The Dark Feminine walks us home….
Art by Cathy McClelland Raven Dreams
As we sink into the watery, emotional, energies of the last full moon of 2020 we are being provoked by the feelings around. safety, and security, that we repressed in an effort to survive. This year brought to bear the collective human fears that we have around death and dying. It was an initiation of cliff diving proportions. From the very beginning of the year, in early January when Saturn made its exact conjunction to Pluto their proximity constellated a period of intensified tension, constraint, and brought shadow material from the unconscious forward to be witnessed and healed. Much like 2020, 2021 is starting out with some of its most intense astrology in the beginning of the year.
This year has had deep connections to different faces of the Divine Feminine. From the end of the Venus cycle in May that culminated in a finale retrograde period in Gemini, her energy amplified by the summer eclipses. To Black Moon Lilith acquainting us with the dark feminine as she traveled through Aries and early Taurus making squares and trines to many of the 2020’s biggest players. We see the Divine Feminine arriving on the scene to rescue us from the shadow of patriarchal influences. In her book “Lilith” M. Kelly Hunter says this “Black Moon Lilith challenges women and men to connect with their instinctive passion for life, for this natural force turns destructive when denied, unfulfilled, caged or exiled. Whether woman’s shadow side or man’s darker inner woman, when the deep waters of the unconscious are stirred, this is not sweet-tasting tropical punch. It is the grit and gruel of inscrutable emotions brewing beneath the surface that are going to spice up the soul and burn a hole through the veil of our comfortable illusions about ourselves. Lilith awakens us to our unknown inner selves and urges us through the dark passageways where she lurks, disguises, and tests. Like the Sphinx, she utters riddles in the circumstantial details of our lives. She hides the answers behind her Mona Lisa smile. She insists that we feel through, let go and surrender to the something deeper in us that is primary, the bedrock beneath the shifting sands. We look in the mirror and see our true selves. The ego quakes; the spirit exults.” The black moon puts us through the paces with hidden intent, difficult to trust. At times she faces us with what doesn’t seem reasonable or even possible. Consider her themes of autonomy, exile, extremism, and denial. Black moon experiences have a deeply internal effect, turning into subtle signals of soul stimulation. It is so incredibly proper, and not at all surprising, that the dark mother has shown up in her infinite devotion to waking us up, to walk us across the threshold between 2020 and 2021.
What our Wizard friend Elias Lonsdale writes in his book “Inside Degrees” about 9 Cancer is perfect.
A Skeleton Playing a Flute
Death is a haunting accompanist to the tender side of life. The spine-tingling touch of death close at hand renders poignant and accentuates what is vital in the world of the living. It takes courage to dance with death. Fear is natural under the circumstances. You have to play your fear and turn it into the music of courage. Wandering along the threshold between the living and the dead, belonging to neither world, yet integrally part of both. Intimately familiar with every side of existence. One who passes as a stranger, unknown and unknowable. Solitude is your element. The contemplation of the mysteries becomes as natural as breath, as ingrained as holding steady in the violent windstorm of life in the Earth. Lyrical, melancholy, and disassociated from familiar comforting things. A mist or haze wraps you about creating an aura of the uncanny, and it is there you feel at home and nowhere else.
This month’s full moon which perfects at 8 degrees Cancer at 10:28 pm on December 29th is sextile to Black Moon Lilith at 00 degrees Taurus, and trines the Sun at 8 degrees of Capricorn. Both the trine and sexile aspects are easy and open energy pathways. They tend to assist the energy to express itself in its highest form. Black Moon Lilith is always asking us to look at the ways we keep ourselves trapped in the palace of good, bad, right, and wrong. The ways we betray ourselves to be acceptable to society. How well we play our roles, and wear our masks. The dark feminine gives us permission to give voice to our rage and to love all of the dark, and cruel places of ourselves. Black Moon Lilith encourages us to rip the masks off, and live as our authentic, instinctual selves. To own our “Yes” and “No”, and to honor our rage as sacred. She collaborates with us by sending us a nudge when we are in danger of giving our power away. Our job is to sensitize ourselves to what it feels like when she is trying to communicate with us. Black Moon Lilith is the instinctual, wild, and free Feminine who owns herself. With her making connections to the full moon in Cancer she asks us, are we doing a good job playing out the conditioning of our youth? And if we give ourselves an A+, are we really being true to the dreams of youth? Are we selling any part of our freedom? Are we giving away our power in exchange for security? Connecting with Capricorn, Black Moon Lilith asks us to inspect whether or not we have carried through that conditioning and are betraying ourselves in exchange for success, or to build a legacy that is inauthentic, but socially acceptable.
A Cancer full moon connected to Black Moon Lilith additionally allows us to transmute playing small and feeling the disempowerment of a child. It allows us to look deeply at the shadow of our “other mother”. As in the movie Coraline, her mother changed on the other side of the wall. This was her shadow mother. In the film, the other mother creates her idea of Coraline’s other perfect world, lavishing attention on Coraline, baking her favorite cookies, and even fixing her mother’s crooked nose. We can examine where we have been injured by the shadow of codependency, perfection, and the disease of “looking good”. How many times do our parent’s words “what would the neighbors think”, or “stop, you are embarrassing me” and other such themes echo in our minds? How did that cause us to contract? How were we injured when our elders caused us to abandon our pure essence out of fear that others would judge them? We have the opportunity to transmute that all under the illumination of this full moon.
A few transits to place on the dashboard of your awareness as we move into the first two weeks of 2021.
On January 11th Mars at 2 degrees Taurus makes an overcoming square to Saturn at 2 degrees of Aquarius. In Aquarius Saturn, with his mastery of structure as divine architect, is looking forward to putting down roots and building into the future. Mars helps him with this effort by giving him enough power to break through the heavier dense energy of time. To move swiftly through timelessness and seed a harvest to be reaped in a millenia. In it’s shadow side, this square can feel like a firecracker has been set off in a concrete room with a low ceiling. We have the will to and drive to lift off, but we keep running head first into walls. Our creativity feels boxed in, and often we can’t find necessary traction. We can often feel small and powerless under the weight of this transit. Saturn and Mars are known as the two malefics of the zodiac, with the potential of unleashing a barn smashing monster into our living rooms. We need to be vigilant to remain in the rainbow zone of right speech and right action. Taking big expansive breaths, remembering to pause before reacting, and taking the opportunity to sharpen our response-ability.
On January 14th Jupiter at 6 degrees of Aquarius squares Uranus at 6 degrees Taurus. The form between Jupiter and Uranus is enclosed in light beams, and is connected to building a Utopia built on freedom, abundance, and joy. However, squares highlight the challenging side of aspects. The shadow side of Jupiter/Uranus is having a copious amount of hubris, arrogance, being attached to ideals, and rebelling against convention even becoming manic as we cling to being right over being kind. Most of January has these large swings between expansive, pleasing, if manic energy between Jupiter and Uranus, and the angsty, angry, prison dwelling, energies of Mars and Saturn. Be ready for a wild ride as we ring in the new year together. The good news is, January is the month with most intense astrology of the year. Although there is a lot of volatile and difficult astrology involved in the year ahead it isn’t hitting us wave after wave like 2020. We will have an opportunity to stand up, and dust ourselves off, and take a proper inhale and exhale before the next wave hits. Let us not forget that though we feel challenged there are aspects that will promote innovative and visionary mediation, problem solving, and growth.
This full moon is an excellent time to have an opening ceremony for 2021 as we will ride the waves of this energy for the next three days. Here’s how.
Charge your crystals under the light of the full moon. If it’s a cloudy night, you can bury them in the earth.
Get a lighter, candle, journal, pen, scarf (optional) and favorite playlist.
Find a quiet in a quiet space.
Take a few grounding breaths and light your candle.
Next look at the flame of the candle until the light becomes soft and bring your intentions to that which you desire to manifest in the coming year. Some examples are, abundance, flow, resources, creativity, laughter, joy, love, a partner, etc.
Next journal about what came through. Write in as much detail as possible. Includes colors, smells, location etc.
After you’ve written your intentions you can burn them over your bathtub or sink if you are indoors, or in a ceremonial fire outside under the moon.
Optional, to deepen with the Dark Feminine, use this playlist (not spiritual, and not suitable for children)
The universe likes ceremony as a doorway to manifestation. Happy Full Moon Illumination Ritual.
Azurite is one of the best stones for balancing Capricorn’s work ethic with spirituality, which is something they tend to make a last priority while they are working to get to the top. This Capricorn stone opens up their intuition, helping them to enjoy the spiritual aspects of life. It also improves mental clarity and concentration, allowing them to utilize their busy brains all the more.
Black Onyx protects Capricorn signs from the negative things that get in their way. It strengthens them, helping them to face their fears and encourages them to pursue their endeavors. With the help of this Capricorn gemstone, this sign can persevere through challenges to bring about the transformation they seek. It also supports them with the structure and balance they need to succeed.
Emerald is a Capricorn stone that combines earth energy with the heart. It helps Capricorns maintain their patience when they are beginning to lose it, and it helps them to feel hopeful, passionate, and creative. Emerald also stimulates their intuition and their intellect, offering them a balanced state from which they can better accomplish their goals.
Garnet supports Capricorn sun signs in their determination and gives them the extra commitment they need to succeed by offering them strength, courage, and confidence. It supports their emotional health and removes energy blockages and inhibitions that are getting in the way so that they can manifest their dreams. It’s a grounding stone that matches their earth energy, providing them with a calm and serene sense of security.
Carnelian is known as the stone of motivation, supporting Capricorn’s determination and passion. It offers a positive, forward-moving energy that gives them the courage to make anything happen. At the same time, it helps reduce anger, resentment, and other emotions that are getting in the way of their happiness.
Clear Quartz is one of the best Capricorn crystals because it connects these task-oriented workers to their higher consciousness, helping them discover their true purpose and the steps they need to take to improve their lives. It provides a strong, positive energy that can even amplify the effectiveness of other crystals. It also boosts concentration and memory, helping Capricorns to keep using their intellectual capacities like they so love to do.
Howlite is another Capricorn stone that helps Capricorns get out of their heads. It soothes anxious nerves, settles their overactive minds, and promotes healthy emotional responses. It improves their connection to higher spirit and inspires them to be the best they can be. It even reminds them to rest and assists them in making compromises during disputes.
Red Tiger’s Eye helps Capricorn sun signs accomplish their incredible feats without stress. It soothes and stimulates at the same time so that they are ready to take on anything. It offers a balance between the earthly and spiritual realms. With the help of this Capricorn crystal, they can enjoy more creativity, confidence, and strength. It also reminds these busy bees to relax.
The sun entered the Feminine Earth Sign of Capricorn on December 21st. To deepen with, or be supported in Capricorn energies, work with these crystals. Crystal guidance provided by Cosmiccuts.com. Click the name of the crystal for more information.
