Scorpio Full Moon 5/14 Life's Balance

I hope the height of spring is being kind to you. I hope the last two weeks have brought you much needed light and celebration. I hope you have been able to get outside and enjoy the abundance and beauty that surrounds our side of the planet this time of year. The new moon in Taurus was just what we needed after an eclipse cycle and an intense celestial alignments. And even though I have found some relief in the blue skies, warm sun and fresh flowers and fruits, I cannot help but feel Taurus's astrological partner bearing down.

Taurus and the celebration of fertility, Beltane, is directly across the wheel from Scorpio, and the celebration of death, Samhain. During the Taurus new moon, which happens mid-spring, we get a taste of life's balance as the moon reaches her zenith. Pluto, the ruler of Scorpio is closer to us now than he usually is, as he is the furthest planet and takes the longest to go around the sun. Pluto has been a part of many of the current changes and crises and as king of the underworld, shaman of transformation, holder of power and teacher in death, sex and renewal, he casts a mighty shadow amidst the brilliant light of spring.

I am trying to focus on the beauty of life, the blessings, the gifts, the miracles. But it's hard to focus on the bountiful farmer's market when the honey bees that make it possible are facing mass extinction at our hands, or the flirtatious frolics of Beltane when more than 200 young girls have been kidnapped in Nigeria. It's hard to celebrate the mother giving birth when I want to mourn the mother who has lost a child.

I have also been reading a lot about the state of our planet in an Eco activism course and while I try to focus on all the good happening and the people committed to a sustainable future, it's hard to read statistics and stories about poison, pollution, greed, corruption, birth defects, GMO's and not feel sick and hopeless. But this is the balance of life.

There is no light, without darkness, growth without decay, birth without death. Without struggle, how do we change? Without challenge, how do we rise? Without winter, how would we appreciate summer? I have been taught that while in human form, there will always be duality. This is what we sign up for when we come here. The secret that Pluto forces into the light on this full moon, is that we have to look at the darkness and the light. We have to see them, know them, honor them both. It's okay to wail when tragedy occurs, or throw up when you read about something that devastates you. We don't need to ignore it or become De-sensitized. We also don't need to become violent ourselves and cause more harm.

Empathy is one of the most important lessons we can learn, and the sooner we learn it, the sooner our world changes for the better. Pluto is not going anywhere. There will always be things we cannot control or understand or like. But there is a balance. The balance that comes from grieving with grace, being of service, being grateful, being real. Because shit is getting real.

The Scorpio full moon is not all darkness. It is also said to be the moon Buddha was born under and because of that, it holds more potential than any other to transmute negativity and connect to divinity.

Deal with your darkness on this full moon. Cry, rage, stomp, scream. Grieve, mourn, weep, share your story, struggles, disappointments and angers. Then be still. Thing about the gifts, the life still happening all around you. Offer a prayer, a song, or silence to the moon. Ask for the balance needed to walk this world in a good way, an awake way, an empathic, compassionate, loving way.

There is no way to get rid of the shadow. There is no way to get rid of the death in life. But there is a way to live in beauty, no matter what. As always, it is our choice how we receive and respond to these cycles.

I want to offer you a couple mantras as blessings on this full moon. If you feel inclined, chant them. Chanting is very powerful. They are both from Buddhist traditions, which feels appropriate, too. The translations for these vary, fyi, but it is more about how you feel when you say it.

The first is longer and one I use for Samhain/Scorpio cycle in October:
Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate Bodhi Swaha
(Gone gone gone beyond, gone completely beyond, into awakeness, so be it.)

The second is shorter and is said to encompass all of the Buddha's teachings:
Om Mani Padme Hum
(Homage to the pearl in the Lotus)
So much love and light to you and all the world!
#bringbackourgirls

Scorpio Full Moon/Lunar Beltane 5/5

Scorpio Full Moon~ The Depths of Desire

I am writing this on an overcast and chilly Beltane afternoon. Beltane, one of four cross-quarter holy days, celebrates Mid-spring and the marriage of the fertile earth Goddess to the strapping sun God, who is coming into his power more and more as each day passes. This holy day favors dancing around the May Pole, lighting a giant bonfire and encouraging men and women to flirt, frolic, drink, dance and make love. These rites have been practiced for many years, but spent some time underground when the activities were considered heretic. Even then, the celebration of the first of May lingered, as all holy days will, no matter what new names or meanings we give them.

And yet, today, there is no trace of the Sun God and the Earth Goddess, while present in the chirping birds and green grasses, seems sleepy, and not quite in the mood to dance. I also feel a little tired, cranky and even a little grateful that the day is not very inviting, otherwise I would have to go outdoors and greet the height of spring. Instead, I am called to write about the other waxing energy, the full moon in Scorpio, whose phase begins Friday and will carry over into Sunday.

Just as the cross-quarter days herald the middle of each season, the full moon also marks the climax of the current lunar cycle. It is auspicious to have them fall so close together and this is a potent week for filling up. But filling up with what?

Taurus, the ruling sign of the month, is fixed earth, the goddess Venus herself, clothed in the grandeur of Spring. The sign that opposes her in the glow of the full moon, is Scorpio, fixed water. Water energy is emotional and it's fixed nature demands the deepest emotions available, the unconscious; imagine a deep, dark well. Where Taurus is led by beautiful, fertile Venus, Scorpio carries the banner of Pluto, ruler of the underworld and master of sex, power, passion and death. Their dance is a mighty one, a passionate one and an unrequited one. For while Venus may occasionally retreat to the underworld, as Persephone or Inanna, she always returns to her sunnier suitors. But it is her visits to the underworld and her encounters with Pluto, that make her powerful. The stories of goddesses embarking below are legendary. She may enter a maiden or princess, but she emerges a queen.

Perhaps that is the message of this gloomy Beltane as the moon waxes beneath a clouded sky; it is not enough to frolic in the spring time, wrap a ribbon around a pole, light a fire or mate frivolously. It may be fun, and we do need to play and find pleasure at this time, but it might be that more is demanded. What do you really want to bring into your life? What truly fulfills you and your soul's purpose?

I have posed that question to myself for months now. But Pluto has a patience fiery Aries did not have and waters that Taurus's roots cannot touch. Next month Gemini rides in on a summer wind bringing eclipses and mutable energy sent to dissolve anything not firmly held. Now is the time to leave the warm fires and soft earth with her blossoming flowers and follow Scorpio down the deep well. When you sit alone, in the dark, what dreams keep your will strong? What do you hold so dear it keeps your fear at bay as you go deeper and deeper? Pluto is the lord of the underworld, and he is counseled by dark goddesses like Kali and Ershkigal, and they will accept nothing but your rawest truths and most powerful desires.

If you can muster the courage to speak to them under the Scorpio full moon, perhaps, like Persephone or Inanna, you will emerge victorious, with new allies and carrying a vision and direction that will hold through the windy Gemini summer. It is only when we are able to look the lords and ladies of the underworld in the face that we can see what matters most. They are not enemies or villains, they are our truest teachers.

Their eyes will be hard to miss this weekend within the full moon, and I encourage you to take the time to look. The sun will come out from the clouds and Beltane festivities will abound, as they should and as is needed to bring love, light and abundance to the earth, but Pluto is there, too, and in that dark well lie the waters of life. Drink deeply, meet their gaze and do not fear to follow into the depth of your desires.