Capricorn Full Buck Moon: Powerful Forces at Work

Waxing Moon                                                                                   Catherine Al-Meten Meyers

July’s  FULL MOON in Capricorn peaks on the West Coast at 8:07 P.M PDT/ 11:07 P.M. EDT Saturday, January 8/4:07 A.M. UTC early Sunday, January 9.  July’s Full Buck Moon is transiting Capricorn, the Goat. The Mountain Goat who is able to climb  nearly impossibly steep cliffs. The Cancer Sun and Capricorn Moon both fall at 17 degrees, 9 minutes in their respective signs. The Second decan of Capricorn and Cancer are at the very heart of these polar opposite energies. At this culminating time, whatever was begun at the New Moon now comes to fruition. Emotions, romance, relationships, and fertility are emphasized under this Full Moon.

The Cancer-Capricorn axis creates either conflict or integration, depending on how well we are able to work with the opposing forces. On one hand, We seek to find the balancing point between our private lives, our need for domestic tranquility, a sound and steady home base, and a core set of values to help us define who we are within the context of home and community. Capricorn governs how we make our reputation in community, how we are held accountable for our public behavior, and what our role is in our ongoing search for life purpose.

Cancer reigns over our attachments, love, and the traditions and roots we value. Capricorn focus our attention on our service to others, our reputation and worth in society, and our living out a higher purpose. One can enhance the other, as long as we constantly seek to lift and balance both needs in our lives. When we are living at odds with this need, we find ourselves stretched too thin in one area or the other, longing to get back in balance. Listen to what your body, mind, spirit, and the symbolic language of your life is showing you. Those thoughts of a hike or swim or moment of solitude by the beach are meant to activate you toward that balance. What may be needed around this time is setting up a schedule or committing to a more disciplined approach to feeding body, mind, spirit, and the mundane tasks of life. For example, rather than letting things go until you have time to, say vacuum or do dishes, or go shopping, set aside dedicated time for those tasks, in the regular schedule you keep. That way, it’s simply part of the day rather than a burden draining you of energy.

Cancer Sun is helping remind us of that internal sense we have of who we are. And envisioning a way to live towards expressing that. Capricorn loves to set goals, accomplish them and transform ideas into action or creativity. This is a very helpful combination for seeking greater balance and doing it in ways that help you establish a new way of life.

If it’s so simple, then why don’t we do it? This Full Moon gives you a hint. Our fears stop us in our tracks. We come into conflict between our need for security and home and our need to answer the callings of our souls or the direction of the path we’re on or seeking to find. Even when we are clear about our path, we discover there are roadblocks, challenges, and points of departure that frighten us. Are we going to be able to go forward? Will we be successful? Will we be able to meet our security needs?  

Along with fear comes doubt, frustration, and sometimes depression.  At those points if you look more closely at your life balance, you’ll probably see that the Cancer needs have not been met while the Capricorn direction and goals have drained us of our resources. We need to take breaks to balance things out.  This Full Moon reminds us of where we may be out of balance. Notice what you spend your energy, time, and resources on.

We find ourselves struggling with how we define our private lives, and maintain our homes, and how we meet our public and community obligations. What value are we to others is a question of Capricorn’s 8th house question. How have I come to value who I am and my worth is a second house question--that area of personal development and value formation? Interesting questions that many struggle with here, include: “Who told you who you were? “What have you questioned about any misconceptions” and “how have you grown to be more yourself?”  This is the Full Moon during which we do a lot of soul searching about this delicate balance in all our lives: personal concern, development, and value versus societal value, spiritual connections, inheritance (what of your past, ancestry, and life path do you bring with you?).

You can well imagine with such profound and deep parts of ourselves stimulated at this Full Moon in Capricorn, we are receiving enlightening and illuminating information, inspiration, and energy. Our personal lives are highlighted, and we have to ask if we are living in congruence with what we value most? And as we look at our position in the world, and in our connection with and involvement in life beyond ourselves, we seek true purpose and meaning.

We experience any full moon in the course of a cycle. The Full Moon, New Moon, or any major transit or aspect, is affected by an endless variety of other conditions and events.  Use your powers of discernment to understand what is growing in your life, and what is changing its very nature. The Sun in Cancer is moving closer to its conjunction with Mars, the planet of action. The Moon in Capricorn is in conjunction with Pluto, the Great Transformer. Jupiter forms a square to both the Sun and Moon, and Neptune in Pisces forms a trine with the Sun and a sextile with the Moon--all of which creates an ongoing energetic process that is causing great disturbances, disruptions, and distortions of reality. We are being forced to confront, cope with, and challenge ourselves to release what needs to go, and step forward in spite of fears and frustration.

Neptune, the giant planet that reigns over the underworld, the depths of consciousness, and the vast expanses of inspiration, intuition, and individuation, is in the 29th degree of the sign, in Libra. This degree is called the anaretic degree, a critical point, an end point.  Something is complete, ended, over. Mourning and grief come in the wake of upsetting circumstances that have a wide impact in our lives. Something has woken up inside each of us, and that something is a tiger waiting to be tamed. We feel passionate about what we value most now. We feel compelled to act, and we feel inspired and even called to fight on, warriors for peace.

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This phase of the Moon occurs at 17 degrees and 9 minutes of Capricorn in opposition to the Sun at 17 degrees and 9 minutes of Cancer, affecting people born with personal planets and points at approximately 13 to 21 degrees of the Cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn) most significantly.

On Thursday, June 5, Mercury left the security-conscious Cancer for the more risky, fiery realms of Leo. Confidence increases, and we set our goals higher, much higher than usual. Leo time in communications, focuses more on the dramatic, passionate, and expressive creativity of communication rather than on the details.

Venus too, just changed signs, moving from earthy Taurus into flighty, airborne Gemini. Ideas flourish, activities and connections increase at a rapid fire rate. We may have more ideas than time or resources to deal with all the ideas. Consider this a creative, brainstorming time. Also, use the extra passion and energy to take a few risks in the areas of your personal and public persona. Let yourself play out a fantasy or two, or express yourself with a little more flair than usual. Having a good time, playing, and taking time out to just enjoy life, is a necessary part of our maintaining our health and well being. Make a list of what makes you come alive, happy, and refreshed in summer, and start building in time for such matters. Use your words, express your thoughts, ideas, and feelings, and let the chips fall where they may. Time to step out into the light a bit more.

Mars in  its final days of Cancer (until July 20) we recognize how deeply we are committed to our creativity, life purpose, home and community, or whatever else brings you to life. Mars in Cancer is less about achieving and more about treasuring or learning more about those commitments. What we do is more affected by our emotional temperature than it is about what we desire or seek. Avoid over-scheduling or programming your life right now, and focus on doing what needs being done to keep your personal and professional life in balance as much as possible. One way to deal with this kind of wavering energy is by creating short lists of tasks to do, and then systematically using each task as an exercise in conscious living--an active meditation and practice of being present to the task. Try it! Taking a walk? Go a bit slower, and consciously notice your body, surroundings, and thoughts. Doing the dishes? Same thing. Trying to write an article or another chapter in your book? Break it down into smaller parts, and enjoy the little steps of the process. Want to paint? Set up a canvas. Open paints and get ready. Then put brush to paint to canvas, and go until you’re done, for now. Conscious living is what helps deal with the fiery, air-activated, and fluidity of the watery energies, as we feel ourselves activated from the inside out and back again.

This Full Moon in the 2nd decan of Capricorn connects us on a very deep level to the energy of the powerful Mars-Pluto opposition. Jupiter amplifies this energy, making this like a flaming arrow that may tip the scales of justice in Libra. This t-square is a triggering influence right now, and it aligns with stars in the constellation of Lyra, the Harp. This has a tremendous impact on our mental processes, all forms of communication, especially cyber communications. Using Jupiter’s tendency to seek escape in times of trouble, we might take time out for some diversions or we might channel our thoughts, emotional expressions, and creativity into the Pluto-like work of transformation. Work becomes our savior as long as it is not the only way we establish a sense of who we are. Throwing ourselves into our work right now, may be one way to focus and deal with distractions that are in need of coping with.

This second decan of Capricorn highlights the areas of our lives where we have to work hard for a living. We may feel the pressure and sense of scarcity that makes it hard to concentrate. The ground is fallow right now, waiting for renewal, so it is time to take very good care of ourselves. Start by appreciating and valuing what you have, who you are, and what gifts and opportunities you have. Use what you have, and do your best with that. There’s hard work to be done, so now is the time we need to focus on getting ourselves organized and prepared for what is expected of us. Time also to beware of those who might want to use, abuse, or otherwise mistreat you. It may come in a subtle form (passive aggression) or more overt (outright hostility). Be choosy with those partners you pick, especially now, and guard your reserves and yourself. Be on guard to see circumstances and people for who they are, not who they say they are. This is a good time to build beautiful, well-formed, and well-built structures in your life. Prepare your castle so that you are at home where you are, and you have control over who enters your realm.

This Full Moon in Capricorn is one that finds us being more introspective, sensitive, and willing and able to look beneath the veils of illusion. Time to face the shadow, untested, unacknowledged parts of ourselves as we seek healing, refreshment, and re- energizing. The Pluto-Moon conjunction makes this Full Moon even more potent and emotionally trying. It is a time when passions may flair and when sexual energy and tension may open us to more dynamic and rash connections. Reign in anger and find ways to channel physical energy so that you protect yourself. 

This is a time when we are each under pressure to become our strongest, bravest, and most authentic selves. Like a pearl, the pressure is intense; the result is beautiful. As we submit to the challenges and become part of this evolving process, we gain strength and power. Becoming more self sufficient doesn’t mean we go it alone. We learn to give and receive love in the connections we form now, and this will help lift us each to a higher level of existence.

The powerful creative energy that is illuminated by the Full Moon in Capricorn, flows down into the atmosphere and infuses each one of us with a burst of creative fire. Artists, writers, and all who seek purpose and meaning, use your energy and light to create beauty out of the fire and residue of the life you are fortunate to be living. Use your fire with your passions, and bring new life out of the darkness. Allow the light to shine within you. Receive the Divine Light in what traditions and practices you embrace to connect to the God of Love.

Solstice Sunset                                                                                                                        Catherine Al-Meten Meyers

New Moon in Cancer

As I was writing this column this morning, the lyrics and tune to Changes kept coming to mind. "Ch ch ch changes."  As I finished the column, I tracked the song down, and realized both its lyrics and the lyricist, David Bowie, have had a profound effect on us. Talk about someone who went beyond his norm, who broke down boundaries, and exceeded limitations, so at the end of the column are some of his lyrics in. See if they speak to you too. Use the energy and time of this powerful week--Summer Solstice (today), Sun enters Cancer (tonight), and New Moon in Cancer Friday. It's a powerful time, and the energy is yours to use to make life better, to heal, and to make some new choices for a new road ahead.

 As I write today’s column, I do so on the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is Winter Solstice. The Sun enters Cancer two days before  the New Moon at  peaks at 2 degrees Cancer ushers in the Cancer Lunar Cycle on Friday, June 23.  This is truly a time of rapid change and transition. 

Cancer, being the sign most determined to create safety, security, and a balanced home, makes this New Moon at 2 degrees an optimal time for setting new goals, envisioning necessary and desired change, and setting forth on whatever new journey you’ve been preparing for. 

When conjuring up ideas or creating a vision for the path ahead, it is vital that you throw out any preconceived ideas about how things should be or what limitations you are bound by. Go deep into the heart of your passions and desires, though irrational and impossible they may be. For dreams that come true, are born of what we put our energy into. Use your words, actions, intentions, prayers, and imagination to create the blue print for your future. 

Often we limit ourselves because we see the world as limited and limiting. All new moons offer new energy for new plans, however this New Moon in Cancer focuses on what it truly is that we need to feel safe, secure, and at home with ourselves. Whatever you’ve been needing or longing for, is within reach, once you acknowledge just what that is. When we are stingy with ourselves and others, when we hesitate or hold back in saying what we mean, asking for what we need, or offering what we can, we miss opportunities to create deeper connections. This is the time to go deeper to discover what we truly want. And then to begin laying out a map or plan to begin moving towards that.

The clearer you are with your intentions, the better. When I don’t know what I want, how can I expect to see my life change for the better?  Be receptive to the gifts that are being bestowed upon you now, and use your powers of discernment and discretion to narrow in on the essence of what is needed at this juncture of your life. As the energy of Light bestows movement, fulfillment, and creative gifts on us, we are encouraged to open our minds, hearts, and lives for deeper and more fulfilling experiences. Look to the house where Cancer lies, and notice what is growing by leaps and bounds in this area of your life. Be more intentional now in distilling the essential components that provide you with connection and meaning.

The New Moon in Cancer as well as the Sun,Mercury, and Mars are all stirring up the 4th House in our lives.  The fourth house rules our home, how we define it for ourselves, and what challenges and gifts can be found here. Many of us may be feeling the desire to fix up, change, alter, or in some way improve our home environment. Many will be contemplating moves, though this may seem unusual, it nevertheless is a shaking up time. We’ve probably already begun feeling the urge to purge and get moving. We may have been communicating about where we’d like to be or how we’d like to change our living arrangements. With Mars, then Mercury in Cancer, this is highly likely. Mars may actually push us into changes sooner than later once the Sun and the Moon enter Cancer this week. Be thinking about where you feel most at home. Where you can be your true self, and where you are being called.

Though not all will be feeling the need to move, most of us will be feeling the desire to make improvements and changes in our homes. Our lifestyles change with the seasonal changes, however this period of time runs deeper in our lives than normal. We seek depth in purpose, connection, and meaning. Consider how this stellia of water sign planets in both the natural 4th house and the house Cancer rules in your life/chart, and use this powerful time and energy to work some magic in your own life. What you do to improve your own life and direction will have a lasting experience in your life and the lives of those you love and connect with.

Venus’  transit of Taurus  this week focuses our attention on beauty, music, artistic expression, harmony, balance, and love. We feel essentially  drawn to put our aesthetic and artistic talents to practical use. We bring imagination into form. We shape our everyday lives into beautiful gifts and creative expressions. This week Venus makes aspects to Neptune, Jupiter, and Chiron, making us acutely aware of how we have been disappointed, hurt, or disillusioned in love and in our search for harmony and balance. Whatever is coming to the surface, emotionally or via memory, dreams, synchronicity, needs to be acknowledged and an attempt to understand the lessons and changes needed for healing, need to take place. Again, as with the last lunar cycle, healing is on the agenda. What we suppress or refuse to face, becomes our burden in all future decisions, choices, challenges. Take time now to look at yourself with an open heart and a willingness to face, forgive, and make necessary changes in whatever is stopping your progress, growth, and ability to connect with what you say you want.

As the New Moon in Cancer peaks on June 23-24, Venus trines Pluto, the Great Transformer, so if we’ve prepared the way, we can get strong indicators of just how deep a transformation is getting ready to take place. 

The Sun enters Cancer early Wednesday morning, and forms a conjunction with Mercury a few hours later. A good time to pray, make your needs known, sing praises, or otherwise voice your best intentions for your highest good.  Monday and Tuesday are days we find ourselves drawn to last minute decisions and choices, end stages of long term goals or desires, and final thoughts or desires to complete some aspect of our lives. As the Sun and Mercury are both transiting the anorectic degree (29) of Gemini, we may feel compelled to make some kind of statement or decision. Failure to do so, will hinder progress.

Mercury will be in Cancer until July 5, joining with the Sun to bring a desire for nesting and creating a safe home environment in and around us. A really good time to focus on the practice of Ahimsa—do no harm—to yourself and others. Whatever you say, do, speak, think has energy and power, and being mindful of that energy and that power helps you channel your thoughts, words, and deeds in a helpful, healing manner. Kindness is the operative word, and involves being kind to yourself as well. Forgiveness is another aspect of letting energy transform. Forgiving whoever or whatever you need to, including seeking forgiveness yourself, can enhance the transition and transformation that is taking place.

Uranus in Aries signals a clean break with whatever is blocking your path. Whatever needs to be released, needs to happen now. Be attentive to those subtle nudges to release old patterns of thought, behavior, and connections where you’ve let your energy get stuck. We get stuck in all kinds of things, including ideals of who we think we are or who we think should be. We get stuck in memories, old relationships or ways of relating, and we get stuck in the simple daily routines that we refuse to acknowledge or occasionally question. Uranus in Aries is reminding all of us, continually, that life is all about movement, change, and growth. Just when we think we have arrived, we realize there’s a new train leaving the station. And we’re meant to be on it.

Where are you headed? What would you like to do, find, or experience? What’s stopping you from pursuing your dreams? What are you waiting for?  Use this New Moon in Cancer to create the life and home you truly want to inhabit. Give yourself the gift of living life, not just marking time. It’s a powerful week, full of opportunities, gateways, and new doors to open.  Break out of your shell, and let yourself live. 

Lyrics to Changes by David Bowie:

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
Ooh, look out you rock 'n' rollers
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
Pretty soon now you're gonna get older
Time may change me
But I can't trace time
I said that time may change me
But I can't trace time

Healing Full Moon in Sagittarius

The Healing Full  Moon in Sagittarius reaches her peak at 6:09 a.m. PDT/9:09 a.m. EDT on Friday, June 9, 2017. Focus of the Moon in the second decan of Sagittarius is on women’s health,midwifery, genetics. DNA, and the family history in the healing of the family wounds. The individual and collective families are receiving some special, powerful light this Full Moon to place our awareness on where and how we need to continue healing. 

The Full Moon in Sagittarius opposing the Sun in Gemini focuses our attention on the axis of mental, intellectual, intuitive, and emotional ways of knowing and processing information. Sagittarius Moon looks for meaning, purpose, and ideas to turn into action while Gemini Sun tends to use logic, analysis of sensory input, and connection with the immediate environment. Fire and Air mix to spark a lot of ideas, energy, and disparate and conflicting directions. Our emotional well being is more adventurous in Sagittarius finding us longing for some new and untested challenges.

The Gemini Sun makes us at home with the immediate and current situation while the Sagittarius Moon has us longing for adventure and pushing the limitations and boundaries, whether imposed or self-determined. The challenge of this Full Moon in Sagittarius is to balance between the two polarities as we seek harmony. This Full Moon is all about healing the ways we communicate, looking for new ways to heal ongoing issues, and learning to recognize and cope with our ancestral ties and wounds as part of an ongoing healing journey. We do not leave the past behind, but carry it within us. Facing what has helped us become who we are, helps us cope more effectively and heal more fully.

Whatever has been building up within us is now coming to a head with this full moon cycle. We are facing conflict between our ways of knowing, thinking, feeling, and sensing, and our system of beliefs, and our spiritual and philosophical practices. We may find a need to question, reconsider, examine, and update our practices to fit with how we have matured and what we have learned about ourselves and the world we inhabit. What has changed in the way you perceive life, the world around you, and your part in it? What is missing or in need of connection, and how are you being called to make alterations, repairs, or changes? Where are you on your journey at this time?

All Full Moons tend to spark emotions, and this one is no exception. We have a strong desire to express our emotions, communicate what we feel, think, and believe, and reveal what we are seeking and what we need to heal more fully. This Full Moon forms a square to Neptune in Pisces, and may bring up whatever is necessary for you to deal with what the real issues of your life are. This may result in a change of plans; we cannot force a direction or path that is blocked without removing the obstacles in our way. Notice what is arising as a challenge during this lunar cycle. Look to the areas in your chart/life where Gemini/Sagittarius/Pisces are, and this will help you determine the ongoing situations that needs tending to. 

On June 6, just three days before the Full Moon in Sagittarius, Mercury changes signs. Joining the Sun in Gemini, Mercury is right at home in the chatty and exciting energy of Gemini. Venus enters Taurus on June 6 as well, and grounds our search and definition of love, romance, and beauty in the practical reality and down-to-earth efforts expressed by those we love. Venus in Taurus is all about showing rather than saying how we feel. Our artwork, our romances, our relationships in general are all about doing, bringing meaning into form, and creating the beauty we need in all aspects of our lives. It is a good time for those who seek to redefine their journey to be more inclusive of love, romance, art, beauty, or spiritual depth to envision and create something tangible to symbolize this quest. Decorate your home, redo your look, or create more beauty and order in your garden. Drape beauty in all areas where you want to attract more connection.

Look for love in the simplicity, art in the ordinary, and meaning in the pragmatic everyday acts of life. Mars, the planet of action  and the masculine aspect of life, has just entered Cancer. Our need to create safe, secure, and homey abodes for ourselves and our loved ones is prominent at this time. Neptune, Chiron, and Mars trine one another, and so whatever upset the Neptune square to the Moon creates, it will also be soothed by the ability of each of us to create peace and harmony within our homes, within ourselves. Like a turtle, we need to walk with our protection in and around us. Being aware of how we carry our home with us wherever we are, we find we are never in danger of being unprotected even in the hardest of times. There is that essence within each of us that comes forth when we most need it. We will all become very aware of this during this lunar cycle. 

As I write this column on Monday, June 5, Neptune forms a semi square to  Venus in the final degrees of Aries. This may cause us to feel somewhat confused or misled about something regarding our loved ones or our dreams and hopes. We may be surprised by some news we receive or realize we had been looking at a situation differently than it actually was. We are seeking the keys to understanding how life is changing right now, and on the brink of Venus’ transit from Aries to Taurus, we may receive some last minute reminders of the importance of not assuming too much. Living in fantasy and illusion can lead to unnecessary pain and delusion. Seek truth and travel unencumbered from illusions that keep us from seeing who and what is authentic and real. It’s often comfortable and convenient to slip back into old beliefs and perceptions. Take off the blinders and deal with what is rather than dwelling too much in wishful thinking.

Later in the week and on the full Moon, Venus and Mars form a sextile making for a more fortunate, cohesive, and compatible energy. This Full Moon may reveal a lot about what is growing and coming to life now. At the same time since the Full Moon is at 18 degrees in the second decan of Sagittarius, this Full Moon can reveal some outbursts in the collective sphere. Corruption, abuses of power that come to light now, can trigger some pretty strong reactions…all part of the ongoing transformation that Pluto in Capricorn is pushing through in this cycle. 

Anyone who feels pushed or exposed now, can erupt or react in irrational and unpredictable ways. What comes to light includes using the poor and displaced populations as pawns in a game of human trafficking that involves a great deal of money and unscrupulous international power structures. What is being revealed in the light of this Moon in Sagittarius unmasks those who usually hide in the shadows or find safety behind their positions and power. 

Those who might ordinarily be on opposite sides are now united against that which is unacceptable and obviously corrupt and wrong-headed.

The best use of the energy and power of this Full Moon is to focus on healing—within and in all areas of the world in which we live. Avoid negative expressions, which are intensified with this lunation. Use energy for healing, completing, reshaping, and finding ways to work on the common healing of all humankind and our planet. Use your power for good, and help change the patterns, vibrations, and energy of Life in the channels for peace, healing, and reconciliation. 

New Moon in Gemini: Fresh Start, Seeds of Change

La Luna                                                        Tammy Heintz

The New Moon in Gemini on Thursday, May 25, 2017 peaks at 12:45 p.m. PDT/3:45 p.m. EDT. Considered a Super Moon, its potency comes less in the aspects the Moon or Sun make to other orbs than to some of the other aspects between the inner and outer planets. It is a new beginning time, and with all beginnings, an end is in process. Closing a door on a phase of life, and standing in between the past and the future, on the threshold, wondering what the changes will bring.

The New Moon in mutable Gemini at 4/47 degrees affects all the mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) who have planets or aspects between 1-8 degrees. The New Moon of course affects everyone, so look to the areas in your chart/life where Gemini resides, rules, or is aspected. If you don't know where that is, notice on this New Moon the area of your life that seems most affected emotionally. The Moon expresses our emotional nature and the way we handle ourselves and find harmony with our feelings and sense of well being. The Sun, the archetype of how we are expressing ourselves in the world and the innate energy that we were born to develop and express is also in Gemini (the New Moon always resides in the house of the Sun).

The energy and personality of Gemini is one of dynamic diversity, quest for knowledge, and social and intellectual hunger. Energy may feel scattered in the first decan of Gemini as there is a release of energy, ideas, and movement that is much like a fountain overflowing, or a volcano erupting. The overflow, often felt as a sense of being overwhelmed, can trigger angry outbursts, violent attacks, or unexpected scenes and displays of repressed emotion or pain.  It is important to notice how this tends to happen in your own personal experience for you can take a more restrained stance and observe what is triggering such responses (in yourself or in others). This can help you gain the ability to temper the flames and direct the energy in ways that are safer, more productive, and more healing.

On the world or collective scene for example, whatever energy is directed at hot spots, explosive situations, or unbalanced thinking and actions, need to focus on calming storms, shielding from danger, and praying for those who need support, direction, and healing. The adages about like attracting like, violence begetting violence, are more true at this point than at other times, so use your power of prayer, intention, thought, and actions to create peace within and around you. It is time to investigate, observe, listen, and practice a form of detached reflection to gauge your own responses to whatever is moving you at this point. Notice where you might need to able  to go beyond your own fears, anger, frustrations, obstinacy, or whatever blocks you face.

This New Moon in Gemini stir us up from a deep and transformative level, and so we need to be able to observe and acknowledge whatever pain or blocks exist within so that we can get to the source, to the root causes. We can no longer use the blame game or avoid the truth about what needs to be transformed within ourselves. Getting to the heart of the  pain, grief is what is needed now. Acknowledging whatever is preventing you from loosening yourself from the bonds and shackles of deception is called for now. The New Moon removes our inability to face the truth. We come face to face (or heart to heart) with exactly what is needed and what is holding us back.

This month I'm looking at the New Moon chart from the viewpoint of the natural order of house rulership, beginning with the first house in Aries and the twelfth house in Pisces. Since this period of time is drawing us so much into unity in our experiences (personal and collective unite), it helps to see what we all share in common, and what is moving, shaking, and calling us on different levels.

May is ending with two outer planets, Saturn and Pluto,  still in their retrograde phase. Saturn, the Great Teacher and Pluto, the Great Transformer, have been working their way through our lives stirring up energy on all levels--energy that insists on our making the necessary changes in our lives, or be uprooted and tossed about in order for the needed movement and alterations to happen. We're all pretty much aware of this movement as it's been going on for several years.

At this New Moon in the mutable air sign of Gemini however, energy is unleashed that finds both Saturn and Pluto reminding us of where we need to be paying attention. By observing and allowing ourselves to reflect, not over react or go into denial right away, we can now learn some powerful and important lessons. The star power of this new moon focuses on the Hyades cluster, found in the eye of the Bull in the constellation of Taurus. This particular aspect, according to Robson "...gives tears, sudden events, violence, fierceness, poisoning, blindness, and wounds/injuries..." It is a point of contradictions. We can see this as we observe the world around us. And we can experience this when we allow the violence within us to rise to the surface. Suppressing feelings, thoughts, opinions does not help tame that energy. Instead the energy builds up to a point where it comes out in negative expression. No, paying attention to what is stirring is what is happening now, and it is what is needed so that we can learn to channel, contain, temper, and shape it into constructive, lines of thought and speech, and in our actions.
Another area that is vital at this New Moon in Gemini is how our thoughts, feelings, ideas, and patterns of behavior and thinking are shaping up. According to Lonsdale, 4 degrees of Gemini symbolizes:  "An island just visible off the coast." It represents the need to remove ourselves to our attachments to the past, those aspects (memory, emotional ties, unhealed wounds) that keep us looking back rather than freely looking forward.

Lonsdale says, "When the future is alive, all of its many dimensions flourish in a world away from the commonly mapped out standard territory."  Gemini, the Twins, reminds us our own dual nature. We have the inner and outer expressions of identity. We exist in the moment with an eye on either the past or the future. When we allow ourselves to dream and envision opportunities, openings, possibilities, and visions of what could be, we release energy from the inner twin can be expressed by the outer twin. New moons are gateways to not only a new lunar cycle but also a new path and set of opportunities and choices. The more we stay stuck and attached through our energetic bonds, to the past, the less we are able to use our energy to be receptive and open to what might be ahead. And by this, I'm not referring to predicting the future. I'm talking about allowing yourself to imagine better and more vibrant ways of living. 

What is abundantly clear for you right now is what you are sick and tired of and what you do not want to continue doing or carrying over into your future. This may in fact, do violence to you emotionally or in some other manifestation, simply to point you in the right direction. A good friend always refers to these moments as the "Divine 2' x 4'". We all know it. That experience that brings everything into the light of day, making it abundantly clear that we cannot go on with 'business as usual'. The time comes when we have to make a move, change a behavior, shift a perspective, forgive a hurt or wrong, and move forward. That's what this New Moon in Gemini will be highlighting.

We're being called by this energy to start looking for a new path. Do your research, update your information, find a new way of operating that is more suited to the changing times and the changes that have gone on within you. Remember Einstein's definition of insanity to keep doing the same old thing in the same old way thinking it's going to work when it doesn't. Begin to rethink during this New Moon cycle. Sort through stuff (mental, emotional, physical, personal, familial). Get things done. 

One of the best ways to get energy moving is to start finishing things. Clean up a mess, clean out a drawer, finish something you started, or tend to a problem that you can fix (for example, doing the dishes, sewing on a button, or washing off a counter top.). Ask yourself what needs to be done in order for you to feel free to move on. A lot of us walk around with the conversation going something like this, "When I retire..", "When the house is ...", "When the kids are ....", "After the end of the ...". Sound familiar?  Write your own list of conditions that are limiting your growth and killing your hopes for the future. This Gemini New Moon is a great time to become more congruent. Bring the inner you more in alignment with the outer you. 

And be open to different forms of communication. Gemini is the ruler of the third house, of communications. The chatterbox of the Zodiac, this is the part of your life where people 'suddenly appear', or casually mention something that changes your life. Notice the loose associations you have and pay special attention to new ideas, thoughts, and opportunities that are stimulated in such encounters. For myself, I have always noticed, that strangers like to talk to me. No matter where I go, compete strangers will tell me about their lives. Not sure why this is, but I've heard some of the most fascinating observations of life and have often found answers to questions and inspiring ideas from simply listening to a stranger at a bus stop. 

Two women stand out, reminding me of the choices we have in Gemini. Both happened at the same bus stop in NW Portland. One time at that bus stop an older woman probably in her late-60s or 70s proceeded to tell me that she was ready to 'go'. By go, she meant die. I asked her why that was, and she replied, "I've gone on all the cruises. Many of my friends, are gone, and there's nothing left to do."  Another woman, same bus stop, told me one day about how important it was to forgive people. Again, I asked,  "Why is that?" Her reply was to tell me about a family she was close to who had lost their young daughter. The young girl was walking along the road on the side of the road, when a young man in a car intentionally drove off the highway and hit the girl. The girl died, and the man was caught. He showed no remorse, and in fact seemed to like the attention he got. The family and the whole community the girl was from were up in arms and dealing with tremendous grief, anger, and pain. This woman who was telling me about this horrible situation then said, "You know what we have to do?"  And I said, "No, what do you need to do?" She said, "We have to forgive. We have to pray for forgiveness for him, and for ourselves, otherwise we're in danger of being so lost in our rage and pain we cannot do anything else."  

Both women were complete strangers to me. Both affected me and my life and choices from that point on, in remarkable ways. Both seem to me to represent the choices we have within ourselves. No one is without pain and sorrow. No one's life goes perfectly, and we have a choice only in the way we respond to what has happened and how we move forward. Do we stay trapped in old thought, patterns, and behavior, or do we figure out a way to cope with the pain and keep our minds and hearts open to a brighter future?  This New Moon in Gemini may just give us an opportunity to consider how this fits into our own lives. 

The outer planet, Pluto remains retrograde in Capricorn at 19/7 degrees. Pluto has been in transformative earthy Capricorn since 2011. That's the ongoing movement in your life. Notice where that is for this is a time of reflecting on what we have learned over the years, and how this is manifesting in our lives now. Pluto is the natural 10th house ruler (life purpose, career). In the collective realm, Pluto is transforming governments and ruling powers. It has been shaking, to the very foundations, how we govern and direct our own lives and the what we accept or don't accept in the governance of our people. The need to know is challenging the need to control. More and more people are not content to have control held by just a few people, but are wanting more of a voice and more involvement in governing. Pluto also rules the underworld, so there is a need to deal with the corruptive and negative forces that threaten our way of life. To do so, we must be involved. This is not a passive sign, unless we want to let go of any true voice in how our world is governed and directed.

Pluto also rules the underworld, meaning the inner knowledge of ourselves What do we fear. What is working in our lives? What is not? Again, the twin pull between inner and outer. Whatever we do has to be in alignment with both inner and outer conditions, needs, and growth. Words aren't enough; we must also become involved in some way with others to bring about and increase the power of good. When the Moon moves into Gemini on May 25, we are moving on to a fresh start. We are called upon to seed our minds, hearts, fields, and lives with ideas that can yield greater hope, greater love, greater equity, and greater positive change and healing.

Venus in Aries square Pluto at this New Moon in Gemini, creating a great deal of tension about the crises Pluto has been slowly turning over in our lives. This aspect hits my own Venus, and I can tell you it certainly does churn up the 'suff' of the underworld within me. We are being made acutely aware of what is most challenging about our desire for beauty, love, connection, and peace. Our deepest feelings now arise, and it all can seem very overwhelming. Using this energy is vital so as to avoid repressing or expressing the negative energy in burst of temper or pain that have long-lasting effects.

Mars, the planet of action and movement, in Gemini is approaching a hard opposition to Saturn, the Great Teacher. This is building to its exact opposition on the 29th. However, it is still powerful at this New Moon. Mars wants "to do it now" while Saturn says "it must wait." Mars needs to screw up its courage and Saturn must remain cool-headed to tame the violent nature of this powerful energy. Saturn, the calm, austere, dignified, and disciplined energy and Mars with its naive, 'winner take all' and 'damn the torpedoes full speed ahead' attitude needs to be tamed.

This whole next week before the opposition (it can be felt already) will feel like a lot of push me-pull me situations. Mars inflames, Saturn calcifies making this a time of extreme contradictions and tension, especially on the feeling, emotional level. The New Moon in Gemini with its flurry and burst of energy, ideas, and diverse thoughts makes it a  challenging time. Keep breathing. Focus on what is at the heart of the great struggle, and remember that staying the course, being determined in moving forward and not dragging your feet or getting lost in the past, are your best paths forward.

Diplomacy, tact, holding your tongue, or better yet, channeling all the disparate feelings and thoughts into some constructive channel is your best coping skill. Create some art, and try something a little bit different, allowing yourself to have and cultivate a beginner's mind. Let yourself play at something new, without having to prove yourself, be perfect, be productive, or heaven forbid, getting something done. Participate in playing a bit. And if you have the need to feel some completion, tackle the little things that are right there on the surface.

Avoid aggravating old wounds, picking at recently healed scabs, or bringing up old issues and memories. Create a new space in your life for something completely out of the ordinary. Let yourself take a step or two into totally uncharted waters. Appreciate the depth and breadth of your being, and allow yourself some time to play on the surface a bit, noticing the simple pleasures of life, the dust fairies, the laughter of babies and children, music that though discordant to your tastes, is making its way into your life. Inhale, exhale, and let there be peace within and around you.

New Moon in Gemini is a planting time. A time to post a note that reminds you each day to do something just a little out of the routine you've been in. Shake things out, shake things up, and dig some holes, create some space in your garden for new growth, new ways of being, new ways of thinking. Let yourself recognize how capable you are, and how regardless of what happens, you have the capacity to cope, to heal, to survive, and to thrive. Embrace the gifts of life that have helped you become the person you are now.

Full Flower Moon in Scorpio: Karmic Gates Open

Bleeding Hearts                                                                                                               Catherine Al-Meten Meyers

May is the month of the Scorpio Full Flower Moon, also called the Mother Moon, the Milk Moon, or the Corn Planting Moon. May is also the month dedicated to Mary, the archetypal Mother and Feminine expression of the Divine. May begins grounded in the energy of Taurus, the earthy soil of expression. This month's Full Moon in Scorpio falls at 20/25 degrees, in the third dean. This Scorpio Full Moon also falls on the fixed star  Zubenelschemal, located in the claw of Scorpio.

The Sabian symbol for 19-20 degrees of Scorpio reveals a great deal about the meaning of this full moon: "A woman draws away two dark curtains hanging in front of a sacred entryway."  And the fact that this Full Moon in Scorpio occurs just days before the North Node (Gateway to the Future, Our Spiritual Destiny), affirms its importance. Those with planets and aspects between 17-13 degrees of the fixed signs (Taurus, Scorpio, Leo, Aquarius) need to pay close attention to the areas where this Full Moon shines on and aspects.

The claw of the Scorpio constellation illuminates the area of our lives where we can best use our energy to choose between the conflicting polarities in our lives. It is time to open our eyes and acknowledge what needs repair, what need to change, what needs releasing, and whatever is blocking us from seeing why we keep running into the karmic walls we do. We are only tied to karma to the extent we refuse to look at what has been perpetually out of balance or whatever we have refused to see in ourselves that blocks our progress. Sometimes referred to as Serpent energy, the location of this Full Moon highlights what we have defined as good and evil, truth and ignorance, life and death. Each of us has the power to choose between good and evil, but we cannot do so if we fail to acknowledge what that means in our lives. How are we defining what is good for us and what is not? How are we judging ourselves and others? Where have we been stuck before, unable to move beyond a pattern, habit, attitude, or perspective?

We can see how this plays out in the collective world where we humans keep making the same mistakes in the way we solve problems or approach major issues, conflicts, and needs. In our personal lives, it is often more difficult, for we have to come to understanding of ourselves through a process that is not always easy or without acknowledging something that is painful. This Full Moon in Scorpio aspecting the fixed star Zubenelschemal, opposite the Sun in Taurus calls our attention to the polarity of all that is related to our personal needs and desires and all that calls our attention to our shared needs and desires. The complexity and depth of Scorpio opposite the basic and simple groundedness of Taurus, reminds us of where we struggle to reconcile the two areas of our own lives and of our relationships and our interaction in the world. How do we meet our own needs while fitting in, relating, and finding meaning for both areas, in our experience in the world?

All inner planets are now in forward motion since Mercury turned direct on May 3. Three of the outer planets are still in long retrograde phases: Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto. On May 9th, just before the Moon is at her fullest, the North Node enters Leo, changing signs from its long passage in Virgo (Node appear to be retrograde). The South Node enters Aquarius at the same time. The North Node is  the gateway to new dimensions of our spiritual journey, the South Node represents what we've brought here to complete, develop, solve, or work on. It also represents the gifts and trials we come with. The energy of the changing nodes, indicates a release from some pretty strong ties and bonds and a switch to a more spiritual evolution. What is going on now is a period of creating space to release old patterns, addictions, and attitudes. It is a time for expressing ourselves more creatively as artists or actors, and of taking up our shields as spiritual warriors.

To evolve as spiritual warriors, the Scorpio Moon pushes us to deeper emotional territory...to that place within where we are able to open our eyes and see ourselves and the world we're in with greater clarity. Recognizing what is not working, what is out of whack, or what is against our highest good and well being, is a part of this step. Keeping the blinders on or thinking we can burn off karma with a quick wish list or without a steady infusion of healing and ongoing change and awareness, is not the answer. We have a lot of help at this time.

Pluto for one, the Great Transformer, in its long journey through Capricorn, is now going back old territory where we've been working to transform ourselves, the world, and the way we view life. On Tuesday, May 9 the Sun in Taurus exactly trines Pluto in Capricorn. Solutions, insight along with the ability to focus and concentrate, make for a powerful time for conceiving of ways to make more money, solve ongoing issues, and breaking through barriers that have kept us from developing.

Also on Tuesday, Venus in Aries is parallel Chiron, the Wounded Healer,  in Pisces.  This provides powerful healing energy as well as the ability to repair, fix, and heal...especially at a deep, source level. We need to get to the heart of major issues or problems before we can expect anything to change. This is not always easy; it's the place we often give up. Persevere instead.

May 9th is also the day that the North Node enters Leo. The gateway to the future lies is lined up exactly in the path of this Full Moon in Scorpio. It's a good time to envision, plan, or make decisions about where you are headed.

Late at night on May 9 Mercury in Aries is exactly conjunct Uranus, making this a key time for grasping concepts, trusting our strong intuitive insights (that are scarily accurate right now). Right and perfect timing is also indicated. The sensory overload may make it nearly impossible to rest or relax. Use the energy by channeling it into positive actions, intentions, prayers, and alignments.


The Full Moon in Scorpio awakens us on a very deep and profound level. We become acutely aware of who we are and what is right or not about our lives, our choices, and our intentions. We recognize both personal needs and desire for affection, love, and acceptance. Our intuition is highly attuned as is our sense of inner truth. Our personal barometers for our health and well being (whatever those are in your experience) should be trusted. Now is not the time to ignore health issues of any kind. Pay attention to what is in need of repair, healing, or nourishment.

The Serpent energy that is symbolic of Scorpio, is the knowledge of life and death, good and evil, life affirming or life denying. We want to make choices now to acknowledge and affirm the gains, goodness, blessings, honor, good fortune, and forgiveness we are receiving in our lives now.  Using our energy with open eyes, with full awareness of what is working and what is not, is crucial.

When the Moon in Scorpio sextiles Pluto in Capricorn (energy enhancing movement and healing change), it also releases the power of the Sun in Taurus trine Pluto. Great transformative energy is being released this week.

The Moon (our emotional well being) in Scorpio (our deep spiritual and psychological depths) are at play now. Deep probing into what holds power and influence over you and your life, is critical. At this time something that has been in decay can be reborn. Whether it should be or not, depends. It is an important time to sort through the mental, emotional, physical junk that is cluttering your mind and life. Inner cleansing and outer clearing are helpful now.

The Full Moon in Scorpio represents transformation, rebirth, and is enhanced by sharing. Positive karma is a tool that keeps on giving, so let yourself be guided by that inner barometer about where you need to bestow love, gifts, and gratitude. Forgiveness too is a gift, to oneself and to the person released from the bondage of your own feelings or emotions, or needs.

Later in the month, on May16, Mercury enters Taurus. This provides much greater clarity in our thinking, in communications, and in dealing with understanding of all types. Plans, ideas, and actions begun during the Full Moon time will bear fruit after Mercury enters Taurus. Do not hesitate to dream, plan, and set things in motion now. Then clear and release, and allow life to unfold in the wake of your own willingness to let go and move on.

On May 23 a t-square is formed between Mars (planet of action), Saturn (the Great Teacher) in it reflective retrograde cycle, and Chiron (the Wounded Healer). The period between May 23 and June 7 is a intensive period when Chiron shows up in our lives to help heal where we may have shut down, felt shout out, or may have shut down in pain and anger. Chiron shows us where we must heal, or suffer.  Choose life and choose to do what is needed to heal and evolve in every area of your life. Holding on to anger, expectations of how things ought to be, or grudges and negative perspectives, can only harm you. You may feel worse before you feel better, but probably only in those areas where you've tried so hard to hang on to some outwork idea that it has to break away for you so you can finally let go. Seek out healing experiences, and remember when something from the past has been shoved aside or when we've tried to 'get over' it or forget it, it stays within us. Only in acknowledging what the source of pain is, can we begin to let it go.

Healing though, should not be about reinjuring ourselves. We can experience healing without ripping the scab off a barely healed wound. Be gentle and constant in your daily efforts to stay present and mindful of what your needs and desires are, and what needs support in healing. Do what you can, and stick to what works best for you. Trust yourself to know what the path is, for after all, it is yours. No one else can walk it for you.

Remember the words of Anna Freud, "Creative minds have always been known to survive any kind of bad training."  And I might, any kind of bad experience. We all have the capacity to be creative, to get outside the box of our own expectations, and try something that is uplifting and healing. Whatever that is for you, do that. And enjoy the journey of Scorpio into those lush and rich inner depths. Then use that Taurus grounded energy, and create a beautiful life.

Soon you will notice new opportunities coming your way, and a new kind of energy infusing your life in whatever area Leo's North Node is. Now is the time for completion, and the time to imagine what is possible on your spiritual journey in this earthly existence. Let your dreams guide you, allow yourself to imagine the best, and listen to and trust your intuition. Remember who you are and trust that you have what is needed for your full and complete healing and for your perfect fulfillment. Put your energy into what is calling your to action.

New Moon in Taurus: The Earth Gives Forth Her Bounty

Tulips Beginning to Blossom                             Catherine Al-Meten Meyers

The New Moon in  6 degrees of Taurus on April 27 is conjunct the Asteroid, Demeter. This New Moon in Taurus can be interpreted using two Sabian Symbols that rule 5-7 degrees of the Moon. The first archetypal image is that of 5-6 degrees, the Cantilever Bridge spanning the gap of a deep gorge.
With this New Moon in Taurus, we arrive at a time when we in some way are crossing over a deep abyss. All that is between us and the dangers that lie below, is the safety of the narrow bridge that spans the deep gorge. For those who are afraid of heights, this would be a perilous journey. For anyone, it would be a journey that allows for safe passage across uncertainties, hidden dangers, and perils.

We find the New Moon in Taurus conjunct Demeter bringing the energy and grounding of Taurus in alignment with the rebirth of Light, of the flowering of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and the return of Light to the Underworld in the Southern Hemisphere. The Constellation of Taurus includes three major stars: Mirach, Mira, and Hamal. Mirach is the guide star in the Andromeda constellation. It points toward three other galaxies (a crossroads of sorts). Time for making choices. Mirach lies at the left hip in the Andromeda Princess. The Princess is depicted as a woman chained yet the chains are connected to nothing. A symbol of how we are chained to our destiny; a destiny we choose with the choices we make.

The second Sabian symbol is 6-7 degrees of Taurus, the Woman of Samaria at the Ancestral Well. One of my favorite biblical stories, the woman at the well symbolizes the crossing over limitations and extending boundaries set by cultural and historical traditions and habits. Christ Jesus went out of his way to cross over to the well, and crossed into enemy territory. As if that weren't enough, he crossed cultural boundaries by asking a Samaritan woman who had come to the well to get water, for a drink to quench his thirst. Jesus, a Jew, and the woman, a Samaritan, would have been forbidden to have contact with one another for many reasons. Jews and Samaritans were enemies. Jesus was a man who was asking a woman for help. This moment was indeed one that was out of the ordinary, and even dangerous.

The location of the New Moon at 6 degrees of Taurus comes after its passage through the first few degrees of the sign; traditionally symbolic of sexual indiscretion, infidelity, or some other form of behavior that is outside our acceptable norms. Whether this is truly an indiscretion or daring to risk behavior outside our usual routine, we may feel a little off center and out of sorts--wondering what is going on as we are not our typical selves. This is a sure sign that on some level, there are changes brewing within. What brews within is often repressed and seen in something outside ourselves...a behavior that challenges us, or an offer or opportunity that surprises us. We may be shocked at how we feel right now. The Moon in Taurus also comes into conjunction with the fixed star Hamal. This often indicates the energy of strong, protective leaders. Those who appear to be the head of the family may hide within them the egomania, lust for power, and need for control, at any cost, beneath the thin mask of normalcy. Such people can suffer loss, disgrace, and fall from power due to their own weaknesses. Note the area of your life where you can be just a bit too dictatorial. How can we reign in our weaker elements, and address the areas of our lives where we step over the mark on occasion? We all have the potential to try to control or abuse our power. Notice how you might be inclined to let your lesser self take the lead.


New moons are always times that signal the start of a new phase. This New Moon in the first decan of Taurus is one that alerts us of changes that will bridge the gap between what we might have feared most and what is possible when addressing those fears and moving into a new relationship with the way we are living life. There is a certain kind of safety and comfort we get accustomed to when we are feeling familiar, safe, and secure in our beliefs, traditions, customs, and habits. When we bridge the gap to extend ourselves beyond the limitations of our own perspectives, we can see real growth. When we break out of our habitual patterns and allow the truth to set us free, we find a new pathway forward. One that is not necessarily predictable and easy, but one that is nevertheless a path that is full of possibilities and unfamiliar riches.

Despite the unusual feelings, temptations, or offers, the Taurus New Moon and the energy of the Taurean Sun remind us of our obligations and duties. We find our passions and desires for material pleasures, distractions, and pursuits stimulated. At the same time we need to channel our energy into what is going to help sustain ourselves and help us guard, preserve, and protect our homes and  our way of life. By using our talents, energy, and resources to fix up our homes, strengthen our family ties, and protect our long term goals, we can use this powerful energy to set ourselves on a path that leads us across the divide between the past and the future equipped with resources and talents, and focused on what will sustain us in the long run.

Taurus loves the finer things of life. We are now drawn to that which enriches and enhances how we live and where we live and work. Taurus is not about wishing and hoping  for the best; it's about making the best happen. Putting into practice and creating the lovely, beautiful home we desire. Enjoying food, drink, and the pleasures of life. Not only the consumption of delicious meals, but also the preparation. Seeing our wealth as it represents the ways we have come to appreciate, treasure, and  maybe even covet a bit. Notice how you allow yourself to enjoy life during the New Moon in Taurus, or how you keep yourself from enjoying the life you have created. Taurus is about grounding yourself in the material expressions of your spiritual gifts. How do you celebrate the fullness of life right where you are?

This is a time to slow down and take time to enjoy life. Spend some time enjoying the beauty of the Earth and your own environment. Let the natural world awaken you to what you truly value. Taurus rules the 2nd house of self worth and values. Use the energy of this time to consider how your values have been shaped, and how you might want to break out of some of the stubborn or rigid patterns that are keeping your from fully developing and growing.  How have you been your own worst enemy? Whose influence has stopped or stagnated your own growth and well being? What needs to be discarded so that you can be more fully yourself? What gifts, talents, desires, and longings are calling your to develop and cross that bridge to the new path before you? What within you is holding your back? What steps could you take to move forward?

Other aspects that coincide with this month's New Moon include:

Mercury conjunct Uranus in Aries.  We are more attuned to those flashes of insight, intuitive hits, and sensations that awaken us to our own and others' hidden motivations, suppressed desires, or unhealed psyches. It's a time we can most become aware of what is stirring within us, and we can feel more motivated to face our fears. While facing our fears, we can learn more about what we need to alter so that we can be in greater harmony and balance.  Establishing what it is we need for health and well being is vital at this time. It is also going to become self evident and clearer than it has been for quite some time.

Mercury trine Saturn. At the same time, Mercury in Aries trines Saturn retrograde in Sagittarius provides the disciplined thinking, concentration, and focus to pay attention to detail. At the same time  we find tangible ways to put abstract ideas into concrete form and reality. What we've only held as a possibility or ideal, can now be brought into form and shape. The intuitive spark of Uranus lights up the thought processes and awakens the inner senses to put into practice with regards to business deals and practical plans.

And finally Saturn trine Uranus marks a key transition point. This transition point however will be more peaceful and calm than transitions of the past few years. A positive attitude, open and receptive perspective, and willingness to make the changes and do the work necessary for good changes, mark this point in time. The crossing of the bridge onto a new path is bright with promise, and is a reward for the many sacrifices made and the hard work of coping with reality that you have gone through earlier. It's a time when the Earth is blossoming with hope and possibility, and when opportunities are waiting for you to take them.  A bounty awaits.

Full Moon in Aries: T-Square Signals the Last Straw

Treehouse in a Tulip Tree                                                                  Catherine Al-Meten Meyers

One thing I would suggest as we approach this Full Moon in Libra, is to find yourself a place of peace and calm to ride out some of the storms of life. Not a time to ignore or dismiss issues in life, but a time to examine life in a safe, peaceful place.

The Full Moon in 21 degrees of Libra reaches her peak on April 10/11 (11:08 PM PDT/2:08 AM EDT). The Moon in 21 degrees of Libra opposite the Sun at 21 degrees of Aries is not, so to speak, in her element. Falling in the third decan of Libra, this Full Moon coincides with a strong t-square between Jupiter in Libra, Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn.  You know that area of your life that has been experiencing one transformative jolt after another since 2012? The Full Moon also shines her light on that one last square between these planets and your life; the last in a series of 7 squares since 2012, occurs with this Full Moon.  What that means is, depending on how well you've made the transition from where you were in 2012 and what you've been attempting to release and take on since then, is making one last appearance.

Expect there to be something of an emotional or psychological challenge to this new moon. We tend to be awakened to the Venus-ruled senses, emotions, both collectively and individually. What we've been feeling, coping with, and trying to straighten out in our own emotional, spiritual, psychological, and day to day lives makes us even more sensitive and intuitive during this time. The Full Moon in 21-22 degrees of Libra falls at the point in the chart where it is in peregree (the farthest point). It is considered the position of exile. Exile, loss of face, weakening of power for certain groups are indicated. It this falls on an area of your life/chart that has to do with relationships or public persona, this could be a time when you feel very much on the outside of some aspect of life. Not quite ever fitting in, feeling alienated, or out of synch.

Venus, the ruler of Libra is at a point of transition herself, in the process of completing a retrograde cycle. The Evening Star becomes the Morning Star, and perhaps we need to sleep on some ideas a bit longer, and wait for dawn to illuminate our paths.  Many people are seeking direction, struggling to know which way to go next, and this Full Moon focuses our attention of the aspect the Moon makes with the Fixed star Spica. Spica can be found in the shaft of wheat held by Virgo, an indicator of success, renown, sweet dispositions, love of art, and a shady bit of unscrupulousness.  Be sure to behave with care in all you do.

The Full Pink  Moon in Libra, and her aspects, also signal unbounded good fortune and abundance. Honor bestowed on those who deserve it, wishes come true, good fortune and renown due. Blessings are bestowed. You need only stop in your tracks, see what blessings abound in your life, and be grateful. Another practice that is good for just about any time, is the practice of forgiveness. Part of what helps us release what no longer serves us, is to forgive anyone or anything that needs to be released, and to forgive ourselves for what we have done or failed to do. Definitely time to release any toxic thinking, behavior, patterns, or memories.

This time of the year and this particular Full Moon in Libra, highlights the Ceres/Demeter archetype. The awakening from the darkness of winter, and the return to life.  With the intense t-square between Uranus in Aries squaring Pluto in Capricorn, and the Moon squaring Capricorn (the Great Transformer) we have what one astrologer described as Kali's raging and hungry intense energy arising in and around us. Whatever has been missing from your life, is now made known through an intense longing. With Venus in the Pisces sector of her retrograde, this can be intensified even more...you may have been feeling this already. This energy is intense, passionate, possessive, obsessive, and makes us all feel a bit or a lot like a mother bear protecting her young.  In the macro environment, this may appear with exposing hackers and cheats, conducting of covert operations, and even the launching of invasions (written before the airstrike on Syria).

The Moon in Libra opposite Uranus in Aries, stirs up whatever area of you rlife is ruled by Libra, Aries, Capricorn, and all the cardinals planets.  This is a familiar area for this intense process has been going on for the last 6-7 years.  It should not be too surprising. One person asked me, "What else do I have to let go of?"  I suggest you pay attention to the inner struggles that are going on right now, for they are the parts of your life that have been most transformed, and where you may still have some powerful insights into whatever you've been working so hard on during this long cycle. It's been a bit like a long-term tunnel project in our psyches. We've run into things we didn't expect, found blocks we had no idea existed, and had to face some pretty shocking and surprising realities. In many instances, we have seen old dreams and expectations die, and others just begin to make their way into our consciousness. These aspects stir up areas where you find whatever the main focus of transformation in your life has been teaching you some hard lessons.

As I write the final part of this coolum on Friday, April 7, a huge wind storm is hitting the coast and inland areas of the Pacific Northwest--electric, volatile, and unstable energy abounds. For those who don't believe we are affected by the weather and the forces of nature, I invite you to stand out in a wind storm for a few minutes and feel the power of those negative ions. We are in a time of great volatility and turmoil. We might notice mood swings and an awakening of some dark mourning that has yet to be expressed. Whatever toxic and negativity we hold within (anger, hate, lack of forgiveness, unexpressed grief), becomes either a form of depression or is fuel for time bombs waiting to go off in our lives. In the collective world the possibility of the loose cannon, unhinged minds, or covert enemies can ignite some pretty powerful consequences. Assassinations or other forms of terrorism can be used to trigger the already hair-trigger responses of corrupt or dangerous leaders. This has been building for some time, but is possibly making it's "last hurrah" with this final square ignited by the Full Moon. If you are in an advisory position with a rather unconscious leader, you might find yourself needing to help ground and stabilize your boss.

The Full Moon in Libra quincunx Mars also signals the time is right for those in power to not understand the nature of their own aggression. We all have elements of our unhealed consciousness that we fail to recognize (until it blows up in our faces or finds us caught blind sided). At this time those areas of our personal consciousness are triggered as well as that of our collective. Watch out for hairtrigger reactions, and steer clear of those who are not in control of their emotional energy.

The Libra Full Moon is also quincunx Ceres/Demeter cautioning us to use our right brain, intuition, empathy, compassion, and  sensibilities to discern how to use the abundant energy available. This is a time of the year when we are normally aware of the abundance of Life. Different cultures refer to this Full Moon in Aries as the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and the Fish Moon---all referring to the life teeming in our waterways and on our land. This is the time also when the beavers are busily making dams along the swollen rivers and streams, and when sea lions, sheep, horses, goats, and other animals are bearing their young. It is a rich and glorious time of year. As the Moon in Libra with it's transformative square to Uranus and Pluto push or shove us into making some decision, we feel ourselves very much aware of where we are on the wrong path or where too much stress has built up. We may feel finally we have reached the point of no return in terms of a job, a marriage or some other form of partnership, or life/work pattern. At this particular time, the dam may burst making it abundantly clear that there is no longer a choice about what needs to be changed.

For those who have been coping with transitions and transformations in a way that has already created a new path or you've recognized the changes that happened to open a new way, this may be a time when the pressure is more on dealing with residual emotional, psychological, physical, or mundane/material dealings. We have to deal with the consequences of our choices at this time. The pendulum is swinging us into a new direction. We feel it, see it, mourn it sometimes, and basically can't help but notice--life is not as it was anymore.

The Full Moon in Libra falls on what is called via combusta (the burning path, explosive way) as it conjuncts Jupiter in Libra at 17 degrees (remember a conjunction is anywhere from 5-6 degrees on either side of a particular point. We feel this ahead of the Full Moon, and its influence continues on. We have already seen this acted out on the world stage, unfortunately. The Burning Path is a do or die situation, bringing finality to situations. There is also an element of aggression involved, and people are easily aggravated. Mars is in its detriment in Taurus, Aries ruler, and this has an effect on this period of time as well. Expect to have to deal with pesky, bothersome, annoying sensations, people, or situations. If all this seems just a bit too unsettling, be comforted with knowing that being forewarned is to be forearmed. Use what you've learned about dealing with crisis, change, transformation, shocks, and transitions to make your way through what can feel like a very troubling period of time. Walking into the force of the wind, one is reminded of how little control we have over the elements of nature. Learn from that.

Shortly after the peak of the Full Moon in Libra, Libra's ruler, Venus stations direct at 26 degrees of Pisces. At this station, Venus forms a tight conjunction with Chiron, the Wounded Healer, and we might feel the pain of a deep unhealed wound. It's an 'ouch' point, that lets us know we have hit a spot that has yet to heal. Venus is exalted in Pisces however, and as she turns motion, we turn inward to do the necessary work on ourselves that allows us to heal more deeply.  Venus and Neptune are both in their element in Pisces, and matters of the heart play an important and vital role in our lives at this time.

Despite all the movement in cardinal signs, we are also moving into a time of reflection, contemplation, and healing as Jupiter in Libra,  Saturn  in Sagittarius turned retrograde on April 6, Mercury in Aries begins its retrograde cycle on April 9, and Ve

nus turns direct in Pisces on April 15.  Retrograde cycles caution us to slow down, resist rash or not well thought out actions. Of the four retrograde planets in April, three occupy the dual signs of Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces. This will have a huge impact of financial transactions during this period of time. Look to the houses that rule money matters (2,8) and to other areas where your financial identity is formed (i.e.., artists=5th house, fame/career/life purpose 10th house).

Also of significance in April is the Full Moon in Libra and the four retrograde planets that signal the end to a very long karmic cycle. Not only the transformative cycles that began in 2012, but longer cycles that have opened a new age. For decades we have been preparing for, expecting, or hearing about changes. The riseing of the Divine Feminine. In many ways the rising of this massive change in our human spirit and ways of life are in the throes of labor pains. Transformation and change is not always fun and full of fairy dust. All too often, as this Full Moon in Libra reminds us, we have the capacity now to see the full range of possibilities, and to begin to understand that how we cope with the shadow aspects (the unhealed, unexplored, the parts of ourselves we don't recognize or want to know), definitely affects what unfolds on the path before us. We also are awakened to our true nature, and are called to listen to and be reminded of who we are. Perhaps the best question we can each ask ourselves when times like these test us, is to remember who we are and what we are here in this life to do. What is the calling that life has been preparing us for?  As the winds whip around us, let us each find a beautiful pocket of peace within, and be reminded of the power of our thoughts, prayers, and desires. We can have an effect on the world if first we tend to the business of healing and growing in Light within. Peace to you all.

We are entering the high holy days for the Jewish and Christian people. Ramadan starts at the end of May for Muslims everywhere. In the spirit of working together for a world free of hate and devoted to healing and sharing of life and love, let us all do what we can to heal the energy within our own hearts and with our brothers and sisters wherever they are, whatever their beliefs be. One practice that can help us at this time is forgiveness. Now is a time when healing can be accomplished if we each take time to forgive ourselves, the conditions, relationships, enemies, and whatever stands in between yourself and a loving, compassionate heart.