FULL MOON IN TAURUS-VALUE

What do you value?

This Full Moon in Taurus happens on Sunday, 7:16 am on November 17^th. The kind of planetary configuration that ushers in this Full Moon is earthy and resolute. We are still in the thick of Scorpio Season, with watery trines and Venus and Pluto pairing up in Capricorn… things are being set in motion…shaking us up and making us have to actually DO things. If we haven’t initiated any changes, the world around us has been forcing our hands. Venus is the ruler of Taurus, so the dynamic between Venus and Capricorn will be rubbing off on this Full Moon, making it full of a terrible beauty and glaring truth. This moon also opposes Saturn in Scorpio; little room for anything but what is real.

This Full Moon occurs roughly 30 days after the Lunar Eclipse in Aries that occurred on October 18^th. Usually Lunar Eclipses bring big news; if you didn’t have a big event or an    “a-ha” moment during the Lunar Eclipse, chances are you may have it during this Full Moon. Sometimes Eclipse news happens a month to day after the Eclipse.

This Full Moon may also bring to completion the fresh start you may have begun at the May 9^th Solar Eclipse; keep an eye out for any big news. Think back to May; what did you begin or dream up during that time?

This Full Moon isn’t terribly interested in what you’ve got going on inside of you. Taurus moon might roll it’s eyes at any kind of existential issues; this moon wants to deal with the here and now. The Taurus moon wants to dance, to laugh to shop, to eat, to have sex. The Taurus moon knows it’s worth, and is often times irritated by the masses that just have no concept of their own worth. This moon shakes his head at how people whore themselves out, and belly ache about leaving situations that are no good for them. This Full Moon is waaaay to sensible to worry about anything beyond the tangibles; if it can’t be handled by the 5 senses, does not benefit your purposes or is useless in life, than it has no use.

Taurus here is much like Scorpio energy; adapt at discarding crap that will NEVER do them any good.

I think that if this Full Moon in Taurus could have a password here it would be VALUE. What is the value of your life? What do you value? Why do you value what you do? How much do you value yourself?

This isn’t a searching kind of Full Moon. If there are places in your life that you are merely settling or where you are unappreciated, this moon will point it out, then move along. This isn’t the kind of moon that will demand you get rid of these things; it will let you make that choice yourself, but will scoff at you for dragging around dead weight.

But don’t worry; it won’t hurt. You’ll be dancing the pain away.

YOU SURVIVED THE MERCURY RETROGRADE...WHAT NEXT?

So you made it. The Mercury Retrograde of November 2013 may live on in infamy, but you survived it. Mercury stopped its retrograde action, and began to go direct on November 10/11^th. Now we can go back to normal.

The question here is what is NORMAL?

Mercury is now going direct from where it was retrograde, and as it moves forward, it will glide over what you dealt with during the retrograde, without the fuzzy-ness that retrogrades offer. You will be bright eyed and bushy tailed in regards to Mercury in Scorpio issues, and isn’t that just the most fun thing in the world?

I’m not being entirely sarcastic. We mortals like to gloss over what makes us feel uncomfortable, and those that encourage delving into the deep often sets others on edge. We live our lives trying to dull ourselves from the things that freak us out (death, sex, love, fear, taxes, money, childhood issues) Scorpio doesn’t truck with that kind of fear; he’s just not interested. Scorpio wants you to man up. Mercury being direct in Scorpio and hooked up with Saturn will make sure that we have those conversations. It’s not bad, since we have been saturated in Scorpio doctrine for over a year at this point.

I really like the rest of November as we adjust to Mercury direct in Scorpio; we have a mutual reception between Scorpio and Virgo; a Mutual reception is where planets “swap” kids (the planets they rule) when this happens, each planet offers help to the sign they rule, and the sign they are in.

Traditionally, Mars is a ruler of Scorpio, and Mercury is the ruler of Virgo. Right now, Mars is in Virgo until December 7th, and Mercury is in Scorpio until December 5th. This swap will offer a certain precision to figuring out the minutiae of our feelings and values and to making sure we do the necessary work. This will also make sure we talk about our desires, hopes and fears with bleak and liberating honesty.

I would also like to point out to you all that 2013 has been a watery year; water trines galore. Each Mercury Retrograde was in a water sign, meeting up with a planet that is stationed in said water sign.  The first Mercury Retrograde was in February 2013 and was in Pisces; Neptune was in Pisces as well. The second happened in June/July 2013 in Cancer, while Jupiter was also in Cancer.  The third and last Mercury Retrograde of 2013 just occurred in Scorpio…and you know the rest. The next Mercury Retrograde happens in February 2014, and in Pisces.

Notice a theme?

All these Mercury Retrogrades in water signs offer the chance of talking about our feelings and creatively urges, which is a luxury in this fast paced, action based world we live in.  These watery times we live in also gives us the chance to purify, to get right with the world and ourselves around us.

We are living in such a precious time where we have the space to feel, to create and to grow…to atone and to dream; its important not to squander it.

THE WEEK AHEAD...

I think that it is normal to blame all the crazy-ness of late on Mercury Retrograde. I mean, yes it’s true that this Mercury Retrograde probably asked more of you than you thought it would. Perhaps your closet is clean and your demons from the past are wrassaled with to the point where they no longer menace you…at least not as much.

The good news is that you probably aren’t as scared of the dark as you were before. 

I hope you all know that this brief reprieve isn’t it. It’s time for the next step in your evolution. It comes in the form of…

A fish.

A fish? Wait, wait let me explain. Neptune is moving direct on Wednesday, November 13^th into Pisces (the sign of the fish) The good thing about Neptune going direct is that it will be easier to get in touch with your intuition, your creative and artistic urges. This will also make sure that you have a stronger connection to your spiritual side. 

On the (possibly) down side, Neptune going direct will make things fuzzy… you’ll need to make sure you are using your intuition to your best advantage to see things as clear as you can.

Neptune will spend much of this week making trines to planets in fellow water signs (Jupiter in Cancer, Saturn/Mercury in Scorpio) These trines will take the edge off the intensity of the most recent activities; if there is a sour taste left in your mouth due to the Mercury Retrograde/Solar Eclipse in Scorpio, these soft trines will ease it out, and remind you of the progress you have already made.

A trine in Astrology is a soft angle that allows things to flow in a mostly positive manner. Sometimes trines can encourage lazy behavior…but since Scorpio is in the mix, I’m going to rule that possibility out.

Venus will make a conjunction to Pluto, inviting conversations about sex, ownership and values, while Venus will square Uranus. This will be akin to Venus chiding Uranus on his bluster and force; whatever irritates you beyond all reason is where this square will be happening.

Not so bad, huh?

Starstruck Autumn: BDSM & THE DIRTY LOVE JONES - SATURN IN SCORPIO, V...

Starstruck Autumn: BDSM & THE DIRTY LOVE JONES - SATURN IN SCORPIO, V...: What’s your safe word? Venus entered Capricorn on Nov 5th. Venus will be meeting up with Pluto, triggering a pretty amazing time to ta...

SATURN IN SCORPIO, VENUS IN CAPRICORN-BDSM & THE DIRTY LOVE JONES

What’s your safe word?

Venus entered Capricorn on Nov 5th. Venus will be meeting up with Pluto, triggering a pretty amazing time to talk and to have action about sex, money and value. Venus is going to be in Capricorn until mid March 2014 due to a Venus Retrograde from December 21 until January 31 2014. Capricorn is well known for building structures, getting down to business, to following rules and to endless evolution. Venus has put on a pin strip suit.

However, Capricorn is also the randy goat, the satyr. Capricorn indulges in earthly pleasures, since Capricorn is sensible enough to know that restrictions can do more harm than good. Venus isn’t wearing any panties under her business suit. 

Venus will flirt with Pluto, talk and tease about money, what he owns and what he desires. Pluto will demand Venus tells him what she will do to get what she wants, in the boudoir or out of it. 

Venus tangoing with Pluto won’t be devastating; Venus in Capricorn can stand the heat, and even looks forward to the challenge. Venus in Capricorn will make sure that whomever she chooses to tumble with will adore and value her. After all, Capricorn won’t settle for anything less.

Venus and Pluto are ready to play…

Now that Mercury will be doing direct in Scorpio, there will be talk about sexual taboos, fantasies and desires. Saturn in Scorpio will make sure that agreements will be honored, on both ends, that a safe word will be used. Even if you try to keep the conversation PG, you will be compelled to talk about the stuff you wouldn’t even think of whispering in the dark.

I know this is crazy, but I think the current astrological set up is perfect for digging in, for letting go and seeing where your desires take you… for seeing just how naughty you can get.

Yes, Pluto is involved and he encourages power plays, sex for trade and the darker parts of sex.

After all, he is a ruler of Scorpio. Here is Sex and Intensity…the white-hot bad kind that leaves you reborn and free or scarred beyond belief. However there is liberation in the submission. Pluto in Capricorn meeting up with Venus lets you know this.

Venus may be the romance/candlelight/soft music planet, but when she’s in Capricorn, she wants to get a little dirt under her fingernails.

Saturn in Scorpio will make you sure that you are sexually safe; that you have all the necessary tests and your partner will too; Saturn will make sure Scorpio pumps the breaks on the impulsive sex urges, and to use a little caution.

Saturn in Scorpio will make sure that you create an out if things get a little too dangerous; Keep in mind that yes, Scorpio’s want to burn in passionate flames; but more than anything else Scorpio’s are hell bent on their own survival. No one is taking them down, not without a serious fight.

Go on ahead; shake your head at me. Let’s talk in March, and see where this transit took you.

A SEASON IN HELL- SOLAR ECLIPSE IN SCORPIO

While thinking of how to approach writing about the Solar Eclipse in Scorpio on Sunday, November 3^rd. It got me thinking to the start of this eclipse series, 19 years ago.

It takes 19 years for an eclipse series to be completed. It makes sense for it all to come up again.

It got me thinking about what my life was like, and what was happening for me then.

What was your life like 19 years ago?

The other night a movie I had loved from my childhood came on, “Eddie and the Cruisers”. The movie is about the investigation of the break up a band, and the disappearance of the lead singer, Eddie. The parallel between Eddie’s last (and missing) album “Season in Hell” and his artistic angst and disappearance was drawn with Arthur Rimbaud. 

Sigh. Arthur Rimbaud.

19 years ago I had been up late watching Eddie and the Cruisers and it brought to my attention the story of Arthur Rimbaud.

In the 1870’s, Arthur Rimbaud had been part of the decadent movement, and was the Infant Terrible of French lit world, a wild child who wrote incendiary poetry and lived a wild life. From the age of 16 to 19, he ruled supreme, until he was shot and wounded during a spat with his married lover, fellow poet Paul Verlaine. While healing from his heartbreak and his injury, he wrote “A Season in Hell”, a literary work that is considered his finest. Once he healed, he spent some time trying to live a steady life free of recklessness and drama. When that didn’t work he disappeared and was not seen by those from his past until his deathbed 17 years later in a hospital in Marseilles. Arthur Rimbaud had spent those years traveling the world, an adventurer on another continents. Arthur Rimbaud had completely recreated his whole life.

As a dreamy 14 year old, I fell in love with the myth of Arthur Rimbaud and his writings. As a Scorpio Moon, I love a meaty romantic scandal. However, I also fell in love with the sheer magic of the words he wrote. I fell in love with the idea that a person could disappear, and come back as another version of themself. No one can ever call a Mulligan with his or her life, but it is possible to transform absolutely.

At that point, 19 years ago, it was the genesis of the eclipse series that is happening now between Scorpio/Taurus. 19 years ago, Saturn was in Pisces, Jupiter, Venus, the North Node and Pluto were all in Scorpio; that is a pretty similar, watery astrological set up as now (Jupiter in Cancer, Neptune/Chiron in Pisces, Saturn/Mercury/North Node in Scorpio)

The upside of Scorpio is rarely discussed. We hear about the passion, pain and intensity of a Scorpio and a Scorpio transit. However, we often do not hear about the pay off. Scorpio is ruled by impetuous Mars and power savvy Pluto. Yes, Scorpio transits teach us about true hunger and the deep dark that we can’t hide from. However, the Pluto part of Scorpio gives us the ultimate gift of a new start after we deal with a Scorpio transit. Revive, Resuscitate and Rebirth. These are the things we get, the assurance that the worst things can be reborn into something beautiful, and that no matter how hard we try, nothing ever stays the same.

Arthur Rimbaud at the age of 19 understood that his life as he knew it was over. He didn’t battle, he adapted. Perhaps his second act was magnificent; we’ll never know. The point of it that he had a second act. No matter what this Eclipse brings, it’s important to remember that what ever happens, there is always another way, another act, another reality waiting for us at the other end, if only we are brave enough to get through the dark and the pain. Perhaps it is difficult to see that now, but the perspective of a fresh start being available is liberating. It’s the gift of persevering through a season in hell.

THIS MERCURY RETROGRADE IS KICKING MY ASS

 The people around me, my friend’s family and co-workers know to not fear the dreaded mercury retrograde, that there is value in the slow down. That just some things in life it's about timing. Mercury retrograde is one if them. It's the usual conversation about travel communications electronics, of signals being crossed and misunderstandings. It means easing off the gas and seeing what needs to be tweaked and shifted.

However, this mercury retrograde has to deal with planetary characters that reads like the cast of the sopranos; everyone is full of drama, affiliations and shared ulterior motives; these planets are incestual, willful and working together in ways that confound us even more than the usual mercury retrograde.

I’m going to break this down.

First we start with a family tree.

Pluto and Mars= Scorpio= intense life/death power & passion

Mercury is the detail-oriented ruler of perfectionist Virgo

Saturn rules Capricorn= structure, goals unwavering and achievements at all cost

This mercury retrograde there's a mutual reception; mutual receptions are where two planets “swap kids” and watch out for and influence each other’s kids/signs. that they rule.

Saturn is in Scorpio

Pluto is in Capricorn

In addition the North Node of destiny and Mercury are also in Scorpio; these guys are also involved in this tango.

To stir the pot even more…

Mars is in Virgo. The planet of war, power and aggression is in Mercury ruled Virgo.

And then….

A trine between Mars in Virgo and Pluto in Capricorn.

What this all means is the Scorpio power has its hand on nearly every major planetary behavior right now. There are a few exceptions (Jupiter in Cancer, Venus in Sagittarius and Neptune/Chiron in Pisces) but not enough to cancel out the Scorpio thing we have going on.

The fact that Mercury is retrograde In Scorpio, with all of this Scorpio energy is that this is not your usual retrograde. It’s an amped up one, heavy with conversations of fate, passion and “keeping it real”. This Mercury Retrograde won’t just interrupt the flow of your life, it will rearrange your life by bringing up old emotions, secrets and issues you thought you had buried. Pluto resurrects things, so be ready to dance with a zombie. The way that you handle the usual Mercury Retrograde rigmarole will pull away your pretty façade and show you the beast that lies behind your smile. We will all be rather gross for the next few weeks, so be prepared for it. When it’s all said and done truth will have prevailed, and freedom will ring. By the time this ends (November 10) we will all be in a much more authentic place. Hopefully we will all still be speaking to each other …