Dear Friend and Reader:
Today is the Full Moon in Pisces [please see earlier article here]. It’s the Full Moon in the last sign of the zodiac. Brits sometimes refer to Pisces as a cosmic dustbin, which is to say that everything unresolved, every question unanswered, every feeling that is unacknowledged, ends up in this sign. The strange thing about Pisces is how dualistic it can be; that is, it can possess emotions that go in two directions, like those fish in the images you see of this sign. It is similar to Gemini, but it’s emotionally deep, and the two aspects of its nature have a closer relationship than those suggested by Gemini; there is the cord connecting the fish. Opposites are related. They work together and support one another. This would include, to the chagrin of many, pleasure and pain. Hey, just ask any Pisces.
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Pisces. Art by Kagava.
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Add this to the Full Moon and you get a lot of polarity. The Full Moon is an opposition; two planets face to face at 180 degrees to one another. In other words, the Sun, the Earth and the Moon are in a straight line, with the Earth in between. This can make people, situations, emotions and needs feel more exaggerated than they really are. Do your best to keep an inner eye on your mental and emotional state, and at least don’t be surprised if you’re feeling things more powerfully or poignantly than you might normally.
I suggest you remember what’s irritating you. It could be an exaggeration, and it could be something old, something forgotten, or something with a different name than you’re calling it — and it could be asking for your attention.
This week’s aspects are written by Genevieve Salerno with calculations by the Tracy Delaney ephemeris at Serennu.com and Raphael’s Ephemeris. Genevieve has only been at this aspect interpretation thing for about three months. I remember one sweltering night in my photo studio, when it was so hot your clothes would stick to you, that I opened up Raphael’s Ephemeris and explained how to find an aspect. Genevieve got my attention with her knack for Norse mythology, Rune reading and her curiosity about all things esoteric.
These are some fun interpretations.
Yours & truly, on this Fishy Full Moon,
15 Monday: Pisces Full Moon at 5:13 am EDT! See Eric’s article here. Moon enters Aries at 5:39 pm EDT. Mercury makes a conjunction with Venus in Libra. During this aspect, which has been going on since the 13th, you might find your secret powers as a mediator and peacekeeper come out full-throttle. Mercury, which is the planet of skill, communication, and brainpower, has united with Venus, the planet of love, peace and refinement to bring out some very nice creative energy in all of us.
This aspect is all about bringing harmony into the environments we inhabit in our daily lives. However, Mars is also in Libra, and Mercury will make a series of conjunctions to it over the next two months — three, in total. Watch for the other side of the coin.
Today Mars sextiles Juno in Sagittarius. Mars involves our desire-drive, our courage and our resolve to work hard and face opposition. Juno, in this case, signifies what it is we require for equality and affection. Put another way, today’s sextile represents our ability to recognize what we need in a committed relationship, and then find the courage to ask for it.
16 Tuesday: Venus square Varuna. Sun sextile Psyche. If you fear telling the truth, it may mean you hold a certain amount of belief in shame and guilt. Is there something that would make you ashamed if everyone found out about it? How can you be so sure of how the other person will react to this knowledge, and what does it mean for your personal safety? As with anything that has to do with Psyche, distinguishing the difference between what we perceive, and what is real, is very important.
17 Wednesday: Moon enters Taurus at 8:57 pm EDT. Venus trines Neptune, an aspect of truth or lies; how we act might involve our motives, intentions or agenda. Venus opposite Eris suggests there may be some tension in our intension. Mercury squares Varuna in Cancer, another aspect that hovers around the theme of deception vs. reality. Uranus trine Varuna. With two aspects involving Venus, and two aspects involving Varuna, today’s big question seems to be: how much are you willing to give in order to have some peace and quiet? How much chaos are you willing to embrace to welcome the creative force in your life? Also, what is the difference between giving in, bending over, giving up and letting go?
To find the answer, we must ask ourselves another question: where does truth make the greatest impact: does the truth always have to be out in the open, or does truth need to be observed within?
18 Thursday: Venus opposite 1992 QB1. [Eric commenting here: 1992 QB1 is a feminine aspect of Pluto, an energy that helps us arrive at and cross over the edge. Here is our write-up in Planet Wiki. This can be the edge of self-knowledge, surrender, death or birth. Venus meeting this energy face to face is challenged to rise above her usual role of lover or adored one and take up the role of using her feminine power as healing balm.] Ceres trine Ixion.
19 Friday: Moon enters Gemini at 11:17 pm EDT. Moon squares Neptune. Mercury trines Neptune. Eros enters Libra direct. Sun squares the Galactic Center; that tells us it’s a little over 90 days until the winter solstice. Eros is the god of love in Greek mythology. His name is the root from which we get the word “erotic.” According to Martha Lang-Westcott, Eros in astrology signifies the joy and passion of life. We can use its direct movements through Libra as a way to meditate upon the power of lust in our lives. How do we experience lust and desire, and how does it color our world? Libra can be described as the sign of parallel conditions. Is lust a dependable compass for the map of our lives?
On a somewhat different, yet related note, I have taught many orienteering classes to school-age children. Orienteering, in case you didn’t know, is the sport of using a compass and a map to get from one point to another, usually in the forest. At the very beginning of class none of the kids know how to use the compass. I have to go over each detail. I had to explain why the needle, no matter where they turned, would direct them North. Finally, after they either faked understanding, or really understood, I unleashed them into the forest. Amazingly, after practice, and patience, each kid knew how to read the quivering little needle to find their way. I suggest we could all use a little practice with our quiver sticks.
20 Saturday: Sun square Pluto, an aspect that can come with an internal power struggle or the ambitious drive to power. I would say it’s good that this is happening on a Saturday, but it was in full force yesterday as well; exact today. Also, Pallas trines Rhadamanthus. These two aspects today involve two different entities of the Underworld. Pluto is the traditional god of the dead in Greek mythology, the king of the underworld, husband of Persephone.
Rhadamanthus, according to myths in the same tradition, was the brother of Minos. He was such an excellent judge of character, and his integrity was so strong, that when he died, he got promoted as a judge of the dead. Both Pluto and Rhadamanthus are about acceptance of the truth in a situation. Clearly it is a truth that will lead us to grow, or as Uncle Moses said, set us free.
21 Sunday: Moon enters Cancer at 1:49 am EDT. Venus sextile Galactic Center. Saturn squares Great Attractor. Mars opposite Eris — look out.
a thought on eros: been an intense rival of work on eros (and rightly so) and beauty in recent years. wendy farley (at emory u.) in particular does such powerful and poignant work on it. i interpret her as indicating eros empowers understandings of eros as energizing (an eidos-like power) our capacity to know beauty in existence. so that eros is both “that by which we fall [traditionally lust, etc.]..is that by which we rise [beauty, longing for the good beyond what we know, etc.].”