Pele Full Moon in Aries

The Aries Full Moon of 2016 brings the climax of the cycle that began during the Aries New Moon on April 7th of this year. The Aries New Moon was just under five degrees conjunction to Uranus and Eris- the Aries Full Moon is exact conjunct Uranus and Eris, less than one degree orb. Normally I say that a new moon is when seeds are planted and at the full moon they are in bloom- but that doesn’t seem quite accurate for this particular Aries lunar cycle. It’s not so much that seeds were planted at the Aries New Moon- Mars, the ruling planet of Aries, was hanging motionless in Sagittarius, days away from his retrograde. It was definitely the beginning of something new, but the analogy of planting seeds and blooming doesn’t feel right, does it?

I called the Aries new moon Lava Lake… “a place where the flaming, gaseous, molten interior of the earth bubbles to the surface…. which in fact creates the very structure that we think of as “the surface.” There is no majestic mountain, rolling hillside, waterfall, field of fertile soil, or stone that sustains human existence without these unbearably hot, toxic places spilling out lava. Just like in our lives when we face these stressful times, when we are pushed to our limits, is when we are closest to the source of the “ground” that we stand on. This is what we must remember as we move through the Aries New Moon.”

And now, as we arrive at the full moon that culminates those energies, the goddess Pele reigns. The lava has flowed, cut through the countryside of our island hearts, destroyed all in its path. This is a sacred process. Many native Hawaiians feel that diverting the lava flow is blasphemous to Pele, and would rather abandon their homes to the forces of nature than be so foolish as to try to fight it. At the Aries new moon, I felt close to the lava lake, close to the source of where new land comes from. Now, at the Aries full moon, I am standing on new land. The ground is dark, unstable, seemingly barren, there are fumes that make it hard to breathe, and I can admit that it is scary.

The conjunction of Uranus and Eris is a very long term relationship that is re-defining cultural expressions of identity. The internet is a key player in the evolution of our collective identity crisis. Technology plays a huge crucial role in the way we create and project our individual identities, and gives us the power to participate in public dialogue, and shape collective norms. It is reaching unprecedented levels of impact on our minds, the way we see ourselves, and the way we operate as humans IRL.

Saturn at 12 Sagittarius and Mars at 12 Capricorn aspect the lunar nodes at 12 Virgo/Pisces, creating a nearly unbearable tension. Saturn square the lunar nodes is like being stuck in the mud. Mars trine the north node is like being shot out of a cannon- further amplified by his building conjunction to Pluto, and Pluto’s exact square to Mercury in Libra.

Finally we have a square between Ceres retrograde who is on the anaretic (29th) degree of Aries for the second time, and Vesta on the anaretic degree of Cancer- Vesta will station retrograde and cross this point again after Ceres stations direct, so this square will be revisited in 2017. This square holds a desperate need for change, regarding self care and nurturing. So many of us need help that we feel we cannot ask for. We feel that it is our responsibility to chew everything that we bit off. Meanwhile things are coming crashing down around us that we can’t handle.

As Pele spills destruction, replacing green fields with choked black rock, we are standing on new land that we can’t yet live on. We might look around and think, “wow there used to be a green field here, I fucked everything up” if we are failing to see the big picture, the potential, and the work that still must be done before the new land is fully habitable.

Saturn, Mars, and the lunar nodes will require us to fundamentally change our lifestyle, we must seek out and identify something that will give us the help we need to live our best life. I personally beat myself up for seemingly not being up to the challenge of succeeding at the new life I worked so hard to create, and have to remind myself constantly- WE WERE NOT MEANT TO DO ANY OF THIS ALONE. It’s time to identify what we need, that we have not yet given ourselves permission to ask for. Mercury square Pluto will help us discover the existence of new tools and help us find a way to communicate that these are the tools we want to acquire and learn how to use. As Ceres and Vesta move in and out of their retrogrades, (Ceres crossing from Taurus to Aries to Taurus, Vesta crossing from Leo to Cancer to Leo) we can develop in new ways that enable us to hold space for that sacred heart-fire that has felt so depleted during a depressing Mars retrograde year.

Venus is transiting the final degrees of Scorpio, the zone where Mars was retrograde, which is going to bring back a sort of “greatest hits” reel of all the most depressing events of the spring and the summer. Be a big person and face it. Touch it. Give it a hug. This is life and we learn from these mistakes and miscommunications and hard times. It is all for nothing if we choose to ignore it instead of learning what we can to do better in the future.

And as for Pele? It occurred to me halfway through writing this article that there must be an asteroid named after Pele. There is: number 2202. And during this Aries Full Moon, she is exact conjunct Black Moon Lilith, also known as the mean lunar apogee: an amazing placement during this powerful full moon.