After the heaviness of yesterday’s eclipse, today the Moon ingresses into Leo, brightening the mood a bit as the Moon moves away from the nodal axis and the opposition to Saturn and Pluto. In Leo, we turn our attention back to our desires to be seen and celebrated by others, our need to be seen and known as we see and know ourselves to be. The Moon makes a square to Uranus in Taurus, finally direct after spending five months retrograde. Uranus pushes us toward authenticity, especially when authenticity means breaking with established expectations for who we have been and will be. Brené Brown writes, “Authenticity demands wholehearted living and loving—even when it’s hard, even when we’re wrestling with the shame and fear of not being good enough, and especially when the joy is so intense that we’re afraid to let ourselves feel it.” This square from Uranus now moving direct in Taurus may push us beyond our comfort zones, may demand that we show up more fully and completely in our wholehearted living and loving, and may challenge us to trust that we are already more than enough. The Moon then makes a trine to Mars in Sagittarius, a supportive offering of courage to stoke the fires of our confidence, giving us the confidence to blaze brightly and brilliantly as who we know ourselves to be—regardless of whether others approve. Trust that the more you show up more fully as your whole self, the more available you will be to love and be loved by those who see and celebrate you.
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Today the Moon in Cancer makes a trine to Neptune in Pisces, which can bring cascades of immense feelings rushing through our bodies. What if you simply move out of the way and let all that you are feeling flood through you—without trying to hold it back, manage it, or contain it? Allowing the tides of compassion, grief, sorrow, and rage that are bigger than you to flow through you may feel overwhelming but can also be cleansing and healing. Mercury makes a conjunction to the Sun, a condition called “cazimi” or “in the heart of the Sun,” a time of purifying and clarifying what we think and what needs to be said. This conjunction happens just hours before the partial lunar eclipse in Cancer—which is only two degrees away from the perfecting Saturn/Pluto conjunction, which the Moon will oppose shortly after its opposition to the Sun. The eclipse brings the shadow into prominence, asks us to witness and respond to that which we may prefer not to see or acknowledge. As all of this heavy astrology unfolds, we may feel the weight of powerful systems eroding before our eyes; remember that such systems live inside of us as well, and make time for connecting to that which nourishes you even as familiar structures within and without collapse. The Mercury cazimi amidst all of this suggests that today we may come into fresh understanding of what has been hidden, what is passing away, and what now is becoming possible. Uranus in Taurus stations direct, advancing the story of upheaval and revolution that is unfolding in whatever part of our charts Taurus occupies.
Today the Moon ingresses into Cancer, its domicile, where it has dignity and access to the resources it needs in order to bring about that which it signifies. In Cancer, we are brought back to our fundamental needs for safety, security, care, and belonging. These could be tender days as the Moon moves through Cancer, especially as the Moon approaches tomorrow’s lunar eclipse and its opposition to the perfecting Saturn/Pluto conjunction. I invite you to take some time to be still and get quiet, to lay your hands on your body, and ask yourself the questions: what do you need? What needs to be heard and held and healed? Listen to what arises, comfort and care for the wounded places that ask for your attention. We all carry our younger selves inside of us, and we all get to practice mothering ourselves, as Audre Lorde taught us. We get to affirm our own worth by committing ourselves to our own survival. The Moon makes an opposition to Jupiter in Capricorn, and we may feel pulled to grow and take responsibility in ways that our younger, wounded selves do not feel ready for. This is an opportunity to reassure our younger, wounded selves: “Don’t worry. I’ve got this. I know you don’t feel ready to step into these responsibilities, but I am ready, and I can take this on for all of us.”
Today the Moon in Gemini moves through a square to Neptune in Pisces. Clear thinking may be challenging. Do not be surprised if you find yourself overwhelmed by more information than it feels like you can hold or handle. Neptune can describe illusions and projections, so if you find yourself in a state of overwhelm, consider that you may not yet be experiencing the reality of the situation. Mercury in Capricorn—the ruler of the Moon in Gemini—then makes a sextile to Neptune, and we may receive messages that clarify what it is we need to hear and understand in order to move forward taking practical steps. The Moon then makes a trine to Venus in Aquarius. This aspect supports social connections, sharing perspectives and ideas about how we might care for one another more in worlds to come. There are lessons for how to love in our interactions today; we get to practice today how we want to be in right-relation to one another in the days ahead. What if you approached today as an opportunity to prepare for our future together, to—as adrienne maree brown writes in Emergent Strategy—practice justice together, practice living into new stories, and to create a new world together through what we practice today?
Today the Sun in Capricorn makes a sextile to Neptune in Pisces. Like flashes of sunlight glistening on the rippling surface of water, fresh illumination and understanding of your purpose can arise when you invite intuition and mystery into our reason and rationality. Soften your gaze, allow it to drift over the shifting contours of your fantasies and dreams, and catch the shimmering insights that flow into consciousness when you surrender the need for certainty. Daydream, vision, and follow the circuitous direction of what becomes clear when you wade into uncertainty. The Moon in Gemini then makes an opposition to Mars in Sagittarius. When conflict arises, get curious. When you feel the aggressive drive to convince others of your perspective, seek out other points of view. If you experience injury today, be willing to speak up and name the ways that you were hurt. In this opposition, balance will come from adaptability, the ability to inhabit and move between multiple positions simultaneously. Be willing to stand courageously for what you believe, and also be willing to recognize the limitations of your beliefs. Both the Moon and Mars are ruled by Mercury in Capricorn; there are limits to what we can know and understand, and we do not lose by accepting the finitude of our own understanding. Rather, when we come to the edges of what we can know, we find where our knowledge meets and fits together with what other experiences and points of view can teach us.
Today the Moon in Taurus makes a square to its ruler Venus in Aquarius. Receiving a superior square from a benefic is a condition of bonification—meaning that the Moon receives support and affirmation from its ruler. However, a square can also indicate that the gifts of this aspect may require effort or adjustment. What experiences that live in your body might you have to confront and work through in order to accept your own value and the ways in which you are loved by others? The Moon then moves through rapid trines to Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn. While a trine can describe an especially easeful or supportive relationship, the mounting pressure between Saturn and Pluto is still challenging; we may find that what flows easily into our lives as the Moon moves through these trines are the reverberations of power struggles, the cumulative effects of repression, and the weight of unresolved histories streaming through our nervous systems. Taurus reminds us to ground and stay close to sensation as a strategy for persistence. The Moon then ingresses into Gemini, relieving the pressure from earlier in the day through a shift into curiosity, social connections, and learning more about the situations in which we find ourselves. Whatever you are experiencing, who might you call into your experience? Sharing your stories with those you trust may be part of coming into more clarity about what you think and understanding, how your story fits within larger narratives of which we are all a part.
Today the Moon in Taurus makes a series of supportive aspects, first perfecting trines to Jupiter, Mercury, and the Sun in Capricorn, then a sextile to Neptune in Pisces. In its exaltation in Taurus and configured to its ruler, the Moon is already extremely well-supported, inviting us to root down into what grounds and nourishes us. Jupiter encourages growth and coherence and invites us back into the perspective that abundance and more-than-enough are already potentials alive within our physical and emotional systems. Mercury, the planet of translation and communication, reminds us to ask for the support that we want and need, and to remain responsive to the ways that the world around us asks for support that we can offer. The Sun brings us into the path of that which is life-affirming. Take notice of how the ways you spend your day enliven or deplete you and consider how your life might be different if you were to move more toward that which enlivens. Finally, Neptune offers inspiration in the forms of dreams and fantasies. Judith Butler writes, “To posit possibilities beyond the norm or, indeed, a different future for the norm itself, is part of the work of fantasy when we understand fantasy as taking the body as a point of departure for an articulation that is not always constrained by the body as it is … fantasy is part of the articulation of the possible; it moves us beyond what is merely actual and present into a realm of possibility, the not yet actualized or the not actualizable.” What if you gave yourself time and permission to set sail through your fantasies, those that begin from the body and then carry you into possibilities beyond the norms of what is, drifting into the realms of how else we might live our embodied lives?
Today the Moon ingresses into Taurus, the sign of its exaltation. This is a time for slowing down, grounding our energy, reconnecting to the sensual pleasures of the body and the experiences that allow us to feel well. With Venus, the ruler of Taurus, in Aquarius, I am recalling two of adrienne maree brown’s “pleasure principles”: “We become what we practice” and “The deepest pleasure comes from riding the line between commitment and detachment.” Aquarius turns our attention toward the future, toward the kinds of worlds we want to bring into being. If we become what we practice, how do you want to feel in the future, and how might you begin to practice feeling that way today? Aquarius is also a fixed sign, inspiring allegiance to future possibilities rather than the legacies of the past. What kinds of pleasure might become available to you if you were to ride the line between committing to another way of feeling in your body, while detaching from determining in advance how you might come into such future possibilities? As the Moon makes a conjunction to Uranus in Taurus, we may be propelled to shake things up, to try something new, and to break through the patterns that have been limiting our access to feeling good. Feel into where there are desires that feel like risk, and then ask how you might support yourself in risking exploring new pleasures.
Today Mars ingresses into Sagittarius, leaving its domicile Scorpio behind. Mars in Sagittarius is bold, assertive, ready to courageously pioneer possibilities beyond the borders of where we are standing now. Mars in Sagittarius can bring excitement and adventure, but take care around actions that may be driven by the will to conquer. Remember that what may be uncharted territory for you is very likely the well-tended traditions and homes of those we often fail to notice in the blaze of our own exhilaration. The Moon in Aries then moves through a lovely sextile from Venus in Aquarius. Fueled by Mars in Sagittarius, the Moon in Aries is driven by ambition and personal will; Venus in Aquarius reminds us to connect with others, especially those who may be different from the communities and relationships in which we have found ourselves in the past. Finally, the Moon moves through squares to Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn. Less than a full degree apart from one another, the pressure is building between these slow-moving planets. We may find that as we reject and refuse operations and abuses of power in our world, we are also confronted with the responsibility for dismantling traces of such abuses and operations within our personal lives, our desires, and our bodies. As we move toward acting in alignment with what we really want, let’s also remember that our desires may not be innocent. We are all charged with the task of liberating and decolonizing our desires as we learn to honor what we feel within the social contexts through which what we feel, what we want, and who we are have all been constituted.
Today Mercury makes a conjunction to Jupiter in Capricorn. Good news may be on the move, and it may be that it is yours to share. How might you use today to express gratitude, to share ideas that have supported you in growing into the person you are becoming, and to put words out into the world that make it more of a world in which you want to live? The Moon in Aries then moves through squares to Jupiter, Mercury, and the Sun in Capricorn. These aspects can describe the effort it takes to overcome resistance or adjust your direction to accommodate conflicts of interest. It may not be easy to align your immediate impulses and desires with your long-term growth and development. You may find that resistance is coming from the inside, the ways that words you’ve spoken—or words that have been spoken to you—have lodged in your body, making it difficult to commit to the action that you’re taking. This could be a moment of crisis in which you are asked to devote yourself to a new direction that is not where you thought you were headed but that is more in alignment with your core purpose. As the Moon enters the waxing quarter phase, we may find that processes that were planted during the solar eclipse on December 26 are starting to demand attention. Remember, the path of least resistance is not usually the path to which we are called because such paths have been worn down and smoothed out not only by our own habituated behaviors but also by the currents of cultural norms that structure both privilege and oppression. Encountering resistance can be an indication that we are forging a path along which new possibilities and new ways of living are being made available.
Welcome to the first day of 2020! Today the Moon in Pisces makes a sextile to Saturn in Capricorn. How are you practicing accountability to your own physical and emotional needs? Especially for those of us who were socialized to ignore, discount, or repress our needs, it may take diligence and discipline to develop a practice of slowing down and listening to our bodies in order to determine the direction in which we need to move. The Moon then makes a sextile to Pluto in Capricorn, reminding us that there are deep sources of power available to us within our somatic awareness. What might you be empowered to do if you were to situate your own feeling body as an authority in the life you are living? The Moon then makes a trine to Mars in Scorpio before ingressing into Mars’ domicile of Aries. Mars is completing its time moving through the dark waters of Scorpio, activating our most vulnerable places and asking us to act from the seafloor of our drives and desires. The Moon receives that story from Mars and carries it into fiery Aries. We may feel emboldened to initiate something new that asks us to step more fully into our courage. What is it that you truly want and what are the steps you can take right now in service of that desire?
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AuthorMichael J. Morris is a witch, an astrologer, a tarot reader, an artist, a writer, and a teacher. Categories
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