the full moon at 16’02 gemini is exact on Wednesday december 7th at 11:08pm EST, marking the midway point of the lunar cycle we are in that began with the new moon in sagittarius on november 23rd. that new moon was conjunct mercury and venus- the mind and heart- seeding new cycles in thinking, feeling, intellect and emotion. being willing to question what we think we know and come back to beginners mind so we can be open to seeing new Truths has been key in this lunar cycle- and these themes are likely to come to a head at the time of this full moon!
(if you have not read my new moon lunar insight you can do so here- https://divineharmony.com/lunar-insight/new-moon-in-sagittarius-riding-the-waves-of-expansion-and-light-11-23-22/)
the full moon is EXACTLY conjunct retrograde mars by 5 seconds and is square neptune – triggering the mars/neptune squares which are a defining signature of the mars Underworld journey. gemini is about information but can be so light and surface with information- just copy pasting it off the internet and then putting it into a blog and calling it your own insights. sagittarius is about marinating in the information so it becomes knowledge that becomes embodied which then alchemically turns into wisdom.
the shadow of sagittarius expresses as self righteousness and hubris with holier than thou standpoints. “i am the teacher, you are the student”- shadow sagittarius has to gatekeep information and thinks he is the only one with the wisdom. yet shadow gemini takes things at surface value and does not want to look deeper- things need to be easy, light and accessible or gemini won’t want to figure it out and will move on!
we don’t just have moon conjunct mars- we also have the moon occulting mars in some areas of the world (the view of the moon varies based on location- so some will see the occultation, others will see the moon fly by mars and almost graze it). there are a few ways to feel into this symbolically. on the one hand our emotions (moon) can overtake our rational mind (gemini). moon/mars can be super intense emotionally and mentally. as mars is the God of War we want to watch out for conflicts and arguments getting exacerbated- particularly around themes related to Truth, information, teachings and wisdom!
yet on the other side the moon represents the feminine, intuition, empathy and nurturing- and this lunar maternal principle occulting mars could also be the balm that calms things down. a dose of feminine energy can take the War out of the Warrior- and help him be the Divine Masculine he is meant to be which is the role of protecter and defender of Life, Love and Truth. of course this is a choice- will we let this full moon inflame our rage and ego? or will we let it soften our will and ego and help us open our minds?
gemini is the sign of the perpetual student and the one who has a great capacity to come back to beginner’s mind. what is beginner’s mind? it is when we come from the place of ‘hmm, i don’t know- let me consider this, let me be curious instead of dogmatic, rigid and authoritative’. lion’s roar says “This beginner’s mind is awakened mind itself, which is beyond concepts and opinion. It is the “don’t know” mind that is the essence of meditation, and we should never lose it.” this is a meditative concept but also a life concept. the moment we think we know it all (shadow sagittarius) we close our hearts and minds to learning anything new. and the moment we have done this we have stopped being in pursuit of Truth- and instead was have shifted into the pursuit of being right.
luckily the full moon is trine saturn- helping us get more masterful and integrous. saturn is the anti-dote to too much neptune (and vice versa) and with all the neptune squares flying around (to sun, moon, venus and mars- OH MY!)- we do want saturn there helping us to get discerning. what is Truth? what is a lie? what is fact? what is fiction? where are we deluding or deceiving ourselves, or being deluded and deceived by others? where are we spiritual bypassing? are we seeing beyond the surface so that we can get to the Truth?
the full moon is also semisextile uranus- bringing the planet of the Higher Mind and Revolutionary into the mix. insights, bolt out of the blue awareness, new Truths coming in are all possible! interestingly this full moon triggers the separating saturn/uranus square harmoniously- meaning both aspects to saturn and uranus are flowing and easy (versus the hard/tense aspects). saturn is the old, uranus is the new- saturn is the past, uranus is the future- saturn is the established tradition/knowledge/belief system and uranus is about change, revelation, questioning old systems and letting new information come in. can we hold the tension of the opposites? can we assess what from the past is still solid and foundational, but also what from the past needs to be questioned, seen for what it is and released? can we see clearly the new coming in and can we embrace it in stead of resist it- particularly if it challenges our dearly held beliefs and dogma?
we have so many out of bounds planets its actually quiet epic- moon, mercury, venus and mars, along with pallas athena and lilith- are all out of bounds. out of bounds planets move beyond the boundaries of the sun and they have EXTRA energy that can be potent and amazing but can also be over the top and too much to handle. with both moon and mars who are conjunct included in this list- this full moon has EXTRA energy which can be extra intense but also perhaps extra liberating (depends on how you use it).
looking at fixed stars this full moon and mars are both conjunct Rigel- a super luminous star in the Orion constellation. it has 120,000 times the lumniousty of our sun. it is the left foot of the Great One- today seen as Orion the Hunter but anciently was seen as a female Warrior Goddess. as left is the feminine side- we have a star that speaks to anchoring into our feminine wisdom and roots- our intuition, our body wisdom, our dreams and psychic capacity. this star has the gift of bringing knowledge to others- appropriate for the sagittarius/gemini themes present. it makes even more sense when you read the sabian symbols for this full moon (see below)
when looking at the asteroids we see that jupiter is at 29 pisces opposes kassandra at 29’59 virgo! the planet of wisdom and knowledge opposes the prophetess/seer – and both are at the karmic completion degrees. pay attention to messages, intuition and dreams incoming. something is trying to reveal itself. kassandra’s myth is one of seeing the Truth but no one listens. don’t be that person- listen to your intuition, and listen to others who may have a message for you- even if what they share shocks the foundations of your life. dogmatically holding onto the old and egoically resisting the new is never the path to more radiance and inspiration.
we also have pluto opposite pallas athena and lilith- the Divine Feminine and the Dark Feminine going head to head with the patriarchy and tradition. pallas is the Wisdom and Warrior Goddess- her modern myth is a total patriarchal re-write. being born out of the head of her father fully formed- shows a complete disconnect from the Mother and an over-exaltation of the mind. yet that is not her true essence and more anciently she was not viewed in this way. pallas athena in the sign of the Mother is able to perceive and understand via her emotions, intuition and deep feminine essence. lilith is equally psychic, intuitive and emotionally aware. opposite pluto in capricorn we can have big emotions coming up to be addressed and perhaps even face offs with the establishment or those who do not question tradition? just because we have always done it- or someone higher up said it was so- does not mean we should just swallow something and digest it whole. this full moon in gemini reminds us that asking questions and being curious and open is the only way to discover more Truth.
of course i cannot help but see all of this astrology in the light of mauna loa erupting for the first time in 40 years- and i do wonder if it’s going to get more potent at the full moon? or perhaps the pacifying influence of the moon occulting mars will help soften things? we will see.
there is much being dredged up from the collective unconscious- emotions, feelings, fears and desires for control. be aware that this is trigger happy territory- so working with your triggers is recommended ;) also when things are intense- you can always pause and say i will not engage and come back after the astrological wave passes ;)
i leave you with the star sparks meditation and sabian symbol degree for the full moon below. both are insightful. as the sabian symbol references the previous degree i am including both (the full moon is right on the cusp 16’01-02 pending the software you cast the chart in- so really both are there energetically). they speak to a feminine way of understanding and a masculine way. ultimately it is about balance. but what appears with these two is something new coming in with a need to share it (woman degree) which can ultimately transform our minds (man degree). for the star sparks i am most struck by becoming ‘the miracle embodier’- where we allow the mystery to bring us all the way through. this degree reminds us that in order to get there- ‘everything in us which is false must go, no matter what’. potent times!
blessed full moon to you…
~harmony
***do you want to learn the FOUNDATIONS OF ASTROLOGY? my live online 5 week course starts 1/4/23. in this class i teach the planets, signs, houses and aspects from an in-depth psychological and spiritual perspective. i have had professional astrologers take this course and say they found great value in it. you can read more about this course as well as see testimonials here- https://divineharmony.com/foundations-of-astrology/
STAR SPARKS
by ellias lonsdale
Gemini 17 A magic coin that has only one side
Being suspended within an atmosphere, a feeling tone of something happening that cannot be really as perceived and yet here it is. All ordinary mental projections stop at this point. Something arises which is uncanny. The path becomes to pursue this uncanny sensation where it leads.
The experience which follows is very hard to track with in words. A certain essence is alive, is moving, is leading us through. Yet what we stumble upon is shadow, is everything which that essence is not about. We continue our one-pointed pursuit of the essence path. And at the same time we encounter in our field the undersoul depths script with counter-messaging and every kind of sabotage and extreme complication which could be drawn in for any purpose.
Yet something about that uncanny atmosphere of something beyond calling us, keeps motivating us to stay with a level of experience which would seem to be crazy-making and absurd. We hold out before our inner eye the willingness to be shown that which is extraordinary and staggering. And then we keep sensing all around us everything but what we seek, long for and are diving toward.
This shadow play is confoundingly mysterious and multiple. As naively straight on as our impulse carries us into, somehow somewhere it becomes anything but that pretense image. Everything fragments, atomizes. We stumble upon a nightmare. If we can hold ourselves steady on the inside of this barrage of chaotic impressions and sensations, we will then back through to the other side. The fruits of our labor will be a calm, sober, clear and undeniable state of consciousness. We have seen everything and somehow we have held to our innocence and our longing for that which is beyond comprehension.
We do become the miracle embodier. We do allow the mystery to bring us all the way through. And in order to get there, everything in us which is false must go, no matter what.
SABIAN SYMBOLS
by dane rudhyar
PHASE 76 (GEMINI 16°): A WOMAN ACTIVIST IN AN EMOTIONAL SPEECH DRAMATIZING HER CAUSE.
KEYNOTE: A passionate response to a deeply felt new experience.
What has been “discovered” not only needs to be discussed and tested through an intellectual exchange which permits its formulation, it also demands “exteriorization.” This implies the act of dealing with those who are still unaware of the new knowledge or realization. A public is needed, and it has to be convinced; its inertial resistance to change has to be overcome. This usually requires an emotional dramatization of the issues at stake. Here again, as at the very start of the cycle (Aries 1°), a woman is depicted, which means a person depending upon feelings and fiery images to sway the receptive public.
This is the first stage in the sixteenth five-fold sequence in the cyclic process. We are dealing now with the exteriorization of the original impulse — i.e. the emergence from the vast ocean of potentiality which constitutes human nature at all levels. What is at stake is a process of communication of new experiences. The mind is called upon to perform its work, but what comes first is the action of that mind which is violently moved and which attempts to move other minds by violent means, the PROSELYTIZING MIND.
PHASE 77 (GEMINI 17°): THE HEAD OF A ROBUST YOUTH CHANGES INTO THAT OF A MATURE THINKER.
KEYNOTE: The transformation of physical vitality into the power to build concepts and intellectual formulations through which knowledge can be transferred.
While in the preceding symbol we see the explosive release of impulses generated by a new realization of what is right and wrong – the “woman” way controlled by feelings – now we have a picture of a process of quiet and steady metamorphosis of biological energy into mind-power, which can be seen symbolically as the “man” way. The symbolism may seem old-fashioned today, but the two contrasting approaches to communication of new experiences remain evident, however one wishes to symbolize them.
This second stage of the sixteenth sequence, as is nearly always the case, presents a contrast with the first stage. What we see pictured is the transformation of emotions into mind, of instincts into thoughts – a process of MENTAL METAMORPHOSIS.