posted December 12, 2008 05:17 PM         

The full moon Friday night will be the biggest one of the year as Earth's natural satellite reaches its closest point to our planet.

Earth, the moon and the sun are all bound together by gravity, which keeps us going around the sun and keeps the moon going around us as it goes through phases. The moon makes a trip around Earth every 29.5 days. But the orbit is not a perfect circle.

The moon's average distance from us is about 238,855 miles (384,400 km). Friday night it will be just 221,560 miles (356,567 km) away. It will be 14 percent bigger in our sky and 30 percent brighter than some other full moons during the year, according to NASA.

Tides will be higher Friday night, too. Earth's oceans are pulled by the gravity of the moon and the sun. So when the moon is closer, tides are pulled higher. Scientists call these perigean tides, because the moon's closest point to Earth is called perigee. The farthest point on the lunar orbit is called apogee.

Some other strange lunar facts:

The moon is moving away as you read this, by about 1.6 inches (4 centimeters) a year. Eventually it'll be torn apart as an expanding sun pushes the moon back toward Earth for a wrenching close encounter.
There is no proof the full moon makes people crazy.
Beaches are more polluted during full moon, owing to the higher tides.

The moon will rise Friday evening right around sunset, no matter where you are. That's because of the celestial mechanics that produce a full moon: The moon and the sun are on opposite sides of the Earth, so that sunlight hits the full face of the moon and bounces back to our eyes.

At moonrise, the moon will appear even larger than it will later in the night when it's higher in the sky. This is an illusion that scientists can't fully explain. Some think it has to do with our perception of things on the horizon vs. stuff overhead.

posted December 12, 2008 08:08 PM         

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Full Moon December 12, 2008
21:02 Gemini Moon/ Sagittarius Sun
11:37 am EST
8:37 am PST

Life’s a mountain, not a beach

That was the fortune in my cookie as I sat down after dinner to write the Full Moon column. Hmmm. Well, our full moon in December certainly is a bit of a mountain. We get to climb or perhaps slide down or maybe stumble along, sweating a bit as the energy of the universe reflects here in our world with the appearance of a major crossroad in our life.

The full moon features a mutable grand cross as five planets stand across in four corners of the heavens, some fighting, others illuminating, while others suggest changes in our structures. The rest of the planets cheer the fighting five on with avid interest about what decision we will make under the light of the Gemini moon.

We’ve had a rough couple of weeks on earth and we still have a difficult patch of time before us according to the planets above. However, under this full moon, we are going to (hopefully) come to a moment of clarity about what we need to do in our lives or with our lives. Mutable planets mark times when things shift and change with rapid abandon, seemingly in the blink of an eye. One minute it is Plan A, next Plan B and wait, breaking news, now on to Plan M. What happened to Plans C to L? Well, they were lost in the shuffle. Things change so fast right now.

At the same time, that situation in your Virgo house that is seeking to maintain structure, balance and not be anything less than perfect is getting pushed to change by the balance of energy in the sky. At the same time, Saturn is afraid to change, preferring to stay where it is ~ stuck, hung on a cross, serving endlessly in a situation it doesn’t completely WANT to leave just yet. And no, it isn’t quite time for it to be over.

The situation in your Pisces house is longing for freedom, creativity, love, losing itself in abandon and change. That side is pushing hard for change but what KIND of change. Saturn is saying he wants the DETAILS of HOW the change is going to happen. Pisces just wants it now. But at the same time, you are afraid to let go, swim off into the sea or your future, not knowing what will be there when you get there.

Into this conflict comes the two lights, Sun and Moon, in a face off with each other in your Gemini and Sagittarian houses. The two lights are squaring and thus activating Saturn and Uranus and the crossroads before you. If you think back to June 14, 2007, you started something under that new moon that is culminating now and asking you to move it into the next phase of energy or give it up and let someone else take over. Gemini moons are all about possibilities, options, choices and duality. Caught between two choices, we dawdle, doodle, dream and bend back and forth, exploring the various possibilities in our mind. Gemini is the time of year when the seedlings are all over the green house and the farmers’ markets. Each of the seedlings in their little cups waiting for their future CAN become a great big plant. When you stand there, deciding what to plant in your garden, the seedlings gently wave in the breeze, hoping you will pick them. You planted seedlings on that New Moon in 2007. Now you are at the time of choosing what you want to do next with what you planted back then. The Full Moon points out the choice before you.

Finally Mars is joined with the Sun energizing the whole configuration, adding a sense of urgency as well as chaos to the matter. Mars is out of bounds so he’s NOT behaving well, following the rules or doing what he needs to do. He’s causing trouble and stirring the pot to get things all heated up, bubbling and crazy. Out of bounds planets behave like when a ball goes out of bounds in a basketball game and the player runs up into the bleachers chasing the ball. Out of bounds Mars is setting off everything in the Grand Cross over the course of the next few days. That makes it a powerful time to get things accomplished as well as a terrific time to have whopping fights with people over silly things that aren’t at ALL what you want to fight with them about. So be cautious in your words.

Mercury shifted into serious Capricorn right before the Full Moon, adding a very somber note to the energy of the Full Moon. It feels more serious now, more important somehow than it did before. There is a sense of urgency under the full moon, pressing toward depression. Mercury is Out of Bounds so his news will be out of bounds news ~ breaking the barrier or idea of what is expected. Mercury is fast approaching a union with Pluto on the World Axis so expect difficult news under the Moon as Mercury meets up with the Lord of the Underworld and marks the death or ending of something. Mercury out of bounds means the news may be surprising in its excess or phrasing or consequences. Shocking perhaps. Deliberate on some other level. Yes, it was done or said on purpose.

Neptune adds his voice to the mix via difficult aspects with Saturn and Uranus while he trines Moon and sextiles the Sun. Neptune energy is tricky ~ like fog when you are driving. While it might NOT LOOK so bad, that is an illusion. Or if it looks completely HORRIBLE, that is an illusion too. Neptune amplifies and accelerates the energy of not seeing clearly. Neptune ups the paranoia OR ups the rapture. You are simply NOT seeing things clearly. Whatever it looks like, it isn’t real or true. It is an illusion to get you to take the next step forward. So be brave and take it. Take that next step towards your dream.

Finally, the Moon in Gemini is ruled by that Mercury out of bounds in Capricorn joining to Pluto the Lord of endings. The Moon is WAY OUT OF BOUNDS but on the other side of the equator far, far away from Mars and Mercury. Have you ever been to one of those science exhibit rooms where you whisper into a cone on one side of the room while a person far, far away, on the OTHER side of the room puts his head near the cone to listen to what you said? How magical it is that your voice carries all the way across the crowd to the other cone? Well that is what is happening here ~ Mercury and Mars are saying something that the Moon is going to COMPLETELY go crazy over. The energy from the grand cross also seeks to go where the area of least resistance is ~ towards the moon. So we have 3 malefic planets ~ Uranus, Saturn and Mars fighting in the sky with the Sun and they are all four of them DUMPING everything on the Out of Bounds, unstable and wild Gemini Moon.

Going to be a wild time! Great for releasing things your body doesn’t want any more!

Lynda Hill’s interpretations of the Sabian images for the Lights match the energy beautifully. One image is about people dancing in a barn while the other is a Chinese laundry full of laundry. And we, each, find ourselves caught between the duty and structure of the routines we’ve created in our lives and the desire for freedom to dance to our own tune. You can have both you know. That is what the universe is trying to get you to see. Both are part of who you are. That is why they, and the choices they represent, are in your life.

The Moon in Gemini’s image is DANCING COUPLES CROWD THE BARN IN A HARVEST FESTIVAL

Commentary: ‘Dancing Couples Crowd the Barn in a Harvest Festival’. Successful achievements have been accomplished, such as the ‘Harvest’, and efforts have come to a fruitful conclusion and now it is time to gather together with others to celebrate. Everyone should share the pleasure that comes from a successful ‘Harvest’. The hard work is put behind them and they reap the rewards of the benefits available to them in their leisure time. As ‘The Barn’ is ‘Crowded’, many people from the community come together to enjoy each other, the music and to dance. By gathering together and celebrating, a sense of community spirit can develop where there is always something to be celebrated, even if not your own success.

Oracle: This Symbol shows the need to be in tune with seasonal rhythms and the natural flow of life. The ‘Harvest’ may mean many things. It can be the actual bringing in of a ‘Harvest’, the birth of a baby, the first performance at school, a religious ceremony, such as a communion or bar mitzvah, or a job well done. It is wonderful when we all come together and warmly and sincerely congratulate someone who has good news without nagging feelings of jealousy or resentment. There is a need to get back to a simpler, conservative level of enjoyment where each and every person’s achievement is everybody’s pleasure. This can lead to an increased understanding and concern for the individuals within our community. It is also possible for one person’s pain to become everyone’s care. Whatever, the feeling of a healthy heart and a healthy mind, while taking a break from the struggles of providing, is what gives us the strength for the battles of life. Perhaps it’s time to kick up your heels and dance. Whatever, see if you can take some time out to enjoy your environment, the gifts of nature and the people around you.

Keywords: Celebrating the warmth and providence of the Earth. The joy of nature’s harvest. Joining with others to celebrate. The reality of rhythmical or seasonal adjustments. Agriculture. Good old time values. Issues of pride in one’s place. Going out, having fun, listening and dancing to music. Square dancing, ballroom dancing etc. Barns and dance halls.

The Caution: Being the wallflower and not participating. Waiting for a special invitation rather than responding to the possibilities available. Resentment. Isolation. Going alone. False displays of community. Shallowness. Attention paid to only those who are important. Not participating because of not having a partner.

The one thing that can solve most of our problems is dancing. James Brown
Wives are people who feel they don’t dance enough. Groucho Marx
If in February there be no rain, ‘tis neight good for hay nor grain. Proverb
Not what we have but what we enjoy constitutes our abundance. John Petit-Senn
Plant a kernel of wheat and you reap a pint; plant a pint and you reap a bushel. Always the law works to give you back more than you give. Anthony Norvell
Earth is here so kind, that just tickle her with a hoe and she laughs with a harvest. Douglas Jerrold
Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. Romanian Proverb
Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop. Ovid
Most of us spend the first six days of each week sowing wild oats; then we go to church on Sunday and pray for a crop failure. Fred Allen

The Image for the Sun in Sagittarius is A CHINESE LAUNDRY

Commentary: A ‘Chinese Laundry’ is pictured. The ‘Chinese Laundry’ was once a place where a lot of the work was done laboriously by hand in cramped and difficult conditions, and for long hours. The Chinese did the work that other people did not want to do, indeed, would often refuse to do. There was often a sense of alienation which was made worse by language and cultural barriers. Although the wages were low, people would work hard, side-by-side, not asking for much, but being glad of the opportunity to make an honest day’s wage for a good day’s work. There was also the opportunity to make a life in the “new world”, in America. In those early days, and even today, there was a lot discrimination directed towards foreign people who worked in menial occupations. However, if they withdrew their labor, whole sections of the community would collapse.

Oracle: You may find that you, or someone else, are not being taken seriously and are expected to perform in a stereotypical way. You may also have closed your own mind to other options for employment, or your life’s work, that could be more rewarding to you and your community. Be careful not to shut yourself away in a situation that will end up binding you to it. Make sure that you aren’t putting yourself, or others, in a box that they can’t escape from. This Symbol can bring all sorts of prejudices to the surface, be they social, racial or otherwise. This can also picture a situation where a few people are working closely together, speaking the same language. Even in this there can be alienation and loneliness. Remember to perform everyday tasks with reverence and see how they can transform the feeling and experience of life. Assessing how “clean” your act is will bring surprising results. Do you need to clean up for everyone around you?

Keywords: Restrictive expectations. Relations with others because of social duty. Being able to perform everyday tasks with reverence. Mediocrity, or the fear of it. Washing machines and dryers. Money laundering. Laws and legislation based on social and racial inequality. Issues of belonging. Washers and dryers. Cleaning up for others.

The Caution: Giving in to prejudice. Self-inflicted sense of inferiority that can lead to missed opportunities for relating. Feeling trapped in a situation with no way out. Not being taken seriously. Doing menial jobs for others with little reward or real return.

I believe you are your work. Don’t trade the stuff of your life, time, for nothing more than dollars. That’s a rotten bargain. Rita Mae Brown
Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small ones. Ralph Waldo Emerson
To open a business is very easy; to keep it open is very difficult. Chinese Proverb
I founded Wang Laboratories . . . to show that Chinese could excel at things other than running laundries and restaurants. An Wang
Chink, chink, Chinaman, Wash my pants; Put them in the boiler, And make them dance. Anon

MUNDANE: As I finish my column, the news is Congress is NOT going to bail out the Auto Industry, after unsuccessfully attempting to break the workers union by getting workers to give back their wages. Did I miss something? Was giving back wages part of the deal for the FINANCIAL market bail outs?

Mercury, ruler of cars and transportation joining to the Lord of the Underworld, out of bounds, now in Capricorn says this decision, if it stands, has far, far reaching consequences down the road.

When I was growing up, we were taught that a strong middle class with good wages was what made America great. Unions represented 25% of the work force, which kept the other 25% of the employers on their toes to keep the unions out. Since Reagan started destroying the unions in the 1980s and putting trickle down into the world, we've seen a sharp decline in the number of union jobs, and thus a decline in the number of jobs behaving themselves to keep the unions out. Families could raise a family on one person's wages and working for an automaker was considered a great job. What happened?

What will happen when those companies go bankrupt? Dark times ahead. The stock market is going to go crazy on this one!

Lynda Hill’s interpretation of the Sabian Symbols appears with her permission. Check her work out at http://www.sabiansymbols.typepad.com or http://www.sabiansymbols.com

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posted December 13, 2008 06:18 AM         

Later in the night it occurred to me that it was just as likely that he was thinking about me too. Usually, I have found that when I feel uber-compelled to see him, I will discover later, somehow, that he was in the same boat.

The full moon in Gemini was in my first house conjuncting my Mercury (and Osiris and my ex's name asteroid) - ha!

And then to top it off, I was looking through some of Lynda Hill's sabian symbols pages and found the sabian oracle. I somewhat randomly asked it about that situation and got this:

GEMINI 14
TWO PEOPLE, AT WIDELY DIFFERENT POINTS, ARE IN CONVERSATION WITH EACH OTHER BY MEANS OF TELEPATHY

It is not always necessary to be physically face-to-face. You can have bonds with another (and perhaps many people) that are unaffected by distance or the frequency of visits. Let your heart tell you that you are always in their company and there is no need to feel alone. Keeping others in your mind and heart will communicate something to them, and probably they back to you.
Conquering space and time limitations. Psychic and mental communication. Sharing the same ideas. The `other person' knowing what is felt or thought. Being on the same frequency.

The Caution: Blocking out sensitive awareness because of social needs or expectations. Attempts to manipulate others by subtle means. Mind and thought control. Being separated by time and space.

Wow.

posted December 13, 2008 06:41 AM         

At least I got some practice getting myself back to what I was.

Really annoying, but not too bad.

posted December 13, 2008 07:28 AM         

I did take some pictures of them too. Just in a field, with me or no-one else near them. One of them was taking a dump but I didnt catch that.

posted December 13, 2008 07:41 AM         

I have a horse myself. In fact, I'm going to be a grandmother at only 32 years of age this spring when she has her first foal.

posted December 14, 2008 02:22 PM         

There are no really exact aspects, but

Sun/ Moon trines / sextiles my Chiron (1)
conjuncts / opposes my Sun/Mercury (4)