Full Moon November 14th 2016
The Moon will be full at 1.52 pm on Monday 14th November. This month’s full Moon is also a Super Moon – it will be at its closest point to earth and, therefore, its appearance and energies will be amplified. In fact, we won’t get another full Moon like this one until 25th November 2034 – the last one was in 1948. Because it’s so close it will seem bigger and brighter than usual.
Full Moons give us the opportunity to see things in a new light. So, whereas a new Moon is time for a new seed, for something to begin, the full Moon sheds light so that things can be seen in their fullness. For this full Moon we have the energies of the Moon in earthy Taurus opposing the Sun in intense and passionate Scorpio. The Moon is exalted in Taurus and highlights what gives us pleasure and what we value – in our relationships with others, with things we are attached to and also with how we value ourselves.
Within this full Moon there is an effort to integrate matter and spirit – what we can touch and feel with that which needs to die and be reborn, what we are attached to compulsively with what we could let go. It is perhaps about shedding light on things for which we feel a compulsive attachment.
The Moon in Taurus seeks material security and physical comfort. This is a steady, realistic, practical Moon seeking stability. Taurus is a fixed sign, so this is not a Moon who willingly seeks change but in her desire for stability, she can become attached to tangible things in order to provide that sense of security and self worth
At the full Moon we have the Sun in Scorpio ruled by Mars – the masculine – and Pluto. Scorpio seeks to investigate what lies below in the depths of our unconscious to discover where we need to confront the darkness in ourselves, what we are passionate about and what we obsess about so that we can find the Scorpionic alchemical healing from within.
However, the Sun at the time of the full Moon is in a difficult conflict aspect with Uranus, the planet of rebellion, shocks and enlightenment. Uranus is sitting alongside asteroid Ceres and dwarf planet Eris, both warrior goddesses. Ceres is the Great Mother and Goddess of the Harvest who was distraught at her daughter Persephone’s abduction into the underworld by Pluto (the lord of Scorpio). Eris is the Goddess of Strife and Discord. So here we are faced with turmoil, discord, raging anger and the conflict between the masculine and the feminine.
We should also perhaps remind ourselves that a super Moon between Taurus, representing the Earth, and Scorpio, representing deep waters, may pull strongly on the Earth and we may possibly see earthly difficulties such as further earthquakes in Italy or elsewhere.
I think that the last few months have been characterised by a kind of sense of systemic malaise where people are feeling that everything around them is topsy turvy. In the UK we have had ongoing Brexit issues, or maybe no Brexit, and the USA has experienced the most ugly election campaign ever. Moon in Taurus, however, understands our interconnectedness with the Earth and has an appreciation for nature and its comforts, and at the time of fullness is in a harmonious aspect with Chiron, the wounded healer, giving her the potential to heal the discord and this systemic malaise that seems to surround us.
So let’s put it all together to see what this full Moon is really all about. For me it is talking about the collision between the down to earth realities and practicalities of life and the intensities and passions (sometimes dark ones) that can either heal and help us enormously or pull us down into the underworld in the same way that Persephone experienced. It is about the attachments we form – sometimes obsessive – in order to give a sense of self worth and security.
In many ways we don’t need much of what we are attached to and this Moon can allow us to look into our depths and really see what we are attached to that is not necessary. If we let go of just some of these attachments we may find something more truly and deeply meaningful – something we can feel a true passion for. For instance, just appreciating the Earth and nature can allow us to get in touch with our true values. We can let go of our attachments and we can heal ourselves.