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Today the Moon in Cancer moves through oppositions to Saturn, Pluto, and Venus in Capricorn. The Moon in Cancer connects us to that which nurtures and protects us. Here we may find that such care stands in tension or even conflict with established systems of authority. Especially if the world is hostile to us, especially for those of us who are marginalized due to gender, sexuality, race, ability, nationality, or class, caring for ourselves—as Audre Lorde taught us—is “an act of political warfare.” Lorde also wrote: “We can learn to mother ourselves … as I learn my own worth and genuine possibility, I refuse to settle for anything less than a rigorous pursuit of what is possible in myself … We must recognize and nurture the creative parts of each other without always understanding what will be created … Eventually, if we speak the truth to each other, it will become unavoidable to ourselves.” What would it mean to mother ourselves in the face on a hostile world, in spite of systems, structures, and operations of power that would deny our worth and possibility, that would refuse our creative parts and our truths? Learning to mother ourselves may challenge our existing understandings and practices of love, but how much more capable of loving might we be if we began to offer ourselves the care and support that the world around us—perhaps including our parents—has not been able to provide? Then the Moon ingresses into Leo, and we are called into the courage required to show up as our full, brilliant selves. This lunation cycle has been teaching us new ways of thinking, making new connections that expand our view of the world. As the Moon moves into Leo, we may find that the integration of these perspectives changes how we see ourselves and how we are willing to be seen by others. 
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Today Mars in Scorpio makes a trine to Neptune in Pisces. Mars in Scorpio is teaching us how to focus and pursue our deepest longings and desires. Mars can also describe conflict, injury, and harm. Neptune dissolves our edges, draws us into a consciousness of divine union, the realization that we are not separate. How are our seemingly personal desires driven by vast transpersonal currents, the generational tides that move us together toward collective purposes? I recall Sara Ahmed’s writing on Living a Feminist Life: “A feminist movement is a collective political movement. Many feminisms means many movements. A collective is what does not stand still but creates and is created by movement. I think of feminist action as like ripples in water, a small wave, possibly created by agitation from weather; here, there, each movement making another possible, another ripple, outward, reaching.” Today you might consider how your actions are like ripples and waves, movements making other movements possible. Then Venus perfects its conjunction to Pluto in Capricorn, and we begin a new cycle of examining how power operates in our relationships and our practices of love. bell hooks teaches us, “Love can never take root in a relationship based on domination and coercion … there can be no love when there is domination.” The conjunction is the seed of the cycle. Venus in Capricorn orients us toward love in the long-term, the longevity of our attachments; the seed of this conjunction challenges us to root out traces of domination that would prevent love from flourishing in our lives. Finally, the Moon in Cancer moves through a Grand Water Trine with Neptune and Mars. Awash in feelings that are personal, interpersonal, and collective, we can ask how the memories of harm and healing that we hold in our bodies carry the potential to both connect us more deeply to one another and stir us into movements upon movements upon movements. How might we move if we begin from a place of feeling together?  The Full Moon in Gemini perfected in the dark early hours before dawn. This Full Moon illuminates new ways of thinking and making connections that are coming into visibility. Angela Davis writes, “…feminist methodologies impel us to explore connections that are not always apparent. and they drive us to inhabit contradictions and discover what is productive in these contradictions. Feminism insists on methods of thought and action that urge us to think about things together that appear to be separate, and to disaggregate things that appear to naturally belong together.” What might you begin to think together that appear to be separate, and how might you actively engage in disaggregating things that we are conditioned to believe belong together? The Moon moves through the remainder of Gemini with no aspects, then ingresses into Cancer—its domicile—in the evening. In Cancer, the Moon calls us back to our own sensitivities, allowing ourselves to truly feel what we are feeling. By the end of the day, the Moon opposes Jupiter in Capricorn. Our feelings may seem too big or overwhelming, very likely because of the ways they draw our pasts into the present, flooding our systems with cumulative patterns of emotional response that we’ve been carrying across our lifetimes. Try not to resist. Instead, if you find yourself facing feelings that overflow the scale of the present moment, let yourself get soft. Turn in toward the wave and whisper: “I’m listening. What are you trying to teach me?”  Today Venus perfects its conjunction to Saturn in Capricorn. This is the start of a new Venus/Saturn cycle. What are the practices of love and pleasure to which you are ready to commit? Saturn demands longevity and discipline, which can throw us against the walls of our own fears. Saturn can also describe experiences of scarcity and limitation. As we begin this new cycle between Venus and Saturn, we are asked to confront: in what ways have we been in service to believing that love is a limited resource? In what ways have we made ourselves small because we could not believe that our whole selves are worthy of love? How have we measured or constrained the love we are willing to give? The Moon in Gemini makes a square to Neptune in Pisces; a fog of uncertainty may settle around what we thought we knew, challenging us to find ease with ambiguity and not knowing. The Moon is approaching its opposition to the Sun in Sagittarius. The Full Moon technically perfects within the first hours of December 12 (EST), but it will be at its brightest throughout the night tonight—still Wednesday according to the planetary days and hours. How has this lunation cycle pushed you to open your mind, expand your thinking, and make connections that reorganize your worldview? From the New Moon in Sagittarius on November 26 until this Full Moon, what new perspectives, insights, philosophies, or ideas have been introduced to you? Now is the moment of realization, the time to recognize what new understanding is available. Look to the part of your chart occupied by Gemini, and ask what you have learned about this area of your life over the past two weeks.  Today the Moon ingresses into Gemini, shifting from the steady, sustained qualities of Taurus into the lightness and quickness of mutable air. In Gemini, the Moon draws us toward our curiosities, toward learning and social connections that inspire us. In the early afternoon, the Moon opposes Mercury, newly entered into Sagittarius. As the Moon opposes its ruler, we may feel challenged to embody thinking that still feels too vast to articulate clearly in words. Trust in the capacities of the body to think and to know in ways that are felt in the flesh. If you are struggling to find the right words, how might you let the body do the thinking and speaking? You may find that as you feel into the body for answers, what you think you know opens up and expands, revealing connections that were not apparent when you were struggling to rely on language.  Although the Moon is currently in slow, stable Taurus, today is an active day of aspects for the Moon. Starting with an opposition to Mars in Scorpio, the wounds we carry from emotional or physical harm may surface and interrupt our experiences of grounding into our own bodies and pleasures. Less than an hour later, Mercury ingresses into Sagittarius, after spending over two months in Scorpio. This has felt like an endless journey through the depths of our emotional lives—learning to speak our shame, learning to name our desires. Mercury in Sagittarius finds itself far afield in expansive possibilities. Mercury is in its antithesis or detriment in Sagittarius; whereas Mercury is adept at managing and expressing the details, in Sagittarius, the ideas may feel too big to put into words. It may feel more difficult to express or convey perspectives that exceed our available frameworks, but it is worth the effort and the energy it takes to craft new language that will support us in the days ahead. The Moon then makes a sextile to Neptune in Pisces before moving through trines to Venus, Saturn, and Pluto in Capricorn. Allow yourself time for daydreaming, for letting your mind wander, and for learning from the experience of drifting without clear direction. Then ask yourself: how can I best embody being in service to what I love? What are the structures and containers I need to create to hold and support my experiences of pleasure and satisfaction? How do we embody the ways in which we want power to operate throughout our world?  Today the Moon ingresses into Taurus, the sign of its exaltation. With reception from its ruler Venus, this is a stable, supported, nourishing Moon, drawing us toward reconnecting to our sensuous experience, feeling deeply into our bodies, and investing in our practices of pleasure. The Sun in Sagittarius makes a square to Neptune in Pisces. This aspect creates the conditions for dazzling illusions, for misunderstanding or confusion. What you see may not be the truth. Or it may be that you find what you know to be true is in conflict with evidence that is being presented to you. It’s difficult to know how to proceed when truth and evidence seem to be at odds; it would be best to wait, allow this fog to pass, and see what new understanding becomes available in the days ahead. The Moon in Taurus makes its monthly conjunction to Uranus, which can unsettle our systems, agitate or disrupt the steadiness and ease that we might otherwise experience as the Moon moves through Taurus. It may be that your body is demanding new approaches to grounding and stability; the old ways of accessing rest and pleasure may no longer be working. Finally, Venus in Capricorn makes a sextile to Neptune in Pisces, a romantic aspect that invites us to share our dreams and fantasies with those we love. While Venus in Capricorn is drawn to the practical work that it takes to build and sustain meaningful connections to others, Neptune is inviting us to be swept up in one another, to lose track of time, to dissolve into each other in the ways that we can, and to listen to our fantasies as guides to new practices of love.  Today the Moon in Aries moves through squares to Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn. The enthusiasm and ambition of Aries may feel diminished or weighed down by these heavy aspects from Saturn’s domain. Saturn insists on structure and discipline, and can exacerbate our fears around scarcity and “not enough.” Saturn contains and constrains the heat and urgency of the Moon in Aries, stoking the fires of rebellion and resistance. Whereas Aries is primed for combustion and sprinting ahead, Saturn demands that we take action in ways that are sustainable in the long-term and have the capacity to endure. Then Pluto drags the Moon into the pit where we have buried histories of harm that are both personal and systemic. Trauma—whether it is rooted in our individual or collective experiences—shapes our impulses whether or not we acknowledge or accept the ways in which this is happening. Today you might ask: how am I acting out patterns of injury that are all the more controlling because I refuse to face them? In what ways are the actions I think affirm my own agency actually subjugating me to ongoing operations of suffering interred within my own unconsciousness? So often what gets called freedom is actually just the path of least resistance—aligning with systems of oppression and harm, digging ourselves deeper into the trenches of the familiar. This square between Pluto and the Moon calls us into the crisis of considering: what if there’s another way?  Friday is Venus’ day, and today, the Moon in Aries makes a square to Venus in Capricorn. Venus in Capricorn is calling us into responsibility, maturity, and commitment in our relationships and practices of love. For many of us, that means stepping into the difficult work of healing our relational wounds and attachment patterns, and being willing to support our loved ones in their healing as well. The Moon in Aries activates impulsive desires, our drive for freedom, and the spark of fight or flight. Today we may be challenged to reconcile our needs for stability and commitment with our desires for freedom and our instinct to run away or charge into conflict. With Mars, the ruler of the Moon, moving through Scorpio, there is wisdom in investigating: what are the feelings beneath these feelings? What are the deeper longings at the roots of the emotions flaring up today? The Moon then makes a trine to the Sun in Sagittarius, offering us the understanding and comprehension that comes from reframing our experiences within broader contexts. What do we associate with commitment and freedom? How were these values modeled to us throughout our lives? What kind of life or world are we working to create in the long-term, and how are our choices today part of larger patterns of what has come before and what we want to see continue into the future?  Today the Moon in Pisces makes a trine to Mercury in Scorpio. Mercury is nearing the end of its retrograde shadow, delivering messages from the depths of dark places beneath the surfaces of our emotional lives. Today we’re asked to allow all that has been uncovered to land in our bodies, to feel the tidal shifts that are set into motion when we use our voices to speak what we have never said before. adrienne maree brown writes in Pleasure Activism, “Part of liberating our desires from the rape culture and patriarchy we’re swimming in is reclaiming our right to communicate. We must learn to say, sign, or type the truth in real time about what our bodies actually want and need and what we don’t want.” What if communicating from the depths of your own desires is not only a matter of personal healing but of collective liberation as well? The Moon then ingresses into Aries and directly into a square from Jupiter in Capricorn. This is a condition of bonification called overcoming, in which Jupiter offers its beneficence to this fiery Moon. Jupiter is in detriment in Capricorn, but it is offering abundance from what it has available to fuel the ignition and drive of the Moon in Aries. We may feel a combustion of motivation, particularly in the area of life occupied by Aries in our charts. If there are projects or pursuits in which you’re feeling the impulsive flames of Aries today, know that Jupiter is offering grounded, patient support from Capricorn. With the Moon in aversion to its ruler Mars, the outcomes of our actions may not be clear, so focus instead on what it means to start and act well, taking responsibility for how you begin.  As the Moon in Pisces makes a square to the Sun in Sagittarius, we enter the waxing quarter of this lunation, a period Dane Rudhyar described as “crisis in action.” What new ways of thinking have been expanding your view of yourself and the world? What voices or perspectives are you being challenged to consider and assimilate into how you think about what else could become possible? The Moon makes a conjunction to Neptune in Pisces, which is a perfect time from dreaming new dreams, opening to new fantasies, and projecting new speculative realities. Tangible, practical tasks may be more elusive today, so instead, use this time for reflection, meditation, and rest. The Moon then makes sextiles to Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn, reminding us that whatever we imagine for worlds to come will require discipline, focus, determination, and accessing power that has maybe been repressed within our lives. Audre Lorde writes, “In order to perpetuate itself, every oppression must corrupt or distort those various sources of power within the culture of the oppressed that can provide energy for change.” What sources of power have been repressed, corrupted, distorted, and vilified within the current systems through which we are living our lives? In order to create the kinds of worlds we are dreaming of, we must access those powers and resources that have been hidden and marginalized by white supremacy, hetero-patriarchy, colonization, capitalism, and religious domination. What have you been taught to view as worthless, inferior, or sources of shame—and what if those parts of ourselves are actually the keys to building justice in the days ahead?  The skies are busy today: Mercury in Scorpio makes its third and final sextile to Pluto in this retrograde cycle, completing a story that has been unfolding since October 19 when this aspect first perfected. How are you speaking truth to power? How are you advocating for change and transformation, in your life and in the world? The Moon ingresses into Pisces and immediately forms a sextile to Jupiter, its ruler, in Capricorn. Jupiter is the wise teacher, and in Capricorn, Jupiter offers wisdom that comes from maturity, from having done the work necessary to integrate and grow from life’s difficulties. As the Moon pulls us toward boundless empathy, sensitivity, and emotional connections, Jupiter reminds us to take responsibility for what we are feeling, to remain accountable to our own boundaries and the boundaries of others, and to build emotional connection on foundations of trust. Venus in Capricorn makes a sextile to Mars in Scorpio, and we may feel motivated toward commitment in our partnerships. What actions do you need to take in order to support the kind of love that you want to share in the long-term? The Moon in Pisces then moves through a trine to Mars in Scorpio and a sextile to Venus in Capricorn. Love has the capacity to endure when it is built on ongoing honesty and courageous vulnerability. How much more sustainable could our relationships become if we entered them again and again from the honesty of our felt experiences, rather than all the psychic labor required to withhold or elide parts of ourselves from the love we are trying to build?  Today the Moon in Aquarius makes a square to Mercury in Scorpio. We may find ourselves in the midst of ideological conflict, debates, or disagreements. How to best articulate our desires for the future may not be clear, or it may be that the words we are speaking do not actually align with our aspirations. With the Moon in aversion to its ruler Saturn, long-term outcomes or goals may feel elusive; for today, give your energy to clarifying your message, finding the words that move us closer to the futures for which you long. Then Jupiter ingresses into Capricorn, leaving Sagittarius behind after spending over a year moving through its own sign. Jupiter is said to be in its fall or depression in Capricorn. The planet of growth and abundance is now in the domain of Saturn—the planet of limitation, discipline, and delay. Jupiter continues to make new growth possible, but now perhaps with much more planning, effort, and patience for long-term developments. Jupiter will remain in Capricorn until December 19, 2020. Look to whatever part of your chart is occupied by Capricorn and ask yourself: how do I want to expand and cultivate more abundance in this area of my life? What foundations do I need to lay? What work do I need to begin to do now in order to support slow, durational development that has the capacity to last and endure? If you would like support in understanding your own chart and what Jupiter in Capricorn may mean for you, I am currently booking in-person and Zoom consultations for December, January, February, and March. Visit my bookings page here.  Today the Moon in Aquarius moves through a square from Mars in Scorpio. We may feel as if our thinking and analyses are in conflict with emotions that are churning beneath the surface to motivate our actions. So often we act impulsively or compulsively from deep rage, resentment, and woundedness. Remember, your rage is valid and your wounds deserve attention and care. Take time to get curious: how might your personal wounds be part of larger systems of harm, and how might you channel your rage into strategic action? The Moon then makes a sextile to the Sun in Sagittarius. As we move from the New Moon in Sagittarius last week to the Full Moon in Gemini on December 12, we are being asked to expand our thinking. What perspectives have you not yet considered? Whose intellectual contributions have you not yet given yourself the opportunity learn from? Remember, the history of colonialist, white supremacist, hetero-patriarchy has so deeply shaped systems of knowledge production that most of us are not only more exposed to the thinking of straight white cisgender men than anyone else, but we are also conditioned—consciously and unconsciously—to value those sites of knowledge more as well. What if you used this lunation cycle to seek out the brilliance of women, Black and Brown people, queer and trans people, disabled people—to learn to see what you can only see from these points of view? How much bigger and more expansive could your world become?  Today Mercury in Scorpio makes its third and final sextile to Saturn in Capricorn in this retrograde cycle. Now direct, Mercury may motivate us to clearly communicate our boundaries—what is and is not okay for us—and to ask for the support that we need. Saturn can also signify our fears and our limitations, so this sextile could offer opportunities to address the sources of our fears and anxieties, to express where we feel our resources are limited, and to dispel misconceptions about our capabilities and incapabilities. The Moon finishes its time in Capricorn with no major aspects, then ingresses into Aquarius where it makes a square to Uranus in Taurus. Aquarius invites a kind of soaring detachment, a view from above, which can give us distance and perspective on the crises and challenges that we’re facing in our lives and in our world. But Uranus in Taurus demands the revolutionary potential of grounding ourselves in the earth, planting our feet, and pulling our analyses down into the lived realities of our terran lives—a view from somewhere rather than a view from anywhere or nowhere, what Donna Haraway describes as “situated knowledges.” Today we may feel challenged to bring our big-picture perspectives into our embodied material lives. What is the use of sweeping theoretical models and understandings if we cannot put them into practice in physical, earthly ways?  Around midday, the Moon in Capricorn makes a sextile to Neptune in Pisces then a sextile to Mercury in Scorpio. This is an opportunity to begin to embody the fantasies and dreams that we are coming to articulate for ourselves and others. As we vision for the kinds of lives and worlds that we long to bring into being, the Moon in Capricorn invites us to lay the foundations of such living worlds through developing tangible practices that align with our visions. In order to sustain and nurture the possibilities of worlds to come, we must begin to practice living in such worlds as tangible realities. The Moon then moves through conjunctions to Saturn and Pluto, and we may feel the pressure, pull, or force of the existing systems through which we are living. Material realities that are resistant to change and the ways they act on and through us will undoubtedly assert themselves. Remember what adrienne maree brown teaches us in Emergent Strategy: “We are realizing that we must become the systems we need—no government, political party, or corporation is going to care for us, so we have to remember how to care for each other. And that will take time, and commitment, a willingness to step outside of the comfort of the current and lean into the unknown, together. To listen to each other across all real and perceived divides.” It is our responsibility to not only dream of worlds capable of caring for us, but to begin to put such worlds into practice, dreaming for the future through how we practice for such worlds in the tangible processes of our daily lives.  Today Mercury in Scorpio makes the third of three trines to Neptune in Pisces. With both planets now moving direct, we may feel clarity around naming and speaking our dreams, our fantasies, and messages we’ve been perceiving from beyond the visible, known world. The Moon makes its final conjunction to Jupiter in Sagittarius before Jupiter departs Sagittarius for the next 11 years. Hold this experience of openness and abundance in your body; remember these lessons even as Jupiter moves on to Capricorn in a few days. The Moon then ingresses into Capricorn, the sign of its antithesis or detriment, drawing our attention to our responsibilities, commitments, and long-term projects. The Moon signifies the body and the emotional life, both of which can feel neglected when there is too much emphasis on work and productivity. Remember to make time for the things that nourish and support your well-being, especially if it does not feel as if the world around you is offering these resources. Next, the Moon makes a conjunction to Venus just as Venus perfects its trine to Uranus in Taurus. We are just days into this new Venus/Jupiter cycle, but here we come to the waning trine of the Venus/Uranus cycle. Venus was conjunct Uranus on May 18 and opposed Uranus on October 12. This trine is part of the integration and dissemination of this cycle, a process of growing into revolutionary practices of love. Here we begin to ask: how do we make these new ways of loving sustainable? Capricorn is deeply invested in longevity; as we have spent this year unlearning old patterns of what we believed love to be, as we move into this new cycle of abundant love initiated by the Venus/Jupiter conjunction, now we begin to shape our disciplines of devotion to radical love. Finally, the Moon makes a sextile to Mars in Scorpio, giving us motivation to create the conditions necessary to support ourselves in taking the risk of being vulnerable. Vulnerability requires courage, and in order to be courageous, sometimes we have to build spaces and contexts that support us in being brave.  Today the Moon in Sagittarius makes a square to Neptune in Pisces. Our fire, drive, and momentum may feel dispersed and diffuse. Our vision for new possibilities may feel like it’s drifting in so many directions that it becomes challenging to take clear action. Notice where you are experiencing friction between your ideals—the life you want to be living or the kind of world you want to be co-creating—and the ways you are actually living today. We’re always practicing something—every moment of every day. Today we may be challenged to align our practices with our visions. Then Neptune stations direct after moving retrograde since June. Neptune is a slow moving outer planet that signifies mysticism, spiritual consciousness, dreams, fantasies, and tuning into non-ordinary realities. My sense is that Neptune’s retrograde has been a kind of retrieval, a turning back to practices from the past, whether ancestral practices or returning to spiritual traditions that open the self to a more collective consciousness. What traditions have been returning to your life? How have the ancestors been speaking? It’s time to put what we’ve gathered and recollected into practice. It may be time to innovate the traditions we inherit, asking: how do we take the spiritual traditions of our ancestors and bring them forward into life in the 21st century?  Today is the New Moon in Sagittarius. The Moon joins the Sun in the early degrees of Sagittarius, co-present and with reception from Jupiter, who will depart its home sign in a matter of days. There will not be another New Moon in Sagittarius with Jupiter co-present again until November 2030, and this one is really lovely, in aversion to both malefics. This is the start of a new cycle of expansion, of moving beyond your own borders, discovering new possibilities beyond your own horizons. Sagittarius is the seeker, the adventurer, the pilgrim. The glyph of Sagittarius always reminds me of an arrow sailing beyond the limits of where I am standing right now. For this New Moon, it could be useful to do some internal reflection: what do I perceive to be my own limits? What feel like the edges or boundaries of who I know myself to be? What if I could recognize that my body and my self are not actually static, bounded, impermeable forms, but in fact I am always in a state of dynamic, ongoing emergence, I am permeable and porous and penetrable and open and expansive, receiving and opening out onto a vast world? What fears come up? Where do you feel the sensations of “no, I can’t” or smallness or just feeling stuck? What if you stay with those feelings, not trying to change them, not trying to figure them out mentally, but instead, just feel them, get intimate with them? Can you use this lunation cycle from now until the Full Moon in Gemini on December 12 to move beyond your own limits—personal, social, ideological, physical—to explore how much more you already are and how much more you could become?  Today the Moon in Scorpio makes a trine to Neptune in Pisces before moving through sextiles to Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn. How do we move between non-ordinary realities, those states of perception that put us in touch with other possible worlds—dreams, fantasies, visions, the collective unconscious, the whispers of ancestors—and the persistent, concrete struggles of dismantling and re-building the worlds in which we are living? This is the work of witches, visionaries, activists, organizers, artists, and healers: moving between the worlds, devoting ourselves to experiences of realities that are inconsistent with the current structures and distributions of power that shape our world, and bringing those other possible worlds into being through our rituals, our politics, our protests, our community building, our networks of care. Venus then ingresses into Capricorn. Coming off of the brilliant conjunction to Jupiter yesterday, Venus now faces the task of laying stable foundations and building reliable structures capable of supporting our new visions of love and pleasure. Capricorn is ruled by Saturn, a sign deeply invested in longevity and persistence. Venus in Capricorn could tend toward long-suffering through times of scarcity. Why not instead choose to use this time to slowly and deliberately create structures for holding abundance?  |
AuthorMichael J. Morris is a witch, an artist, a writer, and a teacher. Categories
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