Full Moon Eclipse in Taurus November 19th 2021

Brace yourselves, eclipse season is upon us Darlings. Eclipses bring an intensity to the mix and big opportunities to shake shit up (or have it shaken…shook?) As we draw towards the end of the calendar year it can feel like there isn’t much time to make change but believe me, the next month has massive potential to leap off from. This Lunar Eclipse brings a chance to ground ourselves in all that abundant Taurus energy before the Solar eclipse and New Moon in Sagittarius on December 4th potentially catapults us into something of greater alignment. Pay attention to what comes up between now and the last Full Moon of the year on December 18th/19th. Big shifts are coming whether you want them or not so you might as well lean into it fully.

Taurus is ruled by the planet Venus, she is all about love. Love for others, for ourselves, how we give and receive love, love as service to others and love for life itself. The symbolism of the Bull is so poetically fitting to me. Cows are gentle creatures by nature, they need very little to be happy. They are strong, loving, playful, easily startled, stubborn and a deadly force all wrapped in soulful eyes (freaky tongues), a deep connection to earth and a kind heart. Cows are productive, adaptable and giving; in our modern western culture it is too easy to see them as mindless plate fodder. Cattle represent abundance the rune Ur refers to that abundance and also to freedom and wildness. which again makes sense. If you have cared for and raised cattle, you won’t go hungry. If you do it right you can increase your wealth and share it among others. Like many modern ventures, they require attention and proper care. They need work and love in order to grown into what you want and when it is going well we can be free and wild.

The Full Moon in Taurus invites us to think about our lot in life. In modern times we get caught on the idea that abundance means monetary wealth and it does but more than just money. It is about the exchanging of energy. When you work you give your energy in exchange for something else (imaginary capitalist tokens these days but that is a rant for later), This energy is passed onto others when you do the same with their work and so on, and so on. How we feel about money and how we spend it says lot about how we feel about our energy. If we constantly feel like the grass is greener on the other side but fail to nurture where we are or overlook the fact we take ourselves and all our shadows into these new pastures, we will never find the love of life many of us claim to be searching for. Don’t get me wrong, wanting more and better is natural. That’s what ambition is for but if you always see what you have as lacking or not good enough that will be your reality no matter the amount of fields you move through. Enough with the field-cow metaphors for now.

Taurus asks to look at where we are stood, where we have come from and where we are heading. She asks us to think about how we receive the good things in life, are we grateful? What areas would we like to receive more in? If you have been ungrateful with what you have been given, why would you be given more? If it feels like it is never going to be enough you may need to reframe your idea of enough. You can be grateful for what you have AND want to build on it. Taurus asks us to look at our values, our morals and motivators. What do you want to build on? What new pastures do you seek and why (can’t help myself with this symbolism apparently)?

Ruled by the Element of Earth ,Taurus is about abundance and the tangible things like money yes, but also the bare bones, the nourishing soil we find ourselves planted in, the foundations, the roots, the transformative darkness that holds a seed, the journey to rebirth a seedling must take to reach the light. The things we aim for in life will be much harder to find of you are not taking care of your roots and where you are planted first. ‘As above, so below’ and all that. The Full Moon in Taurus asks us to address our foundations, what we take in to ourselves and we give back in return. The energy we exchange consciously and unconsciously. Now is a good time to look at the things that leave you feeling drained and what lights you up. How can you have less of the former? If you still like life is happening AT you, take some time to reflect on that. Could you be looking at things differently? What no longer serves you? What do you need to break free of? What is intolerable?

Full Moons are portals for releasing. With the eclipse bringing all this big change energy, likely you already know what you need to let go of. It will have been loud this past week or so; it might even be trying to leave and you don’t want to let go because it is scary. Going back to the cattle symbolism, what keeps you tethered? What bonds hold you back? Who put them there? Are they really holding you or are they made of ideas and conditioning? Is there a different path that could get you to where you want to be, or are pacing along the same bit of fence looking for an opening that isn’t there?

This could be in terms of your job, relationship ideals, creative endeavours. If we change the word ‘energy’ to ‘love’. What you put energy into is you giving love and what you get back is receiving love. When we give away more than we can afford, we gave away our love for ourselves, this stops us being able to pass that love on, to increase it. So ask yourself, What do you give away freely, What do you feel obligated to give and what is taken when it feels wrong? Maybe you don’t have the answers just yet, but I promise it is worth looking into. Ground yourself (you can find details on that here) and ask yourself these questions. Once you have a clearer understanding of where you are you will know what needs to be released. It can be as simple as saying ‘no’ more (‘No’ is a spell in itself). It could be an old wound that holds you back. Some suffering that needs healing, a mindset that isn’t yours but was given to you.

Taurus holds dominion over the 2nd house. The home of abundance, possession and values; including how we value ourselves. This will be brought to the surface this Full Moon. Supporting our values is where our power lies. By having a good idea of what they are, we are able to bring ourselves into greater alignment. This Full Moon brings an opportunity to clear some space so we may fill it with what greater serves us and step into that power at the New Moon. Use this time to let go of anything holding you back and call your power back to you. If something is draining you in the outer world, stop it. Put boundaries in place. And if your response to this is “But I can’t though”… Why not? What are you afraid of? Is that a legitimate fear or something you were told is important? Are you afraid because of past trauma and triggers? Is there a smaller step you could take for yourself? Some help, even just talking to someone about it all.

Algol, Medusa’s Eye

There are a lot of other things to be considered this lunation apart from the fact that is going to be a big Eclipse, energies that add some drama to the mix (sarcastic Yaaaay). Firstly, it aligns with the Star Algol the ‘demon star’…cue dramatic music. The demon in question is actually Medusa.

Modern witches have taken Medusa as a goddess rather than just a monster. Her story is monstrous yes, but there is a gift in her viciousness one being embraced as a symbol for survivors of male violence. An ongoing rise of dark feminine power in the world, one I am fucking here for! We know the Story: Perseus, charged by Athena (or a dare from his mothers creepy suitor) set out to chop off the gorgon’s head and bring it back. A flying horse emerging from her neck to carry him home to victory and (intentionally?) turn King Polydectes to stone when he proved he had achieved the task. The head was then given back to Athena. But this is Perseus’ story. Medusa has her own.

A beautiful young priestess of Athena, So devoted to her that she turned down the affections of a God. Athena is described as a ‘Virgin’ Goddess as were her priestesses. Seeing as virginity is a patriarchal construct and doesn’t imply purity perhaps these ‘virgin’ goddesses were actually Sapphic (other goddesses such as Artemis denounced men and Athena had a love for Pallas so strong she took on her name before her own). Not requiring the input from the male population or the divine masculine as they cultivated that in themselves probably wasn’t something they wanted living on in stories. To me this makes more sense. Especially as the stories told over the years have been manipulated by the patriarchy and Medusa’s story highlights this so clearly. Obviously it can’t be because of the oppression and abuse of power from men, it must be about virginity and female jealousy. So, anyway, gorgeous, dedicated Medusa attracts the attentions of Poseidon and dismisses them.

Poseidon takes her anyway, on the very altar of Athena. But what can Athena do about it? He is a God and they already have beef between them. Instead she turns her attentions to the devastated, ruined woman she could not protect and makes her a weapon. Or, perhaps as she could not undo what Poseidon had done she let Medusa become the monster she felt she had become due to his actions. The rage that built in her, the indiscriminate hatred she had for the men and the gods who let this happen to her, transformed her into a Gorgon. The only mortal of the three (was this a gift?), with snakes in place of her once golden hair and the power to turn men to stone. She retreated from the world to hide herself away until Athena sent another to free her from her suffering, just as she was about to experience the agony of birthing Poseidon’s spawn.

The Pegasus which emerged at her beheading, the offspring of Poseidon’s rape, had been within her the whole time. Along with his twin brother Chrysaor, they came into existence when Medusa’s blood met the sea. One a symbol of hope and purity the other a ‘golden blade’, a weapon favoured by Aries, Athena’s brother. He is described as a great boar, a warrior or a sword. Interesting that these two things emerge from the anguish of Medusa; Winged hope and a golden blade wielded by men. What is it for? Continued oppression or freedom from oppression?

Medusa’s head (and the polished shield Athena gave Perseus to use) became a sacred weapon of it’s own: The Aegis. Used by both Athena and Zeus in battle to turn men to stone it has become a symbol of empowerment for woman and those oppressed by male violence. Bringing light to the darkness of Medusa’s story. People are taking back their own stories and transmuting the suffering put upon them into power. (side note: if you see a person with a medusa tattoo it usually represents the overcoming of such an atrocity, it is a way for some people to honour their journey in taking back their power. Be sensitive)

But what will this bring at the full moon? Empowerment through suffering Darlings. Whatever blows up in the next couple of days, do not shy away from it. Call your power to you, look at the discord it creates, why it feels so abhorrent to you and use that. Do something different, whatever that may be for you. Lean into the dark goddess parts of yourself (without bitterness) and make change for yourself. It might be ugly, people might not like it but this is what transmutation is. Alchemising the dark, the ugly and the seemingly chaotic into momentum. Let what needs to die be left here, cleanse yourself of it and let it go. I am feeling a need to burn some stuff I have been holding onto, trinkets tied to memories that make me feel icky. I also have a spell to call my power back to me that is very easy to use in a ritual bath. You can find it here.

Secondly, we a have a square with Jupiter bringing conflict. Jupiter is the planet of balance, order and social laws. So, yeah it is not going to be an easy time but through internal and creative tensions come rich rewards 😅. A trine between the Moon and Pluto (planet of transformation, death and rebirth) means deeper knowing will be activated. The need for shadow work is high as we can find the answers in our own personal shadow realms rather than looking out into the world. The aspect created by the Sun, Moon, Jupiter and Pluto is known as an animated figure. This can be seen as both positive and negative. Positive as it helps bring things to life, a time to make big change; and negative as it also brings up repressed feelings and emotions. personally, I see that as a positive in the long run but going through it all can be agony. So please, PLEASE, take the time to be gentle with yourself. There is also a opposition with Mercury (fucking Mercury, always at it!) meaning there will be polarisation between the logical mind and the depths of feelings. Integration of the two is a challenge so be careful not to let one out weigh the other. And to top it all off the Leonids Meteor peaks at the same time, sprinkling some extra cosmic intervention vibes among it all. Phew that is a lot.

To Sum Up

The Full Moon Eclipse in Taurus is going to throw up a lot of change. Focus on any areas of discord that come up for you, these are the areas that are asking for transformation. There is a big dose of transmutation suffering. Learning from your old wounds about what you will and will not tolerate, alchemising the chaos into momentum. Emotions are set to be high so be sure to make time to take of yourself. Make space to reflect upon your values, how you view your lot in life, the challenges you have face to get here and what needs to be released in order to better nourish your roots. Taurus reminds us to ground ourselves in what is important to us, to look at the bare bones of our values and how to live in better alignment with them. Uncomfortable truths need to be faced, integrating them and adopting an attitude of radical acceptance will not necessarily make it less painful but more useful.

The connection with Algol and Medusa brings an intense dark goddess energy. The pain and suffering we have endured at the hands of others is now ours to wield as power. By accepting our darkness we can let go of bitterness and let it be transformed into something else. If you have old wounds that open up this full moon, sit with them, where do they come from? In what ways do they hold you back? What do they need to be healed and released? Perhaps you will experience oppression or at least an attempt at it, Medusa reminds us that we are not fragile girl like creatures, we have strength and venom and wrath to protect us. All gifts that we can use to protect ourselves. But be careful how you use your weapons. Who are they truly meant for? What are they to protect you from? Do you have other gifts that might be more appropriate? If we reframe energy as ‘power’ or ‘love’ we can identify how we could best use our energy to meet our intentions. For example, hatred of another takes up a lot of energy. It could better serve if it were turned into love of yourself and those who need it, turn it into vows to yourself and boundaries you can maintain.

The next month will be tumultuous to say the least. Use this Full Moon to clear away all that needs to be let behind in this year. We are still in the Cauldron time of winter, use it to transform you. The Solar eclipse and New Moon coming in December bring a great leaping off point so, clear space for all that positivity now. Let what needs to die be honoured and released. You can find my basic Full Moon ritual here. To be honest, Even if you don’t put much thought or energy into, it is going to happen anyway. Eclipses bring big shake up energy all of their own.

Why not throw yourself into it Darlings, use your reflection and intentions to shape your life rather than letting it just happen to you. By being conscious and self aware we bring light to our darkest parts and take away their power over us. Make time to do the shadow work. Make space for self care and be gentle with yourself when ugly shit comes up. Practice acceptance over resistance. As always I will be posting more content to support you over on my social media but have a look around the rantings section of the blog. You might find some truths there to leap off from.

Whatever your journey is, big shifts are coming to bring us into greater alignment with our values. Use this time to really get your foundations in order. Be brave my Darlings. Whatever comes change brings wisdom.

Peace Out Witches ✌

Love Kate xxx

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