Full Moon in Pisces – August 2012 – Horse Whispering

The Full Moon in Pisces occurs at 13:58 on the 31st August 2012 at 8PIS33. As this is the second Full Moon in the calendar month, it is technically termed a Blue Moon. Traditionally the Blue Moon is said to be imbued with extra magical power.

The last New Moon danced in opposition to Neptune. Now Neptune is up close and personal to the lunar energy amping up the Pisces feel. Even closer still is the stark conjunction to Chiron. The Moon-Sun opposition is squared by the co-ruler of the Full Moon, Jupiter.

The Sabian Symbol is: –

A Jockey Spurs His Horse, Intent On Outdistancing His Rivals

I can’t seem to take my eyes off Chiron and I’m feeling a sharp dig of spurs in my side. Perhaps I’m taking it personally what with being a ‘Whitehorse’ and all but then that’s Pisces all over. During this lunation, emotions are likely to be heightened. You may feel raw and weepy, dreamy or sleepy.

I remember my first riding lessons at age 5, bumping along on the back of poor tubby Perry who had strings attached to his reins to stop him grazing every five minutes. My riding teacher urged me to “Give him a kick” to get him moving. The unused crop tangled in my fingers. “Trot on!” shouted the dragon. I kicked and winced and little Perry, bless him, slowly moved his hooves. I felt guilty, he seemed to feel little. The layer of fat perhaps grown as a way of defending himself against kiddy kicks.

I remember Dawn who threw me, then trampled me; cutting my lip open in an explosion of blood. I was mopped up then hoiked up back on her back where my trembling feet did anything but kick. One more buck from her would have finished my fascination with horses for good!

Then there was sweet Bonnie who was cheeky and green. She moved at the slightest shift of my weight, liked to bolt and generally acted like a sulky teenager. But I adored her because she was bubbling with life and taught me to really listen.

Finally there was Chal – my darling Chal who would nuzzle me whilst I groomed him and cheekily nip my behind when he was playful. He wasn’t mine, none of them were but he was mine whilst I worked at the stable and I could dream the life I wanted to live.

I was promised a pony when I was 14. The actual phrase was probably “we’ll see” but I took it as gospel and was devastated when my own pony didn’t arrive. I cried myself to sleep for weeks. Chal was the healing for my broken heart. He let me live the fantasy that life had refused me.

With the Moon, Chiron, Neptune conjunction it may be that we need to see where we are living a fantasy, to recognise where our hearts too have been broken. But also sometimes fantasy is what keeps us going. It’s what gives us hope for a better future – and we all need a little hope.

The difficulty comes when we believe the lies we tell ourselves. With Neptune opposite Mercury, there’s a sense of secrets bubbling, gossip mongering and not seeing things as they really are. Whispers from all quarters may be trying to tempt you off the path. Look up – are you heading in the right direction or did you get side-tracked? Jupiter square the Sun and Moon has a tendency to exaggerate too. Watch that tall stories don’t lead you astray. Jupiter in Gemini may be all talk – saying yes when he really means no. He’s also inclined to get on his high horse!

There’s nothing wrong with using a dream to spur you on or thinking big. The Sabian symbol certainly displays a great deal of energy and drive to succeed. But who are the rivals and are they really rivals? Competitive spirit can drive us to success but sometimes the goal gets lost in the midst of rivalry. Sometimes it just becomes about beating the other person, winning for the sake of it. We get so caught up in the race that we miss the finishing line.

Chiron’s kiss to the Moon reminds us to be tender to each other as well as ourselves. We have all been hurt, all suffered a broken heart. This Moon may expose some old wounds and tender spots. Perhaps we need to know these better to recognise the softness inside. Maybe we need to learn where we have grown calluses to protect ourselves. Callousness and deceit are a ripple effect from Pisces. We need to find ways to remain soft like the mouth of a kindly trained horse.

With my beautiful Chal, I never used a crop – or spurs. By then I was old enough to brave the wrath of the riding school teacher and ride as I wanted to ride. By then I had learned that if I squeezed my legs gently, my steed would recognise that I wanted him to move forward. I learned to ask him gently, to hold the reins lightly, to move as one being. As we galloped across the field, I knew he ran because he wanted to. He trusted me not to push him or punish him. I trusted him to carry me safely to where I wanted to go.

Our spirits are like this. We are a powerhouse of movement: psychic muscle in motion with places to go and finishing posts to reach. Can we give the horse its head, can we trust our spirit to take us where we need to be rather than beating it into submission? Are we leading it to murky waters or a wild open beach roaring with life?

The sextile from the Full Moon to Pluto shows that we have an opportunity to shed what is unnecessary for the journey ahead. Perhaps with the emphasis on Jupiter, it’s about shedding weight, figuratively speaking – the psychological baggage that weighs us down, the sorrow over broken promises all needs to be released.

Chiron is a centaur, half man, half horse, a creature of two realms. By accepting our inner duality – human and animal, rational and emotional, physical and spiritual – we have the capacity to live a more authentic life which in turn ripples out to others. All of us become winners. When we let our spirits soar and we are running wild and free, we race for the sheer joy of the wind in our hair.

Original photo by Paul Kehrer on Flickr [edited]