Tomorrow’s full moon in Leo (11:16 am pacific) will give each of us an opportunity, if not several, to choose how to respond to those triggers that have previously plagued us. In fact, I’m betting that at least one of your triggers has already been tested in the past day or so, and if that didn’t happen, it’s a sure bet that you’ve witnessed someone else taking something the wrong way, if not completely unleashing the Cray-Cray.

Yep, welcome to a highly dramatic and super-aspected full moon just as Mercury’s storm intensifies leading up to the retrograde period that starts on January 30 and goes until February 20.

So I hope you took my advice about getting things done over the past two weeks, and have begun to shift your focus to re-doing, researching, cleaning, clearing out, and all manner of completions.

Now, as you probably know, I’m not one who thinks Mercury retro is a calamity in itself. In fact, there are a number of saving graces, one of which is a reversibility not found as readily in non-retro times. Another is an out-of-the-box creativity and new perspectives that arise from the particular shenanigans common to Mercury retrograde.

If you recall, I have been talking about the Aquarian energy which began with the great conjunction at the winter solstice, and is ramping up now as a record number of planets amass in the visionary and revolutionary sign of Aquarius. From the outset, I have been of the mind that this is a call for each of us to up-level and become better versions of ourselves. As I mentioned before, every one of us will be given several opportunities to do so. And, conveniently, this full moon will bring many of these transformational opportunities.

But, first, what is transformation? To me, it is a triumph over the patterns, reactions and behaviors that have kept us from ascending to the next level and expressing our full potential.

Which brings me to the Cray-Cray. Methinks, we are in a far better situation when we know what’s up and understand that others will be a bit trigger-happy. As always, keep yourself centered. That way, when the twists and turns that weren’t on your bingo card arise, you can meet them with calmness and an ability to be solution-oriented.

One of my favorite aspects of this full moon is the sun/Jupiter conjunction. This is very lucky. But in a near-conjunction, Saturn sits on the other side of the sun. Therefore, the luck that you experience during this time may very likely be preceded by a jolt of some sort, as the moon and sun, and therefore the moon and Jupiter/Saturn, are in opposition.

But remember what I said about reversals? Both oppositions and Mercury retros are favorable to turning around a difficult situation. Oftentimes, a reversal happens naturally, as if it were merely a practical joke, and oftentimes a situation is reversed through painstaking effort (this is very common during Mercury retro).

Another way to affect a reversal of fortune is to use the occurrence in question as a catalyst to spur oneself on to greater success in spite of, and because of the setback, even though you can’t regain the particular circumstance. The ending of a job or relationship that has run it’s course is a good example of this type of reversal. And this is the one that I invite you to explore now, in whatever way such a setback occurs to you, for in this kind of reversal, there is the potential for transformation.

Which brings me to the word that came to me when someone posed the question: what is your word for the new year. I didn’t hesitate. The word that surfaced was Intent.

Some of you know that I write poetry. And it can be challenging to get poems published, as most respected literary journals have a less-than-one to three percent acceptance rate. Several years ago, after receiving the umpteenth rejection letter from one of my bucket-list journals, I decided to “hammer them with poems” until they published one. That very day, I sent them a new batch of poems, from which they finally did accept one. Since then, I am probably one of the top 5 most published poets in that magazine. Intent is what sealed the deal. And it came from a rejection. I let that rejection be the catalyst to greater success. I have since repeated the process with other journals.

This would be a good moon cycle in which to flex the muscle of intent. But you definitely want to warm up first, making sure you are flexible, as flexibility is one of the keys to successfully navigating a Mercury retro (and a dramatic full moon). Having a plan b for how you will achieve your aims, as well as a sense of humor, is also extremely helpful now.

Again, we need only to look as far as the planet of war, Mars, to see who will cause the problems during this moon cycle. Mars, which is near Uranus, the planet of upset, revolt and disruption, is challenging both the sun/Jupiter/Saturn mashup as well as the moon, in a very tense t-square. Mars will to try to hit you where it hurts. It may try to hold hostage benefits or security. Bad bosses may be in rare form under these aspects.

Usually, I look for the positive aspects for remedies. But this moon offers no trines or sextiles, only conjunctions, and the best conjunction is the sun/Jupiter pairing that I mentioned earlier. Look for ways to turn your luck around. Don’t fight on their battlefields with their weapons. Be centered, inventive, flexible and intentional. I always recommend the book Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life, for pivoting in communications. I am also a big fan of neuro-linguistic programming (google it) for affecting your own reversals.

Another potentially positive conjunction is Venus and Pluto. Like jupiter, Venus is a benefic, or “all good” planet in itself. While being born with Venus conjunct Pluto can make for difficult relationship patterns, a transiting Venus/Pluto conjunction can help us meet power with love and diplomacy, while not compromising ourselves or what we believe is right, i.e.: taking the high road.

Another remedy, with Saturn so prominent in this full moon chart, is to observe tradition, routine. laws and etiquette. also, getting more organized and making sure your structure is solid will help you navigate this time more successfully.

Remember, we are in the tail of the rat year. This can be the most “rat-like” time of the year. Yes, there is plenty of crazy to go around. Don’t let it get you down. The stable, practical ox is on the way. And the ox loves intent that is backed up by the willingness to do what it takes to realize your intentions. We’ll talk more about this in the upcoming weeks. Stay tuned, and stay grounded.

Blessings,

Jackleen

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