Full Moon in Aquarius 2.0 -8/22/2021-
For over 2000 years, Regulus has lent a guiding hand in the destinies of the eminent through the Sun’s fiery domicile of Leo. However, as of 2011, due to the slow drifting of the sidereal zodiac known as precession, Regulus now reigns in Virgo, the nocturnal domicile of Mercury. Regulus is perhaps the most regal of the four royal fixed stars, and is said to grant those born under its influence fame, honor and courage and makes those who rise to positions of power. Naturally, there is a catch built into the prestige promised by Regulus. However dramatic the rise to power, Regulus offers no protection from an equally inglorious fall. However, the traditional star of Kings still casts much of its orb into Leo, the traditional sign of Kings. This may suggest that the battle for “The One Ring” is far from over. Regulus is anointing the Sun as the Moon culminates in the last degree of Aquarius this morning, shedding light on themes of power and the transition of power. If history is any indicator, Kings rarely relinquish their thrones willingly.
What gives us power, and what do we give our power to?
This second of two full moons taking place on the Leo-Aquarius axis, finds the Sun at the very last degree of Leo, in the last of it’s seven terms, and the last of it’s three Decans, both of which are ruled by Mars. It is here that Kings are confronted with the end of their reign, and are asked to what lengths they will go to preserve their power. Power belongs to those whom people believe hold it, but there is always a point
in which the powerful must demonstrate that they are worthy of the authority others have invested them with. Throughout much of the period of medieval Europe, it was widely accepted that monarchs ruled by Divine Right, that their authority and right to rule was derived directly from God, not the people over whom they ruled. As a result, it was pretty hard to cook up a good rebellion based on the Monarch’s merit alone, and it was usual necessary to make a convincing case that it was, in fact, someone else whom God had invested with the Divine Right of Kings. In hindsight, it is clear that it was not God investing Monarchs with authority, but the people. More specifically, it was the people’s belief in the Divine Right of Kings that Monarchs derived their power from. Power, both internally and socially, is derived from our personal and shared notions of truth. It only stands to reason why there is so much interest in controlling those notions, and why so much conflict results when people hold widely differing versions of truth.
Ancient Hellenistic astrologers associated the Sun with gnosis. Gnosis, perhaps most closely related to the English word, knowing, is that state of knowing that is experienced or modeled, rather then described or explained. Few words in the English language properly capture the concept of gnosis. In Robert Heinlein’s novel Stranger in A Strange Land, the main character, Valentine, a young adult human raised by martians, used the word Grok to describe the state of knowing or understanding that exist on a level in which the truth of something is so ingrained as to be a part of one’s being.
During the course of a lifetime, an individual accumulates a personal collection of truths about themselves, the world they live in, and their place with in it. This collection is what forms a person's self-concept. And while we regularly pick-up new truths here, shed off old ones there, there is a solid core within each of us that, for better
and for worse, define us and how we engage with the world. To some degree, these foundational elements of the psyche must remain unchanged and stable to prevent the whole structure from collapsing. The truth’s which form the framework of identity, when challenged, often provoke extreme responses.
Throughout the Sun’s travels through Leo, Saturn has been testing the integrity of those truths upon which lives are built. The tests of Saturn can feel unwelcome, often exposing weaknesses or soft spots that bring into sharp awareness our own limitations, shortcomings, failures and the ways we have been foolish. This awareness can leave us feeling diminished, dejected and even hopeless. Sometimes, when doing the noble work of owning our flaws, we beat ourselves down into helplessness. Saturn, being perhaps a bit too good at it’s job just now, can have a way of stripping off the fat necessary for building the muscle needed to get back on our feet. Fortunately, Jupiter’s re-appearance in the sign of Aquarius sends the luminaries off with a measured, but none-the-less welcome whiff of hope. It is all well and good to be precise when assessing the reality of a situation, but there’s nothing wrong greasing the wheels a little when you want that reality to change. Jupiter offers a healthy dose of potential to wash down all that reality with, and while expectations may have to be lowered, timelines extended and enthusiasm curbed, there is still enough fire within you to carry you through the night, however long it may be.
There is a warning here as well, however. When forced to confront evidence that contradicts what we think we know to be true, we sometimes lash out at the evidence rather than acknowledge the weakness it exposes. But sometimes the crumbling structures we fight and bleed to protect are succumbing to an enemy which no sword can cut through. Time. Ageing and death is hardwired into the DNA of all living things. Nature demands that all things must pass in order to make way for the new. This process is always taking place, both within the many layers of our personal being, and throughout all levels of human society. When the decrepitude of obsolete ideas and belief systems are being exposed, there will always be those who cling to, and build walls to defend them. No matter how seemingly impregnable the fortress is, if that fortress is built on a fault line, no weapons will protect it from an earthquake.
Venus - Saturn
Venus, the planet of love, beauty and pleasure, is forming a trine with Saturn, the planet of restraint, obstruction and toil. Both planets are especially strong in their own signs of Libra and Aquarius respectively, bringing out the more active and expressive elements of their natures. Venus is earlier in zodiacal order, which means she is positioned to be an especially positive influence on Saturn. However, Saturn exalts in the sign of Libra, which means that, as a bit of an admirer of Saturn just now, Venus may be a little more inclined to let Saturn lead the interaction. Aside from the potentially rather kinky activities these two could get up to (this might be a good time to start that erotic novel you’ve been putting off writing) you may find it especially easy to find humor in the morbid, disturbing and existentially unsettling aspects of life. Start a conversation with a stranger today, and share a laugh with them over the most embarrassing story you can think of. During World War One, soldiers living in trenches, under constant artillery fire and often forced to coexist with the decomposing bits of their fallen comrade’s, developed a distinctly dark and macabre sense of humor as a way of coping with the horrifying conditions they had to endure day in and day out. So there, if they can laugh, so can you. Dance in the dark, dabble in the depraved and delight in despair.
“ I grok when apes learn to laugh, they’ll be people. ”
