Zorba the Greek, Rosebuds, and Saying Yes: Beltaine under a Waning Moon

Opa!

Disseminating Moon in Sagittarius
April 28, 2013 10:27 pm EDT
Last Quarter Moon in Aquarius
May 2, 2013 7:14 am EDT
Beltaine (Sun at 15 Taurus)
May 5, 2013 4:18 am EDT
Balsamic Moon in Aries
May 5, 2013 10:25 pm EDT

We've come through the eclipse gate of the Scorpio Full Moon, antennae still quivering from all the messages arriving. Does the world look different? It does to me! I'm still sorting it all out, and I imagine you are too.

Now we're in the waning cycle, the time of sharing, sending things out into the world, winnowing what we keep from what we don't need any more, and letting go of what's ready to leave.

This waning cycle is full of paradox. We've moved from the fiery, go-go-go energy of the Aries party into the slow, sensuous dance of Taurus: As we've seen since the Fall, there's a whole lot of energy concentrated in a single sign.

Right now, at today's Disseminating Moon. Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, South Node and Pallas Athena all rest in a Taurean garden full with green and growning things. Taurus is the patient gardener, Gaia, lover of Earth. At this waning time, the energy of the Earth is broadcast far and wide, signs of Spring after a long and difficult winter. This is something to welcome, to celebrate!

And yet ... the North Node, the path ahead, is across the way in shadowy Scorpio, along with Saturn still retrograde in Scorpio. Reminding us it's not all hearts and flowers. Reminding us of limits and responsibilities. Reminding us that the cycle of life includes death. Not what we want to hear on a lovely Spring morning.

This is the paradox, perhaps the key paradox of life on Earth: We don't last. We change. Things slip away from us. We love life, and it goes away. How do we cope?

One option during this cycle is denial. Taurus can be very stubborn, and the South Node, place of the past, is right in the middle of the garden. We can refuse to change,  refuse to acknowledge the inevitability of loss.

Or we can refuse to participate––we can do what Brené Brown calls "foreboding joy" –– not allowing ourselves to feel too happy in the hopes we won't feel too let down later when it all doesn't work out.

Guess what? None of that works. We just miss out on the joy part, which kind of sucks. This is a paradox we want to embrace, no matter how painful it looks at first. This is Zorba the Greek, dancing through life, the life he describes as "the full catastrophe." 

During this waning Moon cycle, we hold both joy and pain, growth and decline, stability and change and the yes/and improv that is the dance of life.

Today's Disseminating Moon is in happy-go-lucky, adventurous Sagittarius. At the Last Quarter, the Sun–Moon square, the Moon is in uniquely revolutionary Aquarius. We're in the territory of "yes" here, finding the heart to laugh, celebrate, and let go as we need to.

Then comes a really amazing Beltaine, on the day of the Balsamic Moon, a coincidence that captures the theme of this waning cycle perfectly.

Astrologically, the four great fire festivals of Imbolc, Beltaine, Lughnasad and Samhain, occur when the Sun reaches the middle 15th degree of the four fixed signs. This year, the Sun reaches 15 Taurus on May 5, the same day as the Balsamic Moon, the time when we moved deeply into letting go, as the dark of the Moon draws near.

Beltaine arrives early in the morning (EDT), with the Moon in mystic Pisces, sign of the Fae folk, and of magic of all kinds. During that day, the Moon moves from Pisces, the last sign, into the fiery passion of Aries, the first––more than metaphor, this is exactly the shift we celebrate at Beltaine, the miraculous emergence of new life.

By late evening, we reach the Balsamic Moon, when, perhaps, the energies of the Beltaine fires are being released. This year, those celebrations are likely to be felt with special power, as we all tap into the deep mystery of the full cycle of life. 

Gather ye rosebuds, one and all. This life is fleeting and eternal. We are always the same and ever changing. The loveliness of this Earth, so present and abundant at this time of year, is the very thing we celebrate and let go of, both/and.

This year, in this cycle, we are shown the way to celebrate life without denial, without regret, accepting joy. This year we say Yes!

Full Moon Thursday!

Full Moon from space, Earth's luminous being on the left

Full Moon in Scorpio
April 25, 3:57 pm EDT

An update and correction: The DATE on my original post is correct but a paragraph lead said "Saturday's Full Moon" and the 25th is, of course, Thursday.

I corrected the original and added a comment, but that didn't send a message to my email and RSS subscribers. So, here the correction: the Full Moon is THURSDAY. (A big thank you to my reader who emailed, reminding me I needed an updated feed too.)

So here's an additional thought on the illuminating Moon soon to arrive: I'm returning from an intensive shamanic workshop with Betsy Bergstrom, who I found to be an amazing teacher, and shared with a wonderful circle. We spent a lot of time talking about power––no surprise in this lunar cycle, right?

To live the life we hope for, the fullest, juiciest, most wonderful life we can have, the meaningful life we're meant to have, we need to step into our power. We need to be what Betsy calls power-filled.

This is not about dominating, controlling, pushing or pulling. It's all about claiming our individual sovereignty. Each of us has a natural, inalienable right to be who we are in the world. We each have the right to shine.

This Full Moon in Scorpio, with Sun in Taurus and all the patterns already explored, is a wonderful time to tend our own light. Where are we standing in our own power and allowing others around us to stand in theirs? Where do boundaries need tending? Where can projections be withdrawn?

As this Full Moon approaches, may we see ourselves as the shining luminous beings we are, and see all other beings around us in the wonder and beauty of their luminosity.
    

Full Moon Eclipse in Scorpio: Hecate's Magic

Hecate

Full Moon in Scorpio
April 25, 2013 3:57pm EDT

Full Moons are hard to miss. Even when the night sky is full of clouds, somehow we feel a full Moon. Life becomes a bit crazier, wilder, over the top.

THURSDAY's Full Moon comes with a partial lunar eclipse, opening this year's "eclipse season" –– May brings two more eclipses, one solar and another lunar. Lunar eclipses always accompany Full Moons, giving this Full Moon extra strength––think espresso, or really dark chocolate.

Eclipses are turning points, times of emphasis and change. Eclipse patterns repeat at roughly 19 year intervals; to understand what might be coming up for you at this Full Moon, look back to what was happening in your life 19 years ago. This eclipse might revisit that same territory in new ways.

Now factor in the sign of this Full Moon: Scorpio, sign of the underworld, the subconscious, the Shadow; sign of the detective, the therapist and the spy. Scorpio knows who has skeletons in the closet and where the bodies are buried.

A Full Moon to prepare for.

This Scorpio Full Moon eclipse arrives with deep emotion, boatloads of karma, long-term effects, and high voltage. Am I planning to hide under the covers, or, better yet, leave the planet? Nope, I'm not. I'm looking forward to pressing yet another cosmic reset button on my adventurous way. Honest.

Full Moons illuminate. Their spotlights show us where we are, and how we're doing with whatever that is. With this Full Moon in Scorpio, we're likely to see one or more of the following on our personal large screen:

• Power! This lunar cycle began with an Aries extravaganza. Mars (Aries ruler) is also the ancient ruler of Scorpio, and will conjunct the Sun at the Full Moon. So ... how are we handling power? Are we responsible? Afraid? Controlling? In denial? This will be a headliner.

• Deep emotion. Scorpio is a Water sign, so our feelings selves will be awake and aware. This Full Moon is part of the Grand Trine in Water that includes Saturn (conjunct the Moon in Scorpio), Neptune in Pisces, and Ceres in Cancer.

How are we feeling? What do we feel deeply about now? Where are we confused (Neptune) about our feelings, or perhaps unsure if our feelings are justified, accurate, or reciprocated? Where do we feel insecure, or compelled to nurture others? Where are we facing the consequences of emotions, perhaps because we became obsessed, or codependent, or overcommitted?

• Where we're stuck. Scorpio and Taurus are both fixed signs, and can be beyond stubborn––immovable, in fact. Mars and Saturn, conjunct the Sun and Moon, might push us to move, or might just decide to stay exactly where they are.

Meanwhile, there's a yod (finger of fate, as aspect pattern that points like an arrow) aimed to the North Node, which also happens to be in Scorpio. This yod is pushing, with Mercury energized in Aries and Jupiter expanding in Gemini, asking, why haven't we changed already? Are we waiting for an engraved invitation, or what?

Uranus in Aries, the revolutionary trickster, is inconjunct the Full Moon, adding his own considerable power to the equation. At this Full Moon, we're likely to see where we're stuck and (if we pay attention) what we can do about it.

• Self care. Taurus is the sign of nurturing the body; Scorpio is the sign of tending to the psyche. Finding balance between the two can be challenging, but is essential. With issues of power, emotion, and stuckness coming up for review, we also need to attend to how we're doing overall. Kindness and self compassion are good watchwords, and this Full Moon may point out where we need to bring some of that to the fore.

Why the scary goddess Hecate? She's a goddess of the crossroads and dark places, a goddess of choices and deep knowing. She's demonized as a witchy death goddess, but then, Scorpio gets a pretty bad rap a lot of the time too.

Hecate is a goddess of great power, connected to deep emotional issues, who knows how to move us on when we're standing at the crossroads not sure where to go. She helped bring Persephone out from Hades, restoring the Earth's capacity to grow and be fruitful.

One of Hecate's symbols is the torch. At this Full Moon, as we begin a new 19 year eclipse cycle, calling on the energy and guidance of a goddess who can navigate in dark places seems like an excellent plan.

Checking where this Full Moon will fall in your birth chart offers extra information about where and how this Full Moon will illuminate your life. Which house will this Full Moon appear in, for you? Will any of your planets be touched by the patterns this Moon will form? These are the pointers to look for, to see where Hecate's light may shine into shadowy places.