Tag Archives: Ceres

Full Moon in Pisces, August 24

The Full Moon in Pisces on August 24 offers another portal or “way out” of obstacles we’ve been facing during the cardinal T-square.

The Full Moon typically indicates endings, and in the last sign of the zodiac, this lunation helps us clear out what is no longer working in order to make room for dramatic changes to come. The action may be stalled for a few weeks, no thanks to retrograde Mercury, but we nonetheless can explore the opportunities and prepare to let go of situations and relationships that are holding us back.

The limitations and challenges many of us are confronting are related to the
cardinal T-square, and they are tough indeed. Many seem to have no resolution. Words my clients use to describe their situations include stuck, overwhelmed, at a crossroad, caught in the crossfire. Even those who are having a positive experience have a sense of events unfolding too quickly.

At the apex of the T-square, Pluto is taking all the heat. Pluto symbolizes death, rebirth, and transformation, but this cycle has been blocked by the opposed energies of Saturn, Uranus, and Jupiter, all of which are still in tight aspect at the Full Moon.

I’ve mentioned a few times that one way out of a stuck situation is to look at the space in your chart opposite transiting Pluto. That will remain true for the duration of the T-square. However, this Full Moon offers a powerful out via a lovely earth trine from Pluto to the Sun in practical Virgo and a sextile from Pluto to the Moon in otherworldly Pisces.

As we get nearer to the Full Moon, you suddenly may see the source of an obstacle, allowing you to more effectively free yourself of whatever or whoever has been holding you back. Or, those limiting circumstances simply may dissolve, leaving you free to transform or transcend. In some cases, the urgent need to let go of these things may stem from a new approach you began at the New Moon in Leo two weeks ago.

Neptune, ruler of this Full Moon, is at 27 degrees Aquarius, placing him in a moderately close, out-of-sign conjunction with the Moon at 1°26′ Pisces. He’s also closely conjunct Chiron at 28 degrees Aquarius. I’ve written a lot over the past several years about the collective healing effects of the Chiron-Neptune conjunction, especially where old wounds from our past are concerned. This alignment sends a powerful message of clearing “old stuff” in order to evolve under the pressure of the T-square.

Mercury retrograde in Virgo, the sign opposite Pisces, actually may be beneficial in this regard. Combined with the Full Moon in Pisces, it’s a great time to access your higher consciousness via daily chores, service to others, exercise and meditation, all with mindfulness. When we quiet our minds, a space opens up to receive answers. Likewise, a window opens for the images we hold of what we’d like to attract or create in our lives.

Mars and Venus are still in fairly close conjunction, which was exact on August 20, an hour before Mercury went retrograde. This suggests that issues of balance and cooperation in relationships will remain throughout Mercury’s retrograde phase and will need to be revisited. The conjunction took place in Libra, ruled by Venus, so it is the feminine energy that was strengthened.

In the Full Moon chart, Venus is approaching a sextile with Ceres, ruler of the cyclical nature of life. Some of us may need to “go under” temporarily in order to rebalance and heal. Ceres herself is approaching a third and final conjunction with Pluto at the apex of the T-square, an alignment deeply symbolic of transformation through delving inside ourselves and confronting all the scary things that lurk there.

The Sabian Symbol** for the Moon at 1°26′ Pisces is a squirrel hiding from hunters, with the keyword CAUTION. This is about self-preservation, but we’re not talking about the ego self. Your first duty is to your higher purpose, whatever that may be, and that requires acting in your own best interests.

For the Sun at 1°26′ Virgo, the Sabian Symbol is a large white cross upraised, with the keyword GLORIFICATION. At its best, this symbol represents offering your unique gift in service of humanity. You can’t do that if you allow yourself to be bound by what others want and expect of you.

Freeing yourself will not be without some risk, and it may entail some pain and sorrow, too. But it is part of our growth collectively and as individuals.

Love and courage to all,
Pat

** From The Sabian Symbols in Astrology, by Dr. Marc Edmond Jones. The author, an astrologer, channeled this work in the early 1920s. There’s one symbol one for each degree of the zodiac, and we can use them to gain insight into charts.

Weekly Forecast July 12: In the Wake of the Solar Eclipse

Detail of The Storm Spirits, by Evelyn De Morgan, 1900.

We begin this week in the wake of Sunday’s solar eclipse in Cancer, and that’s really the biggest news — that, and the steady march toward the peak of the cardinal T-square, just a couple of weeks away now.

Eclipses often signal rapid change, and these sometimes are evident within three days on either side of the eclipse date. But in the case of the New Moon eclipse, developments may take until the Full Moon to unfold or until the next New Moon. Sometimes the effects are delayed by two or three months, but I don’t think that will happen in this case, due to the building energy of the T-square.

Under astrological influences such as we’re experiencing in 2010 and 2011, world events may not happen at the moment planetary alignments are exact, but can be staggered throughout the year. Sometimes transits by the Moon or Mars to critical points can trigger an event. It can all get pretty complicated.

Otherwise, there’s not a lot happening this week (as if that’s not enough). Venus in Virgo trines Pluto in Capricorn on Tuesday, an aspect for physical love and the emotional intensity that can come from sexual desire, if you let go and allow it to take over. When sex is approached as a means of deeper connection and not just for instant physical gratification, it is a powerful agent of spiritual growth. This can be scary for some people, usually because it involves giving up mental control.

The emotional intensity is even greater on Wednesday, when the Moon conjoins Venus and trines Pluto. Sexually, things could get even more interesting, as the Moon conjoins Mars on Thursday, carrying forward the energy of Venus and Pluto to the planetary ruler of the libido. Events mid-week could be a prelude to the Venus-Mars conjunction on August 20, so keep your eyes and ears open.

The Moon enters Libra on Friday, and for a brief period we have a mini-version of the cardinal T-square. The Moon moves too quickly for lunar transits to have much impact (eclipses being a major exception), but in this case the Moon may act as a trigger for events related to the T-square. Stay alert, and note any unusual events on that day.

Also on Friday, Mars in Virgo squares Ceres in Sagittarius. Astrologers are still studying the movements of Ceres, and it will be some time before we collect enough data to make definitive statements about her role in individual and mundane astrology. It does appear, however, that she is a marker for environmental issues and also for events that are cyclical in nature. A conflicting square between Ceres and Mars in detail-oriented Virgo might, for example, indicate serious problems in BP’s attempt to contain the well gushing oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

As I explained in last week’s forecast, we’re in a period when change could come swiftly and out of the blue, so it will pay to stay focused and in the moment. I liken it to being in a boat on a fast-moving current. The river determines our general direction, but we can lean to one side or the other and alter our course slightly — perhaps enough to avoid the rocks. This is especially true for the collective. Where our thoughts go, our lives follow.

Before I sign off, I’d like to express my deepest thanks again to those who made donations. If you haven’t made a donation yet, please would you take a moment to do so? We’re all connected here, and what you do really does affect whether RealAstrologers continues as-is, morphs into something else, or rolls down the shutters and folds. I’ve created a special page to tell you more about how you can help. Please spread the word.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat

Top Kill: Ceres Doesn’t Make Idle Threats

A dead Northern Gannet on Grand Isle Beach, Louisiana. Photo by Sean Gardner for REUTERS.

As thousands of gallons of oil a day gush from BP’s well in the Gulf of Mexico, astrologers predictably are linking the disaster with the approach of this summer’s cardinal T-square.

I agree — it’s a no-brainer — but there is another planet involved here, and no one seems to be paying much attention to her.

I will admit that I have not routinely mentioned Ceres in all of my reports of the cardinal T-square, although I’ve at least acknowledged the conjunction of Ceres and Pluto and have made some initial guesses about how her inclusion in this extraordinary planetary configuration might play out.

In a post on April 24, I suggested that something would happen “to force governments to take responsibility for bad public policy, especially regarding the environment.” I wrote that post on April 14, a week before BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, killing 11 workers and blowing out a deep undersea well, which has been gushing anywhere from 5,000 to 100,000 barrels of oil a day into the gulf, depending on whom you believe.

A week earlier, in a post on the cardinal T-square of 2010, I noted that the Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred during a cardinal build-up in 1989, and I predicted that similar environmental disasters would be likely this year.

According to classical mythology, Ceres dared to confront Jupiter and Pluto over the disappearance of her daughter, Proserpina (better known as the Greek Persephone), whom Pluto kidnapped and stole off to the underworld. Ceres appealed to Jupiter, who disclaimed knowledge of the incident. She later discovered that Jupiter not only knew about the kidnapping but gave Pluto his express permission to take Proserpina for his wife against her will.

In her anger and grief, Ceres cut off the food supply and threatened to kill the entire human race. She didn’t make idle threats or set a deadline. Jupiter was forced to send a message to Pluto to return Proserpina to her mother. However, before Pluto sent her home, he fed her pomegranate seeds. No one who eats in the underworld may return to the world of the living. We also may assume that he had his way with her, taking what he wanted much in the same way that energy companies pillage the earth.

Jupiter sent Mercury to negotiate a compromise in which Proserpina was to spend half the year with her mother and half the year as Pluto’s queen in the underworld. During the half year when she was away, plant life on earth died. This myth ostensibly is an “explanation” for winter, but we might also read into it a dire warning of what happens when the environment is so callously disregarded.

As astrologers and students of astrology, we might also want to consider what happens when we ignore Ceres.

In 2006, the International Astronomical Union created a class of “dwarf planets,” in which they included Pluto and Ceres. Pluto was in effect demoted, while Ceres was given equal status to Pluto. Yet, Pluto got all of the attention, including indignant rants from astrologers everywhere about Pluto’s power. Even though Ceres was discovered 130 years before Pluto and is closer to the Earth, she is relegated to a minor role in astrology. Many astrologers consider her primary influence to be felt in mother-daughter relationships — in other words, “women’s issues” and not power politics. That’s still for the big boys.

In mundane astrology, Jupiter and Pluto represent government and corporate powers, which clearly must share the blame for what is fast becoming the worst environmental disaster in North American history. A report just came out about the cozy relationship between the oil industry and government regulators, who illegally accepted gifts from the people they were supposed to be monitoring and, by some accounts, were viewing Internet porn instead of doing their jobs.

And, just as Jupiter thought he could blow off Ceres with a lie, the powers that be don’t appear to be taking the implications very seriously. While the goo floating in the water and oozing up on the shore threatens an extensive ecosystem, government and industry officials are moving ahead with plans to continue offshore oil drilling, some of it in areas even more sensitive that the Gulf of Mexico.

To add insult to injury, the U.S. Department of the Interior has continued granting controversial environmental waivers, despite President Barack Obama’s announcement of a moratorium on drilling new wells in the gulf.

Ironically, BP is launching a procedure called “top kill” (how Plutonian is that?), possibly as early as Wednesday, in an attempt to shut down the gusher. BP officials caution that they have no idea whether it will work, because no one ever has attempted this procedure in a well this deep. The operation will take place just as Uranus is entering Aries, with Jupiter hot on his heels. The ingress chart set for Venice, La. (the nearest town to the BP oil rig), has Ceres exactly on the Ascendant at 2 degrees Capricorn.

Now that Ceres is part of the cardinal T-square, she’s solidly within the good ol’ boys club. Moreover, it’s likely to be the wisdom and maturity of Ceres that gets us out of this mess. In caring for the environment, we will have to make some compromises, and unfortunately they aren’t going to be a bed of roses. Although we can demand more oversight from our government, the energy industry thrives because we rely on their products in just about every aspect of our lives, from gasoline for our cars and food production, to the plastics used in our computers.

We still do not know the extent of the fallout from this disaster, and we may not know for several years. The consequences likely will be far greater than oiled birds and dead fisheries.

In the meantime, we can expect massive public protests and outrage against BP and the Obama administration. The demonstrations will be all the more vehement because starry eyed voters feel betrayed and need a target to vent their anger. Uranus in Aries will happily supply the fuel … a veritable uncontrolled gusher.

Then, these protests could pale compared to the political unrest that will occur when we’re forced to pay higher prices for gasoline, food, and other petroleum-based products. You can bet that our political leaders know this.

As I suggested in my previous post, the inclusion of Ceres in the T-square may have implications in our private lives, too.

“At the very least, we may need to reflect on how past decisions or behavior are affecting us in the present. It’s never too late to change!”

Our first responsibility in this crisis is to be informed citizens and search for real information, not what we’re being fed by BP, the U.S. government, and the corporate media.

Second, we have to confront the reality that our daily consumption habits contributed to this disaster. We pay lip service to environmentalism and point the finger at Big Bad Oil, and without missing a beat jump into our cars to run to the supermarket for a garden burger produced in a factory thousands of miles away. Healing ourselves and thus the planet requires that our words and our actions are in synch. Put another way, we must never quit striving to live with absolute integrity.

That, too, is a no-brainer.

I’ll have more on Uranus in Aries in this week’s Saturday Extra! post.

Pat

Exploring Ceres and Vesta

Artist's concept of the Dawn spacecraft orbiting Ceres. Credit: McREL

While preparing this week’s forecast, I noted that the Sun sextiles Ceres on Sunday. I will admit to you that I have no idea what this means.

Many astrologers use the asteroids named for goddesses — Ceres, Vesta, Juno, and Pallas — in their consultation work with clients. For me, the jury is still out. I have never been satisfied with the explanations of their function, either in birth charts or transit readings. Since 2006, when the International Astronomical Union declared Ceres a “dwarf planet,” the same status they gave Pluto, I’ve been in quiet observation mode.

I’ve made a case for Ceres as the modern ruler of Virgo. The mythology fits. But a planet’s function in astrology also is based on its physical characteristics. For example, Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system, and it appears that he may protect the inner planets to some degree. In astrology, Jupiter rules the “big picture” and represents expansion. His presence in certain areas of the chart by transit can indicate where we’re being protected.

NASA’s Dawn Mission, which was launched in September 2007, is scheduled to fly by Vesta in 2010 and 2011, and it will reach Ceres in 2015. Researchers hope to understand more about how the solar system was formed by exploring these protoplanets. I’m excited by this news and believe that the information beamed back from the Dawn spacecraft will change our concept of how astrologers can use the asteroid goddesses to interpret personal charts and the charts for world events. With the Dawn Mission, awareness of these bodies will permeate the collective mind, and as that happens, our understanding of their function in astrology will continue to evolve.

Pat

Saturday Archives: Another Perspective on Ceres – Natural Cycles

The doorway behind the lilies In honor of the potent New Moon in Virgo, I dug out this article on Ceres, mother of Persephone and mother-in-law of Pluto.

Ceres is traditionally associated with hard work, mothering of older children, nurturing, food – especially fruits and vegetables, farming/gardening and other earthy matters.

However, a recent article in The Mountain Astrologer by Carrie Megginson, “Asteroid Goddesses and Birth Order”, shows Ceres in a different light. She suggests Ceres is far more pragmatic and bent on selecting and refining the characteristics of the external world to meet her needs and moods. The Moon is the place to look for endless warmth and nurturing. I found her idea of relating Ceres to the ever returning cycles of the farming year very sound: cycles of plenty and want, growth and death, preparation and consumption. It’s this awareness of natural cycles that I had in mind when looking at the charts of people I know to see the part Ceres played.

Ceres Aspecting Personal Planets

The first thing I looked for was Ceres forming any type of aspect to a personal planet (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars). Since I have no real sense of how powerful Ceres is I didn’t use an orb of more than three degrees at most. What I found was the type of aspect, either major or minor, didn’t seem to make that much difference; it was the connection that mattered. If there was no close aspect, then it appeared that Ceres was not particularly active in their charts or in their lives.

What emerged was those people with Ceres in aspect to their personal planets have an interest in and an awareness of the cycles of Nature. If they were farmers like my husband and father, then they were very in touch with the weather, the changing of the seasons and how that would affect the crops they were growing. My brother has been involved in research into the ebb and flow of the Arctic ice – very much related to the larger cycles! Others of us have a deep reverence and appreciation for this planet we live on and are always aware of what’s happening out-of-doors. There are lots of gardeners in this group of the sort who need to have some kind of green, growing things around them at all times – inside and outside. There are several people who could be considered pagan in their belief system.

Ceres in the Houses

When I looked to see what house Ceres fell in another interesting pattern emerged. I will stipulate that I only noted the house if I was sure of the birth time.

Two people had Ceres in their first house. One of those is my husband who has his Moon conjunct Ceres and his whole identity revolves around growing crops of one kind or another. He reads National Geographic magazine cover to cover and insists we sit and watch the local weather report together if possible. This is an individual deeply attuned to the rhythms of the Natural World. The other person is our beloved tseka who told us others see her slender self as an “Earth Mother” figure and whose paintings show a profound relationship with cycles, seasons and nature. For both of these individuals the face they show the world is one of a deep connection to Nature.

There were four of us with Ceres in the third house. Of those four, three of us use either photos we’ve taken or carefully selected pictures to illustrate the point we’re seeking to make in regards to the cycles of the world around us. The fourth person is a wordsmith who uses words to evoke the images. All of us are devoted to communicating our deep interest and awareness of Nature and her cycles.

The people with Ceres in their fourth house or on the cusp of the fourth house have sought to reconnect to the old ways in one form or another. Two of them are a gay couple who have a life style based on Wicca belief systems and honor those beliefs as their roots. Another makes the trip every July to the Black Hills in South Dakota to take part in the Sun Dance of the Sioux peoples even though as far as I know he’s not Native American in ancestry. By the way, that’s a very, very grueling way to celebrate the connection to Gaia . . .

The sixth house group is in the health-care field one way or another. My Scorpio sister has spent the better part of her adult life caring for elderly people in their homes, seeing that they have decent food and care and easing the way as their lives draw to a close. She has a strong sense of the cycles of growth and death. Another individual is determined to make changes to our broken health care system from the inside and she’s on her way to becoming a hospital administrator. And we are all familiar with Joe’s deep knowledge of healthy lifestyle and foods.

The two people with a twelfth house Ceres I don’t know well enough to get more than a sense that these are the ones who hold the dream of best possible dance of Gaia, possibly the most important ones of all even if they are not aware of it yet.

In conclusion, I wish to make a further distinction between those individuals that have a “green thumb” and those with an active Ceres. As a person with both, as well as a Virgo Midheaven, from my perspective Ceres energy concerns itself with the big picture, the larger cycles as well as the day-to-day cultivating of growing things, etc. From all the people whose charts I’ve noted, I get the sense they have an awareness of the necessity and importance of connecting to the deep rhythms of this planet we live on. How they apply that awareness is shown by the house Ceres is posited in.

I would love to hear from others on Ceres in their charts too!

posted by Neith . . .

Image: This photo was taken in July, mid-summer where I live – so green and lovely before the August heat drains the colors.

Saturday Archives: Ceres as Ruler of Virgo

Ceres Fresco by Cosimo Tura, 1469-70.

On Monday, Ceres enters Virgo. Just as Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto rule signs in modern astrology, some astrologers believe Ceres should be the modern ruler of Virgo. I am one of them. Here is an article on the topic from my archives (edited for length).

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Astrologers got a little huffy when Pluto was demoted to “dwarf planet,” but otherwise, it’s been business as usual. The technical reclassification hasn’t changed the way we view Pluto.

Not so with Ceres and Eris. In the case of the latter, we’re bending our brains pondering how this newly discovered planet with radically different mythology should fit into our practice. We’ll be grappling with that one for several years, I’m sure.

Of the three, Ceres merits the most immediate attention. Although many astrologers have been using her in chart analysis along with the other asteroid goddesses, she’s now no longer just another asteroid. She has been promoted to Pluto’s equal, and that means she’s about to go mainstream. She’ll likely get a sign to co-rule. Taurus has been suggested as a possibility, but Virgo is emerging as the logical choice.

Ceres was thought to be a planet when she was discovered in 1801 and was later classified as an asteroid, only to be promoted to the new dwarf planet status last year. In addition to being discovered before Neptune and Pluto, she’s also much closer to the Earth. The asteroid belt lies between Mars and Jupiter, meaning that she’s on the boundary between the so-called “personal planets” and the outer planets. This fits nicely with her mythology and with what I believe is the real significance of Ceres in astrology.

To quickly recap the Ceres myth, Ceres was the Roman goddess of the harvest. Her Greek counterpart was Demeter. Ceres had a lovely daughter named Proserpina, the Greek Persephone (so it’s technically incorrect to talk about Ceres and Persephone, although most of us do it).

As you may remember, Demeter and Persephone were out one fine spring day roaming the fields, when the earth split open, and out leapt Hades (the Roman Pluto) in his chariot. Bewitched by Persephone’s beauty, he stole her off to the underworld to be his wife. Demeter searched high and low for her daughter and finally appealed to Zeus, who knew what had happened. Enraged, Demeter demanded her daughter back. Hermes (Mercury), the only god who could come and go freely to the underworld, was dispatched with a message that it was time for Persephone to come home. Hades being Hades, you can guess what his response was.

Grieving for her lost child, Demeter stopped taking care of the plant life, also with predictable results. Zeus was forced to send an edict to Hades, but because Persephone had eaten food in the underworld – Hades had been feeding her pomegranates – she could not return permanently to earth. The compromise was that she’d spend half the year above and half the year below. During the part of the year that Persephone was in Hades, Demeter was so depressed that nothing grew. Ostensibly, this is the mythology of the seasons.

Of all the gods and goddesses, Ceres alone went up against Pluto and won. She didn’t get everything she wanted, but even a compromise with the Lord of the Underworld was a major victory. How symbolic is it, then, that she now gets equal status with him as a special-category planet?

Posted by Pat

Image: Ceres, an allegory for August, from a fresco designed by Cosimo Tura, 1469-1470. The Sun begins its tour through Virgo in late August.

Summer Solstice June 20, 2008

mid-summer evening light

The summer solstice is the moment when the Sun enters Cancer. It’s the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere; the longest night in the Southern Hemisphere.

A chart cast for this moment gives us a sense of the tone for the next six months. Because Cancer is ruled by the Moon, the aspects to the Moon in the solstice chart are important. Here, we find the Moon in late Capricorn widely conjunct Jupiter. The Moon is also part of a Yod with Mars in Leo at the apex. Uranus in Pisces is sextile the Moon and is the other planet forming the base of the Yod. The base planets combine to give us innovation and optimism, somewhat at odds with the energetic element in flamboyant Leo. Pursuing creative projects is encouraged, but at the same time, waiting for definitive results before going public is also recommended.

Mars also opposes Neptune, and this aspect underlines the possibility that we will be less than clear about our goals and desires. Neptune can be very high-minded while at the same time being a little weak in the facts department. With Pluto back in Sagittarius and widely trine Mars, the urge to push ahead will be great. Be very careful to double-check all pertinent information before moving ahead with plans.

On the positive side, we have a lovely sextile between Venus, Ceres, and the Sun in Cancer and Saturn in Virgo. Healing, nurturing, and promoting healthy lifestyle changes are all favored and well worth putting energy behind now. Thankfully that rascal Mercury is direct in Gemini, giving mental clarity a boost.

Overall, the path most likely to bring good fortune is to stay with a modest approach rather then trumpeting one’s virtues to all and sundry. There is support for thoughtful, creative ventures benefiting the group as a whole rather than the individual. Being kind is always a good practice and usually generates goodwill. Remember to take time to nurture yourself, too.

posted by Neith . . .

Our poll will appear next week . . .

New Moon in Gemini, June 3

waning crescent moon This New Moon features a nice stellium of Venus, Moon, Sun and Mercury from 12 to 19 degrees Gemini. In general, this is a quieter lunation than some we’ve had so far this year. Usually Gemini is more outgoing, but with Mercury in its retrograde phase, the overall tone is more contemplative than usual. Venus closely conjoining the Sun and Moon adds to the softer note, too.

That said, Gemini corresponds to the third house, and all third-house pursuits are going to be favored, from spending time with friends and siblings to hanging out at the local hotspots. Be sure to double-check all of your meeting times and places, due to the Mercury retrograde effect, and be prepared for delays and long waits! If you are traveling with children, don’t forget to take their favorite games, books and toys to keep them amused.

As the New Moon peaks, the luminaries and Venus are moving into a tighter square with Uranus, so we can expect the more erratic side of Gemini to emerge over the week to 10 days following the New Moon. Anyone with planets or chart angles from 19 to 22 degrees of the mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) can look forward to the finger-in-the-light-socket effect of Uranus. All plans will be subject to change without notice . . .

There is one notable aspect to the Gemini stellium, an energizing sextile from Mars in Leo. If you keep in mind the importance of thinking before speaking, this aspect is very good for expressing warmth and caring with candor. It’s also geat for good times in the neighborhood. Mars in Leo is adept at finding the nearest party to be the life of.

An interesting aspect in this chart is the trine between Neptune in Aquarius and Ceres in Gemini. A good way to demonstrate the compassion of Neptune is to practice kindness to all. Ceres in Gemini always has a kind word or three to offer and is good at thinking up many different ways to express them. Because trines don’t demand our attention like squares, we need to consciously take advantage of this gentle, caring aspect. Besides, this Libra person says it never hurts to use honey instead of vinegar, and the Gemini stellium with Venus repeats this message!

Use the next couple of weeks wisely, because we have a very powerful Full Moon in Sagittarius coming on June 18, with Pluto back in Sagittarius conjoining the Moon. Check back for the next installment.

**It’s that time again! New Moon Abundance Checks!

posted by Neith . . .

This photo is from Rendezvous Gallery.

Second Full Moon in Scorpio – May 19/20

Full Moon in Scorpio
The Full Moon on May 19 (May 20 in the Eastern Hemisphere) falls at 29° Scorpio, just before the Sun leaves Taurus and enters Gemini. This is called the “anaretic degree” or “critical degree” and marks the ending of a phase. It is an opportunity to review our understanding of the lessons of the sign involved.

Scorpio has been the focal point of this last cycle from Full Moon to Full Moon, and hopefully most of us have had realizations about what we need to let go of or release to the highest good.

The Sun is still conjunct Venus in Taurus, emphasizing appreciation of what we have and the importance of being in the body. When the Sun moves on into Gemini and joins Mercury and Ceres there, air signs will be able to breathe more easily, whereas the earth signs will be reluctant to give up touchy feely Taurus. The fire signs are just happy to have Mars in Leo instead of Cancer! It is a bit dry now for water signs.

One of the more interesting patterns in the sky on this Full Moon is a wide fixed grand cross formed by the nodal axis, the luminaries, and the Chiron/Neptune conjunction in Aquarius. This particular pattern impacts my chart strongly and prompts me to feel the key here is to take advantage of pain to discern what needs tossing from one’s life. It’s a truism that humans change more readily when it’s too painful not to, and the conjunction of Chiron/North Node/Neptune looks very much like just the crew to do that. Aquarius provides the detachment to stand back and observe the source of the pain Chiron is pointing to, while Neptune provides the anesthetic (boy, is this going to hurt when it wears off . . .), and the North Node in Aquarius indicates the path we need to travel toward the greater good. The Scorpio Full Moon gives us the wherewithal to dig deep inside ourselves and haul what we need to review to the surface. May passing through this experience help all of us feel lighter and freer to truly be ourselves.

We are still working with Jupiter sextile Uranus, but in this Full Moon chart, Mercury conjunct Ceres in Gemini is square Uranus. This may be a clue as to why so many are feeling Mercury retrograde is casting a deeper shadow than usual. Once Mercury goes retrograde on May 26, the square to Uranus will widen and won’t begin to close until after Mercury goes direct on June 20. Uranus is essentially standing still now as it prepares to station retrograde on June 28, but we won’t cross that bridge for awhile yet . . . thankfully.

The next chapter following this Full Moon will unfold slowly due to Mercury’s change in direction. Perhaps the best course of action is to keep in mind Scorpio’s theme of rejuvenation and review, as Mercury retrograde is certainly a good time to continue with it. Life has been moving very quickly since the powerful New Moon in Aries, and a breather would do us all good!

posted by Neith . . .