel the depth and breadth of the support that surrounds us.

Today's transits include a flowing sextile with Jupiter, now moving direct in nurturing Taurus. An edgy semisextile with Uranus reminds us that change is in air. A conjunction with Chiron allows us to connect fully with where we've been wounded in the past, and flow toward integration and healing.

black hole

Thursday opens with the exact Sun–Pluto conjunction, an aspect of great power and intensity. In Capricorn, we won't see flash or flamboyance, just power directed toward its goal.

It's said Capricorn is not overly concerned with means, once the ends are in sight, and we all know the saying about power tending to corrupt. Are we in trouble here?

See the Pisces Moon, sextiling this powerhouse pairing. The presence of this most sensitive of emotional antennae suggests we can explore how we feel about power, how we experience power, how we define it, and how we use it.

Sun–Pluto can certainly embody power-over: absolute obedience to overwhelming authority. And yet, power-over is a dead end when compared to power-with. The Pisces Moon reminds us we are relational beings, connected to all that is. We co-create. We are co-created. Power works best when shared, when it flows.

Later Thursday, the Moon squares the Nodes, seen in evolutionary astrology as a "missed step" on the karmic path. Have we missed seeing how connected we are? Can we take the intense, focused power of Sun–Pluto and consciously channel it into the web of all things?

These are deep matters to contemplate, and the aspects moving forward show this. On Friday morning, the Pisces Moon squares Mercury, opposes Mars, then goes void of course. Where does challenge get us? Not too far, when compared with cooperation.

In the early hours of Saturday, the Moon forms edgy aspects with Saturn and Neptune inside the void time, before surging into Aries, ready to blaze into life. This time with the Pisces Moon is an opportunity to contemplate our relationship with power before a new, fiery cycle ignites.
    

Moon into Pisces: Flowing into New Forms

Thursday morning through Saturday evening
Eastern Standard Time

Thursday, December 1

mermaid

Moon enters Pisces 9:46amMoon semisextile Uranus (Aries) 11:03am
Moon conjunct Chiron (Pisces) 11:25am
Moon sextile Jupiter (Taurus) 12:23pm
Moon sextile Pluto (Capricorn) 9:54pm
Moon sextile Venus (Capricorn) 11:19pm

Friday, December 2
Moon square the Sun (Sagittarius) 4:53am
Moon opposite Mars (Virgo) 5:02am
Sun (Sagittarius) square Mars (Virgo) 8:07am
Moon square Mercury retrograde (Sagittarius) 1:06pm
(begin void of course)
Moon square the North Node (Sagittarius) 2:01pm

Saturday, December 3
Moon inconjunct Saturn (Libra) 12:49am
Moon semisextile Neptune (Aquarius) 5:27am
Moon enters Aries 8:51pm
Moon conjunct Uranus (Aries) 10:11pm
Moon semisextile Chiron (Pisces) 10:42pm
Moon semisextile Jupiter (Taurus) 11:13pm

The Moon swims into empathic Pisces now, at the moment I write this. When you actually see this post, though, it will have already happened because I overslept this morning. So in addition to sharing what the Moon will be touching in her travels through Pisces over the next few days, this is also a story about the void of course Moon.

Today's aspects are calm and healing, supporting transformative change––wonderful energy for a workshop on Shadow, for example, which a friend is offering tonight here in Bloomington. A semisextile with Uranus the revolutionary, considered a minor angle in the Moon's swift path, offers a jolt of fiery energy to see and be a bit different, our unique selves. Then, the Moon joins Chiron the wounded healer for the strongest aspect of the day, opening the door to self reflection, compassion and healing.

The afternoon and evening bring a series of sextiles, bright, positive energy flowing between the Pisces Moon and Jupiter, Pluto and Venus. Notice how Pluto the alchemist is bracketed by the two "good luck" planets, Jupiter and Venus, touching our personal transformations with grace and beauty.

waterfall

...which makes today a good time to think about void of course Moons. I woke this morning while the Moon was still in energetic, focused Aquarius. I felt alert, ready to dive into the day, and was surprised to see it was only 5:00am.

No! I thought, if I get up now, I'll be too tired later. I rolled over and went back to sleep––for an hour or two, I thought, only to wake four hours later at 9:00, running behind before I pulled back the covers. Yep, the Moon was void of course.

I'm reading  Steven Forrest's book, The Book of the Moon, which is fascinating and already enriching my lunar understandings. His phrase for the void of course Moon is one I've heard before: Nothing will come of it ... yet his discussion points out that this is not always a bad thing. Sometimes we might prefer that nothing arises from a certain situation––a medical diagnosis, for example––and those things are perfect for a void Moon. At other times, of course, we have great hopes. Those are better begun when the Moon is connected to other planets who can help make things happen.

The Moon in Pisces is reflective and intuitive. Writing this morning, it now feels as though I woke at 5:00am so that I could get up and write my blog and perhaps do a bit of journaling, and I missed that window through not paying attention to the coming void time. Next time I wake up at an unexpected time for no apparent reason, I'll check the Moon before rolling over and heading back into sleep!

Tomorrow, the Moon opens the day with a square to the Sun. This is the waxing First Quarter Moon, when we experience a challenge to our emerging New Moon wishes. Are we really committed? Are we sure? Are we willing to work toward our goals? With this particular waxing square between a Sagittarian Sun and a Piscean Moon, the questions might be: Does this goal feel right? Is it in line with my values and beliefs? If there are adjustments to be made, now is the time.

The Moon's other strong aspect Friday is a square to Mercury retrograde, again challenging us to think things through before diving in. This is the Moon's last classical aspect in Pisces, opening a long void of course time that lasts until Saturday night––another reason for talking about the void Moon in today's post.

During the void time, the Moon will form aspects to the Nodes of the Moon, to Saturn and to Neptune, but none are considered strong enough to "make things happen." So while we might feel the energy, it might not manifest.

The Moon surges into Aries Saturday night, ready to light up the world after a day of quiet. The Aries Moon's first contact is a conjunction with Uranus, so expect the unexpected on Saturday night! For the next few days, we swim in the healing waters of Pisces.
 

Moon into Pisces: The Cloud of Unknowing

Friday morning through Sunday morning
Eastern Time

Sweet Dreams by Godward

Friday, November 4
Moon enters Pisces 3:18am
Moon conjunct Chiron (Pisces) 4:35am
Moon square Mercury (Sagittarius) 8:02am
Moon square Venus (Sagittarius) 8:33am
Moon sextile Jupiter (Taurus) 11:56am
Moon sextile Pluto (Capricorn) 2:06pm

Saturday, November 5
Moon trine Sun (Scorpio) 4:05am
(begin void of course)
Moon square the Moon's Nodes (Gemini and Sag) 10:50am
Moon conjunct Ceres (Pisces) 11:45am
Venus (Sagittarius) inconjunct Jupiter (Taurus) 2:51pm
Mercury (Sagittarius) inconjunct Jupiter (Taurus) 5:12pm

Sunday, November 6
Moon inconjunct Saturn (Libra) 12:57am
time change: fall back one hour in the US 2:00am
Ceres (Pisces) turns direct 6:39am
Moon inconjunct Mars (Leo) 9:19am
Moon enters Aries 2:02pm
Moon conjunct Uranus Aries 4:15pm

In the early hours of Friday, the Moon enters Pisces, the ocean of dreams, visions and infinite connection. She first finds Chiron, the wounded healer, who offers the solace of deep understanding. In Pisces, the Moon expands, dissolves, diffuses, reaching out to all that is in compassionate understanding.

Friday morning, this diffused, floating Moon comes into square with Venus and Mercury in Sagittarius. These two, relations and mind, are on a quest to know, to work out the system, get everything clearly laid out, philosophically. The Pisces Moon wonders why, preferring experience to explanation, connection to concepts.

water flows into water

Friday afternoon, the Moon flows into transformative territory as she sextiles Jupiter in Taurus and Pluto in Capricorn, who trine each other. This alchemical synthesis combines the groundedness of earth with the fluidity of water. The results might be muddy, yet this could be the very mud from which the sacred lotus emerges.

Early Saturday morning, the Sun and Moon reach their waxing trine. Scorpio and Pisces together allow us to feel our New Moon intentions flowing into something––a shape, a sound, an image. We're watching a negative develop in the bath, not quite sure of the result but patient as the bits and pieces arrange themselves. This is the Moon's last classical aspect in Pisces, opening a void of course that lasts through Sunday afternoon.

The Pisces Moon continues on her way, squaring the Nodes of the Moon and joining Ceres. This is a void time, contemplative and quiet, as questions emerge. What is our life path? Can we flow into it, rather than looking for a definitive map (which might not exist)? What can the Grain Mother teach us about the difference between kairos and chronos, sacred time and linear time?

Venus and Mercury forms inconjuncts to Jupiter Sunday afternoon, pushing for answers. Maybe Gaia knows and isn't telling. Or maybe Gaia is also part of a process of unfolding. Maybe she also is waiting to see how things turn out.

Sunday, still within the Moon's void of course time, she reaches an inconjunct angle of adjustment with Saturn in Libra. Kairos and Chronos meet again and don't see eye to eye. Where do we follow linear time, and where is the sacred round the true clock? Oddly enough, this is the time in the U.S. when we fall back an hour, adjusting our linear clocks to the season––or are we making an unnecessary legal and political adjustment? Either way, we enjoy the magical extra hour of sleep.

Sunday morning, energy begins to flow more energetically and directly. Chiron turns direct in Pisces, a time when we might begin to feel the results of healing work we've been patiently pursuing for months. The Moon reaches an inconjunct with Mars in Leo, a push to express ourselves, shine our light into the world.

Sunday afternoon, the void of course time ends with a bang as the Moon enters Aries and joins Uranus the Trickster Revolutionary. Time to move!

While the Moon swims through Pisces, we bathe in kairos, dissolve all bonds, and flow in universal connection. Born anew in Aries, we light up the sky. Another round begins.
   

Moon into Pisces: Metamorphosis

Friday night through Monday morning

Completing an electrically charged transit through Aquarius, the Moon swims tonight into the calm, oceanic arms of Pisces, where her first meeting is with Chiron, the mentor and healer who understands our wounds.

within the waters

In that understanding, Chiron does not shy away––he's the wounded healer who understands the remedy is within the wound. So, our movement into Pisces might feel like both a challenge and an embrace, confronted with where we've been hurt even as we're offered an opening to heal.

Saturday morning we take the next steps in transformation as the Pisces Moon forms flowing sextiles to alchemical Pluto and expansive Jupiter. Our metamorphosis begins as we retreat into a private space, for the sextile with Jupiter is the Moon's last classical aspect in Pisces, opening a long void-of-course period that lasts until the Moon enters Aries on Monday morning.

Within the void-of-course cocoon, changes are happening.

Late Saturday night, the Moon forms an inconjunct angle-of-adjustment with passionate Mars in Leo, and moves into a yod, also called a finger of Fate, with the Sun in Libra. The Sun and Mars, active energies in the chart, in the intensely creative signs of Libra and Leo, push the Moon to adjust, to embrace change, as she floats in her Piscean cocoon.

The yod is then following by inconjunct aspects with Mercury n late Libra. If we surrender to the process we put in motion at the Libran New Moon, nothing within us will remain quite the same. Meanwhile, creative, relational Venus moves into the shadowy, deep waters of Scorpio overnight Saturday, then moves into a trine with Chiron on Sunday night.

These transformations create a new birth, as the Moon bursts into Aries at 8:57am Monday morning, ready to take on the world. While we move with the Moon through Pisces, we dissolve, release, and reform.
    

Moon into Pisces: Polishing the Mirror

Saturday afternoon through Monday night

Wildwood Tarot

The Moon swims into visionary Pisces this afternoon, sailing toward the Full Moon. This is the Harvest Moon, rich with everything we'd tended this year. This is the dreamer's Moon, when the cosmic visions of Pisces are linked to the practical magic of Virgo.

The Moon enters Pisces at 3:36pm EDT, where she glides alone for a few hours. This is a time for meditation, freewriting, journeying, or any other practice that links us to intuition, synchronicity and dreams. If you nap this afternoon, have your dreambook handy.

Tonight, the Moon joins Chiron in Pisces and opposes Mercury in Virgo. This preview of the Full Moon opens our exploration of dreams and healing.

Chiron is a shamanic figure, traveling widely in the solar system, bringing healing wisdom back from far places. Mercury is how we think, and in Virgo, ruled by Mercury and resonating with Chiron, our thoughts are practical, detailed, and looking for ways to be of service. The Moon is the ancient gateway to manifestation, holder of body wisdom, the one who understands the links between emotion, intuition, and healing.

Overnight, Venus in Virgo sextiles Mars in Cancer, two personal planets of relating and acting, helping us understand and integrate dream messages. Mercury forms an inconjunct angle-of-adjustment to revolutionary Uranus, asking the cosmic trickster to be really clear so nothing is lost in translation. The Moon sextiles Pluto in Capricorn, as the caterpillar dissolves within the cocoon, trusting in the imago of the butterfly to come.

Sunday morning, the Pisces Moon sextiles Jupiter. In Taurus, Jupiter is the wise elder, the grandmother who has seen many winters and knows Spring will come again. In her hands, the cocoon is safe as the butterfly forms within. Mercury trines Pluto, detailed Virgo flowing with alchemical Capricorn, preparing the way.

Early Monday morning, 5:27am PDT, the Full Moon in Pisces arrives. Illuminating our dreams, she asks how fulfilled we are in our visioning.

Are we connected to a vibrant, meaningful, life-affirming vision? Or are we chasing illusions that look enticing, or powerful, or magical, but leave us feeling wasted and empty?

This Full Moon forms a Grand Cross with the Nodes of the Moon, highlighting the connection between our largest dreams, daily practice, and the path we walk in this life.

This Grand Cross in the mutable, flexible signs reminds us that when currents are swift and strong, we need to stay alert and awake, a gentle hand on the tiller to shift at a moment's notice.

At this Full Moon, Ceres the Grain Mother aligns with the Moon, as Venus aligns with the Sun. Again our attention is drawn to the balance between Pisces and Virgo, the deep resonance that binds the humblest of everyday tasks to the grandest visions for the future. Gathering food, grinding grain, baking bread, weaving cloth, all have magical power.

The Virgo New Moon was marked by a Grand Trine in Earth, marking this as a time of manifestation and world building. This Full Moon brings another Grand Earth Trine, with Mercury the messenger stepping in to anchor Jupiter and Pluto. To emphasize that we're now in a time of action, Mars in Cancer trines the Moon and Ceres, and Saturn in Libra trines the South Node.

No planets are left out of the complex cats' cradle of this Full Moon; each adds a voice to the chorus. Where in your chart does this Full Moon fall? In my chart, the Moon shines late in my First House, the Sun last in my Seventh, highlighting the balance between Self and Other, testing the balance between caring for myself and tending my vision, and caring for others while facilitating theirs.

Late Monday, the Moon trines Mars in Cancer, signaling a time to act on intuition and honor our feelings. A few hours later, the Moon opposes Venus in Virgo, another opportunity to test our balance. This is the last classic aspect for the Pisces Moon, beginning a void of course time that lasts until the Moon bursts into Aries at 2:49am EDT Tuesday. A Full Pisces Moon followed the next night by a mostly-still-Full Aries Moon signals strong dreaming, so have pen and paper handy!

I'm exploring the powerful Wildwood Tarot, and the Mirror card symbolizes this Pisces Full Moon for me. Dreams and visions are illuminated, as we're reminded to stay grounded and take practical steps to manifest our dreams. The watery Lady holds aloft an orb that could be the Moon, as she rests the golden mirror against her breast. The heron, ancient woman of power, protects the crane bag filled with magical tools. In the background, a still figure floats on the waters.

The Full Moon in Pisces ushers in a numinous time, a hinge, a doorway. Light falls in all the worlds, and we gather in what we've sown. As above, so below.