Harvest Moon Myths of the Past, Present and Future

Image Source: Crystalinks.

Tonight there is a full moon, known in northern climes as the Harvest Moon or Full Corn Moon in North America. It rises at 11:19 ET (3:19 GMT). Seemingly this is a harmless good old full moon that appears closest to the September equinox and has shorter rising times; under this moon, farmers work into the night bringing in their crops. Oddly, a great deal of online chatter casts this moon in a different and frightening light.

Psychics and spiritualists worry (in very unusual ways) that the full moon may spark castastrophic earthquakes. Astrologer Susan Miller calls this full moon a 'Monster Moon.' Miller's Twitter feed and other astrologers' remarks confirm that many people who are already stressed are reading into the stars around this full moon to support their sense of uneasiness about their private concerns, politics, the environment, world affairs and the economy. Miller suffered personal bereavement on 27 September and read it as part of the full moon's influence. Her fellow astrologers believe that this full moon in Aries is the most powerful full moon of the year; Anne Reith explains their reasoning:

I have spoken to so many people during the past week who are going through MAJOR shifts in their lives, both externally (e.g., losing jobs, death of loved ones) and internally (e.g., major insights, emotional breakdowns leading to breakthroughs). ...  

This is the most powerful Full Moon of the year because it is connected to the ongoing square (90°) between Uranus (the planet of change revolution) and Pluto (the planet of transformation and deep healing). As with any Full Moon, the Sun and the Moon are in opposition (180°) to each other. But the Moon is also conjunct Uranus, and both the Sun and Moon are squaring (90°) Pluto. This forms a very powerful astrological configuration called a T-Square (with very tight orbs). And all of these planets are in cardinal signs, which heralds in new beginnings and new energy. Overall, the wheels of change are turning, and this change can be revolutionary. This energy is so great that it can topple governments, shake up corporations, and be the catalyst for major personal transformations. On the one hand, this energy can evoke insecurities by washing away well-laid plans; but on the other hand, it can be seen as the inspiration for breakthroughs that will shape individual and collective visions of the future. It is riskier now to stand still than it is to move ahead. It is important now to make smart decisions regarding the concepts and values that are worth fighting for and which are best left behind. Adapting to uncertain circumstances and avoiding overreaction will help all of us to ride out these storms in relative safety.

The moon's aspects will primarily affect the sun signs Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn.

While some see the Arab Spring and the Occupy movement as indications of larger rebellion, other chatter focuses on radical individual change and personal transformation; Alexis Mincolla wrote: "uninstall your bullshit this saturday and be cleansed by fire." Sherene Schostak feels that this Harvest Moon is about personal revolutions:

On Saturday, September 29, the full Moon in Aries could be one of the most explosive lunations of the year as it stands right on the precipice of many incendiary factors. For one thing, the Uranus-Pluto square becomes activated by this full Moon, setting off the urgent need for cataclysmic breakthrough. 

Mars, the ruler of Aries, is incredibly strong at the moment in Scorpio, which makes our determination to break through stagnation, denial and repression a do-or-die situation. The time is right now. It is a time for action. We are feeling the dire need to change and let go of what no longer serves the authentic “I am” self -- even if it kills us (or before it does). 

If that isn’t enough of edge: Serious Saturn is about to change signs next week after spending two-and-a-half years in the opposite sign of this full Moon (Libra). The cosmic taskmaster will be moving into the same sign as Mars: Scorpio. So again, the theme of letting go, shedding skin and killing the killers in our lives becomes extremely pronounced. 

Aries (Mars) is about bringing out the big guns and taking no prisoners. Don’t ever ask an Aries or person with heavy Mars in their chart to wait patiently. You get the idea: this full Moon is screaming at us to wake up and stand our ground. If we’ve been too nice and people-pleasing (Libra) at the expense of honoring our true self, this full Moon will light the fire needed to burn that nonsense down to the ground.

On the other hand, some astrologers think that this full moon is about history repeating itself, from 1933 to 1966 to 2013. They claim that this moon is influenced (so to speak) by the second of seven ominous and revolutionary confrontational squares between Uranus (electric change) and Pluto (death, the Underworld and transformation), an aspect last evident between 1932 and 1934. By contrast, the two planets entered into a synod, or synthetic conjunction, between 1964 and 1967, often deemed to be a positive revolutionary trend. You can read an astrological geometry and history of Uranus and Pluto interactions here. This interpretation suggests that we are somehow entering a celestial time loop, or perhaps a symbolic period of déjà vu, in which the conditions of the 1930s are being revisited in order to deliver a harsh karmic response to the revolutions of the 1960s.

"Uranus and Pluto's placement relative to Earth's Precessional Cross at the time of the Uranus-Pluto Square of 2012-2015. Uranus and Pluto reside at the centers of their respective sidereal signs." Caption, Image Source and © Lunar Planner / Nick Anthony Fiorenza / Marius Giurgi.

The weird astrological view that the heavens are revisiting the 1930s to contend with the legacies of the 1960s depends on seven squares (illustrated here):

• Uranus square Pluto June 24, 2012
• Uranus square Pluto September 19, 2012
• Uranus square Pluto May 21, 2013
• Uranus square Pluto November 1, 2013
• Uranus square Pluto April 21, 2014
• Uranus square Pluto December 15, 2014
• Uranus square Pluto March 17, 2015

Astrologers are using some fascinating, dramatic and Jungian symbolic language to discuss these squares. Nick Anthony Fiorenza describes the princess of the collective unconscious in "danger of becoming devoured" by the "technobureaucratic monster" of the "collective human consciousness." Lincoln's This and That Astrology sees the full moon today as "the abyss of no return":

We need to move forward with faith and trust that through the darkness, we will finally reach the light. The Universe in all its wisdom is showing us that we need not fear the difficulties and tribulations we are about to experience. But to see it as stepping stones, to new possibilities and the potentials for success we have not thought about or had the foresight or the vision to recognize.

Dark Star Astrology argues that people will turn to religion for comfort, but faith will be a source of conflict and around this second square in September 2012, the stars predict:

Intense and profound debate and arguments which may be initially divisive and confronting. However this testing period will force us to see things in a new light, as we discover innovative solutions to the pressing issues in our lives and the various looming crises.

Dark Star's writers think that the trouble will continue and peak in November 2013:

Today, our new technology is the Internet, and this does give hope for a “global awakening”. We will most likely face similar challenges to those of the 1930′s, in the news we already see extremism rising, unemployment rising, nationalism rising. One big advantage we have today is the global networking that the internet provides. It will be most important that this Uranian freedom is upheld, and it will be challenged by Plutonian organizations and governments. We see the Plutonian influence already with China. We see the Uranian influence already with Wikileaks.  

Now to the climax of the upcoming Uranus Pluto square. The Heliocentic event of 1933 turned out to be very useful when we looked at the timing. [Th]ere is ... [an] exact Heliocentric square coming up, November 2013. As our Facebook friend Jen DeMorgan stated, “oh *$#%”. A very challenging T-square pattern. Jupiter opposite Pluto, our faith is going to be tested, as will growth and prosperity. The focus of the planetary aspect pattern is on Uranus – radical change and higher awareness.

Thus, in the language of these commentators: the Uranus Pluto square in November 2013 repeats the fateful dynamics of 1933?

November 2013 carries an added dimension of testing the degree to which the ideas of the late 1960s furnished a successful response to the disaster unleashed by 1933. Many astrologers are weaving celestial aspects and historical metaphors together to make a generational commentary about the Baby Boomers.

Nick Anthony Fiorenza sees in November 1913 the Baby Boomers' other generational shoe finally dropping, the time when their ideas will hit reality, when they will pay the piper. He maintains that November 2013 is the culmination of a process that began on 7 January 1966:

The Uranus-Pluto "geocentric square" begins in June 2012 and continues through March 2015, consisting of seven triggers (the exact squares occurring due to the planetary retrogrades). During this time, on November 24, 2013, the "synodic square" occurs. The synodic square is the actual (heliocentric) square occurring in the current 138-year Uranus-Pluto synodic cycle that began on January 7, 1966, at the exact peak of the Vietnam War and the emergence of the Flower Power Political Movement. This is the first (90°) square in this cycle.  

The extreme cultural and societal events of the mid-1960s were a product of the Uranus-Pluto conjunction and the start of this 138-year Uranus-Pluto synodic cycle. The square occurring in 2012-2015 will stimulate dynamic cultural and societal action based upon what was set in motion in the 1960s. This few-year period should also be quite catalytic for those born in the mid-1960s.

Fiorenza symbolically reads heavenly geometry to claim that this event is the ultimate measure of the Baby Boomers' generational accomplishments and remains positive in his assessment of that legacy. Another astrologer believes that these squares mark the "birth pangs for the Aquarian Age."

Sarah Varcas similarly focuses on the Boomers and feels that these squares mark when this generation's ideals, plans and visions will be tested against reality, and that painful confrontation will enable the dawn of a new age, of which many Boomers dreamed in their youth:

We all know the song ‘This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius’, from the musical Hair, first performed in 1968. The astrology in it leaves a lot to be desired (!) but there is some truth in the title. In the sixties, Uranus, the ruler of Aquarius, formed a conjunction with Pluto, ruler of Scorpio. When two planets meet together in this way, they signal the beginning of a new cycle of development. Because Uranus and Pluto are both outer planets, meaning they are very distant from the earth, they move very slowly and their effects occur across significant periods of time. Of course, the sixties saw enormous social change and the birth of whole systems of thought and behaviour which transformed many societies around the globe But this was, indeed, just the beginning. 

On 24^th June 2012, Uranus and Pluto form their first exact square to each other. In basic terms, this signals the first manifestation of their joint effort to bring about the new age. When two planets form a square aspect, they irritate each other, but it’s an irritation that enables them to eventually create something they could not otherwise create alone. This is the time when we must all get to grips with the consequences of entering a new age and decide what part we have to play in how it all plays out in the long run. The Peace Movement of the 60’s, the age of sexual liberation following the introduction of the contraceptive pill, the rise of feminism, these were all born of the initial conjunction, but now we live with the consequences of these changes, some of which are far from what was envisaged at the time. It seems we’re often living in a world polarised between extremes, trying to find a way forward without really having learned from the past. This first square between Uranus and Pluto is our opportunity to learn, and then find a different way.

Varcas is less sanguine than her colleagues about final outcomes of this envisaged process. She sees people in September 2012 "dancing in the darkness" and facing decades' worth of built-up karma, which finally returns to mete out effects, and match them to old causes. Several astrologers have compared this process to a lizard or snake sloughing off its skin, discarding old forms that no longer work.

Hope (1896) by Edward Burne-Jones. Image Source: Art Renewal.

Will the 1960s' revolutions be vindicated, exposed or discarded? Today's oracles are not always clear on what no longer works. But they generally believe that the 2012-2013 squares are crucibles for testing what works and what does not. In that generational reckoning with past ideals comes the anticipation of a future which may be better, but which in any event cannot be escaped.

Dark Star Astrology brings up the legend of Pandora, the first woman in creation, according to Greek mythology. Perhaps she has unleashed evils (variously defined in different quarters) upon the world, but we all retain hope for better future eras: "Elpis the Goddess of Hope was the final item in Pandora’s box that did not escape. It’s a bit of a mystery why hope was put in the box of evils." From Hesiod's poems, Works and Days (700 BCE):

Only Hope was left within her unbreakable house,
she remained under the lip of the jar, and did not
fly away. Before [she could], Pandora replaced the
lid of the jar. This was the will of aegis-bearing
Zeus the Cloudgatherer.

All in all, considering we live at the dawn of the 21st century, there is a stubborn persistence of mythical and ancient ways of reading history. These dire predictions could be another example of how the Web's hyperrationality can sponsor a neo-Romantic explosion.

Even though a change of seasons speaks to some elemental shift in perception of the world, dark karmic revolution is a lot to hang on one Harvest Moon! For skeptics who want to confront personal troubles, financial cliffs, religious strife, international tensions, environmental crises, and nuclear stand-offs without myth or metaphor, here is a final antidote: Bill Nye lightly dismissing astrology.