Skip to Navigation Youtube Instagram

" The Holy Land is everywhere "

Black Elk

The Perigee Full Moon

May 8th, 2012

Over the last few nights the moon has been magnificent, seeming bigger and brighter than usual. This is because it is a ‘perigee full moon’, being nearer to us on its elliptical path; this means it appears up to 14% bigger and 30% brighter than when it is furthest from us. That’s the astronomy, but what about the astrology of this time, which – combined with the influence of Beltane in the northern, and Samhain in the southern hemisphere – seems particularly powerful?

An essay by Druid astrologer Sarah Fuhro has just arrived speaking precisely about this:

The Saille (Willow) Full Moon is powerfully placed this year close to the astrological moment of Beltane. May 5th marks the mid-point between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice. Beltane is a fire festival and celebrated in many traditions. The fire festivals are much older than
the solstice and equinox celebrations. They are sacred to feminine energy, and Beltane, which takes place during the earth sign of Taurus, is particularly important to all of us who love to dance and sing the praises of the beautiful earth through the Wheel of the Year.
The Moon is in the opposite sign, Scorpio, which is the indicator for the celebration of Samhain. Both are ‘fixed’ signs, they represent a culmination of the season. These two holidays are powerful times of the year when the Pleiades are honored at opposite times of the day. At Beltane, the Pleiades who decorate Taurus the Bull’s necks are visible at dawn and set at sundown. At Samhain, this cluster of stars rises at sundown to set at dawn. Celtic and pre-
Celtic people celebrated these two times of the year with festival and other special rituals. Taurus Sun holds on to what feels comfortable, while Scorpio Moon yearns to transform much of what feels old and no longer useful.
At the powerful moment of the full Moon, the Taurus-Scorpio axis can feel obsessive and compulsive, a reason to celebrate this time of spring energy with consciousness. We may be feeling both deep appreciation for what we have around us, the beauty of spring’s arrival, the hope for a new growing season, while the Scorpio impulse is telling us to look deeper into these cycles and what they mean for our inner development.
Venus, planetary ruler of Taurus, is Out of Bounds at this time, which means she is traveling beyond the Sun’s path through the ecliptic. Her journey out beyond the well lit way of the Sun brings us new information and understanding, love beyond limits, universal love, A Love Supreme, like the Coltrane song.
Venus is very much center stage at this time for she is about to go retrograde, (May 15) and will retrace her path giving us the opportunity to contemplate our collective and individual relationship to love and money. She will also make an important passage across the face of the Sun during her retrograde journey. This event will take place on June 5. When she crossed eight years ago, I was able to watch on a local university’s telescope. Many observatories will have special viewing of the event. This Venusian passage across the Sun’s face occurs in two steps, eight years apart and at 121 year intervals. So we are in another ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity this year as every one of our values (Venus and Taurus) come forward for reconsideration. It’s possible that Venus’ retrograde and passage across the Sun, which takes place in Gemini will deepen our conversation about money and economics. It may be that the Occupy movement, which has alerted us to the imbalance of resources in the U.S. will continue to lead us into a dialogue of change around how decisions are made. Can the elusive desire for more and more wealth bring about greater happiness?
The Sun sitting between Jupiter in Taurus says there can
never be enough of a good thing, while Ceres, also in Taurus on the other side suggests that the
earth herself is our greatest treasure. The very sign of Taurus holds this contradiction because there is connection to luxury and money from one aspect of the connection to Venus and at the same time Taurus is an earth sign and the holder of the earth mysteries, reminder of a time when
the earth was the center of spiritual reverence.
At this full Moon, Ceres, Pluto and Mars are in a triangular pattern called a Grand Trine in the earth element. Working in harmony, these important players have created an opportunity for us to unite with the earth in action (Mars) transformation (Pluto) and earth consciousness (Ceres). They are open to our cooperation. Even if it is clouded over the moment of the full Moon (11:35 PM EDT–3:35 AM GMT, May6) will be a sacred opportunity in which to feel the voice of the earth through this powerful trine. It will be a time to connect to the earth at a vibrational level beginning in the feet and bringing the Light of the Earth into our bodies, while pulling down the Moon’s energy through the top of our head. There they can meet in the heart to be shared over the next Moon cycle.

by Sarah Fuhro

Keeping our Ancient Wisdom Alive
The Wisdom Tradition evolved over the centuries to address our deepest human needs. Sarah Fuhro is a practitioner of its many forms; including Astrology, Tarot, Flower Essences and Druidry. In addition to personal consultations, Sarah teaches workshops and private classes, offering both clients and students knowledge powerfully rooted in the past, presented in the language of the present.  To learn more, please visit  www.starfloweralchemy.com