18th August 2016 (9:28 a.m. UT): Full Moon in 26th degree of Aquarius: Living Life On Purpose By Sarah Varcas

Occurring a day before the next eclipse season begins (19^th August – 23^rd September), this Full Moon is an ‘almost-but-not-quite’ lunar eclipse, giving it greater influence and a stronger ‘edge’ against which to hone our awareness. Eclipse seasons are powerful things, to be honoured with our full attention, deepest respect and steadfast commitment to respond to their gifts and graces, challenges and obstacles. They kick-start otherwise lagging change, up-turn certainties and awaken issues and themes which shape the following six months. If we pay attention during these times we may well discover the deepest truths of our lives and receive the most influential and personal guidance. Think of them as a cosmic crash course in what our life is really about, minus all the fluff and bluster we add to it on a daily basis! For this reason, a Full Moon occurring just prior to the beginning of an eclipse season is of particular note, for it comes as a wake-up call that something of great import is in the air. If this Full Moon closely aspects a natal planet we may well experience it as carrying much of the power and potential of an eclipse even though it doesn’t quite ‘make the grade’ in that respect. In any event, this Full Moon raises issues which will impact the coming eclipse season and offers guidance to bear in mind throughout the coming weeks.

In Aquarius, it illuminates mental habits and unconscious tendencies which keep us stuck in rigid patterns of thought, belief and behaviour. If we’ve been wondering why we can’t seem to get it together and do what’s needed to make that long overdue change, it reveals how we keep ourselves in chains, blinkered to truths just outside our awareness and mired in self-sabotage. It may be a rude awakening, especially if the stark lunar light reveals it is we who have painted ourselves into a corner, not external circumstances conspiring against us. Whilst such insights are a bitter pill to swallow, this is just the first stage: a nudge from the universe to embrace our past selves, not chastise them. Self-blame will get us nowhere, so whatever comes to light around the time of this Full Moon must be met by a gentle and loving heart, not a hardened and critical one.

This Moon may come with loneliness, a sense of being misunderstood. If we can resist taking things too personally it will go a long way to not letting these feelings rule the day and create mountains out of molehills! There’s a fair bit of tension around and many will be feeling it, so cutting each other (and ourselves) some serious slack is good advice! If possible, avoid heated topics of debate and focus on things that unite rather than divide, otherwise it may be all too easy to slip into overzealous championing of our own perspective without any due consideration of someone else’s view. Conflict seeded now may grow at an alarming rate, producing painful fruit in September when we have two eclipses and the next exact conjunction between Uranus and Eris. However, this Full Moon potentises all efforts made to calm troubled waters, expand our perspective and foster connections that nourish rather than polarise, enabling meaningful interactions with others despite any difficult circumstances.

Uranus, ruler of Aquarius, shapes this Moon. Offering the opportunity to break free from old ties and reinvent ourselves, it reminds us nothing is set in stone as long as we seek always to release that which binds us in the very moment it does so. Not a week, a month, or years down the line, but immediately – freeing past pain, old beliefs and habits, behaviours that sabotage us and conditions that keep us stuck. Sometimes we have to dig deep, working long and hard to let go, but throughout the coming eclipse season we have a precious opportunity to release, moment by moment, whatever holds us back. Practice not allowing anything to stick in your energy field. Visualise it as flowing water, rushing wind. See its constant motion. By identifying with the trials of life, buying into their drama instead of claiming our freedom, we create substance where movement should be, calcifying thoughts and feelings unnecessarily. Recognising and reversing this process is key to profound and lasting change.

The mind is both our liberator and our jailer now. If we allow it to oppress us with demands for ever greater ‘proof’ of this or that, evermore detail to justify what we know instinctively to be true, we will tie ourselves in mental knots that drain our energy and produce no useful outcomes. But if we can expand our mind to embrace possibilities previously discounted, to consider life from new angles, we could experience liberation like never before. The veils between the egoic and higher minds are paper thin now and we can break through so easily, with just the slightest effort, if we choose. However we feel at this juncture, we can rest assured there are new perspectives just waiting to be seen, something we simply haven’t perceived about our situation which can revolutionise the path ahead.

We may, however, be too distracted to take ourselves in hand. An accumulation of stress and anxiety, despair or depression – even the tedious boredom of a life lived in black and white – can all keep us from recognising the power of the present moment and the alchemical force unleashed when we live it fully and without regret. We may have invested too much energy in anticipation of an ideal future when everything magically falls into place, not realising the magic is us, living on purpose, with clear intent and for the greater good right now. This Moon has little time for fears and failings, excuses and justifications. It simply wants us to get a grip and move ahead by arriving fully in the present, with our power intact and our resolve firm and clear.

If we find ourselves resistant at this Moon, wrestling with external pressures that threaten to change our course, discernment is vital. We cannot and do not live apart from the world and must attend always to the constant feedback loop which occurs between us and our environment both near and far. Sometimes we must stand firm in the face of external pressures. At other times those very pressures are the touch of the divine reminding us we may be losing our way, drifting off track or blind to something we cannot afford to ignore. If resistance energises and clarifies intent, it is probably keeping us on track. If it drains us and destroys our peace, distracting from positive action which could blow the cobwebs away, we may well be resisting the very thing that will set us free.

Beware the seduction of certainty in the face of current confusion. It can only ever be a thin veneer atop an infinitely complex existence beyond anyone’s power to fully understand. Knowing it’s okay not to know, being at peace with paradox, embracing with an open heart all insights gleaned, even that we’ve been wrong all along: these are important elements of our preparation for the weeks ahead. Avoid the tendency to act out rather than turn within. Many people are feeling over-stimulated mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. It would be easy to take our stress out on the people around us now, but every moment in which we soften around the tension, turn toward another not away from them, seek common ground not battleground, is a blessing bestowed upon the world around us.

This isn’t an ‘easy’ Moon, but it is a liberating one for sure, with gifts galore for all who commit to seeing life through fresh eyes, not allowing the tyranny of a ‘tried and tested’ past to jeopardise a creative and fulfilling future. If, however, we give in to lethargy that says ‘nothing ever really changes, life’s just too much trouble and anything else is wishful thinking’ then the coming eclipse season may have to jolt us rudely awake, compelling us to live life on purpose ‘or else’! The changes approaching now require bold commitment and creative courage which seeks new solutions to old problems and dares to challenge the very foundation of our life. The choice is leap now or be pushed later. But either way we have to shift at some point!! This Moon says best get it on with it, for it’s simply no longer an option to continue standing still.

Sarah Varcas

Seer, Seeker, Sayer, Sage

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Wednesday, August 17, 2016