Effects of the lunar cycle on Cancer natives

I received this question by email this morning:

My question has to do with the effects of the Full Moon on a Cancer Sun Sign and the New Moon on a Cancer Rising Sign.

Specifics regarding these questions: Through four to six years of peri-menopause I (being the Cancer Rising above) noticed a waxing-to-Full Moon accompanied periods of insomnia -- but after menopause this sleeplessness is now completely switched to New Moons (though not every month)! ???

For my Cancer Sun husband, I've noticed within the last year, waxing-to-Full Moons accompany mood fluctuations (paranoia, anxiety, etc., at times severe). The most recent Full Moon brought a particularly rough period for him; I was so very glad to have your intuitive, timely information on what was happening energetically.

Why is the lunar cycle such an issue for us? Any insight is most welcome!

In answer to your questions -- since the Moon "rules" Cancer, it is often true that people with strong Cancer in their birth charts are more affected by the lunar cycle than others. And Cancer Sun, Moon or Ascendant would be even more susceptible to the lunar energy fluctuations, since those are the three major energy points in a chart.

The different monthly sign locations of the New and Full Moons may be the other factor -- why some months you will feel them more strongly, others not so much. You might watch and see if your insomnia is worse when the lunation is in a water sign, or see if there are any other noticeable trends.

It's interesting, the shift from your focus on Full Moon reactions during menopause to more New Moon reactions post-menopause. One reason might be because during menopause, our emotions are heightened (much like during PMS), and the Full Moon also exaggerates emotional issues. All that emotional energy running around could definitely cause insomnia.

Once we're post-menopause, we are in a place of new beginnings, which is what the New Moon represents -- so perhaps we are now resonating with/responding to that energy on deeper levels!

Thank you very much for your questions!

The Saturn effect

Whew. It's been quite a week, with the Full Moon opposing Saturn on Tuesday, and the Saturn-Sun alignment in Libra on Thursday. Relationship issues that have been with us since last fall (when Venus was also in Scorpio) have recycled for another level of completion.

In general, Saturn requires that we be responsible, mature and practical. It also often insists that we learn a new level of detachment from the emotional content of whatever issues have arisen, that we take the opportunity to focus on what needs to be done to improve situations rather than get caught up in the emotions.

With Venus now in Scorpio, we do need to enter the place of the darker emotions, to sort through them and feel their effects as a way of deepening our self-understanding and acceptance -- but Saturn in Libra insists that we not wallow in the darkness, that we expedite our exit by taking responsibility for ourselves, for whatever condition our relationships are in, and for what needs to be done to clean up the mess.

And yes, there are also themes of completion here, especially with those relationships that feel "karmic" in nature.

Gotta love Saturn, eh?

Mark your calendar: 2012 Teleclass Thursday, Nov 17

I'm pleased to announce I'll be offering a teleclass on the planetary energies that we will be working with in 2012!

More details to come, but here's the graphic I've been working on, just as a teaser:

Watch for more information in my NorthPoint Journal over the next few weeks! In the meantime, mark your calendar for Thursday, November 17, from 4pm to 5:30pm Pacific Time (7pm to 8:30pm Eastern Time)...

Another CME headed toward Mercury and Venus

A major explosion on the Sun has sent another solar wind toward Mercury, perhaps with even greater effect than the one referenced in my last post. Here's what Spaceweather.com posted this morning:

The CME will hit the innermost planet on Oct. 5th around 04:30 UT plus minus 7 hours. Energetic particles accelerated by shock waves at the leading edge of the cloud could also have minor effects on the MESSENGER probe in orbit around Mercury. The CME's forecast track shows that Venus might also receive a blow on Oct. 6th.

The website includes a video of the explosion, which is pretty spectacular. There's a disk covering the sun in the video, to block the glare so we can see the explosion more clearly. If you want to see the video, here's the link: CME October 4

I guess we're ready for more thought patterns to be eroded away...

Solar winds affecting Mercury

I read this article is on Spaceweather.com today:

SOLAR WIND BLASTS MERCURY: At a NASA teleconference yesterday, researchers working with data from the Messenger spacecraft offered new evidence that gusts of solar wind are penetrating Mercury's magnetic field and eroding material off the planet's surface. The spacecraft has actually flown through plumes of ionized sodium scoured from the surface and escaping from weak points in Mercury's magnetosphere.

So what does this have to do with us, you ask?

Astrologically, Mercury represents our logical, rational thinking process, and our human-level consciousness. Symbolically, the solar wind "eroding material" off Mercury's surface represents how our old, linear ways of thinking are being changed in major ways through the heightened energies that are now working with us. This "erosion" is just one step in the process of opening our rational minds to accept the grander scheme of things, and awakening the Higher Consciousness capacity within each of us.

It also reminds us that even when solar winds from CMEs are not directed at the Earth, we are still affected through their impact on the other planets in our solar system.

Amazing auroras

I may use this image in next week's Journal, but it's so amazing, I had to post it here today.

This is a photo from today's Spaceweather.com page, of auroras this week over Norway (photo by Fredrik Broms):

Incredible. It would have been amazing to see this in person!

Those all-important zzzzzzzzzzz's

With all the high-frequency solar flares unleashed this week, along with the powerful interaspects involving Uranus and Pluto, it's especially important to get extra sleep now. I've been trying for at least 8 hours, sometimes more, and even that doesn't seem like quite enough!

Our physical bodies definitely need the extra rest, and our mental/emotional bodies as well, as we work with these heightened energies now reaching the planet. And on soul-levels, we're doing all kinds of vital energy work while our human bodies are asleep.

Be gentle with yourself this week, and get those zzzzzzzz's when you can -- afternoon catnaps are good, too!