We are all experiencing intensity in some area of our lives and consequently preoccupied with personal issues. We are generally out of touch, however, with the collective crises that are peaking around the world. We hear about overcrowding in our nation’s hospitals. We see the statistics of new Delta Covid cases reaching peak numbers of 2020. We hear that our youth are dying, our elderly suffering, our poor desperate. We see images of Haiti ravaged first by an earthquake and then a hurricane, and terrified Afghanis clinging to the sides of transport planes in Kabul desperate to escape a reign of terror as the Taliban secures its hold on their country, echoes of Saigon 46 years ago. Add to that heat waves, fires, floods, political unrest, and the looming threat of draught and famine. It does appear apocalyptic.
If ever there was a time to pull together, it’s now. I speak not just of our nation, but our planet. The pandemic is a global issue. The climate crisis is a global issue. Injustice and inequality are humanitarian issues. How do we shift our focus from Me to We? This is the challenge of the next two millennia and from here it looks daunting.
Blue Moon in Aquarius
On Sunday August 22nd we have the second Full Moon in Aquarius within 30 days. If you recall, the last Full Moon took place on the first degree of Aquarius on July 23rd. This Full Moon adds even more intensity.
Sun and Moon lie at 29+ degrees of Leo and Aquarius respectively. The last degree of a sign is called the anorectic degree and packs the full punch of the sign, calling forth the shadow side of the sign it is completing. What are the shadow sides of Leo and Aquarius?
Leo can be playful, warm hearted, creative, joyful, but it can also be self-obsessed, egotistical, a bully demanding the limelight, oblivious to others. A dysfunctional Leo can be a narcissist.
The ideal of Aquarius is self-enlightenment in the service of humanity. The shadow Aquarian, however, can be cold, analytical, detached to the point of sociopathic indifference, an insufferable know-it-all, contemptuous of other’s opinions, putting science ahead of humanity and seeking progress at any cost.
The potential of this Full Moon is to reveal the shadow, both individual and collective. This is why objectivity is so important. When shadow issues arise we tend to deny them, project them onto others, absolve ourselves of their taint and blame those who have the courage to take responsibility and become leaders. This is a ripe area for spiritual work.
There will be countless opportunities to observe the shadow this month. We can become detectives seeking out the shadow that reveals itself “out there” but actually lives within. Throughout our lives we learn to suppress the shadow in order to be acceptable. We hide our anger, our aggression, our nasty vicious side. And this suppression is exactly what creates the shadow’s persistent appearance in our news, because we project it out of our minds onto the world screen.
A huge part of healing is owning and integrating our shadow material. We can see a bully and recognize that part of our own psyche. Perhaps we don’t bully others, but far too many of us bully ourselves. We can observe the arrogance of others, how opinionated they are, how self-righteous in their sentiments! Can we see that in ourselves as well?
It’s uncomfortable work and the ego will protest loudly, but it is deeply spiritual work – healing ourselves from within. We are multidimensional, multi-emotional creatures. In our complexity we are comprised of all the good and all the evil, which before the Separation was woven into Unity. It didn’t manifest because it was embedded within the matrix where all choices came from love, beauty and truth. If we truly want peace on Earth, we must allow peace within and that can only happen when we become whole. All the denied parts of ourselves exist in our depths, pockets of unconsciousness that create blockages, phobias, taboos that heighten our fear. There is nothing there in the dark but you, and you are inseparable from the Divine.
That’s the Light Shadow side of ourselves which could be even harder to own and integrate. Can we really let it in that we are the manifestation of Spirit? We are angelic? We are powerful? We have the capacity to change the world. We are endlessly creative, wise, loving and joyous. The reduced image we have of ourselves is the ego’s identity myth – a wet blanket on the Soul.
Tough times summon forth the shadow. We look for ways to cut corners. We justify criminal behavior, such as purchasing phony vaccination cards to beat the system. We are going through the narrows, like sand through the neck of an hourglass. At the moment there is a bottleneck of resistance. We are being compressed to force awakening and transformation.
There is tremendous energy surrounding us and attempting to move through us. This causes a collective anxiety and we must manage the symptoms. The Full Moon chart tells us how.
Jupiter conjunct the Full Moon
We are blessed by the presence of Jupiter within three degrees of the Full Moon. As the Moon beams its optimal light, it is also beaming the faith and optimism of Jupiter. Jupiter assists growth and expansion. It bolsters our faith during dark times. It may be hard to keep our faith, to see the bright side and the bigger picture, to believe that everything will turn out for the good, but that’s the Jupiter factor and it is there for the receiving.
The inner critic will tell us that faith is a fool’s game. It will try to discourage us, to belittle us, to scoff at our arrogance and naivety. We can stand up to that voice and arm our hearts with trust and optimism. We can look beyond the obstacles to where we want to land.
This month’s chart is loaded with spiritual influences. Jupiter was the chief god, after all. Take a moment to feel into faith, to be optimistic and envision a better future. How does it feel? Then compare it with skepticism or despair. How does that feel? Skepticism is healthy when it leads to open minded curiosity, but it teeters on the verge of cynicism which is paralyzing.
This is a point of choice and commitment. Which future do we support? The whole world is teetering on a collective point of choice. The outcome depends on how we integrate the abundant energy bathing our planet right now. Faith is an ally and a great provider of strength and perseverance.
Mercury, Mars and Uranus
Mercury and Mars are in Virgo and Mars is exactly trine Uranus, lending more energy to the already explosive contribution of Uranus in Taurus. So how do Virgo and Taurus energies come together?
In Virgo the Mercurial mind explores the details, sifts through all the contents, picking out the gems and discarding the dross. It is a discerning mind that spots areas of weakness or tension and develops a plan to improve them. Uranus in Taurus grounds and manifests inner change with added energy from Mars. Two Earth signs work well together.
Virgo is concerned with health and self-improvement. The next couple of weeks support healing and growth. We can benefit greatly from aligning with the flow. At the last Full Moon Mars was quincunx Pluto, triggering our fears and phobias, bringing up repressed material from the unconscious. Now he trines Uranus further assisting our evolution.
Uranus is bombarding us with energy surges, which can bring sudden insights, outbursts of emotion, unexpected events. With Uranus comes uncertainty. We can’t prepare for the unexpected. And with uncertainty comes anxiety. Our nervous systems are being taxed with an overload of energy. I recently discovered an online course in how to calm and reset your nervous system. The creator and teacher of the Reset Program is Alex Howard, an endearing Englishman. If any of you are experiencing frayed nerves, this might be of help. You can find him on YouTube as well.
Sedna
This new outer limit planet in our solar system lies at 29 Taurus forming a powerful T-Square with the Sun/Moon axis. We know little about Sedna, but astrologers are aware that every time we discover a new planet, we are opening to a new aspect in our psyche. As the Solar System expands, so does our consciousness, reflexively.
Sedna is so far out beyond Pluto that a vast space of unknown territory is available for exploration. She represents the New Frontier, the evolved consciousness of humanity. New areas of the brain are activating. New capacities are appearing. DNA is evolving as we pass through the photon belt. What is going on now is cosmic and if we can keep that perspective, we can view our world with less judgment and fear. We can open up to undreamed of possibilities.
Neptune
Neptune is back at 22 degrees of Pisces exactly opposite it natal position in the USA chart. The strings of our spiritual hearts are being plucked. It lies in the USA’s third house lapping at the shores of our religious beliefs, our skepticism, our indifference. This is a moment of spiritual import. Will we evolve or devolve?
Neptune is conjunct transiting Pallas, defender of justice, blurring how we view reality, asking us to look at our policing and legal system as well as our lawmakers. Neptune is breaking down our dominator paradigm, just as Pluto and Uranus are blowing it up.
Neptune is irresistible, as are the other outer planets. As sure as it molds our shorelines, it shifts our inner landscape as well. Imagination, reflection, meditation, day and nighttime dreaming are all enhanced and are soothing to the nervous system. It’s a good time to journal. What have we learned about ourselves in the last couple of years?
Ceres
Ceres is in Gemini conjunct the North Node. We might see some changes in the way we grow and distribute our food. That is a long-term project, but in the short term we may be faced with shipping issues, draught shortages, pandemic slowdowns. These inconveniences will bring our focus to the fragile state of our agriculture system. Industrial farming is destroying our topsoil and poisoning our population. It is the number one cause of our poor collective state of health and the crisis in our dysfunctional healthcare system.
More and more we are seeing the ravages of the choices we made on our economic path. Switching to chemical control of our food production, allowing gene modification, all of which is depleting nutrition, along with flavor, from our food. Allowing private insurance companies to take over our healthcare system was another disastrous choice. We no longer have healthcare. We have medical mechanics focusing on one small part of the human body, treating symptoms because the causes are beyond their ken.
Ceres at the North Node is showing us possible futures. We need to be alert and open to new options.
Pluto square Eris
The fourth of five perfect squares between Pluto and Eris happens on August 27th. I’ve written about Eris many times in the last three years. These two outer powerhouses are working together to break down our reality so that we may break through to another paradigm, another way of structuring our lives around more enlightened beliefs and values, and a more humane way of relating to one another.
What is curious is that Mercury will be at the tail end of Virgo and about to enter Libra two days later. As discord and chaos increase, Mercury asks us to look at peace and harmony in all our relationships. How much do we want peace in our lives and what part of us is creating discord? Are we trying to change others when we should look to our own shadow?
Conclusion
With the transpersonal planets operating on galactic levels and the social planets playing out in our news, we can turn to the personal planets for support. This is a good time for serious reflection and optimistic dreaming.
The Sun moves into Virgo in the early afternoon on Full Moon day. Take advantage of the impulse to organize, weed out, clear out clutter. I plan to reorganize my studio. It’s a daunting task but I’m keeping my eye on the prize and how good I will feel when it’s done.
Venus is in Libra, and a beacon of hope in the evening sky. The focus is on inner peace, balance and harmony, loving relationships and sensual pleasure. Be good to yourself. Love yourself. It’s our greatest inner strength. We can’t function living at odds with ourselves. We need to become our own greatest ally.
I’ve already mentioned Mercury and Mars. Virgo energy is very stabilizing and thus healing. We can pay attention to the details we overlook in our haste.
We need stamina, perseverance and resilience. We need to calm our nervous systems and lift our frequency so we are not at odds with the energy. We do this by removing blockages and integrating shadow material. As we own our dark side, we can choose not to unleash it on others. We can choose to be kind.
All the planets beyond Mars are retrograde right now. Uranus stationed on the 19th at 14 Taurus and hangs there for a total of three months before moving backward another degree in early October. Mercury will be retrograde in Libra but outer planets will begin to turn direct beginning with Pluto. This next forward sweep will bring about the USA Pluto return. Use this time well. Our future depends on it.
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