Full Moon in Aquarius: The Head and the Heart

Full Moon in Aquarius: August 1, 2012, 11:27 pm EDT

The indie group from Seattle called The Head and the Heart offers the perfect title for the almost-here Full Moon in Aquarius:

With the Moon in cerebral, far-thinking Aquarius, and the Sun in passionate, expressive Leo, we discover anew we are both head and heart, both thinking, both feeling, both wanting.

This Full Moon comes with a Grand Trine in Air, a breath of fresh right when we need it, a chance to see our way clear, get a new perspective. The Moon trines Jupiter in Gemini and Mars in Libra, active, upbeat planets moving the Moon out of contemplation and into action.

The Sun is part of an almost-Grand Trine in Fire, trining Uranus in Aries while conjunct Mercury who trines the North Node in Sagittarius. Can you feel the heat? From the heart side, we're also pushed to act, take the lead, step into the spotlight, and express what's in our hearts.

The focus is on transformative action. There are two Yods mirroring each other, pointed at the Sun and Pluto. There are Fingers of the World, almost overlapping, pointed at Saturn and Mars. These tough-to-ignore patterns pull major players Pluto, Neptune, Chiron into relationship with Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Mercury and the Sun.

This Full Moon highlights where we're coherent, and where we're not. The head–heart connection energizes our ability to see how aligned our thoughts, beliefs and values actually are. The surrounding aspect patterns support taking action to create the coherence we crave.

A house divided against itself cannot stand. In these tumultuous times, gaining clarity on who are are, what we value, and how to act is both difficult and essential. The Full Aquarian Moon raises us up, offering a wider, more spacious view of life, the universe and everything.

This is a Full Moon in fixed signs, so the possibility of stubborn, even fanatical, commitment is there. "This is how I feel, this is what I believe, and I'm entitled to my opinion." ––How often have we read or heard that claim in the last weeks? Often with the implicit "And you're entitled to my opinion too" as they expound at length.

If this is where we find ourselves––entrenched and embattled––this Full Moon amps up the pressure. Pluto and Uranus are not patient forces (understatement!). If we insist on holding to positions that are unfocused, untenable, or not in our highest good, change happens.

This is tricky territory. We want and need the fierce passion and clarity of thought that will breach any barrier and bring us through to our goals. Yet we need flexibility and openness to respond to a change-filled world and move forward.

This calls for the creative playfulness of Leo as well as the innovative planfulness of Aquarius.

With Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Mercury, Mars and Saturn on board, a wide range of practices can help guide our way. Intentional dreaming, vision boards, movement meditation, shamanic journeys––anything active and energetic as well as intuitive will bring in the energies surrounding this Full Moon.

This is not the time to keep our lights hidden ... in the light of this Full Moon in Aquarius, we step into a brighter, stronger sense of who we are and what we're here to do. Then we do it :)
   

Gibbous Moon: The Final Draft Dress Rehearsal

"All the real work is done in rehearsal" Donald Pleasence

Gibbous Moon in Sagittarius: July 29, 2012

Last night's Moon was beautiful here. An intense late afternoon storm moved through, dumping rain, upending umbrellas, dropping temperatures, and blowing the sky clear. Later, the growing, glowing Moon rose while the twilight sky glowed deep azure.

These were the last hours of the mysterious Scorpio Moon, moody and intense. She moved into optimistic, adventurous Sagittarius overnight, shifting us into a more upbeat mood. The struggles haven't gone away, but there's an easing of tension, a glimmer of hope, a bend in the road.

Tomorrow, the Moon reaches her Gibbous phase, the square-and-a-half with the Sun that marks the last stage before the Full Moon. It's a fiery point in this lunar cycle, as the Sag Moon pushes against the Sun holding strong in Leo.

The Sun is conjunct Mercury, trining Uranus in Aries, and trining the North Node in early Sagittarius. So this Gibbous Moon is actually bumping against a almost-Grand Trine in Fire that links the revolutionary trickster, the karmic signpost, how we think and communicate, and our heart's core. (Uranus and the North Node are too far to be trining each other, but the Sun and Mercury link them both.) Heady stuff, this.

Yet Uranus and Mercury remain retrograde, and we're not at the Full Moon yet. The intense emotions, the private and some very public challenges, the ongoing polarizations unfolding within this lunar cycle are still in process. Not quite ready for prime time.

The Leo Sun and Sagittarian Moon look outward, ready to share. Mercury and Uranus retrograde keep the focus inward. Messages are taking shape here. Insights gained, perhaps some conclusions drawn. But we're still working on it. Things are still in process, under construction.

This is a very creative time. Venus in Gemini trines Saturn in Libra, flowing energy from creative vision into form, finding the right container for what we see, feel and wish to say.

This lunar phase moves us beyond introspection into creation. It's time for active processing, for getting words on paper, paint on brushes, hands into clay. It's time to find the right key, the best chords, the melody and lyrics to express who we are and what we know.

The thing is, Mercury and Uranus will still be retrograde through the Full Moon. There's something about the coming illumination that will call on the inner work we're been doing to bring forward something we haven't felt ready to share yet.

With that in mind, it's time to get the show on the road. Those trial performances, the late drafts we bring to our best readers––the Gibbous Moon says it's time.
    

First Quarter Moon: Who Can We Trust?

Can we?

First Quarter Moon in Scorpio: July 26, 2012

Life is confusing. Mixed messages, conflicting reports, intense emotion, high stakes––it's everywhere these days, and sky patterns reflect it right back to us.

Tomorrow's First Quarter Moon, the waxing square halfway between New and Full, puts us right in the middle. With that Moon in wary, skeptical Scorpio, we wonder: Who can we trust?

The First Quarter Moon chart is filled with challenge. (Like we need more of that now, right?) Mars continues opposing Uranus and squaring Pluto, bringing added tension and attention to the signature polarizing question of our times: How do we find a path out of the serious issues facing us, into a secure and stable future?

Neptune and Chiron continue to square the Nodes of the Moon, signalling both the opportunity to reach deep and heal old patterns of wounding, and the confusion and pain of not knowing.

A series of Yods around the circle point to Pluto (Sun-Mercury and Jupiter at the base), the Sun-Mercury conjunction (Pluto and Neptune-Chiron at the base), and the Moon (Uranus and Jupiter at the base). The Finger of the World still points at Saturn, with Chiron and Jupiter at the base.

These are the great forces of this time in history, aspecting the luminaries, highlighting the perplexing and sometimes painful intersection between the personal and the global.

The heart of the First Quarter chart is the square between the Sun and Moon, this time in Leo and Scorpio, fixed Fire and fixed Water.

With Mercury retrograde conjunct the Sun (and therefore also squaring the Moon), we see the potential for passionate anger and deep resistance. This is difficult emotional terrain.

Fire and Water are not seen as compatible, in the classical scheme. They're not seen as playing well together, especially Leo and Scorpio, the fixed signs.

In ancient Celtic legends, though, there is another view. The motif is seen in Hindu myth as well, and can be traced back to shared Indo-European origins: it's called Fire-in-Water, and signifies the presence of intense creative inspiration hidden in deep, dangerous waters.

The challenges of our times and our lives cannot be sidestepped. Choosing not to engage is itself a choice, with significant consequences. The only way out is through.

At this First Quarter Moon, we're shown that answers won't come easily. We'll need to dive deep, face things we prefer to avoid, to reach the gold.

For the Scorpio Moon, trust is always an issue. In a world of shadows and deception, what can we believe? The Sun and Mercury Rx in Leo say, we can trust our hearts to lead us ... if we are prepared to face truths courageously, express those truths passionately, and find the brilliant inspiration hidden in darkest shadow.