Libra Full Moon, Monday, April 5, 2004, 4:03 AM PST

Spring come too soon? Sometimes Aries energy fakes you out, with it’s bravado of entrance, not knowing what it yet wants. The New Moon 2 weeks ago was similar. The urge to begin, but begin what? New Moon energy is like that. By the time of the new moon we are ready for the new. Yes, the saying goes ‘readiness is all’. But it takes a certain amount of process time for the mind/body to digest the changes that have just begun. If our potential is contained in the seed of the new, how to make sure we’re following the right path? Again, but worth repeating here, Full & New Moon day planetary signs and aspects set the stage for the next two weeks. The heady warrior of the Aries New Moon was not a thinking one, and is so balanced by the cool rationality of the Full Moon of Venus, Libra’s lady. Taking Venus’ cue, let’s make the next couple of weeks deliberate ones.

Week 3-4 of the lunar cycle: Full Moon in Libra. A painting that has taken form. Time to register the nuance of color, the way light falls on your favorite part. Make conscious intent to receive signs. They’re sure to come if you actively open to receive.

Full Moon in Libra takes us back 2 weeks ago to what we started, and mirrors the missing pieces. Imagine a beautiful painting as a looking glass, the negative space takes up as much form and meaning as the positive. As Venus stares into the mirror, no matter how lovely the vision, she has the capacity to see what is not there as easily as what is. This is Venus’ way. By identifying what’s missing, she gets closer to what she wants. Her agility is striking. She travels between the light and dark, the eternal opposites with a grace that makes the rest of us look like heathens with our lumbering concepts. This is a mental skill, one resting on proportion. Venus out of balance is a ‘value’ taken to extreme, ‘on principle’. As she sees the distance between what she wants and what she has, the dark side of Venus has the capacity to coldly, intellectually eliminate anything less than ideal out of the picture. But, you see, she says, why should I settle for anything less than My Ideal? Therein lies the trap. When an untrained Venusian eye looks at a painting, she sees the beauty of the immediately obvious. Oh, it’s a wonderful pink flower, my favorite! When a trained eye looks, she sees the juxtaposition of color, of other less attractive colors, that make up that ideal. If you know color, yellow ochre is kind of flat and dull. Yellow ochre though is wonderfully versatile; enhancing other more obviously brilliant colors so subtly that you don’t even realize it is there. But there it is.

This Full Moon day 4/05, Neptune trines Moon, sextiles Sun. Neptune is the planet of ‘visions’ and higher octave, transcendent version of Venus, planet of love. If Venus has a vision, here is the potential for it to come to her, in the form of an inspirational vision or synchronistic event. Moon sextiling Pluto, this feels powerful.

The Full Moon as translator of the Sun’s light, and her ruler gives each moon a particular flavor. Venus is one of the easier planetary energies for people to identify—we are usually quite conscious of wanting to attain relationship. Venus enters exploration Gemini on April 3. Gemini is a mental air sign indicating that we will be enjoying her pleasures through revelry of facts, friends, new ideas and opportunities for education, information. She semisextiles Mercury, is semisquared by the Sun and is sesquiquadrate to the Moon. These are the little snafus, the hindrances, the getting caught in our own or other’s maligned perceptions. Expect adjustments on your social/relationship calendar around this day of the Full Moon. This reflects the necessity of change in your relationships. Something’s gotta give, whether it’s your inflexibility or someone else’s, the message is that in order to move forward you must take a broader vision to make it last. Venus holds your gaze in her mirror. Accompanying close by is her lover, Mars, the planet of self-assertion. He can both help and hinder her. The hot sauce label for this duo reads: use sparingly. However, if you’re an Air (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) or Fire (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) sign, this month romance is more tangible than ever. When Mars and Venus co-mingle, sexy meets sweet in an affair to remember. That good-looking hottie on the street looks tantalizingly back. Can you say sizzle?

Jumping into the fire, Venus is squared by Uranus on 4/09. This may bring a taste of the unusual into your current category of likes/dislikes. If you’re going on a blind date this day, expect to fly totally blind. Don’t like surprises? Well, no excuse not to be gracious. Expand your relationship identity to include the shockingly different. On 4/14, another run to Venus, this time Jupiter. Jup won’t let her go without making sure she’s taking others into account, discriminating between the waste and the right, and encouraging perspective. Do this and you receive Venus’ Beauty School diploma.

We learn that other’s plans are not exactly meshing up with ours, as Mercury goes retrograde on 4/06. With Mars in Gemini, flexibility is appropriate. Retrograde, again re-member the ‘Re-‘ rule. Do anything with a ‘re-‘ in front of it but don’t count on any new plans turning out the way you expect. It may be especially hard this month, but try not to get irritated, go with the flow. Mercury is Gemini’s ruler– & loves to be light on his feet. His nickname was Quicksilver. Work with the energy in it’s own way, be light and adaptable and you’re sure to manage just fine.

Mercury retrograde gives us opportunity to look at the holes in our plan. This is good, because this year everyone’s on the verge of a new big something. Overall, we have several themes at work: expansion into the new and sustainability. This Full Moon day, trailblazer Mars is squared by Jupiter. We may push ahead and again need to adjust to take in more possibility. We see possibility and the options seem tense with choices. Jupiter in Virgo though won’t go for the usual hare-brained schemes but is looking for conscientious growth. Uranus peppers Jupiter with spurts of sudden insight and revelation. Jupiter opposite Uranus through mid-June keeps our lives spicy with with periodic swings of temperance and exciting upheaval, a wonderful act if you’re a tightrope walker.

The Moon having just passed a square to Saturn over the first quarter, asked ‘can the bucket hold water?’ The vision has met its test, appropriate adjustments made, this Full Moon shows us where we need to square up. Ceres in a tight square to the Full Moon is interesting. Ceres is the asteroid Goddess representing the earth based cycle of birth/death. Asteroids are goddess/feminine messengers who run between the personal and transpersonal realms. Ceres in square to Sun wants everyone’s survival needs to be met, at the expense of no one, including herself. Ceres’ female energy tends to over give at the risk of losing herself rather than accept what she needs. If you’re a woman or have a woman in your life, this may be a background question right now. Mother Earth, the Mother Ceres, is asking us collectively if we can learn to consciously sacrifice for the good of the whole. What must we have to go on, what must we give away? As we look around us, it is apparent that we don’t know how to do this. We hold Her against Her will in an underworld enactment of separation and destruction. Psychically, if you chose to hold yourself in places of sacrifice that are out of balance, you inhibit future growth. Sustainability will not be possible.

4/11 Last Quarter Moon in Capricorn trines Pluto with the intent of cutting out the fat. Last Quarter Moon energy always brings a shift in consciousness, another chance to correct the course. This I find it useful to give something away during the final week of the moon cycle. As I rid myself of a posession, habit or attitude at this time I am freed up to receive the divine correction coming my way. Today, affirm: ‘I lovingly release this thought, feeling, person or attitude to its highest purpose. By so doing, I expect and receive only the best.

On the ‘heals’ of our release, Mars trines Neptune on 4/13 giving our actions an altruistic, loving flavor. This day has the makings of a beautiful friendship, as deed meets compassion for a secret rendezvous. Use your natural clairvoyance this day to know the prescription for a pressing situation. Need a therapist or ready to heal a wound long overdue? Make that phone call this day.

How to prepare for the next cycle? Sun gives us a clue as he sinks up with Mercury on 4/16, a couple of days before the 2nd New Moon of Aries 4/19, also a Solar Eclipse. How are you faring through the retrograde travails? Today is a good check in point. Now in the dark moon period, let yourself release all that seems unfinished or distracting–calm your busy mind with a meditation. Go inward today without expectation for answers, just to settle and let go.

This month of April, the trials of change vs. the material world continue on seemingly parallel paths, yet make obvious inroads at other times. Despite, or perhaps due in part to Mercury retrograde’s call for re-evaluation, we have a remarkable opportunity to manifest our visions throughout April as Saturn and Jupiter join hands near month’s end. Meanwhile, solar eclipses are about big changes, and the next New Moon on 4/19 may shake a leg or two, especially legs of later month Sun signs Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn (days 17-23 of the last week of the sun sign). I don’t want to jump ahead, but if there’s something in your life ready to both move on out and in, here it comes. Solar Eclipses are spunky! All Sun signs experience this to some degree now. Changes in a very specific area of your life absolutely gain motion, often triggered by an outward event. Think back to the New Moon Aries, March 20 for a clue as to what part of your life this eclipse will affect. More later, but let’s just say that this month is full of surprises with plenty of potential for lasting change!

BONUS: Mercury Rx

Mercury Retrogrades Re-Do List Mercury Retrogrades Self Un-Doing List
Re-organize Absentmindedness

Re-evaluate Wild scheme hatching

Re-mind Doing too much at once

Re-member Starting brand new anything

Re-lax Criticism & perfectionism

Re-pair Old habits (re-run their script)

Re-do Written contracts, legal documents

Mercury’s rule of thumb during an Rx period: anything that begins during ‘re’, shall end with a ‘re-‘!