A Pisces Full Moon

 A Full "Super" Moon as it rises over the Altantic Ocean

(photo credit: Bubba73, March 2011)

Occurring at 11:41 a.m. on September 19th, the Pisces Moon will occur on the day before Pluto goes direct.

That September’s Full Moon occurs within the auspices of Pluto’s station is a sign of things to come at the same time that it is the ‘fulfillment’ point of our current lunar cycle.

Mind you, that’s ‘fulfillment’ in the cosmic sense, not necessarily in the sense of our feeling happy or content with any particular thing. In fact, it could be argued that any Pisces Full Moon (never mind one in late Pisces) is a sign of our feelings or our reactivity reaching a high water mark for reasons which may be entirely out of our control.

So…satisfying? Not necessarily, though there’s a plethora of reasons to think it could be just fine, dandy and even blissful. After all, Pisces isn’t the process of dreaming (as in REM sleep), but Pisces is the fantasy, the ‘dream’ we wish to be enveloped by, that nirvana of feeling we all so long for.

And that’s all well and good as long as we don’t try to substitute that longing for reality…or measure reality by that fantasy. That’s the Pisces premise, and to the extent that we can accept reality and see it as part of our dreams, or apart from our dreams (with both reality and the dream being fine in their own way), then we’re fine.

It’s just the resisting or denying one or the other which tends to get us into trouble.

Which leads to the idea of the degree this Full Moon is occurring in: 26 Pisces. We don’t tend to think of Pisces as a militant sign, but 26 Pisces has a sterling reputation for being willing to fight – even on the wrong side of the question. Also contrary to most general conceptions of Pisces, this degree tends to be rather materialistic, which means this Full Moon may well refer to a reality-based experience of that which is held as a belief.

And that leads us to the next highly interesting fact – the notion that this Full Moon comes complete as a grand sextile, the “magical” six-pointed star which the ancient Hermeticists referred to as the emblem of Divine or cosmic - even karmic - reflection embodied in the phrase “As Above, So Below.” 

 An Aries (non-location specific) chart wheel for the September 2013

Full Moon showing a diagram of the accompanying Grand Sextile (the

linking of two grand trines by sextile) at the center

 

On one level this is a reference to the ‘reflective’ quality of the small scale, and thus what may be happening on a world stage also happening in our lives, just in a localized manner. Seen in a more esoteric manner, the grand sextile (which is a linking of two grand trines set at 60-degree angles to each other) is where a grand set of ‘sextile opportunities’ becomes locked down as ‘fate.’ Or if you prefer, a ‘result’ – that secondary meaning going rather hand-in-hand with the idea of the Full Moon being an emblem of ‘phase fulfillment’ or the end of one part of a life effort so that we get to move on to the next.

The Grand Sextile is a highly potent and powerful figure. If your chart answers to any of the points in the above diagram you may be sure that your life will be in the process of being inexorably altered, and that this Full Moon is merely a step in a greater process.

No matter who you are or how your personal chart is laid out however, it is to be noted that the Full Moon itself is NOT part of the Grand Sextile. That tells us that this moment of experiential ‘highlighting’ is indeed part of a greater scope, a greater something going on in our world…or maybe ‘the’ world. And that there is such a difference in the scope of the degrees involved here (the Full Moon is happening in a late Pisces degree while the points associated with the Grand Sextile are all fairly early in their respective signs), that suggests an opportunity to have or gain perspective…

That in turn suggests that those whose charts center more on later numbers (say between 20 and 29 of any given sign) are likely to be ‘seeing things happen’ but be less likely to be involved. Such a concept works well with the idea of the third decanate Full Moon (the third decan of any sign being its last ten degrees) as anything third decanate tends not to be about our physicality or our actions as an originating point, though there’s obviously every chance that something going on in your environs or around you in life is going to affect you.

It’s just not ‘about’ you, per se.

On the other hand, those of us whose charts answer more to earlier zodiacal numbers are more likely to be more directly affected. What we do or how we do it may be affected. This may be or become a time of choice. We may suddenly understand why something is important and in keeping with 26 Pisces either be all for it or terribly defensive because of it.

It all depends.

In looking at this Grand Sextile, like the one which Sedna’s turn to retrograde set off the formulation of last month, this one is presented in earth and water signs. Earth and water can be the very essence of fertility. Then again, earth plus water can just equal a whole lot of mud and a muddy (or muddied) situation. That we have Pluto/Facies/Industria trine the South Node and the South Node trine Ceres/Agamemnon (which is obviously trine Pluto) involves the changing (Pluto) face (or Facies) of many (Facies) factors at (Industria) work or that we are (Industria) working on. Since Pluto is going on station atop Facies, there is an inordinate chance of our best and worst traits coming to the fore now – or having to ‘face’ (Facies) such factors particularly in any environment which has to do with the Capricorn ‘structure’ of our life.

Think home, family, job, marriage – that stuff.

With the South Node being trined by Pluto, there is inordinate pressure being placed on the idea of changing at a very fundamental (Taurean) level. Our very sense of values are being questioned – sometimes by others and at a very real and powerful sense, by our Self. Unlike the Scorpio-Taurus sense of challenge, this Grand Sextile effect gives us some sense that maybe we don’t know everything and maybe there is a more vital way we could live. Or a different set of parameters we could adopt which would be both more satisfying and more true to our nature, ‘arming us’ with tools with which we can live a more viable and satisfying life.

The third point in the triumvirate of earth positions is Ceres/Agamemnon, an emblem of plans which perhaps now need to be tweaked. Or amended. Or yes, even completely altered considering what we now know or are coming to understand.

Our sense of reality is changing. Our realization of what we can do…what is possible for us…is undergoing a period of intense (Pluto station) transformation which itself is a facet of the overall process of ‘breaking down’ our old ways of being and thinking reflective of the period leading into this November’s Solar Eclipse.

The second trio of points in the Grand Sextile are in water – our element of emotions and everything which tends to promote or provoke our emotionality. Black Moon Lilith/Child occupies the Cancer angle of this correlation, speaking to things (attitudes, habits, ways of responding) which may date back a very long way – to our own childhood. Given that all this traces back to Sedna’s station as the ‘ignition’ on this evolutionary phase we’re going through (which will culminate/shift gears at the solar eclipse), the Lilith concept of ‘denial’ may well be the letting go of things you were told way back when, your original concepts of what things “should be” or how they were just magically “going to be” (oh, how we all get bogged down by that stuff, right?) and some sort of willingness to ‘take a plunge’ in life which you might not have dreamed even remotely possible – never mind likely – only shortly ago.

The second part of the grand water trine presented is North Node, Saturn, Venus and Deucalion – which is (among other things) an evident and obvious sign that effort (Saturn) needs to continued (North Node) even though it’s really truly not what we like or what we want to do. This combination implies there’s something afoot which we’re not particularly enjoying, but which we understand has to be dealt with – and given Saturn/Venus/Deucalion – we’re likely to understand we have to deal with whatever that is with a modicum of grace, lest we lose out on everything we’ve been working for…or towards.

Since Grand Sextiles also come out to be a set of Magic Rectangles, that’s worth considering now as well…

If it's a Grand Sextile and thus two Grand Trines linked together, a

configuration will also yield three Magic Rectangles.

 

…with the thing to remember being that despite the fun-sounding name (anything with ‘magic’ in it tends to evoke a sense of childlike wonder) the Magic Rectangle represents things which go along rather ‘magically’ and marvelously right up until the time they don’t.

And once they don’t, then we get totally blown out of the water – sometimes with others, but mostly with ourselves. People who have Magic Rectangles in their natal charts tend to have a really rocky beginning which ‘turns out to be magic’ or they have a ‘magical’ sort of golden touch which inevitably – somewhere along the way – goes kaput.

Once a Magic Rectangle goes haywire, it’s a demon to get back on course. And why is that? That would be because – especially where something has come too easily to us, we haven’t learned how to try. So when something associated with one of these ‘golden’ configurations collapses, many get fixated on ‘how it used to be’ and flounder around haplessly because their life hasn’t taught them how to harness their own abilities.

In this case – and this is what we look to at any given moment when such configurations are an “ongoing” thing (which isn’t that often, a fact which marks this as a truly potent time in everyone’s life)…we know that Pluto is going station/direct on September 20th (the day after the Full Moon), we know that the November Solar Eclipse will occur at 11 Scorpio in conjunction with the Saturn-Venus-North Node-Deucalion mélange pictured here…and we know (or at least I know, and I’m sharing with you) that when Uranus goes direct this December it will do so at 8 Aries – setting off all all this earthy, watery energy with the plus or minus of same being how well we’ve been utilizing the energy pretty much from where it was initiated (Sedna’s station back on August 25th) into December.

Will we change…will we evolve…are we willing to grow up and be our own adult person based on our own adult capacities and understanding of life as it is, not as some ‘image’ presented by someone or something else?

And just to make this all a little more poignant (as if it needed any more piquant notes?) there’s also the fact that Venus will be going retrograde (yes, I hear you groaning) as of December 21st. And where will it be going retrograde?

That would be at 28 Capricorn – in sextile to this Full Moon, which is why I bring it up. Much as Saturn having gone station/retrograde at 11 Scorpio last February drew a metaphysical “dotted line” between events and choices back then to the peeling back of another layer of our personal façade as we’re experiencing now with the incoming 11 Scorpio Solar Eclipse, so this Full Moon will have a far fainter but still useful echo which will surface this coming December.

And if you know anything about Venus retrograde, that will be mid/late December until the end of January, when Venus goes direct again.

Energy has patterns, just as our auras have shape and that which the Chinese refer to as ‘chi’ manifests as patterns of energy in our bodies which reflect (or manifest) as our health and feelings of wellbeing.

Or the lack thereof.

Learning to recognize these patters and utilize or amend not the pattern itself but our reaction to it and how we utilize it, that is our key to personal betterment…in that concrete reality we call life.

Making that link…that’s the very essence of Pisces, and thus something to highlight in our own lives...for our own benefit (and thus the benefit of others who in the end will benefit or hinder us) at this moment of lunar fullness.
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Libra Ingress 2010

 

At the equinox (twice a year) the Earth receives

equal amounts of Sun exposure north and south

diagram credit: Przemyslaw 'Blueshade' Idzkiewicz'

Of the two very different astrological events taking place in barely over a breath of cosmic time, this is the second - the Libra ingress which takes place at 3:09 am (UT/+0) on September 23rd.

The other is a Full Moon which will come to fruition also on the 23rd (at 9:17am - UT/+0). It will get it's own blog post tomorrow.

Why two posts? Well...when we talk Sun versus Moon cycles, one is a month long (the Moon) and the other  (the Sun's) spans an entire year - which because of Earth's inclination (tilt) gives us our seasons.

They're just different things. Metaphysically, the Moon is about life in reflection. Or as a reaction. The Moon symbolizes our moods and daily emotional experiences which over time shape our memory and thus our (4th house/Cancer) basis for habits and 'ingrained' attitudes. Against this we have the Sun as the Big Picture and life's overview. The Sun isn't about what happens to us - it's all about what we can make happen!

Every year we get two days - the Aries and Libra equinoxes - when planet Earth is aligned as above. On those two days the planet receives equal exposure north and south. Zodiacally, this planetary "equilibrium" is well mirrored adeptly in the symbol of Libra as the scales...

 Libra's scales from 'Astrologie Strernzeichen Kalendar' (1512)

courtesy of Deutsch Fotohek

....but achieving such balance in everyday life? Not so easy. Everyday life... as noted...is lunar and reactive, meaning the life we generally react to is a feeling, not  intellectual affair.

Still...one can hope, right? I mean, for a little balance and beauty of the give-and-take, gracious cause-effect kind.

Ah yes, a lovely thought. But true?

Let's get real - which astrologically means, let's take a look at that ingress chart!

 Libra Ingress 2010

 v

Okay! Like the June Cancer ingress, this season's chart also features a kite, the bottom section of which is outlined above by a green triangle (that would be a grand trine)...with yellow sextiles reaching up from that triangle towards the top of the chart, completing the picture of the kite.

With that kite are also two t-squares. The first one (which is a sort of "double" t-square) is constructed by the Sun (in white at "3 o'clock") in opposition to Uranus, Jupiter and Moon (at the left in red, yellow and white)...with the 'hurdle' to get past being drawn in not one, but two ways at the top of the chart.

A t-square as helpfully shown by a road sign. 

The first hurdle is represented by Pluto: our emotional need to transform. What this represents is our need to get past our entrenched emotional attitudes. In Capricorn, this Pluto is telling us that we need to get over thinking things are going to work the way they used to work.

The second way hurdle pictured by this first t-square is to Ceres, symbol of nurturance and the harvest. Having gotten a lot of positive 'oh, I get it now!' emails after posting a blog on Ceres not long ago, I refer you there for nuances and details (link). But the nitty-gritty here is that we need to think and be thoughtful, but we can't rely on things being sweet, nice and comfy.

Evidently life is not going to be a picnic this season, capiche?

Now for a few significant differences between this ingress and that of last June. First off all, the need to allow ourselves not to know while doing anyway as pictured then by Neptune/Chiron is gone. So is the Moon/Pallas "knowing feelings" thing.

And yes, this really is one of those bad cosmic jokes: we were supposed to know our feelings (Moon/Pallas) in order to be transformed (Pluto) through the experience of those feelings?

Well, yes. And over the last season we have all have met up with various situations which have confronted us with needing to know who we are and why we are that person holding those values and emotional points of view (Moon/Pallas). And through those 'self-confrontations,' so we have grown.

At least in hard-core realizations about ourselves. Have we changed? Maybe. But at least we know more. So now at least we have the option to change - knowing why we are changing, and maybe why it would be a good idea to go through all that effort.

But we aren't home free just yet! Now with Moon-Jupiter-Uranus in late Pisces, now comes a season in which we are all aiming to get past difficulties to a point where we really understand how to be who we are effectively.

To get there we still have to get past that issue of wanting to hold onto the 'old way' or the 'old standard' or some old thought of how things work or how we're going to be able to operate. As we move through Libra, there will be a lot of talk, discussion, posing, posturing and proposals.

But as we get into October (and reach Libra's emotional degrees) things are going to get sticky. From there on, we will really begin to feel things get dicier. So expect more intensity. More pressure. A greater sense of need.

As the Sun moves into Scorpio (sign of "fixed water") those who have been kidding themselves or trying to get by on some hope, wish or level of personal denial will find themselves skating on thinner and thinner ice. And once we hit fiery Sagittarius, expect fireworks which may just light up your world - or explode it. 

It all depends on how you have treated this issue of getting past the difference between new and old and the nice (comfy, desirable) versus the workable, pragmatic and honest.

Obviously there are possible Grinch moments to be faced. And how to handle it...? Not so easy to figure out, evidently - that kid we discussed has the South Node at the tail (at the bottom of the chart). Normally we would cheer this, as the South Node is the 'easy thing.' 

But apparently not. Grand trines are all about what's easy to do and tough to get away from. And without belaboring a long list of planets and asteroids involved in this particular grand trine (including House, Hera, Mars, Venus, TNO Deucalion and Black Moon Lilith) let's just say that this grand trine says we'd rather check out or get rejected and continue doing things our own way rather than make changes.

Oh yes...and while we're doing this, everyone else is going to be doing the same thing and everything is going to get harder and less operative because the time really has come for changing!

Really!

 The drawing of an early kite design as submitted to

the US Patent office. In astrological terms, the long 'arms'

of the kite and its central cross bar comprise the three sides

of a grand trine, the short lengths from the trine to the kite's

top represent what we aim to achieve.

A couple of notes are pretty specific and worth mentioning. That 'finding the moral way' TNO Deucalion thing, because it's combined with Mars and Venus both being in Scorpio...that's a sure sign of 'desirous conflicts,' especially once Venus goes retrograde in October. We all have our wants and much is being wanted of us. (link to blog on Mars in Scorpio)

It's a recipe for feeling put-upon, people. And when we don't feel put-upon, we're likely to feel deprived, resentful, rejected or just drained. The medium may vary. Some of us will find ourselves confronted financially. For others, it'll be emotions. Or time. Or commitments. Or you'll find yourself in power/control struggles. Or situations which arouse deep-seated feelings of vulnerability or rejection.

Do I hear a big groan? Sorry. Even sorrier, I'm here to say there's more to this seasonal Libran tale. Going back to that astro-rule that when you see a kite you use the symbol at it's tail to 'steer' by, we see two little situational challenges. 

For one, this South Node is in Cancer. And that means it's ruled by the Moon. You know, that Moon sitting with Jupiter and Uranus which only begins to play in our favor once we get over the 'I want to do what I've been doing' thing? 

And one other issue with this South Node: it's conjunct Pandora. You remember the mythic, problematic Pandora, right? The girl who opens the box, freeing all the ills of the world?

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Pandora by Arthur Rackham (1867-1939)

But there is some good news here - regarding Pandora, I mean. The good news is that the story of Pandora centers in the tale of the girl, not the ills she releases into the world. So we ask ourselves...why did Pandora open that box? Theoretically, if we can control those tendencies, we can not make her mistake, right?

Good thinking. So the answer to the question is that Pandora was curious. She also had been told not to open the box, which as we all know made opening it all but irresistible. She was also by nature impatient. Pandora wasn't happy about how long it was going to take her to grow up. She wanted a 'quick fix,' which if you think about it, is very much like the urge associated with the South Node - a symbol of wanting to do the 'easy thing.'

So the key would seem to be not giving in to our basic case of hard headed immature impatience. To not cut corners. To no opt for the short form, easy way out or indulgence in 'take a pill' mentality.

And lest you think you can just 'handle' this and be done with it? Uh...evidently not, as South Node/Pandora is the starting point for the last t-square in this Libra ingress, a t-square which has a 6 Libra Saturn as its hurdle.

Hopefully you get that all three of these planetary pictures are celestially crocheted together. And with this last figure asking us to take (Saturn) responsibility for ourselves (so as to benefit from life) it pays to remember that to get through this season we need to adopt a basic mantra: who I am, others react to. 

And that is pretty basic, no? 

But one more comment before we go. A seasonal ingress chart is all about it's Sun. And this Sun is at 0 Libra conjunct the giant Black Hole known as M87 and Atropos, Greek Fate of fated 'endings.'

 M87 as photographed by Caltech

So in essence, as we realize that who we are and how we act generates reactions from others and the doors of opportunity which open to and for us, we will need to face cutting things out and eliminating certain aspects of our behavior. Or maybe our attitude.

Or maybe even some of our alliances, associations or ways of relating to certain people. 

If we do, as we do, other things will happen. New doors will open but as happens in life, probably not until others are firmly closed. Atropos-Sun-Black Hole means you may feel at times like you're looking into the abyss. Or that the world seems like some foreign place. Or that you can see a whole new set of possibilities which you might have never thought of before, but which might not just work for you...but which might actually be fun.

Any of these moments may be a very good thing. Sometimes seeing the abyss makes us grateful for what we have. Sometimes seeing the world anew or as if we were a 'stranger' allows us to wipe our slate clean and tackle something totally different with no expectations, no preconceptions and that sort of cheerful innocence which everyone finds so very attractive. 

Will you be able to let go to have your chance at the new? Or will you require things to be taken out of your hands, forcing you to scramble?

The choice is yours. But choice is a good thing, no? So have a great ingress, and well balanced equinox!