Posts Tagged ‘astrology’
Holiday Bubbles from the Gemini Full Moon
I’m sure everyone saw the amazing moon looming huge and bright in the sky last night. A friend in China reported watching the eclipse (which could be seen last night on the West Coast, over the Pacific Ocean, in Asia, and in Europe). Cool lunar stuff happening all over the place! Continue Reading
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CommentGet Ready for Some Lovin’ – It’s a Full Moon in Taurus
This afternoon, at 3:16 EST, the Moon is Full in the sensual Earth sign Taurus. As my talented friend Susan Levitt says, Taurus is ruled by Venus, the planet of love, art, beauty, and creation, so now is the time to enjoy, relax, and appreciate and share the good things in life under Taurus’ pleasure-loving influence. (Be sure to check out Susan’s website for astrology with a dash of Chinese flair!) Continue Reading
Full Moon in Aquarius
The last couple of nights have been beautiful and clear, so I’ve seen the Moon hanging big and bright in the sky. Today, the Moon is officially Full in the inventive and inspirational sign of Aquarius. At 2:57 EDT to be exact. Continue Reading
Full Moon in Capricorn
Early this morning, 2:40 am to be exact, the Moon was Full in the earthy sign of Capricorn. The Moon is a dreamy, emotional planet. Were you having any dreams early this morning? Maybe they were trying to tell you something. Continue Reading
Tonight’s Perigee Moon
Someone on Facebook quipped that with St. Patrick’s Day we’ve had quite enough lunacy this week. Perhaps, but I’m far more interested in tonight’s Full Moon. According to CNN, this will be the biggest Full Moon we’ve seen in about 20 years.
Full Moons look different because of the elliptical shape of the Moon’s orbit. When at its perigee, the Moon is about 31,000 miles closer to Earth than when it’s at the farthest point of its orbit, or apogee. Tonight will be a super “perigee moon.” Often called the Worm Moon, a Perigee Moon is a celestial event far rarer than the proverbial Blue Moon, which happens once about every two-and-a-half years. I hope the clear skies we have now stick around for sunset – the time when the Moon will look especially big – because there will not be another Perigee Moon like this until 2029.
NASA says that “for reasons not fully understood by astronomers or psychologists, low-hanging moons look unnaturally large when they beam through trees, buildings and other foreground objects.” Get your cameras out everyone!
Strictly speaking, the Moon will technically reach its fullest point at 2:10 pm EDT this afternoon in the exacting sign of Virgo. When the Moon is in Virgo, people have a tendency to be be discriminating and fastidious, which makes this a a good time for intellectual pursuits, more so for those requiring critical detail rather than innovative creativity. This is also a good time to take care of any matter that requires painstaking attention. Um, taxes anyone? Since tomorrow is the first day of Spring, a good Spring cleaning would be a perfect way to channel this Virgo energy. Want to start a diet or health regimen to get ready for swimsuit season? Virgo’s influence makes this an excellent time to concentrate on these goals as well. Virgo can sometimes lead us to be overly critical, so we should be mindful not to judge ourselves or anyone else too harshly today.
If all of this sounds a bit intense, don’t worry. At 4:03 pm EDT, the Moon leaves Virgo and enters sociable Libra. By the time we can actually see the Full Moon tonight (best viewing times will be between 6 and 8 pm), all thoughts of business and work will begin to fade and we’ll all be ready to party!
Rain
It started to rain last night as I lie in bed reading a book, the window open beside me and the slightest bit of a breeze sending a soft flutter through my curtains. (Yes, it’s getting warm enough in Boston to keep the windows open!) This morning, when I got up and looked outside, all of the ugly piles of dirt-covered snow were gone, as if the rain had washed them away overnight. And I thought of the rain and of its transforming power to refresh, to heal, to wash things away. That quiet morning moment felt profoundly magical.
For those of us who pay attention to the cycles of the Moon and the effects they have on what’s going on in and around us, we know that Friday was a New Moon in the watery sign of Pisces. (D.K. Brainard has a great article on this subject here.) Pisces deals with our emotions, our spiritual lives, our intuition. Did you have any seemingly weird dreams over the weekend? It would be unusual if you didn’t, and you might be surprised at the insight you can glean from images that came to you, even if its not readily apparent what they mean.
New Moons always ask us to let go of something we’ve outgrown to make room for something new to grow in its place. As the New Moon waxes to its height at the Full Moon, this energy supports creation and manifestation – building toward something we want in our lives. It seemed fitting then, that with this New Moon energy still affecting us, this cleansing rain would come, like a gift, to help us get rid of whatever it is that needs to go away. Like dirty, polluted snow. Or bad eating habits. Or associations that no longer support goals and ideals.
I’m contemplating this as I begin my week, a little differently than how I thought it would begin, but with a new project and this lovely, lovely rain.
Welcoming the Year of the Rabbit
Tonight is the eve of Chinese New Year and we prepare to welcome the Year of the Rabbit. Laura Lau, who co-authored The Handbook of Chinese Horoscopes
In an interview with the Houston Chronicle, Lau predicts this year will be calmer and move at a slower pace. “It is an especially auspicious year to get married and start a business,” Lau said, because the year crosses over two first days of springs, which is a calendar anomaly likened to a leap year, making it particularly auspicious. Lau also notes that the Rabbit is one of the most gracious personalities of the Chinese zodiac and has a great sense of style. “As a result, I’m looking forward to this year’s fashion collections in particular.”
A Chinese proverb states that all creations are reborn on New Year’s Day. The Chinese New Year is a celebration of change … a time to sweep away all that is old and unpleasant to make room for everything shiny and new. The celebration of Chinese New Year is all about securing abundance for the upcoming year: happiness, health, togetherness, luck and prosperity.
Chinese New Year begins on the first New Moon after the Winter Solstice – which is why it always begins on a different day each year – and ends on the Full Moon fifteen days later. The first day of the Lunar New Year is “the welcoming of the gods of the heavens and earth.” The 15th day of the new year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade.
In the Far East, this is also the end of Winter and the beginning of Spring. Farmers take this opportunity to welcome Spring as they plant for the new harvest. Thus, the Lunar New Year is also called the Spring Festival. And nothing symbolizes Spring quite like the cherry blossom!
For details on what we can expect from the Year of the Rabbit (also known as Year of the Hare), I like to consult my friend, expert Eastern astrologer Susan Levitt:
Hare year can be a nurturing time of peace, calm, leisure, and rest after the intensity of the previous Tiger year. During gentle Hare’s influence, good taste and refinement are valued, and comfort is desired. Money can be made easily, but spent easily. Dragon year 2012 will be a wild, exhausting time, so appreciate the small pleasures of Hare year as opportunities to heal, relax, and entertain. Make time for family gatherings and comfortable travel. Expect political compromise and diplomatic peacemaking on a global level. Discretion and persuasion are effective in a Hare year, whereas force does not work.
The year of the Hare begins on the new Moon of February 2, 2011 at 6:31 PM PST. This is also the date of Imbolc, or Candlemas, the cross quarter-point between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. Lovely Hare is a symbol of purity: fastidiously clean Hare washes its face with its front paws to look beautiful as polished jade. According to Chinese legend, a magical jade Hare lives in a palace on the Moon. The Chinese Moon Goddess Ch’ang-o allows this charming jade Hare to keep her company so she will not be lonely. The Hare is an herbalist and alchemist who peacefully mixes elixirs of immortality under a cassia tree on the Moon for the Great Mother of the West, a Chinese Goddess of death and rebirth. Hare’s Moon palace is delightful, and the company of the Moon Goddess so enjoyable, that Hare never leaves the Moon. Over time, Hare has become a yin Moon spirit.
Be sure to check out Susan’s website to find out what Rabbit Year has in store for you.
The Chinese believe that events occurring on New Year’s Day may impact your life for the rest of the year. Be careful in your actions. Be selective with what you eat. Greet people who will bring you joy. To ensure a prosperous and healthy year, you should enhance and stimulate positive energy flow at home, at your business and at work. Everything associated with the New Year’s Day should represent good fortune. To single people, good fortune may mean love and romance. Good fortune may mean good grades to students, children for families, jobs for the unemployed and health for the sick.
During the celebration, red envelopes called lai see are filled with money and given by married couples to children or unmarried adults for good luck. Firecrackers are let off everywhere; it is believed the noise is essential to scare away evil spirits. It is also traditional to wear red clothing to scare away evil spirits. Everyone wears new clothes from head to toe to symbolize starting anew in the new year.
Fashionistas among us may choose to adorn ourselves for Chinese New Year with an animal totem ring or pendant from Solange Azagury-Partridge, which also could serve as unconventional tokens of love for Valentine’s Day. “You can feel love emanating from these sweet creatures, and they are incredibly personalized,” Ms. Azagury-Partridge says of the designs. “I definitely like unconventional gifts.” Recently featured in The Moment, these hand-carved and painted lacquer critters should be available now in Solange’s boutiques.
Traditionally, family members assemble for a big feast on New Year’s Eve. A large amount of food is prepared to symbolize abundance and wealth for the household. Many foods have symbolic significance because of their appearance or their word in Chinese is a homonym for something associated with good fortune. Jai is a vegetarian dish with root vegetables; each of its many ingredients has symbolic significance to a happy and prosperous new year. Likewise, a tray of sweets called the Tray of Togetherness contains different treats that each have their own auspicious meaning. Whole steamed fish represents togetherness and abundance and a whole chicken is a symbol of prosperity. Fish and chicken must be presented with head and tail to symbolize completeness. Uncut noodles are a symbol of long life; it is bad luck to cut them. Mandarin oranges and tangerines are a symbol of wealth, good fortune and abundant happiness. The New Year Cake, Nian gao, is a steamed sweet rice pudding that represents a rich and sweet life in the coming year.
While not strictly traditional, I believe that chocolates complement the tradition of serving candy to invite sweetness into the new year. Burdick Chocolate has introduced special chocolates for Chinese New Year, including fairly traditional flavors like plum wine brandy and rice and orange ganache. The collection even includes chocolate bunnies to commemorate the Year of the Rabbit!
Decorating the home is a very important aspect of the New Year celebration. Red banners written with happy wishes in calligraphy are hung upside down because it is believed that they will bring good luck down from the heavens. Live blooming plants are placed throughout the house to represent rebirth and new growth. Plum blossoms, peach blossoms, kumquats, bamboo, narcissus, chrysanthemum, pussy willow, azalea, peonies and water lilies all have special significance for Chinese New Year.
This is a good time to take a look around your home and take efforts to enhance and stimulate positive energy flow. Bring in flowers and live plants to create beauty. Do a thorough cleaning and eliminate clutter. Make sure that the first thing you see when you enter your home is inviting, clean and inspiring. It’s also the time to associate with people who will bring you joy and focus your energy on things that will bring you good fortune.
Gung Hay Fat Choy!
My name is Angela Eloise and I am a freelance writer. That sounds as if I am copping to an addiction. I am. In addition to writing this blog, I also write a column about social media and I am at work on a series of essays that I hope to see in print some day. Cloud of Chaos was born from my desire to dance with the absurdity of life, to create a space where I could write and share all of the gorgeous, fun, snarky deliciousness I find spinning around me every day. What does a spinning cloud of chaos have to do with writing? Everything, as it turns out.
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