Change starts when someone sees the next step. William Drayton
The journey of a thousand leagues begins from beneath your feet. Lao Tzu
And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. Kahlil Gibran
Everything teaches transition, transference, metamorphosis: therein is human power, in transference, not in creation; and therein is human destiny, not in longevity but in removal we dive and reappear in new places. Ralph Waldo Emerson
But the beginning of things, of a world especially, is necessarily vague, tangled, chaotic, and exceedingly disturbing. Kate Chopin
Who would be
A merman bold,
Sitting alone
Singing alone
Under the sea,
With a crown of gold,
On a throne? Lord Alfred Tennyson
September's full Moon heralds a significant time that will be very meaningful on many levels. Occurring on Thursday September 23, it sits exactly on the Cardinal Cross that's been building and building these last few years. The Symbols of the Cardinal Cross include themes of emergence, self realization, taking control, standing up and being counted, assessing where ones beauty and talent lies versus being stuck on a pin and sacrificing growth or movement. The significance of the Cardinal Cross stems from the fact that there's been a lot of planetary activity around the degrees where the solstices and equinoxes occur. Importantly, this full Moon is exact a mere thirty minutes after the equinox, amplifying the energy of the equinox and it is bound to bring some peak energies that we can sense and tap into.
The Sabian Symbol for the full Moon is one I've spoken about many times in recent times as it's had, and will again have, Jupiter and Uranus spending time on it. The Symbol is Aries 1: A Woman Has Risen Out Of The Ocean, A Seal Is Embracing Her. This is a beautiful image and one that's very evocative. It speaks of the need, or the desire or the necessity of finding ones feet and ones voice. Like the mermaid of this image, when one emerges into a new life there's a need for reorientation and a need to feel 'embraced'. There are many things to be learnt and negotiated. From my book *The Sabian Oracle: 360 Degrees of Wisdom -
Commentary: ‘A Woman Has Risen Out of the Ocean’. She is consciously aware of leaving the past behind in order to emerge into a whole new arena of existence and activity. The ‘Seal Embracing Her’ symbolizes her being welcomed into this new arena. This degree is right on the cusp of Pisces and Aries, when the yearly astrological cycle begins again. It’s like the beginning of a new year. In the Northern hemisphere it marks the beginning of spring—the Spring Equinox. Long ago there was a belief that the spirits of those who had drowned at sea had the ability to enjoy life in the ocean in the form of ‘Seals’. When they wished, the Selkies could, once per moon cycle, swim ashore, drop their seal skins and become mortals again.
Oracle: New understandings and awareness are coming to light. Whatever is emerging, either in you or around you needs to be accepted, welcomed and nurtured. It’s best to resist the old familiar ways of being or relating as they can pull you back to outgrown and possibly unsatisfactory conditions. Maybe you feel you are not being acknowledged, don’t have a voice or are not being heard. Take heart as comfort and salvation are likely to be found in the most unexpected places. Despite any setbacks, be aware that you possess the power to make the necessary changes in your life. It is time to claim your place or make a mark in this new world. So much potential lies ahead of you. Welcome this new beginning and be fearless in the face of the changes that are coming. Accept the ‘Embrace’ of those who welcome you into this new sphere. It is inevitable that you’ll leave something behind as you move into this new territory. Enjoy the journey and give birth to self-love, self-worth and divine creativity. Let go of the past and emerge into life and love.
Keywords: Cycles starting. Beginnings. Emergence into concrete manifestation. Embracing and honoring the shadow. Recognizing our animal side. Tropical islands or lands. Rocky shores. Seals. Oceans and water. Shedding skins. Transmutation. The Selkie myth. Grounding one’s energy. Stepping between the sea and the shore. Androgyny. Love and its embrace. Finding your feet and your voice. Mermaids.
The Caution: Using masculine power to overshadow emotions. Refusing to move on. Feeling held back by fears and old life patterns. Falling back into previous, unsatisfactory conditions. Dragging others backwards. Immobilizing fear of the unknown. Being just another “fish in the sea”.
Just two degrees away, Jupiter and Uranus are on Pisces 29: Light Breaking Into Many Colors As It Passes Through A Prism. Keywords for this degree include: Spectrum analysis, color and crystal healing, rainbows, light refraction, side effects, considering many facets of a situation, endless opportunities, optics, sight, seeing, copying and sharing ideas or things, disseminating information, auras and aura photography, triangles, polarization of light, reflection, laboratory tests, diffracted personalities.
The Cautions: Locked in to a set of parameters, over analyzing things, being blinded by ambition, daunted by the task ahead, mirages, using microscopes and binoculars but not seeing things as they really are.
The message from the Sun is Libra 1: A Butterfly Preserved And Made Perfect With A Dart Through It. This degree can show where we're stuck, pinned or sacrificing self or needs or our ability to move through life freely. Saturn recently spent quite some time on this degree. It speaks of perfection and beauty made immortal, holding onto things or events from the past, unchanging realities, moments frozen in time, superficiality, external beauty that's lacking animation, transfiguration, suspension in time, posters, pinning things up so they can be admired. Sacrifice because of ones beauty, social position, responsibilities or habits and addictions can be a major factor in feeling like one can't move forward, spread their wings or take off and fly freely. Where and how are you stuck? Where is the 'definition' of your life defining who and what you can be?
The Quest degree of the Sun (the degree after) is Libra 2: The Light Of The Sixth Race Transmuted To The Seventh. This speaks of younger or more vital elements taking over from the elders, the fruits of the new age, ascension and evolution, growing older and wiser, UFOs and aliens, music that lifts ones spirits, gurus and avatars, demarcations of evolution, transmutations, indigo children, evolving.
The degree following is Libra 3: The Dawn Of A New Day Reveals Everything Changed. This is two days after the full Moon and is such a dynamic degree of change and growth and new perspectives. The following few degrees of the Sun are also insightful, interesting and promising - you may find it interesting to look them up and concentrate on them in the days following the full Moon.
Mars, the ruler of the Aries full Moon, is on Scorpio 5: A Gold Rush Tears People Away From Their Native Soil. This speaks of the desire (or the need or compulsion) to move on, the longing and the search for the easy fulfillment of hopes and dreams, leaving ones native soil, having a cause or mission to pursue, leaving home, people, family, dropping everything to chase a project, pilgrimages, the search for riches, immigration and migration, listening to clues, the search for the Holy Grail, pursuing a better life.
Nearby is Venus, the ruler of the Libran Sun, on Scorpio 10: A Fellowship Supper Reunites Old Comrades. This speaks of renewing bonds with those you're shared struggles, feeling like you're known someone for lifetimes, breaking bread, drinking wine, sharing meals, talking about the past, the Last Supper, partaking in the gifts of special relationships, fated meetings, past life memories, having a million and one things to talk about, gathering with like minded folk or kin, reunions and memories.
Mercury is on Virgo 14: A Family Tree. This speaks of belonging to a lineage, a family, a nation, a tradition, the story of where one comes from, issues of pride in heritage, the importance of parents and family, branches in databases, having strong and secure roots, ancestors, calligraphy, fine pens, filling in the gaps, adoptions, step families, pedigrees, kin, genealogy, inheritance, family Bibles.
Saturn is on Libra 7: A Woman Feeding Chickens And Protecting Them From The Hawks. This speaks of nurture, protection and guardianship, being on the lookout for changes in the atmosphere, spotting problems that nobody else notices, shielding innocents from the "bad guys", motherhood and the stress of it, predators, being firm with outsiders, asylum, places of residence. Especially with Saturn here, it can show over protection, unable to cope with everyday problems, not allowing others to grow up, always being on the lookout for problems, neurotic worrying about what may happen, seeing the world as a big, scary place, being picked on, taking advantage of the innocent, protection money, attacking others, etc.
Chiron, the Wounded Healer, the story teller and the place where we can examine our wounds and the stories we tell ourselves, plus Neptune, are on Aquarius 27: An Ancient Pottery Bowl Filled With Violets. This shows flower and herbal remedies, returning to ancient sources, setting standards for society, beauty, cleanliness, purity of thought and emotion, homeopathy and pharmacopoeia, stains and dyes, flowers, dainty, small and lacy things, gentleness, things that remind you of your grandmother, the old supporting and nourishing the new. This degree of the zodiac is where the Sun is every Valentine's Day - it shows the need to show love and care and nourishment to oneself and others, to give of ones beauty and grace.
The Moon's north node is on a beautiful degree - Capricorn 9: An Angel Comes Carrying a Harp. This speaks of lifting faith and hope, messages of peace (sometimes from the other side), being in tune - spiritually - mentally and emotionally, creating harmony, heavenly attunement, promises of redemption, revelations, beautiful tunes.
Last but by no means least is Pluto almost exactly square to the full Moon. This is a dynamic aspect and one that is asking for transformations and shows the need for going deeply into things. The Symbol is Capricorn 3: The Human Soul, In Its Eagerness For New Experiences, Seeks Embodiment. This speaks of finding the spark, that divine spark, the beauty of your creativity, your ability to really reveal yourself or drop into yourself in a authentic and unique way. This is a dynamic degree - the Sun is on this degree on Christmas Day each year and it carries a rather strong Christ consciousness = the desire to really embody who you truly are.
The Mermaid is now asking the same of us at this full Moon.
*There's a reprint of my book arriving soon. I've renamed it The Sabian Oracle: 360 Degrees of Wisdom.
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