A First Quarter Moon of Staying the Course

Thursday morning’s First Quarter Moon, taking place in the sign of Gemini on March 14th, is in many ways a follow-up to the very dramatic Pisces New Moon from last week. Pluto is once again emphasized, an indication that the transformational life direction that is being promoted by these mid-March astrological currents in both individual and collective terms is not successfully over, and is far from a done deal. In this lunar phase, we encounter obstacles to the vision from the seedtime of the previous New Moon, and must find a way up or through. The courage of our convictions is thusly put to the test. They say that surmounting obstacles builds character, and if that is true (and I think you believe that it is) then a great degree of character building is going to occur over the final days of this current week. While Uranus is no longer quite so prominent in this quarter moon configuration, Neptune and Pluto still are. Pluto, lord of death and rebirth, resides at 22:45 of Capricorn, and there are four planets at 23 plus degrees of their respective signs, making tight angles to Pluto: the Sun and Moon in square with each other, Jupiter in Sagittarius, and Eris in Aries. Plus Pluto remains closely parallel to Saturn. That’s quite a lot of Pluto. The nudge from the universe accompanying this rather intense configuration is to let go of what no longer serves you; let go and keep on letting go.

Of course with all these 23 plus degree placements, including Sun and Moon, Eris herself is also strongly empowered. We will want to ask ourselves what this implies. My research has shown that Eris, as Feminine Warrior in support of soul intention, is a potent factor in natal charts, and by transit. The message is that we must each individually stand tall for what we most sincerely believe. By articulating your deepest values, what you think are the most important objectives for yourself and for the society that surrounds you, you strike a critical blow in support of your own self-worth and give meaning to your life. Discovering one’s life purpose is a daunting task, and each step forward in this regard is vitally significant for you. This is as you attempt to understand why you are here, in this particular place and time, because there is a reason. Getting a yes to this latter assertion is admittedly an act of faith, although that knowledge does become more evident as you proceed. There are many events along life’s road to lead you either toward or away from your life purpose, and by examining carefully the results of each decision that you make, and every event that takes place around you and through you, you do get closer to the goal of knowing what your life is all about. This is, as Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter puts it, in the classic, Ripple, “no simple highway,” wisely adding “If you go/ No-one may follow/ That path is for your steps alone.”

With so much Neptune in this monthly cycle, and with the Uranus-Neptune semi-square illuminating the next several, we are living through quite a spiritually motivated time. We might therefore want to ask ourselves, as we also go through the introspection of a Mercury Retrograde period moving backward through the sign of Pisces, no less, and about to conjunct the Sun there, what the spiritual lesson is that can be associated with every setback and, equally, with each triumph that we encounter. There is an answer to that question that is always available, and it comes only by looking inside yourself.

The Sabian Symbols associated with this First Quarter Moon are, as usual, quite helpful. For the Sun, in the 24th degree of Pisces, we have, “An inhabited island,” aptly describing our individually activated state of knowledge or achievement. Marc Edmund Jones references, “self-adequacy of experience,” and “achievement through creative opportunism, or inventiveness.” For the Moon, in the same degree of Gemini, we find, “Children skating on ice,” which brings up the implied fear that they might, through lack of caution, fall through. Jones muses upon, “adventure in experience,” and “the value of an established reality as a foundation for further refinement of personal capacity and skill… a dynamic impetus to further achievement.” Indeed, we cannot rest on our laurels, but must seek constantly to go further than we have gone before. In this you defy danger, and proceed always in the direction of meaningful activity that contributes toward the ultimate relief of discovering your true calling.