the weather inside me

down and under with the scorpio moon

A couple of thoughts for this Scorpio Moon day.

"I think he knew that, through his own pain, his own suffering, his own anxiety, his own love, and his own journey, he could relate to people in an intimate way. . . . He was one of the most humble men I ever met and one of the men most tormented with anxiety. . . . At the same time he was one of the most confident men I ever met." - Brian Carroll, psychotherapist and former Franciscan priest

Anyone who's taken up the mantle of service to mankind inevitably hit an wall in their work. Perhaps it's mere enthusiasm that drove them to their cause, or perhaps they've had deeper, nobler inspirations for their work. However they're motivated, they sooner or later run into a massive obstruction that challenges everything they believed about their intentions and their purpose.

On one side of this wall is every belief they held about their skills, their competence, their experience and their flaws. On the other side of the wall is everything they don't know about everything. The wall itself is doubt, frustration, anger, incompetence, failure, fear, loss... I could go on. The important point is, the wall feels more like an insurmountable mountain, a Mount Everest of lost causes. 

Despite the Venus-Uranus bingle, many of us feel we're facing an insurmountable Mt. Everest of lost causes today. This is the feeling we can assume when a major planet like Uranus is lingering at the end of the sign Pisces.

Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac, the Omega Point of the mandela. In the last degrees of Pisces we can get the feeling of things falling apart, the center can no longer hold. Something must die, must shift, must be cast out before we can start over again. With Uranus there, we can feel a tremendous urge to change. But Uranus energy is not consistent; what it wants one moment may not be what it wants the next. If we're not aware of it's push-pull tendencies and can't get perspective on the dynamic and the larger purpose of Uranus energy, it can feel like a visit to the grocery store with toddler hopped up on a bowl full of Fruit Loops. I want that! No, that! No, no, no! No say that!!!

Exhausting.

But if you can't take yourself home and solve the problem with a teddy bear and a nap, what do you do?

Reading a couple of weeks ago about Father Mychal Judge, I found the quotation above. I kept it; I don't know why. Perhaps for today. Who knows? Father Mychal was the first victim retrieved from the south tower collapse on 9/11, and according to the many stories I've read about him, he was an extraordinary ordinary man by any measurement. But I'll let you judge for yourself.

The quotation, however you think of its subject, suits a Scorpio Moon day like today. Father Mychal taught those who knew him there's a confidence that comes from knowing you have nothing left to lose. We usually learn this lesson from action heroes who, in a desperate leap of self-preservation and/or sacrifice, leap off a tall building or bust through a window and save the damsel in distress. Most of us gave up emulating action heroes long ago, though. And our heroism has long been replaced by doubt and fear. But Father Mychal's legacy suggests an alternative. Lingering here at the end of everything, we can surely find some strength in our doubts and fears.

Scorpio Moon doesn't scale mountains. Scorpio isn't an 'up and over' impulse, it's a 'down and under' strength. Scorpio Moon dives into the hidden stream that lies beneath the mountain of our frustration, and swims the depths of our unconscious fears to emerge on the other side of what we don't know. Scorpio gives us the will to explore what lies beneath the surface of everything.

Scorpio Moon will meet the Pisces Mercury, Sun, Venus and Uranus today and tomorrow --and share thoughts with Pluto in Capricorn, too. It's a co-mingling of emotional waters, running beneath the mountain that is this great shift in eras (Pluto in Capricorn). Some things are absolutely falling apart. What do you need to know about that? What don't you know yet? Where have you come to end of your confidence, creativity, assurance, skill, faith? What is your wall today?

Down and under...

Painting: G. Okoemova

Sculpture: "Hombre en llamas" Jason DeCaires Taylor, underwater sculpture

venus-uranus humor

On the low end of the spectrum, I'm afraid --right down there with puns. But someone introduced me to this site this morning...and, well, I killed a couple of valuable brain cells there today.

So without further ado, I give you the Frieda Kahlo Uterine Plushie, straight from Regretsy, a website devoted to bad DIY craftiness found at Etsy.

(Whole website devoted to making fun of other websites! What a world...)

venus-uranus mash up

The mash-up is exact tomorrow at 11pm (ish). But the aspect is in play all week.

Piscesland is the time of the year where we're finishing stuff before the crocuses peep through the cold earth and suddenly we realize it's time for new beginnings. So we're finishing up. Not in the Virgoan efficiency expert way, but in the sense that "all is well with my soul". That's one potential of Pisces. 

So how does that play when Venus and Uranus hook up? Well, look around you. Uranus gives us the unexpected or innovative and Venus gives us benefits. Venus gives us love, money, companionship, attraction, social connections. This week can be all about unexpected Venusian benefits. 

Apart from my weekend Full Moon bingle, here are some more Venus-Uranus reports from friends. One has clearly fallen in love, or found a primo job (I got a text, but no details), another got an unexpected invitation to a great concert after a couple of months of social isolation and a bit of depression, another person's terrible diagnosis turned out to be false...a woman got a better than expected bid on a project.

Have you had an unexpected "all is well with my soul" moment this week? If you haven't, are you open to it? More specifically, is there some fear that holds you back for saying somewhere in your heart that "all is well"? Venus wants to give us gifts but we don't have to accept them. And why not? Do we think we don't deserve good things? If so, you might want to track that idea down to its source. Because everyone deserves a little Venus in their life. Another possible blind spot: Pisces potential is so slippery, perhaps the goodness is too light, too nebulous, too lark-y to qualify for your definition of "well". Could that be the case?

Please don't pass up this opportunity to admit something good into your life. Uranus will be in and out of late Pisces territory until March of 2011, but Venus won't be back here with him. In fact, Uranus won't be in Pisces again until 2087, so unless you're planning to live for another 75 years, this is it, folks.

In the immediate future, this week presents a chance to feel and act on something you'll carry with you into the summer when that impulse will take on a life force of it's own. Maybe it's a feeling, maybe it's a knowing, maybe it's a truth you finally acknowledge. Whatever it is, this week will remind you (if you let it) that life is not over, beauty is still yours, something good is at hand, and love can still find some way into your world.

the story so far...the (long) late february 2010 overview

If you're just joining us, here’s a summary on the current long and mid-term astro scene:

Pluto-Saturn square: it’s still on --the hard realities, the call to courage, the fear, the projecting of shadows-- but Saturn’s moving back into the Virgo degrees, so we’re just getting a second look at relationship “stuff” that popped up since last October. Count it a second chance at important conversations and decisions.

Neptune-Chiron in Aquarius: the end of an era, or as Gawker proclaimed it, “The Fake Decade”. Finally, we're getting it. Chiron’s not done with his work here, but these past few weeks have certainly given me some unusual views into inconvenient “truths”. And talk about a wild dream life. Oy. I need a break.

Jupiter in Pisces: Connections, identifications, and professions with and of encouragement and hope are totally available if you want them. As are big creative possibilities. Can you be the bigger person? Sure you can. (As I type this, I’m listening to Alan Simpson joking it was time to hold hands and jump into the wine-dark sea --of the budget deficit. Poetic water imagery as political threat? Only with Pisces.)

Avoid the paranoid and the generally detached from reality. This is the dark side of Pisces and not a comment on Mr. Simpson. Uranus in Pisces (at the end of the sign, now at 25+ degrees), is pulling punches with those teetering on the edge of the Fear Abyss. A lot people are completely convinced this is the end of the world. No, it's just the end of the world as they know it, a fact that's microcosmically true every day of our lives. Still, we can't ignore the big, big challenges we face as a country. It's just that fear is not gonna get us closer to a sane deficit, safe highways, or decent health care for all.

On a related note: if you’re a Pisces or have personal planets in Pisces, take care with substances this year--right on down to caffeine, MSG, BHT and food coloring. I’m serious.

And finally, Mars, still retrograde in Leo: Mars is really slowing down now, and by the full moon on the 28th will have reached it’s retrograde direct degree. So if you feel some kind of gear grinding or stuckness, that would be Mars. Ditto big case of anticipation. This is all about going backstage and reworking your self image. (My original horoscopes on the retrograde are here and here.) What you're feeling could be a case of stage fright, or could be a case of retrenchment before the big advance come March. Circumstances vary.

If you know where Mars is passing through your chart, just ease up on yourself in that area. Strategize, visualize. Play with any new ideas that popped up with the Neptune/Chiron bingle last week AND the Full Moon in Leo in mid-January. What do you want to do with that new knowledge?

Strangely, if we’re not handling our own nervousness or irritation well, we seem to invite similarly nervous, irritating people into our lives. Not always true, but you could play with that idea and observe other people’s responses to your energy right now.

A note to men, or anyone who cares about a man: I'm not a guy, nor do I play one on TV, so I'm not gonna pretend I know what this feel like for you. My thoughts are based on my own reading, and the thoughts shared by men at other serious astrology forums.

Mars retrograde is especially challenging for men; after all, Mars is THE planet of the male impulse, the anima, the dude in you. Here’s the bottom line: the man in your life (could be you!) may or may not know what Mars retrograde is doing, but it's affecting him nonetheless --rearranging his ego, his self-image, his heart, his leadership instincts, his pride for his pride (or whatever substitutes for his creative output, progeny or no).

Mars retrograde is all backwards and inhibiting, frustrating and often confusing for many men. You could be angry, frustrated, scattered, inconsistent, or distant --really, really distant. Especially now as we approach the incredibly slow stationing direct motion. Imagine trying to save the damsel in distress who's stranded on the opposite side of a molasses pit. And the molasses pit is your expectations about what guys should do, could do, did do --starting with your dad and then every significant male authority figure you've known in your life. Now imagine how difficult this time could be if you never really had a solid male figure who taught you what to do when damsels lie on the other side of molasses pits. McGuyver never had it so bad. This "self" thing won't get fixed with a Leatherman, some chewing gum and three paper clips. Think about that for a moment.

If the man in your life doesn’t know what’s going on, or they’re resistant to introspection, you get a guy who needs to take on the world instead of himself. This might get internalized as heart problems; Leo rules the heart. As Leo practically grinds to a halt, Evan Bayh announced today that he’s lost heart in his work in the Senate and will retire. This is not good for the already straggling Democrat majority in the Senate.

The WORST example of this impulse also showed up in the news today: Andrew Stack, an enraged, suicidal man (badly managed Mars retrograde?) who’s sense of manhood and pride (Leo) was threatened by the limitations (Saturn) imposed by a government (Pluto in Capricorn) agency, the IRS, flew his personal airplane into an IRS office.

No doubt his actions were exacerbated by feelings of paranoia and doom emerging from those who’ve been embracing the end of the world (Uranus in Pisces) scenarios. He's not the first man who's wanted to take on the IRS with violence, but as we're revisiting a Saturn-Pluto alignment that last appeared fall of 2001, I'm saddened but not shocked that Stack chose to mimic the violence of that tragedy by flying his plane into an IRS office in Austin, Texas. Note --this was his own Piper airplane, and thus, he was not one of the huddled masses spewing underclass resentment. This was a wealthy guy by any standard. Do you have Piper small craft docked in your local airport hanger?

On that note, I looked at Glenn Beck’s astrology last week. He’s got Venus at 29+ degrees Pisces, the last degree of the zodiac, aka, the end of the world (sort of). In short, he’s in love with the end of the world. Yes. Have a look at his wiki and you’ll see a guy obsessed with eschatology. We'll hear much more about his obsession come spring. Bank on it.

Sigh. So play safe out there folks. You don’t have to be paranoid. You don’t have to push people around. I know so many people who are experimenting with huge new possibilities for their lives. Really big thoughts. I've got one friend who was making good money as a black-jack dealer, but she's leaving the industry to work at a raw-food retreat. She'd been wanting to walk away, but it wasn't until she broke her wrist in four places over the January eclipse that the decision was forced on her. A break like that is a career ender for a card dealer. But the end didn't start there: as she became mentally and emotionally more stable, her tips took a nose dive and she knew why --unhealthy people only reward their own kind. She's a Cancer rising, so Leo is working through her second house of money and self-esteem.

If you're moving towards healthier self-esteem, know that some people will find this a turn-off and not know why. They would prefer you functioning as their food source for whatever emotional, financial, or practical service you give them. And you're gonna catch some flak for this. For my friend, this translated into lost income. If you're hanging with people who pay you for being as immature, selfish, and needy as they are, you're going to face a loss of something --a contract, a contact? Or you may face losing old friends. These are not easy losses at first because they represent an old image you've probably carried with you for years. But this whole year is forcing all of us to rethink the old ways. Those who refuse to change won't be any fun to hang with anyway. Keep that in mind as you grow and experiment with the new you.

The time is also exciting because it presents the kind of risks that demand truly creative thinking and not a little paradigm shifting/shattering going on in that mix. But the risk doesn’t disappear just because the adventure holds happy possibility. So compassion is very much in need right now, too. Compassion that entends both ways --to you and to those around you-- and patience.

In that spirit, I’m taking a few days off from this blog to address some work at my side. One project is a revamp of this site, another some notes for the upcoming NCGR conference...and then daily ephemera and sticky fingerprints that come with motherhood. I need to shift my focus for a bit. Maybe I'll actually go for a walk. What a thought.

I’ll be back before the Full Moon to talk about the Venus-Uranus conjunction and early March events.

Until then, have a visit with any of the forecasters on my link list. They’re good people who’ll be happy to serve your astro needs.

Ciao.

Art: lisacongdon.com

Photo: seattlepi.com

All other photos: Philippe Halsman

renounce

Today Venus and Jupiter hold hands together at 7 degrees Pisces. The image for that degree shows a wooden cross thrown upon a rocky shore; the key word is "renunciation". Oh, joy. This, on the eve of Ash Wednesday and Lent.

But this brings to mind a conversation I had with a client a couple of weeks ago. We were doing my usual thing at the beginning of a consultation, which is to review a few dates that usually turn out to have significance to the client. I'm almost always impressed with what folks tell me, but this one was a particularly fun moment:

"So what was going on in your life in '68/'69?"

"Oh. Well. That was my first year in college and --oh, my god. That was the year I had a vision of St. Francis of Assisi! It was amazing; I'll never forget it. He was holding out his arms wide and looking at me with those intense, dark, iconic eyes, saying, 'Renounce! Renounce! Renounce!' It was terrifying. And I thought, 'What's St. Francis doing in the dorm room of a nice Jewish girl like me?"

We both crack up.

"And that was before the sex and the drugs! I didn't have anything to renounce!"

We crack up again.

"But you know, we were really into Marxism and the idea of violent revolution and 'the struggle' in those days, and St. Francis did give up his wealth to help the poor, I know."

Days later it occurred to me some sort of conflation was possibly going on there, in my head or hers. Renouncing isn't the same as denouncing. What students were doing back then was denouncing a system and a set of values they felt was invalid, in fact harmful to ordinary people. Denouncing is a kind of shaming, though. It assumes an act of judgment and engages the element it judges. We march in the streets and pull down the posters and paraphernalia of the corrupt element. We shake our fists and shout. We recognize our anger and make it plain to the world.

Renouncing, however, turns away from the object it no longer values. Call it a judgment, if you want, but renunciation's power lies in disengagement. We slough off the element like brushing away dead skin cells to let our bodies breathe again. Turn away. Turn to different work, different feelings, different people. Renunciation simply says, "I don't need this anymore."

"Making one's own wounds a source of healing . . . does not call for a sharing of superficial personal pains but for a constant willingness to see one's own pain and suffering as rising from the depth of the human condition." - Henri J. M. Nouwen, The Wounded Healer

Today is not a day to debate the efficacy and place for denunciation vs. renunciation. We're in Piscesland right now, and this is renunciation's territory. It's a day for letting one's own pain and suffering rise from the depth of your human condition --and then letting it drift away. Pisces has the blessed gift of simply swimming away into the starry midnight ocean of Forever, forgetting entirely what the argument was about in the first place.

Those of us who like things defined and settled tend to find this annoying. But, you know, the indefinite void of Forever and Forgotten is a different sort of definition. It's definitely gone, gone, gone. Whatever it was. I can go with that settlement.

If you could say, "I don't need this anymore" about something today, what would it be? And then what would it take for you to allow it to go away forever and ever? If ever there was a day you could take a breath and turn away from that unhelpful, entangling or toxic thought, emotion, person, or behavior, this is a good day to do it.

And don't forget: nature does abhorr a vacuum, so fill that new empty spot. Pisces lets things drift into our lives as much as it lets stuff drift away. Likely there's something very good and positive at hand in your life right now. You know what it is. If it's good, don't let it drift by on this stream. Reach out and grab it today.

Poster: Zefferelli's Brother Sun, Sister Moon , the 1972 film about Francis of Assisi (for you, S.)

maybe not the best morning to do drugs

...in case you were looking for somethun' a little unusual with your Lucky Charms today.

Our lingering Pisces Moon will bump into that Uranus at the end of his long, strange seven year trip through Pisces. This is a great for brilliant inspirations, but hell on the paranoid. If your co-worker today spills their latest theories on why pygmy aliens are taking over the Library of Congress, you don't have to ask what they had for breakfast. Just assume. For some of us, just the food coloring in those Lucky Charms is enough to set off a reaction. Eat safely, kids.

if you're curious about that "snowmageddon" in our nation's capitol...

Snow was not the deluge I had in mind. But oh, my lord...

Deucalion's flood story (see yesterday's post) is often a marker for climactic events, and it shouldn't be ruled out in an extraordinary event like this one. The stationing of smaller space objects typically bring them into focus for a few days.

This weekend Duecalion stationed at 9+ degrees Scorpio. This squares the current retrograde Mars. Now for the picture.

Here's the chart for the District of Columbia, (aka Washington D.C.). (click on it to expand the image)

Note the little right-side up horseshoe on the left side of the chart below the 9 o'clock position on the circle. This is the glyph (or symbol) for the North Node. Note that is at 6+ degrees Scorpio. Deucalion is stationing retrograde at 9+ degrees Scorpio. You can't see a symbol for Deucalion in the outer ring (my software doesn't provide one), so please imagine it there. It's there.

So Deucalion is stationing retrograde within three degrees of D.C.'s North Node. The North Node is about the future, remember? The growth point. Three degrees is a little bit wide for a small object conjunction, but as Deucalion is now moving backward toward the North Node, it's heading in an applying direction and thus, more influential. We'll forgive the three degree spread.

Deucalion and the North Node also sharing space (by transit) in the first house. The first house, among other things, gives us a picture of a person, place or thing's appearance. Washington does seems to have changed its look in the past 48 hours.

Deucalion's stationing is within one degree of an exact square to D.C.'s Uranus at 8+ degrees Leo. Uranus describes unexpected events and personal individuality. Here Uranus functions in the area of public affairs --the Capricorn (government) ruled 10th house. So business as usual is unexpectedly interrupted with this snow flood. (Uranus in Leo tells us a lot about this independent kingdom. Will it ever be assimilated into the state system? I don't think so. Too much pride (Leo) of independence (Uranus) for this little fiefdom. It's public persona depends on this.)

And finally, retrograde Mars in Leo, currently at 6+ degrees, is in an exact square to D.C.'s North Node. Throw in this lil' deluge and you've got some gear-grinding this weekend: plans stalled out, plans re-arranged or ditched. The normal disruptions of a big storm -- power outages, people out of pocket, and doubtful resources. Is there enough canned soup in the pantry? And will we have to eat it cold?

Ah, lord. What a thought. Somebody's senator stuck powerless for a day --literally-- in their D.C. condo, eating cold soup from a can. It'd be like micro-micro Haiti. Very micro.

But this is Washington D.C., not Abiline, Texas. Washington, the symbolic capitol of the free world. Washington, the metonymical by-word of democracy and Western power. Even the little stuff means big stuff in this town. What happens in Washington does NOT stay in Washington.

If I was writing a pulp novel about this, it'd be about a secret group of anarchists (Scorpio square Uranus) and the plans they proposed, if implemented, would change the course of our nation (North Node). But the storm sweeps in as the unexpected antagonist.

If I was a preacher, I'd preach about the need for all our nation's sins washed away white as snow. I'd call for a day of rest and reflection. That perhaps the Lord had sent us this miracle to call our hearts back to the work at hand, reminding us that as much as we try, we are not masters of the universe. (Again, a North Node. What's the spiritual future of our nation?)

And if I was a kid (or a kid at heart) I'd be digging out my snow gloves. (My immediate future's looking pretty white! No school! No train service!)

For all of us who don't have 28 inches of snow to dig out from, it's is a pretty good story, huh? But if I trust the symbolism of astrology, I really wonder how much fiction I just imagined. I bet the reality is a lot more interesting.

the thing update

Any sparky revelations or strange creatures come through your door yesterday?

Apart from discovering my friend's refrigerator was full of decomposing vegetables --and I mean really full coz this girl does the raw food thing-- my day went peacefully. Mom (me) didn't get lost at Costco, but I did disappear into another person's apartment.

And then this morning woke to find Facebook has almost completely reformatted it's interface.

Also, friend rang up around the end of the void period to explain how she spent the day realizing why she'd begun gravitating to celebrity gossip and bad food blogs. Her reason? George Bush. That was a Thing 2 conversation in itself.

So no disasters, but Uranus/Aquarian energy does bring surprises and revelations. No guarantee of size.

martin luther king, jr: capricorn sun/pisces moon

While the Sun is in its last degrees of Capricorn and the moon drifts through Pisces we find ourselves honoring an American icon of practical dreamers, Martin Luther King, Jr --born under a Cap sun with a Pisces moon.

Remember when I said last week that all Caps have a hidden side to their stuffy selves? Here's Capricorn leader who gave us inspiring leadership and kept a couple of secrets on the side.

This is my first look at his chart, so these are just a few first glance notes:

Cap Sun in 10th: destiny as public figure. Bam. No gettin' round that. These Capricorn hooves did climb to the mountain top.

Pisces Moon, conjunct Ceres in 12th: nurtured the creative, imaginative and spiritual dreams of the oppressed or confined. A karmic role. Here the Pisces moon/Ceres in 12th also illustrates his unconscious desire (he feeds himself with it) for sacrifice as well as his enduring legacy as a martyr devoted to his universal compassion (Pisces) for his family/people (Moon) of African-Americans, as well as all people. (Consider Eric Francis' recent discussion of the Thema Mundi (aka, "The Chart of the World", which begins with Cancer and the sign of the Moon. In other words, the Thema Mundi suggests we are all one family.) Many believe the content of his last speech also suggests he knew his death was imminent.

Packed 12th house: this is the house of hidden enemies as well. While in prison (12th house activity) his Letters From A Birmingham Jail revolutionize (Uranus) the civil rights movement and bring him, finally, into the public discussion (the Uranus/Aries Point conjunct iconoclast Eris--wow--talk about rock the boat). Eris always has something to tell us about folks who "didn't get invited to the party" and Uranus isn't interested in following anyone else's lead. Unfortunately, a 12th house Uranus in Aries also suggests unpredictable (martial--Aries) self-undoing or by hidden enemies --he was assassinated by hidden (to the public) enemy. One could easily argue his self-destructive secret affairs were part of his undoing.

Saturn in Sagittarius: on the cusp of the 9th House of Belief. classic signature of the preacher. 'Nuff said. Eighth house stuff is an issue, though. Hard lessons about the libido? Sagittarius is impulsive. Saturn says you gotta control those impulses or you'll face consequences. 'Nuff said.

Mars in Gemini: in 2rd House of Resources: driven to communicate and connect with people. Opposed Sagittarius.

Mercury in Aquarius in the 10th: career of speaking to people. Aquarius thinking = iconoclast, inventive, utopian. Downside? The tendency to embody the phrase "Do what I say, not what I do."  Sun in tenth (out of sign) with Mercury means what he says and who he is are conjoined in our image of King.

Taurus rising: semisextile the Aries Point at 0 degrees. Jupiter and Chiron conjunct Asc. This gives me the feeling of someone who can never escape the perception that he must provide for others. If Santa ain't gonna come this Christmas, he's got to boot up and be Santa. Taurus is a provider sign, and semisextile the AP, his provisions will have public consequences.

And on and on... a really interesting chart to study in these times. Or any time, but especially now.

If you're planning on taking my Astro 101 class in February, expect to work with this chart.

full moons over december 2009

Full Moon Question: What are you all monkey-minded about? What's the chatter about, anyway?

So one full moon down and one to go. Sorry about the delay, but my own child (whose moon is in Gemini) was a bit loony yesterday. Natch.

As you can expect from a Full Moon in Gemini, those parts of you that respond to mutable themes of adaptability/mobility (any parts of your chart represented by Gemini, Saggitarius --especially-- but also Virgo and Pisces), you might be a bit monkey-minded this week. Full Moons tend to polarize our thinking though, so beware pushing yourself into a mental corner and thinking "no, no, I want this and that but I can only want this..." Why does it have to be one or the other? Oppositions demand we find some mid-point and integrate the two impulses. Otherwise we hurl ourselves from one desire/force to the other --and drive ourselves batty-- or we camp out on one end of the polarity and throw rotten tomatoes at our "other" self, the one we don't want to deal with.

 Today's talk about President Obama's Afghasnistan speech is a good example of a Full Moon Gemini moment on a public/nation scale. You have the theme of duality (Gemini) two approaches to the conflict, and then you've got a big moment of awareness with this defining speech (the full moon effect), and then you've got the polarizing debate (Sun/Moon opposition that occurs each full moon) about more or fewer troops, definite time limit or indefinite time limit.

The Sun is in Saggitarius, emphasizing foreign affairs, and the Moon (which in mudane/political astrology usually represents the people at home --Us in the US) is in Gemini. So the people at home are polarized/divided/a bit monkey-minded about the situation overseas. We're getting a lot of numbers and dates, but no one's sure what to believe or what we really need. 30 thousand troops? Is that enough? Enough for what? ...the debate goes on.

But I think Obama got it right last night. Here's my two-bit summary of the speech--and note the background emphasis of the Saturn/Pluto vibe: This really, really sucks, but we have to do it and I'm not going to make anyone happy about the way I'm going to do it. Because, hear me clearly: this sucks.

As I say, you don't need an astrologer to tell you this, but it's nice to see the symbolism in action.

Okee...And one full moon to go!

December 31st brings us another Full Moon along with a partial lunar eclipse. (!) Yes, New Year's Eve. This time the full moon is in the sign of Cancer, the home, family, ma, comfort food and yer roots. This will land on the same degree (10+), but in a cardinal sign, not a mutable. So less waffle room.

I'm anticipating this bringing some larger understanding of what truly feels like "home" to you. The Sabian Symbol for this degree is a clown making faces. Pretty good, there, because I feel most at home with people who share my sense of humor.

But keeping a good sense of humor is difficult over the holidays. Can you laugh with (at?) your own neurotic/crazy/dysfunctional family of origin? Oh lord, that's a good question. Can I? Some days, yes. I won't talk about the other days.

Now about that eclipse.

The eclipse will happen on the degree the Sun occupied when Uranus turned retrograde last summer (10+ Cancer). Now the Moon will pass over this degree (as it already has four times since July 2, 2009), but this time an eclipse will happen on that point. Eclipses, as I've said, close out something in our lives to allow a new influence or expression to emerge. They are like chapter endings/beginnings. Lunar eclipses bring emotional developments, like releasing old hang-ups and hurts. Lunar eclipses rip up old mental scripts and tapes, too.

If you've been tracking your personal growth path from last summer's eclipse season, think about the changes you've experienced or the risks you've taken since last summer. They might be subtle, but that's okay.

The way I'm looking at the December 31st eclipse as it ties to the earlier Uranus retrograde is like this: last summer you may have thought to yourself "I want to look/be/express myself like this". That's the Sun getting you aligned with a new development in yourself as an individual (Uranus). But you've encountered a bunch of hang-ups and blocks in being this new person, which, you know, is not unusual or unexpected when you're trying to develop yourself. Now comes this December Lunar Eclipse to knock down one (or a bunch) of those hang-ups and blocks that are hindering whatever you identified with or hoped to be last summer.

So often we get the vision (the Sun) of ourselves when our emotional development lags behind (the Moon). Yep.

AND THERE'S MORE FOR DECEMBER. Much more. Alas, here endeth the lesson of the Full Moons. Be back later for the rest of the story...

Art: James Grashow, "The Great Monkey Project," 2006, detail; DeCordova Museum.

Photo, middle: The New York Times, December 2, 2009.

Below: Art Durkee, Japanese brush.