May’s Scorpio Full Moon: Milking Issues at Hand

 The Full Moon of May 30, 1999 as it appeared over the

Upper Patuxent River in Maryland as photographed

by Mary Hollinger, NODC biologist (NOAA)

Going back to the concept that in some traditions the May Full Moon is known as the ‘Milk Moon,’ there’s good cause to look at this edition of the Full Moon and wonder about all sorts of things.

With the Sun at 26 Taurus opposition Moon at 26 Scorpio there’s an automatic and built-in quality here of ‘my life being dependent on yours.’ Now this can be good…or it can be bad. What it isn’t likely to be at this point is subtle.

For one, the Sun (the realistic point of view) is exactly conjunct fixed star Algol, and Algol has a rather nasty reputation. But is it really nasty?

That would sort of be the all-around question now, as many things reach an emotional (Full Moon) high tide in the wake of Atropos and TNO Orcus both having done a station turn during this past week. We’ve all come to endings of some type. Either we can’t continue or are simply refusing to continue on in the same way. Some of us have come to a point where we’re simply ‘out’ of something, be it a job, a home, patience, hope, options, a relationship, energy… something!

All this is indicated by Atropos (the end or extent of the thing) having gone retrograde. That Atropos has gone retrograde in Saturn means we are faced with changing our structural relationship to our life or circumstance. Something is over. Something has changed. It’s no longer apt to continue on as we have.

After Atropos went retrograde, TNO Orcus went direct in the functionality-oriented sign of Virgo. Matters of health or healthy obligation – and the limits and personal responsibility which do and don’t go with Virgo’s health/healthy obligation are being thrust in our face as a matter of consequence. That would be the Orcus part. We are now having to deal with some consequence.

And with Damocles having gone retrograde in Aquarius just yesterday (May 16th) in Aquarius, there’s money, social standing, and a very real consequence additional consequence which goes with thinking we don’t have to deal with realistic boundaries and efforts.

Oops! Life isn’t as simple as we thought. We don’t get the skim the cream off the top of this Milk Moon and walk away sweet and innocent.

And that ‘why’ in why we don’t get to simply la-dee-dah off and about our life is indicated by Algol. Spoken of as a star which embodies the ‘feminine,’ Algol is NOT about gender – it’s about our ability to respond to live and contain ourselves…(here we add in the Taurus part) both productively and in a manner which benefits us not just today, but all the way down the line into our many tomorrows.

In metaphysics, ‘masculine’ is not male: it’s the assertive, pro-active quality so long associated with males under the now-waning Pisces Age. Thus the ‘feminine’ is our ability to receive, react, contain, gather resources for later use/understanding – from which we respond appropriately…without harming our reputation, our future, and the lives (reputations, futures) of anyone else around us.

Part of the difficulty of the time we live in is because the Pisces Age divided things emotionally, where the Aquarian Age (into which we are now moving) divides things through the idea of the thing. At the beginning of any Age things are very rough…people are being asked to change their dance step half way through life and humans are notoriously not-so-good at giving up what they already know, life and (rather importantly!) have learned how to profit from.

And yet it must be done. So to the extent that we are imbedded and committed to a given way of being or prioritizing, this is a testing – and quite possibly, testy – time. But again…does it have to be?

Located in the constellation of Perseus, Algol is a star the Greeks identified with the head of Medusa. And you know what that Medusa head is all about, right?

No, Medusa's head is not some fearful evil which freezes us in our tracks, turning us to stone. Or rather it is, but that’s not because the evil is so evil – it’s because we’re afraid of dealing with the truth…a truth stripped of all manipulations, emotions and other frilly considerations.

LINK to Feature Article on MEDUSA

As for Perseus, he was one of those very busy Greek heroes, though he didn’t get into the hero business much on purpose. After killing Medusa, he cuts off her head and uses it’s scariness to first rescue fair maiden Andromeda from a sea monster (Medusa/scary truth versus monster of oceanic emotion? No contest!)…then he goes home to save his mom from a really bad relationship with a local king – the guy who sent Perseus out to kill Medusa in the first place.

Andromeda, Perseus and Cetus by Titian

So the real issue which is at the heart of things now – at the moment of the Full Moon is whether what we want (the Moon in Scorpio)…and what we’ve done over the past few weeks since the May 3rd New Moon kicked this round of lunar activity off…did we overstep our bounds? Did we do something to sour or curdle our milk of human kindness or that others feel towards us?

In most cases, the events of a Full Moon come to crest then abate. Sure, there are grumbles…or happy dances off through flowering fields of joy which happen in the waning wake of the Full Moon’s ‘high lighting’ of emotional or emotion-driven issues.

But this month? Well…we’ve been talking about those solar eclipses about to happen, right? On top of that (or as part of what is actually a rather grand unfurling of cycles and events)…now we have Saturn moving back into 10 Libra as of this moment.

What’s that to you?

Well, 10 Libra is the degree Saturn will go direct at on June 13th. Yes, I said JUNE. That means from now until June 13th, Saturn is just going to be sitting at 10 Libra, sort of poised there…inching backwards ever-so-slowly in retrograde motion. And that, dear friends, is something most of us are going to experience as an increased focus on something very particular in our life.

What will that be, you may ask? I can’t tell you that – that would be all about where your natal Saturn lies, it’s general natal chart nature and where Libra sits in your chart. Does Libra even have a house cusp to call it its own? And since we’re talking about Libra, how’s your Venus quotient lately? How well are you doing in that ‘making things happen the way I want so that I’m comfy and happy and feeling safe, secure, loved and satisfied’ life department?

For those who react to this with a big ‘thumbs up,’ this next couple of months will provide big shifts and like as not, some big ‘moments’ of advancing your personal agenda.

But for those who are having problems – particularly in the (Libra) relationship arena, be that personal or in the broader sense such as at work or as concerns all the me-versus-the-world stuff?

And let's not forget...retrograde cycles are just that: cycles. As Saturn went retrograde last January in the wake of a Capricorn solar eclipse, along came all sorts of (very Capricorn) rebellion against overly (i.e. negative) Saturnine governments.

 Saturn's double aurorae as photographed by

the Hubble Space Telescope

photo credit: NASA/JPL (Jan 2009)

Also, let’s be real here: once Saturn goes direct in mid-June it’s not like it hops into some celestial Porsche and goes zooming off on its orbital path! No! Saturn is going to be in 10 Libra until July 8th. And that means that we are now very officially in the ‘dual eclipse’ zone. So figure everything that comes up now – and all the issues which get raised internally (inside you) between now and when Saturn goes direct…these are part of what is going to be refocused or remade over the next several months (big time!) and the next three years (in a more evolutionary sense) …all of which we know because there are not just one, but two solar eclipses on the way!

And yes, there is one Lunar Eclipse, which may be another headache for those whose charts are formulated as to be hit by emotional doings of the 24 degrees of Sagittarius kind. Principal positions to look for would be anything positioned between 19 and 29 Sagittarius, Pisces, Virgo or Gemini and/or between 22 and 26 Cancer and/or Taurus.

But more on that when the time comes. Lunar Eclipses tend to go off like alarm clocks, so let’s talk about that later.

Meanwhile, a few background notes on 10 Libra before we close for the day. By definition, Libra is a public sign – it’s not just about us or our ‘in my body, mind or soul’ sort of thing. Libra is also an air sign – so it’s the idea of the thing which gets us as much as anything, and being that 10 Libra is an emotional sign it’s the idea of the emotions you may experience because of others…what they do/don’t do. What they say/don’t say. What allowances they give you or deny you.

Traditional lore speaks of this degree being one of isolation which forces a person to ‘sort through things’ as they battle their own feelings of vulnerability, failure or inferiority. Good comes of this process through thinking things through not entirely personally, but in terms of others who have gone through similar situations: the process involved and how experiences of the moment can provide motivation to improve things not only for yourself, but everyone else too. By holding to this more universal course instead of simply focusing on the ‘me’ of it all, people are able to in time emerge with a new found respect bolstered by others for their humanity and integrity rather than their personal aims and personality.

The universal quality cited here is rather reminiscent of Damocles having gone retrograde just yesterday in social, societal Aquarius. And that word ‘integrity’? That’s one of the hallmark concepts which life will focus on as we hit and move past June’s 11 Gemini solar eclipse.

And let’s not forget that Atropos/Orcus thing. Atropos speaks to things which have ended. Or are over…at least in the form or format they were before.

And Orcus? Orcus is an ‘out of the blue’ sort of consequence you could not have predicted. Oh, it was out there…but you wouldn’t think it could be true until it comes true.

Sometimes that’s very, very good….and sometimes that’s very, very bad. All that depends on you – more specifically, how well you understand others around you and in your greater world. The values you have risked now prove to be not just yours, but theirs too.

How do they feel about you? 

That would be the message of the moment – even if all you get is total, complete and utter silence.

 

Neptune-Damocles Station Effects: Layering on Reflectivity

Neptune and Aphrodite (Venus) - detail from

a painting by Frans-Fracken de Jungere

 

This post is about a pair of astrological signal lights suddenly beginning to blink. And of the many lights which could go off at the same time, to have those symbolizing Neptune and Damocles going direct...what, at the same moment ?

That's a celestial odd couples if there ever was one! 

And yet...that's what's happening. So on one hand, it's up to us to cope. And on the other, those among us who have some sort of belief or faith that What Is happens when its supposed to happen...? Those folks will say these are the attributes we are supposed to learn about at this time.

Specifically, this pair of attributes. 

But maybe you're not so familiar with these two? Or maybe you've never considered them in tandem? Well then - you've come to the right place! That's why we gather here several times each and every week...to muse over (and occasionally get all aghast about) the doings of life and the the universe - which is surely more convoluted and surprising than we suspect!

Okay...so what's up here? For one, Neptune is an immortal and Damocles is a mortal - which astrologically pretty much comes out to the difference between something we are and something we experience, do or choose.

Put another way...one is fate (Neptune) and one is free will (Damocles). And yet in either case, if is what you do about the situation once you're in it.

There are certainly longer forms of the Neptune and Damocles stories than we're going to go into here. If you want to read them, here a full scale article Damocles link...and here are the links to Neptune Part 1 and Neptune Part 2 articles at Daykeeper Journal. (And yes, all these articles are by yours truly.)

Getting back to our musings and ponderings however, Neptune is about to go direct in late Aquarius: the emotionality of our world society and how we feel about said world society. And Damocles? Damocles is also going direct in Aquarius - but in the Aquarian 2nd decan.

What's a decan? From the Latin 'deca' meaning 'ten,' a decan or decanate is a group of ten degrees. The first - of any sign - is physical and pro-active. The third is experiential - results, reactions and responses from the world around us.

And the second? That being degrees 10 through 19 of any sign, that decan is where the sign manifests emotionally or through evoking our emotions. 

So if you start with Aquarius - the world, what I get from the world and how I'm treated in the world - and you add emotionality and funnel it all through the testy and testing measures which are so very Damocles (how everything looks easy until you're the person in the hot seat making the hard decisions)....'at'sa pretty darn toasty hot seat, no?

Ouch - yes!

Then we have to deal with Neptune. Neptune is famous (yea verily, infamous) for its ability to fog issues, delude us, inspire us while baffling us. And Neptune in Aquarius? That's about life itself. About our ability to deal with the world and be understood by it. That's about finding our place in the world and getting what we should get from that world.

Neptune clouding these issues? That would seem to spell a lot of insecurity. Or what seems like irrationality. People who make no sense, and getting presented with options which would seem to be either too good or not enough, which when real turn out to be nothing and which are served up like slices of pie in the sky which we're supposed to believe in but which....what, we really think that's going to hold water?

Whenever a planet goes on station, its effects are felt as is intensified. Life seems 'full of that' for those given moments. So Neptune plus Damocles? Let's just say these next couple of days are not likely to be filled with peace. More like a bunch of internal question marks, most likely!

And when is this going to happen? Well, since both planet Neptune and comet Damocles go direct on November 7th, that means station effects start tomorrow - November 5th - and continue through two days after the station, which would be November 9th.

Understanding that astrological effects work like swinging doors (that is, we can be walking into the mess or the mess can be being delivered to us on what in this case is likely to be a tarnished silver tray...) our quandaries, puzzlements and downright despairings on what to do about....whatever ....can be about looking at the world (who can fix THAT?)....

...about what we can do about our lot in the world (heavens to Betsy...what ever am I to do NOW?)...

...or about what's going on in our personal world which prevents us from even being able to really cope with that other stuff (don't bother me with that stuff, I have my own catastrophe in progress...!).

Or any combination of the above (she says, trying to smile in spite of an inner conviction that her face may possibly crack).

 The Sword of Damocles (1539)

source: Artshooter

Last week we had Nessus go direct as Mars moves into Sagittarius - just as bodies as yet unnamed tried to ship packages containing explosives into the United States). Mars equaling things which are 'new or foreign to us' combined with Nessus' 'poisonous jealousy, even beyond death' is very fitting to this scenario. And to many a dynamic I heard floating around at that moment. 

The point in raising this is so that you can understand what Neptune/Damocles may be going into this joint station/retrograde. You thought last week was a bump in the night, a shudder of the window, a crinkling of you wanted-to-be-peaceful-and-lovely-day?

This is likely to be stronger. Not necessarily worse, just stronger in its effect on you. Mind you...there may or may not be any real tragedy here at all. But the effect of this moment is one where we all are likely to feel a sense of 'OMG..I hadn't thought about that!'

And that may just be the point. Maybe we should all stop insisting and hoping (instead of doing something about things) and trying to cling to our ideals....maybe we should all deal with reality?

Those who don't, or tend not to? Those are the people who will feel this station the most strongly. Those who are used to sorting fact from fiction and who get how to enjoy the moment without relying on it will do okay. Those who don't...? They're going to have a few problemos.

The station occurs on Sunday. Lore suggests that events which happen prior to that time have yet to fully unfold. Events (recognitions, realizations) which happen in the wake of the station but before station effects end are like as not about learning the lesson(s) implied.

Of course, with all of this happening under Venus retrograde, it all feels a bit more oppressive than it might otherwise. But this too is part of a process. It's not fate as in 'no option' - this is fate as in here's the situation - what are you going to do about it?

Considering we are likely to be able to see the possible difficulties and dangers of the situation (a nice Damocles touch) there is a distinct possibility that this can indeed be a turning point when we stop ourselves from going over some brink. Neptune is a wholly positive signal in that it's premier theme - that of ego negation - allows us now to take a breath and see where we have maybe put the cart before the horse. Or where we have made a really bad bet and need to cut our losses.

Whatever happens, this is yet another one of those odd moments in time which believe it or not, is meant to allow us to educate ourselves. On what? On who we are, and what actually will work, never mind what we want to work or think should work.

Sometimes that square peg just won't go into that round hole. Do we want to break ourselves, others or our world - or are we willing to admit we may need to refine our ideas and ideals, that maybe we have gone down a wrong road, that maybe we need to take a more productive tact? 

What can I tell you? Life has its Damocles recognitions and its Neptunian quandaries. It's up to us how we deal with them each and every time they arise - yet again!