Taurus Full Moon

Taurus Full Moon — Tense Empathy

"To learn which questions are unanswerable, and not to answer them: this skill is most needful in times of stress and darkness."

— Ursula K. Le Guin,
The Left Hand of Darkness

The intensity of the Taurus Full Moon (9:11 PM PDT 2° Taurus/Scorpio) that begins this week is hard to overestimate. Both the Sun and Moon are tightly square stationary direct Pluto. Venus has returned 'home' in time to rule the Full Moon from Libra which certainly helps us to recognize the need for good judgment and thoughtful consideration. Venus makes an opposition to Chiron following the Full Moon, drawing our awareness towards our individual challenges and our individual pain. However, the Full Moon, squaring Pluto, also demands that we open up to the 'wider picture' in order to understand the challenges of others and the broader 'collective'. The balance and insight demanded by the Full Moon are extremely intense. While we may be inclined to try to 'narrow' our focus as much as possible in order to achieve some kind of tangible 'forward' progress, last week's retrograde station of Mercury suggests that our only path to progress is through further investigation and methodical review. Any 'head of steam' that we may have built up, ahead of the Full Moon, is not easily released or satisfied under the strong, fixed sign T-square with both the Sun and Moon squaring Pluto. The 'will power' of Mars in Leo begins to re-gain momentum this week, and dominates much of this week's activity. Mars also forms a trine to the retrograding asteroid Vesta, suggesting extra determination to 'do what it takes' to accomplish whatever has drawn our focus. This is extraordinary determination under extreme pressure. By the end of the week, Mercury retrogrades back to complete the second-of-three squares to Mars. The first square was back on October 2 and involved the tight square to Pluto and the Mars-Pluto opposition. The third square will come on December 8th after Mars arrives in Virgo and Mercury has reached Sagittarius. This particular connection is somewhat isolated and especially intense — insisting that we keep digging up old perspectives to be examined and — potentially — 'purged'. Coming on the waning side of the Full Moon, we are encouraged 'talk it out'. But it may be quite challenging to directly 'talk it out' with others because our independence feels too important and we're seeking to avoid 'conforming' in any way. Essentially, there is a significant feeling that we lack independent, individual control. Even evidence of progress doesn't seem to satisfy our emotional discomfort. Mars is feeding Mercury 'extra processing power', encouraging us to take advantage of the opportunity to free ourselves from some especially 'weighty' baggage and 'lighten our load' through deeper insight and understanding. Nonetheless, there is significant aggression in this connection that is infused with deep emotion. Whatever new information or 'acquired knowledge' that we can discover this week will not be satisfying unless we are able to effectively 'put the pieces together' and integrate enough wisdom in order to actually understand the deeper meaning of what has been discovered.

We are mainly inclined to try to 'narrow' our focus as much as possible on Sunday in order to achieve some kind of tangible 'forward' progress. However, our only path to real progress is through further investigation and methodical review. We have'extra processing power' on Monday, helping to keep up with the flow of insight and determination. Although we may prefer to do our processing 'behind closed doors', there is extraordinary pressure to work in concert with others and combine individual power. We are especially disturbed by any surprises that surface for much of the day on Tuesday. We are encouraged to stay focused on our own challenges and mainly avoid bearing 'the weight of the world'. Aggression gains intensity on Wednesday and there is little willingness to 'conform' to anything beyond our own inner guidance. For better or worse, independent individual action is especially powerful. Our minds are especially sharp and focused on Thursday when we use reason and investigative imperatives. We find a great deal of support to gather important new pieces of information or insight that will serve us well as we move forward. Friday offers an important opportunity to free ourselves from some especially 'weighty' baggage and 'lighten our load'. However, the process may produce a great deal of emotion and some uncertainty. There aren't many effective outlets on Saturday but we're still stirred up and seeking to 'do something' in order to purge our uncomfortable feelings. Most notably, it is quite challenging to directly 'talk it out' with others because our independence feels too important and we're seeking to avoid 'conforming' in any way.