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 for June 1, 2015 – June 7

What do you believe? What makes you believe it?

The crux of this lunar cycle, which began on the edge between Taurus and Gemini,* provides a rich moment to view our beliefs from a new perspective (one could even say numerous perspectives). My dictionary tells me that the source of the word “believe” is to hold dear, to love. The Full Moon in Sagittarius this week illuminates the ideas we hold dear. The pair of mutable signs, Gemini (Sun) and Sagittarius (Moon) illuminates just how important ideas are to shaping our realities. The more we hold onto a concept or thought—holding it dear as a belief—the greater its hold is on us. The mutable signs are tricky. At first glance, they seem disarming, lightweight, and slippery. But these signs are the Shapers, the Magicians. Thought is powerful. With a small adjustment to what we hold dear, we can change the world. This skill is worth cultivating but oh so difficult to achieve. Ideas like to burrow in and hold onto us. This Full Moon week is a wonderful opportunity to see with Magician eyes and move with Magician deftness through the beliefs we hold dear.

Mercury continues moving backwards through Gemini (mutable air) this week. Mercury is plowing the fields of attitudes and thoughts and seeding the potential for breakthroughs and insights. Isn’t that a wonderful reframe of how Mercury retrogrades are usually described? This isn’t just wishful thinking. Mercury retrogrades are potent opportunities to rewire our systems. The first couple of days this week, when the Moon is in Sagittarius (mutable fire), we notice the ups and downs of this process. Planets in mutable signs right now are a little fidgety. The pressure is on with Saturn transiting through Sagittarius. We need to get our beliefs right. Saturn wants us to be more disciplined. The Saturn work for the next two years will be to build stronger foundations under our beliefs. Realizing you have an incredible contribution to make to the world, what information do you still need? We need to back up belief with knowledge and experience and prove our beliefs are worthwhile. If you have important points or planets in Sagittarius in your natal chart, you’ve been feeling this pressure build since December 2014 when Saturn entered Sagittarius. The good news for you is that Saturn is about to retrograde back into Scorpio for the next three months. In September, Saturn returns to Sagittarius for two years. This Full Moon in Sagittarius could be a great time to get insight on how you will take your gifts to the next level.

Mars in Gemini contributes restlessness and impatience while the Moon is in Sagittarius, but later in the week, Mars makes a connection to Jupiter that helps us attract others to our creative pursuits. Everyone’s charisma gets a boost. Venus entering Leo at the same time adds even more allure. Summer season is in full swing, even if technically it still spring (in the northern hemisphere). Get out there and have fun.

Neptune in Pisces (mutable water) lends a je ne sais quoi tone to the week, especially while the Moon is in Sagittarius (Monday afternoon, Tuesday, and most of Wednesday in the central time zone). Coping mechanisms include whatever helps us diffuse the anxiety—anything from meditation to mindless TV. Neptune helps us pick up signals that are usually too subtle for most of us. Expanding our hearts will expand our resiliency.

Forecast for June 1, 2015 – June 7

Moon enters Sagittarius 1:39 pm CDT
Monday, June 1. Emotional pressure has been building while the Moon was in Scorpio the last couple of days. With the Moon’s entrance into Sagittarius (mutable fire), we start to feel Full Moon expansion blowing the lid off those emotions. That’s OK, we need the release. With Mercury moving retrograde as well, give yourself a little more space and time to adjust to the unexpected. We might be taking things very seriously with the Moon’s opposition to Saturn, so try not to over-react. You are definitely not the only one having a strange day.

Moon in Sagittarius
June 2—Full Moon: Illuminating. The opposition of Sagittarius (Moon’s sign) and Gemini (Sun’s sign) highlights all the ways and reasons we learn. This lunar cycle began at the very end of Taurus and moved into Gemini a couple of days later. In Gemini (mutable air), we learn and grow through exploring our immediate surroundings. This season of pollination is fertile and busy. Curiosity keeps us connecting—with ideas and with people. Contrast this with Sagittarius (mutable fire). Here we learn to give meaning. In the season of Sagittarius (mid-November to mid-December), the late fall sky opens up the mysteries of the cosmos. The horizon beckons. We want to travel far from home to seek ever-expanding truths. At this Full Moon, we integrate this continuum from the microcosm of Gemini curiosities to the macrocosm of Sagittarian beliefs. That’s a lot! And it can be very exciting.

The mutable signs are alchemists shaping reality through elemental forces. In addition to strong currents of fire and air, Neptune in Pisces (mutable water) adds the component of heart to the brew at this Full Moon. Neptune is square to both the Sun and Moon, challenging easy conclusions. Part of the challenge is to include emotional wisdom with the other ways we are learning. Neptune knows no bounds. It keeps asking us to expand into collective awareness, feeling, giving, merging. At some point, we need to return to ourselves. Finding the right balance for you between these elemental forces is the key to becoming a true alchemist.

Mars in Gemini and Jupiter in Leo (fixed fire) light up our interactions with others. We are looking for the people who bring us joy and intellectual stimulation. Under this influence we are feeling creative and social, perhaps even too much so! The intriguing counterbalance to this expansiveness is the pull from Pluto in Capricorn (making a yod formation with Mars and Jupiter). Pluto makes things real in a way that short-lived entertainments don’t. How will you make your joy real? What does that mean to you? Hidden emotions and needs surface when we least expect them. Don’t back away. They are telling us something important.

Moon enters Capricorn 7:50 pm CDT
Wednesday, June 3. Sagittarius really knows how to have fun. This mutable fire sign takes life as an adventure. Subsequently, this sign also knows how to make the most from even the most challenging days. The Moon stays in Sag until this evening (CDT). Follow the Moon’s lead and treat your setbacks as fodder for your next great story. We naturally become more sober as the Moon enters Capricorn. If you are in the mood, take inventory of what you are learning right now.

Moon in Capricorn
Thursday, June 4. A strong desire to get more focused leads to commitment to long-range plans. We are all feeling a little more grown up and inspired. A poor use of this focus is to fall into the trap of judgmental thoughts. Higher expectations doesn’t mean we have to beat ourselves up (or anyone else for that matter).

Moon in Capricorn
Friday, June 5. Contrary influences have us feeling deadly serious on one hand and happy-go-lucky on the other. Why be only one or the other? Venus brightens up our social lives considerably when entering Leo today. Venus spends an extra long time in Leo (fixed fire) due to retrograde motion later this summer. Enjoy the queenly side of Venus for the next four months. From this sign, we might also notice more drama in our relationships. More creativity. More need to be appreciated. Venus joins Jupiter in Leo. Begin to notice these two very bright and beautiful planets in the western sky at sunset. Mars in Gemini (mutable air) makes a lovely sextile to Jupiter. We are feeling frisky and the world is full of fascinating people to appreciate who we are. The sober tones of the day emanate from the Moon in Capricorn (cardinal earth) and the quincunx between the Sun in Gemini (mutable air) and Pluto in Capricorn. Fun is not incompatible with ambition.

Moon enters Aquarius 1:02 am CDT
June 6—Disseminating Moon: Sharing. The dispassion of the Aquarius (fixed air) Moon balances a tendency to over-dramatize. The Moon gives perspective, which leaves us feeling philosophical as the Moon enters this next phase of assessment and sharing what we have learned. The trine between Venus in Leo (fixed fire) and Saturn (mutable fire) helps us make the right connections with the right people to share creative inspirations. Saturn is about to retrograde back into Scorpio for the next four months. This last benefic contact with Venus before that happens feels like encouragement. We have allies.

Moon in Aquarius
Sunday, June 5. Sleep may have been hard to come by last night, but there is a good chance we wake up in a good mood anyway. Maybe you want to jot down some of your inspirations early on before you forget them. Those ideas feel like they could change the world. Let this optimism be a boost to your self-confidence.

*Read about the beginning of the Taurus/Gemini lunar cycle on my blog
http://starsdanceastrology.blogspot.com/2015/05/follow-moon-forecast-for-may-11-2015may.html

Contact Teri at teri@starsdanceastrology.com and visit her website at http://www.starsdanceastrology.com to learn about booking a reading of your chart.