A Difficult, Transformative and Informative Full Moon

Tuesday afternoon's Full Moon at 27 Capricorn is another in this series of interesting, intense, and forceful lunations, one in which Pluto is again featured, along with Chiron, the Wounded healer, the latter participating in a Grand Trine Kite formation with Mars in Scorpio and the Sun in late Cancer, with the Moon in opposition. There is also a powerful emphasis on the ongoing Saturn-Neptune square, speaking to the multiple manifestations of conservative-idealistic polarities so characteristic of these political times. There is a way that Saturn is also about spiritual lessons, as well as limitation and restriction, and that Neptune is about deceptive illusions as well as that compassionate sense of oneness between all humans that just might be our salvation. It is difficult to choose any one means of understanding. The best way through would seem to be that we embrace the full paradox of life here on planet earth; the fear and the wonder, the awful, desperate truth, combined with the unstoppable notion that, no matter what, this is still a beautiful world. This Full Moon configuration comes after two weeks of a very intense cycle, following the outer planet symbolism of that major July 4th New Moon, and represents in some sense a fulfillment for all the ideas and feelings that are swirling around us now, a plateau of meaning that we can carry forward into the remainder of this contentious, divisive, and thought-provoking month.

Chiron, the Wounded Healer, featured in Tuesday's configuration, as well as being present in the mix of the astrological energies gathered at the timing of the recent and extremely potent July 4th New Moon — which took place directly on the U.S. Sun degree — implies that there is powerful and potentially healing recognition of painful places within each of us, individually and as a society. What edgy and traumatic place within world culture do we see emerging during the course of this difficult July month? It is nothing less than the inherent tribalism and racism that divides us... even as we grope for understanding in the face of recurring tragedy.

Eris and Uranus in combination, still less than a degree away from their perfect conjunction of early June, are also triggered by the Sun and Moon in opposition, which forms a T-square to their position of 23/24 Aries. Taking the Uranus archetype into account, there are surprising events still in store for global society, even in the aftermath of so much tragedy that we have already seen on display, and there is also the chance to learn from these events and to take steps that will make a real difference. The symbolism of Eris in this configuration is also telling: enjoining us to acknowledge that it is indeed time for everyone to stand up and be counted. It is incumbent upon each one of us to exercise their citizenship by taking a stand for their own uniquely individual point of view, whatever that might be, and to make their voices heard. This goes for not just the extreme of our society but for the masses of people of good will who eschew violence and divisive sloganeering in favor of trying for understanding, and for extending compassionate outreach to all who suffer.

The degree of this Full Moon is also coincident with the Pluto in the U.S. chart, from July 4th, 1776, while Uranus- Eris squares national Mercury, representing the media. This will be a huge two weeks for societal and political events, especially here in the United States.

Compassion is the province of Neptune, and his close square with Saturn reminds us of two things: one is that there are conservative forces marshaled to oppose the impulse for oneness amongst all races and faiths that Neptune is rooting for; the other is that it is time to ground into practicality (Saturn) all these inchoate feelings and make policy out of them. With this planetary combination, issues of deception and disappointment also must be considered, causing us to ask ourselves, as we mull over the events and listen to pundits and politicians, to draw the line between idealism and illusion. These are tricky waters to navigate, and we ought not to give in to disillusionment and despair, although the temptation is strong to do so. Instead we must rise to the occasion, with all our strength and all our faith, in order to remake the world around us.

The Sabian Symbols for this Full Moon are, as is often the case, instructive. They are, for the Moon in the 28th degree of Capricorn, "An aviary," which Marc Edmund Jones takes as a symbol of community. We do well to remember that we are all in the same collective boat, here on planet earth. For the Sun, in the same degree of Cancer, we find: "A modern Pocahontas," referring to the Native American woman from frontier days who brought her non-native lover to her tribal council. Jones relates this symbol to a healing of social compartmentalization, and calls for "[higher] skill in bringing older or neglected reality to the service of fresher and more vital self-fulfillments." Indeed our time here below is limited unless and until we can heal the shadow side of the human condition that seeks to divide us.

A Difficult, Transformative and Informative Full Moon

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Chart for the Full Moon on July 19, 2016

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