The Full Moon and Sign Polarity
What is it about a Full Moon? Why does it seem so magical? Why might it make some people “crazy”? The astrological answer is in the illumination of the two “lights”, the Sun and the Moon, through opposite signs of the Zodiac.
The Zodiac can be viewed as 6 pairs of opposite signs, or polarities. The signs of each pair are poles of an axis whose function they both share and serve in contradictory, yet complementary, ways. For example, Taurus (birth) is at one end of the axis it shares with Scorpio (death), the sign at the other end. There’s a time for everything, including “a time to be born and a time to die”. It’s the natural economy, the way all values in Time are kept in balance with one another. A different value is toggled in each of the 6 polarities.
Sunlight is the light of conscious life, shining steadily on our thoughts and activities through a single sign for a whole month at a time. Moonlight is the light of unconscious life, reflecting our feelings, moods and dreams through signs that change every 2 - 2.5 days. While we are always functioning in the present in the objective clock time of the Sun, we may feel and dream of a remembered or imaginary past or future in the subjective dreamtime of the Moon.
During the days and nights when the Moon is Full, the Sun and Moon are in opposite signs, ‘speaking’ to us simultaneously from opposite poles of an axis. The Sun affirms conditions of the current moment. The Moon reminds us that there was or will be another moment in time with conditions exactly the opposite of whatever they are now.
The effect of the contrast between the opposing lights is a feeling of bittersweet poignancy as we experience simultaneous contradictory emotions. They are equally compelling. We seem to be stuck with one of them, while the other haunts us from somewhere out of reach. For relief from any discomfort from the effect, we can seek connection with the paradoxical center point between the two extremes, where they meet in timeless union and perfect peace.
In this series, we explore the Full Moon’s effects each month as the two lights confront each other across successive sign polarities.
Full Moon in Virgo: The Improbable Job
When the Moon is Full in Virgo, the Sun is opposing it from Pisces. The two lights are illuminating the Virgo-Pisces axis, bringing us in touch with its complementary energies. The purpose of Virgo-Pisces is the maintenance of good health and proper function through alternating work and rest. The dynamic is that of Doctor & Patient, or Maintenance/Repairman & Complex System.
Virgo, at the working end of this axis, is the skillful and busy sign of practical knowledge and clear focus on the real situation at hand. It’s all about the details of how a system is supposed to work, how to keep it working as it’s supposed to, and how to correct any malfunctions that may be preventing it from working as it’s supposed to.
Pisces, at the resting end of the axis, is passive, unfocused, asleep or adrift in a dream world, unaware of any details. For all practical purposes, the Pisces state is more or less inert. If conscious at all, it’s experiencing otherworldly enchantment for respite and renewal. Like a disabled patient or malfunctioning machine, it doesn’t/can’t work. Normally this is a merely ‘switched off’ condition of temporary rest, as in normal sleep or meditation. But in some cases it’s a broken or sick condition, in need of some sort of adjustment or repair to restore it to healthy functionality.
The influence of the Pisces Sun puts us mentally in the helpless place of the disabled. We may or may not be okay physically, but for whatever apparent reason, we’re not really engaged in physical activity, nor even focused in the material world.
As a temporary phase, that’s a good thing. It’s as necessary to good health and proper function as any physical measure. We all need periods of retreat from life into some peaceful haven where we can relax, rest, and dream. As long as our necessary physical functions continue to be maintained, these are normal periods of refreshment and healing. The New Moon in Pisces is especially conducive to the break we need, and for the following two weeks we can usually enjoy it undisturbed.
Then we come to the Full Moon in Virgo, which could bring some disturbance into our retreat, depending on our current attitude to work. Hopefully we have work that we love and find fulfilling. We look forward to returning to it after this refreshing break, and now we may discover some new inspiration that could make our work even more fulfilling when we’re able to apply it.
On the other hand, we could have a serious problem that requires correction. We might be struggling with joblessness, or “going through the motions” of work that seems to be increasingly meaningless. Whatever we do, we feel trapped, isolated and hidden behind an artificial façade. Even if we’re surrounded by people, we might as well be alone for all the difference it makes. We tend to feel tired and “burned out”, apathetic, anxious to escape from the pressures of the hectic world. Workaday life for us is unrewarding and uninspiring, because somehow we are unable to function in it authentically.
In the latter case, the last thing we want to think about consciously is work. We lack real enthusiasm for any job, because our most recent memories of work or job-seeking are not encouraging. We want to forget about work and just dream, and for now that seems to be all we can really do. So what do we get when the Moon is Full in Virgo? Fantasies and dreams about work.
What to do? The easiest response is to escape from the internal conflict into a delusion about it that substitutes for whatever the truth is and exempts us from any necessary change. Everything is fine, and I’m on my way to brilliant achievements. Everything is horrible, and it’s all someone else’s fault. I would if I could, but I can’t because [fill in any excuse]. What if I were to [insert some improbable fantasy job]. We’re suspended in a non-solution, and no one else can help. We’re frustrated, so we may talk about it to anyone who will listen.
Some of us exist in that self-delusional state for a long time, continually “explaining ourselves” to others who seem receptive and may be similarly discouraged. If the euphoria of a beer in a bar offers temporary isolation from the pressures of the world, some find even more isolation and disorientation in chronic alcoholism or drug addiction, or in hospitals, prisons, or other self-destructive withdrawal from life. Those are all ineffective Piscean reactions to the Virgo challenge. Does Pisces offer an effective alternative? Yes — because of the vital truth awaiting discovery at the core of everything.
It’s one thing to mourn an ending, but something else to look backwards too long. Old dreams of former or spent inspiration are lifeless, dissolving like sand castles in the tide. If they’re sources of toxic, negative feelings and ongoing malaise, what do they matter? They can’t help us now, because we no longer believe in them, if indeed we ever did. They are meant to be washed away, so why not let them go?
“There is an inmost center in us all, where truth abides in fullness;....and, to know, rather consists in opening out a way where the imprisoned splendor may escape, then in effecting entry for a light supposed to be without.”
― Robert Browning
New dreams are gestating and forming in the deep, flowing from our inmost center like a fountain, alive with potential. When we shut out distractions and seek within sincerely, we can find clues that will lead us to rewarding, fulfilling tasks. No one else can tell us what they are; they might be anything. Initially we might discover only a first step. Great! All we need now is a recharge and a strong positive start. We’ll reenter life with fresh energy and enthusiasm for some achievable new intention that we can hardly wait to pursue.
How a Full Moon in Virgo Might Feel
The songs below express some feelings individuals might experience under a Full Moon in Virgo.
[Newsletter Readers: To listen better on the website, click on the purple & black Elixir banner at the very top.]
A Pirate Looks at Forty
Piano Man
I Wanna Be a Star
Lyrics: She wants to be onstage, front page I'll sign the dotted line; You know, I'm gonna shine She just needs that big break, that great take To start my new career; You'll see that I'm sincere And I won't blow it Uh, Mister Director? Please... Don't reject her til you're heard her read For the lead in your new production Mister Producer? Please... Don't seduce her til you're heard her sing And everything in your new production She got to be hot stuff, real tough I wanna be photographed Asked for my autograph I don't want to keep house for a spouse I'm much rather be the girl; I need much more to be the pearl Of the movies I'm much rather be the girl; I need much more to be the pearl Of the movies I'm much rather be the girl Need much more to be the pearl Of the movies
Everybody Wants to Be an Astronaut
Lyrics: [Verse 1] Got out of bed this morning I didn't sleep at all Today, I'm making history I'm picking up my call I'm going into space, man Don't know when I'm coming down But I'll send you all a message When I'm passing my old town [Pre-Chorus] So tell me why is it We're never happy? [Chorus] Everybody wants to be an astronaut And take the long tall trail into the stars Everybody wants to show a brother what they've got Everybody wants to be an astronaut [Verse 2] I can feel my body shiver The lights are everywhere They marvel at my heartbeats Inside the atmosphere And I'm looking at the world In a way you never could I knew I'd be a travelin' man But I misunderstood [Pre-Chorus] So tell me why is it We're never happy? [Chorus] 'Cause everybody wants to be an astronaut And take the long tall trail into the stars Everybody wants to show a brother what they've got Everybody wants to be an astronaut [Bridge] Don't you tell me that I'll never I will show you what I'm made of Ready for the E.V.A. Come on, let's get outside and play What you say? [Chorus] Everybody wants to be an astronaut And take the long tall trail into the stars Everybody wants to show a brother what they've got Everybody wants to be... La la la la la la la la.... [Verse 3] Everybody wants to be a superstar Rock the world and make the cover of the Time Cause everybody's happy when they're playing the guitar Everybody wants to be Everybody wants to be Everybody wants to be an astronaut
I’d Like to Be a Cowboy
If I Were a Carpenter
If I Could’ve Been (from Working: A Musical)
Lyrics: [WOMAN 2] If I could've been What I could've been I could've been something [WOMAN 1] If what I could be Had been left to me I would've been something [WOMAN 3] A tower of strength A center of power At ten bucks an hour [WOMAN 2] If I could've done What I could've done I could've done big things [WOMAN 3] With some luck to do What I wanted to I would've done big things [MAN 2] Swam a few rivers [WOMAN 1] Climbed a few hills [MAN 3] Payed all my bills [WOMAN 1] Now it's just dreams that I'm stuck with And hell, that ain't a lot to show [MAN 1] I haven't gone far from the starting line But deep down inside where it counts I know (I know, I know, I know that if I) [WOMAN 2] That if I could've gone Wherе I could've gone I could've gone places With leeway to go Far as I could go I would've gone places (I could've gone far away!) To the front of the line The top of the tier A long way from here [WOMAN 3] Way back then I had ambition A lot of stamina and guts I never took "no" for an answer It was tougher to fight all those If's, and's, or but's [ALL] If I could've been What I could've been I could've been something If my destiny had been left to me I would've been something [WOMAN 1] If they had let me go Where I was rarin' to go When I was rarin' to go Back then (God only, god only knows!) [ALL] What I could've been I could've been something (What I could've been) I could've been someone special (The top of the tier) What I could've been (I could've gone somewhere special) A long way from here (I could've been someone) What I could've been (What I could've been) The top of the tier (Someone special) I could've been something (A long way from here)
Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect
Lyrics: [Verse 1] And here I dreamt I was a soldier And I marched the streets of Birkenau And I recall in spring The perfume that the air would bring To the indolent town Where the barkers call the moon down The carnival was ringing loudly now And just to lay with you There's nothing that I wouldn't do Save lay my rifle down [Chorus] And try one, and try two Guess it always comes down to Alright, it's okay Guess it's better to turn this way Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey Hey, hey, hey-y, hey [Verse 2] And I am nothing of a builder But here I dreamt I was an architect And I built this balustrade To keep you home, to keep you safe From the outside world But the angles and the corners Even though my work is unparalleled They never seemed to meet This structure fell about our feet And we were free to go [Chorus] And try one, and try two Guess it always comes down to Alright, okay Guess it's better to turn this way Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey Hey, hey, hey-y, hey [Verse 3] And here in Spain I am a Spaniard I will be buried with my marionettes Countess and courtesan Have fallen 'neath my tender hand When their husbands were not around But you, my soiled teenage girlfriend O' how you furrow like a lioness And we are vagabonds We travel without seat belts on To live this close to death [Extended Chorus] And try one, and try two I guess it always comes down to Alright, it's okay Guess it's better to turn this But I won, so you lose Guess it always comes down to Alright, it's okay Guess it's better to turn this way Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey Hey, hey, hey-y, hey
Fixing a Hole
Painting a Picture
Paint the Pictures
Climb Ev’ry Mountain
The Impossible Dream
Portrait of My Love
I Could Write a Book
A Symphony for Susan
The Dream
The Pisces Files
More to enjoy whenever the Sun is in Pisces