In the Vaisheshika branch of Hindu philosophy, there are nine universal substances, or elements: Earth, Water, Air, Fire, Ether, Time, Space, Soul, and Mind. According to this system, liberation is achieved through complete understanding of the world of experience. The world of experience is formed by Earth, Water, Air, and Fire–elements of material reality. Ether is the pervasive substance. Time and Space are the elements that material forms move through. The soul grows, and evolves through its experiences, as it interacts with forms. The mind is the watcher, the narrator, the jailer, the liberator.

Complete understanding evolves through perception. External perception is the interplay of the five senses and material reality. Our material bodies collide with the material world. Each changes and acts upon the other. We receive influences and information through the nine gates of the body: two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, one mouth, the gate of reproduction, and the gate of defecation. As external stimulation enters individual consciousness, inference occurs… we create our own meanings. External perception and inference easily fall short. Internal perception is required, in order to attain understanding. Internal perception is possible when the mind turns in on itself–when it can view its own preferences and habits, when it has the courage and strength to question the nature of its own inference.

The horoscope for Sunday’s full moon features four nines. Our primarily lights, the Sun and the Moon signify the right (objective seeing) and left (subjective seeing) eyes. At the time of the full moon, our eyes oppose, or illuminate, each other. Consciousness (Sun) is permeated by subjective awareness (Moon.) At full illumination, these points occupy the ninth degrees of Taurus and Scorpio respectively.

Saturn, at nine degrees Capricorn and moving retrograde, receives a trine from the Sun and sextile from the Moon. Saturn might be understood as the efforts we make to build materially, and the struggles we face in contending with the material plane. In its retrograde, Saturn is revisiting recent efforts and ideas for formulation, making sure foundations are, or will be laid properly. The trine it receives from the Sun encourages slowness and accountability, the sextile it receives from the moon is a reminder that emotional intention resonates through any form created. Wherever Capricorn falls in your chart is a place to bring extra focus and patience. Your body’s sensitivity (Taurus) will inform and support what you are trying to build (Capricorn.) Your willingness to peer inward, will ensure the structures that support you are sound.

Nessus, at nine Pisces, is connected to the ripening of cycles of karma. Inappropriate contact, unskillful action, and unconscious choices create tears and fissures in generational tissues. The ways your parents, and their parents parents, were the victims and perpetrators of pain, might not be known consciously… but you know them in your dreams, in your fears and phobias, in your lusts and kinks, in your instincts and urges. The Moon is trine Nessus and the Sun is sextile. Here is the opportunity for emotional integrity. The Moon in Scorpio has access to the subconscious. How you’ve internalized the generational/societal conditioning you come from can be known, but only if you’re courageous enough to admit that your instincts are rarely rooted in your own control. Bravery is required to peer into your shadow, and the Sun in Taurus will either give you the steadiness you need to traverse this territory, or will keep you complacent and numbed out–drunk on sensate urges and unatuned to inner motivations.

Nine is the symbol of wisdom and initiation. It is the accumulation of all numbers preceding it. 1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8 =36, and 3+6 =9. Nine is the last number before the next harmony. It holds the potential for mystic knowledge and release of ego. At nine, it’s possible for the mind to know the soul. An unrealized nine falls into negative egoism, attachment to entitlement, and the conflicts and demands that inevitably result. The life path of number 9 is to exude goodness, and therefore to change the world. Goodness is spiritual fulfillment, it is the ability to spread light without demanding payment or resenting darkness.

This is a moon that wants to infuse our bodies and environments with spiritual consciousness. The axis of Taurus/Scorpio represents the material plane. If we consistently remember that the material world, including our bodies, is impermanent, there is no need to attach to material safety. When we slow down enough, and move away from survival mode and scarcity thinking, our minds recognize that everything needed is given, that searching inward will present the external solution.

Whatever you are struggling with right now, turn towards it. Seek to see the habits and patterns that resonate through time and space, into this moment and experience. I talk more about the full moon astrology, and my interpretations for it in the podcast, listen here.

The work that we do here is sacred, but not easy. To know our own shadow selves, and evolve past their unconscious expressions, we have to first learn to recognize their resonance. In this moon’s guided meditation I offer a few tools for Meeting Your Shadow, practice with me here.

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Your audio horoscopes are below. These horoscopes are for the full moon phase, April 29 - May 15, 2018. Listen for your sun to understand something about your inherent nature and ego, listen for your rising sign to understand more about what's going on in your life right now, listen to your moon sign to understand more about your relationships and emotional landscape. Horoscopes are poetic pieces of mystical suggestion. Take what works and leave the rest. Use the affirmations throughout the new moon cycle as questions, metaphors, and reminders. 

ARIES
I see myself reflected through my intimacies and vulnerable encounters. The more I trust my own good intent, the more I find myself held by the good intent of others. I clarify my relationship to control. I understand how to move, and liberate myself, from contexts and belief systems that constrict me. I relax the need to be anything I am not, and with this, I begin to heal any dis-ease that took root in my insecurities and self-doubt.

TAURUS
Relationships are spaces for learning. Currently, the lessons I am learning are about generosity, good humor, and steadiness. I take responsibility for my own expectations and assumptions, I realize that I am the first, and the last, to define my experiences to myself. I regard others with a smile, and make space for them to create their own definitions. I am steady and unswayed by emotional fluctuations.

GEMINI
I don’t know what the future holds. I’m uncertain of my impact in it. I accept this unknowing with grace and ease. Instead of indulging anxiety, I lift my head up, and look out at the world with enthusiasm. I exude curiosity, and the world responds with offers for engagement. I pick and choose the ones that are most emotionally satisfying.

CANCER
I invest in pleasure. I recognize that claiming my own pleasure is a radical act–one that directly confronts systems that seek to divorce me from my body and Earth. I claim my body as a space for pleasure, regardless of who else is around, and what they are, or are not giving me. I easily and unapologetically stimulate my creative, erotic, passionate self.

LEO
I am deeply relaxed, and emotionally steady. I take everything in stride, no stress, no anxiety, no doubt. I am consistent and accountable in my efforts, and I steadfastly work towards my goals. I balance my work with rest, and allow enough space for non-doing. In this quiet space I receive the support I need from others. I enjoy their care and trust their gestures.

VIRGO
I seek clear perception of myself, so I step outside of my normal. I open myself energetically to perceive myself through others’ eyes… not through my own insecurity, fantasy, or expectations, but through honest reception of their gaze, their expression, their vibe. I travel outside of my habits, and feel the ways that difference can expand my expectations.

LIBRA
My body is sacred, and I treat myself with the utmost care, compassion, and reverence. The care I extend to myself is rooted in the knowing of my true value and worth as a sacred being. My true and value and worth are reflected in my relationships. I am comfortable, safe, sustained, and supported by others, who also know their true value and worth as sacred beings.

SCORPIO
I know not to take most people personally. I do not to take responsibility for what I can’t control. My mind is strong and resilient. I form language around my experiences that tell the story of empowerment and self-knowing. I release myself from victim-hood, and my relationships are vibrant, joyful, sustainable.

SAGITTARIUS
I trust the future and all unknown outcomes. I trust my capacity to plan for what I foresee, and I trust my capacity to respond skillfully to all that I cannot foresee. If doubt and worry occupy my mind, I resolve them through conscious discernment and objectivity. I liberate myself by choosing faith over fear.

CAPRICORN
I easily release old ideas of what my future should be. I let go of possessions that tie me down. I release relationships that bind me up. I open my heart to possibility. I open my mind and reframe my worries as opportunities. I take pleasure in all spaciousness I find. I am excited by what I can create.

AQUARIUS
I can now dismantle my own internalized oppression–because I can see it, name it, know it. I have become familiar with my shadow, and no longer need to cast it out, or project it on others. I relax and trust my place in the world, and the family of all beings. I trust my own intentions. I see that actions and choices which originate in love, grow into loving and supportive realities for myself and others around me.

PISCES
I lose myself in the vastness of all I could possibly be. I release my small notions of self, my goals and ideals. I make room to experience life through spontaneity and serendipity. I feel the interconnectedness of all beings, living and not-living, seen and unseen. I ask for guidance to be my best self–happy, content, and fascinated by the ways I can serve wellbeing in the world around me.