As Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac, there is a sense that this Full Moon is about release, surrender and fully letting go so that we can move onto the next phase, whatever that might be. We also have Neptune, the ruler of Pisces, sitting right next to the Moon, making the Pisces energy extra potent. Neptune is the planet of oneness, unity, spiritual connection, compassion and unconditional love. It is also the planet of confusion, illusion, smoke screens and sacrifice. As the Moon moves towards it’s peak we could experience feelings of emotional overwhelm, as if we are somehow at the mercy of forces larger than ourselves. However, we could also experience feelings of profound connection, unity and oneness, as Neptune dissolves our sense of separation. Pisces energy is very gentle, bringing out our more sensitive, receptive nature, so this Moon could help to to act and react from an empathetic, heart-centred space.
We are coming close to the end of Virgo season, as the Sun is getting ready to move into Libra on the Equinox, which is the day after the Full Moon. With the Sun in Virgo and Moon in Pisces, the emphasis is on health and healing, as Virgo connects us to our bodies and seeks to help others while Pisces is incredibly compassionate and intuitive. Both signs tend to put others before themselves. While Virgo can bring crisis and helps us to become aware of what might be out of alignment within our system, Pisces helps us to tune in and turn inward, so that we can truly listen and get a sense of where the issue may be coming from. While the Virgo part of us may tend to focus on the details and be quite self-critical and perfectionist, the Pisces part of us is much more accepting of any flaws and imperfections in ourselves and others. In the extreme, Virgo can be downright hypochondriacal, anxious and prone to extreme worry. Our inner Pisces, on the other hand, can tend to procrastinate and bury our heads in the sand, or numb out when the going gets tough.
However, Pisces is the part of us that is able to let go and go with the flow, totally trusting where the current is taking us. Virgo is helpful for discerning what is good for us, separating the wheat from the chaff, which balances out any Pisces tendencies to wear the rose-tinted spectacles and idealistically see what we want to see. With Neptune so involved in this Moon we are encouraged to develop faith and trust that we are heading in the right direction and to remember that we are all weathering the same storm, albeit in different boats. Instead of focusing on our differences we are urged to remember that we are all just human beings doing the best we can. There is so much division in the world at the moment, but this Moon could be really helpful for dissolving any boundaries and truly connecting to one another’s true essence, beyond the walls and supposed differences.
Mercury is getting ready to go retrograde in Libra, the sign of balance, relationship and equality, on the 28th. Mercury feels very present during this Moon as it is forming significant aspects with Jupiter, Pluto and Neptune. Mercury and Jupiter are forming a helpful, supportive trine with one another, helping us to balance Mercury’s rational intellect and capacity for reason with Jupiter’s intuitive, right-brained wisdom. We are encouraged to connect to our internal guidance system, the part of us that intuitively knows the truth even though we sometimes override it with our “logical” mind and our reason. This combination of Mercury, our logical mind and Jupiter, our higher wisdom, can help us to connect to our higher truth so that we can make sense of all that is happening, potentially finding a way to communicate our inner knowing in a way that can be understood by others. There is the potential for being able to see the bigger picture here and for being more tolerant and open to other viewpoints other than our own. This beautiful trine will occur three times during the retrograde cycle - 21 September, 4 October and 1 November.
Powerful, soulful, transforming Pluto is also squaring off against Mercury during this Moon, exact on 22 September, the day of the Equinox. This could bring some dark or obsessive thinking and even paranoia, whereby we literally can’t let a thought or idea go, or could make us hell bent on trying to persuade others of our point of view. Mercury is currently in Libra, helping us to see both sides of the story and get a more balanced view of what is going on instead of it being so one-sided. Pluto in Capricorn has been helping to expose the rot in the power structures since 2008, and more could be revealed to us as Mercury and Pluto encounter each other three times during the retrograde cycle - 22 Sept, 1 October and 2 November.
It will be interesting to see what happens around these times and what messages we receive and what information comes to light. Uncomfortable truths could be brought out from the shadows and things could be said that hit below the belt. We could also find ourselves on the receiving end of some powerful mind games, manipulation and thought control. Pluto and Mercury combined can make thoughts and communication quite compelling and hypnotic!
Neptune, the ruler of this Moon, is also forming an uncomfortable, nagging aspect to Mercury during this Moon. This will also be exact three times - 18 September, 5 October and 30 October. This combination could potentially make things very confusing, whereby we receive mixed or veiled messages that don’t make sense. Neptune is the planet of illusion, fantasy and smoke screens, while Mercury represents the mind and communication, so the potential for misunderstandings, lack of clarity, propaganda and even downright deception is rife during this time. People could say one thing but mean another, or we could find our imaginations running wild in all the wrong directions! We may experience mind fog and find ourselves unable to focus or think clearly. However, it is important to find time to meditate, tune in and listen to our inner self, as it is here that we will find the clarity and understanding that we seek.
Saturn and Mars are forming a nice trine aspect to one another during this Moon, exact on 25 September, and are also involved in a Grand Air trine with the North Node of the Moon. Mars is currently in Libra, which tempers the heat of the warrior planet somewhat, as Libra is a peace-loving, reasonable sign that likes to find a place of balance and compromise. Saturn is the planet of reality, patience, commitment and discipline. Combine the two and we have the potential for wise, considered, cautious action that takes all factors into account. It helps us to be truly responsible for our actions and to hold back our anger if we feel like it might be destructive or hurtful to others. Indeed, we may find that our actions and reactions are quite controlled and that we have the patience and discipline to carry through any idea, projects or decisions we make during this time.
The Sabian symbol for this Moon, at 29° Pisces, is rather powerful: “Light breaking into many colours as it passes through a prism” which Dane Rudyar describes as: “The analytical power of the mind necessary for the formulation of life processes in their many aspects. Cycles of existence begin in unity and end in what I have called “multi-unity.” At the stage of consummation the many individual differences are totalled; they constitute a sum. Within that sum – a unified total – the inevitability of the future process of differentiation is implied, because every cycle leaves a mass of waste products slowly returning to the unconscious state of chemical matter, of “humus.” What the symbol tells us is that unity will always break again into multiplicity. The “prism” is always there. There is no absolute unity; if anything could be called “absolute” it is the relationship between the One and the Many. The most beautiful and seemingly everlasting experience of unity will in time be superseded by the need to attend to a multiplicity of detail”.
This symbol makes me think of the Virgo Pisces axis, as Virgo tends to see all of the details and is the part of us that tends to over analyse. Pisces, however, is able to see the magic and beauty in the whole. Also, as the light focuses through the prism we are opened up to many possibilities.
Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac and is the sign of endings, letting go, moving on, surrender. This Moon is occurring in the second to last degree of the entire zodiac, so this Moon does feel like a time when we are called to release and let go, possibly moving onto the next phase, whatever that might be for us. Virgo can bring crisis and chaos. Pisces calls for us to find a sense of peace and acceptance; to truly surrender to what is, as some things are quite simply beyond our control. This is the ideal Moon to practice the art of just being, rather than trying to have everything “sorted”, perfect and in order. It is the perfect time to truly trust in the higher order of things and to fully submit to the higher power that knows that all that is happening is ultimately for our greatest good, even if it might not seem so. Pisces sees the perfection in imperfection, the beauty in the decay, the silver lining behind the cloud. It is time to release control and allow the river to take us wherever it is going. It is a simple act, surrendering to the will of the divine, yet somehow so hard to do. However, it is time to simply let go.
Much Love
Amy
xoxo
Picture: Marie’s Sweet Surrender - Michele Bazemore