So much is happening so fast! It is now time to talk about the full moon in the Gemini–Sagittarius axis, signs that precede the solstices. It will occur very early this Monday, November 27th, at 1:16 AM in California, 03:16 hours in Mexico City, in the fifth degree of the axis, at 4°51′.
A quick glance at the chart shows that Sun is still forming a close conjunction with Mars, of which I will say a few words later. This means that the usual Sun–Moon opposition of a full moon is next to a Mars–Moon one. Not only that, Saturn is about to leave the first degree of Pisces which has been occupying for nearly two months, but not before helping achieve the awareness of both oppositions by forming T-squares with them from Pisces 1⁰! Also note that Mercury, ruler of Gemini, is in Sagittarius (24°41′) for more axis representation.
Every full moon may be seen as a seed of consciousness much like the new moon is a seed of action. You may remember when we talked about the lunation cycle that the waxing phases are ones of action, most notably the first quarter phase which we characterized as a crisis of action, and the waning phases referring to consciousness, with the last quarter being a crisis of consciousness. So, while the full moon shows what was actualized from the new-moon potentiality and have become new concepts, ideas or behaviors available for our self, it also represents the actual tools to gain consciousness and truly integrate those new concepts, ideas or behaviors in our personality.
Sign Polarities
Over the ages, astrologers have assigned a Yang–Yin polarity to the signs, classifying the Fire and Air signs as masculine, and as feminine those of Water and Earth. Thus, an alternating polarity is formed between consecutive signs which is a different polarity than that of opposite ones. In fact, the former is a polarity in time, the latter in space.1
When we look at a horoscope as a static mandala, we are interested in spatial relationships, starting with the angular distances between pairs of celestial objects and points. From them, we extract astrological aspects when the angle is “close enough” to some values that carry specific functional meaning to the relationship between the two objects. The relationship of opposition (180°) is arguably the most important because it can make us realize that seemingly contradicting viewpoints are in fact complementary. Such relationship of awareness gives rise to the six zodiac axes, out of which Gemini–Sagittarius is the axis of rational cognition, symbolizing the pursuit of both information and knowledge.
However, when the horoscope is viewed as a phase in a process, which is a sequence of actions executed over time, the relationship of a sign with the subsequent one, for time only moves forward, acquires significance and gives rise to six pairs of signs as well. Rather than using masculine and feminine, Dane Rudhyar calls them root and confirmation symbols; I have used different terminology in the past, but we’ll stick to Rudhyar’s. A root symbol refers to a “mode of operation” of the one life power which is then confirmed by the subsequent sign and, together, they form an operative coupling. It is worth noting that the solstices, when either the Day or the Night force is at its maximum intensity, occur within one of these couplings, either Gemini–Cancer or Sagittarius–Capricorn.
In Gemini, the Day Force produces a multidirectional curiosity for information and varied experiences which requires the establishment of a center and the conscious acceptance of limits in Cancer so as to finally integrate the individuality. Conversely, the Night Force in Sagittarius expands the reach of the human mind to great visions and philosophies that need the societal structures of Capricorn to integrate a civilization.
Horizon with Gemini–Sagittarius
The sign Gemini is, according to Rudhyar, “characterized by a vivid eagerness to extend the scope of one’s personal experiences through many kinds of human contacts, and the absorption of a variety of information which is found to be readily available”. It is the sign of intellectual curiosity and classification to extract knowledge for personal and practical use. Conversely, Sagittarius refers to a more abstract type of knowledge, one “concerned with the integration of distantly related factors, with philosophy, religion, and any form which the quest for basic values and understanding or wisdom may take”, writes Rudhyar (all emphasis is mine). It can be concluded that Gemini deals with readily available encounters and the concrete mind, whereas Sagittarius deals with all that expands the horizon and allows us to dream great dreams. Gemini seeks to control the environment for personal convenience and ego gratification, while Sagittarius has ever bigger fish to fry, so to speak, be them larger horizons or adventures beyond the familiar.
An individual with a Gemini Ascendant has avidity for knowledge and a multiplicity of sensations and contacts to aid in the discovery of her own individual identity. The use of thought processes is very important but she must beware not to get caught in a web of small concerns or lost in a maze of information that, while neatly organized and classified, may be empty of higher meaning or unconcerned with social consequences, one of the shadow aspects of Gemini. Her Sagittarius Descendant may indicate relationships based on a larger scheme of values. Sagittarius will provide Gemini with abstract frames of reference, logical concepts and a general dissatisfaction with what is fashionable. More importantly, it will enable an expansion of consciousness through relationships.
When she has a Sagittarius Ascendant, not only will she be fond of travel and the outdoors but will come to realize what and who she is through involvement in a great cause, a social or religious quest, or a search for truth. Rudhyar again: “This sought-after Truth may be so capitalized that the individual seeks to promote or propagandize it with an often fanatic zeal, or at least with great dedication”. She may find her own truth and dharma through teaching that which she has avidly sought. However, due to her Gemini Descendant, she needs the polarizing influence of a more empirical, precise and analytical mind. She ought to seek partners who will cooperate with her along practical lines so her generalizations and expansionism may be fed with a variety of relevant data.
Sabian Symbols
The symbol for Sagittarius 5° (Sun) has the image: “An old owl sits alone on the branch of a large tree”, further explained as a poised and wise approach to existence based on a clear perception of unconscious factors and their operation. Owls are symbols of wisdom obtained from considering a different point of view, for the owl observes life when most of nature sleeps in unconscious bliss, its hooting often evoking many mysteries. Meanwhile, the image in Gemini 5° (Moon) is: “A revolutionary magazine asking for action”, subtitled: The explosive tendency of repressed feelings and root emotions.
Taken together, the two symbols present the development of change as a process that begins by recognizing the capacity for change based on the availability of an alternative, which may be recognized by considering a different point of view (the owl). Once the alternative is envisioned, and by definition it will be contrary to the status quo, it must be sought-after accepting the consequences such pursuit may bring. The similarity to the new-moon symbol is remarkable, both going against expectations imposed on us by society. The full-moon symbols appeal to the wisdom we have obtained over the years, after all it is an old owl, while at the new moon we were asked to follow our conscience. Whether one sees the full moon as the completion of the waxing phases of action or the start of the waning phases of consciousness, the message is clear: we must continue accepting change.
Mars: The Hero’s Journey
When we talked about the lunation cycle as the prototypical cycle of relationship, we also mentioned the twenty-year Jupiter–Saturn cycle as marking the pulse of society, the ebb and flow of expansive liberalism and structuring conservatism that allows for societal evolution. At the personal level, there are similar ebb and flow processes of evolution enabling us to first try something new and then follow by assessing its performance. In terms of our individuality, the 2+ year Sun–Mars cycle represents the hero’s journey.
The hero myth is arguably the most prevalent in mythology, it is a journey of venturing into the unknown by traveling, usually north which symbolizes the subconscious, while surmounting numerous obstacles in some spiritual quest. But that is only half of the journey, the hero returns to share his successes and lick his wounds while gaining wisdom from the experience. In all cycles, the duration from the alpha to the mu states is one of action to achieve a goal defined at the alpha state, while that from the mu to the omega states is of consciousness to understand what was actually achieved at the mu state, deriving wisdom at the omega state. Of course, as the archetype of such wisdom, the omega state defines the goal for the subsequent alpha state, producing a process and not just a series of unrelated cycles.
The Sun–Mars cycle is one of self discovery. Mars is the planet of desires and the energy to fulfill them, but many of our desires, if not most, come from our subconscious: a bunch of emotional information structured by our shadow. The cycle is about discovering the true nature of our desires so we can best fulfill them. Mars is not about value judgments, it is up to the Sun–Venus cycle to define our needs based on some value system that will determine their correspondence to our desires.
A new cycle officially began on November 17th, when the conjunction of Sun and Mars was exact at Scorpio 26°, but you will remember that they were practically joined at the hip through the entire sign; even the full-moon chart of next Monday shows them conjunct in Sagittarius. It all bodes for a strong cycle to uncover what is behind our personal desires, armed with the Scorpio capacity of profound exploration and now the ability of Sagittarius to expand our horizons to see the big picture. The revealing opposition (mu phase) will be on January 15th, 2025 and the 782-day cycle will end with the next conjunction on January 9th, 2026.
In mundane astrology where Moon represents the people, the opposition Mars–Moon is usually felt as violent behavior toward civilians, and we have experienced plenty. At a personal level, it may make us very aware of internal conflicts between our desirous nature and our emotional health.
Saturn
As mentioned earlier, Saturn is featured prominently by the T-squares it forms with the Sun–Moon and Mars–Moon oppositions. It is about to leave Pisces 1° (0⁰59′), the degree of commerce as organized interchange of human activity, its symbol being an open market. Heather Ensworth talks about Saturn as our inner shaman. It is the last planet we are able to see with the naked eye, the natural boundary of the solar system, but it is less dense than water (plus, it’s in Pisces) so the boundaries are as rigid as we make them. I mentioned in an earlier article that, after building structures of eleven different types, psychologically speaking, Saturn in Pisces tells us that structures are an illusion. Heather invites us not to hold on to the forms of Saturn tightly, including our body and our ego, for we are in reality spiritual beings.
When talking about Saturn in the past new moon, we mentioned that it is now moving direct through its retrograde shadow, perhaps offering opportunities to act differently than earlier in the year. For reference, Saturn entered Pisces last March 7th and stayed ten days in Pisces 1⁰ before advancing through the first eight degrees of the sign. After a period of retrograde motion that took it back to the beginning of Pisces, it changed direction once more on November 8th and will remain in that degree all the way up to the full moon, twenty days.
Mercury and Venus
Mercury forms an exact trine (same degree) with the North Node at Aries 24°21′, and therefore an exact sextile with the South Node, resulting in a Mystic Triangle with the Nodal axis. Furthermore, as you can see in the chart, Venus is in opposition to the North Node and forms a sextile with Mercury, resulting in another Mystic Triangle (shown in green). Venus conjunct the South Node helps us revalue our current relationships and our relatedness in general so we may leave behind those which oppose the new person we aim to be. Mercury in Sagittarius brings a thought process that is both honest and capable of seeing the “big picture” to help with the revaluation process.
Galactic Center News
I almost feel like including a section on astronomy in every message, given that so much is being discovered on a weekly basis! The multitude of satellite observatories continue to bring data challenging the theories and it is hard to keep up. Even when staying within the Milky Way, new discoveries happen often. In addition to the continuing measurement of intense solar flares, making this solar cycle one of the strongest on record, the latest studies come from the black hole that is at the center of our galaxy, Sagittarius A*.
Despite being a very quiet black hole, that is, one with a “small” accretion disk of matter circling before falling in, it spins at a very fast rate, which ought to attract a lot more matter towards it. It seems to compensate by having a huge magnetic field, also an uncommon occurrence. The combined effect is of a black hole that is able to maintain the integrity of the galaxy without causing much disturbance in it. Apparently our galaxy is a quiet neighborhood, but a well-connected one, for a large number of “filaments” of gas and energy, to give you a mental picture, emerge from the galactic center and are thousands of light years in length, going in all kinds of different directions towards other galaxies. To top it all, three articles were published detailing a 76 minute periodicity in two different frequencies, and one of 149 minutes, almost double, in another.
In astrology, the galactic center is from where the stars, Sun included, get spiritual force, what some occultists call Source, I find it interesting that we are becoming aware of its activity, its “life”, just now.
Wrapping Up…
We continue to have intense times confronted by everything we do not want in our future. The old paradigms are powerful and we see them all over because we are in need of purging them and we must first realize their destructiveness. They are based on separation, fear, and scarcity so we must counter with togetherness, hope, and abundance. It is up to us, individually and collectively, to co-create a new world, relying on the new consciousness based on compassion.
Don’t cling to the shore, stay in the river and flow towards the ocean, say the Hopi, but they don’t promise a smooth ride. There will be waterfalls in the near future since we are entering the Age of Aquarius, the Uranus-ruled sign, a planet prone to bring sudden realizations. Uranus inserts discontinuities into the structured world of Saturn, often bringing fear.
Human consciousness allows us to witness our conscious mind, and we must use such capacity to relax our ego and accept the subtler level of consciousness available to everyone nowadays. Listen to your heart for intuitions on how to act from such higher, compassionate level.
Finally, embark on your personal quest to understand your desires and center them with your needs. I will be periodically talking about the Sun–Mars cycle, the hero’s journey, as it progresses through its phases.
Always Love. 🌹🙏💖
- Since Newton, Physics has muddled the concepts of space and time due to the lack of understanding of the latter’s essence. It is even reduced to a pseudo-dimension of space in Einstein’s theory of General Relativity. The fact is that time is not linear but cyclical and astrology is the science of cyclicity. ↩︎
Comments