Jose Argüelles’s, the great Mayan scholar and advocate for a “new time” in the form of a calendar based on the 13 moon cycle and the symbols of the Maya, included in his time keeping a “day out of time” to accommodate the 365 approximate days it takes for the earth to circle the sun. Today’s Leap Year 29th day of February is the crudest example of Argüelles’s conception if this phenomenon that the creators of the Gregorian calendar could make.

In Argüelles’s conception of time, far too complicated a discussion to have here, time=art as opposed to the function of time keeping of the Gregorian’s in which time=money. The Day Out of Time, a totally Piscean idea by the way, is a day for art, party, and leisure…anything goes sort of thing—since of course there is a suspension of “time”. I’ll take this over the Leap Year day anytime. I mean, this is the strangest day, and, to me at least, typifies how out of rhythm we are with natural forces and cycles. Every 4 years there’s an extra day in February to account for the extra time lost in a 4 year cycle. That doesn’t sound nice at all does it?

Anyhow, that is today, and coincides with the First Quarter Moon, the cycle which pertains to the first “crisis in action” according to the great astrologer Dane Rudhyar. At this stage in the process the moon is forming what is called a square in astrology, a 90 degree angle with the Sun. From the process of observation (of events and experiences) and correlation (with symbols and planetary alignments) astrologers have been able to determine that this aspect causes and is related to tension.

Tension can be experienced in several ways and has several functions. Tension can be challenging, like a busy city street on a hot, muggy day, with horns honking and people yelling. Tension can also be a strengthening of something like the pitching of a tent which allows you to lie down and watch the stars at night. Both of these clearly express tension differently but both are called tension and that is how this aspect, the square, manifests.

With the Sun still in Pisces along with Chiron, Neptune conjunct and Mercury still in the late stages there and the Moon in Gemini, the tension, the crisis in action, I feel is related to the polarity of the dream body and the waking body. Pisces is associated with the dream body that experience of reality that is murkier, etheric, colorful, and mystical. Gemini is more tied into this world subjectively taking in and putting out information. So there will be this urge to radiate poetic and playful expressions at odds with, or attempting to find peace with an emotional urge to think and organize. Sounds like what many producing artists experience all the time. So find one of them if you know one for survival tips for the next few days.

Can you feel this vibe? It’s pretty intense although subtle enough to be just out of graspable range. It’s got a little bit of love and a little bit of anger all at once—important note: be patient with the one’s you love the most today (oh, and the one’s you detest the most as well) you may regret your initial reactions—some grace and some in-your-face, some lamb and wolf business today. That New Moon Piscean grace has energized itself with a Venus/Moon conjunction in Aires at this crescent stage.

Since this crescent moon is guiding us to the necessary actions to manifest new moon intentions, as much as some of these polarizing pulses within may be confusing, it is important to acknowledge the emotion yet objectify the feeling. See emotions are pre-thought, they come and go without much control by us, they are associated astrologically with the moon; feelings on the other hand are how we articulate subjectively what those emotions mean to us. Feelings are associated with Venus.

With this type of conjunction, which is essentially a merging of the energies of emotion and feeling, there can be a blur in the lines of distinction or a difficulty articulating the mass of impulses. Throw in the fact that this is occurring in Aires, the attribute requiring the most unfettered route of expression, and things can get heated fast out there and in here (he points to his chest). The kind of heat that is produced is enitirely open to the circumstances, reactions, and conditioning of each and every soul that breathes in and out today.

Pisces New Moon February 21,
2012


The new intention has begun and it is a
beautiful, gentle, subtle intention as Pisces is wont to be. As I thought about
what this New Moon intention could possibly be words/phrases like astral
travel, out-of-body experiences, into the mystic, dreambody came immediately
to mind. After all these are common experiences with Pisces and a sun/moon
alignment as this is, attunes us to this energy emotionally and creatively. Not
to mention that Neptune, who lives there in Pisces, has come home, and also the
  planetoid Chiron (and where Chiron is there is healing to be done) is swimming
  in the business as well. There is something serious about the absurd going on I
  think! In fact that may be the
message.


I for one will be paying close attention,
more so at least, to the realm of the shade, the deep muddy waters, and into the
foggy mist if you know what I mean. I won’t be focused on the concrete but what
is swimming beneath, within, and around the concrete. Perhaps I will dream
myself asleep while I’m working. Something like that at least.



I will also be paying attention to
memories. I will remember to let myself remember from time to time. I will
welcome them if they come and work with them as need be. Something difficult
could be in the air but from bitter experience I know that it won’t go away for
good if I ignore it. No, it will only get worse. Furthermore I know from joyful
experience that when I take responsibility for old wounds, painful events and
memories, and incorporate any necessary changes as a result, that I grow and
grow and grow. Everytime.


First thing this morning I received this
communiqué from a friend which I thought was a magical representation of this
new moon:          



So, I had this dream last night that I was sitting in my old
elementary school classroom in one of those little chairs, and my brother was
sitting across from me. Our knees were touching. He was talking about stuff, and
I realized I must be dreaming so I said, "How do I know this is you?". He opened
his hand, and there was this very shiny object, (I love shiny objects), in his
  hand. He said you'll see this tomorrow and know it was real. So now I have this
  problem, do I go meet my husband for lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, and risk
  getting sucked into a rogue
quasar?


My friend’s brother disappeared suddenly and unexpectedly some years
ago and has not been seen or heard from since. Clearly this is a dramatic
experience of the type of energy with this new moon but the message is crystal
clear to me: pay attention to those dreams, feelings, thoughts, daydreams, and
funny moments this month. Follow their path and make possible connections to
real life events, memories, and wounds. Make friends with them and commit to
healing those wounds. In short, Go for the quasar.

The State of Lunation

The State of Lunation will bring bi-weekly interpretive reports of the cycle of the sun and moon. It will be a rambling roll of words and phrases from my consciousness and its association with the symbols of the day. The symbols up for interpretation will follow the cycle of the moon around the sun. You may remember some of this from 8th Grade Physical Science, it looks like the picture to the left.

As you can see (or may remember) there are essentially 8 distinct cycles that can be identified here and through observation and correlation, astrologers throughout time have identified patterns of behavior that associate with these cycles. In the simplest way they can be described as:

New Moon: beginnings, new energy, impulsive, self-centered

Waxing Crescent: determined, initiative, self-motivated

First Quarter: challenge, labor, growth,

Waxing Gibbous: enrich, perfect, polish

Full: Culmination, climax, clarity, fruition

Waning Gibbous: caring, sharing, helping, healing

Third Quarter: contemplative, reminiscence, forlorn, solitary, decline

Waning Crescent: completion, renewal, restorative, reflective, preparation

My ramblings and musings will center themselves on the cycle of the day and the mood that may be set as a result of the particular formation of planets and signs within that cycle.

The Lunation cycle, as it has been called, is much more complicated than I just demonstrated but I am hoping that what I wrote will satisfy both the initiated and uninitiated of astrology enough to draw their interest to my rants.

There are quite a few reasons why I am doing this and the one I will share is this: it is my hope that as I write and you read something greater than my writing and your reading will be occurring, namely, that we will all be following, consciously or unconsciously, the lunar cycle. I feel that this is important because I feel that we have lost track of cycles, real cycles in our lives, and that this is a beautiful, poetic, easy to recognize pattern in the heavens. Following it can attune one to the greater forces than their personal or even the collective ego and such attunement may…may…bring about reorientation of said egos. I know I still want to change mine. Perhaps you would like to change yours as well.

I will not make many stands through this platform and don’t presume that even if I do that anyone will be listening to care. I deplore politics and political discussion however; I may make comments that will be taken as political. I assure you here and now with this disclaimer that they are unequivocally not political. They may be cultural, spiritual, philosophical, metaphysical, metaphorical, non-sensical, cynical, or whimsical, but they are not (or will not) be political. If one ever (and I can’t imagine anyone one will be paying enough attention anyway) feels the need to respond to something that I write, which by the way would be great, I’d love that actually, just please, please…..PLEASE…don’t look for a political discussion. I hate talking politics.