Consciousness is like a river. William
James was the first to coin the phrase calling it the “stream of
consciousness” in 1890. According to psychology consciousness
refers to our awareness of our own mental processes, such as our
thoughts, feelings and sensations. It's likened to self-awareness and
the ability to introspect, or look inward and examine these
processes. I have heard this referred to in a collective sense in that
the collective conscious is also like a river continually flowing by
in the energetic sphere. Many, including myself, belief all have
access to this river of collective information and are even able to
capture a cup of wisdom from it from time to time and bring it back
to share. The thing about that being research studies have shown that
we only are able to experience one mental event at a time within the
quickly moving mind stream. So, even though there are rivers of
information inside of us and oceans of information all around us, our
cups can only capture “one mental event” at a time for our
personal study.
Thich Nhat Hanh advises the Buddha
taught that consciousness is always continuing, like a stream of
water. He believed that consciousness has four layers. The first being
mind consciousness or “working” consciousness. It is the part that
worries and analyzes. The second is sense consciousness which refers
to the information we take in through our 5 senses about the world
around us. It tells us if something we touch is hot or cold gathering
information from eyes, ears, skin, mouth and nose. The third layer is
store consciousness. According to Hanh, this type of consciousness
operates by warehousing and processing absolutely every bit of
anything we've ever encountered making decisions and determinations
often outside of the realm of the awareness of our mind
consciousness. He advises store consciousness is the ultimate
decision maker that ultimately drives our bus but also maintains that
we have the power of influence over it. Additionally, he says that
all these levels continually consume information and that if you are
around a group of people, store consciousness is fed by their
consciousness which then also effects what it is we think is
beautiful, or acceptable or what have you. He says that individual
consciousness is influenced or even partially made up by the
consciousness of our collective. Finally, the last layer is called
Manas. This is the layer of consciousness that is deeply seated
within store consciousness and determines a sense of separateness of
self. Meaning, this is where we form, “I am.” It's IN the
collective sea...so in order to get to it you we must mindfully delve
into the territory of the subconscious to discover it. For some, this
is done through the act of meditation.
This energy of what is conscious and
what is not along with the final declaration of “I am” echoes at
this Moon. Let's imagine we were in a large shopping mall. Some folks
are there with friends. Others are coupled with some flowing through
the crowd solo. Sitting on a bench in the center of a busy walkway
the faces and actions of these folks can blend together until they
seem like a constant evolving river of faces. Until your mind catches
the glimpse of a face that is familiar. And at that time, the
conscious brain engages at this recognition saying “Oh...that's
Susie. She is...whatever.” This Moon, plucks us as individuals from
the seas of the collective and recognizes us in the same way saying
“Oh, this is Josi. She's an..” Who we are is reflected back to us
through the collective consciousness, in other word
The Full Moon falls with the Sun and
the Moon at the genesis of Pisces and Virgo respectively on 2/19 at midday on the East coast. The sabian
symbol reads as follows:
1 Pisces: A public market. Themes can
emerge in that there are many sounds and so much in the way of
physical sensory stimulation that it all morphs into nothing like the
steady stream of evolving faces and blended together sounds we
experienced in the shopping mall scenario. We can feel drowned out.
Lost in a crowd
1 Virgo: A man's head/In a portrait,
the best of a person's traits and character are idealized.
(idealized...is echoed in Mercury in
Pisces conjunct Neptune and Sun in Pisces) Bovee states key word as
“Character” Do we change when we are “lost in a sea of people?”
According to Hanh we are at the very least influenced by this as our
store consciousness gathers all the various stimuli. But, there is
still the core that is dictating “I am.” So while me passively
watch the sea of people go by with some folks fine with just
“blending in” others may strive to more fully define or separate
themselves from that sea. How we perceive that scenario is as
individualized as that core seat of “I am” and all dependent upon
how the layers of consciousness process the information. This Moon
being suggestive of having our “I am” reflected back to us or
recognized upon one or more of those faces in the evolving sea of
people whether we consciously realize that or not. When we say,
“Hey...that's Susie! She's whatever” our description of Susie is
filled with determinations from our consciousness and they may or may
not have anything to do with who Susie is as a whole. However the
introspection of our personal declarations and determinations about
Susie? Those can really tell us a lot about ourselves and how it is
we project the information from our personal conscious processing
onto the world and the folks around us. Either way, as I've said, who
we are is reflected back to us by this Moon. It's up to us recognize
that and then determine...is that the character I'm deliberately
trying to craft here?
This Moon is going to look big. She is
at perigee here...that's as close as she gets to us in her orbit.
That is indicative of the emotional impact feeling big, too. And, if
the skies are clear in your neck of the woods (which will be rare as
this is a wet atmosphere) she will also be pretty. Like a watercolor
painting. The wetness will likely continue, however. Mercury is in
Pisces and will remain there a good bit. But, you never know. We have
quite a good helping of Earth energy, also. Some folks may end up
with a brief dry out.
Mercury, the ruler of this Moon, moves
away from Neptune now. He is moving toward a square with his
traditional ruler, Jupiter, which could manifest in the weather a few
ways. Could be a warm up. Could be a down pour. Either way, in true
Jupiter style, at the very least the weather will be prominent (Big).
A a production or dramatic presence, even.
I found it particularly interesting
that as I was writing about this Moon...there were not many words
coming through. But, WOW...did I get inundated with songs, pictures
and lines from movies/poetry the longer I stared at the chart. I've
tried to sprinkle a few of those in here. Yet, that experience itself
is reflective of this sky along with a full illustration of how
stored consciousness can flow through with pictures and music it has
collected and categorized over the course of a lifetime. Plus, there
is very little air (no words) save Juno newly in Gemini. There are a
few sparks of fire, plenty of Earth but in the season of the fishes
it is water that is most prominent. Not to mention the fact this is
also where we find this Moon's ruler trapped (as I've mentioned)
between his two rulers (Neptune/Jupiter).
As this Full Moon perfects, Mercury
sits on the degree upon which he will turn direct following a period
of retrograde. In other words, he enters his retrograde shadow at
this Moon. On March 6, we leave the space of time which held all
planets direct. Mercury turns retrograde at 29 Pisces and travels all
the way back to the degree we find him at this Full Moon where he
turns direct on March 29. He will not leave his retrograde shadow
until April 18 when he finally enters the fiery realm of Aries.
Anything found in the sign of Pisces is
inundated and immersed in the seas of consciousness. Often accused of
being “day dreamy” or of not “paying attention”...usually
what I've found with Pisces or 12th house folks is that it
is not a lack of paying attention that is mostly at issue. It is that
they are so sensory sensitive it's more like there is way too much
information for them to sift through in an effort to choose just one
wave. In other words, to me it's less not paying attention and more
like being a psychic sponge that is so internally busy processing
everything that it is coming into contact with that its rather easy
to drift off and away on one of those passing ripples.
During the early part of this year,
much change swirled around us at the ecliptic but we've laid pavers
and sown seeds during that time which we will revisit again
throughout the year. It zipped by rather quickly (save the sentiment
that January normally feels like a year all its own). But, now, time
begins to slog and our feet begin to feel like they are sinking in
the mud created by the strong mixtures of Earth and Water. So, here
we are...by some accounts feeling stuck. Why not use that time to do
a reassessment of our plans while also integrating what we've learned
so far before springing off to start something else? New ideas are
gestating now and will continue to incubate for several more weeks.
Pisces is representative of the time of gestation itself. The seas of
collective consciousness natives find themselves in echoes the feel
of being surrounded in amniotic fluid when we were embryos. We are
quite vulnerable in that gestation state but if our boundary against
the fully developed world is healthy (the womb that carries us)
enough to protect and feed us properly, eventually we are able to
burst out of that amniotic sac and begin our animated living journey.
Thus, at this season of gestation our personal boundaries need to
also be just as healthy...to protect us as we gestate in preparation
for the coming forth of birth or spring.
Mercury's own sabian at this Moon is
reflective of that “Birth/rebirth” anticipation or celebratory
feel. It reads “An Easter promenade.” A celebration of
rebirth/spring. An awakening. So we may stir in anticipation of being
born since Mercury sits midway through the sign of gestation. But,
the actual full birthing of ourselves as a result of this mental
review that will shift how we perceive the world around us and within
us doesn't fully occur until after this retrograde completes.
The incoming retrograde of Mercury is
also relevant in terms of reviewing the stay of Chiron in Pisces on a
personal level. We can integrate what we have learned through that
transit. It's also good for reframing perspective upon personal
memories, issuing/accepting apologies, working through emotionally
themed issues, delving into music, art, illusions, dreams,
encountering mistruths, misinformation, expressing remorse or
allowing yourself to escape/forget former entrapments of the mind.
It's not a good time to take information at face value but, rather,
to watch the language that is spoken beneath the surface of the
words. Non-verbal expressions speak volumes as well as the energetic
information you can receive on a personal level in any situation. The
ability to focus will wax and wane accordingly as Mercury shifts in
and out of aspect with Saturn and Pluto. “Facts” change as well
as the stories folks tell and it may be hard to pin down what is real
versus what is not throughout. The image keeps
shifting...changing...like looking through a lens on a camera that's
having trouble with it's autofocus function. It's likely that
memories will drift in and out like that too...and our perspective
may shift in and out in regard to those as well. What matters
throughout that process is noticing the parts of you that are
reflected back to you and deciding if you are being that consciously
or if there are deliberate changes in self expression that you would
like to make. It's also thematic of accepting this information as it
comes. It is what it is as you sit at the helm of yourself deciding
if “it” shall remain “as it is” or can be healed and brought
forth in a more effective and healthy manner. So, again. It matters
less what happens in the broad seas around you and more about what
you learn about yourself within the reflections of who you are
captured upon those waves.
Chiron aspects the full moon by
inconjunct from the sign of Aries. We are shown evidence of our
wounded selves that was shaped by way of a scarring found deep within
our subconscious. It is up to the individual to notice these clues
and take the initiative to treat/heal or develop more effective
coping mechanisms in light of their discovery. With Mercury in shadow
and an emphasis on the sign of Pisces, this can bring forth personal
memories or even bring us into contact with former acquaintances.
This can be somewhat like attending a 30 year high school reunion in
which you meet up folks you knew at that time who come with their own
memories and descriptions of you. “Oh! There's Susie. She was the
cheerleader or that chic who...whatever” What is said may come as a
surprise to Susie because she may remember herself as the shy kid or
something different than what the person who recognizes her
remembers. That's because what the recognizing person says has more
to do with them than it does who Susie was or what it is she has
grown into. Allow these memories and reflections upon previous
personal “characters” to happen. They likely contain valuable
information about how much growth and change you have experienced
since the time the memory occurred or provide clues to you about how
certain events in your personal history may have shaped the ways in
which you operate today without your previous awareness of it. But in
swapping memories of times shared, know that each person will have a
bit of a different perspective on the event in comparison to yours.
Those accounts, though different from what you perceive, may hold
valuable information in them for you as well. Which makes listening
to them a valuable act.
Not too long after Mercury exits his
retrograde shadow in April, it is Jupiter, himself, who will begin
his retrograde. Meaning, as the mind shifts, opinions and
perspectives change during the Mercury retrograde... all that leads
us toward a reassessment of things like personal philosophies, truths
and beliefs.
But. Good for straight line
communication...it is NOT. For awhile.
The best advice I could offer here is
to allow it. Surrender to it. As this is the season we are in and no
one really has the power to change or appeal that, right? “It”
being the drifty, the uncertainty, the fluidity and confusion of
thought. Let your perspective wane in and out. Watch what memories
float by. Allow yourself to dream forward. Backward. In technicolor.
Because struggling against it will do no good. You cannot fist fight
Neptune. He will wear you down one way or another. So, in my opinion,
it's much more energetically efficient to just let go and float into
it even though it is against my personal nature to do so. But, I've
learned it's more self-gentle to allow it to happen than to attempt
to fight it only to be forced into it eventually. Besides, tis the
year of the Pig. When in mud, might as well wallow in it. Since
that's the cycle we are in here. The muddy part where nothing has
been set in stone yet but trapped and forever shifting within the
creative gestational process.
It is energy of the feminine type that
is the most pervasive at this Moon. Water and Earth are of this
nature. The lack of air here tells
me there is a chance for feelings of heaviness...as if we are
trudging. As Mars lumbers through Taurus it may seem as if we are
stuck in that mud...sunk up no less than knee deep. Leaving our minds
to drift as we are stalled. Still. There are
flashes...panic...insight...that seem to be attempting to wake us up
due Uranus' position at the end of Aries. Chiron at the genesis of
Aries echoes the sentiment of not being able to assert ourselves (or
move around). Within that mix we could become frustrated. Add to that
the fact that we are overly sensitized due the energy coming from
the sign of Pisces and we could even flail around within the dynamic
of victim, savior or persecutor. Not only wading in the mud but
wallowing in it. Those dynamics bring us to our guide's advice for
this Full Moon which comes from the Queen of Wands.
Upon
this Moon, the Queen of Wands comes to us as inspiration. Not unlike
a muse. With that inspiration also can come feelings of angst,
anxiety...even anger (echoing Uranus' anxious position at the end of
Aries). What the Queen attempts to do is metaphorically spark a fire
(inspire) that leads toward eventual actual. Our ability to deal with
these “sparks” is going to be dependent upon how well we manage
Mars energy within our emotional system...as this is what the Queen,
herself and at her best, has mastered.
The
Queen of Wands is what many would call an “unconventional”
mother. She is quite intolerant of tirades and failings of
ineptitude or helplessness. She fatigues of our wallowing and whining
quickly and circles back to ask..sometimes rather brashly, “Yeah?
What are you going to do about it?” She has learned to convert all
emotional stimulation into usable fuel. She uses her mad, her
frustration, her angst, her worry...all that instead of allowing it
to use her. She's not much in the way of a gentle nurturer but she is
the Mom that introduces her children to life as an experience. That's
her goal. To feel alive while living and to chase down the fiery
spices of existence. She's the Mom that takes her kids parasailing,
skiing, introduces them to adventure and drips the curiosities of
exploration down their throats. She feels the more variety of
experience you can introduce yourself to the more living there is in
your actual life. She doesn't waste much time waiting for you to
decide to join in. She's too busy dancing upon the waves of emotion
and consciousness to get drowned by them. Which requires a knowledge
of the nature of the sea along with sense of determination,
creativity and, sometimes, persistence. On the lesser end she can be
stubborn but more often she converts that into tenacity meting out
the energetic fuel incrementally in order to meet the demands of the
task at hand. And, most of the time, she isn't doing this because she
HAS to. She does it because it fans the flames of her own passions.
Her
presence as muse and orchestrator of the dance feeds into our
evolving state of creation filling us with inspiration of how we can
take those creative visions and eventually put them into action. She
preaches, “there is more than one way to skin a cat.” Meaning, if
we are unable to fight a war hand to hand there other methods out
there that may equate to effectiveness on individual levels but
you've got to brave enough to try and emotionally encapsulated enough
so that you can use the energies at hand to fuel your dance. She
advises us to keep our inner creative sparks well kindled and well
fed. In these sensitized Piscean energy she advises us to pay
attention to what stimuli makes us feel alive and inspired versus
what people or situations make us feel more drained, more stuck or
more trapped. She wants us to lean into those enlivening experiences
and those relationships that give us back just as much fuel as we
feed into them. She demands our bravery, our tenacity and our
confidence. The only fail is a failure to try or a life spent merely
on the couch. She tells us that now is the time of creation and that
means it is also a time to seek forth for inspiration and to convert
all toward energy that can be used to bring forth the final
development of our self-creation.
She
encourages us to share that light of inspiration with others.
Allowing them to light their wicks upon our flame (to be muse,
encourager and inspiration to others) while still maintaining the
individual burn found within our own creative spark. We are sharing
it. Not giving it away and not allowing it to be diminished but only
allowing it to be added to. In a time of creative clay and personal
contemplation it is the fire of the Queen that acts like the kiln we
put our final sculpture into. The fire bakes the clay to solid form.
But it is in the act of shaping it that we seek the inspiration for,
now, which eventually brings our final hardened visage of our
creative efforts. She asks us to deliberately choose the waves of
consciousness we float on while riding the surges in the emotional
waves to help propel us forward even if that requires us to surrender
to flow for a time. She calls us forth from our complaining and our
lamenting and wants to know not so much how we feel about it but
more so what we plan to do about it. You going to lay there wallowing
and crying forever? Or, are you eventually going to stand back up and
live this life and dance this dance? She's patient and persistent in
the act of that (dancing the dance and living of the life). But,
she's not going to be patient and persistent with you while you
thrash back and forth being slain by the increased sensitivity you
may feel at this time. What good is it if you don't use it for
something? What good is any of this if you don't get up and live it
or at the very least exert yourself into it.
In
the reflections of ourselves from the collective...when we are shown
pieces of ourselves we may not have consciously realized...it matters
much less how you feel about the reflection than it does what you
plan to do with it. That is the call of this Moon. It shows us who we
are and asks “Ok. So what are you going to do with that?” Can you
provide it to the collective in service in some way? The Queen says
to put those things into full deliberate and conscious action in
service to yourself, your life and those amongst your court. The
beauty of that being, once you know of this part of yourself, you
also (has Hahn suggests), have the power to impact its operations.
You know of it now. That gives you the ability to use it. And, that's
exactly what it is suggested we do here. Take what it is and
creatively shape it into what it is you want it to be. That has
nothing to do with anything outside of yourself and your ability to
use what you've been “given” or have discovered. Use it to impact
the dance and fuel this experience we all call “life.”
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