Sarah Varcas -- 17th November 2013: Full Moon in Taurus

From Fear to Grace 

This Taurus full moon occurs at the end of the eclipse season to bring about closure on the past month which has seen a number of very intense astrological configurations and a powerful taste of what’s to come in 2014. Conjunct the fixed start Algol, affectionately known as ‘the most malevolent star in the heavens’ (!) we could be forgiven for thinking this particular full moon is going to pack quite a punch. However, its relationship to Jupiter and Mars provides for a creative take on what once we may have deemed merely bad news.

One thing’s for sure: the cosmos is keeping us on our toes at the moment and this moon is no exception, for it gives us the opportunity to create something of substance out of recent challenges; something we can take forward onto the next stage of our journey. Which is where Algol comes in, because until we can recognise the value in looking our deepest fear, our biggest challenge, our greatest trauma square in the eyes in all its fearsome glory, we will be forever diminished by those aspects of life which rise up as if to break us. And we cannot afford to be diminished right now. There’s too much at stake and much more to be done!

The central message of this full moon is one of endurance. It alerts us to the need to endure in order to transform; that change does not come out of the blue in the blink of an eye, but step by step as we face our apparent demons to find them dissolving before our steady and unflinching gaze. The transformation required of us now is not one that changes the surface of our lives but the very depths of our being, the very roots of who we are. It rewires us so that we can no longer live in denial or ignorance of the consequences of being who we are, where we are and when we are. This is an age of awakening and as such we have to step up and take our part in what it means to be alive right now. And if we fail to do so, we still play our part regardless – quite literally – and that lack of regard will, itself, deliver its own consequences for us to navigate in due course.

Algol combines with the Moon at this time to remind us that the pain which we try so hard to avoid isn’t going anywhere until we encounter it and see it for what it is. Only then can it begin to shift and change into something altogether more creative, insightful and productive. Any lack of willingness to do so merely freezes it into stone, and a part of our heart along with it, until such time that we can turn towards it and invite it to speak its truths, which is how the healing begins.

So whilst this is not as comforting as some Taurean moons, it comes with a powerful kind of reassurance: that the more willing we are to feel the pain, the lighter our load will be. Such is the paradox of suffering: the very thing we go all out to avoid, in the moment of its acceptance, becomes a seed of grace. This Moon tells us there is nothing to fear if we can face the fear itself, for then we can act with clarity and wisdom, not from a diminished and intimidated place inside which cowers from the truth, but from a place of courage and strength which recognises the gravity of the tasks ahead and the importance of completing them to the best of our ability.

Here’s wishing everyone a powerful and strengthening full moon.

Sarah Varcas


© Sarah Varcas 2013. All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted to freely share this article in its entirety on the condition that full credit is given to the author, it is distributed freely and the URL www.astro-awakenings.co.uk is included.