Full Moons bring awareness and ask that we intensify our focus in a particular direction, just as we do when we walk out under a night sky containing the glory of a huge glowing orb – we are compelled to look up and see it – to experience the mysterious beauty above us. That fully visible and perfectly lovely full moon both lights our way through the dark and casts deep shadows. The same is true in our emotional selves at this time – we are both brought to awareness of something and may also be made aware of the shadows in our psyches.
This Full Moon occurs in Pisces, with the Sun in the opposite sign of Virgo. This is the axis of service (Virgo) and of compassion (Pisces), of getting on with the work at hand (Virgo) and of daydreaming (Pisces), of the Martyr (Virgo) and the Savior (Pisces), of practicality (Virgo) and of highest ideals (Pisces). And as all oppositions do, we are called now to find the balance between these very different areas of awareness – or in today’s Full Moon due to its connection to Mars – to find the balance in these very different calls to action.
How will you bring balance between these areas today and for the next two weeks until the New Moon?
The Moon is very closely connected to both Chiron and Neptune, as well as Mars and Pluto, Jupiter and the Nodes of the Moon (see the chart I’ve included below)…
We are compelled to look deeply into our family wounding (family of origin, immediate family, family of choice, neighborhood, city, country) and feel out the ideal, the appropriate healing road to take. This can be a time of enormous healing – but also of enormous wounding. As always the two sides of the same coin are there to be chosen from. Let your imagination and your deepest compassion inform your awareness. And then, with the practical working ethic of the Virgo Sun, and the impetus stimulated by Mars, put forth the effort required for the healing to happen. And understand that what issues from today will both pull from the past, probably as information already received and processed, and lead toward the future, changing our beliefs and philosophies, due to the Grand Square being formed with the Moon’s nodes, which represent where we come from and are comfortable and where we are stretching toward.
Our *bodies and our physical health are part of today’s energies… there may be a kind of malaise here… a feeling that something is wrong but it’s hard to say exactly what. The Virgo/Pisces axis is the one of the health of the body, prevention, and of hypochondria. Most affected by this Full Moon are those with strong placements in Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces. I would say that in health concerns, hard decisions are not the way to go today. Practicing meditation or yoga, or finding peace and solace are more the tone of the day. If you’re feeling energetic (more likely for the Fixed Signs – Taurus, Leo, Scorpio & Aquarius), dispel any lingering clouds by doing something physically active – just don’t overdo. Our bodies (Virgo) are a reflection (Neptune/Pisces) of our consciousness. So whatever you’re feeling on the inside is what you will manifest through your body on the outside. This is a great thing to remember today and throughout the next two weeks (and always): love and be compassionate with yourself – your body and its health will reflect it. (*”bodies” can also be thought of as the body of the Earth.)
There’s a very Universal feeling that goes beyond the personal and familial realm that is the typical designation of the Moon. We have those connections to Chiron (conjunction), Uranus (semi-sextile), Neptune (conjunction) and Pluto (sextile) that speak of bridging the purely personal and moving into the collective. The healing energy available now can be a balm to the flood victims of Hurricane Isaac, and beyond, especially if we harness the practical work ethic of Virgo, hand-in-hand with the compassion of Pisces.
Whatever and wherever you are today, know that there is healing and compassion available to you if you need it. And for those on the other end of the spectrum, today and until the New Moon is the perfect time to reach out and help – to be of service to those in need.
Aries Wheel Chart for the Full Moon in Pisces on August 31, 2012
Astrologically speaking, there is a particular cycle, which while not always comfortable, has the result of great benefit: the apparent backwards motion of a very mischievous planet. Many of us wouldn’t normally consider a period of Mercury Retrograde a blessing, yet in nature, there is rule: two steps forward, one step back. Without this rule, we’d all experience burn-out, fatigue, frustration and end up relinquishing our health. We must have a period of rest and reflection to maintain balance, and that is precisely what is offered during any Mercury Retrograde cycle.
Now knowing what we know about Mercury, his mythology, and the natural need for times of rest and inner rediscovery, the question becomes “How do we best utilize this time to our greatest benefit, and to the purpose for which it exists?” The beginning of the answer to this question comes in the form of understanding that during our typical forward motion, we don’t process much of the information waiting in our unconscious minds. Information is there steeping, awaiting a moment to enter the consciousness in order to provide the thrust toward transformation that is appropriate for the time. Mercury Retrograde periods are when we should take the opportunity to rest and restore ourselves through self-evaluation. During this rest, Mercury will surprise us by dipping down into our unconsciousness returning upward with the most timely and incredible material. We receive a gift that we would have otherwise missed without this period of re-connecting with our internal selves. If we use this time wisely, we will consciously process this gift, alchemically transforming our current paradigm for the new and more relevant one. This process is extraordinarily healing, especially if in the months prior to the current retrogression, we have been experiencing a time of personal transition.
We have, as many consciously understand, through socialization and the raising of technology to such godlike degrees (while leaving the beauty, wisdom, and lucidity of Nature behind) almost entirely removed the numinous and sacred out of our experience of life. We are in the throes of healing an incredible separation from the Divine in our culture. In moving more toward the natural timing of cycles and events in our lives, with respect to informing and reflecting the macrocosm that is symbolized by Astrology, we can begin to reclaim our natural state of being and evolving. We can drive forward with our mission and our intention, and then take a moment to reevaluate and redeem ourselves during the process of achieving. Give thanks then that your computer crashes, or your brakes need replacing! It means you might need to take a break, reflect, restore and enjoy this small moment to replenish your Spirit. This is the hope of Astrology, and the lesson, and true gift, of Mercury Retrograde.
Astrology with Michelle Gregg 