An Eerie Harvest Mini-Moon

A few moments ago, I was sitting out on the roof of my apartment building. My intention was to bask in the glow of this intriguing Harvest Moon.

News articles discuss how uncommon it is to have a Full Moon on a Friday the 13^th. Other articles refer to this moon as a Micro-moon. I wouldn’t go that far. I would call it a Mini-Moon. It is a Full Moon that closely coincides with apogee (the point farthest from Earth). Looking at it, it does look small.

What I like the most about this moon is the way it participates within a rather beautiful Astrological alignment.

Being a Full Moon, the sun and moon are in opposition. Pluto sits 60 degrees from one and 120 degrees from the other forming a wedge. Since Pluto is roughly conjunct the South Node, we have a Mystical Rectangle when we look at the full chart.

Adding to the contrast of this alignment, Jupiter forms a rather tight T-Square, more so to the Mars-Neptune opposition, which is simultaneous to the moon-sun opposition.

All month, one personal planet after the next has entered this T-Square: opposing Neptune and squaring Jupiter. I see the Virgo-Pisces opposition playing out in various ways—in my own life and in the lives around me.

Some time back, I referred to the physical world as the furthest manifested. This phrasing is really growing on me. Virgo, being an earth sign, is a representative of this. With all of the personal planets moving through Virgo, we are very aware of this highly organized physical reality that we live in. Even if life feels chaotic, is filled with what we would consider unwanted, it is very organized. It is perfection…it always is. And this is because whatever physical reality we find ourselves in, it is the furthest manifestation of our past vibration.

The personal planets in Virgo pass through one corner of the T-Square, but they also pass through the distant corner of the wedge formed with Neptune and the South Node, and more generally that corner of the Mystical Rectangle.

[I am working on a new operating theory about Astrology. I think what we Astrologers view as challenge or weakness in particular alignments is an illusion…a misunderstanding. Aspects that appear to work against us might actually be working on our behalf, just counter to our logic or intuition.]

Mars, in Virgo, inspires practical, methodical, and logical action steps with a specific intention toward improvement. Virgo wishes to create a well oiled machine—one that hums effectively and efficiently. Virgo desires greater harmony within the environment, be it a room or a human body.

With Mercury conjunct Venus not too far ahead of the Sun and Mars, the actions performed by Mars (or desired by Mars) are well thought out, and artistically and aesthetically inclined.

Neptune, sitting in opposition to the Virgo stellium, is large enough to counter-weigh the whole bunch. He sits in rulership, and for a couple of days, is joined by this Harvest Mini-moon.

Neptune muddies the waters and fogs the air. He is a drug that clouds and disrupts the logical thinking mind. The clarity of Virgo is thwarted by the intoxicated confusion of Neptune in Pisces. Rather than seeing only the facts, he feels all sorts of subtle feelings, emotions…vibrations. This may inspire doubt, fear, or trepidation. Rather than charge ahead with confidence (with Mars), we hesitate with uncertainty. “Am I doing the right thing?” “Did I make a mistake?” “What do I really want anyway?”

Jupiter, also in rulership, and square to both ends, plays Devil’s Advocate to the argument. He eggs on both sides causing much more trouble. He exaggerates the story told by the one, causing greater concern to the other. “Oh, if you’re worried about that, then consider this!” he says.

As with any T-Square, when taken as a whole we see a formidable configuration. The tug-of-war feels as if it can pull us apart. “How can I be sensitive to the subtle vibrations, and yet stay in my sound and logical mind?” “When they loudly disagree, which do I trust: my gut or my head?” “Should I make a practical choice, or go with that I want?”

So, while it looks like each corner is working against the other two, don’t be too quick to judge it that way. I suspect this (and all) T-Square(s) are filled with divine purpose!

What is accepted as primarily beneficent is the Mystical Rectangle. This one not only offers solutions to the opposition between Virgo and Pisces, it also bridges the Lunar Nodes, lighting the path between our past and our future.

The South Node is what is emphasized these days. With Saturn and Pluto fixin’ to create a three-way conjunction, our history weighs heavily upon our shoulders. We feel our burdens and our pains. We are very aware of our shortcomings and our past mistakes. It’s as if Pluto and Saturn are beseeching us to empty out our South Node, to release old hurts and self-deprecating thoughts so we can move on to bigger and better experiences, which might already be in the offing.

During this phase, the growth of the world around us feels as if it is closing in on us. “Will I ever break through these chains?” “Is it even possible to shake loose these phobias?”

This time feels somewhat confusing to me. In the light of day, life is rolling along. Things are happening, everything is pretty much working. And yet, there is a subtle feeling that something isn’t quite right.

At night, in the quiet, the stillness, the darkness, that subtle feeling grows into something more. Maybe we’re disciplined enough to drown out the doubt.

It always feels a bit off around the middle of September anyway. As the sun approaches the Equinox, we feel the center of earth’s gravity shift from the warm, bright summer to the cold, dark winter (or vice versa). It is as if we are a living on a large sea vessel. It oscillates in the waves. After listing to the left for so long, we really notice it when it flops over to the right. It happens slow enough as to not make us sick, but our stomachs feel it nevertheless.

Breathe through any tension you feel. Just because it’s calm doesn’t mean that a storm approaches. Change is in the air—I certainly feel it. But change is not a bad thing. It may take a moment to adjust, but we’ll be just fine.