Aries Full Moon 2017

©2017 ML Monroe

Wow! Time is certainly moving more quickly every day. Wasn't it yesterday, I wrote about the Solar Eclipse?

Are the two events related? Short answer: of course they are. Everything that has followed the Solar Eclipse is related to it.

The Solar Eclipse brought strong, sometimes subtle, sometimes strong, changes for everyone. The Aries Full Moon brings the time to face whatever obstacles stand in the midst of our life. Then it gives us the light and power to move through and past them as needed. First, though, it requires our surrender of the obstacle that lives within.

Sometimes Aries pulls us into a confrontation mode. We want to battle everyone. What this Full Moon calls us to do is feel deeply into that confrontation to uncover what part of it is assertiveness and what is sheer aggression. We need to shed the aggression and focus on the assertive. Since this Full Moon is happening in conjunction with the Sun sign of Libra, we have the opportunity to draw from that sign to work positively on relationships ~~ not simply charge at and crash into everyone and everything.

Much of what is happening in our world reflects the Shadow. This Full Moon shines a light for us to explore new ways to consciously voice our emotions, to own our wishes, hopes and desires, and to bring honest, open communication into our relationships. It is time to fully grow into and express our true selves, to bring that part of our beingness into Light. We also are in a time where we focus on our place in the Divine Plan.

The proximity of this Full Moon to a Venus-Mars alignment adds a flavor of intensity and passion. There is opportunity and danger as well as both fate and freewill concerning those strong emotions. Though the Aries Full Moon is generally impulsive about moving forward without a backward glance, this one is inhibited by a sulky Pluto in Capricorn and a hesitant Mercury in Libra.

The Aries Full Moon illuminates our need and desire for balance in every aspect of our world. Watch carefully what it brings into illumination for you.

What can you do about violence? in yourself? in your world? How can you create relationships in beauty and remain true to yourself? How do you disagree with others without violating them or yourself? How do you find and maintain balance? How do you break through the learned fear of showing your true self?

Holiday Blessing with a Side of Mercury Retrograde

Another holiday season is upon us. This one was preceded by a flurry of events that have left many people a bit out of sorts, if not genuinely stunned, for the holidays. Not only major national events, but also many local and personal events have shown up in very unusual ways.

Add in Mercury retrograde beginning just before Solstice. We could be in for a roller coaster ride. This round's intensity rises alongside its close alignment to Pluto, ruler of the Underworld actively guiding the Middle World. It's a good time for research, uncovering secrets, reconnecting with people, revisiting events, and redoing projects. Making it the perfect time for family gatherings ~ as long as communication happens with great love and care.

Mercury retrograde provides the opportunity for reflection and insight before responding to challenging circumstances. If we quiet ourselves, it's the time when our intuition can speak the most clearly ~ if we listen.

Mercury is the messenger of the gods, both between the deity and between gods and humans. As a planet, it's the director of alchemy. It communicates the changes and transformations we need to move to the next phase of our lives. During this one in particular, Mercury goes retrograde in Capricorn, the realm of responsibilities, career, plans, structures, goals, and control. If we quiet ourselves, we will receive the awareness and insight we need.

This year we will be entering 2017 with Mercury in retrograde. That gives us a slow, contemplative start of the new year. If we use this reflective time wisely, we can move into 2017 with more awareness, understanding and information than ever before.

As a messenger, Mercury also rules the throat chakra, the place from which we communicate and speak our truth. In retrograde, some of what may surface will be the secrets and old pains. we have the choice of how we speak our truth about those feelings. If we listen and choose to do so we bring awareness and understanding to the surface. In retrograde, Mercury gives us the reason to pause, look and listen to catch the fullness of what is being offered.

In this respect, fluid and retrograde Mercury is part of the blessing of the season. We can slow down and listen before we speak or we can rush right in and precipitate a quicker change by blurting things without thought or care. It's a gift of choice as we get together with family and friends.

What blessings do you have in this moment? How much time do you take for reflection during the holidays? What are you skimming over? What are you missing? To what do you need to pay more attention? What new responsibility are you considering taking on? How is your communication affected during this time? What creative ways can you use to slow yourself down? How can you help others have a better life?

Gemini Full Moon, December's Rose Moon

© 2016 Mary-Lynne Monroe

As I watched this moon grow to full, I found myself growing happier, as though the brighter the moon, the lighter my mood. Walking home on the eve of the Gemini Full Moon, I spotted a rose bright with life in the freezing December air. It's leafy tendril reached out to caress the brilliant orb of the Moon. I was awestruck.

Sometimes life presents us with shattering, breathtaking moments of beauty. I relish recognizing it. I love wresting images of those moments. It makes my heart soar!

This rose should not be so vibrantly alive after the recent snow, rain and ice. Yet... here it was, revealing its delicate beauty, honoring the Full Moon.

Joining this Gemini Full Moon is Pluto still reigning in Capricorn ~ the god of the underworld ruling in the middle world ~ who draws us deeply into our social and economic structures. Those structures shape our collective purpose as we engage with the dynamics of transformation in the areas of fairness, justice, honor, beauty and art. We are called to create it with our art and our actions.

We need to immerse ourselves in our own creative actions, our personal art, as well as support and honor the creatives among us. The Archetype of the Artist serves as a healer and teacher for the entire community. Artists always point the way when transformation is needed.

In the Light of this Full Moon, Gemini demands that we communicate the truth that Sagittarius calls for us to see and experience. We continue to be confronted by the Shadow side, ours as well as the greater community's. It's important to face and confront the Shadow and to to learn what it has to teach us. Saturn requires that we take responsibility for our beliefs, our thoughts and our actions. Saturn asks that we reconnect and rediscover who is responsible for our lives, who is writing our story.

As this year draws to its close, this being the final Full Moon of 2016, I am drawn back to the Rose of vitality where there should be none as it reaches for the glorious Full Moon. May 2017 blossom with your Rose always finding the Light.

What part of the general mindset no longer serves the greater good and goals of the collective? What truth are you called to communicate to others? What art or creative action calls to you for the healing of the community? How will you bring that forward in 2017? Who is writing the story of your life?

Full SuperMoon in Taurus 2016

Tonight's ~ or tomorrow morning's ~ SuperMoon will be the largest since 1948 and will not happen again, in this range of size, until 2034. However, depending where you are, it may not be at its perigee until the wee hours of the morning. So the visual at sunset may seem disappointing.... or not. In all honesty, I haven't been able to discern the subtle difference in the nearness of the moon from one SuperMoon to another.

Some specific information:

A supermoon typically refers to the concurrence of two phenomena. One is when the moon is within 90% of its closest position to Earth in its orbit. ... The other phenomenon is syzygy, which is when the Earth, sun and moon all line up as the moon orbits Earth. When both a perigee and syzygy occur and the moon is located on the opposite of the earth from the sun we get a supermoon. (http://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2016/11/13/tonight-record-breaking-supermoon-biggest-68-years/#58d05c0c6574)

Looking at other aspects of this moon, it occurs in Taurus, a steady, practical earth sign. Its energy is about illuminating the goal to motivate and realize our fullest potential. This particular SuperMoon will help us see things in practical and logical ways for implementing action plans with calm and clarity. It's a reminder to focus on worth ~ self-worth and emotional worth as well as financial issues ~ for the sake of security and overall, global responsibility.

There is conflict ~ or more precisely, a back-and-forth pull ~ between expansive Jupiter calling us out and Pluto in Capricorn wanting us to release the old and play it safe at the moment. It becomes a matter of letting go of people who no longer match with us as well as ideas that no longer serve our higher good and pacing ourselves to continue forward. All in all, it's about trusting the process ~ which in the moment, feels awkward at best, crazy at worst. Yet it remains our only way forward.

Are you living your life to your fullest potential? What self-limiting beliefs do you have? What are you willing to release? How do you feel in the large light of the SuperMoon? How are you creating security for yourself? and those you love? What darkness is this SuperMoon illuminating for you?