I toiled over this title for this post a bit, bouncing around different ideas to illustrate the themes of fertility and putrification, creation and destruction, growth and stagnation; all key contrasts in the Taurus/Scorpio opposition narrative. I settled upon this tongue in cheek example of Taurus/Scorpio prinicples at their worst; a lady with a debauched sense of value, which could be a fitting description of Moon in her fall in Scorpio. Of course, full moon in Scorpio presides over the most joyful, hopeful and fruitful time of the year in the Northern hemisphere, at the height of spring. I would conclude that a key problem with any feminine descriptors related to lusty, wanton women who challenge the power of men is that they were historically written by men:)

I do not wish to devote too much energy to broader astrological themes. The Moon reached her fullness several hours ago. The Washington DC full moon chart is actually quite fascinating, because it places the Sun and Moon in the 1st and 7th houses, the full moon having occured just after sunrise.

The Sun and the Moon are halfway through their courses through Taurus and Scorpio, so they fling their 12th parts to the opposite sign. The outer wheel of this chart is a 12th part wheel, so you see the Sun and the Moon in the opposite signs and houses. The 12th part Sun and Moon also align with the native Asc and DC line, so themes of identity and partnership and repeatedly highlighted. The Lot of Spirit and Fortune conjunct the DC, which is true of all full moon charts. The 12th parts of the ASC and DC occupy the 12th house, so themes of health, convalescence and imprisonment are also highlighted, but diminish in importance, or are perhaps issues that we ignore at our peril.

If I were to tap into my Anglo-Celtic roots, I would be more inclined to celebrate Beltane at this time of the month, rather than the more arbitrary day of May 1st. I would say the same for Imbolc, Lammas and Samhain. It would be a worthwhile endeavor to experiment with timing during these critical moments of the year, as it relates to sacred rituals. I would imagine any ritual would have been particularly fruitful at sunrise today. I probably should have mentioned that before today.

The Taurus/Scorpio axis has been the unnamed key player of the COVID-19 time period. If we recall, a possible patient zero emerged when Mercury transitted the Sun in November, 2019. The US’s Aries ingress occurred with the ASC/MC axis in Scorpio/Taurus. President Trump even signed the first economic stimulus legislation when the ASC/MC was on the Scorpio/Taurus axis. Not to discount the more obvious and dominant Capricorn/Cancer polarity, but Scorpio and Taurus seem to speak more to method, message and timing. Incidentally, Scorpio/Taurus was the predominate pacemaker during the Chernobyl disaster of 1986, which stained the water and the land and contributed to the downfall of the Soviet empire.

Saturn occupies the 10th house as does his 12th part. He is in hayz, culminating, and in his own domicile, so he is quite powerful. He is in phasis, because he will begin his retrograde course in a few days. A malefic who is changing course to a retrograde position becomes less malefic. Overall, Saturn is less malefic in Aquarius than in Capricorn. It will be interesting to note when Saturn falls back into Capricorn and consider the change in tone from warm, fixed, masculine air to cold, cardinal, feminine earth. Capricorn will likely not appreciate the changes to her plans brought about by Aquarius. Saturn will act as the arbiter of our actions as a society and of our rulers and government.

Jupiter will enter his in phasis stage a few hours after the full moon perfects. Jupiter has accomplished little in Capricorn. He falls here and he prefers to occupy masculine signs. He was beseiged by malefics before, so he is in better shape now that they are in Aquarius. In phasis, he becomes even less of a benefic than ever when turning to a retrograde course. It is not a surprise that Jupiter rules the 11th house here. We will not being enjoying much aid from friends here and will not be able to provide much aid. Social networks will tend to be strained and breakdown. Spending time on Facebook, I see a lot of talk that a person is stupid if they believe the government or conversely, they are stupid if they fall for counter culture arguments. Everyone is stressed and we see that people are really taking it out on each. There is little sympathy or compassion. Moon in Scorpio in the 7th really amplifies the abuse and even gaslighting. Jupiter also rules the 8th house of death. As Jupiter does not have the power to expand, this might be a blessing in disquise. The 12th part of Mars is also in the 8th, which actually implies death related to anger and violence.

Lastly, Venus is in phasis and will turn to backtrack on her course next week. Venus is less benefic than normal now, but never transforms into the quasi-malefic that Jupiter can when he is damaged. Venus also mutually receives Mercury by sign, which is a healthy, happy exchange. Venus lends more support to the Sun in this sense, although she is incapable of dealing with him directly. The 12th part of Venus is in the 10th with Saturn and Mars. Venus is granted some of her wishes here, because she plays nicely with these two bad boys, but she truly balances on a tight rope of diplomacy, being besieged by malefics. Despite some of the bad press about loosening social distancing, I think that we will find that people are mostly coming out of hiding in a responsible fashion. With Mars not well situated in Aquarius, we may continue to see arbitrary rules written and enforced.

I examined this from the perspective of my home state of Florida, placing Tallahassee as the chart location. There are some fundamental differences.

Scorpio and Taurus retain their overall influence on the matter, but the 12th part AC/DC remains in the 1st and the 7th, but transposed. I am always fascinated when native placements and 12th parts repeatedly exchange with one another, like a ping pong match. Saturn has already culminated in the DC chart and is moving away from the MC, whereas Florida’s Saturn is sitting directly on it. Sunrise has not yet occurred, so he is not in hayz, the Moon is. Florida and many of her southern sisters have not payed the high price some of our northern neighbors have as it relates to COVID-19. Florida is also making more direct efforts to re-open. Florida is either right or wrong in this matter, and the results of that will shortly be revealed. Both Florida and the US as a whole see Venus ruling the 1st and 6th houses. Again, her condition is mixed, but she never behaves as a malefic. She works hard to appease and appeal to Saturn and Mars.

While poking around looking for some less obvious art relating the May-Day celebrations, I found the the feature pic of Guinevere as portrayed by John Collier, a 19th century British artist. We know Guinevere as the Queen of Camelot, who’s affair with Lancelot brought about the destruction of the Arthurian world. In this portrait, she is the May Queen. There is a warning here that every rose has a thorn and that beauty, joy and love can lead to decay, betrayal and destruction. Ancient Europeans understood that evil can be found during times of beauty and celebration and left bundles of flowers on their doorsteps to ward off evil as part of the Beltane ritual. The tale of Guinevere and the fullness of the Beltane story correspond nicely to the Scorpio Full Moon and Venus retrograde.

During the same time period that Collier created various masterpieces, Alfred, Lord Tennyson composed The Idylls of the King, which tells the story of Arthur, Guinevere and Camelot. Lord Tennyson had Moon and Venus in Gemini, and his ASC at 21 degrees, which is where Venus is currently stationed. Tennyson was the preeminent poet of his age. I am always amazed at how I rediscover these little snippets at just the right time, particularly when it fits in so nicely with current astrological events. Happily, this poem also deals with a lady, who was quite frankly, a tramp.