A Full Moon of Wonder and Constructive Fantasy

Sunday’s Full Moon in Virgo brings to a sense of fulfillment certain aspects of the impulse originating from the New Moon eclipse of two weeks past that began the current cycle. That very powerful New Moon was conjunct Neptune, so that the God of the Oceans and of oceanic visions of otherworldly understanding becomes one factor playing itself out quite strongly over this entire cycle. This is particularly so at this Full Moon event, that features a stationary retrograde Venus in aspect with Neptune. We also find Uranus highlighted, symbolizing new vision plus surprising enlightenment, along with radically transformative Pluto. All the outer planets, emphasized this month, take us out of ourselves, and encourage in us a sense of wonder. These speak to transpersonal considerations of other-dimensionality, and carry with them the ability to think far outside of the limitations of any existing box. They can therefore constitute an antidote when hard-and-fast reality gets a little too real. Because of the narrow constraints with which we must deal in these days of radical change, a fresh look at an entirely different alternative universe of meaning can be not only appealing, but also quite useful in practical terms, allowing us to rise above our earthly dilemmas.

The presence of Saturn in this Full Moon configuration is also quite striking, so that the contrasting astrological archetype to the foregoing is also active. Saturn represents worldly dimensions of hard-nosed reality, antithetical to the symbolism of Uranus and Neptune described in the foregoing, and is the focus of a T-square from Sun and Moon, as well as being emphasized by a tight square from Mercury in Pisces. All our dreams and schemes with which we optimistically started the current month are thus in definite danger of being brought down to the real. This is not all bad of course. The other side of Neptunian vision is confusion, illusion and self-delusion. We need at times that potent dose of level-headedness to keep from drifting away from the actual, and from being present with ourselves and with our bodies. The truth is that we need both inspiration and practical consideration to guide us through the challenging times that we are currently navigating, both individuality and as a society. But we must not let ourselves get so carried away by the cynicism of real-world matter-of-fact viewpoints that we cannot lift our gaze to the numinous and the spiritual, that all-important part of life that often receives inadequate recognition in contemporary materialistic consensus thinking.

When we consider the Neptune and the Uranus factors of this Full Moon, we recognize that we benefit when we are able to take a fresh look at our situation by appealing to a higher vision. The seminal quote from Rudolf Steiner is relevant here: “There slumber in every human being faculties by means of which one can acquire for oneself a knowledge of higher worlds. Mystics… speak of a world of soul and spirit which for them is just as real as the world we see with our physical eyes, and touch with our physical hands.” By recourse to our sense of a higher power, whether by means of meditation, creative visualization, or other spiritual practice, we can not entirely escape having to deal with the sticky substance of life in the physical, but definitely ameliorate the situation for the better. To understand all is to forgive all, as the old saying goes; and to do so by rising above.

The Sabian Symbols for this Full Moon are, as usual, of interest. They are for the Sun in the 23rd degree of Pisces, “Spiritist phenomena,” referring to the American movement of communicating with the dead that was more current in the 1920’s when these symbols were originated, a movement that came into being coincident with the discovery of Neptune in the mid-1800’s. Marc Edmund Jones refers to “the organic integrity of the world at large,” and the “facility for actual and conscious cooperation with the potentials of an immortal reality.” Of course it is important to recognize that the largely unseen is nevertheless a highly significant life factor, and that to get in contact with it we must sometimes “close our eyes to see.” For the Moon in the same degree of Virgo we find, “An animal trainer,” which reminds us that while we inhabit our bodies we are utilizing them as well for goals that shine above and beyond the merely physical. Jones comments that “an individual will be conditioned more and more hopelessly by environment and experience if he [or she] fails to give continual attention to his [or her] potentials and to the self-discipline [required] to develop them.” Indeed connection to our higher selves takes work, and is not for the faint of heart. As with much else in life, however, the rewards are there in equal measure for those who follow this more difficult path to the greater realization of all that we are fully meant to be.