The Moon

The first full Moon in 2020 is at 20 degrees Cancer across from the Sun at 20 degrees Capricorn.  Perhaps our vision will improve and we will all have 20/20 eyesight at this precious moment.  

This full Moon is an eclipse visible in Europe, Asia and parts of Africa and Australia,  It’s a wee bit of an eclipse, penumbral, a thumbprint of the Earth upon her rim.   Last July we had a solar eclipse during the new Moon in Cancer.  This full Moon in Cancer is the manifestation of something which was born then.   If you look back to that time, what seed was planted, which has now sprouted into visibility?

A FAMOUS SINGER IS PROVING HER VIRTUOSITY DURING AN OPERATIC PERFORMANCE.  The emotional reward accompanying cultural excellence.  This moment  invites us to focus upon  and stretch our skills.  What each of us creates now, has the potential for powerful depth and durability.

photo: Bruce Lhuillier     Abbaye en Broceliande

This is a moment of Capricorn building power.   We have the sun, Mercury, Ceres, Saturn and Pluto all lined up in that sign of manifestation.   Pluto’s contribution is the dire warning to construct on a firm foundation.  Saturn in Capricorn will build that structure to last over time.   Ceres says it must be in harmony with the earth.  Mercury and Sun in Capricorn shine upon our projects no matter how daunting they seem to us.

I believe this full Moon in Cancer, when so many powerful planets are meeting in Capricorn is a breakthrough moment, much like  the story of Vortigen’s Tower.   Vortigen, a tribal chief of Britain had invited the Saxons to enter his lands to fight off the Scots and Picts.  He wanted to build a tower to protect himself, leaving his people to fend for themselves.   Each night the work of the tower fell down, and Vortigen’s magicians told him that the blood of a young boy who had no father must be sprinkled on the foundation.   They fetched Merlin, who was fourteen years old and had no father.   Merlin told the court: There is a pond under the tower’s foundation, and beneath it is a stone and below the stone are a pair of dragons, one red and one white.  When the builders dug down they found the pond and drained it, and came upon the great rock beneath.  When they pulled back the stone, two dragons flew up into the air, entwined.  One was Red and one was White.  As the dragons rose, Merlin started to cry; he fell upon his knees and began to prophecy.  As Merlin foretold, Vortigen was driven from his tower by the Saxons he had invited in to protect him from the Picts and Scots, and the history of Britain was changed forever.

                                                           Smith-Waite Tarot Deck

At each full Moon this year, Amelia Leonards and I will feature the planet or luminary who ‘rules’ that sign.  For the first full Moon of the year, we celebrate:

                          The Moon

Remember when you were the village Moon watcher?  You gave the shout, the sound of a horn, when the new Moon appeared in the evening sky, so all might begin again. Lunar cycles mark our days and hours.  All movement is in sync with currents emanating from a light in the sky. The Moon marks the time for ritual and holiday celebration.  Where the Moon resides in the Astrology chart is a place of flux, because the Moon transforms before our eyes, travels across the sky or disappears all together.  The Moon’s sign at our birth defines our emotional tenor.  Water, tides, formless to form, the Moon pulls the ocean and a woman’s blood days. Sea creatures respond to her magnetism deep within the sightless depths.  Cancer is the Moon’s home place, but her pleasure is in Taurus. Her feelings are reality; she never states the obvious. She is an eye, the observer who weeps and smiles, and the face of solace for the lonely.  

The Moon:  painting by Amelia Leonards

Sarah Fuhro      The Wisdom Tradition evolved over the centuries to address our deepest human needs. Sarah Fuhro is a practitioner of its many forms; including Astrology, Tarot, Flower Essences and Druidry. For an appointment call 508 740 7039 or email her at sarahfuhro@gmail.com.  In addition to personal consultations, Sarah teaches workshops and private classes, offering both clients and students knowledge powerfully rooted in the past, presented in the language of the present.   

Amelia Leonards works with watercolor and graphite to create fantastical imagery.  She draws upon world folklore, mythology and her imagination  to create pieces imbued with sensitive and emotive storytelling. Throughout her work you will find an emphasis on feminine and natural elements, along with a hefty dose of humor and antlers. https://www.amelialeonards.com  and https://www.etsy.com/shop/amelialeonards.

Bruce Lhuillier Is a French artist and photographer currently living near Boston.   His ability to capture spirit in his photos and paintings is both unique and  visionary.  You can find his work on Etsy at https://www.etsy.com/shop/Barknstone.

Sabian Symbols are images for each degree of the Zodiac channeled by Laura Wheeler and transcribed by Marc Edmund Jones, revised by Dane Rudhyar.   http://www.mindfire.ca/.

On the Goat’s Horns

 

photo: Sarah Fuhro

This morning at dawn, the day of the Solstice Sunrise, I saw the dark Moon crescent, a nail pairing of a Moon, shining in the brilliant sky.   How can such a tiny light eclipse the great power of the Sun?  How does something very small obliterate something very large?   How does the emotional, dark, lunar side of us, rise up and overcome the bright, logical, conscious solar side?  How do small vulnerable people or creatures exert pressure to make huge changes, Hobbits sent to conquer Sauron?   So it is with Moon and Sun at a solar eclipse.

 

The new Moon is in a crowded room with many other players, all in the sign of Capricorn.  One pair, Saturn and Pluto  are about to meet in this sign. When this happens every thirty years,  change ripples out.   Saturn, who represents structure meets deep, transformational upheaval: Pluto.  They will have one exact meeting, January 12.  The Sabian Symbol for that meeting is: ‘A Woman Entering a Convent.’

photo: Bruce Lhuillier

There is much more to be said about the moment of the new Moon.  We have the good fortune to be alive at this occasion of  cosmic  action.  The pot is stirred by the planet Uranus who is always delighted to inject the unexpected.  Uranus is in a close connection (trine) to Sun/Moon and Jupiter.   The solar eclipse, although not visible for those of us  located on the dark side of the earth, will be significant. Capricorn has everything to do with government and financial structures.  Mars, deep in his sign of Scorpio will add dark energy  in the mix for the Saturn Pluto conjunction.  Venus has an eye on Uranus. the asteroid Demeter is in partnership with the mysterious Neptune.  This is an oceanic moment in time.

Since so much is happening in the constellation of Capricorn, let’s take a closer look at this sign of the zodiac.   This new Moon begins a series of extraordinary paintings by artist/illustrator Amelia Leonards.  She starts with the sign of Capricorn.

painting: Amelia Leonards

Capricorn

At first, what  we know of Capricorn appears to be above ground: visible, tangible, safe from Water’s dark mystery.  This is a sign dedicated to the very solid Earth element, yet the symbol of Capricorn is a goat with a fish’s tail.  Capricorn retrieves what was lost from sight in Scorpio’s dark waters.  At the moment of the Solstice, we celebrate the promise of light and vision felt in spirit form during the long nights of Sagittarius.  Manifestation is the power of this goat/fish.  Keenly aware of darkness, Capricorn climbs to a high point to observe the return of the Sun’s light. Guided by Saturn, who will not tolerate anything without form, Capricorn puts water into vessels in preparation for the next new Moon, the Water Bearer, Aquarius.

Sarah Fuhro

Sarah Fuhro      The Wisdom Tradition evolved over the centuries to address our deepest human needs. Sarah Fuhro is a practitioner of its many forms; including Astrology, Tarot, Flower Essences and Druidry. For an appointment call 508 740 7039 or email her at sarahfuhro@gmail.com.  In addition to personal consultations, Sarah teaches workshops and private classes, offering both clients and students knowledge powerfully rooted in the past, presented in the language of the present.   

Amelia Leonards works with watercolor and graphite to create fantastical imagery.  She draws upon world folklore, mythology, and copious amounts of chocolate to create pieces imbued with sensitive and emotive storytelling. Throughout her work you will find an emphasis on feminine and natural elements, along with a hefty dose of humor and antlers. https://www.amelialeonards.com  and https://www.etsy.com/shop/amelialeonards.

Bruce Lhuillier Is a French artist and photographer currently living near Boston.   His ability to capture spirit in his photos and paintings is both unique and  visionary.  You can find his work on Etsy at https://www.etsy.com/shop/Barknstone.

Sabian Symbols are images for each degree of the Zodiac channeled by Laura Wheeler and transcribed by Marc Edmund Jones, revised by Dane Rudhyar.   http://www.mindfire.ca/.

 

 

Yes, and No!

A stream begins in a spring underground.  The water bubbles up, and  follows a path where it becomes meshed with water from other sources. A river forms and then a human settlement is built around the river.  The city benefits from the river, but the water becomes polluted.  New sources of water are found at a distance, and soon the whole world is both connected and messed up!

 photo: Bruce Lhuillier

Gemini is about duality, a Mercury driven sign. Gemini Moon in a birth chart marks the tendency to scatter emotions, or to verbalize rather than feel when anxious. With a Gemini full Moon, there is always something to think about, a new idea to explore. We may all feel a special Gemini lunacy when the mind is busy at work trying to juggle contradictory concepts like hope and despair.  The United States was founded at the moment of a Gemini Moon.  We are a nation based upon the word ‘freedom’ with an economy dependent on slavery.

photo: Bruce Lhuillier

But wait!  Mercury is much more than a crazy maker.  He once was the messenger of the gods, the magician, the healer, the guide at the cross roads, Thoth, Hermes, Merlin.  He moves between our every day reality, and an enchanted vision of the material world. As my head spins with this full Moon, as my heart beats faster, I try to breath deeply and slowly, until it all slows down.  Then I begin to feel the warmth of the Sun in Sagittarius, and the magical breath of Mercury.

  photo: Bruce Lhuillier

Every full Moon in Gemini bathes in the light of a Sagittarius Sun.  While Gemini is a perfect expression of the Air element, Sagittarius is the Fire we need to keep us warm until the moment the Sun returns to the Northern Hemisphere at the Solstice.  Sagittarius is noted for optimism, a basic belief that the Universe is benign.  Both Tarot cards which represent Gemini and Sagittarius feature an angel.  The card for Gemini is The Lovers and shows the archangel Raphael, the healer.   The Lovers is called ‘the Choice card.’  Gemini energy is sometimes distraught with the weight of a decision.

The Lovers  Smith-Waite Tarot deck

The card for Sagittarius is Temperance, with the archangel Michael as as he pours from chalice to chalice, a soul from body to body.

Temperance Smith-Waite tarot deck.

When the Gemini Moon and Sagittarius Sun come together, everything seems possible, but tenuous.  Air and Fire create warm flames to warm us in a cold season. These signs are called ‘mutable,’ and they express joy and sorrow around constant change.   Sagittarius honors the sacred nature of all things. Gemini is enthralled with possibility and mental movement.  May they nourish us with hope and vision.

Sarah Fuhro      The Wisdom Tradition evolved over the centuries to address our deepest human needs. Sarah Fuhro is a practitioner of its many forms; including Astrology, Tarot, Flower Essences and Druidry. For an appointment call 508 740 7039 or email her at sarahfuhro@gmail.com.  In addition to personal consultations, Sarah teaches workshops and private classes, offering both clients and students knowledge powerfully rooted in the past, presented in the language of the present.   sarahfuhro@gmail.com.

Bruce Lhuillier Is a French artist and photographer currently living near Boston.   His ability to capture spirit in his photos and paintings is both unique and  visionary.  You can find his work on Etsy at https://www.etsy.com/shop/Barknstone.

 

The Swan

The swan moves closer

to her reflection, swivels,

to see her full image.

 

She admires the perfection

of her white and black form

as she rotates under the Sun.

 

The reeds hold her picture

in their green-brown folio,

where water and earth meet.

 

The swan knows

there is more,

but leaves that for later.

 

poem, Sarah Fuhro

photo Robert Fuhro

Owl Eyes

photo: Robert Fuhro   Barred Owl

AN OLD OWL SITS ALONE ON THE BRANCH OF A LARGE TREE.

The Owl flies through the night and doesn’t bump his head.   The New Moon for tomorrow ‘suggests the possibility of developing a wisdom beyond tragedy, a peace and poise beyond conflict.’  That is what the Sabian Symbol (verbal image for each degree of the Zodiac) says about the location of the Sun and Moon in Sagittarius.   The owl’s  ‘eyes see what men normally fail to perceive. He represents that consciousness which is active where the processes of life normally escape the attention of the personal ego and its intellect.’

By delicious chance, the meeting of Sun and Moon takes place very close to the asteroid, Pallas Athena,  she who is represented by an owl, and who personifies wisdom.  Some say that Athena is associated with owls because she is a descendent of the snake and bird goddesses who came before her.  She might be a link to a very ancient wisdom of human and animal connection.  Wise people are trying to reestablish this connection, to listen to animals, to remind us that we are not separate from other species.  Buried within us is the same consciousness which guides the owl through the forest at night.   

This new Moon begins the month of Elder/Ruis!   Elderberries and Elderflower make strong medicine to keep the immune system active and healthy.  Symbolically the tree represents regeneration.  When wounded, Elder regrows branches quickly.  Ruis represents the end that must come before the new beginning.  During this lunation the winter solstice will take place,  a deep turn from dark to light and from light to dark on the earth.  The dark and light aspect of the planet is a huge treasure chest of possibility.   When we consider the owl who flew into the dark woods, he gives us a clue that there is more than one kind of vision and more than one kind of light.  

 photo: Bruce Lhuillier

This particular new Moon offers a treasure…by way of a very dynamic relationship to the planet Uranus, we are promised a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.  How to feel the energy of the owl who sees with inner eyes, to understand how wealthy we are?   This Moon also promises an alchemical fire which creates new elements deep within the earth.  Find something that worries you, and holds you prisoner to its discomfort.   In the next three days, that dark concern will finish.  By searching the dark instead of the light a new solution may appear.

 

Sabian Symbols are images for each degree of the Zodiac channeled by Laura Wheeler and transcribed by Marc Edmund Jones, revised by Dane Rudhyar.   http://www.mindfire.ca/.

Sarah Fuhro      The Wisdom Tradition evolved over the centuries to address our deepest human needs. Sarah Fuhro is a practitioner of its many forms; including Astrology, Tarot, Flower Essences and Druidry. For an appointment call 508 740 7039 or email her at sarahfuhro@gmail.com.  In addition to personal consultations, Sarah teaches workshops and private classes, offering both clients and students knowledge powerfully rooted in the past, presented in the language of the present.   sarahfuhro@gmail.com.

Bruce Lhuillier Is a French artist and photographer currently living near Boston.   His ability to capture spirit in his photos and paintings is both unique and  visionary.  You can find his work on Etsy at https://www.etsy.com/shop/Barknstone.

 

The Glorious Lamp of the Poor

Sticks mark the journey of the Sun on a late October day.  The path to the faerie house is also a calendar of the year.   Each white stone might be a full Moon!  A vision of a magical realm conjures the magic of Sun and Moon.   The Moon loves the sign of Taurus, perhaps because she loves the Earth who is at the heart of Taurus…..

photo: Bruce Lhuillier

A woman draws away two dark curtains which close the entrance to a sacred pathway...this is the Sabian Symbol* for the Scorpio Sun at this moment of full Moon.   We can enter when ‘we plunge ahead into the unknown,‘ if we can move beyond dualistic thoughts.  The full Moon always gives us the opportunity to experience a polarity….the Sun and Moon opposite one another, the Sun casting light on the Moon’s face, as he sets and she carries that light into the night sky!  This is a polarity where we let go of any need to chooses sides!

photo: Bruce Lhuillier

The High Priestess,  the Moon in the Tarot deck sits between the the two columns of black and white.  Waxing and waning Moons adorn her full Moon on her headdress.  Behind her a curtain displays female and male symbols.  She is the Moon with the law in her lap, the four directions and four elements on her breast.  Her power is her position.  She is potent between the polarities of dark and light, male and female.

We draw closer and closer to the conjunction of Saturn and Pluto, and notice these planets  are in relationship to this full Moon/Sun.  The conjunction will be exact on January 12.   I think a party is in order.

Saturn urges responsibility for what we create. Pluto recommends that we face our fears and see what they look like.  What is not working anymore? Pluto is connected to garbage and sewage, two things we don’t want to keep in our home, but haven’t figured out how to release without damaging the environment.  Saturn in Capricorn is in his element, and could take a vision into a reality.  Where might the vision come from?  Neptune, who is also in tune with this full Moon, might be the source of the vision, but needs Saturn’s organization and Pluto’s deep commitment to change  for the vision to manifest.  Monday night is a moment to dream (Neptune)  of what could be and dedicate the vision to the Saturn and Pluto in your chart.   The Taurus  Moon will be full on Tuesday morning (12 November 2019 8:34 am EST).

‘ Glory to thee forever, /Thou bright moon, this night; /Thyself art ever/ The glorious lamp of the poor. ‘

from Carmina Gadelica hymns and incantations from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland

 

photo: Robert Fuhro

This photo is a perfect illustration of the Sabian Symbol for the Taurus Moon’s degree:  ‘WISPS OF WING-LIKE CLOUDS STREAMING ACROSS THE SKY.   KEYNOTE: The awareness of spiritual forces at work, the blessings of supernatural forces at work.’  As the material world dances chaos politically and environmentally, the ‘spiritual forces at work’ bring us back to a place of peace in the knowledge that we don’t know the full story.   ‘Courage is needed to go through the veiling darkness — the courage to venture beyond the familiar and the traditionally known, to PLUNGE AHEAD INTO THE UNKNOWN.’

 photo: Bruce Lhuillier

*Sabian Symbols are images for each degree of the Zodiac channeled by Laura Wheeler and transcribed by Marc Edmund Jones, revised by Dane Rudhyar.   http://www.mindfire.ca/.

Sarah Fuhro      The Wisdom Tradition evolved over the centuries to address our deepest human needs. Sarah Fuhro is a practitioner of its many forms; including Astrology, Tarot, Flower Essences and Druidry. For an appointment call 508 740 7039 or email her at sarahfuhro@gmail.com.  In addition to personal consultations, Sarah teaches workshops and private classes, offering both clients and students knowledge powerfully rooted in the past, presented in the language of the present.   sarahfuhro@gmail.com.

 

Bruce Lhuillier Is a French artist and photographer currently living near Boston.   His ability to capture spirit in his photos and paintings is both unique and  visionary.  You can find his work on Etsy at https://www.etsy.com/shop/Barknstone.

Dedicated to Willy Rubin…definitely a Taurus Moon feline

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waves and Graves

photo: Robert Fuhro

Here’s a new Moon with energy more like a full Moon!   That’s because the planet Uranus stands exactly opposite Sun and Moon.  Uranus is  perfectly positioned to demand we ‘discard the past’, while Sun and Moon revel in ‘stability.’  If you recently moved from one home to another, or cleaned out a closet, or discovered a long forgotten treasure, you know: value shifts from moment to moment.

photo: Sarah Fuhro

Sun and Moon nuzzle in Scorpio, a place of dark memories, and deep caves.  Venus and Mars are there as well. All of them are deeply aware of what Scorpio planets represent,  the turn inward, the mystery which cannot be spoken, what has has been built up over many years of stone and water.   The Sabian Symbol for the degree of Sun and Moon: ‘A massive rocky shore resists the pounding of the sea,’ explains our desire to hold on to stability.  Uranus sits directly across from that carefully carved stability, and says,’ What next?’

photo: Bruce Lhuillier

The degree of Uranus opposite the happy couple who seek a secure future, is at the degree with this Sabian Symbol: ‘A widow at an open grave.’ With the demand to ‘discard the past,’ to begin anew at a higher level of intention, Uranus suggests let’s all be ‘more inclusive and universal, less egocentric.’  Sun and Moon are in the sign of Scorpio, associated with death, and release, yet their symbol of rocky resistance to the sea, seems more like the secure, earthy sign of Taurus where Uranus is located and watches them.

Opposite demands pound on our door, just when we need to rest.  It must be something to do with the season!  If you calculate dates by the lunar cycle, and look at the Ogham (tree) calendar, you will see this is the entry to the month of Ngetal, the Reed.  It’s time to sink deep roots, but bend with the wind.  Plants in the garden seem to be doing just that, roots growing down, but dying on top.

photo Sarah Fuhro

Take a moment to feel these opposing energies inside you.   On the one hand, you may feel especially appreciative of what is solid and secure in your life, even as you are aware of changes bubbling beneath the surface.     It may be this is particularly prescient for the environmental movement.  The comfort of the world built on plastic and fossil fuels, is coming unraveled.   The rocky shore is not going to be battered down by the waves, but will be covered over by an ocean filled with melted glaciers.  The widow at the grave will have so many species to mourn, she won’t be able to ask: ‘What next.’

photo: Bruce Lhuillier

But there may also be hope as the consequences of our way of life, becomes impossible to ignore.  Saturn works his way towards Pluto, and on this day of new beginnings, Mars is in a perfect square to Saturn.  If this were the script of a play instead of an astrology chart, we would see that pressure (Saturn) is fueled by karmic action (Mars in Libra) and will soon collide with the Lord of the Underworld himself..Pluto.  The Earth is not without resources.  The sign of Capricorn where Saturn and Pluto will meet is about organization.  There is a world wide tension between the desire to tear down or strengthen political and financial structures.

photo: Bruce Lhuillier

Here is a poem by friend: Aaron Greene, which describes what new Moon energy in late October feels like.

Entwinement

Autumn’s unfold–

Leaves turn to gold

The night wind blows cold

As darkness takes hold

 

Icy lace shrouds every blade

Of grass and leaf on every tree

Morning mist fills every glade

And sunset fire burns mournfully

 

Earth and moon hold fast in love

Through every turn of tides and years

As “him below” and “her above”

Entwined are in passion and tears.

Aaron Greene

* Sabian Symbols were recorded by Marc Edmund Jones, astrologer and Laura Wheeler, a psychic in 1925.  Laura Wheeler envisioned an image for each of the 360 degrees of the zodiac.   Later they were written up by the astrologer, musician, Dane Rudhyar, in his book The Astrology of Personality.

Sarah Fuhro      The Wisdom Tradition evolved over the centuries to address our deepest human needs. Sarah Fuhro is a practitioner of its many forms; including Astrology, Tarot, Flower Essences and Druidry. For an appointment call 508 740 7039 or email her at sarahfuhro@gmail.com.  In addition to personal consultations, Sarah teaches workshops and private classes, offering both clients and students knowledge powerfully rooted in the past, presented in the language of the present. 

Bruce Lhuillier      Is a French artist and photographer currently living in the Greater Boston area.   His ability to capture spirit in his photos and paintings is both unique and  visionary.  You can find his work on Etsy at https://www.etsy.com/shop/Barknstone.