Follow the Moon: May 30, 2018 - June 5

Moon in Sagittarius

Wednesday, May 30.
Let’s constellate a day of adventure and discovery on this Monday in May. The Moon in Sagittarius recognizes the ways we’ve been crossing over our edges lately. Sometimes, the crossing is so disruptive, we forget to stop and look around at the new terrain. Let’s stop, for a moment, and do that today. What does this new place look like? How does it feel in your body? What new toys, ideas, people, dreams exist here? The only aspect today is an encouraging sextile between Mercury in Gemini and Chiron in Aries. We also receive healing messages. Chiron is the edgewalker and transgressor. This astrological influencer doesn’t go with the flow. Chiron is a hermit, a challenger, a weirdo, a healer, a wounded one. Have you been feeling like that lately? In Aries, Chiron brings these qualities to who we are. Identity plays a big role in our edge crossings.

Moon enters Capricorn 4:26 am CDT
Thursday, May 31.

Gifts bring obligations. I learned this from Heathen (Norse) cultural values. If someone offers us a gift, we are obliged to honor the gift and the giver, either through mutual exchange of some sort or by passing the gift along to others. This type of obligation encourages the flow of blessing. It brings liveliness to our relationships and our work. Typically, we think of obligation as a burden, something we have to fulfill. If we have too many, we feel overwhelmed. With the Moon in Capricorn conjoining Saturn, we have an opportunity to evaluate our obligations. Do they arise from gifts or from some story about how we should be acting? Follow those authentic obligations back to the gift source. What is the gift? Why do you gladly take on this obligation? How can you make this obligation a gift again? How does this change the story of obligation?

Moon in Capricorn
Friday, June 1.
If we can trust what the stars are telling us, this could be a day encouraging mental and emotional connection with others. There is a highly stimulating trine aspect between Mercury in Gemini and Mars in Aquarius. There is an outpouring of ideas and curiosity. We need others to listen to and encourage us. This works the other way too, we can become the listeners and supporters of others. The grand water trine of Venus in Cancer, Jupiter in Scorpio, and Neptune in Pisces provides heart capacity if we remember to tap into ours. Perhaps this trine influences a tendency to go overboard with our emotions. Time to dive in rather than be afraid. Later, we will get to touch back on land to sort out what is real for us. Now, feelings and visions are leading the way. This is an unusual influence under a Capricorn Moon, which tends to be pretty grounded. Look for an infusion of inspiration for what you may want to accomplish next.

Moon enters Aquarius 5:06 pm CDT
June 2—Disseminating Moon: Fruiting.

What are you growing? What hopes and dreams have you been holding deep within? Have any found their way out into the world? Look more closely. Even our most intimately-held wishes impact the world around us. We matter to each other. Sometimes this impact freaks me out. Other times, I am grateful for this interconnection. The freak out for me is about thinking I need to be more mindful and aware of all my impact. Am I causing unconscious harm? Is there something inside me that should be better? This self-critic is very active for me. The gift of interdependency and mutual impact is that none of us has to be everything. This wonderful mess and blessing of a world derives from our complex interactions, not our solitary actions. I am learning this from the mycelium who are intricately woven and in mutual exchange with the life and death around them. The seed of this lunar cycle was in Taurus, the fixed earth sign. As a complicated human, it is hard to be right-sized and have rightful impact, but there is a brilliance in Taurus wisdom that may help. Be rooted. Be silent (sometimes). Listen more. Drink deeply with all your senses. Appreciate what is. Value the Earth beneath you.

Astrological influences are complicated right now. A grand water trine of Venus in Cancer, Neptune in Pisces, and Jupiter in Scorpio invites us to dissolve, lose track of boundaries, feel all the feels. Water offers healing. Jupiter’s transit of Scorpio has revealed deep wounds. Perhaps Venus comes to give those owies some chicken soup. We need nurturing. It feels good to offer it to others. Neptune draws us out of egoic structures. We are vast and connected. What separates our hearts? Can we trust connection? Be tender with yourself. This water influence is contrasted by Mercury in Gemini in a puzzling aspect to Saturn in Capricorn. We want to figure things out. It feels really important to express what we are experiencing. We might be hard on ourselves for being imperfect.

Moon in Aquarius

Sunday, June 3.

The Moon in Aquarius conjoins Mars in the wee hours of the day (night really) in the U.S. time zones. Your sleep may have been disturbed. Aquarius loves to run with an idea. Mars is super-charging that tendency. So, what is your big idea? Social media may light up this morning with all of ours. The influence of Mars in Aquarius is something to pay more attention to now. Mars will be turning retrograde in this sign on June 26. Because of this, Mars stays in Aquarius for a longer period of time than is usual. Mars will return to a square with Uranus in Taurus on August 1 and September 18. This Mars is making sure that Uranus doesn’t get too comfy in Taurus. It is reminding us all to take action, to pay attention to the Earth, our bodies, our values. We will be hearing about economic systems and wondering how to radicalize them. We are learning a new tactic in our revolutions inspired by the fixity of Taurus and Aquarius. Today’s transits are a forerunner of a desire for change and the new ways we will approach change.

Moon in Aquarius

Monday, June 4.

There are no exact aspects today. Nada. Nothing with the Moon. Nothing with any other planets. This is unusual. Notice. I expect the Moon’s Aquarian influence will be stronger with nothing really taking our attention away. This means we are in a mental space. Take a breather from emotional processing. Aquarius encourages radical, abstract thinking. Theories take on life. We imagine communities of support and activism. Wave your freak flag. Appreciate all the difference you see around you.

Moon enters Pisces 5:53 am CDT
Monday, June 5.

The structure of the zodiac is funny. One day we feel airy and detached and the next we are swamped by emotion. That may be our experience of yesterday and today. The Moon gushes into Pisces. Where there were no exact aspects yesterday, there are six today, including a whopper—Venus in Cancer opposite Pluto in Capricorn. Here is another chance for femmes (and the feminine principal in all of us) to confront toxic power. That needs to happen, right? Oppositions can stalemate in oppositional interactions, however. This one is inviting us to reclaim our power. Perhaps this comes when we tell the truth, or hold someone accountable but still in relationship, or when we nurture ourselves through complete self-acceptance, or when we honor non-dominant forms of power.

Mercury and the Sun conjoin in Gemini. This is a peak Gemini experience! That means we are pollinating and being pollinated by ideas, interactions, synchronicities. It may be hard to settle down today. We are being asked to feel our feelings by the Moon in Pisces and Jupiter in Scorpio, which is quincunx to Mercury and the Sun. We may be tempted to flit away from our feelings. It could be hard to stay in our emotion bodies. Don’t force yourself to do that, but be curious. What is showing up today for you? Why did that sudden emotion sweep over you? What is your beloved trying to tell you with their body posture or facial expression?

About these forecasts: Through following the Moon, the planets, and the wisdom of the seasons and signs, my goal is to offer a useful practice of mindfulness and intention for the thoughtful seeker. Read about the beginning of this lunar cycle here http://www.starsdanceastrology.com/2018/05/following-moon-new-moon-may-15-2018.html

Contact Teri at teri@starsdanceastrology.com and visit her website at www.starsdanceastrology.com to book a reading of your chart. Follow the Starsdance Astrology page on Facebook to receive these forecasts daily and learn of other offers and events.

Follow the Moon: Full Moon May 29, 2018

Moon in Sagittarius
May 29—Full Moon: Blossoming.
What keeps us from knowing we are connected and interdependent? What would if feel like if we did?

My lunar intention, spurred by the New Moon in Taurus and Uranus’ ingress into Taurus, was to seek the wisdom of the mycelium to experience deeper connection and transformative power. Taurus is fixed earth. What better guide to foundational structures than the mycelium who live underground in large networks feeding and being fed by forests? These lessons seem essential right now. Uranus is the planet of change. This ingress into Taurus means not only will we experience change in the realm of earth, but we can learn from earth how to navigate the changes that are coming. Earth energy is the gift, it may also be the challenge to our necessary transformations. Earth is structure. It can hold us up. Earth is strength and it can function as a wall. Walls can inhibit interdependent connections. This lunar cycle seems to be teaching me about the dynamic relationship between strength and vulnerability.

I am curious about the lesson of trust that the mycelium teach. It is hard to see the big picture sometimes. It is hard to know if we are doing enough, being enough, caring enough. The mycelium say that in the web, the quality of our immediate connections is vitally important. We may not know what is going on 20 nodes down the line, but we can touch those around us. We can be touched. And by that touching make a difference to the whole. That requires trust, trust in you, trust in me.

The quality of our relationships feeds the whole and builds a network of trust. Astrological influences create shifting conditions that impact our relationships. This lunar cycle will shift from Taurus/Scorpio, with an emphasis on death and rebirth, to Gemini/Sagittarius, with an emphasis on learning and understanding. The Sun is now in Gemini. The Full Moon is in the opposite sign, Sagittarius. The first half of this lunar cycle has been pretty heavy. Maybe you experienced that as you felt the inevitable change coming our way. Scorpio reminds us of the patterns hidden in our hearts that often need transformation. Gemini—mutable air—and Sagittarius—mutable fire—drive our desire to connect and learn from each other. As we make this shift, I invite you to play with the idea that the deeper emotional states we’ve recently experienced source the ways we move and connect under this new influence. The shape of the zodiac invites us to move from interior to exterior back to interior over and over. This weaving is in itself a web, a structure that gives shape to our souls.

In the chart for the Full Moon, the Sun in Gemini is making a quincunx connection to Saturn in Capricorn. This aspect stretches us to integrate, if possible, Gemini lightheartedness and Capricorn gravity. We might feel judged or very judgmental of ourselves. When we integrate these qualities, our relationships benefit from our curiosity and our commitment. On the Full Moon, Mercury moves into Gemini, one of the signs it rules. This amps up qualities of curiosity and conversation. Full Moons bring illumination. New ideas and connections are on the horizon. For the remainder of this lunar cycle, we could forget, at times, to link what we are learning back to what we’ve been feeling emotionally. Mycelium are teaching about connections. We create and absorb nutrients as we stay open and present. Over the next few days, a grand water trine of Venus in Cancer, Jupiter in Scorpio, and Neptune in Pisces, provides an opportunity to integrate emotion and intellect if we hold that intention. A grand trine is a powerful elemental resource that can be ignored or squandered. This one is important to the storyline of revealing toxicities of abuse and the compassion we can feel for ourselves and others. Trauma awareness is up. Relationships can deepen through honesty and empathy. The Gemini signature of the moment enhances the possibility of understanding what is going on for us if we don’t bypass what we are feeling. The mycelium weave all these influences into a whole. Nothing needs to be banished. It is all food for something as we feed the whole with love.

Follow the Moon: Forecast for May 21, 2018 - May 28

Moon enters Virgo 9:03 pm CDT
May 21—First Quarter Moon: Sprouting

Each lunar cycle, I follow an intention through the waxing and waning phases of the Moon. My intention is seeded by celestial happenings around the New Moon. The New Moon’s sign is one of the most significant influences. Taurus is inspiration for this lunar cycle. This fixed earth sign planted the seeds for this month and will be highly influential for the next seven years due to Uranus’ ingress into Taurus on the same day as the New Moon, May 15. The Earth is the messenger and the message right now. Uranus insists we awaken more fully to the Earth. It is time to be rooted in the wisdoms of the wild. These wisdoms teach us how to be agents of change.

Earth wisdoms are strategies for activism.

Adrienne Maree Brown’s book, Emergent Strategy, provides marvelous Earth inspiration for activists. She writes about activists who use complex patterns from nature as basis for strategies to shape change and to change the world. Nature is the guide for activism, healing, and restoration.

“Emergent strategy is a way to build complex patterns and systems of justice and liberation through relatively small interactions. Adrienne Maree Brown from How the Wonder of Nature Can Inspire Social Justice Activism. http://www.yesmagazine.org/peace-justice/how-the-wonder-of-nature-can-inspire-social-justice-activism-20180201

Small is powerful. Reciprocal interactions create complex webs. These webs of exchange are stronger and more impactful because they are intricate and interwoven. They touch upon the ways we are mystery and interdependency. This cycle, I’ve been listening to the wisdom of mycelium, the fungal root network living below ground.  The mycelium are one of the strategies Brown writes about. This lunar cycle, inspired by Uranus in Taurus, I am seeking to learn from mycelium how we are interconnected and how we can be transformers.                

At the first week marker of this lunar cycle, the First Quarter phase, the work of the lunar cycle gears up. At this phase, we are well into the challenges we face as we seek change. I am wondering how to move with trust in the process of interdependence. One inspiration Brown quotes is Adaku Utah, who wrote: “Mycelium mushrooms have been one of my greatest teachers of trust. The word mycelium means ‘more than one.’ The mycelium organism is a dynamic root system of mushrooms that utilizes trust as a mechanism to build and sustain a vast, reciprocal, underground network that connects the roots of trees and plants and skillfully shares nutrients and resources to support the health of the entire ecosystem with which it moves.” I believe we need these kinds of relationships if we are to survive, but I need to do a lot of re-patterning before I can think and behave like mycelia. I have more questions than answers at the moment. Do I trust there are enough resources to be in reciprocal relationship? Do I trust that I am not alone? How do I embody the intimacy of interdependency when I am entranced in isolation? Questions of self-worth come up too. Do I trust that I am as valuable as the other members of the web? Fungi are transformers. What can they teach me about transforming stories of isolation and self-judgement?

Small is powerful. As I am transformed and learn the trust of mycelium, I join a network of others creating new relationships. In embodied intimacy of interdependency I am shaping change. This too is activism.

Over the next two days, the Virgo Moon will help us find the integrative possibilities of  complex networks and small but powerful actions. Be as pragmatic and grounded as possible. Notice intricacy under the surface. Remember the ways you belong to that interconnectedness. Fertilize the roots.

Moon in Virgo
Tuesday, May 22.
Mercury in Taurus delivers important messages today and tomorrow. Taurus helps Mercury focus thought. The normally quicksilver god slows down a tad and stops the mental spinning just a bit to express solid truths. First, Mercury will make an encouraging sextile aspect to Neptune in Pisces. With the Moon in Mercury-ruled Virgo, we feel both inspired and pragmatic. Neptune can cause confusion, but today, helps us feel emotional connection. This influence is good for artistic and spiritual inspiration. The sextile aspect between the Sun in Gemini and Chiron in Aries contributes to sense of empathy and curiosity about connection and impact. All the earth signs are stimulated today. Saturn in Capricorn is supported by the Virgo Moon. We may want to accomplish a lot with all these influences. A good day to get things done.

Moon in Virgo
Wednesday, May 23.
Mercury in Taurus opposes Jupiter in Scorpio. Jupiter has been turning over the soil. That’s how I think of the Scorpio process of digging into the shadows and releasing the fertile potential of our transformations. If Scorpio is about turning death into compost, then Taurus is about rebirthing life. Taurus feeds Scorpio and Scorpio feeds Taurus. Mercury invites us to organize our thoughts around what are we birthing? What is the fertile moment presenting to us? This is a creative transit if we can avoid the temptation to slip into the binary of good and bad. Both realms: the living and the dead are vital. An energizing trine between Mars in Aquarius and the Sun in Gemini stimulates more thinking, more action based on ideas. Air is best (these are air signs) when there is a connection to water and earth. Emotion through Jupiter and pragmatism through Mercury help us fly freely. The Moon in mutable earth sign, Virgo, provides discernment. This is a good day to dream big and then evaluate the real possibilities of those dreams.

Moon enters Libra 1:52 am CDT
Thursday, May 24.
When the Moon moves into cardinal air sign, Libra, all three air signs complete a grand trine pattern. Grand trines lock in an elemental influence. The Moon, the Sun in Gemini, and Mars in Aquarius bring attention to the gifts and challenges of air. Of course, ideas are noticeably present today. Conversation, information, inspiration sparkle. Things may lighten up for you. Air signs help us get perspective and see the big picture. Air molecules are easily over-stimulated, however. Then we lose track of our bodies and can get caught up in mental spinning. Air also has a remedy for this. Return to the calming gift of extending your exhale breath to last longer than your inhale breath. Touch something solid. Notice a tangible part of your environment. We can put together concepts and learn a lot today. The Moon in conciliatory Libra is trying to soothe some disgruntled feelings arising from an opposition between Venus in Cancer and Saturn in Capricorn. We get to notice our strong attachments to being right and being in charge. This is true for everyone. Some battles need to be fought but finding common ground is also highly valued today.

Moon in Libra
May 25—Gibbous Moon: Budding.

Yesterday, detachment was the strategy. Today, emotional connection is more useful. This lunar cycle is full of elemental shifts. The season of Gemini (where the Sun is now), asks us to be adaptable. Have you noticed this? All of us have elemental strengths and challenges, ways we are naturally gifted and also naturally invited to learn. This lunar cycle, I am exploring the lessons of the mycelium, the ways we are interconnected and transformative. The consciousness of the mycelia invites me to let go of having to be the best at everything. The lessons of adaptability may be that if I stay within my essential self, rather than be what others tell me to be, I am contributing just what I need to contribute to the mysterious web of interdependency. If I am really good at thinking and you are really good at feeling, then how do we depend more on each other to transform decay into life? The Moon in Libra is all about relationship. Balance, another Libra concern, is more than static equilibrium. Balance requires sensitivity, adaptability, and trust. This trust is hard. Perhaps that is the lesson of this phase of the Moon. What is active and awakened trust? How is it different from staying asleep, hiding from the facts, staying passive when we need to act? What does active and awakened trust feel like in our bodies? What would the mycelium say?

Jupiter in Scorpio forms a trine to Neptune in Pisces. This is the second time these two giants of perception and emotion are feeding the field of awareness. (The first time was December 2017. The final time will be in August.) Blinders come off. We can believe we are mystery and we are powerful. This power isn’t personal. It is the way it is when we remember we are vast, interconnected and in touch with each other, just like mycelia spreading under forests to nourish the whole. The relationship between Mercury in Taurus and Pluto in Capricorn, today, reinforces power that is true to Earth wisdoms. The strength of the mycelium can be felt. This is the power of our discerning trust.

Moon enters Scorpio 8:39 am CDT
Saturday, May 26.

Commitment and intensity flavor the day. The Moon in Scorpio contacts the explosive square between Mars in Aquarius and Uranus in Taurus. Give folks a wide berth if you are sensing tension simmering. This Moon’s method is a choice between being alone or to talking it out intensely. It may be difficult to choose a lighthearted approach under these influences. Venus in Cancer opposes Saturn in Capricorn. Our relationships are up for accountability. Things seem a bit more serious than we want them to be. Rather than fight it, be honest about how you feel. And be compassionate towards yourself and others. The intensity is a sign that we care.

Moon in Scorpio
Sunday, May 27

It might be a good thing to let yourself feel the emotional catharsis that has been building over the last few days. The Moon conjoins Jupiter in Scorpio and makes a trine to Neptune in Pisces, softening our resistance to feelings. The power of Scorpio is to transform fear into vital life force. We are tempted to maintain control over things that can’t be. Recognize this and move through the fear of vulnerability. Dare to feel and connect.

Moon enters Sagittarius 5:29 pm CDT
Monday, May 28.

The day before a Full Moon can feel like the Full Moon itself—big and unpredictable. The Moon’s transit through Scorpio (last two days) may not have been terribly gentle. The Gemini season is typically light and socially active. That may not have been the case for you so far. When the Moon hits Sagittarius this afternoon in U.S. time zones, we might want to hit the road. Open spaces can help us re-center and expand. A detached philosophical approach to complex problems might provide relief too. What helps you change perspective?

About these forecasts: Through following the Moon, the planets, and the wisdom of the seasons and signs, my goal is to offer a useful practice of mindfulness and intention for the thoughtful seeker. Read about the beginning of this lunar cycle here 

Contact Teri at teri@starsdanceastrology.com and visit her website at www.starsdanceastrology.com to book a reading of your chart. Follow the Starsdance Astrology page on Facebook to receive these forecasts daily and learn of other offers and events.