the full moon in scorpio is exact on sunday, may 3rd 2015 at 8:42pm PDT. this full moon marks the midway point of the current lunar cycle we are in the began with the new moon at the last degrees of aries on april 18th. with the new moon in aries and full moon in scorpio both ruled by mars- there is a strong active, dynamic and perhaps aggressive and potentially violent energy underlying this entire lunar cycle (just look to the riots in baltimore or the earthquake in nepal to see the most shadow expression of the mars-ruled lunation!).
this full moon marks lunar beltane- one of the four fire festivals in earth and nature based traditions. there are three ways of calculating beltane- calendar beltane, solar or astrological beltane and lunar beltane. calendar beltane always falls on may 1st. solar or astrological beltane occurs when the sun is at the exact midpoint between spring equinox and summer solstice (or fall equinox and winter solstice in the southern hemisphere). this midpoint is precisely 15 degrees of taurus for beltane (and for imbolc it is 15 aquarius, lammas 15 leo and samhain 15 scorpio). the precise date of the sun’s transit through 15 taurus this year is may 5th and 6th. lunar beltane occurs at the full moon in scorpio- and that is on sunday may 3rd. this beltane season is quite potent since all three ways of calculating beltane have a very small window spanning from may 1st through the 6th! (which is a rare occurrence)
beltane is a fire festival celebrating life, fertility, sexuality and abundance. it occurs at the peak of spring- and is the midpoint between spring equinox and summer solstice (all the fire festivals occur at the midpoints of the equinoxes and solstices- which is why they are called the cross quarter days). it’s a time when the God and Goddess unite in sacred Union and become pregnant- which we see around us symbolically by plants in full bloom and animals in heat. this time of the year is cosmically aligned to bring hope, dreams, ideas and visions into manifestation and embodiment (symbolized by the sun being in earthy, embodied taurus). taking time during this beltane window to give thanks for all the abundance in your life and opening up to birthing more- creatively and otherwise- is recommended!
the full moon chart is quite potent, with a major focus being the T-square aspect formed between the sun in taurus opposite the moon in scorpio and both of them in T-square aspect to jupiter in leo. the T square is 12 minutes from being exact- which is about a tight an aspect as you can get! T squares are aspects of tension and opposition- the sun/conscious self opposes the moon/Unconscious and jupiter at the apex comes in to amplify and perhaps exacerbate the tension between the two. when you have a T-square there is always a mystery, phantom point that shows up in the point opposite the apex of the the T-square: in this case 13-14 aquarius. if we had a planet or point in aquarius in this full moon chart we would have a Grand Cross- so if you happen to have anything in your chart at 13-14 aquarius this lunation is most definitely activating it in a big way! with aquarius being the phantom point- accessing our vision, Higher Perspective and global or community focus (not just personal as in what i have (taurus), what i desire (scorpio) or what i am (leo))- is key.
since full moons tend to bring things to Light, fruition, completion, climax or crisis- the scorpio full moon is likely to bring up all kinds of deep things hidden in our subconscious, Unconscious and psyche- both personally and collectively. this can be wonderful in terms of insights and aha moments arising that help us to see more of who we are and helps us to integrate that into our self-concept and Greater Vision. yet if we are heavily invested in NOT seeing certain aspects of ourselves (i.e. our deepest fears, obsessions, jealousies and power trips) or the world around us then this full moon can bring us to crisis points.
with the taurus/scorpio axis highlighted there is also a focus on what we hold onto (taurus) and what we let go of (scorpio)- what needs to be born and what needs to die. taurus tends to hold on, sometimes too long! while scorpio tends to constantly let go, sometimes to soon. finding the middle point where we are not being reactionary to circumstance and default to old behavior (of running away- scorpio! or clinging- taurus!) is key.
with jupiter squaring both the sun and moon, we have his benevolent, expansive, higher-minded energy infusing the lunation. but we also have his excessive, impulsive, self-inflated energy in the mix as well. the positive use of jupiter in leo is expressing our creativity, originality, confidence and self-expression! we just need to watch out for the shadow side of jupiter in leo: narcissism, needing to be the leader and needing to be validated, adored and showered with praise.
the harmonious aspects the full moon makes are to neptune and pluto- the planets that represent the heights and the depths, the upper world and the underworld. neptune infuses the full moon with spirituality, sensitivity and compassion- while pluto infuses the full moon with even more depth perception and desire to get to the root or Source of things. it is interesting to note that pluto rules this full moon (along with mars- the ancient ruler)- so having the ruler of the lunation link up with the moon enhances the plutonian, depth-perception vibe. there may be several planets in lighter, airy, surface focused gemini (mercury and venus are there but mars and the sun will follow suit in the next couple of weeks) but the scorpio full moon demands we go DEEP!
the other ruler of the chart- mars- is interesting to take note of. he is conjunct the fixed star capulus- which can point to aggression and sexual energy (which is a shadow potential of this lunation for sure). he is also approaching algol- often called the demon star, but that is only one side of the expression of this fixed star. algol is the eye of medusa- a very powerful Dark Goddess in her own right. her ability to turn man to stone when he looks into her eyes is symbolic of the Dark Goddess’ ability to see beyond the facade and get to the Truth. what she freezes and shatters is the EGO- so you only look in the eye of medusa if you want to see and be seen. and even if you do want to see and be seen- you may see things you were not expecting and it may not be all that fun to acknowledge!
the Dark Goddess is a theme in this chart as asteroid lilith is conjunct the moon, opposite the sun and parallel pluto- dark moon lilith exactly aspects the sun, moon and jupiter and black moon lilith aspects uranus. all three liliths feature in this chart- bringing a lot of potent magical, intuitive and depth/underworld insight to this full moon. ultimately the journey of the Dark Goddess is one of empowerment. asteroid lilith represents the victim where we give away our power or have it taken from us. dark moon lilith represents the tyrant- where we control, manipulate and lord our power over others. black moon lilith is the whole, empowered, embodied Dark Feminine- that which we are working towards personally and collectively. with all three liliths involved in the full moon in scorpio chart- we’d all do well to take a good, deep look at our relationship to sexuality, fear, power, control and desire.
i often liken scorpio to the eye of the needle that jesus spoke of in the bible. i feel that we have many lifetimes with different signs and charts being prominent- and then there are a series of lifetimes where we are given many scorpio lessons one after another. we are given great power, money or sexual charisma- and the Universe sees what we do with it. and then we are given no power, no money, no beauty or sexual attractiveness- and the Universe sees what we do with it. the lessons ultimately boil down to ‘how can we live in the world but not of it?’. how can we be powerful without letting it take us over? how can we attract abundance but not take it for granted and not allow the pursuit of it to cause us to sell out?
with jupiter in leo at the midpoint of the full moon, we are asked to come into the Highest expression of jupiter in leo while still being very much aware of the shadow potential inherent in it. anchoring into/expressing more fully our gifts, our originality, our creativity and our Inner Sun/Divine Self is key. but we also need to have good ego check points that can help us balance out when we are coming from narcissism, self-importance, pride and selfishness. this full moon seems to be a reminder to us all that “wisdom tells me i am nothing. Love tells me i am everything. between the two my life flows.” (by Nisargadatta Maharaj)
so take time during this powerful lunar beltane weekend to give thanks for the life, creativity and fertility present in your journey! and also take time to delve into the depths and the shadows to seek the gold (realizations) that will help you to navigate further on your path of healing and wholeness. “both Light and shadow are the dance of Love” (rumi)- and a full moon in scorpio is a great reminder that not everything is what it seems and that to really understand something you have to get to the roots and not just stay on the surface.
i leave you with one final quote from the recently passed away dan fredinburg (one of the americans who died in the avalanche at mt everest last week):
“may you continue to grow your fascination and Love for yourself and all your parts, though none of it is who you really are.” a poignant reminder that we are our surface and our depth- but we don’t want to confuse the former with the latter. take time at this full moon to dig a little deeper into your self and into the Truth!
beltane blessings to you!
~divine harmony