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Friday/Saturday April 26 & 27, 2002 Full Moon in Scorpio Sun at 6.41 Taurus Sabian Symbol: Woman of Samaria comes to draw water from the well. Moon at 6.41 Scorpio Sabian Symbol: Divers of the deep sea are being lowered into the waters 8:01 GMT (4/27) 21:01 MDT 23:01 EDT 20:01 PDT 22:01 CDT 17:01 GST (4/27) 0

Rituals lift us from mundane concerns and connect us to the greater flow of things.  Our MoonCircles CyberRitual is a monthly experiment in collective attunement -- to each other and the moon.  Across time zones, we collect our creative energies into a healing meditation, as a gift to ourselves and the world. Feel free to harmonize at a time of your own convenience, so that our astral voices may continue throughout the moon's waxing and waning cycles, as in a round.

April/May 2002
Full Moon Reflections: 

Five Angels in a Row
By Pythia Peay

The April 26th Scorpio Full Moon takes place against a dramatic alignment of the stars not seen since 1940 - and that will not be repeated again until 2040. Heralded in newspapers and on television, astronomers are thrilled at the line-up of the five brightest planets visible from Earth.  Between April 20th  and May 15th, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Venus, and Mercury will appear to have formed a straight line in the western sky.  On May 5th, according to The Washington Post, "Venus, Mars and Saturn-the ancient Roman gods of love, war and agriculture and wisdom-will group together to form a perfect equilateral triangle. In the Middle East, the triangle will appear to hang above Bethlehem.  On May 10, Mars and Venus will seem to pass so close to each other that it will look as if they have become one."  Although the Taurus line-up of May 2000 was as dramatic, it was not as visible. And though similar groupings will occur in 2040, 2060 and 2100 they will not be as bright as this month's, reports The Washington Post.*

As astrologers know, but astronomers do not mention, Jupiter is in the sign of Cancer, while Mercury, Venus, and Mars will be in the sign of Gemini during the peak of this line-up. Thus these bright planets will cluster close to Saturn in Gemini as it approaches its final opposition to Pluto in Sagittarius on May 25th - the long-awaited astrological event of the year.  Like the Greek chorus that appears at the climax of a play, this planetary 
alignment sings a message of significance.  Hopefully, their rare conjunction signals the end of the recent political tensions that have threatened to tear apart the world, or that have stressed the personal lives of some individuals. For many, the triangle hanging over the beseiged town of Bethlehem will appear as a beacon of hope reminiscent of the star that once appeared in that corner of the globe 2000 years ago.  

A spiritual interpretation of this alignment might be that it is the Universe's way of raising Earth's attention toward the heavens. The sight of the five planets all lined up like angels in a row focuses our collective awareness on the big, beautiful picture of the infinite cosmos that encircles us. These harbingers of the heavens send a message to those below to 
transcend the deep-seated hatreds that have bogged nations down in religious 
differences. 

By combining the symbolism of this unusual stellar phenomenon with the Full Moon in Scorpio we can each act as transformers for the intense energy that will surely be swirling throughout the atmosphere the last week of April and the first two weeks of May. Transformation, of course, is Scorpio's keynote. Mystery, emotion, and the Plutonic currents of the underworld are food for the Scorpio soul. The water sign's receptive, reflective, feminine energy is magnified through the Moon. Thus the Full Moon in Scorpio breathes in the dark chaos of turbulent chaos and confusion - and breathes out creative new visions through the Sun in the fertile earth sign of Taurus. Like the mythical Phoenix, Scorpio's symbol, we can generate new life out of old dreams, arising reborn out of the ashes of our past lives.     

So this Scorpio Full Moon, take time to go outside and participate in the mystery unfolding in the skies above. As the Sun sets and the Moon rises, behold the five planets as they appear before the Earth like angels in a row. Perhaps they signal a secret that will remain sealed for centuries to come. We cannot know. But we can give to them our prayers, our intentions, and our whole hearts as offerings in the great work of world peace. 
       
* "Planets Take Unusual Formation," by Rob Stein, The Washington Post, April 
8, 2002

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