When the goddess blushes

It was amazing to witness the lunar eclipse tonight.

The moon goddess blushed as Earth slid between the Moon and the Sun.

Tonight brings us a special full moon.

Vying for your attention on this Full Moon in Pisces is Sun (personal motivation), Mercury (mind), and the South Node (accrued knowledge) in Virgo (the healer/mentor) and on the other side Uranus (the awakener), Moon (intuition), and the North Node (knowledge seeking) in Pisces (the Bodhisattva). With Jupiter in philosophically-minded Sagittarius squaring Sun/Moon/North and South Nodes, I hope you are ready to step deeply into a celebration of the real meaning of commitment to the enlightenment of all sentient beings.

No doubt about it; this will be a very spiritually demanding Full Moon.

All phases of the eclipse are visible from islands of the Pacific Ocean, New Zealand and eastern Australia. Various stages of the eclipse are in progress at moonrise for eastern Asia. No eclipse is visible from Europe, Africa and western Asia.

Together the Mercury in Virgo, Uranus in Pisces and Mars in Gemini T-square and the Saturn in Leo /Sun/South Node in Virgo, Moon/North Node in Pisces, Jupiter in Sagittarius T-square, represent a revolutionary call to bring awareness to the condition of your emotional mind in an effort to uplift all other minds on this planet.

Mindfulness becomes extended to include attention to the quality of action and relationship.

So you think emotions are produced by the heart? Think again. Every emotion you have is sourced in your mind and mediated primarily through the production of neurotransmitters and enzymes in the brain.

Thankfully, the human body is wired so we feel our emotions in the heart. But actually the quality of what we feel rests solely with how the brain's synaptic and neuronal pathways are wired. The good news is the brain is plastic. So mindfully attending to the quality of our thoughts, feelings and interactions actually enlivens compassion, empathy, and depth of intention—and rewires the brain.

In fact, the Full Moon is perfectly set up to help you create a ritual that will move the group's mind as well as each individual mind toward the most evolved form of the Pisces/Virgo axis: sacrifice, service and enlightenment.

Pisces is known for its desire to let go of self-identification thereby allowing the soul to merge with its source; pure consciousness. What a finish to the last two weeks of waxing Moon work on our individual creative vision. This is the night to put into action all of your intentions and give your gifts in service to the enlightenment of all sentient beings.

So no messing around with those most devolved Neptunian/Piscean hedonistic fantasies. Don't waste this Full Moon mired in the negative spectrum of Pisces: partying the night away in a drug or alcohol induced haze.

This is the Full Moon to join with others and be lifted out of denial and ignorance. The world is suffering and we all need to wake up and do what we can to relieve suffering. Take responsibility for your own suffering and the suffering of others. Love yourself by loving others. Do what you can to stay in the present and in your heart.

Two truths: We are all connected and there is no security; for all things are uncertain. We are nothing and everything; full and empty. It is time we relearn to care for each other and start living communally in love and peace. Pisces wants to transcend all perceived separations.
This Full Moon comes at the height of the Northern Hemispheres harvest season and foreshadows the coming of nature's transition into the winter months of rest and renewal.

If you were unaware of how much you have, hopefully a quick remembrance of recent natural disasters, unnecessary wars, and general poverty around the globe will awaken your sense of gratefulness and a need for recognition of the impermanence of all things.

On this Full Moon it is important to recognize the fundamental relationship between gratefulness and non-attachment. Use this Full Moon to look at what you cling to and your fear of letting it go. Do you spend most of your time grabbing and craving for more things; trying to fill your inner emptiness with a multitude of possessions? We come here with nothing and leave with nothing. Why then do we hold so tight to things that will not last? This is a great time to ask, "What can I freely give away? What can I share?"

Use this Full Moon to create a group ritual for your family, friends, and/or community that centers on healing anger and pain. Acknowledge your own anger and pain, take it in your arms like a baby, wrap it in compassion and let love work its healing magic upon your soul. Know that your pain does not define you. Find your true self in your compassionate heart and create the conditions for peace to grow within and without. Then seek to acknowledge the pain of others while acknowledging your part in causing them to suffer. Wrap them up like a baby with your compassion, allowing love to work its healing magic. Go to them; tell them how sorry you are. Allow them to reciprocate these compassionate feelings to you. Realize that what is done to one is done to all, and create the conditions for peace to grow.

The Pisces Full Moon uses an intuitive recognition of truth; with Jupiter in Sagittarius, we can have the faith to face what is painfully true about ourselves and our relations with others.
This is the Full Moon to practice compassion and selflessness by radiating peace and calm through group prayer and meditation. Unlike Virgo, its opposite sign, Pisces knows no distinctions or differences: it perceives the unity within the diversity. Pisces acknowledges our essential connectedness and realizes it through the practice of unconditional love and unwavering compassion. Pisces is Bodhisattva consciousness embodied in self-sacrifice.

Pisces' bottom line is to learn to love unconditionally, and to work for the collective enlightenment of all sentient beings; no matter how hard it may be or how long it may take.
Because Pisces represents unconditional love and compassion, it must also deal with anger and hatred.

If we waste our lives holding onto anger, resentment, and hatred, we will continue to create a world that reflects our own inner violence. Be aware that the hatred and anger in your heart is helping to feed the violence we see all over the world. It is time to stop the senseless killing we create all around us.

Give up the label of victim and embrace your own part in continued killing. It is the first step to becoming a peacemaker. If you fearlessly open your heart and let compassion be your guide, you will automatically become an active peacemaker. Love is the language of selflessness. If each of us would practice this language daily, violence would surely end.

I will print the Bodhisattvic practice of the Eight Verses of Though Transformation on this Moon Message, to open your mind to the full meaning of compassion and humility. If you wish to read more about it, I recommend the book "Transforming the Mind", by HH the Dalai Lama ©2003.

The Eight Verses on Transforming the Mind

With a determination to achieve the highest aim

For the benefit of all sentient beings,

Which surpasses even the wish -fulfilling gem,

May I hold them dear at all times.

Whenever I interact with someone,

May I view myself as the lowest amongst all,

And, from the very depths of my heart,

Respectfully hold others as superior.

In all my deeds may I probe into my mind,

And as soon as mental and emotional afflictions arise

As they endanger myself and others,

May I strongly confront them and avert them.

When I see beings of unpleasant character

Oppressed by strong negativity and suffering,

May I hold them dear-for they are rare to find

As if I have discovered a jewel treasure!

When others, out of jealousy,

Treat me wrongly with abuse, slander, and scorn,

May I take upon myself the defeat

And offer to others the victory.

When someone I have helped,

Or in whom I have placed great hopes,

Mistreats me in extremely hurtful ways,

May I regard him still as my precious teacher.

In brief, may I offer benefit and joy

To all beings,both directly and indirectly,

May I quietly take upon myself

The hurts and pains of all beings.

May all this remain undefiled

By the stains of the eight mundane concerns

(gain and loss; pleasure and pain; praise and blame; fame and obscurity)

And may I, recognizing all things as illusion,

Devoid of clinging,

be released from the bondage of attachment.

Can you imagine if everyone committed to practicing this humble, heart-opening, mind-transforming way of being in the world? So much would change.

So on this Full Moon, join with others to pray and work for peace. Allow Uranus, the awakener, in Pisces, to open your mind to alternatives. Utopia is a mindset that finds it source in the transcendent bliss of the nothingness/everythingness. This is your source; call it what you wish, but use this Full Moon to dive deep into source and open yourself to the interconnectedness of all things.