Full Moon in Pisces: The Art of Letting Go
This month’s full moon becomes exact in the early hours of Wednesday morning in the UK (3.34am, 18th Sept 2024) and falls this month in the dreamy water sign of Pisces. It coincides with the Moon making an applying conjunction to Neptune, which can plunge us more deeply into our feelings, our emotional life, and made it harder to focus on practical everyday tasks. This is the tension of the Virgo-Pisces axis that really makes itself manifest at this time, with the Sun being in practical, discerning, detail-oriented Virgo. Two weeks ago, we had the Virgo new moon, which was all about carefully distilling the essence of our intention in a very particular and focussed way; it was about exercising control and choosing carefully. The art we need to practice over this full moon is very different though. It is the art of letting go. It is about accepting that there are things that we simply cannot control, and that we may need to surrender to a situation which is beyond our ability to manage or properly make sense of.
This full moon also signals the start of this Autumn's eclipse season and, with this being a partial lunar eclipse, it can reflect a more intense experience of relationships and with the way we are related to different aspects of our lives. Lunar eclipses present us with the manifestations of intentions that were set, not just at the previous new moon, but at earlier times in the lunar cycle, typically six months earlier at the time of the previous eclipse cycle. One of the ways in which we try to control things is through the appeal to reason. We can tie ourselves in knots with'...if I could only understand why this is happening...', and under the energy of this eclipse, it may be a time to let go of that analytical pursuit, to surrender to the mystery of why things happen. The message of this full moon seems to be: "Let go, and let God!"
There are some other interesting aspects in today's chart, including an aspect pattern we call a kite, involving Sun, Moon, Neptune, Uranus & Pluto. More on that below. First, I have a couple of announcements:
I am running a very exciting new 3-part webinar series with my friend and colleague, Jez Hughes: "Awakening to Psycho-Spiritual Crisis". Drawing upon what we have each learned from our own personal experiences in early life, and our subsequent practice and research, we will be approaching the topic of mental breakdown and psychosis from a shamanic and astrological perspective. The webinar series starts on 31st October, and we are offering a free introductory webinar on Thurs 17th October at 6pm UK time.
Next week I have my six-day astrodrama retreat, "Planets Alive", (24 - 29 September) at Earth-Spirit Retreat Centre in Glastonbury. We have had someone drop out at short notice, so I can offer someone a place. If you are interested, please get in touch. This is a unique opportunity to experience astrology in a deeply embodied way, experience the healing theatre of the planetary archetypes, and have you own chart brought to life through a group enactment.
I am also enrolling now for my Kairos School Foundation Course in Astrology. This starts 15 Oct 2024 and runs over three terms, with weekly online live classes on Tuesday evenings, and ongoing group participation through an interactive community forum. It is a comprehensive course in birth chart interpretation, suitable for beginners and for those with existing astrological knowledge who want to structure their approach and deepen their understanding.
I am also enrolling for my APAI accredited Kairos Diploma Course, which starts on 5th Oct 2024, and runs for a year over seven modules, with live online classes. The diploma course goes deeper into the art of astrological practice. It is designed to help students apply their interpretive understanding in real life situations that we typically seek guidance about (e.g. vocation, relationships, family dynamics, money, health) and how these these can be identified in a birth chart and worked with. In order to take the diploma course, you must have completed the Kairos Foundation Programme, or an equivalent foundation course from another APAI accredited school, such as the CPA or LSA.
Full Moon in Pisces: The Art of Letting Go
The Sun-Moon/Neptune opposition across the Virgo-Pisces axis in today's full moon forms the spine of an aspect formation we call a kite. This is formed with two other planets, in this case Uranus and Pluto, make trine and sextile aspects to the planets in opposition. Uranus (in Taurus) and Pluto (in Capricorn) are currently enjoying a trine aspect between themselves and, over this full moon, the Virgo Sun comes into a grand trine alignment with them. Meanwhile Uranus and Pluto also form sextile aspects to the Moon-Neptune conjunction, creating a highly creative aspect pattern that can offer us significant insights and the opportunity to expand our consciousness. With all three outer planets involved, this is about thinking outside the box, transcending the limitations of the rational mind, and allowing the old structures of authority and governance to crumble. Because these transperson planets are acting upon our highly subjective solar and lunar nature, we are likely experiencing these seismic shifts through our personal lives and in our most intimate encounters with others, as if these personal trials we are going through are somehow mirroring what is occurring at at a much bigger scale, socially, politically and cosmically! The kite wants to fly, wants to take off, and leave behind the shackles of the past. And it wants to fly in the direction of the Moon-Neptune conjunction in Pisces. And the only way it can is if we let it go!
The Sun and Moon are making their opposition alignment today at 25˚ of Virgo and Pisces respectively, with Uranus, Neptune and Pluto between 27-29˚ of their respective signs, so the impact of today's full moon is likely to be felt most by those with their own Sun, Moon, personal planets or angles (AC/MC) around those degrees of Virgo, Pisces, Gemini or Sagittarius (the mutable signs).
This full moon accentuates the inevitable tension between the ritualistic control of Virgo who stitches together life's tapestry, micro-managing the details of life with discernment and precision, and the shape-shifting ambiguity of Pisces, who longs for escape, redemption, sublime beauty, and the release from suffering. With Pisces there is something to grieve, whether the unmourned passing of a loved one, the end of a relationship, or the loss of soulful connection with the world. We need something greater to devote ourselves to, and we long to believe there is a way of out of the tight web of control we feel locked within.
Yet if we don't employ Virgoan vigilance, mindfulness, rigour in research, careful discrimination in the way we source information, then we are vulnerable to deception, and liable to become overwhelmingly confused by what's going on. We always need to make the right adjustment in Virgo, take time to diagnose the symptom, identify the appropriate medicine, make the right offering at the right time. We need the right conditions for the otherworldy seeing of Pisces to become possible. Like casting an accurate horoscope, or carefully measuring out the right dosage of a remedy, Virgo can provide the ritual requirement necessary for the magic to happen. It can become the sacred container for the Piscean experience to reveal the hidden depths of a situation, and for the truth of the soul to be known.
Pisces, as the two fish tied together by a silver thread of longing, reflects the struggle of the soul for redemption, for salvation, for re-union with the divine, that deep remembering that we are connected. My Pisces mantra runs:
"I am not separate. I am one with all beings."
Full moon blessings to all.
Last couple of places available! Book here...
The course is delivered in a way that really brings astrology to life! In addition to the rich, deep material presented each week, you will be invited to engage in an exploration of your own birth, including optional creative projects to deepen your learning.
The course is designed for beginners, but is also suitable for those with existing astrological knowledge. So if you want to deepen your understanding of what you already know the course is well set up to support you with that.
In addition to the 27 live classes, foundation course students have access to an online classroom, where you will find all the recordings of the classes, accompanied by extensive written material to support the learning process. The live classes are held on Zoom, and the course also includes ongoing support via an interactive community forum, where we post weekly challenges and extra material to keep you engaged.
I am delighted to be offering another diploma programme from October this year. This is suitable for those of you who have already completed the foundation year, or who have completed an equivalent foundation level training through another accredited school. This year-long training enables you to really develop your astrological understanding and learn to apply your knowledge in practice, to real life issues and challenges. The course is delivered in seven modules, with each module carryinga different theme, which focusses on areas of life that we all really want to know about, and dealing with the questions that clients typically come with to a consultation. The modules are vocation, relationships, family dynamics, money, health, and karma. The final module of the course is dedicated to the art of astrological practice, which deals with the ethics of practice, and counselling skills.
Taking the diploma course will significantly increase your ability to interpret a chart in depth and give you the confidence to apply your interpretive understanding in real life situations with friends and clients. The course will really help you to ground your existing knowledge of astrological technique, develop your language, use of metaphor, and intuitive skills in the way your connect to the astrological signatures of a birth chart. The course is rooted in its ethical approach to offering astrological guidance and giving consultations.