Pisces New Moon – Feb 20, 2023

Pisces New Moon – Feb 20, 2023

The New Moon on February 20, 2023, is at 1 degree of Pisces. Pisces is the sign associated with compassion, empathy, and self-sacrifice. Pisces is where we lack boundaries, have addictions, or areas that we want to escape. It’s also spirituality, dreams, ideals and unconditional love. Pisces rules water, chemicals, liquids, and shipping. It also rules all places of confinement; jails, quarantine zones, hideouts, and monasteries.

The new moon is a time of new beginnings and new moons also illuminate whatever is nearby. What is nearby? Saturn! Saturn is getting ready to leave Aquarius. While Saturn has been in Aquarius it has brought restrictions and responsibility in groups, humanitarian efforts, friendships, and our hopes and dreams. That Saturn transit was strongly shaped by the pandemic. Restrictions on seeing our friends, responsibilities to society, and authoritarian actions by the government to enforce all of this were the main themes. Freedom became a bad word!

Next month Saturn will move into Pisces and this New Moon illuminates a sneak preview of what Saturn in Pisces will be like for the next 2.5 years. The lessons will be around all things Pisces! Set intentions for the New Moon, but also set intentions for the next 2.5 years. Embrace the Saturn energy in Pisces by setting intentions for building structures them; Commit to limitations around your addictions. Set intentions for cleaning up your cleaning supplies and chemicals, getting rid of the ones that are outdated and adequately labelling the rest. Create a discipline around your spirituality; a meditation practice, sacrifice having meat or make time for church. Commit to your own confinement; schedule a silent retreat or pilgrimage. Those commitments may sound like hard punishments or penance, but they prepare us for a larger mission.

The New Moon is making an out-of-sign conjunction with Saturn currently at 28 degrees of Aquarius. Saturn is also with the asteroids Crantor and Damocles.

Damocles brings in a situation in which we feel in over our heads. In mythology, Damocles was a courtier of King Dionysius II. He envied the King’s life, seeing it only as pomp and riches. He then had the opportunity to do a “prince and the popper” switch with the king. Once there he found that along with the pomp and riches, was danger. This he didn’t expect or prepare for! Damocles warns us to be careful of what we wish for. And if we still want it, to prepare for the unexpected.

The second asteroid in our New Moon story is Crantor. Cantor is a character in the story of Theseus. The Centaur Demoleon, a brutal warrior who has no moral code and who only cared about war, throws an arrow at Theseus. Theseus jumps out of the way and Cantor, an innocent bi-standard, takes the arrow and dies. To make matters worse, there is rage, because Cantor had been given as a peace offering. This energy makes us feel like we are an unnecessary sacrifice. It makes us feel angry. We question why we or others are still fighting. And why there is unnecessary harm? It also cautions us to be aware of our surroundings. This is further supported by the Sabian symbol for the New Moon; A squirrel hiding from hunters. The Sabian symbol reminds us of the need to protect ourselves, to be aware of our surroundings and to be fast and nimble.

Happy New Moon in Pisces!

 

Full Moon in Leo – Feb 5, 2023

“If you think you are leading and turn around to see no one following you, then you are just taking a walk.”—John C. Maxwell

The full moon on Feb 5th is at 16 degrees of Leo.  While the moon is in Leo at this full moon, the sun is in Aquarius. There is a need to integrate the self, our ego, our creations, our need for attention and our desire for luxury, with love for humanity.  At this full moon, we may not feel like caring about other ideas that are unique or alien to ours.  And ideologies such as racism and sexism, which put the focus on groups, may push our buttons. That’s because emotions may come up around the spotlight, leadership, pride, and recognition. Tensions with fun and play may also be highlighted. These tensions are especially salient at this full moon because the ruler of the full moon is the Sun. The sun is opposite the moon and is ruled by Uranus. And Uranus is square to the full moon. This takes the moon out of the spotlight and puts it into a bit of a spot. Throwing a Leo tantrum won’t work. Acting out like a drama queen will be even less effective, and being bossy could be downright detrimental. The way through this full moon is to shine your light as an example to others… and that means taking others into account!

Leo loves fun, but with the moon squaring Taurus, there will be an element of surprise mixed with that fun. As I write this, two balloons (usually associated with delight and glee) float over two foreign countries creating tensions. That is because they are owned by the Chinese and are said to be spy balloons! Taurus is the sign of security, but with Uranus there, there can be surprises and upsets. On a personal level, this may mean a threat to your sense of security, and/or ability to attract what you need.

Though it may feel like losing yourself to think of others, the reality is that you don’t need to lose yourself at all! You only need to embrace others’ ideas and contributions and incorporate them into how you strut your stuff!

The good thing is that this full moon is sextile Mars in Gemini and trine Chiron which is conjunct Juno in Aries. The sextile to Mars in Gemini will motivate us to have much-needed conversations and to be curious about what others are thinking and what is motivating them. Sextiles are opportunities that we can ignore, but taking the opportunity in this case, is important and necessary. The full moon makes a trine to Chiron currently conjunct Juno. This can bring up wounds around losing ourselves in our relationships. But, as its trine to the Full Moon, any wound that arises, can be healed and used for our benefit.  For example; your partnerships may come across as dominating, but expressing your need for independence can help you realize where the imbalance in your relationship lies. You may be impatient with your partner, which causes a frustrated response, but helps you to see where you are not allowing them to be who they are. Working through these wounds around self-expression brings out helpful information that can motivate you to consider others. In fact, this is the lesson of the mature Leo. Leo is a leader. And “A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others.”—Douglas MacArthur

The Sabian symbol is “a volunteer church choir makes social event of rehearsal”. Perhaps we have volunteered for purely selfish reasons; to be on stage and to have our voice heard with hopes of being the star of the show. Notice that we each come with our individual voices and vocal range; baritone, alto, soprano etc. Some of us may even be tone-deaf. If we all try to stand out we will create noise. But working together we find opportunities for each of us to come out in front and to create a unified song that individually we can celebrate and feel good about.

Leo is a fire sign. Use fire to burn ceremonially burn away what needs to be released. Burning Palo santo is a great choice as it clears the negative and leaves or welcomes in the positive!

Happy Full Moon in Leo!

Full Moon in Cancer – Jan 6, 2023

The Full Moon on January 6th is at 16 degrees of Cancer. At this full moon, the milk might sour and the coffee may taste off…. Cancer is the emotional sign and is ruled by the moon and something just ain’t right! Emotional stuff related to family, home, the past, your heritage, your people or country, your children or your mother (Cancer is the sign of the mom and caretaker) will come to a head. You might have a good emotionally constructive releasing cry. If you don’t feel like crying, other strong emotions will come up for you to acknowledge.

The moon is opposite Mercury retrograde in Capricorn, which has us reviewing the structures of our lives, or the things we expect to be reliable: our government and how they serve us, other large and old structures, like the bank. You may realize that the personal structures you have in place cause you to feel alone or isolated.

You might be a bit sarcastic at this time, and it’s a sure sign that there is some deep comedic coping going on. Though it may be funny to some, it will be very off-putting to others. It’s your attempt at tricking others to think you are okay. They will, however, respond by holding up a mirror. Use any embarrassment or shame you feel as an access point into your emotions.

The moon is square Chiron in Aries, so there is tension around being yourself and expressing who you are. Personal freedom, bravery, the compulsion to fight, and the need to explore, are all areas where some type of wounding has occurred. These wounds come up at this Full Moon. They may show up as conflicts with our family, our heritage or other cancer-related areas. Chiron is also square to Mercury retrograde, so those wounds also have to do with the review we have been doing around the structures in our lives. Maybe we realize that really doesn’t support us. Or that we have been making ourselves small to fit into structures that don’t fit us.

Something has to give. The moon is also conjunct Pallas. On one hand, this is good, because Pallas in Cancer helps us to see emotional patterns and to tap into our inner wisdom. On the other hand, the opposition to Mercury in Capricorn, can overwhelm our brains; it’s asking us to rewire and it may feel like synaptic overload. Anxiousness, exhaustion and overwhelm can be expected.

The good news is that the Full moon is sextile Uranus in Taurus. So the more we express our uniqueness, and our strange emotions, the more we can release the tension, and the more secure we will feel. This sextile is also giving us an opportunity to channel our emotions into unconventional ways of building emotional security. Maybe you imagine buying a camper van and living the van life fully independent of everyone. You don’t have to do it, but buying that van will take you in the direction your emotions need to go. Or the tension in your life may help you to be inventive in creating other comforts that give you a sense of security. There is a sense of the devil may care attitude that pushes you beyond the boundaries of what is expected of you, helping you to see through to what you really need.

Since this is an emotional moon, the best way to use the energy is not to push away any feelings, but instead to pay attention to them. Use them to cry, create, and strategize. Don’t be too worried if you get overwhelmed, sometimes the emotional purging process is like that. But on the other side is peace!

The Sabian symbol is “The germ grows into knowledge and life” Like a seed getting ready to express itself through growth; it sends DNA messages to create an upward sprout, and then leaves and stems…. It can only do that with nourishment. We are encouraged to nourish our emotions and a similar process will follow.

Happy Full Moon in Cancer!