by Teri Parsley Starnes

Teri’s interest with astrology lies with helping people see how following a practice of intention and self-awareness leads to a fuller relationship with Mystery. Astrology is a wonderful tool for this. Her weekly column orients readers to the seasonal energy of
each month’s Sun sign in order to set magical/mindful intention for the lunar month beginning at the New Moon.

Each week Teri will write about the unfolding energies that support and challenge our intentions. The ebb and flow of the lunar cycle resides deep in our souls. Through following the phases of the Moon, we remember the natural cycles that guide us.

Astrologers divide the lunar month into eight phases. These are:
New Moon: Dreaming
Crescent Moon: Beginning
First Quarter Moon: Manifesting
Gibbous Moon: Perfecting
Full Moon: Illuminating
Disseminating Moon: Sharing
Last Quarter Moon: Evaluating
Balsamic Moon: Surrendering

Come follow the Moon as we practice intentional awareness together.

Forecast November 10, 2013 – November 16

As I spend time this lunar cycle* with the intention to embrace the dark, I know I need more than an affirmation to keep going. It is difficult to trust this part of the journey. Doubts arise. Just how much darkness are we talking about? Will I have to give up something precious? Will I lose my way? When fears threaten to overtake me, my core beliefs give me something to hold onto. These beliefs give me context, show me the way out of places I feel stuck, and help me to decide my next step, even when I can’t see very far ahead. Even when I am in the dark about a lot of things, there are some things that I know.

•  Our lives are about more than our individual experiences. Each of us is part of a bigger picture. We belong to a vast web of connection. I trust the relationships that are sometimes hidden from view. There are guides and there are reasons I am here, even when I can’t see them.

•  I belong to the natural world and the natural world shows me where I am in a cycle or stage of my life. I trust the process. Thus, I know that darkness has a balancing and healing function and it will eventually give way to light, which in turn will fall back into darkness.

•  I’ll have more than one chance to do what I need to do, whether that is learning, healing, finding my life purpose, or expressing my gifts—wherever my soul is leading me. I can make mistakes. I can even forget my mission, and my soul will call again to give me another opportunity.

These beliefs work for me. What are yours? One of the gifts of the dark journey is to come to know our essential truths even when they seem to have deserted us. Somewhere waiting for us is discovery and a deeper resiliency because of it. I guess that’s another one of my core beliefs.

The transits this week emphasize the water signs. The flow can help us navigate towards our core beliefs, but it can also dissolve the foundation of those beliefs. Notice shifting emotions, some of these are telling us important information and others are adding fuel to misguided beliefs. This quality of water can be quite challenging, especially when committing to the dark. What do you know without reservation? Who are your guides through times of doubt? I offer these beliefs: you are worthy of being here, you have gifts to give us, and you don’t have to be perfect.

Forecast November 10, 2013 – November 16

Moon enters Pisces 8:36 pm CST
Sunday, November 10. At long last Mercury stations direct in Scorpio after turning retrograde on October 21. Now, Mercury begins the third pass through this segment of the zodiac where we complete the lessons and undo the mix-ups we experienced since the retrograde station. Mercury reaches the end of this part of the journey on November 28th, Thanksgiving. Just in time to interact with friends and family in a more direct way.  Mercury has been digging deep into our psyches. It feels like we’ve been purging old and toxic patterns. If you feel exhausted by the effort of releasing and coping with strong emotion the last three weeks, congratulate yourself for the work. The reward is increased power, vitality, and self-knowledge. Mercury stations direct in a water trine to Neptune, which is also powerful right now due to being stationary itself. (Neptune will station direct on Wednesday.) The next two days will be strongly influenced by these two planets, which emphasizes intuitive knowing and transcendent experiences. There is also a need to turn off the input. Find time for solitude, daydreaming, or getting lost in an experience. Notice your patterns around numbing and escapism too.

Moon in Pisces
Monday, November 11. Read yesterday’s forecast because much of that energy applies today too. Things feel right if we are willing to surrender to the flow. It may mean everyone is more sensitive, but that is OK. We learn that empathy creates understanding, which creates opportunity to move forward. This means we don’t have to rationally know why we are doing what we are doing, we just need to base our actions from the heart. Some of us will be needing to repair relationship or miscommunications that happened during the Mercury retrograde cycle, keep these heart messages and attunements in mind as you begin that work.

Moon in Pisces
Tuesday, November 12. There’s a kite in the sky today. That is an aspect formation comprised of three planets in trine with each other in the water signs (a triangle) that is bisected by a pair of planets in opposition to each other (Mars in Virgo opposite Moon in Pisces). The result looks like a kite when drawn in a chart. [Nicholas Campion writes a brief explanation of aspect patterns here: http://www.skyscript.co.uk/aspects2.html%5D The tendency to get overwhelmed by water is helped by a Mars challenge. His challenge: Don’t just be happy with knowing how you feel; take pragmatic action to make those feelings useful. Emotion is information, but isn’t the end of our self-discovery. We also must do something constructive with those emotions.

Moon enters Aries at 1:39 am CST
November 13—Gibbous Moon: Perfecting. We notice a distinct shift in energy today. The watery flow of the last three days gives way to action. This is the pattern activated over and over by the Moon moving through the zodiac. Water signs are followed by fire signs. Water signs call up our memories. Fire signs transform them into new life. Water signs ask us to retreat into private spaces of soul. Fire sign incite us to emerge from an interior experience into a more expansive and interactive arena. Are you noticing this pulsation from inner to outer? How does this dynamic play into your lunar intentions for this month? The dark can be a cathartic place. The next step in healing may be to move from sensing into choosing. You’ve got something to do. Where will your experiences lead you next on this soul journey?

The Moon joins Uranus and squares Venus and Pluto. A new dynamic to the Uranus/Pluto square becomes apparent. Venus will be moving closer to a conjunction with Pluto over the next two days. Look for women to take an important role in bringing necessary change to the world. Beauty and justice, two qualities precious to Venus, inform our choices and give us power.

Moon in Aries
Thursday, November 14. Just because we embrace the dark at this time of the year, does not mean we completely recede into inaction. The tension comes from the paradox between rest and action. What injustice really bothers you right now? The dark is a potent source of power. Corruption doesn’t really like the kind of power that is comfortable with the dark, perhaps because there are fewer places to hide. Claim the power of shadow that will not allow injustice to thrive. Venus squares Uranus today. Shake it up. There are more options than you thought.

Moon enters Taurus 8:49 am CST
Friday, November 15. Every fire sign in the zodiac is followed by an earth sign. Outward energy coalesces into solid form. That happens today. What if there are no mistakes? Wherever that fire energy of the last two days has brought you, it is the perfect place to begin to lay down more structure. Sometimes we want to hang onto a particular elemental energy we are fond of. The Moon teaches us that everything must change; everything has its time to be and its time to be no more. Hopefully, you took bolder action over the past two days. Regardless of how that went, you now get to look at issues of longevity, commitment, and sustainability. Venus in Capricorn (an earth sign) conjoins Pluto in Capricorn. She means business here. How will you invite this ally to help you become more formidable yourself? The Moon opposes a newly-direct Mercury. This solidity translates into communication as well. Say what you mean.

Moon in Taurus
Saturday, November 16. Tomorrow is the exact moment of the Full Moon, but today is a great lead in. The Moon in Taurus is opposite Scorpio, the sign inspiring the intentions of this lunar cycle. Oppositions invite integration to bring illumination. Taurus is the sign of spring’s regeneration, calling us into the dance of creation. Scorpio, of course, is the sign of fall’s dying time, calling us into the dance with the dark. Potent forces! Are you glad to be a dancer in this grand waltz? The best qualities of earth are manifest today. Capable, determined, ambitious, discerning, and accountable, earth signs mirror for us what it takes to create something lasting. Celebrate the ways you show up with these qualities in your life. This is the way we create meaning from the dark.

 

*To read more about the intention of this lunar cycle and the Scorpio intention, visit: http://tinyurl.com/lf7ay2c

Contact Teri at teri@starsdanceastrology and visit her website at www.starsdanceastrology.com