The Cosmic Story: Virgo Full Moon March 19, 2011
Spring Equinox 2011
With this powerful Virgo Full Moon on March 19th coming just before Spring Equinox, we are invited to bring something new to the table of Life in these tumultuous and transformative times. The Pisces-Virgo axis of the zodiac initiates us into the mystery of uniting Spirit and Matter, Heaven and Earth, Soul and Body. In Pisces, the sign of the Collective Unconscious, we discover we are all one. The earthquake and tsunami, as well as the continuing nuclear plant melt-down in Japan show us the reality of our times. Things are tenuous. Life is precious. Our way of life is not really sustainable. Nature and the Cosmos are more powerful than we are. My prayer is that as we recognize the pain and fear of this tragedy as our own pain and fear, we finally come to understand that we are one people, one Earth, one consciousness. It's time to change our ways.
The Virgo Full Moon focuses our awareness -- awareness being one of the gifts of any full Moon -- on how each of us has a place and purpose in the pattern of Life. Where Pisces asks us to swim in the multi-dimensional ocean of life energy, Virgo demands that we incarnate the specific blueprint of life that each of us vibrates to. How do we become "virginal' -- belonging to ourselves -- so that we can give ourselves away? How can we be of service to our fellow human beings? How do we bring our unique sense of Being into play? Answering these questions can be quite fruitful, as Virgo is also the sign of the Harvest.
In looking for a story that speaks to this full Moon, I am reminded of an ancient Celtic custom called the immram, a magical voyage that the hero or hera takes to the otherworld to discover his or her destiny. Usually undertaken in a rudderless boat, the voyage consists of visiting magical islands where there are problems that the hero/hera is called on to resolve. The Celts had a deep connection to the Creative Imagination, and had mapped out many of the wonders and pitfalls of traveling in the Unconscious. Just as Carl Jung discovered and mapped out some of the inner workings of the psyche, so too the Celts developed a map of the magical realms within each of us. On these voyages, you meet different parts of yourself that hold energy for you. One such ancient story, The Voyage of Mael Duin, finds the hero stopping at different islands such as: t he island with maidens and intoxicating drink; the island with forts and the crystal bridge; the island of black and white sheep that keep changing color; the island of lamenting men and wailing sorrows; the island of colorful birds singing like psalms; the island with the golden wall around it; the island of angry Smiths; the island with a river sky that was raining salmon; the island on a pedestal; the island with eternal youth; the island with red fruits that were made as a sleeping elixir; the island with eternal laughter; the island of fire people. Mael Duin and his men find adventures on each island and must resolve something or escape something to make it back home.
This Virgo full
Moon is dedicated to the Hermit within each of us. A hermit usually lives in seclusion from
society, going off to live by himself in the forest or desert, where he deals
with his inner issues and complexes, thereby gaining wisdom and knowledge of
life that he passes on to those people who are questing for their life's purpose. We are called to be both the Questor and the
Hermit, taking time to understand our inner life and finding the voice of Lady
Wisdom within so that our outer quest can bear fruit. So take time this weekend to meditate on what
direction your life will take in the coming years.
Spring Equinox arrives on March 20th, (at 7:21pm EDT/4:21pm PDT) a day after this full Moon, signaling another turning of the Wheel of the Year. The Sun moves into the sign of Aries, moving over the equator into the Northern Hemisphere. It is a day of balance between the Light and Darkness. Ancient myths speak of the sorrow and despair, depression and loss of the Death aspect of the cycle of the year. In our darkest hours, it often feels as if Winter will stay forever and deny the return of Spring. (See The Stories of the Earth) Ancient myths also speak of this balance as a resurrection of the Light. After the darkness and cold of Winter comes the warmth and Light of a new Spring. The rebirth of the solar year is upon us.
Another element that makes this full Moon and Equinox so powerful is that Uranus, the planet of sudden change, of surprises, of awakening, of revolution, of freedom, has also just moved across the equator into the sign of Aries. The Sun will meet up with Uranus the next day, March 21st, radically changing our sense of identity. This is the beginning of seven years that will wake up and shake up our sense of who we are and what we are capable of. The Sun's entry into Aries sets the tone for the whole year and its first act is to join up with Uranus. Wow! Radical changes are in store for all of us this year, but most especially for those people who have planets in the early degrees of the cardinal signs -- Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn. This weekend will stir up memories from last summer's lunar eclipse with the Cardinal Cross, when there was a planet in each of the cardinal signs: Uranus and Jupiter in Aries, the Sun in Cancer, Saturn in Libra and Moon/Pluto in Capricorn. What was only simmering last summer is now on full flame. It's time to find the archetype that is calling your name. (I can help you discover it if you need help.)
This full Moon is also a part of a grand cross pattern -- this time in mutable signs. A mutable grand cross is hard on the nerves, since it deals with how we use our minds to discover our purpose. This grand cross is made up of the Sun in Pisces opposite the Moon in Virgo squaring the nodal axis (which points to our collective destiny) -- the North Node is in Sagittarius, quite close to the Galactic Center, and the South Node in Gemini. The Pisces-Virgo axis asks us to become aware of what we believe and asks us to incarnate it. The Sagittarius-Gemini axis asks us to go on a quest to find our own truth, to see the Big Picture and the Big Story so that we can find meaning in what is happening. We need to unite intuition with knowledge. We have to leave behind the overwhelm of information that is constantly diverting our attention from the important issue of our times -- that we have to change, both personally and collectively. We need a new paradigm.
The Virgo Full Moon
This 29* Virgo full Moon occurs on Saturday, March 19, 2011 at 11:10am PDT, 2:10pm EDT and 6:10pm GMT.
The Sabian symbol for the Sun at 29* Pisces is: Light breaking into many colors as it passes through a prism. Just as Light comes to us in waves and particles, we can see that many colors make up the light we experience as one and whole. So too, we are all part of the light -- all the many colors of the rainbow. The One and the Many.
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