The Moon and Sun are joined in sidereal Gemini in the star of Ardra for this New Moon on Tuesday, June 28th at 4:52 pm HT (7:52 pm PDT). This is a star that lies on the galactic plane and is known for its tumultuous energy. Ardra means “moist” or “wet” and is symbolized by a single drop of water, which can represent either a tear or rain drop. This is the storm. Rudra, the howling and fierce form of Shiva is the deity of this star. Here we must be careful of getting too frustrated or angry, less we multiply that anger and create inauspicious things. On the other hand, destruction is a necessary part of existence and must occur in order for new life to be born. After the storm we feel clear and clean.  In Mercury’s sign of Gemini we see how what we create is in the mind first and it is our thoughts that become our reality. If we are able to focus the deluge of thoughts that can fill our mind, we can create peace and clarity in its aftermath.  

Gemini is the twins in Western astrology and in Vedic astrology it is Mithuna, sex between a male and female. In the story of Brahma, he creates Rudra from his frustration and he is half male, half female. Brahma orders it to split in two and so it becomes Rudra and Rudrani. He then tells them to split again, and they do, until they are 11. The Rudras and Rudranis create storms and floods, fires and destruction and Brahma eventually begs them to stop. They join back together into one single male and one single female and he tells them to meditate on the Godhead (Vishnu). They do and become Shiva, the Auspicous one, and Parvati, She who has risen higher. This shows not just the sexual nature of Gemini, but the duality of both parts of our brain and how they work together to bring our external and internal nature into balance. We may have many thoughts that continue to propagate and then if we have control over ourselves, we may bring our thoughts back into line and take them to a higher place where they evolve into auspicious awareness.

Mercury, the ruler of Gemini is in Taurus joined the ruler Venus, helping us to have gentle and effective communication through the storm. These two are also keeping us focused on pleasure, connection and artistic qualities while meanwhile our two malefic planets of Mars and Saturn are changing signs. Mars has just moved into his own sign of Aries, joining the north node of Rahu until August 10th. The two will be exact on August 1st. This is a dangerous combo as Rahu is already fanning the flames just being in Aries at all, let alone in exact conjunction with Mars. Mars is our anger, discipline, action and even though it is his own sign and quite a lot of intelligence is running, it is a placement of act now, think later. With the delusional and also dispersive quality of Rahu, expect to see things in a way that may not be how they actually are and to possibly start a fire over that illlusion. This is a very good time to up your daily sadhana and practice calming breath practices (not breath of fire or bastika) and do regular yoga asana and any other physical activities that keep you grounded and centered. Definitely spending time with the earth and in water can be helpful. Of course, in places with dry brush, wildfires are particularly possible at this time and anger in a larger social context is also quite possible, so be mindful of the arguments you engage in and the energy around you.

Saturn Retrograde is moving closer and closer back into Capricorn, hovering now at only 0;37 degrees of Aquarius. He will not fully move in until July 13th, but we are already feeling the painstakingly slow motion bringing us tension. The tension is of returning back to the fear that we have already endured for the past 2 years. This Retrograde is on a personal level asking us to revisit and reconsider the commitments we have made, especially new ones. If you do not yet have your copy of Saturn in Aquarius for all 12 Signs, you can sign up for my email list and receive it. This helpful tool also indicates what Saturn in Capricorn means for you, as well as the retrograde motion itself. One huge difference from the last two years is that while Jupiter was in Saturn’s signs also then, he is now safely in his own sign of Pisces, offering a better perspective of expansive hope and wisdom than we had before. This Jupiter will also help us use practices and tools to calm our Mars energy, but we must stay vigilant. A helpful thing to remember is that both Saturn and Mars are energies to use on ourselves, not others. Saturn is humbling ourselves and the commitments WE make. Mars is the discipline and courage we practice, not how we discipline others.

All in all, we are riding some intense waves right now and the answer is to slow down, take long, deep breaths and create steady rthymns of physical activity to  maintain your outlet of energy. If you have a meditation practice make sure you show up for it, and if you don’t, now is a great time to start trying will the fire is faint and the fear is still in the future.

Blessings on your New Moon!

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Tuesday, June 14th at 1:51 am HT (4:51 am PDT), the Moon will be full in the very last degree of sidereal Scorpio. This is the second full moon in Scorpio, and it is happening in what is called the Gandanta point, the karmic knot between the last degree of water signs and the first of the fire signs. Here is a place where we are stuck or tied up and do not have a star to bridge the journey from one place to the next. As the zodiac begins with the fire sign of Aries, it can also be seen as an ending and subsequent beginning that comes three times to indicate a change in energy. In this place between Scorpio and Sagittarius we are moving from the realm of Others, where we are primarily interested in our 1-1 relationships into the realm of the Universal, where we are focused on how we engage with all of society and the world itself. This section of the sky begins and ends with one of Jupiter’s signs, so we can see that wisdom, belief and inspiration are both the opening and closing portals for this universal energy to manifest. As this precise placement in the sky indicates, we are still stuck at the end of “Others” and have not yet moved forward. It is important to know this, because thinking you have something figured out or are ready when you are not is probably the biggest spiritual blunder most people make. Ignoring the vast well of shadows submerged beneath your external personality to jump into an excited journey towards “Truth” is guaranteed to continue to bring you more of the same thing that got you stuck to begin with. What Scorpio asks of us more than anything is to acknowledge, heal and integrate our shadows. If we do not, the knot remains tied and we are only bypassing it, when we think we have moved forward.

This particular part of Scorpio, Jyestha, is “the eldest” or “the foremost”. It is the star where we hold power but also have to be concerned of who might take that power from us. The New Moon in Rohini two weeks ago brought up the issues of jealousy between the star sisters Jyestha and Rohini, and this is the other end of that! In Rohini, others are jealous of us, as she is the most beautiful of the sisters. In Jyestha, it is ourselves that need to be mindful of our jealous thoughts and the machinations of the mind that can take us to a low operating level. This is also the nakshatra that is ruled by Indra, the “king of the gods”. He is the foremost and chief of the devas, but also has a guru, a spiritual guide, Brihaspati, who maintains his integrity. At one point he gets so caught up in all his fanfare, that he forgets to acknowledge and honor his guru, and Brihaspati leaves him. This gets the entire devas into a mess and upsets the balance of power. Where in our lives are we forgetting our teachers, guides and God(dess)? Where are we acting from the ego, and believing that everything we do, WE do? This attachment to our efforts and the results of them is one of the hardest roadblocks on our path to inner peace, yet we still must continue to act in effort. The more we humble ourselves to understand that we cannot know how anything will end up, we can only know how integral we are in each moment as we make choices and take actions.

Mercury, now direct, is still joined the Sun who is in the final degree of Taurus, and as reflecting on our Moon now is highlighting how clear, kind and direct communication can be the very thing we need to heal our relationships with others and ourselves. It is important to have mental clarity within. Mercury is in Krittika, the star of Agni (fire), where we are able to “see” situations and people clearly and offer up to the fire anything that is impure or untrue. This can make our internal clarity, as well as the words spoken out “cutting” as Krtittika is the cutter, but it is to cut the fat out, not to make us feel bad. The Sun will be in Sandhi for the next few days, so expect a state of instability as he transits from Taurus to Gemini. Jupiter also has a dristhi (gaze) on this Full Moon. Jupiter brings spiritual discernment and connectivity to Source here. He is also joined Scorpio’s ruler Mars, in a water sign, so he is helping in this way also activate us towards truth and in the realm of the emotions. Saturn is also giving a one-way dristhi to our Moon, but the degrees are as far as possible so the effect will be quite low on the actual Psyche, although the transit of Saturn itself is still quite profound.

Saturn’s long retrograde cycle is bringing up the commitments we have made and whether or not they were made in good foundation. As he is transiting slowly, he is unraveling the recent ground we have just made in this area of our life. This can feel painful, because perhaps we haven’t really laid that much groundwork at all and were feeling hopeful about what was next. Saturn is teaching us not to rush our commitments. All too often our deep desire to have something in our lives will have us over-committing to something that we do not have enough familiarity with to actually make that commitment. We see enough of what we think we need/want to commit and we go for it. This can be in relationships, jobs, homes, places we move, projects or events. The areas of your life that are affected will be the ones ruled by Saturn, the houses that the signs of Capricorn and Aquarius rule in your Vedic chart (from rising sign). If you do not know, you can sign up for my email list by scrolling to the top right of this page and instantly receive, “Saturn in Aquarius for all 12 Signs” plus two other crucial transit reports!

Blessings on your Full Moon!