by Somya Devi | Jan 28, 2021 | Astrology, Conjunctions
Full Moon January 2021
The full Moon peaks in sidereal Cancer at 2:16 pm EST on January 28th, opposite the Sun, Saturn, Jupiter, and Venus, all in sidereal Capricorn. This bright Moon illuminates the sign of the heart and the mother, while standing alone in the sky and receiving the aspects of three malefics (Sun, Saturn and Mars), as well as Jupiter and Venus. This alignment challenges us to let the heart shine with pure, unconditional love, while under the influences of stern authoritarianism, the fires of purification and courage, the conditional love of Venus, and the weakened inspiration of Jupiter. This quest is emphasized by Moon’s position in the Vedic nakshatra of Pushya, the nourisher. Read on for more explanation!
Full Moon in Cancer
The Sun traverses Capricorn this cycle, an earth sign ruled by Saturn that brings us into our power by instilling a sense of responsibility, hard work, and structure. It can feel like a lot of pressure sometimes, especially with Saturn transiting there as well, adding a strong, somber tone of maturity to our mental dialogue while he is here (all of last year and this). The opposite, Cancer, is where we find comfort, ease and an open heart, as if nuzzling into the arms of the mother. It is this sensation that is illuminated with the full Moon in Cancer, but, there is a lot of pressure coming from the other influencing planets that may make it feel difficult to stretch open those arms and receive the purity of heart that Cancer has to offer, at least without dismantling some of the entanglements that surround.
Compounding Influences
In Cancer, this full Moon stands alone, without any planets nearby. Though it is in its own home sign here and gains strength from that, there is a certain loneliness when Moon does not have any planets nearby. Furthermore, the Moon receives direct aspects from Jupiter (combust and debilitated, though neecha bangha), Saturn (sva, in his own sign), Sun, Venus, and Mars (also sva in his own sign of Aries).
The aspect from Mars in Aries can add fire, courage, and a sense of fight to our minds and hearts, that would prefer to be gentle with Moon in watery Cancer. The influence of Sun in direct aspect is what makes the Moon full, in fact, but is still a malefic that challenges us to purify ourselves, often through fire and heat, in order to reveal our pure essence and inner strength. Saturn’s direct aspect is strong because he is in his own sign… a position which has been wreaking havoc on the world through restriction and contraction over the last year. Saturn’s influence on the Moon limits the heart from expanding to its fullest, adding a weight of heaviness, a even a looming sense of doom, keeping us tethered to outward pressures and responsibilities when we wish to go inward, expanding into our inner sanctuary instead.
Jupiter’s presence and aspect does give some inspiration and hope, but even this is dampened by his debilitated position in Capricorn (though somewhat modified and elevated by the presence of Saturn… keeping us grounded to a healthy degree in our inspiration), and by his highly combust position only a fraction of a degree from the Sun (behind the Sun, from our perspective here on earth). That increases the Sun’s power of purification and asks us to burn away what does not serve in helping the heart achieve full openness and connection with the inner sanctity.
Venus’s aspect onto the Moon also influences the heart and mind slightly away from Cancer’s optimal goal of unconditional love, and brings in preferences, pleasures, and the sense of “deserving” something from those we love. Since the outside world often falters in fulfilling our sense of entitlement, Venus aspecting the Moon in Cancer can cloud that unconditional heart with a set of expectations that will create some guarding.
Pushya Nakshatra
The Moon’s position in Pushya nakshatra continues this theme, asking us to examine unconditional parental love and seeking to find it despite difficult circumstances. Pushya literally means “the nourisher,” and is represented by the nourishing udder of a cow that offers so much sustenance.
It is ruled by the deity Brihaspati (Jupiter), and relates with the story of him adopting Budha (Mercury), the love-child born of Jupiter’s wife Tara and Chandra (the Moon). Despite circumstances, the sattvic Brihaspati loved the child as his own, setting an example of divine parentage without conditions. We must remember, however, that the human relationships of our limited selves, opening the heart without conditions can often result in feelings of disparate give and take—feeling one has been taken advantage of, had boundaries violated, or abuses of kindness and openness.
Our work on this full Moon is to dive as deeply into the heart as we can, and opening it within a safe place. We must strive to connect with the energy of the Divine Mother while examining all aspects of complication that surround our relationship with her (or with our own personal mothers, or fathers).
Personal Chart Readings with Coaching Are Available Here
by Somya Devi | Jul 20, 2020 | Astrology, Conjunctions, Retrograde
Today brings the exact New Moon moment when the Sun and Moon align at 10:33 AM PDT, on Monday July 20th. This begins a new lunar cycle in sidereal Cancer, with Sun and Moon around 4 degrees and in Pushya nakshatra. This nakshatra is all about nourishment while Cancer brings forward the watery energy of the divine mother.
Cancer
Cancer is ruled by the Moon, the planet that governs our minds and hearts. Both the Moon and Cancer are watery so we can expect to get more in touch with our emotions this month while our sensitive and perceptive sides become more prominent. If you already feel like a very watery person, expect those sensitivities to be even more acute during this cycle. This is a good month (especially this Dark Moon night) to tap into your intuition and felt sense perceptions in order to help guide yourself through life and any important decisions at hand.
If you do have a somewhat “overactive” water element within you, be careful not to let yourself become bogged down by emotions. Do something active and connect with the air and fire elements to help get your energy moving. Cancer, ruled by the Moon, brings forward divine mother energy in its highest expression, meaning we can find a compassionate, unconditional loving acceptance here. As limited humans, however, we could find ourselves struggling with boundaries as we attempt to embody this welcoming mood.
Pushya Nakshatra
Pushya is the Vedic star-sign known as “the nourisher” and spans from 3°20′ to 16°40′ Cancer. Symbolized by the udder of a cow, this nakshatra embodies the nourishment that we receive from food as well as caring providers. Its deity is Brihaspati, Jupiter in the form of a divine father. This New Moon therefore brings forward the energy of both divine mother and father. We can look within ourselves on the dark Moon night to find the aspects of ourselves that can be more caring and nourishing, both to ourselves and to those around us, including towards Mother Nature.
Five Planets in Own Signs
As this new lunar cycle begins we find five planets traveling through their own signs: Moon in Cancer, Jupiter in Sagittarius, Saturn in Capricorn, Venus in Taurus, and Mercury in Gemini. This creates a very auspicious energy that can be supportive in beginning many endeavors. Keep in mind that the rising sign changes throughout the day to create many different charts each day, and muhurta (auspicious moments) will occur at different times in different locations. Also be aware that Mercury still joins Rahu and Jupiter joins Ketu, creating some challenges at times ruled by these two. Jupiter and Saturn are still retrograde, giving them added strength and a more inward, reflective energy.
Saturn and Covid
Much of the restriction seen in the world this year can be associated with Saturn, having returned to his home sign of Capricorn in January. Though many alignments in the sky can be seen to have improved since the beginning of the Covid crisis, Saturn is the slowest moving planet and takes time teaching his lessons. He will remain in Capricorn, bringing some restriction while teaching us about creating more secure and responsible structures, for roughly two more years. He is now retrograde and we can expect to see some things moving forward more when he begins his direct course again in October, but we can definitely anticipate more lessons in endurance and austerity, and some major societal change over the coming four years while he travels through both Capricorn and Aquarius.
Though it feels difficult in many ways, none of the planets are here to hurt us, they are here to teach us lessons in different ways, on a continual process of evolution as we come closer to alignment with source and our true nature. Saturn ultimately wants to help us to mature, both individually and as a collective, and is bringing lessons through the earth-sign Capricorn right now that are very much changing the ways in which we move through the world. Government, commerce, and income are all affected. If we keep in mind the larger goal of supporting our spirits and the divine quality of nature itself, we have the opportunity to make progress during these times. Spiritual practices and meditation are absolutely methods that can support this process, while our material world may feel more restricted.
Personal chart readings are available here to help you understand your birth karma as well as effects of the current times.
by Somya Devi | Jul 26, 2019 | Astrology, Conjunctions, Planets Changing Signs, Retrograde
The Sun and Moon are getting closer and closer as we head towards a Dark Moon night this coming Wednesday. The New Moon in sidereal Cancer will be exact on July 31st at 8:12 pm PDT. This completes the previous lunar cycle which brought on the eclipses that affected many people in deep ways, especially those running dashas of Rahu or Ketu.
Cancer
The Cancer cycle could be a chance to cool down a little and come back into the heart after the heady and philosophical cycle of Gemini-Sag, with all the added eclipse energy. Cancer is the Moon’s sign, the sign of the Divine Mother and her nourishing waters. Spend time in a body of water this month, and connect with your own internal waters (feelings!) around this New Moon. Cancer is the fourth sign naturally, relating to the heart and the breasts, and is feminine or yin, helping us to direct our energy inwards.
Pushya Nakshatra
Within Cancer, the Sun and Moon are joining in the Vedic nakshatra called Pushya, meaning “the nourisher.” Symbolized by the udder of a cow, this star-sign gives a sense of abundance and sustenance. It can elicit a strong sense of family and responsibility, relating to both the divine mother and the divine father. Its deity is Brihaspati, a form of Jupiter who showed generosity and unconditional fatherly love in the story of how he adopted Mercury (a love child between his wife and the Moon). Fertility is strong under this star, and could be throughout this Moon cycle.
Mars Debilitated, Venus Combust
Mars is still traveling in Cancer, his sign of debilitation, for another week until he enters Leo on August 8th. Mars-ruled folks may feel their usual fight and fire is diminished, or that they’re needing more comfort and cuddling than normally.
Venus is also transiting through Cancer. He is already traveling fairly close to the Sun, but he’ll enter the highly combust zone (within 3 degrees), on August 3rd. With Venus so close to the Sun, we may find some of our worldly pleasurable pursuits feeling “burned up” by the purifying power of Surya. Relationships could be under a lot of pressure, or it may just be so hot where you are that it’s hard to enjoy anything. Venus reaches total combustion when he aligns with the Sun on August 14th, and won’t leave the 3-degree proximity zone until August 24th. (Looking at a 6-degree orb, Venus won’t leave combustion until September 4th.)
Jupiter Turning Direct
After several months, Jupiter is finally slowing down in his retrograde journey back through Scorpio, and will station and turn direct on August 11th. As he begins his journey forward once again, you’ll notice affects the most directly on the areas of life ruled by Jupiter in your chart, and depending on the unique placement of planets for you. In a general sense, we may notice things changing directions somewhat in the broader ideological field, as we have had a period of retrospection over principles and beliefs for the past several months.
Kala Sarpa Cycles
This New Moon finds all the planets in between the two nodes, on one side of the sky, creating a Kala Sarpa alignment. We’ll come under this alignment for half the month from now through December. When the Moon is on the same side of the nodal axis as the other planets, Kala Sarpa is on, and when he transits from Capricorn through Taurus, it is off. This can intensify the effects of the nodes, especially for those who have prominent nodal placements in the natal chart, or are running cycles of either Rahu or Ketu, bringing shadow work and intensity to the surface.
Mercury Turning Direct
Mercury is completely stationary at the time of this New Moon, turning “direct” less than an hour after the Sun-Moon conjunction. For those of you who have felt the Mercury Retrograde effects strongly this month, you can breathe a sigh of relief!
The next full Moon is on August 14th-15th.
This is a great time to have a personal reading– either an Initial Reading if this is your first time working with me, or an Eclipse Reading, if we have had a previous session, can help you to integrate the lessons that arose during the eclipse cycle.
by Somya Devi | Jan 20, 2016 | Astrology, Eclipses, Planets Changing Signs, Retrograde
This Saturday, January 23rd, we will have a Full Moon in sidereal Cancer at 5:46pm PST. Opposite the Sun who is in the austere, Saturn-ruled sign of Capricorn, the full Moon in the loving, comfort-seeking sign of Cancer compels us to cozy up and nourish ourselves and others during this cold, vata season. Moon is in the Vedic star-sign or nakshatra called Pushya, which is all about nourishment.
Pushya literally translates as “nourishment,” and its symbol is the udder of a cow, another emblem of sustenance. Cows are revered in Hindu tradition for this reason. They give so much towards our own livelihood — dairy, meat, bones, leather. Ghee (clarified butter derived from cow milk) is one of the most sacred substances in Vedic practice. It is used to light oil lamps, is offered to deities in worship, and is also one of the most nourishing substances for the human body to consume, according to the tradition of Ayurveda (the health science of the Vedic tradition). It is easily absorbed and metabolized by all the layers of tissue in the body, and for that reason is also the best medium for taking medicinal and nutritive herbs.
The deity for Pushya is Brihaspati, a form of Jupiter, a Brahmin priest who is the guru or teacher of the devas (Gods). A well-known story of Brihaspati is that of his marriage with Tara. The story goes that Tara ran away with Chandra, the Moon, and had an affair (some say she was abducted), which resulted in the birth of Budha (the planet Mercury). Eventually Tara returned to Brihaspati, and he graciously accepted her and even raised Budha as his own. This caring benevolence is a quality of the nakshatra Pushya, and of the energy around this Full Moon. It is a time when compassion will be high, and you can tap into your qualities of forgiveness and acceptance and offer that forward wherever it is required in your life.
Mercury is still in his retrograde course, and is joined with Venus in Sagittarius. We may have big ideals for our relationships right now but may be holding back a little in communicating them. Jupiter rules Sagittarius where these two are residing, and is also aspecting them from his retrograde position in Leo. This period of Jupiter retrograde gives us a chance to slow down before projecting our philosophies and ideals out into the world. It’s a good time for meditating on which belief systems and sets of teachings are serving us the most, and to resist imposing them on others, especially when we are still in contemplation. We may reevaluate some of our convictions over the next few months and expand our vision to encompass new ideas.
A very important transit will be happening on January 29th, opening up a new chapter for us all for the next year-and-a-half. Rahu and Ketu, the north and south nodes of the Moon, are finally shifting from the Virgo-Pisces axis into the Leo-Aquarius axis. They sat in Virgo and Pisces for the last year-and-a-half, which brought light to our shadow work that needed to be done around our tendencies of over-organizing vs. escaping and avoiding responsibility. Some of us tend towards one extreme in some cases and the opposite in others. The themes apply especially to what houses those signs occupy, which is different for each individual according to your birth chart.
For the next-year-and-a-half, Rahu and Ketu will be stirring things up around our Leo-Aquarius issues. This means we’ll really be examining our sense of personal power and strength, vs. our sense of commitment to universal duty and service. These things may sometimes come in conflict with one another, or we may emphasize one more than the other in different places in our lives. Both need attention and balance, to be utilized in a healthy way without going to extremes in either direction. We will particularly feel the affects of this transit around the Eclipse Cycles (the first of which comes in March), and around the houses in your chart that fall on Leo and Aquarius. Personal readings are available now to help you understand what themes this transit will raise for you in the coming year.
For now, enjoy the Full Moon light from the loving, maternal sign of Cancer, and the caring, paternal constellation of Pushya!
