“Twinkle Twinkle little STAR, how I wonder what you are. Up above the sky so bright, like a diamond in the night.” Everyone, young and old, has smiled and sung this song at some time and marvelled at the starry heavens. And there is one very special cluster of stars which truly fascinate and activate this sense of wonder in more ways than is at first obvious; these are the Pleiades –Seven magical Sisters who shimmer and glitter at the very last degree of Taurus, who are linked to mysticism and power, life and death.
For millennia we humans have known something very special emanates from the Seven Sisters. Mythology abounds with stories of these blue stars: To the Greeks they were Doves; to the Celts they are ‘The Fates’; to the Chinese the ‘Seven Sisters of Industry’; to the Indians they are ‘Seven Mothers’ who judge and wield moon-shaped razors; and to the Egyptians they are Seven Goddesses whom the dead encounter. Through these stars we acknoweldge a portal into another world.
Just by watching these alluring Seven Goddesses we link into a collective cosmic mythology that has captivated our imagination and thereby become a part of historical harmony. In esoteric astrology the Pleiades stimulates the human heart centre, enabling one to relinquish the obsessive desire that Scorpio can often cling to. Scorpio is also associated with transformation through rebirth and renewal; though letting go of all that no longer serves can sometimes be a painful process due to Scorpios’ fixed intensity.
So while the Sun is in Scorpio, still with Vesta igniting the inner flame, and the Full Taurus Moon conjuncts the influential Pleiades on Sunday, the 21st at 17:27 gmt, the power of love is coupled with the power of renewal. (Look to 29 degrees Taurus and Scorpio in your chart to see where this renewal is taking place.)
When planets are found at the last degree of a sign, in astrology we call this degree ‘anaretic’, meaning it has an accumulative effect from having almost completed the passing through of one sign. It’s as though we have already digested all the qualities of the sign before leaping into the next, and in the case of this Full Moon, when the Sun is in Scorpio and the Moon in Taurus, those consecutive signs are truth-seeking Sagittarius and curious Gemini. Nonetheless, the issues surrounding this Full Moon are still Taurean (personal values and constancy, love and money) and Scorpio (shared values and strength, intimacy and power). Over this moon we harness Scorpio’s ability to deeply sense our Taurean needs in a heartfelt and protective manner without so much the need for words. A Moon with the Pleiades can trap, hold, and purify (with wisdom and compassion) any negativity that comes to light via Scorpio’s psychic radar.
The Moon is also our emotional anchor; when full the Moon brings clarity and wisdom; and in Taurus, the Moon is exalted, where we find stability. In the West she is feminine, a Goddess with many names. At this time of year (in the northern hemisphere), when the leaves on the trees have fallen and the nights are dark we call her Diana, or Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt. Artemis is the bringer of Light, caring for children, women and the environment. She is often connected to the Seven Sisters of the Pleiades in myth, and being reunited with them over this Full Moon indicates our Goddess energy is once again magnified.
This gathering of moon maidens and sky dancers creates a dynamic connection, particularly as we are still under the cosmic auspices of the Cardinal Cross of the Central Spiritual Sun (which resumes an exact formation March 13th 2011). Alice A. Bailey writes that during the time of a Cardinal Cross, the Pleiades employs both Mercury and Mars as agents working through Gemini AND Sagittarius; so it is interesting how they are now in conjunction in truth-seeking Sagittarius. This could well be a sign that in order to understand the truth we also need to connect more with our intuitive and feminine sides, creating Shiva-Shakti over this Full Moon. And from Monday, both Sun and Moon move into these signs, when a greater, yang energy becomes our celestial focus for another month, through which the heart-orientated Pleiades communicates.
Wherever you are during this full Moon, when looking out for the Pleiades with the Moon, take a moment to weather-watch. As over November’s ‘Dark Moon’, in both an ancient Babylonian custom, as well as Tibetan, it is said the during Full Taurus Moon (where the moon is exalted) one can note what might lie ahead in the cold winter months, especially for practical sustenance, as Taurus is an earth sign, symbolic of gardening and crops.
Thanks as always to Bill Brouard,"Artimis" by beloved Susan Seddon-Boulet, and other unknown but much appreciated artists.
