Astrology reveals the evolution of consciousness through cycles of relationship between various archetypes. It gives us a language to describe the meta-physics that forms the context of our reality. As planets come together and separate again, different energies combine to produce new experience. As we decipher the map of the heavens, we recognize patterns of meaning that reveal what is coming. I’m not saying that astrologers can predict events. We are not fortune tellers. We can however, recognize times of change and gain some perspective from the symbolic significance of the planets themselves, the signs or energies they express and the house or realm of experience they occupy. We can read the map of the Heavens and get a sense of where we are going and what it may mean for us.
This month I am taking you through the lunation process. The point is to show you how a lunar month evolves so you can step into the evolutionary flow and evolve with it. On Thursday, April 30th, we have the First Quarter Moon. At the New Moon something new is born, seeds are planted. We don’t know what these seeds will produce. We’re in the dark. But one week later, the waxing Moon has come half-way to full. This is called the First Quarter Moon. Seeds have sprouted and it’s time to examine the crop. What usually happens at this point is that we realize some things aren’t going the way we want them to. We can see that some plants are shriveling, some don’t look healthy. Weeds have sprouted up and perhaps there’s an infestation.
I’ve taken this metaphor far enough. You get the point. Every lunation cycle is a growth cycle. The Moon is our feeling body. We experience our lives through this archetype. The Moon is our inner life, not conceptual, but experiential, feeling all the emotions and sensations, reacting in habitual ways, or learning to respond more creatively. At the First Quarter Moon we have an opportunity to adjust our course. Perhaps we discover we have made a bad choice, or harmed a relationship, or lost confidence in ourselves.
Loss of confidence is the theme for this phase of the Moon’s evolutionary path. It’s not always a bad thing. Losing confidence makes us re-evaluate and discover something we can correct – nip in the bud, so to speak. We can’t let temporary setbacks defeat us. This isn’t a time to give up. It’s a time to reassess and push on.
So let’s look at the energies. The Sun is in Taurus. We can learn the most if we tune into the themes of this archetype. Taurus is about being, slowing down and enjoying life; shoring up our support system so we feel safe; getting back to basics and tending to our needs.
The Moon is 90 degrees away in Leo, beaming warmth and light, activating our need to express ourselves. In the USA chart it is conjunct the North Node of our country’s Moon. Time to reassess where we are headed. Time to course-correct.
The Sun is in the 5th house which is associated with the Leo archetype. So the emphasis is on creative self-expression. The Sun is close to a conjunction of Uranus and Mercury. The “lower mind” – our rational, thinking mind – is fused with the “Higher Mind” of Uranus. Uranus electrifies what it touches. Right at this Quarter Moon, our minds are getting a shot of juice.
Interesting because on May 5th the Moon’s Nodes shift from the Cancer/Capricorn axis to the Gemini/Sagittarius axis. We go from Water and Earth – heavy, emotional, demanding – to Air and Fire. We lighten up, or light up for the next 19 months. The alarm is set for Mental Wake-Up. More about that next week when we look at this shift and its potential.
Back to the Moon. This point in the cycle is an awakening. The areas of growth for our nation are the 5th house – house of creative, playful expression – and the 8th house where the moon is shining light into the dark corners of our psyche. The 8th house is Pluto’s house – the Underworld, gateway to the Unconscious. Currently we are taking a collective journey through Pluto’s realm where truths are hidden, awaiting discovery.
For our country these energies support the discovery of creative ways to live together. For now we are keeping our distance, but we are social beings and we need each other. I believe one of the great lessons of this pandemic will be the realization of how interdependent we are. It’s a huge opportunity to let good-will pour in. We can’t continue to relate to one another through fear, judgment, blame, hostility, competition. Time to drop all that old, toxic baggage.
I have been delighted and amazed at the creative ways in which people are putting themselves out there on YouTube and other social media. We are entertaining each other with our talents. It’s amazing. Perhaps this will replace television, become, ironically, a more real reality show. A true “This is Us.”
On Thursday the Moon in the USA 8th house is asking us to examine the fruits of our collective labors. The 7th house is about relationship. The 8th focuses on the health, so to speak, of our relationships. This is true personally and collectively. In that arena we have quite a variety of responses to this pandemic. The vast majority of us are protecting ourselves, and others, by practicing impeccable hygiene and safety. Some, however, are reacting with anger, fear, impatience and are making poor choices – crowds understandably seeking the beaches to cool off in LA; protestors defying the social contract, demanding what they want, not thinking about the consequences to the rest of us.
But we also have the angels who have stepped forward to keep us going. It’s heroic and inspiring. The good will and philanthropy surfacing now is exemplary. This is the usual outcome, however brief, of a disaster. I’m reading a wonderful book by Rebecca Solnit called A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Disaster. She recounts how humanity responded to other major disasters. It’s a well-written and researched history, but so much more. She examines the motivations and character of our population and emphasizes stories that inspire us to reach the same heights. There is much to learn here from the wisdom, compassion and courage of our human family, as well as the misconceptions, fears and beliefs that cause so much suffering. It’s a primer in survival.
As spring blooms everywhere and the outdoors calls to us, we are going to feel our confinement more intensely. The answer is to stay grounded, lean into the patience of Taurus, come to peace with what is and tend to our needs. For the next week examine your inner garden. What weeds need pulling? What needs feeding and watering and perhaps loving nourishment? And ask how you can do something more creatively. Creativity is like a bottomless well, but to access its clear waters we need to prime the pump. We become more creative when we exercise our creativity, plain and simple. It has nothing to do with talent. That can be developed. Most of all, creativity flourishes in an atmosphere of non-judgment, play and exploration. Curiosity and experimentation. What wonder will pour through me if I prime this pump?
Suggestions for meditation:
1. Sit in stillness and BE. Float down into your inner depths and just hang out there. Nothing needs to happen. No expectations. Just be still in your depths. You will be nourished.
2. There is a mobile app called Insight Timer. You can time your meditation and choose a background sound. Recently I have used the sound of a running stream. I just relax and become the water. I flow with it wherever it goes. This is a great practice for surrendering control and allowing life to unfold from within.
Stay healthy . . .
Leave a Reply