One Spirit Coaching

[05/06/20]   The Scorpio Full Moon

May 7, 2020 6:44 AM EDT

Sun conjunct Mercury; Neptune Trine Moon

Jupiter conjunct Pluto; Pluto Square Eris

As the old Creedence song puts it “There’s a bad moon rising!”...

And we have to understand its potent energies and aspects since we know that Scorpio/Pluto rule transmutation- the change of cellular structure and our inner realities. Unfortunately for the world around us, and for our society/world as a whole, that change agent also includes the virus, and its possible mutations… It also influences personal and planetary shifts that can release us from our limitations, and that would encourage/promote changes in our consciousness in ways that will be permanent or ultimate…

It is the last of the “Supermoons until next Spring, and we can perceive its size best because the Moon is at Perigee- Its closest point to the Earth- That closeness or cosmic intimacy makes us marvel at its size and gives us strong and more definite awareness of its transformative effects on our psyches and across our culture as well.

This Moon is also known as the “Flower Moon”: for all the obvious reasons that May brings the Spring into more full bloom, and it is Moon/day that is the Buddhist commemorative day for Buddha’s enlightenment.

It is called Wesak or Vesak, and it refers directly to the day when Buddha, sitting under the Bo tree, was able to conquer the illusions and delusions of his mind/consciousness, and come to a place of awakened awareness or inner balance/peace. Buddha means “The Awakened One” and from this awareness he laid out the principles of Buddhist thought and practice... Teachings such as the Eight-Fold Path, and the need to practice discernment, alertness, and more mindfulness.

Now let us delve deeper into the power and purpose of this Scorpionic Moon…

Jesse An Nichols George, a new astrological resource for me, offers these cogent and provocative words about this Moon...

“This Full Moon is strongly focused on transforming our victim patterns. Most victim patterns come out of being too heavy into the material world. When this happens, we place our self-worth in things; and believe that we need other people's approval and validation. We look to physical rewards, instead of internal peace….

It is important with this Full Moon that we learn to stand up for ourselves, without engaging in competition. We need to command respect and simply focus on ourselves more than others. There is no doubt at this time that we have enough of our own responsibilities and obligations to focus on. The more we are able to take care of our own things, the more we will open the door to having successes and opportunities come through….”

She goes on the say:

“If there is something within yourself or your life that you would like to give a major overhaul to, and completely transform; this Full Moon will be a great asset to doing that. It is all about making major shifts and changes. It is likely that we will experience this, whether we engage in it consciously or not; so you will do best to choose what you want to transform.

Death, completion, and endings are also very evident pieces with this Full Moon. .... What is stable and unstable could completely shift. It is wise to keep travel to a minimum, and to stay away from those that are focused on power and control. We could see many souls departing at this time….“

A less dramatic interpretation comes from Astrobutterfly who writes extensively on the Moon and her Nodes… She teaches:

“May 7th, 2020 we have an intense Full Moon at 17° Scorpio. This is one of the positive Full Moons of the year. The Full Moon is opposite Mercury in Taurus and is trine Neptune in Pisces. The keywords of the Full Moon in Scorpio are intimacy, compassion, and heart-to-heart communication. Mercury is in an exact sextile to Neptune. You have an almost psychic awareness of your environment. Feeling stuck and uninspired? The New Moon trine Neptune will help you envision a better future.”

Now… If that is not enough to cogitate on, there is a major shift in the Lunar Nodes that happening every 2/12 years (lasting from this week until 1/22) that shifts the energies of attention from the fixed cardinal signs of Capricorn/Cancer axis, with its emphasis on business, development,

success, status and productivity/home, family,neighborhood and nature to the mutable cadent signs of the Gemini/Sagittarius axis which can be described in many words and many ways!

Here is what Dorothy Oja outlines as a synopsis of this shift. She observes:

“A Nodal shift is important because it sets a new 19-20 month change. Entering mutable signs adds flexibility and innovation in thinking, philosophy, curiosity, research and a plethora of ideas, all kinds of ideas and endless ways of communicating them.

At the same time, all mutable signs thrive on sharing information, communication, and seeking alternatives and flexibility in tasks and projects. The axis of Gemini/Sadge is focused on information and the technologies that drive it, education, all media and reporting, places of learning, schools and even sports events. …”

Lastly, May sees the shift back, into retrograde, of 3 planets: Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn… And it sets the table for even more entrenchment and intensification when Mars turns retrograde later this Spring…

First, Venus… This is a RARE event…. While the larger ones like Saturn, and transpersonal planets (Uranus, Neptune and Pluto) will go retrograde up to 50% of the time, Venus and Mars rarely do! Venus goes retrograde every 18 months which makes it the personal planet that stays direct most often, and goes backward quite rarely! (only approximately 9% of her time)

There is an old rule in traditional astrology that says when a planet rarely goes retrograde, that time period when it does, gains more significance!

Venus in Gemini, moving backwards, will influence our relationships and our ability to be expressive and responsive. As I see it, it will not be a happy or positive time for starting a new connection between people, and be better used as a time to learn about relationships and communication and also to learn how to practice more self care or self nurture...

Astrologer Crystal B gives us a summary of the sign changes and the backward movement of the planets:

She writes:

May 11th, 2020 – Saturn Goes Retrograde

On May 11th, Saturn goes retrograde at 1° Aquarius. Saturn entered Aquarius on March 21st, giving us a first “taste” of the Saturn in Aquarius transit, which will last until 2023.

We can already see some of the Saturn in Aquarius themes emerging – social distancing, remote work, distance learning. Does this mean we will wear masks until 2023? Not necessarily. But society will be transformed from the bottom up, and what we’ve witnessed is just the beginning.

May 11th, 2020 – Mercury Enters Gemini

On May 11th, Mercury enters Gemini. Mercury is in domicile in Gemini, which means it feels at home in this sign. Our ability to learn and grasp new concepts is at its best when Mercury is in Gemini. The next two weeks are a great time to learn a new skill, to write, or to do DIY projects.

May 13th, 2020 – Mars Enters Pisces

On May 13th, 2020 Mars enters Pisces, to stay here until June 28th, 2020.

Mars and Pisces don’t have many things in common. Mars acts, Pisces feels. Mars goes for what he wants, Pisces waits for the “right moment”. In the next 6 weeks, you will only act if you feel like it – for good and for bad.

But there is another reason why Mars in Pisces may be, in fact, one of the good Mars transits this year. Mars will soon enter Aries, go retrograde, and stay in Aries until January 2021… and just a warning, it won’t be pretty!

So if you need to get “Mars stuff” done this year, Mars in Pisces might be one of your best windows of opportunity.

May 14th, 2020 – Jupiter Goes Retrograde

On May 14th, 2020 Jupiter goes retrograde at 27° Capricorn. Jupiter will stay retrograde until September 13th, and will meet Pluto for the 2nd time on June 30th. In fact, Jupiter is in the close proximity of Pluto for the whole year. And when Jupiter is conjunct Pluto, nothing will be taken lightly. These are intense times, and Jupiter retrograde conjunct Pluto will help us make sense of the higher purpose of this transit so we can adjust our approach.In fact, Jupiter is in the close proximity of Pluto for the whole year. And when Jupiter is conjunct Pluto, nothing will be taken lightly.

These are intense times, and Jupiter retrograde conjunct Pluto will help us make sense of the higher purpose of this transit so we can adjust our approach.

In all, a very dynamic month that holds our feet to the fire! It contains both the promise and challenge of change in our lives and in our world…

Celestial Blessings, Peter

[04/20/20]   The Taurus New Moon
April 22, 2020 10:25 PM EST
Uranus conjunct Sun & Moon
Out of sign squares to Jupiter and Saturn

We welcome the Taurus New Moon and its potentials for offering us a respite from any frantic energies we might be feeling and that it can provide us with the rest and relaxation that we need or are looking for...NOT!

Taurus is the sign that speaks to us about our basic needs, appetites and feelings of security and contentment… and it often outlines where our stubborn habits lie, and can indicate how determined or bullish we can be in trying to satisfy or meet those needs!

At its best, this new moon speaks to us about the value/virtue of self reliance (RW Emerson) Given that we might be feeling a restless anxiety in the midst of this lengthy pandemic (whose restrictions I would speculate will not lessen until after the June 5th Full Moon…) so it will be important to our health and societal well being that we take these personal lessons and larger social implications and intentions of this new moon to heart…

As astrologer and author Diana McMahon states in this month’s The Mountain Astrologer:
“ If our needs are not met… it may be like an ongoing hunger which gets stronger, so that the level of need seems to increase exponentially.
The Taurus Moon reminds us not to only notice when a new need is making itself known, but to be careful not to delay doing something to try and meet the need.”

First, let's be honest… there are many ways to cope with stress, depression, and our collective discontent… The larger but unresolved question she poses here is in the “how” we meet those needs and if the approaches we take towards meeting those needs are truly nourishing, balanced, objective, and at the very least not toxic to our psyches or harmful to our bodies!

Before I share my views, here are two summaries of the major events of this new moon time, and what it can contain for us from author, teacher, and astrologer Dorothy Oja and astrologer Crystal B:

“Sun/Taurus conjunct Uranus/Taurus @ 6 degrees. Once a year, these two planets meet by conjunction both ending a yearly cycle and beginning a new one. The energy contained in this meeting is a shocking awareness of new ways to live and survive.

Taurus ruled by Venus and Venus now traveling through Gemini for four months feels scattered in its sense of stability. The stability Venus/Gemini offers is that of maintaining strong social connections, communication and dialogue. The more we share information to solve problems the stronger the fabric of society becomes and the easier it will be to resolve problems. We must all be conduits of ideas and help each other. We are all connected. This fact has become more and more apparent in the present reality we are living through.”

“As you set your intentions at this time, try to go outside your bounds of the comfortable. This is an Earth Day April New Moon that wants us to try a little experimentation. It’s screaming it’s time to get ‘comfortable with the uncomfortable’ because we won’t be able to run from it any longer. … If you have found yourself stuck, this New Moon could be a ticket out—but it may come in an unexpected package. Uranus surprises us, and likes to keep us guessing till the very end.”

As I encounter this moon period, especially after digesting what many astrologers have outlined and concluded, I see this time as encouraging the gift of contemplation, discernment, and what I consider to be the hidden message of this moon cycle, the spiritual gift of giving us a “Holy Pause.”

We all know about pause buttons on our electronic devices… But are we aware that this time of pandemic and limited movement/activity that it is an ideal soulful time to rest and recharge? When we examine our motives for change, do they grow out of a discontent or a disillusionment? If so, those can be genuinely instructive on the spiritual path... Rather than simply and quickly “scratching an itch”, these feelings of discontent can assist us in examining our deeper motives for actions and those core feelings that occupy our hearts.

In our soul lives, and on our path towards self understanding, we remember that whenever we act habitually, the past becomes the present...

Taking from the Buddhist tradition and from the Christian contemplative teachings, many of the meditative and centering practices are aimed at impulse control, and letting go of any desires or compulsions we might feel…

Their collective advice for us during this time is to observe a “Holy Pause”, Which is best understood as a time “to watch and pray” … That is, to be observant of what arises in our minds and dwells in our hearts that can often lead us into our human actions: The Buddhist advice is to do this:

Watch your thoughts; they become your habits
Watch your habits; They become your stories
Watch your stories; They become your excuses
Watch your excuses; they become your relapses
Watch your relapses; They become your dis-eases
Watch your dis-eases; They become your vicious cycles
Watch your vicious cycles; They become your wheel of life.

Quoted from Valerie( Vimalasara) Mason-John 4/1/20
in an article entitled How to Free Yourself from 7 Obsessions
from the magazine Lion's Roar May 2020

During this week of the new moon, there will be struggles with staying put, a restlessness that can become bitter or remain sad, even frightening… Thoughts and feelings that could “Get the better of us” unless we are watchful and willing to be more discerning- guarding our thoughts and being more careful of our actions…

What this time period will not promote is any prolonged level of feeling stuck or powerless! The Uranus factor here boldly and courageously asks us to listen internally or intuitively for new ways to act, to create, to discover, and to understand the larger picture of our lives, and how best to adapt and then renew ourselves.

The most lasting planetary movement we encounter during the final days of this month is the time when Pluto goes retrograde…
Here is what Dorothy Oja says about this event:

“4/25/20 – Pluto/Capricorn Stationary Retrograde @ 25 degrees. On the same day, as the Mercury tensions, there is a powerful twice a year station of Pluto makes its effects known. Pluto is the collective and the zeitgeist, the sum total of the groundswell of psycho-emotional, spiritual energies. We see the monster in its full impact.

The collective shows its underbelly. We become fully aware, if we have not yet of the impact of our collective dilemmas. Wherever Pluto is in your chart, there you must transform.”

Pluto acts as a transformative agent in our world and in our lives and will influence the timeline of the pandemic as well as influence all the ups and downs of the stock market… In that way, we can say that Pluto will influence our collective health and wealth!

This time of intensification and depth of focused energies can, in their positive aspects, support medical advances. However, it can also increase our awareness of what foundational changes have to be made in the structure and operations of our society. This shift in movement or energy when mindfully understood can foster the greater awareness of cultural changes that are necessary for us to reach the positive side of our social dilemmas and heal our diseases.

With this in mind, I urge us all to practice the “Holy Pause”;
To resist impatience and replace it with a compassionate perspective that looks at our social conditions and what needs to change. Then, in our next thoughts, take the time necessary to discern our personal feelings about our personal role in cultural change, and discover the best ways for us to understand the path and the practices that serve to uplift our society and will restore ourselves…

Celestial Blessings, Peter

PS: Virtual Meetings, Online Classes or Discussions?
Given that our need for social distancing will be prolonged, (if we are to avoid any relapses or an extended sense of quarantine) many people have turned to the Internet to keep their connections to family and friends.
Additionally, there has been a virtual explosion of workshops, seminars, and UTube classes being offered by international teachers as well as local instructors and guides…

In the spirit of wanting to be of greater service, I am wondering IF there is sufficient interest among my readers and subscribers to create a Zoom/GoToMeeting/Google Hangout etc.,with me for teaching any ongoing classes, for offering group spiritual direction meetings, life coaching, or for a “round table” discussion of a variety of spiritual questions and related topics…(I would have to learn how to be the convenor or moderator, but I think I am up for the task!)

So, IF you are interested, please write or text back to me with a list of 4 topics you would like to learn more about or explore, and what times that you could be available…(given many of us are house-bound, we could have discussions in mornings or afternoons as well as evenings!)
IF there are enough people, we can start soon! Peter