By the Light of a Ceres Full Moon

The Full Moon as photographed by Augusto De Luca in 1980

Maybe you remember the old song ‘…by the light of the silvery moon…’ and suspect that I was humming that as I came to write this blog?

If so, you would be right!

And though I’m not positively certain why such things pop into our minds at any given time, given that this month’s Full Moon (which will occur on June 23rd at a cheery 11:33 a.m. UT/+0 time) is in Capricorn, having something I heard as a child turn up for humming use seems rather apt.

After all, Capricorn always has a sense of the classic, the historical and all which has lasted through the triumphs and trials of time – which goes with its association with Saturn, the astrological time-and-taskmaster which leads to achievement. In this case, the ‘achievement’ has in part been the installing of a song in my head which evidently has lasted plural decades. But probably more to the point, the fact that the song (and the Doris Day movie which honored same) have proved memorable denote a form of ‘quality’ which is endemically Capricorn-Saturn, and thus entirely in keeping with this June Full Moon at 2 Capricorn.

During my 'growing up years' I was very involved with music, where one of the things I liked most was old-fashioned sheet music with all the wonderful illustrations. So since it came up today, I went hunting for 'By the Light of the Silvery Moon' and came up with this - which I thought you'd enjoy seeing.

(original publication date, 1909)

And yet…there is something of an odd juxtaposition here. While Capricorn itself is known as structural sign which encourages (even requires) that we build and engineer an external life which will support and protect our internal life (the image of the polarity sign, Cancer), 2 Capricorn is pretty early in the sign. That points us towards the idea that early degrees in any sign (those in the 0-9 first decanate region) are known for being where the sign manifests through actions and physicality. So considering this is Capricorn we’re talking about, this may be a time when all things Capricorn are in progress in that singularly cardinal manner Nike has forever embraced with the corporate slogan: ‘just do it.’

The head and torso of a statue of the Goddess Nike, she who stands for victory
of human spirit, which is part of the RMS Titanic Engineers' Memorial
in Southampton (photo credit: Marekes, May 2011)

Or maybe you’re gearing up to go out there and ‘just do it.’ Or you’re listening to others who are out there just wailing on whatever they’re involved in as they try to make things happen.

Whether you’re cake baking or sports attending or governmenting or building for your future, you’re doing what you’re doing and then we arrive at this interesting juncture otherwise known as the Full Moon at 2 Capricorn.

The image is this: the Moon – our emblem of feelings and intuition and money and habits and cultural inculcations (and thus the ‘directives’ by which we tend to live) is at 2 Capricorn, a degree known as being a bit tentative. The question is ‘what will work?’ or ‘will this work?’ or ‘am I on the right track?’ or ‘is this going to get me where I want to go?’ or any such reflection. Implied also is how our life is OUR life and how that may mimic or ‘fit’ with society or, then again, it may not.

And if or where it doesn’t, is that bad? Certainly there are some areas of life (regulations, laws, etc.) where we really do need to adhere to the ‘rules.’ And there are abilities which are basic tools in life – learning to read, write, do money-math, cook well enough to feed yourself, all that stuff. But beyond that is the where is fitting in good, and where is being your own person the way to create that ‘special’ niche which is true to you and which is the sign of human leadership?

Another side of 2 Capricorn is a sort of ‘timeliness,’ especially that which asks that we keep up with the times which may now reverberate as having to ‘update’ in some way, shape or form.

Because we don’t see a bouquet of modifiers associated with the Sun or Moon in this moment, we might think this Full Moon is straight-forward or ‘simplistic.’

But is life ever simple? How would it be so interesting if all was simplistic!

So be assured, there are at least a couple of astro-aspect notes worth taking into account!

And thus we get at it, starting with one of my handy-dandy diagrams...

Oh wait...! Before we get to that, we should note that the date of this Full Moon (the 23rd of June) is also the date that the Nodes move onto the cross-quarter degrees in Scorpio and Taurus.

Didn't catch that post? No problem - here's the link:

- link to post - 

The Lunar Nodes at Cross Quarters

Bearing that in mind, the Moon (our feelings of the moment) is in a sign which (as mentioned), is ruled by Saturn. And Saturn is at 4 Scorpio and still retrograde, though 4 Scorpio IS the degree Saturn is going to go direct at come but a couple of weeks from now. So that adds something of an undercurrent. Even a double undercurrent, considering the Nodal signal that our relationship with others and the world is in the mix.

Some of us will now experience moments of self-doubt. And it's probably a good time to check those p’s and q’s to see that all is in line...or when you may find out you forgot to dot some ‘i’ or cross some ‘t’.

(How alphabetical of me, right?)

Since this is a Full Moon we’re talking about here, if the Moon is at 2 Capricorn, that means the Sun is at 2 Cancer. So LIFE (the Sun) is in a place where we know we need to build for the future, but we also have sincere feelings of wanting to cover our vulnerabilities (and any body part you associate with that!).

2 Cancer is a bit of an odd duck degree in that it represents that quality of recognizing everyone’s needs while still wanting to vote only for your own preferences. There’s something of an emotional ‘false front’ which tends to be presented here, suggesting that justifications are easier to be put out there than actual reasons, rationales or personal motivations. And maybe that’s good and proper, maybe that’s selfish or manipulative…it just depends on who is doing what - and why.

So in this natural opposition between the Sun and Moon, it would be natural to question: why are we doing what we’re doing? Why are others saying what they’re saying about what we’re doing? Are they speaking fact and truth – or are they just trying to ‘sell’ some sort of agenda?

To make this all a bit more exotic, we add in four more factors, the first of which is that the Black Moon (societal form of) Lilith is sitting right beside the Sun at 1 Cancer, registering a bit of a ‘threat’ that what you’re doing (or what you want or need to do) may cause some social or relationship waves. And that may be the real crux of what this Full Moon is – life asking you whether you’re willing to do what you need to do to move ahead in your own life or as a person even though that might rock some sort of status quo. For all we know, that might be the ‘status quo’ of what you had thought coming into this time which now simply changes. But yes, it could mean you’re rocking some boat at home or at your office or in your ‘group.’

So why are you doing what you’re doing? Is it willful or is it necessary? Is it leadership or selfishness? Are you willing to move ahead (“modernize”) where someone else isn’t, or are you in some mode where you’re rejecting some evidence of how the world works simply because it doesn’t fit your mold or suit your fancy?
The next thing to think about is the fact that with this Full Moon we get a healthy heaping helping of Jupiter at 29 (critical) degrees of Gemini.

Every time I type ‘critical’ degrees, a little voice in my head says ‘someone is going to go overboard with that word “critical”’ So lest that be the case, let’s remember that critical in the astrological sense only means ‘to the max’ in terms of that sign. If you think of the degrees of any sign as being from 0 to 29, then zero is where the sign begins its ‘work’ (or process) and 29 is where its process culminates or where life pushes really hard to get us to dealing with the matter(s) connected to that sign.

In this case, the sign is Gemini: thought, mentality, communication, mental health, priorities and all those life details and operations which keep the ‘whole’ of life on track and functioning on a day-to-day basis. Gemini is known as the sign of ‘choice’ because we make a choice to deal with things…or to not deal with things. (And for those who think they don’t have to make choices, think again: making no choice IS making a choice – it’s a choice to exert no influence into the process, which is sort of a ‘choice to be helpless’ and let others run your life.)

Jupiter at 29 Gemini is a time of making choices and when choices (or non-choices) become very important for whatever reason. So, in combination with the Full Moon, we may now have plenty of good reasons to pause as something we have ignored may turn up to haunt us. Or maybe something we’ve done thinking we could get away with it…or maybe that ‘this was the way’ to handle something turns out wrong.

Then again, this may be where everything begins paying off. This may be a ‘critical juncture’ where Jupiter as the emblem of ‘expansion’ and learning brings you to where you ‘see the light’ whether at the end of the tunnel or otherwise. It may be where some long period of (Saturn) effort begins paying off.

It all depends on what you’ve been doing with your life of late. And even for the past year or so (which I say because it takes Jupiter just about a year to pass through any given sign).

Factor Three: Mercury is about to go retrograde. And since it’s SOP (standard operating procedure) for life to feel all pressured and flurry-ful just as we close in on Mercury’s station/retrograde point, that heaped atop Jupiter being at 29 ‘critical’ degrees of Gemini (a sign that Mercury rules) says decisions and conversations and having thought through situations and choices is probably of mucho importance just now.

As always, that we refuse to deal with in life gets thrust upon us. If we need to learn something and we don’t want to go there, life will ‘send’ someone to provoke and evoke that dynamic in us – or in our lives. And let’s remember…

…since Gemini is the sign which leads us to the foundational (Nadir or IC) point in the horoscope and the zodiac, that which we are (Aries), that which we seek in order to feel good about ourselves and our lives (Taurus) and that which we do or don’t do, learn or don’t learn (Gemini) is now coming to…well, not a heady turn – that sounds more like the top of the horoscope wheel.

But maybe you’d go for it’s a ‘nitty gritty’ time?

Jupiter tends to overblow and overdo and underestimate the repercussions of things while in Gemini. That goes to the good and goes to the not-so-good.

But once Jupiter crosses over into Cancer, then we have Jupiter in a sign of grace. Or at least grace for many. Those who aren’t moving ahead and aren’t planning and building for the future often experience Cancer as being ‘overwhelmed’ by Cancerian issues. I know one person with Cancer – which is normally the sign of home and family – on their 12th house, a house which asks that we face our fears in this realm. This person is totally overwhelmed by family demands and swamped by the ‘expectations’ that have been heaped upon them about the lifestyle they ‘should’ live and the kind of house they ‘should’ own and all that.

If you’re in position to finish something up and move ahead into a newer more “authentically you” stage of life, this Jupiter at 29 Gemini Full Moon with Mercury about go to into retrograde will like as not be an exciting time of seeing yourself moving towards wonderful new opportunities and a broadening of your vistas. Against that, if or where you’re just knee-jerking yourself along through life (did I put that politely enough?) this will be a nerve-wracking time of personal challenges.

And let’s not forget: it could be both. In one area of life all could be just spiffy and splendiferous while in another everything could be sinking into the floor.

The last and final note here (and here we thought this was just a simple Full Moon, right?) is that Ceres – the symbol of planning how to get from seed to the riches of harvest – is about to enter Leo.

Leo is a sign of visions, of creativity, of taking risks – not all of which always pay off. The Leo Principle includes the idea of competition, and let’s face it – we don’t always win. But that which we love with a Leo fervor, we love with all our heart. It’s what we do or what we’ve created, and whether others love it or not, that which is Leo to us is something we love.

Of course, sometimes we love something just too much. (I know…shocking, isn’t it?) Or sometimes we just get a vision of how things should be or could be and life just doesn’t measure up. This is the big Leo challenge: to understand motivation as motivation and ‘what could be’ as that we’re shooting for, not what reality necessarily is.

So as Ceres enters Leo on June 23rd (as this Full Moon lights our skies) we do need to see what can be, and motivation which leads to planning is decidedly a good thing.

Just let’s not think the road is always smooth. That it isn’t, that sometimes ‘stuff’ happens (as they say…ahem!) and we have to think on the fly or bite our tongue and go with the ‘oops – I didn’t think about that!) also comes with this mix.

If this is a moment when your dreams come true, God bless you! And if this is a moment when you see your way through some sticky life thicket to solutions which may yet be and become, good luck!

 The Moon

(photo credit: Simon Wedege Petersen, April 2009 - color altered for post use)

Like any Full Moon, this one is something of a check point and very much a step in the process. As the Moon reflects the light of the Sun, so we look skyward and reflect on this moment…this life…our hopes for tomorrow...

...and then we move on into a new phase, just as the Moon does.
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A Full March Moon...plus a Jupiter-Mercury Look Ahead

A Full Moon over Amman, Jordan

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What to do, how to make one’s efforts count, how to move beyond the basic problems we know exist in life and which have plagued us – and maybe all of humanity – throughout time?

With Ixion having just gone retrograde showing up the shadowy underbelly of our minds and the world around us, it’s not the most frivolous and lighthearted of moments. What’s wrong and what needs doing are so apparent. We need to take on all those ‘things’ and no one is cheering us on.

Can’t life just be easy for a change?

Full Moons always being the ‘highlighting’ moment of the month, the good part is that the Full Moon does actually point out the thematic center to current doings. It may not be a happy note, but it is the overall central concept.

And that may be the best place to start, especially if you have the proverbial “bunch of stuff” going on – which a lot of us do!

Try to find the commonalty. What is the dotted line which connects your various points of (dis)pleasure? It may be one word, one issue….like money or getting a job or an illness or a relationship which has really hit the ‘this no fly’ zone. Then again, it may be something more nebulous, like feeling very iffy. Or feeling depressed. Or recognizing that nothing you are doing is going anywhere.

Any Moon in Virgo is always about how we feel about functionality and ‘how things work’ or the ‘state’ of life or our home or the state of our state, if maybe you’re of the political ilk! And yet, with this Full Moon occurring at 28 Virgo, by definition this isn’t about the ‘news’ coming to you. You’re in the position of reacting, not controlling the reaction.

With 28 Virgo also being the current position of Typhon and Nemesis, there’s also a big ‘I told you so!’ (or possibly ‘I’m warning you’!) quality to this whole event.

Mind you, this could be when your wished for, hoped for, longed for ship actually does comes in. But if it does, don’t expect it to show up without ancillary issues. You might be welcoming your sweetie home, but then there’s all that dirty laundry which needs sorting out. Or the fact they’ve been away so long there’s a whole settling in process which needs to be waded (and waited) through.

All that is emotional. The Moon reflects the Sun and so at the Full Moon we tend to react or reflect on the moment. Or in the moment, depending. With the Moon side of the Full Moon usually describing all the emotionalism of this moment, we tend to look to the solar (more concept-oriented) side for definitions and ‘what’s on the table.’ But with this Full Moon having the Moon in an earthy earth sign and the Moon in a watery emotional sign (Pisces) that may not be the case.

Then again, the matter OF how you deal with your emotions…that may well be the crux of current goings on.

This combination suggests (among other things) that being practical and pragmatic about what you do and choices du jour is pretty darn apt. With Virgo Being a mutable sign, you may need to change your tactics or course of action, and providing you do so for reality-oriented reasons (as opposed to emotionally evasive ones) though you may get a bit of flack in the moment that shouldn’t be a ‘points off’ issue in the long run.

Mutable signs support learning as you go and making course corrections and refinements to master plans, no matter what anybody says.

 A dhoni on the waters of the Maldives (2006)

photo credit Lankan Fushi (tokyohead.com)

And yes, they tend to say it. Virgos get called nit-picky for trying to get things right, Pisceans get called wishy-washy for not being emotional stoics, Sagittarians get called dreamers for their enjoyment of developing the idea and Geminis have heard a thousand times how they’re scattering their efforts and aren’t ever going to get anything done.

Mind you, there’s a little bit of sensibility to each of these finger-pointer-slogans. When Virgos nit pick instead of getting anything done, that’s a negative.

When Pisceans get nothing done or make emotions their excuse, that’s a negative. When Sagittarians want to eternally discuss and never do ‘for real’ that’s not a positive. And since Gemini is about making a choice and following it through, never focusing, never choosing, never making that concerted, long term effort is not the finest Gemini moment.

And let’s remember: we all have all of these traits in our charts. Sure, the person with a Gemini Sun or a Sagittarius Ascendant or Virgo Moon will deal with them as a focal point, but sign qualities are activated by planets moving through signs, or when planetary pictures (such as a Full Moon) come into formation, combining sign/planet attributes.

Or more on the scientific side of it, when planets in positions give us notice of time/space ‘disturbances’ plus attributes particular to any given celestial body are going to be generated so that like ripples, they can then roll towards Earth.

So having said, we get back to the Sun’s side of this particular picture by pointing out that Sun - (fixed star) Scheat – Black Moon Lilith all clumped together in Pisces is a sure sign of what society doesn’t see. Or what you don’t want to know about the Big World. Or what you may not have taken into account (because you didn’t want to) about said Big World. Or about what that world doesn’t want to see about what it does in any given arena because that would force said world to realize it was wrong. Or out of its mind for doing/not doing various things.

And just a thought here...Scheat - the star - is part of the constellation Pegasus. The mythic Pegasus is a descendant of....do you remember who? Medusa!

Medusa - in case you haven't read much about She of the Thoroughly Frightening Countenance - Medusa is our fear of what we learn...or our fear of having to learn something we might not want to know. Medusa is all about our emotional desire not to have to face things.

Obviously that doesn't work so well for us human types - at least not on the mythic/metaphysical level!

(And yes, there's an ARTICLE on MEDUSA should you care to read more fascinating and hairy facts about her!) 

Meanwhile, Scheat is a star in the shoulder of flying horse Pegasus - a symbol of the power (ability) to escape by flying away, or the emotional 'taking flight' (as in 'fight or flight') depending on who you are and what the issue is.

Or maybe not! The famous example of Scheat-in-action being the Catholic Church's reaction to Galileo (of all people!) announcing that he had figured out the Earth revolved around the Sun, not vice-versa...for whatever reason the Church felt so threatened by Galileo's discovery that they had him put under house arrest and let it be known he was a bad, bad man.

So...what difference would it have made to the Church or Catholicism that Earth revolves around the Sun? The simple answer (of course!) is power. No Power-in-power likes being upstaged by some yahoo. (Can you imagine? Galileo...a yahoo!) But if you dig around for information of the time (which is pretty consistent through history) there is the point that when you're running some large group (a religion, a country...) the thing you want least of all is to have your thousands or millions of minions to panic over/about something.   

Putting that aside like a half-munched cookie, of course when we put this all together, our March Full Moon may be a mutual or group (or mass) rejection of effort. Or position. Maybe because the world is so hostile (or seems so hostile) we may not feel like it’s ‘worth’ trying something. Or we may be encountering rejection in action. Or be actively rejecting something because it just doesn’t fit our agenda.

With this Full Moon in square to the Lunar Nodes, it’s likely there’s a whole yes/no ping-pong quality to this day. North Node in Sagittarius says we should be trying anew or trying the new. But South Node in Gemini will tend to like the already known – or at least to not have to commit.

Of the four points central to this chit-chat (Sun, Moon, Nodes North and South) two are in signs ruled by Mercury (Moon and South Node) and two are in signs either ruled outright or ‘going in’ by Jupiter (Pisces and Sagittarius).

Didn’t we just talk about Jupiter and Mercury in conjunction? Ah yes – we did…on March 16th, as Ixion went into its station.

(Which yes, is still in effect.)

At this point, Jupiter is now at 12 Aries – a degree known for focus on one’s home or ‘home court’ point of view, sometimes to the point of rebelliousness.

Mercury is now at 16 Aries, a degree about the greater ‘nature of things’ and evolution of thought so as to become more in sync (harmony) with life around us.

Granting that Mercury moves along its orbit around the Sun far, far faster than Jupiter does (one Mercury obit takes a 87 days (some sources say 88); one Jupiter orbit takes over 11 years!)…what this amounts to is the fact that the distance between Mercury (thought) and Jupiter (knowledge) is increasing. 

Should we figure there is a parting of mental ways in the process? With Ixion having just gone retrograde, probably – and not because we’re all so lovely, cooperative and pliable!

But this is more curious than one might think… because Mercury is going to go retrograde at the end of the month, there’s going to be a second Jupiter-Mercury conjunction come April. On April 11th, to be exact. That one will take place at 17 Aries with Eurydike in conjunction and shape shifter Haumea in Libra opposition.

Seeing this will be Mercury in retrograde, that suggests things are being thought over. Contemplated. Discussed. Looked into. You may be doing something, yes - Jupiter is always about the expanding of our world, our understanding, our boundaries, our horizons.

But for those who are in the 'doing' mode here, it's not the 'final' step. It may be a step in a process...but it's not the goal, not the seal on the deal which ends this 'run' of effort.

You're just not done yet.

Oh…! And we should mention that Saturn will have been lurking in opposition all this time. So the whole issue is what we are willing to give in order to get…. 

….get what?

That’s probably the problem. Or maybe what we’ve got (or are getting from others) is not okay with us. That’s an inverse of the same sort of dynamic.

In the 1904 St. Louis Summer Olympics, the tug-of-war was

fought valiantly. Remind you of anything?

photo source: US Library of Congress Archives

With Eurydike being ‘the cost we pay’ in the moment and 17 Aries being about imagination and or wealth which is gained then lost through extravagance, one thing this entire cycle may be about on the world stage (never mind entirely different issues in your personal life) may be oil. More precisely, the cost of oil, the supply of oil and the viability of alternative energy. Health (health care, decent food/water) is another possible world venue for this Pisces-Aries-Virgo-Libra sort of combination.

To be understood here is that because we’re talking about signs which in a ‘natural zodiac’ surround the horizontal axis, we’re taking less about who we are as individuals (the vertical axis) than who we interact with and what we get from others (the horizontal axis).

It’s a somewhat different slant – but because it’s not intrinsically ‘us-oriented’ it does fit with the social, societal vibe symbolized by the Lunar Nodes. And with Ixion just having gone retrograde, it’s likely that part of what’s going on is the intrinsic tug between our desire to have things the way we want them to be personally (Ixion) and how life works on the bigger, grander scale.

So maybe another question is this: is my way really the best way? This doesn’t question what you might want…but does that work? Is it really a ‘workable’ (Virgo) position to take?  

If you’re really into this whole solar systemic orbital thing, knowing Mercury’s zippiness and that it conjuncted Jupiter once when direct and once when retrograde will pretty much automatically imply that there’s yet another Mercury/Jupiter conjunction to come even after the April 11th event. And you would be right – said third conjunction (third time’s a charm?) happens on May 11th with a planetary party being held at 24 Aries…

...and one other Object of Note at 22 Aries deserving of (dis)honorable mention.

The three planets which will be at 24 Aries will be  Mercury, Jupiter and Venus. The party at 22 Aries is (ahem!) Eris...which by Greek definition is a party crasher of the finest (or worst, depending) caliber.

24 Aries is a degree known as highly creative and maybe even ‘pro-creative’ in the sense that it promotes sexual interaction and has been associated with the rights of women (who obviously are very key in the procreation process!). So for individuals, this appears to be an opportunity to express an opinion, be heard or discover more about how you can become more effective.

The ‘Eris touch’ here (which let’s face it, sometimes feels like a club!) speaks to an ‘excitable energy’ which can be fractious, even destructive…or innovative and socially liberating, whether on a small or large scale.

That this cycle happens as events which so mirror its dynamics unfold in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere is the proverbial ‘sign of the times’ and why we look to astrological patterns to decipher when things might be just right for us to ‘catch that wave’ and ride to success in whatever it is we’re doing.

Right now…as this post goes up, this is a touchy moment. In fact, it’s a touchy moment with a side of soured desires. But it’s also part of a process. We’re all up to our proverbial ‘high water mark’ with angst, discouragement, lack of control in our life and a general feeling that no matter what we do, something always gets in our way.

That would be part of what’s going on. And there is no one thing which is going to make things fine and ducky by tomorrow.

I got an email from a dear friend of mine out in Texas. She was feeling very discouraged and depressed. She was feeling like a really old person in not that old a body and all the struggling was getting her nowhere (or at least it felt like nowhere) and it all was getting pretty old.

Mind you, she’s about half my age. But I resisted going there, seeing as I was going through the same thing.

And that’s one of the good parts of being an astrologer – everybody writes you and calls you to bitch, moan and ask why. So even if you have a blanket answer they really don’t like (“sorry, that’s just what this moment is…”) it is pretty evident we’re all going through it.

As I put it to my friend, we’re all in the trenches – it’s a trenchish sort of time.

But if you accept that life…evolution…experiences all have some merit, maybe the question becomes what do we learn by being in the trenches? 

My suggestion to her was that maybe we’re all in the trenches so that in feeling so terribly and inordinately bogged down we’ll simply shed some stuff out of desperation.

When things are good, people are loath to cut anything out or let go of something they think they ‘might’ need. But when things get down and out, people pare back. They let go of non-necessities in favor of what they really need and value.

Back in 2008, Pluto moved into Capricorn. Yours truly began writing about paring back and cutting down and in general, getting over our Pluto in Sagittarius addiction to ‘having it all.’ That’s a great idea and while Pluto was in Sagittarius, the idea was the thing. But now that Pluto is in Capricorn, reality is the thing. And the reality is that we’ve all dug ourselves some pretty big holes, whether by putting things on credit, letting social and national leaders get away with bad behavior or maybe just taking it easy on ourselves, expecting life to be ‘good’ if we just willed it to be.

Don’t get me started on that one, okay? When was it we forgot that reality is just fine as long as you are okay with reality? Optimism is a motivation, not a goal.

And I’M the Pisces? Sheesh! (Okay…so I have a Scorpio Saturn/Moon. But really…!)

Anyway…maybe the difficulties of things are meant to get us to be more realistic. Pluto’s movement through signs marks the generations and defines the emotional subsets of our ages. We pay attention to this Dwarf Planet…why? Because it registers emotional outcomes – and humans are nothing if not emotional creatures!

If we look at history, those who keep trying, who keep at it, who keep building through the hard times are generally in the right place when again the good times roll around.

And they will. But will you be ready? Will your life be sufficiently functional (Moon in Virgo) to be able to take advantage of whatever opportunity comes along?

For some of us, this is likely to be a day or two (or three) of realizations. For others, it’s just going to be something to get through and hopefully forget about.

This Full Moon is a moment of its own…and also a stumbling start to a long(ish) cycle which will take us on into and through May. And once we’re there, we’re all set for two 2011 mid-year Solar Eclipses.

Or maybe not so ready – that depends!

One other thing this Full Moon also images: the final moment of a highly emotional quarter dating back to last December. Tomorrow – March 20 – brings the Sun’s Aries ingress.

We finish…we start…we stub our toe and hopefully through that, learn a wee bit better. It’s a process – the human process. Annoying? Yes. The child in us wants everything to be magical and easy.

But if it was, we’d be bored. Face it…we’re all doomed to grow and strive and in time, be and become better people.

Oh yes! There is one more hint as to how to handle this moment. Just before the Full Moon comes into all its reflective fullness, Amor enters Taurus.

Amor is an 'inner circle' asteroid. At its farthest, Amor orbits at 2.754 AU - a bit past Mars...call it on the near side of the asteroid belt. But from there, Amor cycles inward, crossing the orbit of Mars into the 'personal' zone as we consider our solar system metaphysically.

There are two asteroids named for Cupid - Amor is one of them, and Eros is the other. Of the two, Eros seems to be the 'passion part' of Eros (i.e., eroticism) where Amor functions in the chart on more of a platonic basis, making it more about the love of friends and family (or possibly chocolate - though some would argue that's a passion!).

Amor and his bow - a Roman copy of a Greek statue by Lysippos

photo credit: Ricardo Andre Frantz (2006) 

Thinking of this another way, Eros is more about desire where Amor is more about loyalty and fealty.

So as Amor enters Taurus, we may well find advantages by turning to our friends or family. Or by approaching matters more openly, calmly...with the Taurus 'taste' for long term benefits which provide comfort. This may be physical and this may be monetary - but it's more likely to be personal.

Amor will be in Taurus for yet a while, and it's a nice combination. As it moves out of Aries we well may see people being so insistent that others must, must, MUST agree with them and more willingness to discuss, negotiate and see if some common ground can be found and thereafter built on.

What we build is, of course, up to us. But maybe this will help us build something which works for all, not merely for those who think as we do. Whether we like it or not, that's really the way forward into the years ahead.
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