the weather inside me

february 28 full moon: there's a bingle in the bucket fer ya

Full Moon this Sunday, February 28th --complete and in time for your Sunday brunch date.

We've been banging on so long about this now tattered Mars in Leo retrograde, you'd think this Full Moon would be when the whole thing would go kerblewie. But NO. No, it certainly doesn't have to go kerblewie. Because the amazing thing about this Full Moon is it's NOT about Mars!

Frankly, I feel like the last two weeks have felt a bit like this picture. I'm exaggerating for effect, but I know others who can really relate to this picture.

I'm here to tell you, there's light in the middle of this storm.

Mars does play his part, but he's in the background working on an angle called the septile, and that septile is connected to Saturn in Libra who's job for the next year or so is refining our ability to get along with others. Mars in Leo is here to tell us not to forget about us, specifically those parts of us that seemed to have lost track of what naturally feels good and fun. (This might the part missing that'll help us get along better.) But this weekend the septile that connects those relationship themes to the other romping good fun themes is a non-rational angle, prone to tripping off artists, poets, children alike. The septile makes things available that don't usually fit the agenda and can't be easily explained. All this is good news if something's lost traction in the retrograde. All is not lost; there's a little bingle in the bucket for ya.

The rest of the chart is a playground of the mind. Mercury has finally run the gauntlet of his friends' opinions and his personal (false?) dreams, and he feels free to move on to new territory. We've seen the frenemy assumptions for what they are and now we're ready to move to relationships that are a bit more 'real'. Of course, real means...well, real. And that could be scary. But do you really wanna leap back into the snakepit of low expectations and false fronts again?

And then there's Pisces! And more Pisces and still more Pisces. The Sun conjuncts (sits on top of, really) Jupiter in Pisces. Finally we get to see a bit of what we were only imagining not long ago. Jupiter enlarges anything it touches --often with knowledge and faith-- and the Sun's presence here just widens the view. This is a classical "good aspect". Again, it's Pisces, so it's not going to force its blessings in your face. It might wave them --you know attached to an incense stick or a lollipop, but don't expect a boot to the head if you're looking for a sign.

A tingle maybe... Not far away Venus is ready to bump into Uranus. That's electricity, even under water --and you know what a great conduit water is for current... So know what you're playing with before you get in the emotional waters. Could be dreamy-zingy.

The only thing holding this slightly surreal, high-flying feeling together is the Moon in Virgo. Yes, THAT Virgo Moon so famous for it's skill in pricking anyone's balloon of happiness. UNLESS you just exercise discernment. Discernment is different than nit-picking and different than expecting trouble. Discernment gives us proportion. Discernment sees what's there without inflating or deflating the problem. You could also use the idea of "attunement". Virgo Moons are often very attuned to a solution long before you know what your problem is. This Full Moon, see what you can do with the best of Virgo-styled attention to details without freaking yourself over the details. (Venus-Uranus zingy-dreaminess helps)

Bottom line: the two weeks following this Full Moon will expand our ideas about everything that feels as if it's hanging in suspended animation right now.

If your ideas are hooked into fearfulness, and low expectations, you'll likely get that. This is generally true, but Aquarius and Pisces seem to have a doppler effect on our lives: we send something out among our friends and peers and it comes back to us seven times more powerfully a few seconds, minutes, years later. (Pisces doesn't do time well, so there's no guarantee of timing.)

This works both ways, too. Whatever you take in from the culture/peeps around you runs this delayed impacted, too. However, if you're willing to engage others with imagination, sensitivity and flexibility you'll benefit in a big way from this Full Moon.

Caveat: With Mars still hung up until March 10th, don't expect much movement toward any "clear" goal. You've likely got something personal in your heart that suddenly feels a lot truer and a lot more desirable that ever before. But the whole thing looks a lot like this bathtub, and will for awhile. This is less about someone else and more about what's true for you. Just play with it, don't freak over it. Keep it loose. I'm keeping it loose, too.

For those of you who want to dig deeper, Lynda Hill's Sabian Symbols for the Full Moon. Very useful for pondering both sides of this coin.

Illustrations: Cyril Rolando (first two) and Jerico-Santander.

the story so far...the (long) late february 2010 overview

If you're just joining us, here’s a summary on the current long and mid-term astro scene:

Pluto-Saturn square: it’s still on --the hard realities, the call to courage, the fear, the projecting of shadows-- but Saturn’s moving back into the Virgo degrees, so we’re just getting a second look at relationship “stuff” that popped up since last October. Count it a second chance at important conversations and decisions.

Neptune-Chiron in Aquarius: the end of an era, or as Gawker proclaimed it, “The Fake Decade”. Finally, we're getting it. Chiron’s not done with his work here, but these past few weeks have certainly given me some unusual views into inconvenient “truths”. And talk about a wild dream life. Oy. I need a break.

Jupiter in Pisces: Connections, identifications, and professions with and of encouragement and hope are totally available if you want them. As are big creative possibilities. Can you be the bigger person? Sure you can. (As I type this, I’m listening to Alan Simpson joking it was time to hold hands and jump into the wine-dark sea --of the budget deficit. Poetic water imagery as political threat? Only with Pisces.)

Avoid the paranoid and the generally detached from reality. This is the dark side of Pisces and not a comment on Mr. Simpson. Uranus in Pisces (at the end of the sign, now at 25+ degrees), is pulling punches with those teetering on the edge of the Fear Abyss. A lot people are completely convinced this is the end of the world. No, it's just the end of the world as they know it, a fact that's microcosmically true every day of our lives. Still, we can't ignore the big, big challenges we face as a country. It's just that fear is not gonna get us closer to a sane deficit, safe highways, or decent health care for all.

On a related note: if you’re a Pisces or have personal planets in Pisces, take care with substances this year--right on down to caffeine, MSG, BHT and food coloring. I’m serious.

And finally, Mars, still retrograde in Leo: Mars is really slowing down now, and by the full moon on the 28th will have reached it’s retrograde direct degree. So if you feel some kind of gear grinding or stuckness, that would be Mars. Ditto big case of anticipation. This is all about going backstage and reworking your self image. (My original horoscopes on the retrograde are here and here.) What you're feeling could be a case of stage fright, or could be a case of retrenchment before the big advance come March. Circumstances vary.

If you know where Mars is passing through your chart, just ease up on yourself in that area. Strategize, visualize. Play with any new ideas that popped up with the Neptune/Chiron bingle last week AND the Full Moon in Leo in mid-January. What do you want to do with that new knowledge?

Strangely, if we’re not handling our own nervousness or irritation well, we seem to invite similarly nervous, irritating people into our lives. Not always true, but you could play with that idea and observe other people’s responses to your energy right now.

A note to men, or anyone who cares about a man: I'm not a guy, nor do I play one on TV, so I'm not gonna pretend I know what this feel like for you. My thoughts are based on my own reading, and the thoughts shared by men at other serious astrology forums.

Mars retrograde is especially challenging for men; after all, Mars is THE planet of the male impulse, the anima, the dude in you. Here’s the bottom line: the man in your life (could be you!) may or may not know what Mars retrograde is doing, but it's affecting him nonetheless --rearranging his ego, his self-image, his heart, his leadership instincts, his pride for his pride (or whatever substitutes for his creative output, progeny or no).

Mars retrograde is all backwards and inhibiting, frustrating and often confusing for many men. You could be angry, frustrated, scattered, inconsistent, or distant --really, really distant. Especially now as we approach the incredibly slow stationing direct motion. Imagine trying to save the damsel in distress who's stranded on the opposite side of a molasses pit. And the molasses pit is your expectations about what guys should do, could do, did do --starting with your dad and then every significant male authority figure you've known in your life. Now imagine how difficult this time could be if you never really had a solid male figure who taught you what to do when damsels lie on the other side of molasses pits. McGuyver never had it so bad. This "self" thing won't get fixed with a Leatherman, some chewing gum and three paper clips. Think about that for a moment.

If the man in your life doesn’t know what’s going on, or they’re resistant to introspection, you get a guy who needs to take on the world instead of himself. This might get internalized as heart problems; Leo rules the heart. As Leo practically grinds to a halt, Evan Bayh announced today that he’s lost heart in his work in the Senate and will retire. This is not good for the already straggling Democrat majority in the Senate.

The WORST example of this impulse also showed up in the news today: Andrew Stack, an enraged, suicidal man (badly managed Mars retrograde?) who’s sense of manhood and pride (Leo) was threatened by the limitations (Saturn) imposed by a government (Pluto in Capricorn) agency, the IRS, flew his personal airplane into an IRS office.

No doubt his actions were exacerbated by feelings of paranoia and doom emerging from those who’ve been embracing the end of the world (Uranus in Pisces) scenarios. He's not the first man who's wanted to take on the IRS with violence, but as we're revisiting a Saturn-Pluto alignment that last appeared fall of 2001, I'm saddened but not shocked that Stack chose to mimic the violence of that tragedy by flying his plane into an IRS office in Austin, Texas. Note --this was his own Piper airplane, and thus, he was not one of the huddled masses spewing underclass resentment. This was a wealthy guy by any standard. Do you have Piper small craft docked in your local airport hanger?

On that note, I looked at Glenn Beck’s astrology last week. He’s got Venus at 29+ degrees Pisces, the last degree of the zodiac, aka, the end of the world (sort of). In short, he’s in love with the end of the world. Yes. Have a look at his wiki and you’ll see a guy obsessed with eschatology. We'll hear much more about his obsession come spring. Bank on it.

Sigh. So play safe out there folks. You don’t have to be paranoid. You don’t have to push people around. I know so many people who are experimenting with huge new possibilities for their lives. Really big thoughts. I've got one friend who was making good money as a black-jack dealer, but she's leaving the industry to work at a raw-food retreat. She'd been wanting to walk away, but it wasn't until she broke her wrist in four places over the January eclipse that the decision was forced on her. A break like that is a career ender for a card dealer. But the end didn't start there: as she became mentally and emotionally more stable, her tips took a nose dive and she knew why --unhealthy people only reward their own kind. She's a Cancer rising, so Leo is working through her second house of money and self-esteem.

If you're moving towards healthier self-esteem, know that some people will find this a turn-off and not know why. They would prefer you functioning as their food source for whatever emotional, financial, or practical service you give them. And you're gonna catch some flak for this. For my friend, this translated into lost income. If you're hanging with people who pay you for being as immature, selfish, and needy as they are, you're going to face a loss of something --a contract, a contact? Or you may face losing old friends. These are not easy losses at first because they represent an old image you've probably carried with you for years. But this whole year is forcing all of us to rethink the old ways. Those who refuse to change won't be any fun to hang with anyway. Keep that in mind as you grow and experiment with the new you.

The time is also exciting because it presents the kind of risks that demand truly creative thinking and not a little paradigm shifting/shattering going on in that mix. But the risk doesn’t disappear just because the adventure holds happy possibility. So compassion is very much in need right now, too. Compassion that entends both ways --to you and to those around you-- and patience.

In that spirit, I’m taking a few days off from this blog to address some work at my side. One project is a revamp of this site, another some notes for the upcoming NCGR conference...and then daily ephemera and sticky fingerprints that come with motherhood. I need to shift my focus for a bit. Maybe I'll actually go for a walk. What a thought.

I’ll be back before the Full Moon to talk about the Venus-Uranus conjunction and early March events.

Until then, have a visit with any of the forecasters on my link list. They’re good people who’ll be happy to serve your astro needs.

Ciao.

Art: lisacongdon.com

Photo: seattlepi.com

All other photos: Philippe Halsman

full moon courage

Courage. What makes a King out of a slave? Courage.

What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage.

What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist or the dusky dusk?

What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage.

What makes the Sphinx the 7th Wonder? Courage.

What makes the dawn come up like THUNDER?! Courage.

What makes the Hottentot so hot?

What puts the "ape" in ape-ricot?

Whatta they got that I ain't got?

Dorothy and all: Courage!

Cowardly lion: You can say that again.

Magic black guy is not going to ease our worries, analysts tell us, despite the ball of light he's holding in his hand.

Yeah. Eric's finally off the Planet Waves annual report leash and now delivering entertaining commentary on the Leo Full Moon and AIG bailout testimony in Congress. (I just fat-fingered that as "testimoney". Truly.)

This is great reading if you're following the financial crisis.

Photo: From PlanetWaves/CNN.

full moon roar under the world tree

Full Moon this Saturday at 10+ Leo, opposed by Sun at 10+ Aquarius. Building now.

Leos everywhere will finally feel a return of the inner fire because this Full Moon is conjunct the current Mars back-peddling his way through Leo. That should feel good.

The rest of us? I think this is about connecting with your emotional intent. What's driving your motor right now? Full Moons push our emotions to the forefront, so look for signs of what emotional and ego needs are really driving your intentions. They probably deserve your attention. And under these aspect, they'll probably demand your attention.

Here's a little image for you. A very, very simple but common picture.

 Picture a woman (or a man) sitting in her 6x6 parcel of the cubicle farm. She's a devote employee (to the extent that anyone can be devoted to the act of pushing numbers from one column to another) and a she's accumulated 243 friends on Facebook (that Venus retrograde last spring brought out half her high school, you know), and life is pretty cool. She knows where she came from and she still remembers her college fight song, her first Sunday School teacher and the high school haunts. She's got her co-worker lunch posse now, and the co-ed volleyball team that plays most Saturdays. She feels like she belongs. This is Aquarian group energy.

And yet, and yet and yet... Something is missing. And that something has been missing for a year now, or more.

Maybe she feels as if she's drowning a little in the global internet collective. It's a big stream. So she's been hiding more friends on her Facebook account and paring down the notices. Maybe she wishes she could have gotten that award for Best Accountant last year. Maybe she wishes her credit card company would stop misspelling her name. Maybe she'd just like to go somewhere different for lunch AND not talk about Sex In The City for once. And maybe she's wondering what's so wrong with that, anyway?

What she wants is a little recognition. Strike that. She wants a LOT of recognition. Some genuine props, or at least an acknowledgment that she's a real person with a real heart and her own dreams, not just one of the herd. This is Mars in Leo roaring.

If the she is a "he" in this story, multiply this drive by about 5x.

So I'm here to ask you: What's driving you to distinguish yourself from the crowd? What would you do or say that says, "YOU"? How are you pushing yourself away from the standard practices of your friends? Your townies? You homies? Your FeeBees? What's driving you?

This weekend should give you both insight into and an a opportunity to express this. But, because we're working with fixed or consolidating energy, think carefully about what you're fixing in place --especially if you have planets or points in the first ten degrees of Taurus, Scorpio, Leo or Aquarius. These degrees will be most affected.

Len Wallick at Planet Waves makes this point:

The trick for each of us will be to see the distinction between legitimate issues of autonomy and arbitrary stubbornness. In turn, any group in question will be challenged to balance its standards of conduct to allow individual expression. The outcome will depend on how open the flow of communication will be. This aspect will flow into and become part of the more powerful aspects at the end of the week.

Saturn in Libra will square Pluto in Capricorn immediately after this Full Moon. This demands cooperation, an eye to fairness and awareness of the power you're brokering.

Air signs value ideas and communication. Libra and Aquarius are Air signs, which means five planets right now want to exchange ideas and communicate. Diplomacy and detachment are helpful right now because they're going to balance that big emotional fireball heading our way. If we get the balance right, we could probably negotiate the recognition and contribution our hearts really want this week.

Finally, the Sabian symbol for the Full Moon degree is about a child swinging under a well-established and sheltering tree. This is about open expression and having fun --like Leo's playfulness. It's also about the big tree that was once a little acorn. It's about legacies left for all of humanity --a very Aquarian theme.

Individual experience within a larger communal stewardship are what this Full Moon is about. What's your inner fire burning for? Where do you want to make this investment? And with whom? Are adjustments (Saturn/Pluto) needed? Choose the high road --oh please, oh please.

I end this post with a quotation from William Blackstone, whose Commentaries (published when Pluto was last in Capricorn 250 years ago) are the backbone of western jurisprudence:

The public good is in nothing more essentially interested than the protection of every individual's private rights.

That's a lifetime stewardship right there.

i'm back

but I do need to sort myself.

My mac crashed a couple of days after the mercury retrograde, which is probably just as well because the eclipse was surprisingly more emotional for me than I had anticipated. I don't know why I thought this --the astrology of the year is ALL OVER 90% of my occupied houses and degrees.

This is a big year for me to get a move on and turn some big corners. No options, just do it.

Cancer --the sign of the recent lunar eclipse-- has a way of clinging to objects of emotional value (or perceived emotional value) in unhealthy ways. The energy just won't give up. I don't know what you discovered over the New Year's weekend, but here's what I learned. It's a Cancer lesson, fer sure.

With my computer gone AWOL for a few days I had no choice but to think about emotional evolution, letting go of old behavior patterns and expectations, many of which lead back to good ol' mom and the expectations I was reared by in my childhood home.

Specifically, I faced some of my "invisible contracts" with the people in my life. You know, the sort of contract you write without the other person's consent (According to the terms of My Ego, you will provide X...). This is an unfair and ultimately painful way to relate to anyone, and the unfairness begins with the subtle but insistent contracts I write with myself. So I had to face that this weekend. The details of the contracts are irrelevant; what's important is that I recognized what I was doing.

I'm pretty sure the loss of my laptop catalyzed the recognition. Our usual habits and possessions are useful props for creating our little realities that might not actually be real. Take even one away and we're pushed into addressing things we didn't want to see before. On a very practical level, the loss of my laptop (even temporarily) means I cannot work on three different projects that are demanding my attention.

Apparently my attention was needed elsewhere.

And now I'm back. But I've got a little bit of sorting to do. Will return soon to talk about the Mercury/Pluto conjunction and the upcoming solar eclipse.

full moons over december 2009

Full Moon Question: What are you all monkey-minded about? What's the chatter about, anyway?

So one full moon down and one to go. Sorry about the delay, but my own child (whose moon is in Gemini) was a bit loony yesterday. Natch.

As you can expect from a Full Moon in Gemini, those parts of you that respond to mutable themes of adaptability/mobility (any parts of your chart represented by Gemini, Saggitarius --especially-- but also Virgo and Pisces), you might be a bit monkey-minded this week. Full Moons tend to polarize our thinking though, so beware pushing yourself into a mental corner and thinking "no, no, I want this and that but I can only want this..." Why does it have to be one or the other? Oppositions demand we find some mid-point and integrate the two impulses. Otherwise we hurl ourselves from one desire/force to the other --and drive ourselves batty-- or we camp out on one end of the polarity and throw rotten tomatoes at our "other" self, the one we don't want to deal with.

 Today's talk about President Obama's Afghasnistan speech is a good example of a Full Moon Gemini moment on a public/nation scale. You have the theme of duality (Gemini) two approaches to the conflict, and then you've got a big moment of awareness with this defining speech (the full moon effect), and then you've got the polarizing debate (Sun/Moon opposition that occurs each full moon) about more or fewer troops, definite time limit or indefinite time limit.

The Sun is in Saggitarius, emphasizing foreign affairs, and the Moon (which in mudane/political astrology usually represents the people at home --Us in the US) is in Gemini. So the people at home are polarized/divided/a bit monkey-minded about the situation overseas. We're getting a lot of numbers and dates, but no one's sure what to believe or what we really need. 30 thousand troops? Is that enough? Enough for what? ...the debate goes on.

But I think Obama got it right last night. Here's my two-bit summary of the speech--and note the background emphasis of the Saturn/Pluto vibe: This really, really sucks, but we have to do it and I'm not going to make anyone happy about the way I'm going to do it. Because, hear me clearly: this sucks.

As I say, you don't need an astrologer to tell you this, but it's nice to see the symbolism in action.

Okee...And one full moon to go!

December 31st brings us another Full Moon along with a partial lunar eclipse. (!) Yes, New Year's Eve. This time the full moon is in the sign of Cancer, the home, family, ma, comfort food and yer roots. This will land on the same degree (10+), but in a cardinal sign, not a mutable. So less waffle room.

I'm anticipating this bringing some larger understanding of what truly feels like "home" to you. The Sabian Symbol for this degree is a clown making faces. Pretty good, there, because I feel most at home with people who share my sense of humor.

But keeping a good sense of humor is difficult over the holidays. Can you laugh with (at?) your own neurotic/crazy/dysfunctional family of origin? Oh lord, that's a good question. Can I? Some days, yes. I won't talk about the other days.

Now about that eclipse.

The eclipse will happen on the degree the Sun occupied when Uranus turned retrograde last summer (10+ Cancer). Now the Moon will pass over this degree (as it already has four times since July 2, 2009), but this time an eclipse will happen on that point. Eclipses, as I've said, close out something in our lives to allow a new influence or expression to emerge. They are like chapter endings/beginnings. Lunar eclipses bring emotional developments, like releasing old hang-ups and hurts. Lunar eclipses rip up old mental scripts and tapes, too.

If you've been tracking your personal growth path from last summer's eclipse season, think about the changes you've experienced or the risks you've taken since last summer. They might be subtle, but that's okay.

The way I'm looking at the December 31st eclipse as it ties to the earlier Uranus retrograde is like this: last summer you may have thought to yourself "I want to look/be/express myself like this". That's the Sun getting you aligned with a new development in yourself as an individual (Uranus). But you've encountered a bunch of hang-ups and blocks in being this new person, which, you know, is not unusual or unexpected when you're trying to develop yourself. Now comes this December Lunar Eclipse to knock down one (or a bunch) of those hang-ups and blocks that are hindering whatever you identified with or hoped to be last summer.

So often we get the vision (the Sun) of ourselves when our emotional development lags behind (the Moon). Yep.

AND THERE'S MORE FOR DECEMBER. Much more. Alas, here endeth the lesson of the Full Moons. Be back later for the rest of the story...

Art: James Grashow, "The Great Monkey Project," 2006, detail; DeCordova Museum.

Photo, middle: The New York Times, December 2, 2009.

Below: Art Durkee, Japanese brush.

blurt alert: full moon and uranus turns direct this week

Uranus is well known for it's association with surprises, large and small. And Uranus stationing events like this week often bring out unusual information, which makes for fun office gossip or exciting discoveries in someone's science lab. But with Uranus still in Pisces, we always have to wonder if we're hearing the straight scoop.

Mercury in Saggitarius doesn't help matters. For one, Saggitarius is a sign that blurts. Sure it's the kind of guileless blurting that's charming coming from a child, but coming from an adult...well...I'm just sayin'. [Insert shrug, smile and giggle, a la Jon Stewart, uber-Sagg.]

So Mercury in Saggitarius can blurt BIG.

"Are you gonna finish that cake? Geez, that's like 15,000 calories and you said you ass was big enough already!"

"Is that a condom in your purse?"

"Wow Mommy, you farted baaaaad!"

Always the truth; always at the wrong moment...

Put 'em together and be warned: Whatever pops out this week may be somebody's truth, may be part of the truth, but will not likely be the whole truth. Check your facts. Count to ten thousand before you launch any info-bombs from your email.

On the other hand...

This week could catapult you past some (experi)mental option you've been toying with, lo, these last six months (July 1st, to be exact when Uranus turned retrograde). A Saggitarius Mercury can get philosophical and into the God-stuff and the international/political/legal intrigue of it all. (Dubai, Afghanistan, anyone?) In other words, Saggitarius likes to talk about the big, big picture about what you and I really believe. If you've been wrestling with lots of details but failing to see the grander scheme of things, Sagg Mercury transits can paint that picture for you. But again, with Uranus in Pisces, be extra careful about the conclusions you're drawing.

Urgh. And yes, other excesses: for instance, I just ate ten Townhouse crackers, and I don't eat that kind of sodium saturated trans-fat junk usually. Did I enjoy them? No. Just mindlessly ate. (Could be a Taurus Moon grazing mood, too.) But my point is: Expect impulsiveness this week and be mindful, not mindless.

And lest we forget that great orb in the sky tonight: yes, we are right on top of a full moon, exact this December 2nd, 2:30AM CST. 

Will try to post on that tomorrow, but the same basic message applies: blurt alert!

If you've got something worth spilling and you don't mind the repercussions (they could be quite positive, you know), then this week may be your week to get on with the spilling. However, if you're merely passing on gossip or have a tough time already with the "edit" function of your brain, do try try try to hold back before you spill another's beans. What you pass on could be totally wrong.

Photo: Album cover, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker (yes, those Bakkers.)

taurus full moon, november 2

November 2, 2009: Full Moon at 10 degrees+ Taurus, squaring Mars at 7 degrees+ Leo.

Like a lot of people I've heard from this past week, we're struggling with tenacious colds in my house. Full moons tend to bring things to the surface. Usually it's emotions erupting, but on a strictly mundane (everyday) level, we could be seeing the full flower of this germ cycle. If that's true, then we're be ridding ourselves of the nasty-beasties well and truly over the next two weeks. I speak only for my house, but if you're over-run with nasty-beasties, let's hope you're free of them soon, too.

Taurus is a good nurturing moon, and I'm taking time to nurture myself a little this week. Reviewed alternative therapies yesterday and picked up some handy anti-bacterial Oil of Oregano today. As a self-employed person without health insurance, I need to be as smart as possible about common remedies before racing off to the Urgent Care office, and there are some great remedies out there that don't come from a prescription. I'm grateful for the prescription antibiotic, but does it have to be the first line of defense?

But I digress a bit. Taurus Full Moon.

Full Moon at 10+ Taurus. In the Sabian system, which attaches an image to each of the 360 degrees of the zodiac, this degree shows a woman sprinkling (or watering) flowers. The keyword is Care. Take time out to care for yourself. More easily said than done for some, but this full moon should be pushing something to the forefront of your experience that requires CARE. It's worth your attention, as we will have some hard-edged days ahead of us this month. Take care of yourself, first. Particularly if you're surrounded by colds and flu.

Sun at 10+ Scorpio. The Sabian image is a drowning man rescued. The keyword is Safety. Life takes a perilous turn but someone (or something) is there to pull you to safety. (You?)

Hmm...

and finally Mars at 7+ Leo. This makes a shape like a draftsman's T-Square (two 90 degree angles conjoined by an 180 degree line), and is thus called the t-square. So tricky. To interpret the t-square we look at the center point at the apex of the the two 90 degree angles --here the Mars at 7+ Leo. This is the degree receiving the most push --and giving the most push-back.

7+ Leo is the picture of a Bolshevik uprising; the keyword is Leaven. Leo = ego, and in many ways this is very very healthy. Leo says, "I count; I matter; I will not be ignored." The t-square is pressing our awareness of some healthy ego need within. You count; you matter; you should not be ignored. As Mars will continue in Leo for many months, this idea of UPRISING is likely to be a theme in the coming months. So what's the regime you're revolting against for the sake of your individuality?

Regimes do come into play, here: Leo's opposite is Aquarius and Aquarius themes are heavily active right now. Look at what's changing in your social circle, the people you call "friends" and the expectations (spoken and unspoken) that surround "your sort". They are changing, and so are you. As are your aspirations, hopes, and dreams for your future. Many people are taking a second look at social trends now, too. Facebook, Twitter and the whole social networking bandwagon is getting extra scrutiny. What is a real friendship now? A tweet? A Facebook update? Who knows. Do you?

Mars' journey through Leo will give you the mojo to be a bit more YOU. We've have a couple of eclipse cycles in the past two years that have been moving us to this more authentic self-expression. Our reputations are about to get a shake up. We are being pushed to grow past whatever culture dominates us. If you're a reflective person at all, you know you've had a few thoughts on this topic already.

Perhaps you're not ready to share them all with your current peeps, but changes are on the way and by summer you'll be crooning "I Did It My Way".

Use this week to note when and where and with whom you need to exert some push back. If it's your health, then do what you can to change a habit or adopt a practice that will improve your health. I'm recommitting myself to preventive alternative health practices and some dietary changes. And really, they were a long time coming. Other people I know are limiting social commitments or restructuring their lives to include more personal creative time. Whatever works for you, do it.

Care, Safety, Uprising.

Happy Full Moon everyone.

Art: "Bert and his Worry, Anxiety and Stress" by Lauren Gardiner

full moon september 4th

A full moon at 12+ Pisces. In the Sabian system of symbols this degree (read as 13 degrees Pisces) is represented by the image of a sword in a museum.

This symbol speaks to the far-reaching effect of the lives and deeds of historic figures of the past. The image of the sword in a museum emphasizes courage, honor and will-power. But the sword here is a weapon laid to rest, and as such it can symbolize prior hostilities, bitterness and conflict.

At every critical turn of events in recorded history some one or more individuals rise to glory and shape the destiny of the race, and down through the years, their courage and achievements continue to influence the thinking and decisions of new leaders in similar situations.

...At its highest, this symbol represents personal power, decisiveness, and the ability to inspire others by living collective ideals in practical, everyday ways.

[Negative expression] Gross exaggeration of the difficulty and magnitude of the achievements.

How does this relate to you?

People who enjoy the Sabian symbols see the full moon image as a theme that will color the last half of the month's moon cycle. In other words, for the next two weeks, look for themes of arguments and battles put to rest in the name of compassion and faith.

In the sign of Pisces, especially, we've got ample opportunity to tune into our most compassionate self OR have a fling down the wellhole of self-delusion, fleeing monsters of our own making.

The opposite of faith is fear, so the folks around you running on the delusional/end-of-the-world side of Pisces will no doubt find lots of precedent in history to support their hysteria.

Of course, President Obama's planned address to a joint session of Congress will happen during this waning period of the moon, though I doubt his opponents have any intention to donate their swords to the Smithsonian just yet.

Photo: Sword, Japan. 1857. Victoria and Albert Museum. Detail of the hilt of a sword (tachi) mounted in an ivory scabbard. Decorated with ornately detailed samurai & battle  scenes with mounts of the Meiji Period. This detail shows a battle scene with two samurai in full armour, standing next to a tree  on a battlefield, with pike staffs belonging to other soldiers in the background.