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Dear Friend and Reader:
A closer look at the Full Moon in Cancer chart (exact Saturday night) reveals two additional minor planets closely within in the influence of the T-square covered in Thursday’s aspect. Remember that in the midst of this, Mercury is getting ready to station retrograde in early Aquarius. That occurs Sunday.
The Moon is currently in late Gemini (opposite the Galactic Core at this edit early Friday morning), and it reaches Cancer, squaring the Aries Point, at 1:13 pm EST this afternoon. The Moon is currently moving at its fastest pace of more than 15 degrees a day, because it is so close to the Earth (hence, it’s very large appearance in the sky).
The signature of this Full Moon seems to intensify feelings over what we feel and what is practical: Cancer versus Capricorn. The Full Moon always activates the polarity of two signs, presenting us with an opportunity to resolve or work with an inner polarity.
Icarus and Dionysus are conjoined with the Sun and Moon respectively during this Full Moon, which promises to be the visually biggest one of the year because the Moon will be so close to the Earth. Icarus is a strange asteroid which has an orbit so elongated that it spends most of its time in one sign, Aquarius (however for the moment, it is close to Aquarius, ingod Capricorn). Dionysus is a near-Earth asteroid of what is called the “Apollo-type.” It has a relatively short period (about 3.25 years) and it crosses the Earth’s orbit, meaning that in some future epoch of history it could collide with our planet. (Note to astronomy fans: Dionysus is not on the Wikipedia list of Apollo-type asteroids, however it is noted as such in this news bulletin from the European Space Agency, which announces the 1997 discovery that Dionysus has a small moon orbiting it.)
The Full Moon’s conjunction with Dionysus is close to the conjunction this Moon will share with Varuna, the Great Equalizer. Varuna is a minor planet considered so important at the time of its discovery in 2000 that it was given minor planet number 20,000.
The Sun will be conjoined with asteroid Icarus. Square this will be Eris. We have already mentioned the properties of Varuna and Eris. Varuna is the minor planet associated with the order of reality lurking beyond the one we can see; perhaps the higher truth we so often look to as “god.” Eris is the minor planet whose discovery caused us to rearrange the entire solar system.В She is reflective of the chaos on the planet, and the personality chaos that is so distinctive about our own time in history. Making room for the truth within the chaos of our minds seems to be an important portion of the struggle this Full Moon is putting emphasis on.
Dionysus helps us breaks free of the material constraints we live with. He offers a sense of transcendence and psychic relief from the material world. I would offer that it has something to do with our wild instincts or the process of rebirth this Moon is heralding. The message is that within the quantum chaos we need to reach a level of what most would call insanity to be free of the, well, of the insanity we live with. But this is special insanity, of shamans and mystics rather than kind we usually associate with restraints and nurses. We must go beyond the rational mind to a level of ecstasy or revelry in order to actually blow off steam and let go of pressure that is driving us mad. Alcohol is the metaphor; there are better ways, though clearly we use alcohol for this purpose. One of them is conscious sex, the emphasis being on conscious.
Icarus has several interpretations. Martha Lang-Wescott understands this asteroid to mean the desire for “escapes that are careless of consequences…the fast break impulse.” According to Eric, Icarus stands for the height of experience or peak experiences, the no-holds-barred push towards higher realizations. This sounds a bit like Dionysus’ theme: we really do need to break free from this structured pressure that we are stuck with.
Taking all of these energies into consideration spells out a sort of anxiety about when it’s all going to be over. A sense of excitement, of steering towards a more creative future is definitely one of the signatures of this upcoming Moon. Perhaps the time is right to put a sketch book next to your bed, just in case sleeping seems too boring. You never know what ideas are going to spill out while you dangle in that strange insomnia.
Till tomorrow,
Genevieve Salerno with editing by Eric
i gotta steal one from MA. “The future is not what it used to be.”
And about that letter. I thought that was that. But then I heard the orchestra tuning up and I saw the auditorium of time and there were the performers, all of us, milling about cast and recast over thousands of years. And the lights go down in the house and Father Sun takes center stage before Mother Time and as he moves forward the curtain rises and there we are in a performance of lifetimes.
From what I’m seeing, we are gonna be great. I think that is all we need to be concerned about.
And if one takes the view of the end of an era, rather than the beginning, I offer a teaching from a ballet instructress. At the end of class we would work on the bow. ‘If the bow is beautiful, the audience will forgive any performance flaws.”
About Gaza. Does “off topic” apply here.
Spiegel online had this photo, and I thought it was thought provoking.
http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotostrecke-38672-4.html
Dame K…”. She “challenges fear, terror, war and violence by acts of beauty and love” and “she gives us foresight into the future”. I want to believe this.”
I think this is astute… it might also be useful to keep in mind that when these ‘acts of beauty and love’ arrive (to those who have twisted themselves into karmic knots) they don’t –usually *cannot*– experience them as Pleasure. Even the most beautiful act can and will take on a terrifying aspect for those who are alienated from their own ability to *make* love.
I think I read here recently: You have to be absolutely clear about your own motives and intentions. When dealing with seriously unhappy beings who are convinced that their survival tactics must include destroying others, even the deepest demonstration of love and kindness can trigger a karmic avalanche for them.
Uh, wait, what am I saying “can”? It WILL trigger that movement. In that moment, there is some merit in learning how to hold the mirror steady, steady – you are the mirror-wisdom, not the horrifying image therein.
As for the “future” – that would be what arrives after the karmic avalanche plays out (assuming you haven’t dropped the View).
So, yes… and…
One other thing about the Full Moon I just realized; Saturn is closely sextile the Moon and closely trine the Sun. In earth. (I may have missed your remarks on this aspect in another post/article.) Anyway, me thinks Saturn would certainly offset or bring some balance from all the “escape” and “relief” from the material world Dionysus and Icarus encourage.
Doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy a bit of drinking and debauchery on our way to enlightment does it? Just have to keep a lid on the insanity I suppose. Or maybe we have a designated driver waiting for us in the dark (12th house)!
Genevieve,
When you say Dionysus “has something to do with. . . .the process of rebirth this (Full)Moon is hearlding”, is it because it is in the sign of Cancer? Or is it because we are going through a transition, which will lead to a new birth (of something)? Whatever, it does seem that the gods and goddesses are doing their utmost to bring us to a higher level of awareness of our “oneness”.
On another, related, note, I posted a link on the previous Full Moon article that didn’t make it through – yet. What I wanted to share was another view of Eris which suggests that she has valuable powers that will help us through this “chaotic” transition. She “challenges fear, terror, war and violence by acts of beauty and love” and “she gives us foresight into the future”. I want to believe this.
The Sabian Symbol for the Cancer Full Moon (22 degrees) is “A young woman awaiting a sailboat”, with the keynote: The longing for transcendent happiness in the soul opened to great dreams. Quite provocative. Humanity seems to me to be emotionally close to that special insanity you spoke of that Dionysus can bring about. I’ll drink to that.