Friday’s full moon and lunar eclipse in Leo form an exciting configuration with the ongoing Jupiter Uranus opposition and Saturn in Sagittarius. This full moon is the second in a series of eclipses that began last August and will continue into 2019 in the signs of Leo and Aquarius. This 3-year span of time is one in which we will all be pressed to consider our individual roles within the collectives and communities we are part of. This week’s full moon is a call for each of us to confront our own insecurities and hang-ups about how we relate to our own creativity. It is a push to recognize that the creative instinct is something to listen to and celebrate. It is determination to claim the landscapes of our lives for our own creation.

Right now as many of us watch aghast at the decisions being made to put people in power who actively work against our individual agency, we must resist. We resist by refusing to give into hopelessness. We resist by refusing to numb and instead dedicating ourselves to our hearts and to authentic expressions for what and who we love. Right now we have the example of what happens to creative energy when it becomes destructive. Those who use their life force to police, manipulate or deny others exhibit a possibility that is available for all of us. So it is an act of resistance to let go of trying to control or manipulate others around us. When we do this in our personal lives and with one another we grow stronger in our ability to resist the control that others will seek to exert upon us.

Now is the time to be an artist. Yes that means you. One of the things about being an artist is that you get to have your own creative interpretation of what it means to be an artist. Making art is a practice of researching life on your own terms. Your research through your body, through space and time, and through all your relationships. You don’t need to be a subject specialist. Everything you do will feed your work. So keep being curious, bring in all your references, bring in all your friends. The work of art is a coming together right now. It is the cumulation of everything you have ever experienced. Do not deny yourself. Do not let anyone else deny you. The challenge of this moment is to resist the lies that are being told to us about what reality is or can be. We, as creative people, have the resources and the power to create what we want. It may seem daunting and overwhelming. It may seem impossible. But keep resisting where they press to keep you small and afraid.

These current years will, in many ways, define our faith. This is religion, this is philosophy, this is science. Do not let anyone tell you that you cannot have a direct experience with God. Do not let anyone tell you you cannot have a direct experience of your own power. It may not feel that we are in the midst of a great spiritual awakening right now, but that is because we’re still stuck viewing life through the filters of familiar forms. Science and Art are the same in many ways, but it’s good to remember that science is not able to do what are can do, simply because it gets caught up in its own rules. The same goes for spiritual seekers and philosophers. Remember that you make your own meaning out of what is given to you. As artists we are not here to determine the future, we are here to respond to the present.

Your horoscopes for these next two weeks are invitation to consider where and how you can cultivate creative agency.

To learn more about the astrology of this new moon and coming two weeks, listen to the podcast.

I offer bi-monthly guided meditations to serve the astrological energy of the new and full moons. Since Leo rules creative expression, the heart, and the spine, this week's meditation is a guided embodiment of your creative center. Listen here.

Thanks to Danya for introducing me to some great new music, including this creativity anthem...

Are you interested in participating in community through shared dialogue, peer support, and a task-based approach to embodying ethics and creativity? Check out Doing Theory, an experimental, online learning community and expanded network of artists, activists, and seekers of a better, more equitable future. This year our topic is Learning To Love More. We are exploring the contemporary ethics of nonviolence through collaborative learning, personal practices and direct actions.

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These horoscopes are written partially as affirmations. Affirmative thinking and speaking are a form of magic that works through magnetism. If your horoscope affirmation resonates with you, print it out and place it somewhere visible for the next two weeks. Repeat it to yourself often and notice how the magic works. I suggest reading horoscopes for both your sun and rising signs. If you’re interested in a more personalized approach to your astrology you can schedule a reading here.

I offer these horoscopes and podcasts free of charge. If they are helpful for you please MAKE A DONATION and support  this work!

Come hang out with me next weekend at Portland School of Astrology - I'll be teaching a workshop on
Embodied Astrology of The Endocrine System

ARIES
This full moon and eclipse is a revelation for revolution. It is the spark that illuminates an easeful flow between your joy, your learning, and your identity. This is a pass for you to claim all your questions and curiosity as integral to who you are. It is a reminder that the answers are in the questions, and the doing is also the becoming. This is an invitation for you to unashamedly, unabashedly do you, and to see that when you do you, you open the door for others to appreciate, receive and respond with their own joy, curiosity, and honesty.

This full moon and eclipse is honoring the work you’ve been doing to develop your mind. This may be a path of higher study, a spiritual pursuit of some kind, or simply the determination to exist in a space of difference and all the tension that comes when we are unfamiliar with what and who we are exposed to. Recognize the strides and progress you’ve made. Recognize the ways in which you can now relate and articulate depth and potency. Recognize the development of your confidence and appreciate that it has been hard-won. In the next 3 years you’ll have many opportunities to put this progress to the text. Sometimes those tests will be victorious, sometimes they may feel more like defeat. Regardless of those outcomes, now is a time to appreciate where you have come from and to remind yourself of your own ability for growth and evolution.

The ways you grow and evolve will continue to be reflected in your relationships. When you receive positive feedback from others, take note of it. When you receive a challenge, bless its messenger. Others in your life are here to mirror your potential back to you. Take time to feel how good it is to love and appreciate. Notice the residue of judgment and mistrust. What you are pushing for in your career and life path will come from honest acknowledgment of your own capacity, and sincerity with those you find yourself sharing space with. Remember that we communicate on all levels, and vibes are often louder than words. Only you can can decide how you feel. Your full moon affirmation is, “I create my own reality. Life is art.”

TAURUS
Home is a small word with huge important. It’s the actual structure for sure, but more than that it’s a feeling. The sensation of home is like a magnet, it can pull you towards and pull you in in ways that feel non-negotiable. In can also repel and repulse – push you away in manners just as strong. This full moon and eclipse invite you home to your heart. It is a moment of reconciliation on some level, and a desire for expression of warmth that lets you know what you are made of. This is a coming home to essence, coming home to roots, coming home to the place(s) that you begin from.

In the coming home there is always sharing. Even if we live alone, we live with the manners and customs we’ve inherited. We live with the memories of our conditioning. We live with the resources we gain through avenues of relationship. When we come home we pay homage to all that home is a creation of, and to all the ways we’ve been inspired to create our homes.

You might, very literally, be having an experience of home right now as an anchor. This could be your actual home, familial home, or a more subtle yet just as important sensation of grounding in your body, the metaphorical coming home. Regardless of how you’re experiencing this moment, look at the ways that home supports your rhythm and balance. Look at the ways that your health is enhanced. Look at the ways you relate to others you share your home with. Look at the ways that home provides sanctuary and space for uncovering, revealing, and reveling in awakening who you are. Your full moon affirmation is, “I am at home in the world. I create my own home in the world.”

GEMINI
This full moon and eclipse are a pivot point for the work you’ve been doing in your relationships. The challenge of the past 2-3 years is now revealing a new style of inner dialogue and self-talk. Where you may before have indulged insecurity or refused to listen to yourself, now you are experiencing more confidence and a closer connection to your heart. When before you worried about whether or not you were coming across in ways that everyone liked, now you are learning to accept and even find excitement in upsetting the social norms a bit, or at least giving less fucks if and when you do.

This revelation of confidence and revolution in the ways you are willing to put yourself forth into the world work in support of the increased capacity you’re finding for creativity. Remember that creativity feels fun. It feels like a big heart, a big grin, and the basic recognition that whatever it is you’re doing is satisfying something that won’t get satisfied in any other way. Playmates and friends who assist you in creative expression are worth seeking out if you haven’t already been finding them. Though be prepared that these folks may not only look or feel differently than you imagined, they might also radically shift important elements of your life including the networks and affiliations you thrive in and future possibilities you are exposed to.

Being open to more fun, future possibilities, and broader social circles is bound to bring up the ways in which you also avoid revealing yourself. In order to push past our own limits, first we need to confront them. And so if you notice a resurgence of insecurity or awkwardness in intimacy allow it in without tightening up. The barriers you’ve built or the boundaries you’ve kept may have been useful at some point, but they are now no longer needed. If and when they arise again it’s only for you to recognize them, not to readopt them. This is an important distinction to remember. Patterns and habits take time to resolve, and they usually leave some sort of residue. Learning to feel the familiarity while also holding new choices is an important growth moment. These next few months will give you plenty of practice with it. All you need to know is that if your inner dialogue reflects your hope and not your fears, you will be fine. Your full moon affirmation is, “The language I use with myself and others creates the structure of our relationships. The intent I have in my thoughts and words creates my future experiences.”

CANCER
This full moon and eclipse are a reflection of your worth, your value, and your earning power. This is a moment to reset your ideas and ideals about wealth and finance. This is a moment to take stock of what you have and appreciate it fully. Remember that feelings of abundance are magnetic, as are feelings of stinginess. So these next few weeks are an excellent time to observe all the places in your life where you feel provided for and capable, all the places where you feel abundant and secure.

Focusing on feelings of abundance will hopefully lead to the understanding that money and wealth in your life is meant to provide opportunities for joy and pleasure. The more fun you can have with what you do day-to-day, the more excitement and self-determination you can find in all your missions, the more this will be reflected in your bank accounts and pocketbook, not to mention the nonmonetary forms of wealth like satisfaction and interest.

It’s important here to ask yourself what you are doing with the value you provide? It seems that you are still trying to work something out in a relationship that has you feeling polarized between generosity and growth at home, and excitement or freedom in the world. These two aims do not need to be different, and they don’t need to conflict. Ask your partners to support you in creating the stability you need so that you can pursue your longings and need to self-determine. Remember that the most successful relationships are ones in which both parties can grow into themselves. An essential element of this though is you valuing your worth and potential. Your full moon affirmation is, “I give fully from my heart. I easily receive support and remuneration for all that I give. My life is abundant. I am grateful for all that I have.”

LEO
This full moon and eclipse might reveal some new information about a longstanding or significant relationship. The information you’re getting however could be coming from a place you don’t expect it, yourself. The work you’ve been doing to hone your creative discipline and steady yourself in the areas of your life that used to feel more dramatic is starting to pay off. The result is a more sober, though not necessarily less fun, view on some current situations. If things are feeling less topsy turvy in your personal life it’s a good thing. Pay attention to any newfound clarity and don’t worry if details aren’t fully sorted. Let this spaciousness serve your efforts and resist any temptations to worry about what’s going to happen next.

Meanwhile the work you’ve been doing to expand your thinking, learning and relating has not gone unnoticed. The busy work that has probably felt consuming, tedious and overwhelming at times, has always been meant to lead to something bigger. Pay attention to news, invitations, or offers that come your way. You’ll know which ones to accept by the feelings you have reflecting on them. Pay attention to the ones that inspire a spark of excitement and sensation of inner expansion. Let the ones go which feel weighty or cause an inner avoidance. It can be hard to sort through the “shoulds” and obligations, and equally hard to trust your gut if you’re scared you won’t get more opportunities in the future. But you want to be sure that you’re making space for exactly the right fit, and practicing listening to your intuition now is training for bigger opportunities in the future.

Finally, if you’ve been struggling with transforming some element of your work life or health habits, now is the time to be the most grown-up you can be with yourself. Taking care of your body is essential, so don’t waste your time with what you know is not good for you. Creating ease and efficiency in the ways you work is necessary, do what you need to cut out the distractions and messes. Your full moon affirmation is, “I am good at what I do. I am proud of who I am. I easily receive  relationships, opportunities, and advancements that accurately reflect my confidence, pride, and heartfulness.”

VIRGO
This full moon and eclipse wants to illuminate something that has been hidden. As a Virgo you constantly walk the line between pride and modesty, and you may feel that you often disregard your own talent for the benefit of another’s preference or comfort. Too many years of this might actually convince you that your talents are nothing really that special, or that other’s have better ideas than you. Enough of that! This moon is shining in the depths of your dreamspace and background scenes. It’s calling you to come forth with all your Hurrah! and throw your shyness by the wayside. You need to look honestly at the contributions you make to others, and the ways your skills have benefitted them. You need to take ownership of the part you’ve played and put your pride forward as something to be recognized. True, it’s always a balancing act – and being arrogant or an attention hog will not be your best move – but you can stand tall and lift the others who are around you, and you can be confident without demeaning anyone else’s efforts.

This mutual offering of recognition is something to strive for. The more you appreciate your own skill and value the more you will be blessed and supported by the skill and value that others bring. This is especially important now and for the next two years as you complete a cycle that began in 2011 and has been forcing you to confront your style of intimacy. You may have had some tumult in recent years as you’ve been pressed to claim your independence and agency, and undoubtedly these shifts have required others in your life to readjust. As this cycle moves towards integration and completion your task is to embody the lessons you have learned. This means practice. This means constant discipline and dedication to the objective perspective you have gained about the ways you have contributed to the systems which bound you.

As you sort through the restructuring, again what is emphasized is authorship and power of your creative abilities. This means of course any creative projects, but it also means your ability as a parent, as a lover, as a playmate, and as someone who takes full responsibility for their own happiness. Remember that responsibility is not about know the answers, it’s about being clear enough in your own intent to respond in ways you ultimately agree with. Your full moon affirmation is, “I trust the mystery of my life. I do not need to know the outcome. Every day I show up and perform to the best of my ability and in ways which are honest and truthful. I trust that this is enough and that I will be taken care of in all the ways I need to be.”

LIBRA
This full moon and eclipse want to remind you to think big. Think future, think aspirations, think possibilities, think ideals, think about ripple effect and impact, think about the friends of your friends and the people they know. This full moon and eclipse is a reminder that the part you play in a larger scheme is important and necessary. The underlying organizational patterns and frameworks you’re working with depend upon your creative input. I don’t mean this in a way that puts you at the center of responsibility though. Rather, it is a more universal correlation of, and arranging of relationship to a whole which is only the sum of its parts, and one very important part is you.

Work you’ve been doing since 2014 involves clarifying, refining, and mastering your communicative abilities. This includes your speech, your writing, and the ways in which you conceptualize your identity when you present it to others. This also includes recognition that the ways we relate to those who are close-in, train and prepare us for relating with those who are different and far away. This kind of skill you’ve been developing is not separate from your partnerships and close relationships either. It’s not separate from the ways you relate to your family and home. And most importantly it’s not separate from how you relate to yourself.

Remember that everything in nature responds favorably to appreciation and respect. Continuing to cultivating your diplomacy is something that is a theme for the rest of this year. If and when situations arise with others that take you by surprise, or seem shocking in some way, the important thing is for you to know in the core of your being what you stand for. If you are clear that no one can limit the freedom of your mind or heart, then what they do or say belongs with them: it is their process, it is their work, not yours, to stand up for their own integrity. However, you can aid and assist those who are struggling by refusing to be triggered into your fear state. This is deep work friend. This is you being your own big sibling and parent. This is you holding the parts of yourself that are insecure and fragile. This is you choosing to appreciate and honor instead of retaliate or criticize. Walk away if you need space, but continue to come back to what you know is at your core. The more this is solidified, the more strength you will carry into all that’s being asked of you in other realms.

Your full moon affirmation is, “I value the contributions I make in the world. I see the impact of my efforts and authentic expression. I invite strong, vibrant, and joyful relationships with all my relations.”

SCORPIO
This full moon and eclipse is a call for you to step forward just a little bit more… it’s an invitation to let yourself be seen… it’s a bit of applause and recognition… Your penchant for privacy aside, this is a time to pat yourself on the back for a job well done. Remember that a little bit of healthy ego is something we all need. It keeps us together, gives us reason to go on, and builds the backbone we need to face tests and trials with belief in our own competency and talent. Furthermore, letting yourself shine for a minute won’t do you any harm in the financial realm. You’ve been working so hard the last 2-3 years to build yourself into a place of financial solvency. So take the opportunity to recognize that even if you may not be exactly where you want to be yet, hopefully it’s a clearer path now of how you can get there in ways that feel true to you and what you want to do.

Continue to work on unearthing deep seated beliefs that impinge your own progress. Continue to get yourself to therapy, ask for dream guides, and use whatever magical tools you have at your disposal to see past the veils of mundane reality. Continue to attend to your health and body, and continue to disrupt your own habits of stagnancy which include mental habits of fear and addictive self-deprecation. Continue to organize your daily tasks and rituals so that at least once every day you do something that feeds your mind and your interests. Continue to get your blood flowing and muscles engaged. Right now you want to resist stagnancy, depression, and rigidity. This means pulling in warmth and heat in whatever ways you can: exercise, nourishing food that doesn’t stop you up, affection and warmth with others, and the heat of your own determination when it comes to staying on task.

This balance between effort and appreciation, and putting out and letting it in, is a balance that you’ll continue to want to hone until later this fall. You’re moving towards a kind of revolution in your relationships. To get to the place you want, you have to be sure of your own solidity, and this means facing all those demons. You know what I mean… Right? It will serve you to remember that you don’t have to be everything, but that you can be proud in what you are. In fact, letting go of needing to be it all frees up your partners and friends and allows them to actually get to know and appreciate you. Your full moon affirmation is, “I easily receive all positive recognition and appreciation.”

SAGITTARIUS
This full moon and eclipse reveals an intensity in your desire for growth and expansion. The hunger to know, to experience, and to live life fully is something that will not be ignored. This is your desire for travel, for relating with those whose lives are totally different than yours. This is a desire for opening up to possibility in ways that only come with having your mind blown. This is a frustration with the stagnancy of what you expect and a yearning for the playful unknown. Keep paying attention to the ways in which you’ve been waking up creatively. Is there something you’ve been doing for the last 4-5 years that is nourishing your inner child? Stay with it! This is a great time to indulge the parts of you that are joyful and free. And in doing just that you may find the expansion and opportunities you want arrive on your doorstep.

Counterintuitive as it may be, trusting these instincts is exactly what you need to do in order to answer the questions you have in the financial realm. This doesn’t mean blow it all into the wind and let your responsibilities fall. It does mean that you can take a creative eye and bigger picture perspective on how you bring wealth into your life though. It seems that you’ve been working within a structure of some sort that is too limiting and restrictive. Or perhaps there have been recent changes and you are now grappling with the uncertainty of what they mean. Try not to fret. Trust your own capacity for clear thinking and strategy. See the ways you can reach out to your networks and broader affiliates. I promise that you will impress them with your creativity and unique understanding of your own personal agency.

Your full moon affirmation is, “I joyfully expand my mind and appreciate all possibilities. I am to adventure.”

CAPRICORN
This full moon and eclipse offer some illumination into the ways you share resources and energetic space with others. Topics and issues this could include are: shared finances, inheritance and inherited debt (this includes actual possessions as well as energetic currency,) sexual energy and what comes with it, and other ways you may find yourself benefitting from, or paying for, another’s actions and impact. What’s being revealed is causing some shift in your work and home life, and may also bring reason for more strategic thinking in terms of your wealth and finances.

The crux of the issue seems to be a question of our own certainty and stability. Are you and have you been standing up for what you know you truly want and need? Are you and have you been in agreement with the structures you’ve formed around yourself, your body, your mind, and your life in general? Are you or have you been honest about what’s important to you, or have you invested in activities that seemed like you should, but those shoulds were based on reasons that go against your ideal alignment? Pay attention to any recent upsets or what might seem to be catastrophe. This is a cue for you that something is amiss at the root. This is the equivalent of a warning notice: you need to be clear on your commitments… Don’t keep saying yes if the answer is actually no. Don’t make promises you can’t keep.

In terms of what you want or need from others, the shift you’re going through will determine whether or not you get it. Standing up for yourself and honoring your own capacity and boundaries may seem hard and even illusive… But that’s part of the work you’re doing. You’re strengthening yourself in invisible realms right now. You’re building fortitude in your cells. You’re galvanizing intent that as of yet cannot be articulated. Trust your own process, and refuse to step away from it. Recognize that every time you leave yourself or disregard what you know is your own self-interest for someone else’s need, you give permission for others to do that to you too. It takes a ton of courage to open to intimacy and to actually give, and be available for what others can give. It means that you have to be ok with disappointment. It means that you have to be ok with pain. It also means that you develop the ability to be with yourself in times of disappointment and pain, and to not misplace your hard feelings onto folks who have no business trying to attend to them.

Your full moon affirmation is, “I am not responsible for anyone else’s happiness, and no one else is responsible for mine. I am the best healer for my own heart.”

AQUARIUS
This full moon may bring a surprise or three in the realm of your close relationships. Good things to remember are these: 1.) Big personalities also have a lot to give. Usually those who are showy respond well to requests phrased as affirmations such as, “Mmmmm you really do give the absolute best backrubs!” 2.) We are all, for the most part, relating primarily to ourselves and secondarily to one another. However, we can hold one another’s best intent in our hearts and exhibit this for each other in cultivating well crafted questions and observations that help our friends see themselves. This is done through not taking things personally, and deciding to view our personal experiences from a greater objective distance. In this you might practice narrating your own responses to yourself before you speak them. 3.) Because we are in constant relationship to ourselves, we learn from the things that force us into relationship… Meaning, other people! It’s good practice to honor your relations as teachers. Whatever they present is an opportunity to grow your awareness, skill, and personal capacity for working with difference.

The ways in which we are each other’s teachers is particularly poignant for you right now. As you continue to develop the will and confidence to speak your truth, it’s helpful for you to take all interactions as a chance to practice authenticity. Building confidence in presenting your ideas and opinions is not easy, but just like anything, through practice it becomes easier. You have had ample practice in the last few years and may have experienced more than a few surprising slips of your own tongue that have left you cautious about opening your mouth at all. Try not to worry about pleasing anyone else. Try not to worry about others’ judgments. If anything, now is a great time to practice free flowing articulation and stream-of-consciousness activities that get words and thoughts out of you without editing.

Opening up and busting through some of your own inhibitions is important work. It allows you access to your own intuition and to an endless wellspring of creativity. It also allows you access to your own ‘inner author.’ The one who is able to direct from a place of infinite knowledge and deep trust. This voice is one to listen for, and listen to. This voice is one to value over all the chatty opinions. This voice is the one to invite to come forth when you are uncertain. In the coming weeks give yourself lots of room to listen. Your full moon affirmation is, “I honor and respect all others regardless of our differences. I listen for the truth and easily recognize when I hear it.”

PISCES
This full moon is a call to pay a different kind of attention to your daily rhythms. You need more play and less tedium. You need more heart and less head. You need more warmth, more expression, more fun. This full moon and eclipse are a reminder that you are ultimately your own boss. You get to decide how you approach the world and all your duties in it. If you decide that your entire life is an art project that means that every task can have the opportunity for self-realization within it. The more fun you have, the more fun you are to be around, and this is then reflected everywhere, but particularly right now in your work and on the job.

It seems like you’ve been experiencing some unpredictability in your financial realms recently. The uncertainty of what you have today or will have tomorrow is an invitation to let go on the mental level. This means Trust (with a capital T.) When you are enjoying your life and work, when you are happy and content, when you feel that you are moving from your heart… Then you magnetize support for these experiences to continue.

This may seem counter to the work you are also doing right now in becoming more responsible and identifying yourself as a leader or boss of some kind. But don’t confuse leadership and authority with sternness and gravity. You can be serious and still silly. You can be masterful and still curious. You can lead through example and show your colleagues, cohorts and clients what it is to be big hearted in one’s tasks. Exhibiting this is not only an act of generosity, it is an invitation for others to be generous with you.

Your full moon affirmation is, “I bring enthusiasm and joy to all that I do.”