Cancer Full Moon setting in Santa Fe, NM. Photo by Kelly Cowan.
One week ago, I posted about the Cancer Full Moon, describing it as an eclipse-like event. The Moon-Sun axis, and Pluto, made a right angle to the lunar nodes. That’s as close to an eclipse as you can have without actually being one; the nodes were stirred to life rather impressively, as we have seen in this flashpoint of a week.
Pluto is still square the nodes, indicating that we are still at a point of decision, in an environment demanding conscious balance. Uranus is still conjunct the South Node, which is stirring up all kinds of old material, including stuff that you may have been sure was resolved. And Monday the Moon will once again sweep through the aspect pattern, making a conjunction to the North Node, an opposition to Uranus and the South node and a square to Pluto. This is like a reverberation of the Full Moon; every factor is present except for the Sun, which remains in Capricorn for the next nine days.
The Sun for its part has been making a long conjunction to Vesta, the fourth-discovered and brightest asteroid. Vesta is about devotion, with the image of tending the sacred flame. That flame may be symbolic, which is to say, it represents something; look at what in your life is calling for devotion, for sustained attention, for selfless service. Is there such a thing as selfless? Well, think of it in the context of “stainless steel.” It’s not that it doesn’t stain; it’s that it stains less. So selfless means a bit less self-obsession or self-interest.
As this happens, Mars is about to change signs into Pisces. That has a touch of Sun-Vesta to it — passionate (Mars) service (Pisces) is implied, though Mars in Pisces can also be self-serving, which may be an essential ingredient. This is a pleasure-seeking placement (including the pleasure of service), the more so as Mars approaches the first of several conjunctions in Pisces; that would be to Neptune, exact on Monday, Jan. 19 (one week from now).
Key Lime Pie. You can’t live on it, but every now and then you might want to eat a couple of them.
Neptune is infusing all of Pisces with its energy, and it has an orb of influence much wider than the five degrees that Mars must travel to get to the conjunction. Fair to say we’re under the influence of this conjunction right now.
The delicate line of all Mars-Neptune contacts is something akin to “how much is too much?” Indulgence is necessary, for pleasure, release, art, stoking creativity, making contact and exploring entheos; it’s usually necessary to go a bit overboard. To do that it’s necessary to stop caring for a moment, so you can actually get there. Then you’re there, and take your next step from there.
In the background, Sun-Vesta is counseling respect for boundaries while Mars-Neptune is saying give it a push. To do this safely, whatever safely means to you, it’s necessary to have some sense of what is self-creative and what is self-destructive. Know, at least, that you may be walking that line, and also know that the line may be invisible.
Though it’s a bit further off, Mars makes a conjunction to Chiron on Jan. 31, followed immediately by a conjunction to Borasisi. That’s another topic, though the questions that arise at that time may involve matters of truth and belief, territory that will be pulsing through the Mars-Neptune conjunction as well.
All that said, this week has sex, drugs and rock and roll painted all over it; which you might experience alternately as music, art, passion or Key Lime Pie. If there’s something you like that you generally avoid because you’ve decided it’s not good for you, every now and then you have to eat a big one.
Does a gluten-free key lime count? Haha
I’ve recently renewed my relationship with the Americana breakfast platter: bacon, eggs, potatoes and pancakes–yum, yum 
An occasional thing, but I find it very nourishing right now.
Oh this is a fun one all right! Mars-Neptune contact is conjunct Natal Saturn in 5th. All in broad opposition to Natal Uranus-Pluto conjunction Virgo 7+ and 12+ degrees. Not to mention, there’s trans. BML in opposition at Virgo +5 degrees. The healing is not quite over…I am continuing to work it! It’s ganna be another very passionate week.
Correction: Natal Saturn resides in 6th. Can never have too much lingerie!
When I was free’er that was something us aspiring Corporate girls bought. Nice Lingerie. for m few corporate friends it was simply a personal reminder that we were woman. (In a tough world).
If you caught a “corporate man” eyeing her purchase, You Can Bet Your Saggy Ball Eagle Eye, They would take that as a threat. (YOU BET MY ASS I BELIEVE THAT. PROOVE ME WRONG! Claudi.
In hindsight, It wasn’t a debate. Many “Corporate” gals crave to depart of the team. The right team that is,n Semantics don’t swat it anymore. i.e. What was that AMWAY Thing AbiutTERRY HMMMMMMMM? (Typos are my thing I guess abby…………hmmm :). Love ya…… almost
LOL…could not be more accurate. Especially the last sentence….thank you Eric. Looking forward to treading along the invisible line
Sag Sun, Merc and Venus currently conjunct my Venus in AQ and that Pisces transit of Mars will trine all my goodies in Scorpio (Neptune, True Node, Moon and Mars) , one after the other 
Lingere is good; although something like a waxing would be more appropriate for me. I feel I was so ingrained with the paradigm that women shouldn’t have leg and underarm hair that I have trouble finding it attractive on myself out in the world. Pubic hair is another thing because it isn’t as out in the everyday world, even though I do model nude. If I’m naked, hair doesn’t bother me as much, but if I’m wearing shorts or a skirt, I have a problem with it on myself. Sometimes I feel like this is bad for me, sometimes I don’t. I tried to reconcile it by not shaving for a couple years in my twenties, but it didn’t work.
P. Sophia, could you tell me more about trans BML? My natal Mars is at 6° Virgo, so I’ve been having Neptune mostly opposite it for awhile.
Ah, that’s Black Moon Lillith?
in case anyone, like me, was not familiar with the word “ethneos” (from which we get the word “enthusiasm”), this is an interesting blog post i just found:
http://barzakhabound.blogspot.com/2007/04/entheos-musings-on-meaning-behind-word.html
Though the short version is that the word means “having the god within.”
Entheos. The word has come back into usage mainly through the concept of “entheogen,” which is the new word for “hallucinogen,” taking a wider view. I think that Burning Man was a brew tank for this concept; I hear a lot of burners refer to their drugs as entheogens.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entheogen
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=enthusiasm
Here is The Onion’s analysis
http://www.theonion.com/video/do-glass-pipes-incense-prove-teens-are-practicing,17587/
Thanks for the tips on Mars in Pisces heading for Neptune and the rest. From my own experience I felt that something had changed this morning. It was nice to be able to be able to read about what it was.
Ha!! i like that stain-less STEEL line. I will use that symbol, thank you very much eric