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It is interesting to symbolise the Moon's fluctuating
path to the tides of the sea, which are, of course,
ruled by the Moon.
It is a fact that the highest and lowest sea-tides
of the year reach their maxima around the time of the
Equinoxes. In the vocabulary of declination, the Equinoxes
resemble the area of 0° declination where the corresponding
essences of longitudinal degrees are more stretched
out. The first degree of declination North or South
covers only five degrees of zodiacal longitude, whereas
the 23rd degree North or South covers over 17 longitudinal
degrees.
Equinox Moon energy applies to everyone whose natal
Moon lies in Pisces, Aries, Virgo or Libra (the signs
around the Equinoxes). If we were to stand on a beach
at the Equinox on a new or full Moon, we would observe
the vast distance uncovered at low tide and the previously
unseen treasures brought to light. This is analogous
to examining the declination area of zero degrees whose
crossing uncovers new views and changes in consciousness.
Or put another way: while you may sail your boat from
harbour on a high Equinox tide, it could be totally
grounded only a few hours later.
The sight of many sailing craft standing askew in the
sand of a receding tide reminds us why the Equinox period
of zero declination gives the ability to be grounded
and touch reality. It could also be seen as a period
of rediscovering fundamentals from our past. Those with
Pisces/Aries/Virgo or Libra Moons may poetically see
beneath the ocean and explore the longest beaches in
the world. Water has memory they say, and here our deepest
memories lie freshly uncovered and blinking in the sunlight.
The Equinox Moon (especially heightened for those with
their Moon in the latter degrees of Virgo or Pisces,
or the early degrees of Aries or Libra) could be called
a Beachcomber's Moon.
With the Solstice tides, the reverse holds true. The
sea tides around the Solstices are the very smallest
in movement, so that those people with Solstice Moons
(Moon in Gemini, Cancer, Sagittarius or Capricorn) symbolise
this energy. The water does not go up the harbour wall
so far, but neither does it go down so far. Here we
find that the compression of many zodiacal degrees of
longitude into a smaller space equals a similar difference
in tide lines.
Yet within that space, the considerable number of longitudinal
degrees (many more than at the Equinox) must relate
to a sizeable volume of zodiacal experience. To stand
on a beach at a Solstice lunation is to see the sea
currents flowing into and out of each other quickly,
indicating perhaps the rapid mixing of many divergent
ideas. The ebb and flow is fast and furious. The movement
is rapid. High declination has an operation that is
wilder and freer, offering glimpses more of the future
than the past. While we may miss beachcombing our treasures
from the past, we are in compensation buoyed up on the
many new influences constantly sweeping in from the
farthest global shores. The Solstice Moon (particularly
strong for those whose Moon occupies the latter degrees
of Gemini or Sagittarius or the early degrees of Cancer
or Capricorn, and especially in those recurring periods
when the Moon goes out-of-bounds) could be called a
Voyager's Moon.
And what of the in-between Moons - those whose declination/zodiacal
position places them halfway between the above-mentioned
extremes? These are the Moons in the four Fixed signs
of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius - in our analogy,
representative of the times of the year between the
Solstices and Equinoxes, sometimes called the Cross
Quarter festivals. The sea tides move in balance here,
the lunar force steadies and is less inclined to swing
in extremes.
This is a Constant Moon.
Please bear in mind that these classifications are
not taking into account the individual Moon phases that
one may be born under, nor other irregular fluctuations
like the void-of-course Moon etc.
Embracing a wider view, we are at the present time
(throughout the first decade of the 21st century) experiencing
the Moon travelling its maximum path of declination,
so we are currently in a Voyager period overall. New
influences and fresh ideas are vital as our collective
future is being formed.
© Paul F. Newman 2002
[First published in 'The Other Dimension' Vol.2, No.4.
Winter 1997].
Thanks for his permission to publish it here.
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