by Somya Devi | Aug 27, 2015 | Astrology, Conjunctions, Retrograde
The Full Moon occurs this Saturday, August 29th, at 11:35am PDT. The night of the fullest waxing Moon is Friday night, August 28th. This Full Moon will be in the nakshatra Shatabisha, the healing star, in sidereal Aquarius. Translated as “the hundred physicians,” this star sign relates to medicine and healing, often through many modalities, and this Full Moon brings this potential to the forefront. It’s a good time to visit your healers or dedicate some time and attention to your own self-care routine. Ruled by Rahu, the shadowy north node of the Moon, Shatabisha relates to hidden powers and mysteries. This is a good time to probe deeply into your own heart, or for researching things in general.
The Full Moon in Aquarius is opposite the Sun in Leo, and it shines a light on the dichotomy between the two signs. Leo, ruled by the Sun, is where our personal power is strong, as well as our sense of responsibility and our connection with source energy. Aquarius is ruled by Saturn and relates more to austerities and service to others, where we often renounce our individual will in favor of the greater good. This full Moon calls us to
balance the energies of the two signs, working on our understanding of how we can use our individual strengths to be of service to others without feeling our light diminished. This is a time for letting your juices flow freely from wherever you find your inspiration, in ways that will in turn benefit society and inspire others. Saturn’s rulership of Aquarius helps us to direct our personal power towards actions that create valuable long-term results, not just immediate gratification — i.e., things that will be good for the world around us in which we live.
The task at hand may feel a bit overwhelming, however, because of Jupiter’s close alignment with the Sun. This “combust” Jupiter could be causing us to feel a lack of hope, or a lack of support from our higher teachings or teachers. Our philosophies (the energy of Jupiter) may be feeling burnt up in the proximity to the solar giant, who reminds us that only the soul is eternal. Jupiter and Sun are also feeling the pressure of Saturn’s glare as he aspects them from Scorpio. Be careful not to let pessimism overrun you if you feel like things just aren’t gong your way right now. Use this instead as part of your call to healing and to connecting with your inner strength, the brightness of the everlasting divinity within. Take things one step at a time and remember that divine grace is always there, even though it could feel blocked up right now because of Jupiter’s combustion. On the other hand, you may be strongly connecting with your philosophies, but frustrated in the attempt to put them into action.
Another reason actions may still feel held up is because Mars remains in its debilitated placement in Cancer. Mars wants to take action and be courageous, but the sideways-moving crab rashi (sign) slows and waters it down. Over the next few days we’ll see a close alignment of Venus and Mars, which could harmonize masculine and feminine energies. They are joined in the star sign Ashlesha, relating to serpent energy and kundalini, so sexual appetites could be high now. These two may struggle for dominance in our energy fields in the beginning of next week, however, as they pass over each other in the sky. This means our desires and instincts can feel at odds. Venus is still retrograde, pushing us to review our relationships and pursuits of happiness. Call forth your higher power for wisdom to help guide you.
The intellect may be an ally for us this month, as Mercury is now in its sign of exaltation, Virgo. This earth sign brings some grounding to the quickly-moving planet of curiosity, and helps us to sort out the details of life and focus the mind on what is most practical. As Mercury is also joined with Rahu in Virgo now, the intellect may be able to make connections to otherwise hidden information, as Rahu is a shadow planet. His connection here could also cause us to obsess over details a bit, however, or add an element of anxiety to the mind. We will experience the energy of Rahu in Virgo more acutely as we approach the upcoming eclipses on September 12th (partial solar) and 27th (total lunar)–report on those to come! Eclipse cycles are a good time to receive a personal reading, as we can feel a lot of upheaval and uncertainty in the area of life where the nodes fall in our individual charts.
Overall this is a good time for personal healing, as well as healing in the relationships in our lives as Mars and retrograde Venus are so close during this Shatabisha Full Moon. It’s a time to integrate our sense of personal power with our will to serve society. Call on your healing practices and your inner strength to achieve equilibrium. Find peace in the heart through service, especially if your usual teachers or philosophies are feeling hard to reach or to engage. Have faith in yourself and the inner-abiding source, even if outward circumstances seem unmanageable. Eclipse cycles can be stressful, and as we are approaching that window, remember that it too shall pass, after giving us the opportunity to do some deep inner transformation, reorganization, and healing.
by Somya Devi | May 2, 2015 | Astrology, Planets Changing Signs
The Full Moon will be in sidereal Libra tomorrow, Sunday May 3rd, at 8:42 pm PST. Moon is in Libra already today, hemmed between Saturn and Rahu (Saturn is to one side of the Moon in the sky, in Scorpio, and Rahu is on its other side, in Virgo). This alignment has been happening monthly as the Moon transits through the Zodiac, passing through this Virgo-Libra-Scorpio portion of the sky for about a quarter of each month. When this happens, we may feel our emotional body influenced first by the planet of intense, obsessive attachment (Rahu), and then by pressure, and potential stress and fear (Saturn).
During the full Moon, our emotional body (Moon) passes through the sign opposite from the our higher self and soul power (exalted Sun). Sun is now in Aries, where we started this cycle on the new Moon, two weeks ago. The Aries cycle is about tapping into our personal power and energy (Sun) to get moving and start new projects, putting that illuminated energy into actions. We may have felt a big spurt of energy and enthusiasm for projects and plans, and put those in motion over the last couple of weeks.
Every energy has a contrasting and complementary opposite energy from which we must learn. With this full Moon in Libra, we are probably feeling the influence that our relationships have on our emotional bodies. These may help or hinder the efforts we are making from that place of personal power, in Aries. Libra is ruled by Venus and seeks to balance the scales, and make everyone happy, not just ourselves. So if some of the projects or plans we have started are not working well for our close friends, business partners, or significant others, our emotional body will be feeling that discrepancy. We may need to reexamine the course.
The influence of Saturn and Rahu could make this feel really stressful, so do your best not to submit to fear, or the need to control all the details. The light of the full Libra moon can show us a fuller path to compromise and support those around us in conjunction with our illuminated efforts. As always, meditation and spiritual practice support the higher energies of the planets–well-constructed compromises and actions that benefit the whole, not just ourselves. The lower potential of the Aries-Libra axis is holding too tightly to or giving away too much of our personal power.
In the Vedic Zodiac, this full Moon falls on the nakshatra (star-sign) of Swati, related to Lord Hanuman and the wind. Swati has the power to scatter our energy like the monkey mind is often scattered. With the pressure of Rahu and Saturn on either side of the Moon, it is important to do your best to root yourself through grounding practices. Working with the earth, practicing asana yoga, sitting at your altar, and applying oils to the soles of the feet will help. Care for your hips as well, as these relate to the sign of Libra, and a lot of emotional energy can get stuck there. Chanting the Hanuman Chaleesa will be a great way to orient that monkey mind towards one-pointed higher purpose.
Venus moved from sidereal Taurus into Gemini Saturday morning, May 2nd. This could lighten the desire for stable physical comfort, and bring more flexibility and curiosity to our ideas about relationships and happiness. Mars also changes signs this weekend, moving out of Aries and into Taurus at 11am on Sunday, just hours before the full Moon. It is still in the sign of Krttika, “the cutter,” and may help us cut away more of what we don’t need. In Aries it may have been making us a little hot-headed and prone to arguments.
The full moon will be fullest just after it has risen on the Pacific coast of North America. Jupiter will be directly overhead at this time. It’s a great night for sitting up, chanting, and calling in a higher understanding of ourselves and how we relate with others. Specific themes will be illuminated for each individual related to whatever house Libra is in your Vedic chart.
by Somya Devi | Apr 2, 2015 | Astrology, Holy Days, Uncategorized
Transformative energies are running high as we are still in an eclipse cycle, with a Total Lunar Eclipse occurring in sidereal Virgo this Saturday, at 5am PDT. It is also the Full Moon, which is the only time when a total lunar eclipse is possible. This eclipse will be visible from most of Asia and Australia, at moonrise, and from most of North and South America, at moonset. The eclipse will begin around 3:15am PDT, will the total eclipse occurring for just five minutes, from 4:58-5:03 am, finishing just before moonset at 6:59, a few minutes after sunrise. The tail end of the earth’s shadow covering the moon will be visible in the twilight hours of dawn on the West Coast of North America.
Though the shadow is physically caused by the earth centering between the Sun and the Moon, it is also when the Moon is closely aligning with the shadow graha called Rahu, or the North Node, an astronomical point on the lunar orbit. When Rahu and Ketu (the South Node) are directly perpendicular with the earth’s orbit around the sun, during new and full moons, solar and lunar eclipses occur. This alignment with the nodes can feel like an unsettling force, as it brings to the surface a lot of energies that are often lurking in the shadows of our subconscious.
On the new moon in Pisces, two weeks ago, we experienced the Solar Eclipse, as the sun and the Moon aligned with Ketu, as well as with Mars. This brought staunch beliefs and opinions to the surface, which may have come out in an explosive manner. It began the Pisces cycle where we really started examining our tendencies towards fantasy and escapism, or felt ourselves getting lost in the vast emotional ocean, as Pisces is a water sign ruled by Jupiter. In its higher capacity, Pisces helps us to surrender and let go into the spiritual unknown, following creativity and intuition. This eclipse likely made visible certain areas of life that we were avoiding dealing with, especially areas where we tend to be critical and overly certain of ourselves (Ketu). It also brought the opportunity to let go and surrender. Mars’ conjunction here brought the possibility for confrontation around these issues during this process. Inward reflection has been necessary during this time, to clean out the dusty corners of our own psyches and murky emotional pools.
Now, with the full moon of this cycle occurring in Virgo, we examine the opposing energy to Pisces, which is the need to be practical and down-to-earth in our routines and fulfillment of desires. Virgo, on the other side of the zodiac, is an earth sign ruled by Mercury. Virgo energy likes to be discriminating, practical and organized. With the full Moon here, we feel in our emotional bodies this drive to do practical work, create or maintain solid daily routines, and to be responsible and efficient in our actions. With Rahu’s alignment bringing earth’s shadow over the Moon, however, we may feel disconnected from our emotional bodies during this time, and frustrated in our efforts to be grounded. The stress and eagerness associated with Rahu may disturb the coolness of the mind (the Moon), and our efforts towards practicality may take on a hot-headedness. Furthermore, Mercury, the ruler of this Virgo eclipse, is now joined Ketu in its sign of debilitation, Pisces. This further frustrates Mercury’s ability to be truly discriminating and impartial, as it is overwhelmed by the emotionality of Pisces and the gut cynicism of Ketu.
This eclipse occurs in the lunar nakshatra Hasta, “the hand,” ruled by the Moon. Hasta is a star whose energy brings efficiency with writing, drawing, and all dextral and industrious pursuits. With Rahu here we feel an overwhelming urge to master these things, and to implement some effective handiwork, both literally and figuratively. With the Moon being eclipsed, however, this desire becomes unconscious, and may be a accompanied by fear and illusion (Rahu), and not as rational as Virgo energy tends to be. We need to examine closely what kind of maneuvering and strategizing we are practicing with our hands, as our minds may be motivated in part by Rahu’s obsessive exaggeration, and we may be trying too hard to control the structures and routines we wish to implement.
Pisces and Virgo fall on certain houses in each individual’s chart. Whatever houses these are for you, the themes they represent will be ones that you are examining in particular during this time, and where you may be experiencing tension, disruption, and/or revelation. We will have another set of eclipses in these signs during September of this year, so there is a great opportunity to refine ourselves and our energies around these house themes between now and then, and to examine them closely again when the eclipses return.
As always, a powerful remedy for the disruptive aspects of the eclipse is spiritual practice, which will also help us to harness the positive potential of refinement and transformation that it brings. Meditation and mantra will help us to fall into the positive Piscean virtue of surrender to divine flow, as well as to cool the mind that feels disturbed and obscured in its conjunction with volatile Rahu (which began today). During this time, watch for where you feel a compelling but frustrated desire to organize everything around you. Take time to reflect and do personal grounding practices instead, like some gardening, walking or sitting on the earth, or re-organizing your energy with crystals. Earth element also relates to the sense of smell, in Ayurveda, so burning some sage or incense regularly will also help you to ground and to clear the hazy energies.
As many Hindu holidays are aligned with the lunar calendar, this full moon brings the celebration of Hanuman Jayanti, the birth of Lord Hanuman. Hanuman is Lord Rama’s greatest devotee, and symbolizes the qualities of strength and devotion. He is the son of the wind which represents prana, the breath of life and vehicle of yogis. We can learn from Hanuman, especially on this Pisces cycle eclipse in Virgo, the power of surrendering to the Lord and using our skills and hands for service to higher purpose. It is through this that we find our greatest strength. Hanuman’s monkey form represents the restless or “monkey mind” in humans, but his devotion shows us that through one-pointedness and repetition of the Lord’s name, we have the ability to tame the mind and achieve our divine potential. Hanuman was said to have been born at sunrise, the same time we will experience this eclipse in the Americas, so it will be especially potent to call in his energy by reciting the Hanuman Chalisa throughout this eclipse.
This full moon also coincides with the Jewish holiday Passover, which is also aligned with the lunar calendar. This celebrates the time when God freed the Israelites from slavery under the Pharaoh of Egypt. We can also see this as a symbol for the liberation within that is attained by virtuous rather than unprincipled actions. Friday is also Good Friday in the Christian calendar, commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus, two days before Easter Sunday, celebrating his resurrection. (These holidays are also calculated according to the lunar cycle, being observed on or after the first full moon of spring, after the equinox.) We see here symbology of the rebirth we can attain when we allow the ego to die and Self-knowledge is born. This is a potent message around the eclipse, where we must call in faith, release doubts and ignorance, and discern higher truth in order to to overcome the negativities stirred in the mind by conjunction with the nodes.
Do your best during this eclipse to calm the mind through connecting to the earth in simple, practical ways. Examine where you desire more detailed structure in your life in contrast to where you have avoided it to go with the flow, and contemplate what balance might look like. Look at your fears that are being revealed around both sides of that spectrum, and orient your mind towards God or your higher Self. Wait until after the eclipse has passed to complete communication and implement any major changes, to harness some discerning distance from the pressure and illusion unveiled by the nodes. Next week Venus moves into Taurus, and Jupiter turns direct. This may bring more ease in our relationships and a new burst of clarity around our philosophies.
