2010 Pisces Full Moon

by Stephanie Azaria

August 24, 2010

1:05 PM EDT / 10:05PM PDT/ 5:05 PM GMT

1 Virgo 25 / 1 Pisces 25

The skies are still driving home the theme of relationships. The Pisces Full Moon lights up the task — or challenge — of being a healthy, intact individual while coexisting with others.

This task has taken on a different meaning lately. Shelving your needs to the point of disavowing them or hurting yourself, busying yourself in other people’s affairs instead of tending to your own trying to be someone you aren’t in the hopes and expectation that it will bring or keep a person in your life — all of these are old tricks, traps and behaviors that have no place in our current world. The new dynamic that is replacing them is more balanced, simple and honest. It’s like the saying on a poster that was popular in the 70s: I am I, and you are you, and where we meet, it’s beautiful. Everyone gets to be themselves. In fact, they have to be.

We’re still getting used to that idea, of course. And we’re still figuring out how to deal with the other people in our lives. That topic has been the focus of a lot of attention in the last week. The air is still reverberating with the inner and outer unions that took place last weekend, with uncommon truths, negotiating and restructuring in their wake (from the Venus/Mars conjunction that took place in the relationship sign of Libra, just before Saturn completed his final square to Pluto and faced off with Uranus one last time.) The Full Moon puts a floodlight on all of these developments and shows details that have been hiding in the shadows and the corners. The masculine and the feminine came together then; now the archetypes are as far apart as they can be, a distance that allows each a really good look at the other. (It helps that Venus and Mars are both in uncomfortable aspect to the Full Moon, making it impossible for anyone to settle unthinkingly into any situation and requiring us to feel, experience and explore.) The Sun, representing the masculine, invites methodical, analytical thinking and not getting too caught up in the other person or in the relationship. The Moon, embodying the feminine, reminds us that we are all in the same boat (or sea of consciousness) and that separation doesn’t really exist, because we are all one. It’s quite the push-pull: don’t lose yourself, but don’t distance yourself either … because, on the highest level, you can not. The trick involves treating each side of the equation with love and compassion, you as well as the other person. The trick is also identifying, recognizing and then honoring the parts of the equation that belong, on a mundane level, to you and the parts that belong to the other.

This is the first Pisces Full Moon since Saturn ended his recent, several-year stay in Virgo, the sign where the Sun is during this event. We’re getting another status report on how well we assimilated our Saturn in Virgo lessons of taking care of ourselves first and not diving into other people’s business unless and until asked to assist. Are you automatically cleaning up after other people? Probably not, after the line-drawing we all did last weekend. Are you shouldering responsibilities and putting up with treatment you don’t want? Probably not that either, for the same reason. Are you worrying about what someone is doing or taking him to task for not doing what you think he should (or being who you think he should)? Hmmm. Possibly. Look at the relationships that are active in your life right now and think about whether that question applies. If it does…the Virgo Sun encourages you to remedy the situation for your own health, and the Pisces Moon says to do it lovingly.

These kinds of questions will be ongoing, so return to them consciously over the next month. The developments of this Full Moon will linger on longer than the usual two weeks or so. The prolonging factor is Mercury, which rules the Sun in Virgo, and which just stationed retrograde last Friday. Since he is retrograde at the time of this Full Moon, he will pull its issues along with him, like taffy. Mercury will be traveling backward through Virgo until the middle of next month. It will take him till the end of September to reach where he was at the beginning of August.

Here is Lynda Hill’s interpretation of the Sabian Symbol for the Moon at 2 Pisces, reprinted with her kind permission from her book The Sabian Symbols As An Oracle, the Special Edition:

A SQUIRREL HIDING FROM HUNTERS.

Commentary: ‘A Squirrel Hiding From Hunters’ is an image of fear, worry and apprehension. The ‘Squirrel’ senses it is somehow threatened, or that its very survival is at risk. The ‘Squirrel’ is afraid to come out into the open because of a perception that something is out to get them, whether it is true or not. There’s a need, or an instinct, to hide from the threatening or aggressive elements in life.

Oracle: ‘ Is someone fretting about their position or future? There may be a sense of aggression in the air where you, or someone you know, may be one of the smaller players. Sometimes the “enemy” is actually not really there, and we make it up through fear or paranoia. To be cautious is wise, but hiding oneself away can lead to missed opportunities for any kind of nourishment and the possibility of freedom, sunshine and basking in the light. The provision of nourishment and sustenance may be difficult if one feels somehow threatened. This feeling of “threat” can happen on any level. It may have been a necessary process to go through the fright, care and worry facing you, but the time has to eventually come when you can feel safe and able to enjoy your life. Is your neighborhood threatening or unsafe in some way? Although we may not like to admit it, sometimes ‘Hiding’ away is the best option, whether your fears are real or merely imagined. This can give you time to sort things through in your heart and mind to decide what your next move will be. This Symbol can bring nervousness and a lack of sleep. Why do you feel victimized and “holed-up” in this matter? Perhaps a safer home, or living environment, would make things easier. It is true that if we project fear out into our environment, it will most likely manifest in a reaction or event somewhere. What creative solutions can your employ to ensure a safe outcome for all concerned? After all, do the ‘Hunters’ really want to shoot a ‘Squirrel’?

Keywords: ‘Using tactics to ensure survival. ‘Hiding’ one’s self away. Not stepping out into the big wide world for fear of making the wrong move. Security systems. Caution and reserve. Using commonsense. Things or people that feel tiny, uncertain or insecure. Refuges and the need for them. Staying out of people’s way. Staying home. Locks and keys. Stockpiling for harder times.

The Caution: ‘ People picking on each other. Being bullied out of what you deserve. Giving those “out there” more power than they warrant. Not trusting life. Paranoia. Running away from things. Not wanting to go out and socialize. Truancy. Not speaking up for fear of being shot down. Threats of terrorism. Having to lie about one’s whereabouts. Not answering the door. Hiding away. Being caged in. Agoraphobia. Claustrophobia.

Why not go out on a limb? Isn’t that where the fruit is?
Frank Scully

God gives the nuts but he does not crack them. ‘
German Proverb

Of all the thirty-six alternatives, running away is best.
Chinese Proverb

There is perhaps nothing so bad and so dangerous in life as fear. Jawaharlal Nehru

Giving advice to a stupid man is like giving salt to a squirrel. Kashmiri Proverb

A sly rabbit will have three openings to its den.
Chinese Saying

The fox has many tricks. The hedgehog has but one. But that is the best of all. Desiderius Erasmus

One of the rules of caution is not to be too cautious.
Bahya ibn Paquda

Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Never feel self-pity, the most destructive emotion there is. How awful to be caught up in the terrible squirrel cage of self.
Millicent Fenwick

Lynda Hill’s interpretation of the Sabian Symbol for the Sun at 2 degrees Virgo is:
A LARGE WHITE CROSS, DOMINATING THE LANDSCAPE, STANDS ALONE ON TOP OF A HIGH HILL.

Commentary: ‘ ‘A Large White Cross, Dominating the Landscape, Stands Alone on Top of a High Hill’ is a symbol of suffering and loss and the hope of faith and salvation. Symbols such as the ‘Cross’ have long had a deep, meaningful and powerful influence on people. The fact that the ‘Cross’ is ‘Standing Alone’ depicts a sense of desertion, perhaps of one’s faith or life circumstances. This can bring a sense of isolation. The idea, or belief, that suffering and the giving up of one’s personal desires as a means to salvation has special significance for many people, but what does it really mean? A sense of true religion is supposed to unite people in many ways. However, dogmatic expressions of faith can either unite or divide people, even in what should be seen as a common cause. People need symbols of faith to rally around, things to inspire them.

Oracle: ‘ Feelings of loneliness or loss can be healed with signs of hope and faith for a brighter future. A religious experience can change ones life and lead to spiritual fulfillment and the highest sense of joy. However, these experiences can also lead to throwing ones life away. This can be caused by too much emphasis on spiritual and “other worldly” values, which can lead people to lose their day-to-day lives. Some may feel that they are being treated like a scapegoat, being “hung out to dry”, punished for doing something or being different or special in some way. Instead of having a “cross to bear”, we can work at realigning ourselves with our true desires and allegiances. We can ground our selves and our lives, by creating a balanced set of circumstances in our life: money, relationships, family, career, etc. This can also lead to a stronger sense of purpose and spirituality, dissipating feelings of sacrifice, separation or loneliness.

Keywords: ‘Religious ideals dominating. The fear or the wonder of God. Following a mystic Path. The need to find a savior. Being alone and forgotten. Monuments to pain and suffering. Tributes to, or memories of, those lost or gone before. Reminders of salvation. Images of redemption. The Church. Christianity and other religions. Martyrdom.

The Caution: ‘ Aloneness and/or sacrifice or the yearning for it. Dogmatism. Scapegoating. Days in the wilderness alone. Religion dictating against one’s desires or needs. Symbols that inspire guilt and anguish instead of love, acceptance and forgiveness. Institutions disregarding individual rights. Lording it over others. Bullying under the guise of religion. Imposing figures.

The anguish of the neurotic individual is the same as that of the saint. The neurotic, the saint are engaged in the same battle. Their blood flows from similar wounds. But the first one gasps and the other one gives. Georges Bataille

The heresies we should fear are those which can be confused with orthodoxy. Jorge Luis Borges

Victims suggest innocence. And innocence, by the inexorable logic that governs all relational terms, suggests guilt.
Susan Sontag

Martyrdom has always been a proof of the intensity, never of the correctness of a belief.
Arthur Schnitzler

If you bear the cross willingly, it will bear you.
Thomas A. Kempis

Forgive me my nonsense as I forgive the nonsense of those who think they talk sense.
Anon

Christ was crucified for saying “the Kingdom is within you.”
Joseph Campbell

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. ‘ Jesus Christ

*The excerpts from Lynda Hill’s book The Sabian Symbols As An Oracle, the Special Edition, © Lynda Hill 2002, have been reprinted by permission of the author. ‘