April 2010 Scorpio Full Moon

by Stephanie Azaria

April 28, 2010

8:20 AM EDT / 5:20 AM PDT/ 12:20 PM GMT

8 Taurus 7 / 8 Scorpio 7

This month’s Scorpio Full Moon keeps us tethered to the earth and drives us to action on the ground and deep within our beings. The build-up and release offer a slow, long and thorough look at our physical circumstances (top of the list: resources) and inspires us to do something with them.

The Full Moon is on the axis of money, resources and possessions (mine vs. yours), appetites and desires, and enjoyment or consumption with the five senses and deep, intense, even obsessively compelled immersion in energies that are commingled or covert or both. The Sun in Taurus is on the side of possessing and consuming, which can lead, in one extreme, to experiencing spirit in physical form and, in another, to being stuck. The Moon in Scorpio is on the end of pooling energy with a force outside conscious control, which can lead to profound, transforming union — or to monsters surfacing from the depths of the psyche. As they stir awareness and emotions of all these aspects of life, the Sun and the Moon have some company this year that promises to make for a very interesting dance.

It’s going to be a chatty, communicative event. The Sun is in a tight conjunction with retrograde Mercury, the planet that rules the movement of our thoughts, words and vehicles and is currently slowing all of them to an unrushed, deliberate pace. Concrete, practical information about the state of our individual and joint resources is a central feature to this Full Moon. They are certainly the first topics we’ll be talking about in the hours immediately following the event, because Mercury is the first planet that each of the luminaries touches in a major aspect after parting. (The Moon opposes Mercury within minutes; the Sun joins him about four hours later.) Other factors up the communication vibe as well. Because they are in Taurus, Mercury and the Sun are ruled right now by Venus, who is in Gemini — one of Mercury’s homes. Mercury and Venus are each occupying the other’s territory, a relationship called mutual reception that blends the energies of the planets. Venus in Gemini brings a lightness, ease and communicative bent to matters of the heart and bank account (as well as other aspects of life we value, including ourselves), while Mercury in Taurus brings a grounded, mundane and here-and-now tone to communication and travel. The past-summoning quality of retrograde Mercury may well cause old loves (and money alliances) to pop back up, in thought or in the flesh, and particularly ones that still have a hold on us.

The opportunity is here to rework that hold, with Venus in a close adjustment aspect to Pluto, who rules the Moon in Scorpio. (Here’s where the dance gets really fun: The Moon is ruled by and in an opportunity aspect to Pluto, who is in Capricorn and therefore ruled by Saturn, who is in Libra and therefore ruled by Venus, who is in mutual reception with Mercury, who is standing next to the Sun — a round robin that brings all the energies back to the communicating about love and money theme of the Mercury-Venus reception.) The Venus/Pluto contact puts us at a crossroads involving desire and, lest we forget, money, since Venus is the lesser and Pluto the greater embodiment of each. The aspect invites changes in allegiances in triangles, such as leaving a partner for someone or thing more compelling, tantalizing or emotionally consuming. Mercury in Taurus encourages us to chew the situation over and over and over and become fully present in it. Think and talk about what it was, if there’s a past to it. Let emotions come up to the surface, old and current, and experience the situation for what it is now — not what exists in memory, not what you hope it may turn into, but what it is now.

There’s little chance of stalling out, though, due to the other participant in this dance — Mars, Venus’ cosmic consort, the god of war and the ruler of our drive, ambition and motivation. Mars is not only the god of action, but he’s also in a relationship to the Full Moon that demands action. He’s halfway between the Sun and the Moon, the focus of a dynamic configuration called a t-square. This makes him monkey-in-the-middle between the appetites and desires of the ego and the cravings and compulsions of the heart. He provides the balance point, in the form of high-energy, dramatic, fun, childlike, spotlight-claiming, self-expressing and possibly self-aggrandizing action. These are all possible expressions of his drive in Leo — a placement, by the way, that makes him the Sun’s ruler in this event and puts him firmly in the round robin I laid out in the parenthetical a paragraph above. Mars has only recently been getting back into the swing of forward movement himself, after a three month retrograde over the winter and a slow start once he stationed direct last month. This Full Moon finds him at a point he’s crossed over twice since last fall. The action that we are driven to take now, in response to the developments, information and emotional culmination of this Full Moon, may have ties to events that occurred during those two earlier times, November 10-12 and January 26-29. They may also involve self-assertiveness and intensely personal pursuits and campaigns. But they will propel us onward. There may be emotional endings; there may be profound transformations; there may be developments of intense and lasting value. But we aren’t supposed to sit and mull and obsess under this Full Moon. We aren’t to clutch our baubles and hiss “my preciousssss” or wail disconsolately over a loss or back room drama. We are supposed find a balance point and get going, and the combined pressure of our minds and hearts will push us into the appropriate direction.

If somehow you find yourself at a loss for what specifically to do, here’s a universally appropriate response. Use your own shortlist of values and personal code of ethics as a point of comparison for your belongings, intimate connections and every situation in which you invest yourself in any way. Then attack every item that does not match your values or ethics. Break with it, throw it out, move it out, give it away — take whatever action will keep the item for coming along with you as you head toward the summer. And the items that do match? Enjoy and celebrate them.

Here is Lynda Hill’s interpretation of the Sabian Symbol for the Moon at 9 Scorpio, reprinted with her kind permission from her book The Sabian Symbols As An Oracle, the Special Edition:

A DENTIST IS HARD AT WORK

Commentary: ‘A Dentist is Hard at Work’. His work involves finding out what’s wrong in a situation and fixing it up so that things can work smoothly and efficiently once again. The “patients” that the ‘Dentist Works’ on may be nervous and restless, and looking forward to the whole thing being finished. Although he has a very important or valuable job to do, many in society don’t fully appreciate his ‘Work’. Our “chewing ability” is important as our teeth make it possible to break down nourishment to its smaller elements or to a more digestible consistency so that we can integrate these into our wellbeing. He concentrates on fixing damage that has probably occurred over a long period of time.

Oracle: It is important to have healthy teeth as well as bodies and minds. All these factors go into making up our wellbeing and they need checks, balances and maintenance work done on a regular basis to ensure smooth functioning. It is also important for us to take responsibility for the efficient functioning to continue. We need to make sure that we supply our bodies and minds with good nourishment and hygiene, not just indulge in band-aid treatments and cover-ups. ‘Dentists’, doctors and other physicians are needed in society in order to fix up the problems that occur in our lives. Society needs to invent a way of repairing this somehow inevitable but probably largely unnecessary damage. On another level, however, there are people who feel it is their duty to continually point out where they think things need to be “fixed”, and this can be painful in itself to endure. These people sometimes need to know when to back off, we should be able to assess and fix up our own mistakes. Whatever the situation, you may need help at this time to cope with some of the difficulties that might arise in this period e.g. finance, health, stress etc.

Keywords: Repairing damage. Drilling at something. Plugging up situations. Being the responsible one who always has to fix things. Not being able to relax. Causing pain to erase pain. Tooth decay and bad breath. Medical equipment. Therapists. Treatments. Social comment to invoke a cure. Flossing and oral care.

The Caution: Getting further into a hole by using more and more social solutions. Causing more pollution and damage when one should be honoring and fixing things. The fear of pain. Making wrong judgments and causing harm. Big dentist bills because of neglect. Always having to come up with solutions to problems. Always being “on duty”.

It is very vulgar to talk like a dentist when one isn’t a dentist. It produces a false impression. Oscar Wilde

Be true to your teeth and they won’t be false to you. Soupy Sales

The electric chair was invented by a dentist! Trivia.net

For there was never yet philosopher that could endure the toothache patiently. William Shakespeare

Lynda Hill’s interpretation of the Sabian Symbol for the Sun at 9 degrees Taurus is:
A CHRISTMAS TREE IS DECORATED AND SHINES IN THE DARKNESS

Commentary: ‘A Christmas Tree is Decorated’ is a Symbol that brings feelings of family, celebration and happiness. When the ‘Tree is Decorated’ it represents a sign of unity and that many of our family and celebrational needs are, or will be, met. The star placed on top of the ‘Tree’ represents the star that led the wise men, the Magi astrologers, to the stable in Bethlehem where Jesus was born. As long as the spirit of Christmas is celebrated with thankfulness and joy, people will be happy and share both their love and their time. Often at Christmas time it is cold outside. There is the sensation of snow on the ground and everything being rather bleak outside whilst inside there is love, shelter, food and warmth. There is also the beauty of the Christmas lights – the ‘Tree is Decorated and Shines in the Darkness’. The presents glint and a feeling of anticipation hangs in the air of what fun and rewards are yet to come. Giving and receiving whilst enjoying family and friends are the main elements behind the spirit of Christmas. The presents don’t have to be big and expensive, it’s the warmth and spirit of sharing that matters.

Oracle: This is an opportunity for enjoying or accepting family, for celebrations and appreciating cultural ties, and for taking time out to remember and honor these things. Activities with the group will bring joy to all those who are close enough to partake. Even if you don’t know the people you are celebrating with, joy will be spread and celebrated-unless there are feelings of alienation, loneliness or loss. Do some elements of your situation shine more brightly in the cloak of the night than the clear night of day? Even if you arrive empty handed, the true gift is in the giving of yourself, not in the actual gift itself. Hopefully everybody realizes this. If there are gifts you want to give, are you worried about how they will be received? One of our gifts to others is to be able to receive our gifts and each other joyfully without worry or judgment.

Keywords: Enjoying the fruits of one’s culture. Warmth within whilst it may be cold outside. The rebirth of the spirit. Faith and the hope of happiness and goodwill of people to one another. Celebrations bringing people together that once were parted. Decorations. Things done with loving intent. The promise of good things.

The Caution: The pretense of happiness or success in a decorative show. Not allowing others from different religions or social classes. Being excluded and left in the cold. Family cohesion on display belying the real situation. Commercialism. Family disappointments.

Remember, if Christmas isn’t found in your heart, you won’t find it under the tree. Charlotte Carpenter

I bought my brother some gift-wrap for Christmas. I took it to the Gift Wrap department and told them to wrap it, but in a different print so he would know when to stop unwrapping. Steven Wright

Rings and jewels are not gifts, but apologies for gifts, for the only [true] gift is a portion of thyself. Ralph Waldo Emerson

And every gift, though it be small, is in reality great if given with affection. Pindar

*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.