November 4th Full Moon in Taurus - Having and Letting Go
Do you have a gratitude practice? Is it easy for you to think of things you’re grateful for? Do you list them off at the end of the day? Or maybe have a text message chain with friends were you message back and forth the things you are grateful for? Here’s a quick meditation you can do as a gratitude practice: Close your eyes, and begin to think of the things you feel grateful for. Really feel the gratitude you have for those people, places, experiences, possessions, whatever it is. Allow the feeling to grow inside your heart, filling up your whole heart. And as it fills up your heart, allow that feeling of gratitude to spill outwards, spilling out from your heart and filling up the whole room around you. You can even choose to extend the process if you wish, filling up the whole building, your whole street, neighborhood, city, country, even the world.
This kind of practice is great to do this full moon, when the moon is in its sign on exaltation of Taurus. The sign of exaltation is the most honored place for a planet, where it’s energy is strongest. The moon, the planet of nurturing, is in Taurus, the sign of comfort and material prosperity. This full moon is a time to pay attention to where we are nurtured and comforted – time to feel grateful for it! Feeling grateful increases abundance, and will do so at this full moon if you choose to acknowledge it. So go on, try the meditation – I’ll be here when you get back. ;)
Ok, I’m going to assume you tried the meditation. How was it for you? Was it easy to feel grateful, or to think of things you felt gratitude for? Was it easy to allow the energy fill up your heart and spill outwards? For me, the first time I did it, it was actually incredibly difficult. The whole time I did it, a little voice whispered to me, “Don’t feel too grateful for all of this - you’re going to lose it eventually.” The lesson of loss is the lesson of Scorpio, the sign where the sun currently is. The lesson of Scorpio is the lesson of letting go, of walking through the fires of transformation and allowing them to burn away the dross, losing everything that we cling to that we think makes us “us.” Wherever the ego has too much of a hold on us, Scorpio forces us to transform, to refine, to die and be reborn. And so, once again, the full moon presents us with a paradox – the paradox of enjoying what we have to the fullest, and being able to let it go when the time comes.
In Vietnam, where I live, you often see big arched 3 door gates. These gates are in front of temples, or are ancient city gates. The reason why there are three doors in the gate is to represent what Buddha called the Middle Way. The gates on either side represent a path that is either wholly material or wholly spiritual. And the gate in the center represents balance between the two. Quite a few scholars place Buddha’s birthday in May, under the sun sign of Taurus and the moon sun of Scorpio – and it’s no coincidence that someone born under that polarity would come up with the idea of non-attachment – where you are able to have things and people in your life but not be attached to them.
It’s also not a coincidence that we have to deal with this particular polarity in the autumn. The mythology of many of the signs is associated with the seasons during which they fall. We celebrate the abundance of the harvest in the midst of preparing for winter. Most cultures have their particular thanksgiving festival tat this time. We celebrate the cornucopia of life as the weather turns colder, as the leaves fall of the trees, as the world looks more and more barren, as we prepare for the loss and darkness associated with winter.
Some people seem to have a disproportionate experience with loss – these are the people for whom Scorpio is strong in their astrological chart, or the planet Pluto who rules Scorpio. This is the case with me, and why I couldn’t do the gratitude practice I detailed above easily. Many, many people are far too aware of how easily they can lose something, and it prevents them from enjoying the present. For these, it’s important to remember that it is ok to celebrate what you have. It’s ok to feel nurtured and comforted, as the moon reminds us at this time. For others, it is hard to let things go, hard to let go of their material comforts even when the soul is crying out for change and growth. For these, it’s important to remember the sun’s message at this time, that it’s ok to let go, that every death leads to new life, that every time we surrender something we “think” is us, whether that’s a job, a possession, a relationship, we come closer to the truth of what actually is us.
How do you balance this polarity? Is it easy for you or perhaps more difficult? Let me know in the comments below. And, as always, if you’re curious about what Taurus and Scorpio are doing in your own chart, try booking an astrology session with me. We all have to balance the same archetypal forces, but the way they manifest and what we’re individually called to do is something an astrological reading can cast great light into.
