Full Moon in Virgo: The Particular

Sewing in the Garden by Henri Martin

Full Moon at 26 Virgo
Sunday, March 16, 2014
1:08 pm EDT / 5:08 pm GMT

Tomorrow's Full Moon in Virgo will shine her light at a slant, in the way side lighting makes the subject pop out, highlighting the detail Virgo loves.

Opposite the Sun, awash in diffuse and glorious Pisces, this Virgoan Full Moon points out something we really need to see. But even as She picks out the telling detail, this Full Moon does her best to be compassionate and calm.

We're swimming in some pretty choppy seas these days. The strong cardinal T-square of Pluto opposite Jupiter squared by Uranus continually throws transformational opportunities our way. (Ready or not, here they come!)

Saturn, retrograde in Scorpio, trines the Sun while squaring Mercury in Aquarius who trines Mars retrograde in Libra––plenty of stop-and-go there. We think we have The Plan (Merc in Aquarius) only to have some hidden factor show up (Saturn retro in Scorpio) or realize we need to make room for someone or something we'd overlooked (Mars retro in Libra) and then things get confusing (Sun in Pisces).

Now, that's not the only way those energies can combine, but the key factor is, they ARE combined, so things we thought were certain and set (Merc in Aquarius again) turn out not to be (any or all of the other players) in some important ways.

How do we fix it? ("It" being whatever we're working on right now.) The Full Moon will show us.

Stephanie Austin, writing in The Mountain Astrologer, reminds us that the Virgo–Pisces opposition is like the particle–wave situation in physics: definitely a both–and but we can only see one at a time. Pisces is the wave, a word so ancient it comes from what it is: the Old Norse vagr for moving billow of water. The fact that it's also linked to the Gothic weg, which means tempest, reminds us waves aren't always easy.

Particle comes from the Latin particula, which means "little part," the smallest bit of the whole. Particular comes from the same root, and Virgo is nothing if not particular.

The thing is, we often don't like "particular." It feels critical, too pointed, fussy––all the things we tend not to like about Virgo. Writing at virgo magic, Emily Trinkaus brings back an earlier view of Virgo as the sign of the Goddess.

She reminds us that goddesses were often keepers of sacred waters, in rivers, in pools, in the Grail. These Piscean waters were filled with creative and intuitive inspiration, and also dangers.

It was the role of the goddess of each water to serve as a gateway, protecting not only the water, but anyone who would come to taste, or bathe. She knew these waters were powerful, and specific, detailed actions were needed to encounter them safely.

Check your birth chart to see where 26 Virgo falls for you, and there you may find a message from the goddess at this Full Moon. Her gentle, if inexorable, side light will show us something we need to know, something we may need to do or be aware of, so we can move into our transformations safely.

Virgo is the sign of seat belts, warm sweaters, and an extra little snack for a reason. As anyone who's gone camping knows, there is NOTHING as wonderful as an expected pair of dry socks, or the bit of chocolate you forgot you had, on a cold and rainy night.

At this Full Moon, I'll close with Emily Dickinson, whose attention to precise detail seems fitting:

Tell all the truth but tell it slant,
Success in circuit lies,
Too bright for our infirm delight
The truth's superb surprise;

As lightning to the children eased
With explanation kind,
The truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind.

Emily Dickinson
         

Under Full Sail to the Full Moon

Dulac illustration for The Tempest

Crescent Moon in Aries
March 4, 2014
12:32 pm EST/ 5:32 pm GMT

First Quarter Moon in Gemini
March 8, 2014
8:27 am EST / 1:27 pm GMT

Gibbous Moon in Leo
March 12, 2014
12:18 pm EDT / 4:18 pm GMT

Full Moon in Virgo
March 16, 2014
1:08 pm EDT/ 5:08 pm GMT

Here's a thing: Venus, as she's traversed the end of Capricorn and beginning of Aquarius, has been squaring the Nodes of the Moon.

This is easing off now, but means we've been in a time when pointed questions have been raised about our values and our relationships and whether what we're doing (our path, the Nodes) actually reflects our goals (Venus).

This is not necessarily comfortable but can be enlightening––and also helpful, if we've drifted off course in the Piscean seas. Because Mars (now retrograde in Libra) is also involved, we have the chance to reflect on our actions and change them.

Have you found yourself making corrective changes in the last couple of weeks? Some small and maybe some not-so-small? That's Venus, Mars, and the Nodes of the Moon at work.

The ongoing transformation engine represented by Pluto opposite Jupiter, both squared by Uranus, continues to affect everything (and I do mean everything). So changes we make in our lives are linked into a much larger process of changing our world.

When we think about change on this level, it can lead to anxiety. And yet, there are so many things around us that need to change. There's also support out there, though we don't always see it.

The flows of positive energy (trines) right now are all focused on the Sun, Neptune and Chiron in Pisces. These planets are focusing (Sun) our attention on the widest possible horizon (Neptune) with an emphasis on healing (Chiron) that can sometimes be painful. There's a tremendous amount of intuition, creativity, and magic around (Neptune and Pisces) which can be inspiring, comforting, and also confusing.

Trines are such easy flows of energy, we take them for granted. So in these Piscean times, it's important to know that we are creative, magical beings. Also, we are surrounded by angels (or beings like angels but not called angels exactly if you prefer).

As we struggle with this information about where things are going wrong, and working to fix that, we can miss the magic and the support.

The Full Moon in Virgo will illuminate important details for us. I'll be writing more about that Moon later. For now, it's nice to know that even as we're feeling a sense of struggle, we're not alone (in a good way!).

This is a time to appreciate the magic surrounding us, and tap into that deep well of dreams and mystery, as we work to make our lives and our world better.
    

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.