Waning Moon in Taurus

Steady, balanced action is the theme for today as the Moon continues walking through calm Taurus and Mars, planet of action, joins reliable Saturn in Libra, sign of harmony. The Moon makes no exact aspects today, so let's widen our angle of view and consider the patterns at play in to today's sky.

The Moon is in a wide Grand Trine, an equilateral triangle in the grounded Earth signs, that includes Mercury in Virgo and the North Node in Capricorn. With Pluto in Capricorn nearby, this pattern plants our feet firmly. Yes, the energy to transform our deepest structures (Pluto in Cap) is still present. Yet our feelings today highlight an appreciation for life as it is, naturally unfolding. Our thoughts and words are careful, measured, and intended to serve the needs of others. And our karmic path is steady and focused.

Meanwhile, Mars joins Saturn in early Libra, with Venus in late Virgo nearby. Venus rules both Libra and Taurus, making her energy strong today. Venus is how we relate to others and to the world, including in her sphere our one-on-one relationships, our aesthetic sense, and how we value balance, fairness and justice.

Mars and Venus stand with Saturn today, asking us to weigh our decisions and actions carefully. These three planets oppose the great change agents, Uranus and Jupiter in fiery Aries. The drive for dramatic change that Uranus and Jupiter carry needs to be balanced against the impact of change on those around us. Today's energy asks us to weigh our actions and desires.

It's feeling like a Thoreau kind of day to me. Researching his words on moving toward our dreams (so Mercury in Virgo would get the wording exactly right), up popped a blog called Zenhabits, offering posts with titles like "the best goal is no goal" and "slow wealth." Looks interesting, I'll be reading more. Zen is a good fit with today's energy: radical simplicity leading to deep transformation.

The quote I wanted to share is this one:

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler.

Today's photos are my own, from Allen Pond and Walden Pond in Massachusetts, taken this April.

Waning Moon in Taurus

The Moon entered the garden of Taurus at 4:13am EDT, waking gently with the dawn, listening to birdsong, and stretching luxuriously. Taurus is fixed Earth, sign of the patient gardener. This sign of calm, peace and a sensual enjoyment of life is ruled by Venus, and a place the Moon loves: she is exalted in Taurus.

The last few days of Aries Moon were heady, exhilirating times when perhaps you made the move to let something go out of your life ... something that needed to be released to make way for new, better, healthier, happier things. And yet letting go is not always easy. The Taurus Moon is a time for taking care of yourself and those around you.

Now is the time to look within and around. Where do roots need to be planted more firmly? Where does the soil need smoothing? Where are water and nutrients needed? We are not yet ready to plant new seeds, but Taurus is equally concerned with tending what is already growing.

The Taurus Moon trines Pluto in determined Capricorn at 10:28am EDT, sending energy to support our ongoing transformations. This morning might be a time to check in with our feelings about all the changes we're experiencing now, or ask the ancestors for their support. At 6:44pm EDT, the Moon trines Mercury in careful Virgo. After some time in reflection, the Moon and Mercury together might be ready to make a plan, organize some next steps, or share thoughts.

At 1:30am tomorrow, the Moon squares the Sun, the moment of the last quarter Moon. The square is an angle of challenge, a need for a new dynamic balance between the passionate outward expression of Leo and the calm reflection of Taurus. At this point, we enter the harvest time of the lunation cycle, when we begin to see more clearly the results of this growing season.

For today, take time to just be, experiencing fully what it means to be alive on this beautiful blue-green planet, part of the vibrant web of life, breathing in and breathing out with All That Is.

The sunrise on the way to Ketchikan and the Japanese garden by Ivanoff are available through WikiMedia Commons.

Waning Moon in Aries

The Moon continues her quest in pioneering Aries today, with no classical aspects until her final flow of bright energy with Neptune, planet of dreams and visions, at midnight tonight. Today, we feel energized, motivated to take action on whatever is holding us back. A good day for clearing clutter, blasting through barriers, and exploring new territory.

In the Wheel of the Year, this is the time of Lughnasadh, third of the four great ancient Celtic festivals. Celebrated as Lammas or Lammastide, this is the time of first fruits. Seeing the shape of the harvest to come, we offer the first grains to the gods and goddesses. We collect the ripe fruits from hillsides, gardens and trees for pies, jams and wines.

The Sun in Leo revels in his home sign, resplendent on his shining throne. Each Celtic festival falls in one of the four fixed signs, and Lughnasadh is the sign of fixed Fire. Astrologically, Lughnasadh falls in the middle of this middle-of-summer sign, at 15 degrees of Leo (August 7 this year). According to the calendar, Lughnasadh is celebrated on August 1, or on the first Sunday in August.

Fitting for a solar celebration, Lughnasadh is a time of games and sport. Traditional events included foot races, horse races, and competitions of skill in battle and in song. Lugh, champion of the Tuatha de Danann and patron of Lughnasadh, was also invoked in matters of commerce, and so this was the time of the great fairs, where all manner of goods could be bought and sold, and deals struck. As people from many communities mingled at the fairs, marriage contracts were also made, including the ancient Irish trial marriage for a year and a day.

At night, great bonfires blazed on the hilltops, marking another turning of the year. In the ancient Celtic calendar, Lughnasadh marked the middle of the bright half of the year. Some communities marked the turn toward darkness by setting great wheels aflame and rolling them down a hillside to be doused in a pool or lake, signaling the coming loss of the Sun.

Underlying the games and contracts of Lughnasadh fairs was the understanding that a year of growth was coming to a close. Ancient tradition says that Lugh created this festival to honor his foster mother Tailte, queen of the Fir Bolg. It was Tailte who cleared the plains of Ireland, making them ready for the grain crops to sustain the people. After completing her great labor, she died, and Lughnasadh is her funeral celebration.

At this waning of the Moon in Aries, we have the chance to feel keenly what it means to let go of something, perhaps something that has been dear to us, knowing that this letting go is the next step in our cycle of growth. Today we harvest our own first fruits, sharing the food of our labor with our communities, trusting that all we need for the next turn of the spiral will be provided.

The images of bilberries, bonfire and barley were adapted from photos available through WikiMedia Commons.