(Every ‘moon’th when the Sun and Moon are exactly opposite each other in the Zodiac = the Full Moon.)

This Full Moon has a strong ARIES stellium involved: VENUS and CHIRON are at the exact same degree as the SUN, 8 degrees Aries, and CERES is not that far away at 13 degrees Aries.

This particular Full Moon, which is in a sign already oriented to centering others and relationships (Libra), invites us to be even more deeply attuned to our connections, our beloveds (Venus), with our empathy (Chiron) fully engaged, both for ourselves (Aries) and for others (Libra), while practicing self-care and nourishment (Ceres) that we may show up more fully our best selves with our loved ones (and beyond).

This excerpt from How We Show Up: Reclaiming Family, Friendship and Community by Mia Birdsong really speaks to me of the healthy, high ground integration of the Aries/Libra axis of energy, which is being stimulated in full, clarifying light by this Libra Full Moon:

VENUS has now entered the fire sign of ARIES (Mar 21-April 14), along with the Sun (Mar 20-April 19), Ceres (Feb 20-May 8) and Chiron (2018-2027).

VENUS is all about our connection needs and how we relate. Venus in Aries challenges us to root more deeply into our individual needs/desires and to courageously bring them forward more honestly and directly into our relationships. However, it doesn’t end there. The passage below from Mia Birdsong’s book, How We Show Up speaks to this Venus in Aries high potential very well. But, first, a couple of words about Chiron and Ceres, as the Birdsong passage also integrates these planetary energies.

CHIRON represents the development of empathy/compassion through tending to our own wounding/pain, by engaging in a deep inner healing process. Chiron in Aries invites us back to our origins, perhaps into greater awareness and tending of any wounding/distortion we may carry that is ancestral, passed down through our lineage, and tending with the intention of healing into greater clarity, warrior wisdom and empowerment.

CERES represents self-care and self-nurturance, and also how we offer care/nurturance to others. Ceres in Aries invites us to advocate for and prioritize our own self-care which allows us to show up for others in a better way. Win-Win!

Mia Birdsong writes:

“I’ve come to understand that the things I want to do to be my best self and live my best life are also necessary for me to be in workable relationships with others. That means self-care, self-reflection, healing and evolving. It means tapping into tremendous compassion for others and ourselves as we journey. It means committing to our own evolution, and supporting the evolution of our loved ones as they support us. This work we have to do is also about reorienting ourselves around what it means to be an individual. Our individuality is entwined with our connectedness; so the work of healing and growth happens both alone and in relation to others. We are the only ones who can decide we will heal and grow, but it’s a collective process.”

SATURN in AQUARIUS SQUARE URANUS in TAURUS
 

VENUS enters AQUARIUS today at 6:05am PST!

The essence of the Aquarian process is individuation. Individuating from our conditioning. Sifting through the layers of how we’ve been programmed to think, feel and behave by dominant culture.

Venus represents the function of forming relationships and connections – both human and more-than-human. From Feb 1-25, 2021 transiting Venus is motivated by Aquarian energy, stimulating us to critically examine how we’ve been conditioned to think about relationship, how we’ve been conditioned to be in relationship. How much of this conditioning actually matches who we authentically are and how much creates incongruence, inauthenticity, a box that is too small?

Feeling this Venus in Aquarius energy so strongly, I went back and re-listened to the episode on this very topic of deconditioning around relationships and sex with Dr. Kim TallBear on the All My Relations podcast. I so highly recommend giving that episode (#5) a listen during this Venus in Aquarius time. It is stimulating in exactly a Venus in Aquarius way!

And, as you may know, it’s not just Venus that is in Aquarius right now but also the Sun, Mercury (Retrograde Jan 30-Feb 20), Jupiter, Saturn and the asteroids Lilith, Pallas Athene and Neith! A very, very Aquarian time.

And, know there is more Aquarian energy to come: the New Moon in Aquarius on Feb 11, 2021!

This photo came floating into this LEO FULL MOON day from 7 years ago…here we are, feeling a sweet kind of contentment, the warmth of the morning Sun on our faces.

And, this quote…

“Today, for some reason, I see how short our lives actually are & how I forget to look in your eyes & stop time entirely & say, ‘You have made this life for me.'”
-StoryPeople by Brian Andreas

LEO is at home in the 5th house of the wheel of the zodiac, which is the realm of falling in love…with friends, lovers, children, pets, summer sun, trees, birdsong, stars, ocean waves, flowers, squirrels, falling leaves, book shops, cupcakes, music, dancing, dew drops… Most deeply the 5th house/LEO is about falling in love with Life…

Have you seen the new animated film, “Soul?” Wow…it brings this 5th house/LEO logic alive. The spark of desire to LIVE this earthly life, to engage wholeheartedly in all the spontaneous moments of beauty, pleasure, contentment, bliss, creativity, connection…to shine authentically and feel joy in others’ shine…

May the bright light of this Full Moon phase illuminate our spark for living and all the ways spontaneous moments of pleasure and sweetness show up on this earthly plane. And, may we let our loved ones, human and more-than-human, know…“You have made this life for me.”

Happy Full Moon Phase of this ‘Moon’th! The Full Moon is exact on December 29th at 7:28pm PST at 8 degrees Cancer and will remain in the Full Moon Phase for several more days. Each of the 8 moon phases is about 3.5 days in length. So, we move from 2020 into 2021 with the Moon in the phase of the height of its LIGHT!

The above card is from the NEXT WORLD TAROT deck by Cristy C. Road. 

Cancer is the first water sign of the zodiac, ruled by the Moon, inviting us to feel everything. Primal, raw feeling. From the Cancerian lens, it’s not even necessary to understand all the feelings coursing through us, rather the primary importance is to allow ourselves to FEEL it all. And to especially allow ourselves to soften and feel the most tender, vulnerable feelings. To allow our precious hearts to be more deeply felt and shared. High, holy Cancerian potential is a life, an embodied way of being where emotions can flow like rivers, clearing stagnancy and nourishing the natural movement of LIFE.

The NEW MOON SOLAR ECLIPSE at 23 degrees SAGITTARIUS takes place Monday, December 14, 2020 at 8:16am PST. This eclipse occurs near the South Node of the Moon, which is representative of “karmic past” energy, showing up as shadow expressions of whatever sign it is in.

The sign is Sagittarius, which in its shadows perpetuates an addiction to certainty, clinging to beliefs, refusing to question or examine outside of that belief system or set way of doing things, especially if that way of doing things honors the “god” one (individual/society) worships.

Sagittarius is the sign associated with religion and is driven to make a “god,” a religion, out of something, which in itself is not a shadow. It only becomes shadow if it takes on a fundamentalist, “my way or the highway” mentality. And/or when the worship of said “god” causes harm.

In a capitalist society where money is “god” and material success and the growth industrial complex reign supreme, we worship by accumulating more, more, more. By extracting more, more, more.

The nature of Sagittarius is to say, “Yes!” which again, in itself is not a shadow. The shadow emerges when it becomes greed, entitlement, chronic over-extension. (Lack of boundaries: “yes, yes, yes, more, more more.”) Not being able to recognize when enough is enough.

And, the cost with such a worship is always the exploitation of Life…some in human form and some in more-than-human form.

Saturday, October 31st at 7:49am PDT – FULL BLUE MOON IN TAURUS (Conjunct Uranus EXACT at 8 degrees Taurus):

URANUS has been such a major player in 2020 with its energy touching so many of the New/Full Moons…and now again. This planet of REVOLUTION and INNOVATION is demanding a grand DISRUPTION of the status quo, as the status quo is destructive, exploitative and unjust on so many levels (racist, white supremacist, capitalist, hetero-normative, patriarchal…).

And, as adrienne maree brown writes in truth-telling, Scorpionic fashion, “Remember supremacy is a projection rooted in a hatred of self. Remember racism is a form of insecurity.”

Uranus shakes us, rattles our souls, “Wake up! There is a better way! Let’s come together in all of our vibrancy and difference and get wildly creative.”

Bottom line = Uranus activates the potential for breakthroughs in consciousness which can lead to individual and societal trajectory-altering awareness and change.

adrienne maree brown’s words below resonate so poignantly with the energy of this Uranian Full Moon and all the innovative work that lies before us in creating a future that is better, not just for some, but for ALL.

From her piece, Additional Recommendations for Us Right Now from a Future:

“Task: Be revolutionary.

Need: The changes we are responsible for shaping are profound. When we can see the end of our species on the horizon, we must operate at a scale that extends our life beyond the horizon.

Mantra: We root the work we do and the ways we do it in love, in being an extension of love in the world.

Context: Even if we don’t have a clear sense of the exact solutions to fix the future, we should have a clear sense of how we want to feel in ourselves, in our relationships with each other, in community, and in relationship to the planet. Those feelings aren’t for the far-off future, they are guidance to what we must be seeding and practicing now, right now. 

Practice: If we believe that we are miraculous, we must treat ourselves and each other that way. 

Practice: If we believe in community, then we must get curious about the ways we need to grow and communicate in order to truly be a part of community. Not just one community, but the multitude of communities we intersect with.”

This post is part of one of my newsletters. If you’d like to view the newsletter, please click here.

NEW MOON at 23 degrees LIBRA at 12:31pm PDT today, October 16, 2020 – This Libra New Moon is opposed by Action-Oriented Warrior MARS (in retrograde/reflection and regroup period until Nov 13) and Godexx of Discord ERIS, both in courage-building ARIES + squared by Opportunity for Resiliency JUPITER, Maturation-Time SATURN and Guardian of the Underworld/Initiator into Utter Transformation PLUTO – all three planets in CAPRICORN.

This is an intense, power-packed New Moon…a continuation of the energies of 2020! LIBRAN energy has an innate sensitivity to and desire for fairness, equity, balance, justice and peace. And, Libra knows this work cannot be done alone, it must be done in relationship, in community. Retrograde Mars opposing this Moon sparks energy for deeper reflection and regrouping so that effective action may be taken in the direction of these high Libran potentials. I came across this new song by Ani DiFranco. So spot on for this New Moon!

The FULL MOON in AQUARIUS arrives on Monday, August 3, 2020, exact at 8:59am Pacific Time at 11 degrees Aquarius.

Aquarius is ruled by the planet URANUS, which has the energy of earthquakes and lightning bolts!

Disruption. Honest Confrontation. Protest. Resistance. Revolution. Rebellion. Radical Change. 

Astronomically, Uranus is the only planet to spin on its side! So, if you imagine how a planet’s equator would normally be running horizontally, Uranus has dramatically tilted so its equator is nearly vertical! Shaking the planetary norm up to the core!

At the time of the upcoming Full Moon, Uranus in the sky will be making a dynamic 90-degree angle (a square aspect) to the Leo Sun and Aquarian Moon. Needless to say, this Full Moon is powerfully intensified and electrically charged by its own ruling planet!

Aquarian/Uranian energy functions in its high potential to critically examine and question dominant culture (status quo) and the ways we have been socialized/conditioned/influenced to think, feel and behave by and within this culture.

Definition: Dominant culture in a society is the group who wields more power than other groups.

In the United States, the dominant culture is synonymous with oppressive white supremacy culture, which is the cultural conditioning that white bodies and the ideas, thoughts, beliefs and actions of white bodies are superior to all other bodies and superior to the ideas, thoughts, beliefs and actions of all other bodies (Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ)).

In the birth chart of the USA, based on the date of July 4, 1776, the Sun is at 13 degrees Cancer. (see 1st chart below)

The FULL MOON LUNAR ECLIPSE happening tonight (see 2nd chart below), July 4, 2020, is exact at 13 degrees CAPRICORN, directly opposing the Sun (core identity/values) of the USA (upon which the USA was founded and operates).

Core values of capitalism, white supremacy, colonialism, imperialism and patriarchy are at the heart of the birth and growth of the USA. This country was founded upon the genocide of Indigenous people and the abduction and enslavement of African people. This truth is a glaring wound in this country’s founding and history. An abhorrent abuse of power from the very beginning and still so flagrantly operating in systems today – education, health care, criminal justice, ownership of property, policy/law-making, media, military, etc… (systems and structures in society are the domain of Capricorn.)

With this influx of raw, fiery MARS/ARIES energy over the next 6 months, speaking as one who was born into and steeped in the “Minnesota Nice” flavor of white-body supremacy, what a ripe time to burn through layers of that conditioning, such as the propensity towards “niceness,” politeness, passivity, dissociation and silence…in the face of injustice.

“Your niceness is inadequate.” –Resmaa Menakem (from his On Being interview)

MARS/ARIES energy is visceral and fierce. It invites a greater physical, embodied capacity to stand the heat. To grow one’s amplitude to hold greater discomfort, to move towards that intensity in order to disrupt fear-based, contracted, harming patterns.

MARS represents the function within each of us that longs to be courageous, to be brave. And, one of the most direct ways to build bravery is by truly facing what we fear. As a close friend of mine and Grandmother Against Kroll** puts it, “Do it afraid!”

Do it anyway!

**Grandmothers Against Kroll is a small group of Elder protesters calling for the resignation of Minneapolis Police Union head, Bob Kroll. They meet once a week at the fifth precinct with their signs and voices, engaging police officers in discussion as they come and go. YES!!! Mars in Aries.

The below excerpt is from the book “White Fragility” by Robin DiAngelo:

May we recognize our agency and use it with intention.  Asserting ourselves with ever more forthrightness, clarity and passion. Rising up in empowered voice and action.

AND, part of that warrior wisdom is understanding, particularly as white bodies, what adrienne maree brown talks about in her blog post “a word for white people, in two parts”:

“redistribute resources. not as charity, which is just another way to assuage the conscience of privilege. redistribute money, leadership positions, decision-making power, land, time in meetings, visionary space, relationships with philanthropy, speaking opportunities, press attention, health care benefits – if you can measure it, you can redistribute the resource.”

Those of us in white bodies, MARS in ARIES is a sharp call to come to awareness of our white-bodied advantage, privilege, position and power and use it in all the ways we possibly can in service to justice and the fight for human equality, which includes sharing/redistributing our power and wealth of resources. And, not just for right now, while Mars is moving through Aries, but in a sustained way for the rest of our lives, with our eyes, hearts and integrity centered upon systemic, structural change.

T H E  S U N moved into the mental, changeable air sign of G E M I N I today. The transiting North Node (evolutionary potential for the collective) just shifted into Gemini earlier this month and will be in Gemini until Jan 2022. Mercury and Venus are both in Gemini right now (Venus will be there until August). And, this Friday’s N E W  M O O N is exact at 10:38am Pacific at 2 degrees Gemini.

A BOUNTY OF GEMINI STIMULATION!

To read Ashley Fairbanks’ full post.

May we be devotees to Taurus/Earth wisdom not just during Taurus season or a New Moon, but always. May we honor Earth’s capacity to shock us into higher awareness and evolution (may it be so) and bring us nose to nose with reality (Saturn) that we may activate our capacity to innovate (Uranus) and create systems of sustainability and respect for all creatures of this Earth (Saturn).

We are now in the B A L S A M I C  M O O N  P H A S E, also called the W A N I N G  C R E S C E N T  M O O N  P H A S E, which happens every month for about 3.5 days just before the New Moon.

This last phase of the Moon cycle is a time that deeply supports tuning into our natural impulses especially around surrender and letting go. For example, when exhausted, rather than pushing through and forcing yourself forward, perhaps taking a moment to pause, whether that be a few deeper breaths in stillness…or a nap.

Allowing for more rest and sleep during this Balsamic Moon time is deeply supported. As is time to connect inwardly, to reflect, ruminate, receive, meditate, pray…connecting with Source as Source is for you (for me, I connect with Source through communion with Nature as well as the wisdom of my own body/soul – as I, too, am Nature).

F U L L M O O N in V I R G O exact at 10:47am PDT on Monday (19 degrees Virgo). Earthy, grounded, discerning energy within ourselves is now more readily available to tap into. And, this Moon is opposite N E P T U N E at 18 degrees P I S C E S. Neptune’s high-vibe, ethereal, elevated frequencies are available to attune to simultaneously.

I’m sharing this 528 Hz recording I’ve had playing softly over the last several days. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiT3lCydEFQ

From mindvibrations.com: “The 528 Hz frequency is the most significant of the ancient Solfeggio Frequencies. Known as the “love” frequency, it has a deep-rooted relationship with nature, and is present in everything from Chlorophyll to human DNA…”

Mars moved into the sign of Capricorn at 3:33AM PST and Mercury went retrograde this afternoon at 4:54PM PST. These two shifts present an opportune time to activate our will to action (Mars) and dig into what has been on the back burner, especially creative projects (Pisces).

I have a big creative project that has been awaiting me, yet over the last few weeks I have not felt able to settle into it. I decided not to fight it and just wait until Mars moved into grounded, focused Capricorn. 🙂 With this shift in energies, I feel much much closer to diving in. AND, there’s a persistent knowing in the back of my mind that before I do so, I need a bit more mind space cleared in a very tangible, concrete, practical way = All of the birth charts I have done over the last 5 years need to be put into alphabetical order! Woah. This has definitely been on the back burner.

Well, Capricorn energy helps us do what feels like a mountain!⛰

___________________________________

(A few hours later…)

From December 25, 2019 – January 10, 2020, we are in between eclipses. We are in an eclipse tunnel or portal further activating the Capricorn energies (along with the other cardinal signs: Cancer, Libra and Aries).

Eclipse portals are often experienced as times of increased intensity. Life happenings may seem to speed up or happen faster than usual. Time may seem to bend. Shadow material, repressed energy, memories may rise up from the depths of consciousness to be integrated during this time. We may be able to accomplish feats that had previously felt overwhelming.

An abundance of planets are currently in the earth sign of Capricorn – Jupiter, Mercury, Sun, Ceres, Saturn, Pluto (and the South Node of the Moon) – ushering us out of one decade and into a new one. This energy is highly encouraging of us to commit with discipline and focus to the investment of our time and effort only into projects, paths and visions that are firmly rooted in our INTEGRITY.

That which is not must be released, or we will begin to feel like we are trying to fill a bucket, full of holes, with water as the water is flowing out faster than we can pour it in. Without integrity, our energy leaks out and drains and eventually depletes.

If you’d like to read more about the astrological energy of 2020, including the ECLIPSE PORTAL we are currently in (Dec 25-Jan 10) and much more, please see my January 2020 Newsletter.

🌑NEW MOON SOLAR ECLIPSE in CAPRICORN✨

Exact @ 9:13pm Pacific Time – Dec 25, 2019

This New Moon Solar Eclipse (4 degrees Capricorn) is fused with the optimistic, resilient, visionary energy of Jupiter (5 degrees Capricorn) and in harmonious trine aspect with Uranus (2 degrees Taurus), Deity of Earthquakes and Lightning ⚡️ Bolts, whose flashes of breakthrough insight and energy help us awaken (as if out of a stupor) to see more clearly, to question and disrupt problematic patterns of conditioning (cultural, societal, familial, religious, etc).

✨Winter Solstice✨The Sun enters into Capricorn at 8:19pm Pacific Time✨December 21, 2019✨We are of this earth…life and death are old friends✨

The Sun in Sagittarius and the soon to be FULL MOON in Gemini (exact on 12/11 at 9:12pm PT) invite walks down new trails with new horizons for the eyes to see sparking new understandings and realizations.

Venus and Saturn are also fused together at 18 degrees Capricorn at this time with Pluto very nearby. This conjunction gives weight and intensity to this Sag/Gemini expansiveness. There’s a pull into our depths right now with potential for more honest, revealing inner-exploration and conversation with serious reality checking within ourselves in relation to our relationships.

The following question wants to accompany us on our walks down new trails: How am I showing up in my relationships? ✨How we show up wants to deepen and expand.

JUPITER ENTERS CAPRICORN
Some significant astrological events are unfolding that I want to share with you, starting with today – Jupiter entered Capricorn this morning at 10:19am PT. It’s quite an energy shift when a planet changes sign, especially a slower moving planet. Jupiter takes 12 years to make its full orbit around the Sun, so it changes sign about every year, give or take.

The last time Jupiter was in Capricorn was Dec 2007-January 2009. Thinking back to that time period, what was unfolding in your life? Where were you? What were you up to?

If you have your birth chart handy and are familiar with it, it can be insightful to see where the sign of Capricorn lies in your chart. This is the area Jupiter was stimulating back then and is stimulating now through December 2020. 

SATURN & PLUTO CONJUNCT IN CAPRICORN
Not to mention the fact that both Saturn (Ruler of Linear Time, Convention, Structures and the Maturation Process, the Taskmaster, Authority Figure, Wise Elder) and Pluto (Ruler of Death/Rebirth Processes…Cycles of Creation/Destruction/Regeneration, the Ultimate Transformer, Shaman, Phoenix, Guardian of the Underworld) are also currently in Capricorn and will be coming together for an exact conjunction on January 12, 2020 at 22 degrees Capricorn. Can you feel the intensity just thinking about it!?

JUPITER & PLUTO CONJUNCT IN CAPRICORN
Annnnd, Jupiter (the Great Amplifier, Visionary, Seeker of Infinite Possibilities, Ruler of Resiliency, Expansion and Faith) and Pluto will come together in Capricorn three times in 2020 on April 4, June 30 and November 12.

Whew! It is always powerful, catalytic energy when Pluto is involved, which in Evolutionary Astrology translates as rich growth potential to open ourselves to individually and collectively. We certainly have before us ripe opportunities for significant change on both sides of the coin in 2020 – deconstructing/dying and new creation/birth.

MORE ON JUPITER MOVING INTO CAPRICORN
Like that giant, rooted tree pictured above, the sign of Capricorn is of the Earth element and is ruled by the planet Saturn. It wants to make things tangible and real through focused intention, discipline, hard work and integrity. Capricorn is associated with mastery, with excellence, wanting to dedicate itself to something of substance, built upon a foundation that will flourish over time.

When Jupiter, the Boundless Visionary, enters Capricorn, it’s time to come down to earth with our big dreams and ideas. Capricorn ushers in a practical, grounding energy which impacts Jupiter’s default leaning towards limitless expansion, risk-taking and sometimes the preference to stay in the visioning stages.

Capricorn looks Jupiter in the eyes and says, “Jupiter, it’s time to choose one of your aspirations and make it real. There are only so many hours in the day, and who knows how many moments to a life, SO with all of your broad-reaching sense of possibility, it’s time to focus in and:

1. Define a goal that is grounded in greater purpose and integrity.
2. Commit to it with wholehearted discipline.
3. Climb that mountain to the top – or it may be a journey to the depths – no matter what, one step at a time with optimism in your heart like the sun shining through the branches of that giant, rooted tree.”

And, if that weren’t enough astrological info in one email, I must add just one more thing because it feels important.

ECLIPSE SEASON:
We have an upcoming eclipse on December 25, 2019 in guess which sign?!

Yup, you’ve got it, Capricorn!

This current 2-year Cancer/Capricorn eclipse cycle we are in began in July 2018, bringing Cancerian/Capricornian themes to the forefront. Cancer and Capricorn are opposite signs in the zodiac, therefore they make a whole, like yin and yang.

Just a wee bit about the energies of this duo:

Cancer is ruled by the Moon and in its high ground is concerned with matters of heart, home, sense of place, family (both given and chosen), nourishment needs and how to nurture growth and healing within and with others. Cancer is also a highly imaginative, creative energy.

Capricorn, ruled by Saturn, is, in its high ground, concerned with matters of responsibility and commitment, both of which benefit greatly if aligned with integrity. Capricorn needs purpose; purpose larger than one’s own self. Capricorn rules the realm of Great Work – the gifts we bring forth and offer to others.

These Cancer/Capricorn themes (and more) are activated to varying degrees in all of our lives through the last Capricorn eclipse on July 4, 2020 at 13 degrees Capricorn, which will bring this current 2-year eclipse cycle to completion.

The New Moon in LIBRA is exact at 11:26am Pacific, today, Saturday, Sept 28 (at 5 degrees Libra). Chiron is in opposition to this New Moon at 3 degrees Aries.

This relational, justice-oriented, Chironic moon cycle is an opportunity to see the past more clearly and consciously address old, repetitive, destructive patterns of relating with other human beings that have been passed down through the generations.

Libra, in its high potential expression, deeply cares about equality and the correction of injustice. There is a new audio program that I am currently listening to again and again, “The 1619 Project:”

The 1619 Project is a major initiative from The New York Times observing the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery. It aims to reframe the country’s history, understanding 1619 as our true founding, and placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of the story we tell ourselves about who we are.

You can start listening here.

July 16, 2019: PERSONAL NOTES FROM THE ECLIPSE TUNNEL