Sunday’s Full Moon in Taurus is so potent that I half expect we’ll go through a black hole and come out somewhere else. Or we’ll be contacted by an alien race telling us it was all a big joke.

OK, I’m kidding. Sort of. It’s apparently what we’re supposed to do at this Full Moon, according to the Sabian symbol (see below).

Seriously, though, this is going to be a big one. I feel as though I’m being squeezed through some kind of cosmic tunnel and will pop out the other side in a few days.

Venus and Jupiter, which return direct within a few hours of each other on Thursday, both play major roles in this Full Moon – Venus by rulership and Jupiter by aspect.

Venus has had plenty of bad hair days during her retrograde in Scorpio, which began on October 8. She pulled out her claws and teeth, too. I know several people who felt the sting, mostly in relationships. She has calmed down since returning to Libra, one of the two signs she rules. Taurus is the other.

I’m reminded of the difference between the Sumerian goddess Inanna, goddess of love and light, and her sister, Ereshkigal, goddess of the underworld. As you may recall, Ereshkigal’s husband was the “Bull of Heaven.” Presumably, this is a reference to the constellation Taurus. It’s also evident that Ereshkigal represents the shadow side of Inanna and, indeed, the shadow in all of us. Scorpio – the sign opposite Taurus on the zodiac wheel – symbolizes that shadow. It’s everything that we deny, repress, and run away from. In Greek and Roman mythology, the underworld is ruled by Pluto, which of course is the modern ruler of Scorpio.

It’s as though Venus was playing the role of Ereshkigal during her retrograde phase, and many of us had to go through some sort of “underworld” experience in order to evolve to the next level. In the sign of Libra, with the Full Moon in Taurus, Venus returns to her role as radiant goddess of love, light, beauty and abundance.

It’s interesting to note that Venus went retrograde at 13 degrees Scorpio, which was the degree of the New Moon on November 6. The cycle completes itself at the Full Moon, which falls at 29 degrees Scorpio/Taurus.

The Sun and Moon form a fixed T-square with Neptune and Chiron – both just out of retrograde – at the apex. This might suggest trouble, and perhaps for some people, there will be some healing pain as old wounds flare up. However, this is one instance in which I believe love will conquer all. Not only is Neptune a higher vibration of Venus and symbol of a higher love, but at the Full Moon he’ll be in a very close trine to Venus. In other words, the T-square is not a tightly closed box, but it has a clear path out, and that path is Love.

The closest aspect made by the Sun and Moon is a trine to Uranus, planet of surprises and sudden change. Uranus isn’t direct yet but will be in a couple of weeks, and he’s in conjunction with Jupiter – close enough that their combined energies create a path for sudden breakthroughs. The potential for advances in spirituality is of galactic proportions. And remember, my definition of “spirituality” has to do with our ability to sense the invisible energies that course through the universe and to use those energies to our advantage and the advantage of our fellow humans. Part of that vision is seeing through the illusion of time.

Mercury, Mars, Ceres, Saturn, and Pluto make no aspects to the Full Moon, but they interact with each other. People seem to drive crazier at the Full Moon, and this certainly will be the case with Mercury and Mars in speed-demon Sagittarius. Hopefully, the sextile with Saturn in balance-minded Libra will help keep drivers focused on arriving at their destination in one piece. I already discussed the Ceres-Saturn square in my weekly forecast.

Although I usually don’t write about fixed stars, it’s worth mentioning that this Full Moon is conjunct the Pleiades. The 29th degree of Taurus sometimes is called the “weeping degree” because of its connection to this star cluster (which due to precession is now at 0 degrees Gemini). In traditional astrology, this is a very unfortunate star, associated with blindness, accidents, bereavement, loss, and other tragedies.

The weepy factor ostensibly is derived from the mythology of the seven sisters, who were turned into stars by Zeus to avoid pursuit and rape by Orion. However, each of the seven also was loved by the gods of Olympus, and some were credited with giving birth to royal lines of humans. The origin of the name “Pleiades” is debated, but one theory is that it stems from the same root as “full” or “plenty.”

At the Full Moon in sensual Taurus, that theory gets my vote, and I don’t buy all the handwringing. My dear friend Tseka, a gifted interpreter of myths, believes that this location in space is a portal. I would add that it’s a portal to true love.

The Sabian Symbol** for the Moon at 29°18′ Taurus is, A peacock parading on an ancient lawn, with the keyword ALOOFNESS. This is a perfect symbol for the common saying, “Fake it ’til you make it.” We’re on a journey and not there yet, but there’s something to be gained by visualizing ourselves there and at least looking the part. There’s nothing wrong with it, as long as we know we’ve still got work to do. If I had my druthers, I’d change the keyword aloofness to DETACHMENT.

For the Sun at 29°18′ Scorpio, the Sabian Symbol is The Halloween jester, with the keyword SPONTANEOUSNESS. This symbol is about not taking life too seriously. Sure, we’re on an evolutionary course, doing important work. But if we can’t laugh at ourselves, we’re taking it all way too seriously, and we’re missing the point. Take a moment to lighten up and have a good belly laugh at life’s absurdities.

If nothing else, it will keep you from weeping.

Pat

** From The Sabian Symbols in Astrology, by Dr. Marc Edmund Jones. The author, an astrologer, channeled this work in 1925 with the help of Elsie Wheeler, a gifted psychic. There’s one symbol one for each degree of the zodiac, and we can use them to gain insight into charts.