Bring It Back To The Body: Full Moon in Taurus 2013

Leonardo Da Vinci
Trunk of female human body-Quad. Anat. I, fol. 12 r. 

Full Moon @ 25 Taurus 26'
November 17, 2013
7:16 AM Pacific
10:16 AM Eastern

As always, the full moon is a boiling point of culmination. It brings something to a head or apotheosis. Occurring in the sign of Taurus, November’s full moon condenses and stabilizes collective energies. There may be the impression that things have settled down into some solid, predictable routine. But the intensity of Scorpio is still seething beneath the surface.

The Sun, Saturn, Mercury and the Moon’s north node lie in the shadows directing us to the bottom line. Not all is as it appears to be. This is further punctuated by a rather wide square from Neptune in Pisces which seems to suggest that looks can be deceiving.

With the Moon’s south node in Taurus, the shadow side of this earthy sign is emphasized. The temptation to “keep the peace” to maintain an illusion of stability is enticing.

Who the hell wants to hang out in those dark trenches with Saturn in Scorpio, anyway? While on the surface all seems calm and serene, something intense is bubbling beneath. There’s some seriously deep territory the evolutionary impetus requires us to tread.

The pressing question that arises is this: can we stay calm, stable, solid and grounded while embracing an uncomfortable or unfathomable truth?

Can you keep your cool while standing on the razor edged precipice above that abysmal black hole? Naturally, a little vertigo sets in. We might feel slightly queasy thinking about it. This is a time to go deep. This full moon juncture, ideally, allows us to integrate psychologically challenging material into our bodies.

Neptune demands that we equally acknowledge the larger spiritual force guiding the whole show. Venus, the ruler of this full moon, is separating from a conjunction with Pluto in Capricorn--placing emphasis on the “sign of the times”, the Uranus and Pluto square.

That brings about some deeply penetrating structural changes within relationships. A lightning bolt jolts the collective out of sexual and creative stagnation. This is a transformational and potentially cathartic passage for sure, as long as we allow it to penetrate.

Clinging to a safe and limiting perspective or routine is an invitation for an unwelcome and possibly painful shock to the system. 

Mercury’s approaching conjunction with the north node of the Moon brings about an equally powerful highlight and message: your perspective of reality may be dull and confining; if you want real change, you need to break out of the mold, challenge yourself intellectually, and hold nothing back.

Mercury’s retrograde cycle allowed us to process and sit with some rather heavy and pressing emotional material the past three weeks. Its direct passage over the Moon’s north node is a green light for us to do something with it, to share it with the world in some way.

Uranus’ quincunx with Merucry creates a radical revision of deeply ingrained worldviews—popping paradigmatic bubbles left and right. And yet, with all this seemingly erratic energy, this Taurean full moon may feel like a saving grace--pulling it all together into something tangible and substantial.

The minor planet Sedna also conjoins this Full Moon. She calls out from the icy depths of the disowned unconscious demanding that we face whatever we've drowned out, or were afraid to deal with consciously. 

With an array of emotions and desires generating crossfire, Taurus reminds us that everything is centered in the physical body. When the intensity becomes too much to handle, remember that your center lies not in your mind or emotional currents, but in a physical vessel your soul temporarily calls home.

We are physical beings with limitations that need to be respected, and needs that require our acknowledgement. As this lunation culminates, we reach a point of integration within the physical vessel. We are reminded of the power of the body, and its own innate intelligence. Let it guide you; listen closely.