Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Blue Moon

This Month boasts a second Full or “Blue” Moon and with the Summer Solstice fast approaching, June should be a Month of heightened vitality with plenty of cause for celebration. The Moon enters Sagittarius on May 31 just after 6am and becomes full less than 24 hours later when it combines positively with Jupiter and Mars. This promises to bring a high-spirited and enthusiastic influence with increased productivity, optimism for the future and a greater sense of opportunity on the horizon. With Uranus providing some provocation, be prepared to seize any unexpected or unusual possibilities to further your personal vision.
This calendar month we see two Full Moons and the second Full Moon has become known as a “Blue Moon”. Though if you are living in a different time zone like America you get your Blue Moon in May where the Moon becomes full before midnight and therefore falls on May 31! For a Blue Moon to occur, the first of the full Moons must appear at or near the beginning of the month so that the second will fall within the same month (the average span between two moons is 29.5 days).The more recent trend using a calendar month has taken over from an older tradition when two Full Moons would occur in the same Zodiac sign. The first Moon falls in the first few degrees and the second towards the last of the 30 degrees that make up a Zodiac sign. Over the next twenty years there will be a total of 17 Blue Moons, with an almost equal number of both types of Blue Moon occurring. No Blue Moon of any kind will occur in the years 2006, 2011, 2014, and 2017.
The older Blue Moon event happens when there are four, instead of the usual three, full Moons in a season, or quarter year. Since this type of Blue Moon is determined according to the seasons, it can only occur in February, May, August, or November, about a month before the equinox or the solstice. Occuring every three to five years or so, the last was June/July 2005 with two Full Moons in the Cancer/Capricorn axis.
The rare phenomenon of two Blue Moons (using the more recent calendar definitition) occurring in the same year happens approximately once every 19 years. 1999 was the last time a Blue Moon appeared twice, in January and March.


The Full Moon this month is at 10° Sagittarius on the 1st June at 2:05 am this is followed by the New Moon on 15th June in Gemini with a second Full “Blue Moon” on 30th June in Capricorn

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Bealtaine

May traditionally heralds the start of summer with the festival of Bealtaine, a cross-quarter day, marking the midpoint in the Sun's progress between the vernal (spring) equinox and the summer solstice. The date of this fire festival which followed both lunar and solar cycles would have been held on the nearest Full Moon rather than the more recent May 1st date. This year the May Full Moon was on the 2nd but it varies each year. It is also interesting to note that before the Gregorian calendar was introduced to Ireland in 1752, “May Day” would have occurred 11 days later than today.
This Lunar Month starts with several of the tense and difficult aspects that occurred in late April now easing off and the volatile Mars-Uranus conjunction of 29th also behind us. Take some time to re-orientate as Venus opposes Pluto on 7th and watch how people try to reach for their goals despite resistance. Expect frustration and don't rely on deadlines being met as obstacles and thwarted efforts cause delay. On 8th Venus moves into the sign of Cancer evoking feelings of sympathy, a yearning to put down roots, and a fondness for things that have stood the test of time. This is a phase where well thought out values and things held dear can be encouraged into taking on a greater significance. Some of last months stresses could return as Jupiter Squares Uranus on the 11th requiring some rethinking as a necessary part of life's progress. Mars makes a challenging square to Pluto on 13th creating another test to see if ‘might’ rules over ‘right’ and as always with Pluto if an action is not for the greater good there will be debts to settle later. The drive to challenge others and assert oneself will be forefront during this coming New Moon phase as Mars enters its home sign of Aries on the 15th. This could be the start of another round of action in several spheres of life so expect to be busy for a while. Neptune begins its retrograde motion on the 24th (until October), as Venus makes a positive connection to Uranus bringing some new, interesting and welcome changes in our personal lives. During this time, on a global and personal level we might see some re-evaluation of our future vision with a greater striving towards high ideals and the possibility of innovative or unexpected attempts to create some cohesion through common values.
Next month brings us a Blue Moon, the first Full Moon of the month on June 1st with the second on June 30th.


The next New Moon is at 25° Taurus on the 16 May at 8:28 pm