The Chinese New Year is actually a Lunar New Year determined by when the second New Moon occurs after the Winter Solstice. Sometimes this date falls in January, other times, in February. 2012 is the ChineseYear of the Dragon, said to bring good fortune and intense power in Eastern cultures. In Chinese tradition, the dragon is regarded as a divine beast. Now, couldn't we all use some luck from this mythical creature?!
It is said that those born under the sign of the Dragon are colorful, confident and fearless. Since this "larger-than-life" symbol is once again making an appearance, we can expect BIG things to be happening rather quickly this year. Look for a year that flows like a river, bringing unpredictable events into our lives. The Dragon brings with it the perseverance needed to deal with this auspicious year!
In Western astrology, today marks the New Moon in Aquarius, the seed time for inventive ideas and new connections, especially if they involve groups, technology and/or the world-wide web. Aquarius is the Fixed air sign signifying inventiveness and ingenious ways of perceiving new answers to old issues. This is the time to use the crystal clear vision that the winter months provide to tend to social and public affairs that involve the well-being of others. Freedom to express oneself is an important hallmark of the Aquarian individual and like Sagittarians, they value the independence to come and go as they please. While Aquarius is a friendly sign, there is an emotional detachment that allows these natives to move toward the future using their intellect rather than their feelings.
Another big celestial event occurs this evening as fiery Mars stops and turns retrograde at 23 degrees of Virgo for a little over two and a half months, not going direct until April 14th. The significance of this is akin to a traffic jam where we get to sit and stew, playing out the scenarios of what is bothering us over and over, or where we figure out what we need to do to take the next step. As Virgo is an adaptable Earth sign, it is concerned with organization, cleanliness and health and nutrition. Is there something you need the fire power of Mars to help you change or let go of in to bring order back into your life?
My suggestion would be to take the focus off your frustrations, because you don't want them to get bigger. Instead just apply the energy (Mars) to letting go of that bad habit, or pulling together the necessary paperwork you need to do your taxes, or make the healthy changes to your diet or daily routine that you have been thinking about. If you use this Mars retrograde energy instead of letting it use you, you'll be amazed at what you can accomplish in a couple of months!
In the meantime, people may be rather picky and annoying so remember that Virgo likes healthy boundaries when deciding if this (whatever it is) is something you can do something about or not and don't get lost in the details of someone else' neurosis. I like the word disentanglement which implies a process; don't blow anyone out of the water, but perhaps you can begin to disengage from those habits, people or situations that aren't healthy for you.
On Friday, communicative Mercury, the messenger of the gods, moves into Aquarius for a brief 3 week visit, after which s/he'll go into Pisces and remain there until April 14th. Mercury is at home in Aquarius and can positively hum, vibrationally speaking, in the innovative and progressive sign of Aquarius! Pay attention to brilliant ideas and be sure to write them down. If you can brainstorm with a friend or colleague for clarity and to get the ball rolling fast, do it. The expression, "there's no time like the present" applies to this week, so get moving!
Remember to keep your head in the stars and your feet on the ground!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
January's Last Quarter Moon in Libra and The Sun's Entry Into Aquarius
Some of you may realize that Quarter Moons, First and Last, can be as potent as, or more potent than, New and Full Moons. The reason is fairly clear. In the solar/lunar cycle from New to Full Moons, there are two points when the Moon pulls away from the Sun to form a challenging square aspect to it and those are the First Quarter and Last Quarter Moons. I will get around to talking about today's Last Quarter Moon in a bit, but first some background information on the effects of Quarter Moons.
The period from New to Full Moon is about growth and is concerned with overcoming obstacles from the past which may impede our progress. The First Quarter Moon will bring up some kind of conflict that shows the necessity for change if we are to achieve what we set out to do at the New Moon. If we have not acted in a positive manner to get things done, the insight at the Full Moon will show only the conflict. If, on the other hand, progress was made and past restrictions let go, the Full Moon will illuminate the progress made!
The Last Quarter Moon phase is between the Full and next New Moon. It is a time known as a 'crisis in consciousness' or the period of awareness of this lunar cycle and how well we did getting to this point. If one has been positively illuminated by the Full Moon, then the process of letting go to prepare for a new cycle is enjoyed. If the Last Quarter Moon shows discord and negativity, then the inner and outer are at odds and problems can ensue. The Moon pulls us inward to gauge our own rhythms while the Sun draws us outward. Think of this cycle as a cosmic dance when the partners join at the New Moon, separate for adjustment at the First Quarter, then experience clarity at the Full Moon and seek their way back consciously at the Last Quarter in preparation for re-joining at the next new Moon.
Now that the ground work is laid, today's Last Quarter Moon at 25 degrees of Libra will show where harmony exists or is needed in your relationships. This is the time for conscious awareness and release. Are things flowing in the direction you intended at the December New Moon in Capricorn? Who do you need to ask for a do-over, let go of, or continue to collaborate with as you work toward your goals? The answers to these questions and any efforts at clearing the way this week will get you ready for the New Moon in Aquarius on the 23rd, a time for group endeavors, new associations and sharing of exciting information. First, the Sun enters Aquarius on Friday, the 20th, before the Moon joins her dancing partner next Monday!
When a planet moves from one sign in to another, it's called an "ingress". The Sun does this twelve times a year, entering each sign of the zodiac along a belt called the "ecliptic". On Friday, the Sun travels to that part of the sky encompassed by Aquarius, the "water-bearer". This is not a Water sign, but is the fixed Air sign of the intellect, the unusual, the unconventional or independent energies that flow on unseen waves, like electrical currents, connecting and distributing. In the body, Aquarius rules the nervous system and the blood flow.
During the month that the Sun is in Aquarius, the time is right for trying new things, connecting with people of like-mind and doing humanitarian or group work. The common good becomes important and while Aquarius is given to rationalization and clear thinking, it is not because of a lack of caring, it is the utilization of progressing toward a shared goal without emotional entanglements hindering the efforts. Think of Spock in Star Trek, he cared but couldn't show it; his best attributes were figuring out things in his ingenious manner but being a team player was difficult especially when he knew he was right and could help the others. We all know quirky Aquarians and our world would be so much bleaker without their inventive minds and friendship. This month we all get to play out the Aquarius in our charts as we join together to affect change where it is needed.
Remember to keep your head in the stars and your feet on the ground.
The period from New to Full Moon is about growth and is concerned with overcoming obstacles from the past which may impede our progress. The First Quarter Moon will bring up some kind of conflict that shows the necessity for change if we are to achieve what we set out to do at the New Moon. If we have not acted in a positive manner to get things done, the insight at the Full Moon will show only the conflict. If, on the other hand, progress was made and past restrictions let go, the Full Moon will illuminate the progress made!
The Last Quarter Moon phase is between the Full and next New Moon. It is a time known as a 'crisis in consciousness' or the period of awareness of this lunar cycle and how well we did getting to this point. If one has been positively illuminated by the Full Moon, then the process of letting go to prepare for a new cycle is enjoyed. If the Last Quarter Moon shows discord and negativity, then the inner and outer are at odds and problems can ensue. The Moon pulls us inward to gauge our own rhythms while the Sun draws us outward. Think of this cycle as a cosmic dance when the partners join at the New Moon, separate for adjustment at the First Quarter, then experience clarity at the Full Moon and seek their way back consciously at the Last Quarter in preparation for re-joining at the next new Moon.
Now that the ground work is laid, today's Last Quarter Moon at 25 degrees of Libra will show where harmony exists or is needed in your relationships. This is the time for conscious awareness and release. Are things flowing in the direction you intended at the December New Moon in Capricorn? Who do you need to ask for a do-over, let go of, or continue to collaborate with as you work toward your goals? The answers to these questions and any efforts at clearing the way this week will get you ready for the New Moon in Aquarius on the 23rd, a time for group endeavors, new associations and sharing of exciting information. First, the Sun enters Aquarius on Friday, the 20th, before the Moon joins her dancing partner next Monday!
When a planet moves from one sign in to another, it's called an "ingress". The Sun does this twelve times a year, entering each sign of the zodiac along a belt called the "ecliptic". On Friday, the Sun travels to that part of the sky encompassed by Aquarius, the "water-bearer". This is not a Water sign, but is the fixed Air sign of the intellect, the unusual, the unconventional or independent energies that flow on unseen waves, like electrical currents, connecting and distributing. In the body, Aquarius rules the nervous system and the blood flow.
During the month that the Sun is in Aquarius, the time is right for trying new things, connecting with people of like-mind and doing humanitarian or group work. The common good becomes important and while Aquarius is given to rationalization and clear thinking, it is not because of a lack of caring, it is the utilization of progressing toward a shared goal without emotional entanglements hindering the efforts. Think of Spock in Star Trek, he cared but couldn't show it; his best attributes were figuring out things in his ingenious manner but being a team player was difficult especially when he knew he was right and could help the others. We all know quirky Aquarians and our world would be so much bleaker without their inventive minds and friendship. This month we all get to play out the Aquarius in our charts as we join together to affect change where it is needed.
Remember to keep your head in the stars and your feet on the ground.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
First Full Moon of 2012 in Cancer
The Full Moon occurs at 19 degrees of Cancer early in the morning on January 8th on the east coast. Cancer is the cardinal water sign whose expression affects the subconscious, the emotions, and our instincts. Cancerian people are like their symbol, the Crab, always protective of their home and emotions, making them somewhat evasive when it comes to direct answers. When the Moon is traveling through Cancer, it's home territory, people can be very sensitive and prone to emotional wounding. The Full Moon will highlight emotional needs relating to the seeds sown at the Capricorn New Moon on Christmas Eve.
The Sabian Symbol for the Full Moon degree is "A Priest Performing A Marriage Ceremony". This is about the ritualization of a traditional union whose purpose was for perpetuating the way of life of a particular culture through their progeny. Adding in the spiritual element of a ceremony blesses this union and sanctifies it. In this day and age, we know that the species has expanded on the Earth and perhaps what needs to be sanctified now is our commitment to Mother Earth in order to maintain life on the planet!
We have a special relationship to the Sun and our satellite, the Moon, as it orbits the Earth, showing our relationship to the life-giving sun through it's quarterly cycles. We are at the whim of the moon as it moves around the earth in a 29 day synodic cycle each month, (time it takes to go from one New Moon to the next New Moon), moving through all twelve different signs of the zodiac, pulling on the waters and emotions of us fragile human beings. I think that one thing it's time to do, is to renew our vows as the stewards of the earth and this Cancer Moon highlights that need.
Cancer, water, moon, emotions, undercurrents, subconscious... they are all words having to do with how secure we feel. I suggest you take some time to look at your issues of safety and security and ask yourself what you feel or intuit you need to be doing to make your home, your 'self' and your emotional needs more readily met. You cannot "figure this out", it needs to be a gut reaction to the words you're reading and the feelings evoked when I say, We are going to need emotional balance and a sense of safety and security as this year of upheaval and change progresses. This Full Moon at the start of 2012 reminds us that the time is now to secure a sense of emotional well-being in our lives and where we live. I am not trying to provoke f.e.a.r. (false evidence appearing real...) but rather a renewed commitment to finding peace in your daily lives. There will be a lot of turmoil and upheaval this year, given the interactions of the cycles of revolutionary Uranus and transformational Pluto.
As an aside and a topic for another time, some of you have asked me about my thoughts on Dec. 21, 2012 and the end of the Mayan calendar. Short answer... we're getting a new calendar. Long answer... the world is not going to end, maybe the world as we know it and know it needs to change, but that is a discussion to follow in another post. Please stay present in your daily lives and replace fear with love, it is the only true emotion! Ask yourself, which would you prefer and the answer is easy; do not give energy to fear, do something to focus on what you want, not that which you don't want. Step by step, every day, you have the power to make a choice with every thought, decision or action about where you want to be!
For some this may involve sanctifying a union with that special someone you have already committed to in your heart and whom you know will always be there for you. Others may be seeking the nest they need that offers them security and dignity when they go out in to the world. Still others may have intense emotional issues or nurturing they need to address. Whatever you identify as wanting attention at this Full Moon, you'll need to take the time or make the time to begin, it might be a telephone call, a letter or an admission to yourself of your real needs that gets the ball rolling.
Then, sometime late on Sunday or early Monday morning, please perform some small, or large, ritual or ceremony for yourself that allows you to make this commitment to yourself and your secure place on Mother Earth as you flow with the nurturing energy of this Cancer Full Moon. A good moon ritual is to fill a small bowl with water and place it in front of a lit candle; write your intentions, all the people you want blessings for, and prayers for the earth on a small piece of paper, then say it out loud and carefully light it on fire from the candle and drop it in to the bowl of water, before you singe your fingers! Don't forget to leave an offering of a piece of candy, a flower or some small trinket for Mother Earth.
Remember to keep your head in the stars and your feet on the ground!
The Sabian Symbol for the Full Moon degree is "A Priest Performing A Marriage Ceremony". This is about the ritualization of a traditional union whose purpose was for perpetuating the way of life of a particular culture through their progeny. Adding in the spiritual element of a ceremony blesses this union and sanctifies it. In this day and age, we know that the species has expanded on the Earth and perhaps what needs to be sanctified now is our commitment to Mother Earth in order to maintain life on the planet!
We have a special relationship to the Sun and our satellite, the Moon, as it orbits the Earth, showing our relationship to the life-giving sun through it's quarterly cycles. We are at the whim of the moon as it moves around the earth in a 29 day synodic cycle each month, (time it takes to go from one New Moon to the next New Moon), moving through all twelve different signs of the zodiac, pulling on the waters and emotions of us fragile human beings. I think that one thing it's time to do, is to renew our vows as the stewards of the earth and this Cancer Moon highlights that need.
Cancer, water, moon, emotions, undercurrents, subconscious... they are all words having to do with how secure we feel. I suggest you take some time to look at your issues of safety and security and ask yourself what you feel or intuit you need to be doing to make your home, your 'self' and your emotional needs more readily met. You cannot "figure this out", it needs to be a gut reaction to the words you're reading and the feelings evoked when I say, We are going to need emotional balance and a sense of safety and security as this year of upheaval and change progresses. This Full Moon at the start of 2012 reminds us that the time is now to secure a sense of emotional well-being in our lives and where we live. I am not trying to provoke f.e.a.r. (false evidence appearing real...) but rather a renewed commitment to finding peace in your daily lives. There will be a lot of turmoil and upheaval this year, given the interactions of the cycles of revolutionary Uranus and transformational Pluto.
As an aside and a topic for another time, some of you have asked me about my thoughts on Dec. 21, 2012 and the end of the Mayan calendar. Short answer... we're getting a new calendar. Long answer... the world is not going to end, maybe the world as we know it and know it needs to change, but that is a discussion to follow in another post. Please stay present in your daily lives and replace fear with love, it is the only true emotion! Ask yourself, which would you prefer and the answer is easy; do not give energy to fear, do something to focus on what you want, not that which you don't want. Step by step, every day, you have the power to make a choice with every thought, decision or action about where you want to be!
For some this may involve sanctifying a union with that special someone you have already committed to in your heart and whom you know will always be there for you. Others may be seeking the nest they need that offers them security and dignity when they go out in to the world. Still others may have intense emotional issues or nurturing they need to address. Whatever you identify as wanting attention at this Full Moon, you'll need to take the time or make the time to begin, it might be a telephone call, a letter or an admission to yourself of your real needs that gets the ball rolling.
Then, sometime late on Sunday or early Monday morning, please perform some small, or large, ritual or ceremony for yourself that allows you to make this commitment to yourself and your secure place on Mother Earth as you flow with the nurturing energy of this Cancer Full Moon. A good moon ritual is to fill a small bowl with water and place it in front of a lit candle; write your intentions, all the people you want blessings for, and prayers for the earth on a small piece of paper, then say it out loud and carefully light it on fire from the candle and drop it in to the bowl of water, before you singe your fingers! Don't forget to leave an offering of a piece of candy, a flower or some small trinket for Mother Earth.
Remember to keep your head in the stars and your feet on the ground!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)