This New Moon takes place with many planets near the end of their stay in a sign. It’s as if they are all packing up to move on at the same time. Since this is also the Moon of the Chinese New Year. We can expect, a kind of crazy luckiness, which is also reflected in a year of Jupiter (luck) opposite Uranus (crazy)!
Sun and Moon are an exception as they rendezvous in early Aquarius The degree of the Sun and new Moon has a special connection to the activism felt on all sides through out the country:
‘A flag is seen turning into an eagle Keynote: The dynamic incorporation of new social values in individuals who exemplify the spiritual potential and greatest significance of these values.’
There is a theme of opposites in harmonious connection at this time. Venus and Mars nestle together at the end of Pisces. Mars is at the very last degree of Pisces, the very last degree in the very last sign of the zodiac. Venus is not far from him and Chiron the healer is trailing close behind. They are ready to head into the high energy of zone of Aries. It feels as if spring is here before January is over, yet we who live in Northern lands know that winter and spring can dance in each other’s territory.
Jupiter and Saturn, another pair of opposing planets are also in a friendly relationship to one another. ‘Use us both!’ they seem to say….Saturn is in the sign of Sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter. Jupiter is in Libra, where Saturn finds a lot of satisfaction. Perhaps the planets are teaching us how to negotiate to get what we want.
This day begins the Moon of Rowan, called ‘Luis’ in the Celtic Moon Calendar. Rowan is a tree of magic, and of protection from enchantment. Runes were inscribed upon staves cut from the Rowan tree. And the name ‘rune’ comes from the name of the tree. Further protection can be found on the red berry of the Rowan which is marked on the bottom with a pentacle, the symbol of protection.
T
he festival of Imbolc follows this new Moon and sacred to the Rowan tree. This is the celebration of newborn lambs. Imbolc means ewe’s milk and is a holiday dedicated to the goddess Bride. It’s about light, growing light, about the strength of the green beneath the February snow. If you walk into the woods there is a mysterious coolness without wind. It comes from the white garments of Bride as she prepares the earth for new life.
Imbolc Sarah Fuhro
Full Moon is buried in our lungs.
She breathes with us.
Heart beats in a hurry to keep in time,
with the passage of sweet fog.
The cold air fills and empties the magic chest,
treasure box held within,
the holy ghost, the spirit place,
the temple, the toolbox,
the home sweet home.
The White Lady draws nigh,
twilight fills in her footsteps.
Feel her furry breath, as she approaches.
She leaves muddy tracks in the new snow,
and promises that someday, one day,
when she consents, spring will be here,
hot, with chill overtones.
Soundless, the Lady is the moss under crystal,
thin February glass on small ponds.
She is the bird of early arrival,
the fox, as he leaves his lair to venture forth
on a cold morning with breakfast in mind,
after long hunger.
Keeping our Ancient Wisdom Alive
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. 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. To learn more, please visit www.sarahfuhro.com.
Photo Credits
Sarah Fuhro Path at Greenways
Robert Fuhro Bald Eagle
Robert Fuhro Ice Drops
And look at this: the Tarot card for Saturn is The World card….she who dances eternally to keep the Universe in movement! But wait, the dancer is not ‘she’; this is an Edwardian version of a hermaphrodite, a mixture of male and female in one body. This is the final card in the Major Arcana, and hints at the work of the Magician, which must include a sacred marriage between the sexes in one human. Like The Magician card, the dancer carries yarrow sticks….the communication device between spirit and oracle. This is how the Delphic soothsayer received the word from the gods, through yarrow sticks. These were the original I Ching prognosticators. Listen carefully for the word that comes to you from simple sources.
The beavers who work in a pond near my house are a good illustration of this chart, full of plans and work ethic (Capricorn) …always perfecting their lodge and their dams.. They build beautiful mud and stick lodges which they enter under water. Their work from the simplest stick to the largest dam is done with the greatest perfection of craft. They survived human greed for their fur, but have become nocturnal as a result of caution. Their work changes the landscape around them. They are tireless in pursuit of their plans to make the best possible environment for their families
