Today takes on the feel of an intense psychological thriller with a fiendishly complex plot. Events unfold step by step with riveting intensity and still we have no clue how it will all work out.
Let’s look at the timeline.
On Wednesday, Jupiter reached their conjunction with the South Node in Capricorn. This meeting aligned the Great Benefic with Ketu, the tail of the dragon.
If we focus on the expansive generosity and optimism of Jupiter, we might see the splendors of the past, all the beautiful, wonderful things the Earth and we humans have created. If we focus on Jupiter’s inflated, bombastic side, we hear booming voices saying, “This is great. It’s always been this way. It always will be.”
Ketu, the South Node, the dragon’s tail is a place of releasing what is old, especially the material old stuff that prevents us from spiritual advancement. The Jupiter conjunction is the apex of a winnowing, a letting go of dross weighing us down.
What is moving out of your life? What feels complete? What are you just done with?
This morning, we reached the Mercury Cazimi at 10:19 am EST. This is Mercury’s superior conjunction with the Sun, the moment Mercury emerges from under the Sun’s rays to sit on the throne and receive illumination.
This is Mercury’s “Full Moon” moment. Notice how this coincides with today’s Full Moon.
When planets approach the Sun, they are first “under the beams,” a time of relative weakness that begins when the planet is within 17 degrees. When the planet is within 8 degrees, the weakness intensifies. The planet is “combust.”
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Because the Sun and Mercury stay close together, this means our thinking and communication (Mercury) have not been in top form since December. Mercury entered Capricorn on December 28 already combust.
Have you noticed how communication and thinking have been rather Capricornian lately? Ponderous, rigid, authoritarian, traditionalist. Also pragmatic, steady, grounded, goal focused. But not quite on point or as effective as we might prefer.
Mercury picked up speed and today reached the Sun itself, the source of light, heat, energy, illumination in our solar system. Cazimi is a moment of burning away. Mercury stepped into the heart of the Sun and emerged clean, enlightened, and possibly a bit crispy.
The trickster psychopomp has messages for us. We likely won’t get clear transmissions right away because, after all, Mercury now has to brave exposure to the Sun’s rays as they leave. But new info is available and we can access it soon.
What old ideas, frames of reference, biases, cognitive distortions are you burning away?
The eclipse period began at 12:08 pm EST. Maximum eclipse is 2:10 pm. The Full Moon is exact at 2:21 pm. The eclipse period ends at 4:12 pm.
This penumbral eclipse won’t be visible where I live, but will be, depending on viewing conditions, in many parts of the world. Whether we can see it or not, it’s happening.
All eclipses are significant. This one especially so.
One reason is the tremendously heavy weight in the sign of Capricorn, cardinal Earth. South Node, Jupiter, Sun, Mercury, Ceres, Saturn, Pluto. We feel the strength of old structures even as we sense how outmoded they are in many respects.
Jupiter and Pluto, sitting at the beginning and end of Capricorn, each highlight the problems we face. Jupiter makes things too big to avoid, creating at times a “too big to fail” vibe.
To which Pluto says, “hold my beer.” Pluto’s role is to erode foundations and topple structures that are corrupt.
Even if we are more than ready to see big change, the level of instability feels threatening. How much will fall? How far? How fast? We are in the midst of it, cazimi ourselves. We simply can’t see it yet.
Across from all the Capricorn is the Full Moon in tender-hearted Cancer. This the Moon’s home sign where they are strong. Here we feel deeply. We care. We are vulnerable. We long for safety for ourselves and those we love.
Looked at from the perspective of Capricorn, this is a position of tender weakness. The idea that women and children need protection. The code of chivalry. The Victorian idealized wife as the “angel in the house.”
This is however a dangerously unbalanced position for all of us.
What can’t stand on its own becomes exploitable. Exploited. Defined as “less than.” As property to be managed.
The Moon in Cancer is also the goddess. This is Kwan Yin, the Green Tara. Our Lady of Guadalupe. The strength of love not as pity or charity, but as sharing, recognizing we are together, our fates inseparable.
The Moon in Cancer can mark a place of blind loyalty to family and tribe. Where we say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, setting aside principle for protection.
This Full Moon in Cancer is in shadow, eclipsed. We are confronted with the darker face of this energy, the places where we become tribal, fierce in our defense of our own boundaries.
Where are you most vulnerable? What, or who, would you defend to the death? How far would you go to secure the safety of your people?
In the shadows of the eclipse, we see too that none of these are black and white questions.
Circles of care are important to recognize. Only the saints among us can truly love everyone. We can and must chose our battles and find our place among people.
The greatest dangers lie at the boundaries. Here we can build walls, literal, metaphorical, emotional, theoretical. Or we can stand securely enough in our own place to reach across divides, find allies, find friends, and find solutions.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
We humans work and live and love best in small groups. Our groups, though, need not make war on other groups. We can, must, collaborate. This will call for both Cancerian and Capricornian skills and values.
Two additional big things happen after the Full Moon eclipse while still within the Full Moon phase.
The first is the planet Uranus stationing direct. To avoid this event getting lost, I posted about Uranus last night on the blog, Facebook, and Instagram. This surge of energy can, if managed, help us get through. Check there for more info.
The second is the conjunction of Saturn and Pluto arriving January 12 at 12:59 pm. This meeting is long anticipated. Many astrologers have written about it. The differing perspectives are worth gathering.
My astrological work focuses on the personal rather than world events. For us as individuals, this conjunction can bring up fear. There’s a feeling of implacability, of being between a rock and a hard place with nowhere to go. This is not comfortable.
Remember this event is not happening in isolation. Of course, nothing ever does, so this is a bit of a cliche. Yet the Saturn–Pluto conjunction is truly surrounded by a number of significant astrological events that offer context and options.
Do not focus exclusively on what is falling apart. Look beneath, into the shadows, into the places where energy is moving deep within. Feel how surges of light and heat are first released as the old breaks and then become the seeds of future growth.
This pattern of loss and renewal is true at all levels of life and growth, at every scale. Some things will pass away. I have in mind a few that I’d like to see gone. And new things will come. New structures, new values, new ways of living and being.
Cancer and Capricorn are both traditional, both guardians of the past. The new grows from the old. So this is a renewal. We look for what is familiar and new at once, ways of being that we know how to do but now embody in fresh, more authentic ways.
At this Full Moon eclipse in a time of turmoil and change, I offer two related quotes from Ram Dass:
“Death is an incredible opportunity to awaken.”
“We’re all just walking each other home.”
All astrological charts are my own. The images in this post include the title,
adapted from the circle by Lysander Yuen,
and the following images:
ruins by Mohammed Alqarni,
huddle with hands by Perry Grone, and
people together by Tyler Nix