Angel in the Marble
Dates and times are given for U.S. Pacific Time zone. Click them to see the date and time where you are.
The plan
I love a week that begins with the Moon in Capricorn. All the mini-resolutions that we set for ourselves over the weekend – “On Monday I’ll stop eating cheese, start getting more exercise, split the atom” – suddenly feel obtainable. And this is still the Crescent Moon, a phase for giving oneself over entirely to some interesting pursuit.
If you enjoy to-do lists and believe in the power of the Day Planner, this week is off to a strong start. For Capricorn, lists and formulas are amulets that heal any sense of futility or impotence. There’s something so satisfying about crossing something off a list. I’ve been known to add things I’ve already accomplished, just for the pleasure of crossing them off.
Mind you, the Moon joins forces with Pluto on Monday (Nov. 12, 9:57 am), and some things won’t be crossed off your list today, this week, or even this year. You’re still in the process of becoming the person who is able to accomplish them.
“The list could surely go on, and there is nothing more wonderful than a list, instrument of wondrous hypotyposis.”
― The Name of the Rose
The distance
O On Tuesday (Nov. 13, 7:45 am PST), the Moon enters Aquarius. The nighttime sky is gaining light; a path forward seems a little clearer than it did last week. It’s possible to gain a little bit of detachment from the wild emotional power of the Scorpio New Moon and recapture some energy.
The First Quarter phase begins on Thursday (Nov. 15, 6:54 am) at 23.11 Aquarius, on the Sabian Symbol: A man turning his back on his passions teaches deep wisdom from his experience. I had a passionate discussion with my husband one recent morning about current affairs and the state of the world. I go from zero to apoplectic in minutes flat when I get going on these topics, which isn’t really productive and makes our discussions a lot less enjoyable for both of us. I suppose as a Leo I’m designed to be passionate; but I must admit that some of my happiest years have been those when my progressed Moon was moving through Aquarius and I was able to get a little distance from my emotions.
The First Quarter Moon is an invitation to engage with the world—as Steven Forrest puts it, to “let ourselves be changed” by it. Passion is necessary for reforming the world, but letting ourselves be changed by it—and to benefit from its wisdom—requires a little detachment.
“Manifest plainness,
Embrace simplicity,
Reduce selfishness,
Have few desires.”
―
The quest
P isces has a sleepy, unfocused reputation which isn’t quite deserved. But this week’s Pisces Moon (Nov. 15 at 8:41 pm PST) blends artistry and empathy with First Quarter purpose, initiative, and reformative zeal. Dreams costs nothing, but it takes faith, elbow grease, and occasionally evangelism to turn them into reality. Fortunately, Mars enters Pisces the same day (Nov. 15, 2:21 pm), stoking the fires of imagination and moving them forward with great speed (through March 31).
Last week, I heard tales of two storytellers who have realized long-delayed artistic visions: Terry Gilliam, whose 29-year quest (his natal Jupiter is conjoined Saturn) to bring the story of Don Quixote to the screen finally reached fruition this year; and David Milch (natal Sun/Saturn/Neptune t-square), in the process of reviving his television masterpiece Deadwood twelve years (one Jupiter cycle) after its abrupt cancellation. For all its dreaminess, Pisces is ruled by Jupiter, which won’t take no for an answer.
What is your vision? This Pisces Moon and Mars, eventually meeting up with Neptune, extend the invitation of Jupiter, newly in Sagittarius: take a leap of faith and share your vision with others. It’s risky to expose the tender underbelly of one’s imagination, but riskier still to let it wither away in the airless dark.
“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”
– attributed to Michaelangelo
The panorama
Don’t speak ill to me of Mercury’s retrograde periods. I relish them as life grows increasingly frenetic, fast-paced and competitive, with little time to explore the inner landscape.
That’s why I particularly love the Sabian Symbol for this Mercury Rx station (Nov. 16, 5:33 pm PST) on 14 Sagittarius: A vast panorama of sand and time is unfolding – The pyramids and sphinx in their glory rise before the eye. We turn, now, toward a vast inner landscape of sand and time unfolding before us, with great monuments symbolizing collective action over many years. It’s always good advice, when Mercury is Rx (through Dec. 6), to slow down and look within; to examine the ideas, opinions, and information you’ve gathered in recent months. Great things can be built from them. You just need time and space to see what you’ve collected and let a plan unfold.
Speaking of retrogrades…
Back in October, Venus turned Rx in Scorpio, and it finally turns direct on Nov. 16 (2.51 am PST) on 25 Libra: The sight of an autumn leaf brings to a pilgrim the sudden revelation of the mystery of life and death. This Venus Rx has put the cycle of life and death into bold relief: here in California, we’re ending the retrograde with another horrific shooting spree and several massive fires raging throughout the state (as an L.A.-based friend wrote, “In California, we don’t have Fall – we have fires.”).
As I wrote to my mailing list subscribers at the New Moon, this Scorpio season has brought both death and new life to my inner circle. A dear friend suddenly passed away, while two other friends joyously welcomed their first child. Client sessions have been filled with stories of terrifying diagnoses and interpersonal strife, but also powerful emotional breakthroughs.
So in the U.S., we will enter next week’s great autumn observance, Thanksgiving, as pilgrims who’ve seen first-hand the ravages of fire and loss; who stand at the edge of the desert, wondering at the monuments unfolding before us and preparing to build some of our own.
“There is such a great fire in one’s soul, and yet nobody ever comes to warm themselves there, and passersby see nothing but a little smoke coming from the top of the chimney, and go on their way.”
― The Letters of Vincent van Gogh
©2018 April Elliott Kent
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