Image: Montserrat
Valentine Moon
by
Sarah Varcas
This Full Moon in Leo may feel pretty intense. If you like intense, you may well enjoy its spark and energy, but if you’re already feeling somewhat jaded and in need of respite, it might be a good time to lay low and let the world pass you by rather than engaging too deeply with it! Opposed by Mercury retrograde, thinking before we speak and remembering that not everyone sees the world through our eyes could be a very useful attitude to take at this time! As could remembering that very few situations have one single solution. The more creative we can be in our thinking, the better able we are to identify new approaches to any challenges we face.
Relationships are highlighted by this Moon (and not only because of its Valentine’s Day connection!). Its link with Mars and the North Node makes largely unavoidable the issue of how to get along with others and find a harmonious way through what are often choppy waters. It requires that we find a balance between standing our ground and allowing others their own safe ground to occupy unthreatened; between honouring our own needs and priorities whilst finding an effective way to recognise those of other people.
Relationships are one of the thorniest issues we have to face as human beings. As such they often form the bedrock of our personal and spiritual growth: how we manage them and ourselves within them; how we honour the other even as we stand up for ourselves; how we recognise difference whilst still finding enough common ground upon which to build a meaningful connection…. The challenges of everyday life demand that we develop skills in this area and put those skills to good use as often as possible. We may not always succeed in our endeavours, but the willingness to tackle this challenging human terrain is significant nonetheless. Not least on the occasion of this Full Moon!
So, it may be helpful to reflect over the next couple of days, on the things which unite rather than divide us: the common desire for love and acceptance; the search for kindred spirits of like mind; the need to be heard and respected, not dismissed and ridiculed; the pain of criticism and the relief of acceptance. These are all common human experiences, no matter who and what we are. When we become so busy with our own perspective, peddling our own view of the world, we can all too easily lose sight of the fact that the person we perceive as a threat or challenge to that is actually feeling pretty much the same way we are: a bit stressed out, misunderstood, threatened or just plain old unfairly criticised!
Every situation, no matter how straight-forwardly black and white it may appear, is in fact full of paradox, ambivalence and contradiction. The better able we are to recognise that and accept these things as part of the human condition, the better we can embrace the complexities of human interaction and still come out with something meaningful, positive and productive. It may mean we need to apologise, or change our communication style. It may mean we need to speak up more or hold our tongue for a while. It may mean we suddenly realise our part in a problem we deemed solely the creation of someone else. Whatever it means, this Full Moon presents us with an opportunity to reset relationships which may be causing us some stress, or at least see them in a different light and from a new perspective. And when the North Node shifts into Libra next week and then Mars turns retrograde there at the beginning of March we’ll be glad we did, for whatever inter-personal wounds we can tend to now, will become strengths and blessings in the weeks to come.
Sarah Varcas
