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This week’s moon is not only a full moon, it is also a Beaver Moon and a Blood Moon. Beaver Moon is both an indigenous and colonial North American term for the time of year when beavers finished making their dams in preparation for winter, so the Beaver Moon symbolizes the beginning of preparations for the coldest months of the year. A blood moon is the term for a full lunar eclipse because it gives the moon a warm, reddish tinge. Technically, an eclipse refers to the point at which the Earth is exactly equidistant between the Moon and Sun. Although most of the light rays emanating from the Sun are blocked by the Earth, the light waves that are long enough (red/orange light) manage to bend around the curve of our planet and bathe the Moon in their hue.
Full moons are, astrologically speaking, a time of fruition and release. At these times of the month, emotions may be high and subconscious patterns may be coming to a head, but it is all a process that will guide you in perceiving patterns and truth which may have been dancing at the edge of the subconscious, not fully yet entering the realm of comprehension–and, thus, release. The full moon represents total illumination, which is in itself metaphor for full comprehension. In this way the moon is a vehicle to better understand the purpose of duality in our lives, and how we can empower ourselves by better understanding the metaphors all around us.
TAURUS
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Full moons in Taurus are basically that illuminating process filtered through the archetype of Taurus; in other words, the manner in which the “lesson” or understanding is presented will be through a set of circumstances or theme over which Taurus holds dominion. Self care, relationships, finance, abundance (not necessarily monetary), value systems, luxury, aesthetics, and material appreciation are all themes of the fixed earth sign, creating a balance in the visual and material that is grounding, sensual, and appreciative rather than out of touch. The full moon will use these themes to show you your own value system, including how much value you place in yourself and your relationships and how much time you take for yourself. A healthy balance between your alone time and your time with others (especially in romantic relationships) is necessary in order to feel fulfilled, and if this is something you struggle with, you may feel this acutely at this time.
Self care, while widely assumed to be limited to bubble baths and pedicures, can mean any number of things, It can also mean allowing yourself to do nothing–real nothing, like go sit by yourself in a field and don’t look at your phone Nothing. In today’s world many of us feel obligated to be constantly available to others as well as have a feeling of productivity (however illusory that feeling may be) buzzing at all times. We are not, strictly speaking, biologically adapted to the pace we have created for ourselves, as the pace at which we have changed our society is far too rapid for evolutionary biology to have caught up. It is completely natural that we suffer dissonance and resistance, and struggle to find peace. And sometimes self care as simple as actively choosing peace, even if it is uncomfortable at first. Understanding how to replenish and balance yourself will also give you the space to give affection, care, and support in your relationships without reservation and with proper boundaries.
SQUARE JUPITER IN AQUARIUS
While Taurus works its grounding, sensual magic on your inner life and relationships, the Moon will be making a square with jolly benefic planet Jupiter in expansive, leadership-oriented and unique Aquarius. Squares are hard aspects, which means that you will feel more acutely the ways in which you are not harmonized to this energy than the ways in which you already are. You may feel that you are not truly expressing yourself, you may realize that you are not appreciated for who you actually are in some relationships, or you may just spend time contemplating the arbitrary limits you have placed on yourself that hold you back from expressing your leadership potential or having relationships that actually work for who you truly are.
MOON TRINE PLUTO
Moon trines are like beautiful music, harmonizing with the celestial bodies they touch and bringing a sense of resolution and peace. This is especially important between the Moon and Pluto, both of whom deal in their own ways with the many associative shadows in the human psyche. The Moon represents the bringing of light to darkness, while Pluto represents the descent into the depths of the unknown, bringing regenerative energy to that which has remained long in the shadows. Just like the myth of Persephone, this includes making your peace with the darkness at some points in your life–like the cold, darker winter months brought to Earth as a result of Persephone’s journey. Moons themselves are indicators of cycles as well, so these two celestial bodies have particularly harmonious concepts to begin with. Add a trine between them, and it is like watching the moonlight dance across a lake on a beautiful starry night. Thus, the work to be done in the subconscious will not throw you off balance; it will remind you how beautiful it is that you do the work at all. The fruition of these efforts will not take long to enjoy, although the descent into the cold is well underway, you will understand better the necessity of such cycles. With a new balance in yourself you will be able to enjoy and nurture your relationships with depleting yourself. The hearth of these relationships are particularly warm in the later autumn and winter, but the fire will not start unless you have been into the shadows of yourself to regenerate and kindle it.
Do this by having patience with yourself. Take every new step valuing the process as well your emotional reaction to it. Remember that the process IS self-care; anything to takes you to a fuller, more authentic, expansive and more liberated experience of yourself IS self care. You can live that value system regardless of what you are doing, and every rituals and actions can reaffirm that intention in the process. Moments of peace, candles, baths, yes–also private conversations that are full of love and acceptance, the feel of a new silk robe against your skin, painting a self portrait not of your face but of the way you feel about yourself–or, of you’re not there yet, paint a portrait of the way you WANT to feel about yourself. Use the power of imagination and lovingly push yourself to conceptualize a relationship with yourself that is as unique, fulfilling, sensual, accepting, balanced, and grounding as you can imagine. Full moons hold lots of creative power–harness the spirit of this night and bring that metaphorical illumination to yourself.
