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.

Follow the Moon: Full Moon October 27

Follow the Moon will be abbreviated this week. This weekend I moved into my permanent home. I have been living with dear friends temporarily since August. Perhaps you can imagine that the influence of the conjunction of Venus, Mars, and Jupiter in Virgo has me more focused on unpacking boxes than on writing my forecast. But I will return to sharing my spiritual practice of following the Moon next week. This practice feeds my soul and I enjoy sharing it with others.

For this week, I encourage all of us (myself the most) to step away from the Virgo desire to set our lives in order and surrender to the Scorpio desire to go deep and listen. External doing is a distraction from this very important season of connection with the unseen worlds. The Scorpio season reminds us that death and soul are linked. Soul gives depth and meaning to our endeavors. The Virgo trio of planets provide a lot of inspiration for bringing wholeness into our lives, but any improvements we make now will be superficial without soul.

The Full Moon of October 27 is a perfect time to honor this “soul full” season. This is the third supermoon of the year. Supermoons occur when the Earth and Moon are at their closest distance at the time of the Full or New Moon and they seem to draw us deeper into the lunar experience. This time, the Moon will be in Taurus (fixed earth) with the Sun in Scorpio (fixed water). This opposition of signs reminds us of the connection between death and life. In the northern hemisphere, Scorpio is the dying season. Living sap returns to the roots. Daylight shortens. The harvest is done. Taurus season occurs in the middle of spring in the northern lands calling us back to our senses and bodies. Life returns with exuberance. Both seasons feed the other. From life comes death; from death comes life. This seasonal connection between death and life mirrors the real connection between the dead and the living. This the season we remember our dead—honoring those who have made our lives possible.

There are lessons here. The ancestors have wisdom for us. In order to hear that wisdom, many of us need to develop our listening skills. If you are like me, attached to rational thought, you may have to practice surrendering disbelief as you open to a deeper, more pervasive way of receiving. There is a reason Pagans say the veil between the worlds thins during the Scorpio season. Connection to death feeds life.

This gets me back to the trio of planets in Virgo: Venus, Mars, and Jupiter. These planets in the mutable earth sign create a powerhouse of possibility. Mutable signs integrate. Earth signs do. What do you want to integrate about your practical life? In the Scorpio season, we get to purge and transform. With this Virgo powerhouse, we get to renew our systems. All of them. Virgo rules health, work, ritual, service. All these areas of life are ripe for reordering and reintegrating after a purging transformation.

In the chart for the Full Moon, Venus in Virgo is exactly opposite Chiron in Pisces (mutable water). Chiron as the shaman/healer opens the door to our hearts. This could very well remind us of our wounds. In opposition to Venus, these wounds could be connected to our relationships. Venus in Virgo wants to tidy up our partnerships. Chiron reminds us that order without compassion is sterile. Emotional tenderness needs to be honored at this time so we can make our relationships successful.

Saturn is a planet that always relishes structure. Whatever sign Saturn transits, this impulse to bring realism and structure is strong. Saturn, now in Sagittarius (mutable fire), feels compelled to bring these qualities to our philosophies. There is potential for discovery of important truths and there is even more potential, given human befuddlement (thanks Caroline Casey!), for many to turn towards fundamentalism. This is one of the more problematic human instincts and we will see more evidence of it as Saturn continues in this sign. Saturn shows up strong in the Full Moon chart (quincunx to the Moon and semi-sextile the Sun). Behind the scenes, Saturn is setting up a challenge for us. As we listen for the wisdom from the unseen worlds, let us remember that paradox is more powerful than certainty. Searching more soulful than knowing.
* Read about the beginning of the Libra/Scorpio lunar cycle on my website 
 http://www.starsdanceastrology.com/2015/10/follow-moon-forecast-for-october-12.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.