[This blog is inspired by my teachings during a MOON CIRCLE workshop held live on Zoom on Sunday, May 23, 2021. Thanks to my Moon Circles’ students for the community and inspiration, and to Lou Moffa for transcribing these teachings from the class]
This lunation, occurring on Wednesday, May 26th, invites us to embrace change in order to bring more joy into our lives. The mutable qualities of both Sagittarius (Moon) and Gemini (Sun) come to the fore as the Moon perfects its opposition to the Sun. Mutable signs encourage us to grow, change, transform from the inside out. Other notable aspects for this astrological moment are: Mercury and Venus conjunct in Gemini; Neptune in Pisces square Mercury and Venus in Gemini; Neptune trine Mars in cancer; and Jupiter in Pisces Square Sun and Moon. Overall, this Full Moon is an opportunity to assess, acknowledge and grow.
The Sun is the way that we express ourselves; it’s how we show up in the world; it’s our electric energy, it’s how we go out and engage with consensus reality. Gemini (mutable air sign) is a sign that focuses its energy on the mind — more generally, it encompasses the rational mind and the intellect. With the Sun in Gemini, we are invited to explore and exercise our ability to control our minds. In practical terms, this means waking in the morning and actively choosing our outlook on the world for the day. The field of the mind is immense compared to that of the body: we can travel through space and time within our minds by recalling memories or connecting with friends at great distances. This is a comprehensible experience only because of our minds’ ability to make sense out of such experiences. Our bodies do not have the capacity to worry or create problems in the same manner as the mind — by nature, our bodies are much more closely tied to the present moment than our minds are.
The Moon, especially when full, is a psychic magnet. The lunar qualities are cool, attractive, shapeshifting. In Sagittarius, the Full Moon sheds light on our value system. What are your values? How are you planning to rebuild your life based on them?
What’s very special about this Full Moon in Sagittarius is that it is conjunct the South Node of the Moon. We are invited to inhabit the spaces of our minds to reflect and recall how we’ve shown up in the world in the past, and to critically reflect on how we might want to step into a new consciousness, a new way of being in the world. With the Moon illuminated in the sign of Sagittarius, the lesson is that we are the teachers of ourselves. The Full Moon on the South Node asks some hard questions: how am I a teacher to myself? Are my methods outdated, or have I inherited them without critical thought? We could think of the Moon conjunct the South Node as a fine-toothed comb passing through and untangling the knots of past actions that we carry with us. What past actions do you still need to process and digest? How did you behave in accordance with your values, and how not?
The square from Jupiter is a sign that there is a need to cleanse excessive tendencies. What is the excess in our lives right now that we can modify? Are we studying, or sleeping, or drinking too much? Are we too stimulated, too worried, too excited? It’s not a problem — it’s a lesson. Since Jupiter is in Pisces, there is a tinge of healing, spirituality, compassion. Be on the lookout also for inflammation, both physical and mental/emotional: jealousy and wrath are possible emotions that could boil over as a result of the square from Jupiter.
Sometimes, when a lunation conjuncts the lunar nodes, as it will be this Wednesday, we have an eclipse. Eclipses are profoundly important, and have been culturally significant events since ancient times across all reaches of the Earth. The Earth, placed between the Sun and the Moon, will cast a shadow on the Moon at the peak of its fullness. Metaphorically, we (the Earth), quiet down our psychic brain (the Moon), for a reset. It’s a good time to quiet the mind and open up to receiving intuitive teachings. As Mercury applies a square to Neptune, there is some tension between the rational mind and the intuitive mind. There is a need to cultivate a balanced approach to life and experience: we can’t just rely on our rational minds, on planning and organizing. The intuitive mind, too, needs time and space to work and explore. We do this by indulging rest: lean into the coolness of Neptune, who is receiving a boost from Mars applying a trine from Cancer.
Vibratory Concepts to Align With:
Where is your joy?
What do you need to let go of to feel happier and more relaxed?
On which values are you building your life?
Listen to a contemplative practice based on this Full Moon here: