Astro-Notes on March 31, 2018 – Libra Full Moon

We have a Full Moon on the Easter Weekend that is the second Blue Moon this year, which means it is a rather rare and special event. Since astrology is a symbolical language there are correlations here to the theme represented by the Easter festival, such as passing/crossing over, resurrection and renewal and this is not surprising, considering this Full Moon is the culmination of the Pisces lunation cycle that started out with the New Moon conjunct Chiron in Pisces and will end with Chiron having entered Aries and thus crossed over the Aries Point – we’re looking here at the closing of a long cycle and the start of a new one and we’re literally shifting from the omega point to the alpha point.

The Sabian Symbol for the Pisces New Moon was “The harvest moon illumines a clear autumnal sky. Keynote: The light of fulfillment that blesses work well done – CONSUMMATION.” This implies that some long-standing issue will come to an end during this cycle and this issue is related to salvation, suffering, sacrificing, saving, bridging, a missing link or part, crossing over, the healing of a wound, the closing of a gap, insights or revelations that could hurt or leave us disillusioned etc. In addition, an image we had of ourselves or a role we slipped into related to the victim, martyr and perpetrator triad will be transcended. Whether it’s obvious on the ‘outside’ or not – spring has sprung (the vernal equinox also happened shortly after the New Moon).
Preceding the Libra Full Moon is Venus’ ingress to Taurus, her spring sign, where she will be traversing until April 24. This adds a different flavor to the Full Moon, who is ruled over by Venus. Up until yesterday night Venus was in Aries, disposited by Mars, and our priorities and values up to this point were driven by initiative, impulsiveness, survival needs, acting on desires and wants and this included fighting for our values, security or what we have and own. Now Venus in Taurus corresponds to a period when we seek to build up emotional and financial wellbeing and security, sustain and tend to relationships, attachments and talents and accumulate possessions, when we want to secure what we have and feel more comfortable in our own skin, when we prefer routine and repetition as well as comfort and complacency and indulge our senses.

Venus is holding a semi-sextile with Pallas after Pallas just made ingress to Gemini, a sign that adds flexibility, adaptability and objectivity to our mental strategies and maneuvering. Consequently, we will be more inclined to look at both sides of an issue and keep an open mind, instead of insisting on having things our way or pursuing the same tactics time and again and then adjust our values and priorities accordingly.
With the Full Moon in Libra, issues concerning Self versus important others are coming to a head and have to be confronted, integrated and reconciled by coming to an agreement, opting for the middle way as well as by way of negotiating, harmonizing and balancing.
The story weaved by the symbolical language of the Sabians is as follows: ‘The harvest moon that illumines a clear autumnal sky’ (Sabian Symbol for the Pisces New Moon) has been replaced by ‘a professor peering over his glasses at his students’ (Sabian Symbol for the Libra Full Moon) – whatever we’re reaping or whatever situation or image is ending or transcending is leading to a new set of circumstances that needs to be looked at or pondered for its future potential. Therefore, ‘the airplane that sails high in the sky’ (Sabian Symbol for the Libra New Moon from October of last year), or in other words, ‘standing above an issue by transcending the conflicts and pressures of the personal life’ (keynote of the Sabian Symbol for the Libra New Moon) has made us into ‘the ruler of a nation’ (Sabian Symbol for the Aries Sun), suggesting that we’re claiming power and control over our own life after we realized that we need to act, assert ourselves or do something (Aries) to restore the balance or a sense of justice and fairness in our life (Libra).
The Sabian Symbol for the Full Moon at 10:44 Libra states:
“A Professor peering over his glasses at his students. Keynote: Problems attending the transmission of knowledge in a special cultural setup – INSTRUCTION.”
The Sabian Symbol for the Sun at 10:44 Aries states:
“The ruler of a nation. Keynote: The power resulting from the formal integration of the collective desire for order – CENTRALIZATION OF POWER.”
(Dane Rudhyar, “An Astrological Mandala: The Cycle of Transformations and its 360 Symbolical Phases”, Pages 178-179 and 57, respectively)

Tarot card of the day is the “2 of Swords”, representing a delicate balance. We may feel as though we have reached an impasse or even a stalemate. What is needed is a truce so that the problems we’re dealing with can be resolved using logic and the intellect, especially if we don’t know how to proceed. It’s a card of choice that could require from us to make a split decision. There is a sense of being caught between a rock and a hard place, which could make decision-making difficult or, on the other hand, could have us torn by indecision or opposing choices. Awareness of the consequences of our decisions is therefore imperative. However, resolutions will be found and a new beginning is arising out of this.

Astro-Notes on March 25, 2018 – Review of the First Quarter Moon in Cancer

I wanted to write a blog post at the time of the Pisces New Moon and then at the time of the spring equinox and then of course at the time of the First Quarter Moon, which transpired yesterday, but I’ve been too busy running errands and aligning my schedule with others (Juno in Pisces is quincunx the NN in Leo). Well, Venus and Mercury have been in Aries for most of the month; so, it’s not surprising that I focused on my own agenda and priorities first. Besides, I’ve been trying to get some stuff for my new apartment to make it feel more homey and also to get rid off the boxes, which were still sitting in my living room, and since I’m living on an island the selection we have here is rather limited. Not to mention that many stores are catering to the high-earning percentage of the populace here and are therefore not affordable for folks like me who can barely get by.

With Mercury being placed in my 4th house natally, I’m also not ready or willing to spend a fortune on furniture since I keep moving and in real short intervals, whether I like it or not. It’s rather based on my life’s circumstances – Pluto, the ruler over my Sun is also the ruler of my 4th house of home and family. Anyway, the bookcase I had ordered online arrived in the meantime and my daughter was going to bring it over once she was done at work.

However, the First Quarter Moon in the lunation cycle is termed ‘a crisis in action’ and for good reasons. The impulse that sounded forth at the time of the New Moon one week earlier is challenged now – it struggles to survive in an unsupportive environment and the situation yesterday was particularly difficult, because the First Quarter Moon formed a t-square with Mars in Capricorn, just after Venus has left a square to Pluto. So, with all these Aries energies pushing forward we could have felt rushed (I definitely did), especially in regard to our own plans and desires, but our ambitious intentions had to curtailed, because there was not enough time to achieve all our ends. Also, Mercury just stationed retrograde, which means we might have to take more trips than just one and go back or do things over.

Per example, my co-worker texted me on Friday night, letting me know that our other colleague, who just had a baby, will come by the office on Monday morning with her little baby girl, because that’s the best time to have everyone there (our technicians are booked the rest of the week and the owners of the company are taking more days off over the Easter weekend). Therefore, we had to quickly come up with an action plan, get some gifts and arrange for food and drinks for Monday.

So, she texted me again on Saturday, when I was just leaving Walmart with my weekly groceries, asking since I had said that I might be heading to Hillside mall if we could meet up there and do the shopping for the baby shower together. My daughter texted me at the same time, saying she would be on her way home sometime between 2 and 3 pm, if nothing else comes up. I informed her about the situation and she encouraged me to go to the mall anyway instead of sitting at home and waiting for her.

Thus, I rushed to the next bus to make it to the mall and meet up with my co-worker. I had given my daughter a hint though, mentioning that it is quite a bit of a distance from my place to this mall, which she didn’t have seemed to really understand. Once I had arrived at the mall, my co-worker was standing in line at Tim Horton’s with her 2 kids in tow to get some lunch. At this moment I knew that we wouldn’t have enough time to stroll through the mall and look at all the things we had in mind.

Well, we enjoyed our time together and at least we got all the gifts, but I couldn’t check out any of the stores I wanted to for my own purposes – typical for a Mercury retrograde I have to go back – and we had to rush to get back to Walmart, where my daughter was waiting for me (another trip to Walmart courtesy of Mercury Rx). In the meantime, I got my bookcase assembled and my stuff put away. So, things still worked out for me – just couldn’t get everything done at once.

The Tarot card of the day was also very fitting. It was the “2 of Pentacles”, which calls for flexibility and indicates movement and change in the natural progress of a project or business. We might have to decide between 2 alternatives and travel beyond the conventional, seeking combination and unification. Some kind of balancing act is signified that requires from us to juggle our various duties, responsibilities and resources. Very true indeed.

Today now, the draw was the “3 of Pentacles”, suggesting that we’re taking the next step or following up on what we juggled yesterday due to the collaboration and cooperation that happened. My home looks very different now and I spent all morning setting things up and giving it all a good clean swipe. Thus, improvement of our situation has been achieved as promised by this card and also because I applied the necessary effort and showed persistence.

I also wrote up a blog post, because I decided I had enough of running around for now – Venus is conjunct Eris in Aries and the Aries Sun has just left a trine to Ceres in Leo – we feel like we are winning and that success is ours.

 

Astro-Notes on March 1, 2018 – Virgo Full Moon

Like January, the month of March starts and ends with a Full Moon. The one at the beginning of the month is in Virgo, the sign of the Virgin, and highlights the axis of service and sacrifice, asking us to put in an effort so that we can fit the pieces into the puzzle and to be prepared and ready to go with the flow. However, confronted by the details and particulars in certain situations (Virgo), we could easily feel overwhelmed and disappointed (Pisces), especially if reality doesn’t match up with our visions, dreams and longings.

As the Aquarius New Moon, which was a Solar Eclipse, culminates in the Virgo Full Moon, the impulse or vibration that sounded forth at the time of the Virgo New Moon back in September of last year is also coming to a head. In the symbolical language of the Sabians we’re getting this story:
The ‘tree felled and sawed to ensure a supply of wood for the winter’ (Sabian Symbol for the Aquarius NM) has led to a ‘wedding, after which the groom snatches away the veil from his bride’ (Sabian Symbol for the Virgo FM); the ‘intelligent foresight’ (keyword of the Sabian Symbol for the Aquarius NM) that was applied during this time of coldness and ‘hibernation’  has resulted in the ‘union of opposites’ (marriage of yin and yang, male and female, anima and animus, left and right spheres of the brain), which is being celebrated by ‘the penetrating and unveiling power of the mind’ (keynote of the Sabian Symbol for the Virgo FM). Something is being ‘found out’ or ‘revealed’ in it’s ‘natural, pure state’ after things have come or being put together.

Consequently, ‘a bald-headed man who has seized power’ (Sabian Symbol for the Virgo NM from September of last year) has become ‘an initiated member of an occult brotherhood’ (Sabian Symbol for the Pisces Sun), while he is undergoing examination and his character is being tested – the ‘power of the will’ (keyword of the Sabian Symbol for the Virgo NM) has brought him to a point, where he now has to ‘prove himself and his ability to assume responsibility effectively’ or ‘how qualified he truly is’ (keynote of the Sabian Symbol for the Pisces Sun). The moment of truth has come – he can no longer hide his true ‘colors’.

The Sabian Symbol for the Full Moon at 11:22 Virgo states:

“After the wedding, the groom snatches the veil away from his bride. Keynote: The penetrating and unveiling power of the trained mind – UNVEILING.”

The Sabian Symbol for the Sun at 11:22 Pisces states:
“In the sanctuary of an occult brotherhood newly initiated members are being examined and their character tested. Keynote: The ever-repeated challenge presented to the individual by the group in which he has claimed acceptance – the challenge to prove himself and his ability to assume responsibility effectively – QUALIFICATION.”
(Dane Rudhyar, “An Astrological Mandala: The Cycle of Transformations and its 360 Symbolical Phases”, Pages 158 and 275, respectively)
So, the moral of the story is that we need to have the foresight as well as use our knowledge and skills, to be prepared for the challenges we encounter in our natural surroundings and which are presented to us by our group or social circle and this requires the power of the will. If we don’t train our mind accordingly, we won’t succeed or get ahead.

Venus and Mercury in Pisces’ semi-sextiles to Eris in Aries and trines to Jupiter in Scorpio indicate an adjustment in plans and priorities for the sake of our self-interests now that we investigated our options and know what we can expect and have to compromise or sacrifice if we want to win and save the day.

With the Pisces Sun engaged in a tough semi-square to Uranus in Aries and Mars and Vesta in Sagittarius forming semi-sextiles to Pluto in Capricorn and tense sesqui-quadrates to retrograde Ceres in Leo, it is time to change and shake things up. No more delaying, waiting, hoping and wishing. We have to come to our own rescue and initiate the progress we’re envisioning. This, however, necessitates that we reform our sense of Self and become more independent and individualistic, which means we have to act or set our intentions accordingly and we have to convince ourselves that we can indeed manage our affairs or specific set of circumstances, even though it feels we have too much going on. Therefore it is important to review our self-love and self-support in order to be more pro-active, enterprising, dedicated and committed to our causes.
Tarot card of the day is the “Knight of Wands”, suggesting that an important matter is likely to enter our life and demand our attention. Therefore, we have to be ready to react quickly and to go with the flow. Our present situation will soon change and we have to make important decisions. Consequently, we’re charging forth with ideas and visions to make things happen, while tackling any challenge that stands in our way. It is important that we show ambition, are high-spirited, strong-willed and determined and take calculated risks.