Capricorn Full Moon, July 14-15, 2011
"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."
John F. Kennedy
Full Moon by Unknown
The intense energy of the past three eclipses was like a giant wave that has brought us to a new shore. Our new destination might not be clear yet, but there's no going back now. New patterns of perception are beginning to operate in our new emotional bodies and we get to see the world without the patriarchal filters that offer us only fear and loss, competition and war. Instead, we are given the opportunity to see the world with fresh ideas and possibilities, as the old social structures continue to crumble and open up spaces where new life can take root and grow.
The astrological Moon symbolizes the emotional body and the Unconscious. But we can get a better idea of the power of the Moon by the many words connected with its linguistic roots. These words take their meaning from the ancient understanding of the Moon's attributes. Some of the words are: MENSIS, month; MENSES, blood flow; MENOS, spirit, heart, soul, courage, ardency; MENOINAN, to consider, meditate, wish; MEMONA, to have in mind, to intend; MANIA, madness, possession; MANTEIA, prophecy; MENUO, to reveal; MANTHANO, to learn; MEMINI, to remember; METIS, wisdom; MATRA-M, measure; METIESTHAI, to dream. All these words stem from the one original Sanskrit root HATI-H, which means thought, intention, measure and knowing.
The Moon, and the consciousness and knowing its light bestows, is therefore necessary for measuring, considering, revealing, learning, remembering and dreaming. It is the bringer of wisdom, as well as of madness and lunacy; it gives the ability to walk in the spirit world, or to be possessed by it or the contents of the collective unconscious. It also gives courage, heart and soul to the undertaking of becoming human. The light of the Moon is the consciousness by which we incarnate, the spiritual light that brings change and growth to life here on Earth. We are indeed blessed, for we have been given the great gift of choice by whoever created us. Since we are made of the same stardust as a galaxy, we must adhere to the cosmic laws of our galaxy and cosmos. Even if we don't realize we are doing so.
Our great gift is to be conscious that we have a choice. And then make one. Unfortunately, our patriarchal society seems to be ignoring the real, great crisis of our times, choosing instead to try to prop up a failing economic system. Some scientists are saying we've already passed the point where we can heal the environment. Others say we have about 10 years to make a shift. I'm going to go with the 10 year theory, because the rest of the cosmic story says we're due to have a revolution in the next three years. And you, dear reader, are probably going to be one of the leaders. Because this revolution is going to be a peaceful one, but it's going to take educating our people about the realities, the hopes and the fears for these coming years.
The Capricorn Full Moon's main message is: if you want to create a fulfilling life that includes those people and tasks and things that are most important to you, then you have to take responsibility for your society.
As my friend Tamara Ison explains, this full Moon marks the energetic establishment of a new structure of collective consciousness that we've all be working toward in ourselves. If we've reached a critical mass of consciousness, perhaps we can turn things around in the next 10 years. It's our blessing and our curse -- we have to make a choice. We have to make it now. And if we stand back, undecided, then our choice becomes staying in the old field of patriarchal consciousness. Sorry, but this full Moon has been waiting for us since the beginning of time. It offers us a mirror on our society, asking us to pursue some of the Moon's power: we need to consider, meditate on, keep in mind what is going on in our society, and then we have to decide where we stand. We can ask for a vision, dream a dream, make awish, but then we have to do something to manifest it in our physical reality. We have another cardinal grand cross in this full Moon chart, so get ready to keep moving that 4-armed wheel of beginnings.
But more on that part of the cosmic story later in this article. For now, let's go back to the Moon and its powers and how we might work with them.
The Moon sets the timing rhythms of life and as it progresses through the signs, it nudges us to pay attention to different aspects of our life. Since the full Moon occurs in the sign opposite where the Sun is, it gives us an awareness of the emotional state of that aspect of life. As the Sun goes through the first six signs of the zodiac from Aries to Virgo, our Sun consciousness focuses our awareness on our personal objectives. When we reach the full Moon for each of those months, the Moon energies are in the opposite, more collective signs of Libra through Pisces. The full Moon energy during these months implies that we might come to understand ourselves through the emotional lens of another person, our society, our spirituality or the groups we belong to. Since the Moon is the guardian ruler of the Sun in Cancer, this is a very important full Moon. It means that if we do not handle these Cancer/Capricorn, Mother/Father, Soul/Society issues, we cannot have the secure and creative life that we want. So let's explore this Capricorn Full Moon.
When the full Moon is in Capricorn, the sign of our social systems and structures, we are asked to reflect on and give thought to what their purpose is in our collective life so we can judge if they are performing well or not. We need to take measure of how well they serve our interests, since we establish these institutions for the betterment of life -- everyone's lives, not just the ruling few, in a true democracy.
As I mentioned, the full Moon often reveals our emotional involvement with the issues the Sun brings up. Cancer rules the emotional body, the juicy life of the heart which longs for love and security, creativity and connection. The Capricorn Moon shows us the rules which govern our collective life, such as "don't be so emotional', "money talks', "stick to the facts' etc. The Capricorn Moon insists on duty, responsibility and obedience to the patriarchal rules. It doesn't give us much room to maneuver and so we often fall short of the rules. And are judged and shamed for it. So the full Moon presents us with an awareness of how those rules and structures are really serving all of us. It isn't looking good.
So, here is this full Moon drawing up greater emotional awareness of our collective life: our society and our common institutions. What are we seeing in the political/societal emotional body? Antagonism and obstinacy, hypocrisy and greed, fear and floundering. One of the ways I would describe the purpose of Capricorn is how we organize society, whether it's a tribal society or a technological one. How do groups of people live together? What are the societal structures we agree to live within?
In a tribal society, everyone has a purpose and place, with set rules and expectations. Children are taught the tribe's strictures through their old stories and by example. They are trained to take up their crafts, their duties and their visions. Central to their life is the welfare of their tribe. In many tribes, the most vulnerable ones were protected and nourished. In other tribes, these same ones were vilified and outcast. Feudalism was a form of society in which the few ruled the many. The noble's word was law. Then we have democracies, where each person is free and equal. But what happens when that democratic individuality goes overboard and becomes "every man for himself'? Or "every corporation for himself' (I think modern corporations are intrinsically masculine, so I'm going with that pronoun). There are all sorts of societies.
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