Full Moon in Virgo

What is the Full Moon?

I spent the evening of the Virgo Full Moon in quiet practice at our Buddhist Centre. It was clear and cold with a few ribbons of clouds in the sky. The wind was still and the beautiful natural pond in front of the Golden Shrine was alight with reflections of the standing Buddhas surrounding the pond, the twinkling butter lamps in the shrine, and, later in the evening, the regal Full Moon.

Driving home the Moon lit our path, swathed in clouds trailing like silk scarves, she was huge and magnificently luminous.

It’s a rare one among us who is unmoved by the majesty of a bright Full Moon. She makes the most jaded catch their breath in awe.

My childhood love of the mysteriously changing Moon, the ever present and comforting Moon, led me to my first studies of astrology in my late teens. The study of the moon cycles is one of the simplest ways to begin to connect with the vast and complex body of wisdom that is astrology. But don’t be deceived by the simplicity of lunar wisdom and practice, it is profound. There is a reason that the lunar calendar is the basis for the sacred calendars of so many spiritual traditions.

The Moon is our closest relative in the Solar System. She is traditionally known as one of our two Luminaries, the Sun being the other. The dance of the Sun and Moon from our vantage point on Earth creates the lunar phases that we see, and is a clue to our relationship with all the other planets.

The Moon has guided our human activities for millennia, and still does. For hunters, farmers, and fishers, moon wisdom is essential to their trades. This is true today as it was thousands of years ago. Today as I look out my window to the ocean, I see, for the first time this year, small fishing boats gathering, anticipating the annual herring spawn, which happens around the Full Moon every March.

What I have discovered through my own relationship with the Moon, and have witnessed with my astrological clients, is that a basic understanding of and alignment with the changes of the moon can bring profound insight, understanding, and benefits to our lives and spirits. She can help us plan our daily activities, achieve more success in our pursuits, and perhaps most importantly, she can help us to better understand and support the inner workings our deep selves. The simplest way to begin to build a Moon Wisdom practice is by creating simple ritual around the New and Full Moons.

A Story About Sun and Moon

The New and Full Moons have very different energies. Most simply, the New Moon is about intimacy and hidden beginnings. The Full Moon is about illumination, understanding, and fruition.

Imagine you are sitting in circle with a number of others. It could be any circle: a sacred gathering, a campfire sing-along, a dinner party, or a board meeting at a round table. Present in the circle, among many others, are Sun and Moon. Sun sits in brilliant elegance, draped in shiny garments. Slow to move, she has everyone’s attention. Her brilliance and charisma make it hard for us to notice the beauty of those who sit next to her. As the gathering begins, Moon is seated right next to Sun. Wrapped in a dark shawl she snuggles close and whispers in Sun’s ear. They lean into each other and exchange intimacies that can’t be heard by the rest of the group. When Sun and Moon look up, they see the circle from exactly the same limited perspective. They share the view and feeling of a single place in the circle. As the gathering progesses, Moon gets up from her seat next to Sun and moves slowly around the circle, settling down again in a seat right across from Sun. Seated here, far from Sun, it is easy for us to see Moon’s beauty…. she shines on her own. Now, instead of sharing intimacies, Sun and Moon occupy different places, and see from opposite perpectives. Between them, they have a view of the entire space.

The Sun is our Shining Self, and the Moon is our Feeling Heart. Their dance around the circle of the month shows the inner dance of the ego with the heart. At the New Moon, when the Sun and Moon share a single point in the sky, Moon is hidden behind Sun’s brilliance as they exchange whispered intimacies and scheme together about the coming month. At New Moon we have unity of ego and feelings, and new beginnings and secret plans, but we lack perspective. At the Full Moon, when the Sun and Moon are across from each other in the sky, everything is illuminated. We lack intimacy, and there may be some difference between ego and feelings in our inner dialogue, but we gain perspective, and we have the opportunity to shine.

Each phase of the Moon is a different step in the pas de deux, a different phase of the ongoing conversation between our hearts and our egos.

We can add many layers of complexity to this dance by understanding the signs that the Sun and Moon occupy at each phase, the way they relate to other planets, how close the Moon is to Earth, and many other pieces that add colour to our story. But a simple understanding of these two primary energies of New and Full will help us to align our inner experiences with what we see in the sky each month.

If you’d like to learn more about how this story of the Luminaries is reflected in the very personal story of your Birth Chart, I’d love to work with you. Learn about my approach to consultations here.

XO
Love
Bronwyn

If you’d like to follow the Moon through her phases in 2018 and learn how to relate each phase to your own life experiences and feelings, I have created a beautiful tool for you! It’s my 2018 Moon Journal, a week-by-week journal of the moon phases of 2018. Set New Moon intentions each month, celebrate the Full Moon, and learn to align your life and activities with the powerful energy of the moon cycles. You can preview the journal here.

It’s available in two formats, a printable PDF instant download for just $8.00, or a magazine-style hard copy (with yummy thick matte pages for writing on) for $14.99 plus shipping via Blurb. Click below to purchase.