The Full Moon in Ardra nakshatra is this Tuesday, December 29th at 5:28 pm Hawaii Time. This star falls right in the middle of Gemini, ruled by Mercury, our intellect and communication. Ardra is "the moist one", symbolized by a teardrop. The symbol reflects both the utter grief that can come of this star and the storms that must be survived through it. This is one of the most turbulent places in the sky, showing the advent of most of our pain and suffering here on earth. One tear, or rain drop, turns to many, and eventually we cannot see clearly in the deluge. In the mythology it is the storm of the downfall of the creator, and therefore his creation, Earth and all her inhabitants. His lust for creating beautiful beings sends his daughter running from him and the gods defending her by bringing him down to earth himself, literally shooting him from the sky. With him fell his idyllic dreams of creation, replacing them with the world we live in now; turbulent, creative, painful, disease-ridden, stormy, violent and full of hope. 


From an elemental perspective we can see how it is in this first transformation from earth sign to air sign where we find so much pain, because we are moving from the physical experience of caring for ourselves and the needs of our family,  the “herd” (Taurus) to separating ourselves from our physical body with the mind and ego in Gemini. Once we can ponder the details of life, they become information; malleable and independent from reality. There’s no time on earth we have been more (or perhaps less) aware of the chasm between information/ ideas and actual life than right now. Partially because so much of many people’s “life" is currently happening in this mind realm, and partially because of how the very definition of “truth” or “facts” has become a source of argument and discussion in itself. For those already reeling at me with notions about how what we think can become reality... Yes, I agree. Our individual thoughts and on an even stronger level, collective thoughts, can and do change our reality. All the more reason to be discerning about what you take in and disseminate. 

That being said, the physical body and its activities are separate from the mind and its activities and the very experience of stepping out of our body and lived experience to think about, talk about or attempt to change any reality through thought, is indeed also our downfall. It is relatively easier to think “bad” thoughts than it is to act on them. Over time, however, our actions come from these thoughts, in the form of micro-aggressions. It is precisely in our thoughts that we demonize others and make protagonist ourselves. Our thoughts are where we have delusions of grandeur despite not getting off the couch. Our thoughts are where we dream up fantasies, that we will never realize. Yes, it is also where we DO dream up beautiful tapestries of human experience and act on dreams and ideals. It is both. Our own personal Heaven and Hell. It is where the best and worst of humankind can be found and so it is where we are ironically taken from the realm of the gods to the realm of the humans. 

Here, in this galactic plane, we must reckon with how much of who we are is our thoughts and communication around those thoughts and if we like what we see. Here is where we are not attached to a specific outcome, believing ourselves to be objective, but not fully present with the deep beliefs that we hold that guide what information we attach ourselves to, or feel is “truth”. With the Sun joined Gemini’s ruler Mercury across the way in Sagittarius, perhaps we can shine some light on that. And think about it! Lol This axis has just moved on from being our eclipse axis this past September, meaning quite a bit of karma has passed through this zone already in the last couple years. While we undoubtedly did clear some way  in this area of our lives, we still have much more to look at. Often times Mercury in Sagittarius has us being both philosophical and maybe even a bit of a preacher, but with it combust (close to the Sun) we may also feel unheard. Be gentle with yourself. We have been through a lot, and incidentally, it is the only way you will be gentle with others.


With Mars now past the Gandanta point, our spiritual knot, and squarely in his own sign of Aries, we can see ourselves step up and into the physical fire we need to embrace if we are to surmount life’s challenges and get going on what projects or habits we want to begin for this new calendar year. Never a bad idea to start your New Year's resolutions early as starting them on January 1st has a very low success rate. We don't usually start them on the first day of a waning moon either, but with Mars in the first star of the zodiac, the twin horsemen riding off in a new direction, we can at least set ourselves up for success. We can also see that fire turn to anger if we are not careful, especially if it falls in an unfavorable house for Mars energy, so being actively engaged in something productive is a must.

Happy Full Moon and New Year!   

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The total solar eclipse happens this Monday, December 14th from 3:33 am Hawaii time to 8:53 am Hawaii time, with the max point being at 6:13 am. The exact degrees of the Moon and Sun joining in the New Moon is 6:16 am HT. This eclipse is the second in a pair of eclipses that began two weeks ago with a penumbral lunar eclipse in Taurus. While we won’t be seeing this here in Hawaii, or North America, the effects are profound...and we’ve been feeling them as we lead up to it!
While the Full moon/Lunar eclipse happened in the sign of the Moon’s exaltation, this New Moon/Solar Eclipse occurs in the sign where the Moon is debilitated. Scorpio is where we are tumultuous, emotional and also fiery, causing our mind and emotions to feel a bit like a wrecking ball! Ultimately, we are fighting an internal battle and conjuring up the courage to face our deepest fears. This is also a New Moon versus a Full Moon, so the energy is deflating, moving to dark. In New Moon’s we are releasing the old and starting the new, but leading up to that first step it can feel like a sort of death. In fact we celebrate and honor Lord Shiva every Chaturdashi, or 14th lunar phase as he is the depiction of going into a state of meditation, pure consciousness, or without these practices, a lifeless state like a corpse.
In a worldly sense, the waxing to full moon feels much better. With the sign being Scorpio instead of Taurus, it will also be a significant downshift of positive-feeling energy. The other factor making this eclipse much harsher, is that it is the South node eclipsing, rather than the north node. This is the less engaged node, the one where we feel disgust and disdain for wherever it is placed in our chart nataly and by-transit. While the North node, Rahu is the open mouth eating every experience in sight, the south Node, Ketu, is the headless tail, fully digested and seeking nothing in this world. In Scorpio it can actually be quite powerful and give us deep spiritual insights, as he drills down into our subconscious and roots out our fear. This is an eclipse in our shadowy place , which in a way is more comfortable to us than an eclipse of our more material life and existence, as in Taurus, but it is the part of our life we have been actively avoiding since the nodes moved into this axis in late September. We are not paying a lot of attention to it and thus it comes up with an explosion. It is fiery, as is Mars, the ruler of Scorpio and it is under the surface, which in Scorpio is water and emotions. Expect some emotional outbursts, from yourself and others. We must always remember in these intense transits that other people are experiencing them also. Not just our friends and allies, but our adversaries and those who we feel our inflicting our pain on us too.
Ketu is also about ending karma, finishing old business and seeing the part we didn’t already complete, despite our active disinterest. What is boiling beneath your surface? It’s going to come out one way or another, so you might as well shine some light on it! The Sun is being eclipsed here, so expect your power to feel “out” for a minute. The sun shines light on all the dark places in Scorpio and reveals what we fear most to often be nothing more than a tiny insect, but with an eclipse of this power, perhaps we will see a dragon instead! Remember that eclipses are portals to other realms, but often we end up in delusion and illusion rather than true spiritual experience. The more you are able to take this as a meditative journey and avoid mundane and worldly tasks during it, the better. We are soon to move into a Kala Sharpa yoga with all the planets sandwiched between the two nodes and the illusions will continue to play out as we move through and towards the new calendar year.
The star this eclipse is in called Jyestha, the eldest. She is the oldest sister of the 27 nakshatras and she is both powerful and fearful of losing that power. She is also a bit militant and can show where we have an aggrandized ego and need to be careful and maybe even a little more humble. Ruled by Indra, the king of the gods, it is where we are great protectors and also fully fallible heroes who make a real mess of things.
The Sun and Moon are in the final degrees of this star at the max point of the, in what is called the Gandanta point. This place is where one zodiac sign (water) drops and the new sign (fire) picks up from nothing. There’s a gap. A place between with no bridge. This one between Scorpio and Sagittarius is particularly intense, as it is where we are shifting from our relational selves to our more universal selves. We are ending our fixation on the one other and in the following star of Sagittarius, Mula, uprooting everything that wasn’t working to plant something that will have more longevity. This is inherently going to be in service to all others, because our awareness is that any two people, including ourselves, will eventually die. It is only in taking what we learn in our experiences with ourself and one other and lifting it up to a bigger stage, a wider audience, that we can create things that will stand the test of time.
The struggle is that to have something profound to share with the world, we must walk through the shadows of our own pain first. We must sit with our fear and courageously accept it. We have to see that the shadows we cast on others are also our own. Everything we perceive, see and feel comes from us. Many of us would like to believe that we know what’s best for others, or more about what they are going through or are “actually like” than they do. Perhaps we do have a clear outside perception that can be useful or helpful, but in the end it is coming from our eyes, our ears, our mind, our heart, our words. It is like the light of the Sun lighting up the Moon. The Moon is never lit on her own, she is just her own round rock in space, we see her full or dark based on what is reflecting onto her. We see it so well, how can it not be that? It is that, but we must understand that it is only because of where we are standing and that we have eyes to see it. This is true when we see and experience others too.
Mercury and Venus are joining for this 5 planet eclipse, so expect whatever areas of your life are ruled by those planets, the Moon and Sun to all be getting a hit. Especially Mercury, as he is in very close degrees to the node. These are also our two relational planets, where we do most of our engagement with others, so no doubt, whatever house this is for you and is ruled by those planets, your manner in relationships and how you compromise and communicate will be coming up!
We also have the “Great Conjunction” of Jupiter and Saturn moving closer and closer in what many are speaking of, due to it having been 800 years since these two have come in such close to exact degrees here. I will be speaking more on this in the days to come, but it is bringing together two planets that have a great affect on our society as a whole in a sign that is focused on survival and long-term achievements. We can expect practical action, solemn commitments, and a cold harsh perspective on what lies ahead to reign. As Saturn is in his own sign, he is the stronger planet here and his energy will dominate. Jupiter is actually in a state of debility and will be leaning heavily on Saturn’s prominent fear, solitude and commitment to find any hope or inspiration. We can feel it already!
For the full scoop, watch the video! And to get your 2 FREE reports on where both Jupiter and these eclipses are for you in your chart, sign up for my newsletter on the right sidebar!