Surrender to the Unfamiliar: Full Moon in Gemini 2015

Lenticular clouds over Mount Hotaka; photo by Alpsdake via Wikimedia Commons.

Full Moon @ 03 Gemini 20'

November 25, 2015

2:44 PM Pacific

5:44 Eastern

As always, the Full Moon correlates to a moment of heightened energy and culmination within the collective psyche. In tropical Gemini, the Full Moon highlights the field of collective perceptual awareness and the emergence of information pertaining to the environment around you. The planet Mercury has an archetypal affinity with Gemini and stands in opposition (180 degrees from the Full Moon) along with Saturn and the Sun in Sagittarius. Mercury in Sagittarius emphasizes the need to acquire a different communicative or research strategy—to acquire a larger or alien perspective or viewpoint.

This means that alongside this Full Moon, you need to think outside your usual frame of reference. With Mercury in the sign of its detriment (the sign opposite its sign of rulership) joining Saturn and square Neptune in Pisces, this Full Moon feels a bit tense and potentially uncomfortable. It requires stepping out of your comfort zone to successfully integrate the polarity of Sun and Moon (knowledge vs. faith). It challenges your beliefs and your faith in what you know about life, the world, and the universe you exist within. Neptune’s participation in this Full Moon represents the dissolution of spiritual, religious, or philosophical structures, revealing their limitations in fully describing the ultimate meaning of existence.

With the heavy emphasis in Sagittarius, you may be urged by this Full Moon to first open your mind and expand your reality in some way through the acquisition of new information and foreign perspectives. That may come about through a desire to break up a routine or communicative approach that you’ve been used to. Whatever emerges into consciousness with this Full Moon requires a mature and responsible attitude as well as a willingness to include the reality of those who think differently or who come from an entirely different cultural background. If you manage to keep an open mind and humble attitude, this Full Moon could signify a moment of subtle breakthrough and deep connection to an experience that is larger than you alone.

In its lower, demonic expression, the most dangerous attitude would be an attachment to any sense of certainty. Dogma and fundamentalism would also be a lower expression of this Full Moon. Since this lunation occurs just a day before the Thanksgiving holiday here in the United States, we can imagine the potential arguments over the dinner table pertaining to religion, politics, or cultural or ethnic differences (likely fueled by current events and hot topics). Those arguments could lead to breakthroughs beyond the disillusionment, but Neptune can also impulse one to avoid facing the truth or reality of a situation through escapism—over indulgence in alcohol or simply numbing out in front of the television.

In its highest, angelic expression, Neptune invites us gently to the realization that all of our differences are ultimately illusions which stem from the ultimate illusion of our separation from source (god, goddess, and oneness). Keep that in mind as you encounter this Full Moon. Ask yourself how you can let go of your illusionary certainty and self-righteousness to include the perceptions most threatening to you. Take the initiative to see past the façade of the reality before you. This is a moment to surrender to an experience that may be different, foreign or uncomfortable, but the insight and awareness gained has the power to enhance your understanding of the world and your place within it. 

For personal readings and consultations, please e-mail me directly at kosmicmind@gmail.com

Mars in Libra and Mercury Out of Bounds (Video)

Freedom and Love

Venus Rising the Star by Jean Leon-Gerome.

Over the next several days the planet Venus will be approaching an opposition (a 180 degree face off from our point of view) with the planet Uranus. Venus just recently came into contact with Pluto, and in a way, set off the now fading Uranus/Pluto square—the defining aspect of our current, tumultuous moment in time. The Uranus/Pluto cycle correlates with historical periods of significant social and political unrest, progressive societal changes, as well as radical, revolutionary uprisings. Believe it or not, the peak of that cycle is receding in the collective psyche, though its effects still reverberate in time, especially when a planet comes in contact with Uranus and Pluto.

On a personal level, Venus and Pluto (via a square on Nov. 20) may have stirred up tension in your relationships via the surfacing of secrets or hidden, unconscious elements you would rather have not known about or probably ignored. But their interaction compelled you to look deeper, beyond the immediate appearance. Pluto’s message is always that your problems are not truly out there in the world but lie within yourself. If you took the initiative to explore that reality, you may have made some progress; you may be able to move on and heal.

On Nov. 23 Venus will face off with Uranus, bringing in a different archetypal element, though the Moon’s pass by Uranus on Nov. 22 will be equally significant. These two days will highlight the need to redefine yourself in the context of your relationships (romantic, platonic, professional, or otherwise). Venus in Libra seeks to make everyone happy and wants to put on a pretty, smiling face. How often do we do this to win social approval? Its human nature….and it’s also heavily conditioned into us. But, when does that façade get in the way of being who we truly are? (For those of us born with an emphasis in either Aries or Libra, you will feel this transit most profoundly).

In current relationships, these days may stimulate a short period where you may feel compelled to rebel against certain restrictions or barriers within those relationships. It can work equally to catalyze an urge to begin relationships or radically change or redefine those that have been stagnant or nonexistent. The higher end of this transit is an ability to maintain your individuality while avoiding the urge to burn bridges you may later regret. An opposition is a culmination and sometimes crisis, but always it’s an opportunity to reconcile diametric constructs. If you take the higher road, you can be yourself without scaring people away by coming off too strongly. You can make space in your current relationships so that they support your unique path. And you can potentially culminate a new stage of development within your relationships, but ideally in alignment with who you are destined to be. 

For personal readings and consultations, please e-mail me directly at kosmicmind@gmail.com

Breaking Through the Doors of Perception: Mercury Out of Bounds in Sagittarius

La Puerta (The Door) by Mauricio Garcia Vega.

As the month of November comes to an end, the planet Mercury will enter the tropical sign of Sagittarius (Nov. 20), followed by the Sun (Nov. 22). Within our classical system of astrology, Mercury is considered to be “unhappy” in Sagittarius since it is in the sign opposite its sign of rulership (Gemini)—a position known as detriment. Within the evolutionary astrological paradigm, planets in the sign of their detriment symbolize opportunities to acquire foreign attributes or capabilities, diversifying the archetypal expression of that planet. In the case of Mercury, it is an opportunity to assimilate a foreign perspective, perception, a new understanding of reality, or an alternate form of communication.

While this may be an uncomfortable process, if you work with it, with an open mind and a willingness to see reality in a different light, you may come out the other end with a greater understanding of your environment and a diversified communicative faculty. Imagine moving to an entirely new country and having to learn the local language via a process of immersion. While likely awkward and difficult, the experience has the potential to increase your ability to communicate with a varied group of people. While you shouldn’t expect to master a new language over the next few weeks, the metaphor is a relevant description of the process.

While moving through Sagittarius, Mercury will descend beyond the Sun’s lowest declination, which means that Mercury will be considered “out of bounds”. It has reached past the Sun’s lowest descent along the ecliptic. For nearly a month, our collective perception has the ability to see past the consensus agreements which dictate what we discern. Within Sagittarius (until Dec. 9), Mercury will entice each of us to reach beyond the known and accepted truths of our reality—glimpsing into an alternate perception of those truths. This may be a time to acquire a new or renewed awareness of natural laws that transcend the synthetic laws created via collective agreement.

If you’ve been striving to gain a clearer perspective of a situation you’ve been faced with, a greater awareness of where a particular creative process is going, or a different approach in communicating with others, the next several weeks may help catalyze your ability to break through the doors of perception, rendering greater awareness and cognizance of what lies ahead, along with confidence in your ability to understand something that you couldn’t quite grasp before. While Mercury is in Sagittarius, you may also be confronted with a need to change your tactics of communication, trying a new approach so that you can connect with others on a different and diversified level.

On Dec. 9 Mercury will transition into Capricorn and will remain out of bounds until Dec. 25 (Christmas Day). Mercury will also pass through the first shadow phase of its upcoming retrograde cycle while in Capricorn (Mercury will turn retrograde from Jan. 5 to 25). With a renewed sense of perspective and a more resilient understanding of the holistic picture, you may be better equipped to get some things in order and acquire an innovative strategy or game plan. Mercury out of bounds in Capricorn offers you an opportunity to see beyond your current strategies to conjure an improved approach toward reaching your current goals. 

Mercury’s retrograde back through Capricorn will give you extra time in Jan. to revise that strategy and get yourself back on track. Mercury moving through Sagittarius at the end of this month and the beginning of Dec. may be awkward simply because change itself is always awkward initially. When left to its own devices, Mercury so easily gets distracted and unfocused. The next three months offer you an opportunity to reframe your focus and to establish new priorities so that you can get where you ultimately want to go. This also opens a temporary window of time where we can rise above the surface of collective awareness. When in doubt, just keep your mind open and follow the signs and omens. They will guide you to where you are destined to go. 

Current Events 

You're probably aware of the recent massacre in Paris, France involving supposed terrorists. When looking at the astrology, I found it interesting that the killings coincided with Mars' ingress into Libra while simultaneously conjunct the lunar North Node. The symbolism of the event is a clear correlation to a lower expression of Mars in Libra--a planet in the sign of its detriment (and strangers in a strange land, indeed). But more interesting was Mars' contact with the Aries point. The Aries point is located at 00 degrees of tropical Aries and thus anything situated at or near (typically within an orb of two degrees) 00 degrees of any cardinal sign (Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn) will contact the Aries point. The Aries point itself symbolizes what astrologer Eric Francis Coppolino calls the "intersection of the personal and the collective."

Planets in contact with the Aries point seemingly "jump out" onto the world stage. They have far reaching effects and influences. An Aries point event is a collective event that has consequences for the vast majority of the human community; they become personal and reach into our intimate lives. We can recall such events as the massive earthquake that hit eastern Japan in March 2011 when the planet Uranus hit the Aries Point itself. The radiation released from the meltdown of three reactors at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant has inundated the Pacific Ocean and northern hemisphere and continues to do so. And of course, we can't forget the events of Sept. 11 which paved the way for the endless war and American occupation in the Middle East, as well as the mass surveillance of citizens the world over (e.g. the NSA). 

On Sept. 11, when the first plane struck, the planet Mars was "out of bounds" and square (within a degree) to the Aries point, along with the lunar South Node. The Moon was also nearing a square to the Aries point in Gemini and was in opposition to Mars. The next day, the Moon jumped out of bounds for two days. The same thing happened after the earthquake in eastern Japan. On Dec. 9 of this year, Mercury (while out of bounds) will cross the first degrees of Capricorn, and so theoretically, we can expect information or a message regarding a potential strategy (not violence) coming from authority figures (world leaders) that will have vast consequences and will seep into the personal. Will it be connected to the events of Nov. 13? That's very possible. Mercury, while out of bounds, will cross the radix Mars and lunar South Node in the chart for the World Trade Center attacks on Sept. 11. Is this a continuation of this ongoing narrative? These events may be more connected than we realize. The days surrounding Dec. 9 may be something to watch out for. 

Planets out of bounds don't follow the rules. They break them. They tell whoever is in charge to "stick it" (as astrologer Steven Forrest likes to say). That can be a great thing for someone striving toward achieving something positive; it adds a flair of genius and innovation. But in the "wrong" hands, the potential of an out of bounds Aries point event has a darker manifestation. An out of bounds planet can breed criminality and sociopathy. Whether in the hands of terrorists or a nefarious, elite group of world leaders, the ability to have free reign and break the rules can turn ugly. All we can do is be mindful of the potential that exists within ourselves. Because the world "out there" is merely a symbol of the world "in here"--a projection of our collective inner darkness. The more light you cast upon your own psyche, the more you help raise the rest of us out of this darkness. 

So, shine on. 

For personal readings and consultations, please e-mail me directly at kosmicmind@gmail.com

Stranger in a Strange Land: Mars in Libra

Hernan Cortez "greeting" Montezuma in Mexico City. He could have probably
benefited from a higher understanding of Mars in Libra, or maybe Mexico would have.

The planet Mars will be in tropical Libra until Jan 3, 2016. Mars last moved through Libra in early 2014 where it spent quite a bit of time due to its retrograde cycle (from March to late May 2014). Reflect back on the momentum you were building at that point in your life. Where has it carried you now? Are you getting the results that you wanted? If you’ve stuck with it, congratulate yourself on the new you that has emerged from that cycle. In our classical system of astrology, Libra is a bad place for Mars to be since it is in the sign opposite its sign of rulership. From an evolutionary astrological standpoint, there is no such thing as a “bad” place for any planet to be, though Libra can render Mars feeling like a stranger in a strange land; it can feel a little uncomfortable. But being uncomfortable or feeling awkward is a normal response to any foreign environment, and it’s where we all start when we try a new experience.

What this means is that Mars’ usual tactics (full throttle momentum; let’s smoke em’ out) don’t work. For you, that means that you may find yourself having to contend with other people’s realities, routines, and certain social formalities more than usual. If you’re usually quite forward, direct, and aggressive in nature, you’ll likely feel as if you have to restrain yourself due to current circumstances. Imagine a rough and rugged, gun-toting cowboy suddenly finding himself at a cotillion or an aristocratic dinner banquet. Feel the awkwardness there? You get the idea. To ease the discomfort, you’ll find it best to learn from those whose perspectives are different than your own. The more you try to fight against those differing perspectives, the more frustration you’re likely to experience, and the less likely you’ll be positively received.

In other words, whatever you’re trying to put out there will succeed only by opening your heart and mind to input, feedback and an ability to be cognizant of alternative perspectives. To get what you want requires that you try a different tactic then you’re used to. Mars in Libra is actually a good time to change the way you go after what you want in life and how you initiate change. Life gets rather frustrating, dull and boring when you do the same thing over and over again, trying the same tactics, and wondering why they don’t work anymore, or why people aren’t responding. The reason at this point is clearly because you need to open yourself up to the reality of other people and learn a thing or two.

When Mars gets it right in Libra, it takes on new qualities and perspectives that weren’t there before. The cowboy becomes a little less rugged, knows how to clean himself up and can carry on a casual conversation about current politics or the height of the French Rococo art movement. That doesn’t mean that you completely change who you are, but that you are simply humble enough to admit that you are incomplete in and of yourself. There is a whole world of people out there who could teach you something useful, who can make you more interesting or better-rounded than you currently are. If you choose to stick to the usual habits, then Mars in Libra may indeed feel like a “bad” place to be. But when you genuinely open your heart to some new experience, you’ll find that you have more clarity and a better sense of where you fit in the world and the social environment that you are a part of.

For personal readings and consultations, please e-mail me directly at kosmicmind@gmail.com

Reaching Out From the Dark: New Moon in Scorpio 2015

A single tree highlighted by a shaft of sunlight through the dark
forest of Coed Moel Famau; photo by John S. Turner, 2009.

New Moon @ 19 Scorpio 01'

12:47 PM Pacific

9:47 AM Eastern

As the Sun and Moon come together in the sign of Scorpio, you may find yourself needing to face the reality of situations that you don’t want to acknowledge. Scorpio is an archetype that embodies the awareness of uncomfortable truths—those things in our lives that the mind and ego would rather ignore. But our subjugation of anything, either personal or cultural, only amplifies its influence and control over our lives. The planet Mercury joins this New Moon, bringing with it an expansion of perception to include a greater awareness of what you have been ignorant of or have chosen not to deal with.

You can still choose to ignore it; nothing will stop you, but you will have to continue your life knowing that something dark and potentially troublesome will be left to fester and grow within you. In this dark of the Moon, you have the opportunity to set in motion a strategy to bring consciousness and awareness to that which is unknown to you. And what is unknown isn’t always as bad as you think it is, but the only way to find out is to be brave enough to step into the dark consciously.

The planet Mars is nearing the end of its passage through Virgo and is about to enter Libra to align with the North Node of the Moon. As Mars nears the cusp of Virgo, it correlates to this feeling of something that’s “about to explode”. Mars is activating the intersection between the personal and the collective. Put simply, it brings to the surface events that affect us all, collective events that seep into our personal lives. It symbolizes the emergence of issues that are much bigger than you alone.

And as you choose to deal with situations you’ve buried or pushed aside, you have the opportunity to reach out and ask for help. Take the initiative and admit that you’re scared or that you need support and assistance. A new cycle is emerging that invites you to stop sitting alone in that dark corner. The world is populated with a lot of other people who can help you if you know where to look or who to ask, but that will require vulnerability.

In your personal or intimate relationships, this New Moon requires opening up and getting real about what you have been ignoring. It also requires that you open your mind and perception to include input from others you trust and rely on. If you can approach this moment with honesty, realism, and humility, as well as a willingness to face some uncomfortable material, you will have succeeded in illuminating some mysteries (whether they’re what you feared or not), leading potentially to rapid healing and transmutation. Whatever the reality of the situation, try to acknowledge that help and support is available to you if you’re willing to receive it. You don’t have to face this darkness alone.

For personal readings and consultations, please e-mail me directly at kosmicmind@gmail.com.