This Moon has the potential to provide some excitement, emotional turbulence and impetus for change, which can be quite uncomfortable for the Taurean part of us that might be quite resistant to change. We are in the midst of Scorpio season, which provides us with the opportunity to purge, release or transform any patterns, habits, attitudes, relationships or situations that have become stagnant, stuck or unhealthy. As the leaves fall from the trees in the Northern Hemisphere we are invited to strip back the layers, shedding any unwanted skin to reveal what lies underneath so that we can emerge, shiny and new and possibly a bit exposed. We then have this Full Moon, which could bring some rather intense emotions up to the surface so that we have no choice but to look at what needs to fall away. There is a sense of things coming to a head, and as they do we could be in for a bit of a surprise!
With the Moon in practical, earthy, sensual Taurus, sitting directly opposite the Sun in powerful, transforming, intensely emotional Scorpio, we are invited to find the balance between the energy of the two signs. While the Scorpio part of us has a tendency to get caught up in the drama and intensity of life, this Taurus Moon invites us to ground ourselves, simplify, find some peace and stability and literally “smell the roses”. Scorpio is a sign that brings up issues around loss, betrayals of trust, abandonment, power/powerlessness and intimacy, and knows what it feels like to have the proverbial rug pulled out from under one’s feet. Taurus, however, is the part of us that knows that ultimately we have to rely on ourselves and learn to meet our own needs rather than placing too much pressure on others to provide for us emotionally, sexually, spiritually or materially. Taurus invites us to be resourceful and truly learn to trust ourselves, putting down solid roots so that it is harder to knock us sideways.
However, Taurus can be self-sufficient and self-reliant to the extreme and could learn a lesson or two from Scorpio around joining forces with others, merging resources and collaboration. The Taurus part of us finds change very challenging indeed and will resist anyone or anything that tries to push us out of our comfort zone or challenge us to do something we don’t want to do. Scorpio is adept at the art of death and rebirth and teaches us that if we get too stuck in our ways, so that we are not growing anymore, we may have to walk across a burning bridge and not look back, or the rug will simply have to be ripped out from underneath us! While Taurus part of us has quite a sensible, no nonsense approach to life, it can also tend to play it safe and finds it hard to take that trip into the underworld or look under the proverbial carpet, preferring to maintain the status quo even if it is not healthy anymore. Scorpio invites us to dive right in, to face the shadows and the rot, slay the demons and emerge from the experience much, much lighter! While the Taurus part of ourselves says “I’m alright as I am, thank you very much!”, Scorpio begs to differ, forcing us to be emotionally honest with ourselves and others, exposing the parts of us that we tend to hide from view and project out onto others.
This Moon has the potential to bring these themes to the surface, including any issues we have around survival, which is very much part of the Taurus experience. Uranus, the Great Awakener, Revolutionary and Harbinger of Change, is sitting directly on top of the Moon, which could be quite uncomfortable for that Taurus part of ourselves that resists change! We may receive some kind of shock, or curve ball, or wake up call that shakes things up and forces us to see things from a different perspective. Ultimately this could be very liberating and tremendously insightful, but it might initially bring about a bit of a wobble, causing us to feel like the ground under us is not as solid as we thought. The Moon and Taurus both like to feel safe, while Uranus has a tendency to favour freedom and authenticity over security.
Uranus represents the long term memory, which can include trauma stored in the memory banks that we have experienced in this and other lifetimes. Uranus in Taurus certainly seems to be bringing up our personal and collective trauma around survival in recent times, as we have all had experiences of war, famine, recession/depression and natural disasters at some point in our history, or at the very least our ancestors have. As such, the current situation could bring up a lot of fear and anxiety for people as their old trauma resurfaces. Uranus being such a big part of this Full Moon certainly has the potential for some kind of shock in terms of financial security. Taurus also represents Mother Earth and so we could experience some kind of wake up call from the earth herself.
Retrograde Mercury has just moved from intense, probing Scorpio back into diplomatic, peace loving Libra, a sign that invites us to balance extremes and take into account opposing points of view. Mercury is forming a challenging square aspect to Saturn in Capricorn, which could mean that it is hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel for a few days. We may be forced to see things as they really are, rather than how we might like to see them, and our minds could veer towards dark, fear-based thinking and even depression. This too shall pass! Saturn’s realism can easily veer towards pessimism, so it is important to be mindful of our thought processes in the next week. In a literal sense, Saturn square Mercury could bring about mind control and also limit or suppress our capacity to communicate. Censorship could be rife during this time, as our ability to pass on information is somehow blocked or we find ourselves fearful about speaking up. This energy will be around until about the 8th of November, and Mercury turns direct on 4 November.
Jupiter and Pluto are working up to their third and final conjunction in Capricorn this year, which will be exact on 12 November, just as Mars goes direct. This combination of powerful Pluto and expansive Jupiter has been a major theme of this year, forcing us to examine our more rigidly held beliefs and to dig deep beneath the surface of reality in order to find the truth. Indeed, the truth has been hard to find recently, and so we are encouraged to trust our gut. Beliefs have become more of a matter of life and death in recent times, with people desperately attempting to convince and convert others to their point of view and severely judging those who think differently. Indeed, some have been downright nasty when expressing their beliefs and opinions. Jupiter is an expansive, magnifying planet, and when Pluto and Jupiter draw closer to each other in Capricorn there is the potential for fear-based beliefs being used to control and manipulate, not to mention paranoia running wild. By the end of this process our belief system will have gone through a profound transformation, as so much has been revealed and exposed about the reality we live in and the power structures that rule over us. It may not be pretty, indeed it could be downright disturbing, but we will probably be much closer to knowing the truth than we were at the beginning of this year.
Venus has now gone into its own sign, Libra, which is helpful! This can really help our relationships, helping us to truly listen to each other’s needs and to compromise where needed. During this Moon Venus is directly opposite Chiron the Wounded Healer in Aries, which does have the potential for some hurt to arise within our relationships, but could also bring healing. Chiron in Aries isn’t exactly known for its soft, gentle healing approach, but at least it is honest and direct and doesn’t have an agenda or hidden motivation. We may find that our loved ones somehow trigger our old wounds and sensitivities during this Moon, so we must be careful not to be too defensive or reactive. We may become more aware of how we give too much and neglect our own needs. Chiron in Aries invites us to be kind and compassionate to self as well as to those around us. Self-care is an absolute must at the moment.
The Sabian symbol for the Moon and Uranus is very poignant indeed, at 9° Taurus: “A fully decorated Christmas tree”, which Dane Rudyar describes as “The ability to create inner happiness in dark hours. We find a contrast between the tree outside – bare and normally covered with snow – and the tree inside the home – loaded with decorations and gifts for the family. Snow has come outside; but the prepared and closely united group has created abundance, beauty and happiness within, overcoming the cold barrenness of the outside world. This symbol suggests the ever-present possibility open to man to transfigure the darkness and deprivation of the low point of a life cycle by incarnating in it an antiphonic response celebrating the ever remembered and always expected high moments of life. It evokes man’s undying FAITH IN CYCLIC RENEWAL.” This is an invitation to focus on what really matters in life and cultivate happiness from within, even when things seem bleak and hopeless outside of us.
This Moon certainly does have the potential to jolt us or wake us up somehow! Those with personal planets close to 8 degrees of a sign, especially the fixed signs Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius, could feel the energy of Uranus and the Moon most acutely. Those with personal planets between 20° and 28° of the Cardinal signs Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn will probably feel the energy of the Saturn/Mercury square (26°) and the Jupiter/Pluto conjunction (22°). There is the potential for such profound soul growth at the moment, which is what the combination Jupiter (growth) and Pluto (soul) can literally bring, as well as exposing the truth. Uranus and the Moon remind us that we never know what is around the corner, and so we are invited to remain as flexible and open to the new as we can be in this time of great uncertainty. This Moon has the potential to bring quite a significant inner or outer shift, so it is important to harness one of Taurus’s superpowers and ground ourselves as much as possible, imagining that we are rooted in the earth yet still able to bend and sway in the wind.
Much Love
Amy
xoxo
Painting: Lightening Bolt - Annie Ovenden