Join us in reverence!

Gemini Full Moon December 19, 2002 Sun at 27.42 Sagittarius Sabian Symbol: An old bridge over a beautiful stream is still in  constant use. Moon at 27.42 Gemini Sabian Symbol: Through bankruptcy, society gives to an overburdened individual the opportunity to begin again. 19:10 GMT 12:10 MST 14:10 EST 11:10 PST 13:10 CST 6:10 AEDT (12/20)

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.

December 2002 / January 2002
Full Moon Reflections: 

Stargate Solstice
By Pythia Peay

It's a holiday Full Moon - a horn-full-of-plenty rich with cosmic treats for everyone alike. With the Moon in the sparkly, champagne-chatty sign of Gemini, gatherings will shimmer with laughter and small talk. The Sun in the happy-go-lucky sign of Sagittarius centers hearts and minds on the joy of life. The Winter Solstice just two days away reminds us that the forces of light are waxing. The approach of Christmas throws a mantle of magic over the atmosphere. Souls everywhere hearken back to a moment in time two thousand years ago when a star shone over a humble stable in Bethlehem - and the Christ-child was born, symbol of hope to a suffering humanity.

Just beneath the holiday sheen, however, powerful cosmic forces rumble and stir. Somber Saturn in Gemini closely shadows the Full Moon, while Pluto is ten degrees from the Sun in Sagittarius. This raises the haunting spectre of the recent Saturn-Pluto opposition that brought terrorism and worldwide fear in its wake. Is war on the horizon? Will the economy sink further? 

Like a ray of illumination shining through the darkness, the Sun in late Sagittarius conjunct the Galactic Center this Full Moon opens a door onto the cosmos. Indeed, for spiritual seekers everywhere this moment in time offers a powerful opening to channel transcendent healing energies to soothe Earth's troubled political waters.  Why? Because, as Stephanie Austin writes in the Dec/Jan issue of THE MOUNTAIN ASTROLOGER, the Sun's alignment with the Galactic Center indicates "the opening of a special time portal, a stargate for new energies coming into the Earth."  This intense source of infrared emissions and microwaves, she writes, affects the electromagnetic field of the Earth and all its inhabitants.

By aligning our souls with this cosmic opening at the center of our home galaxy in the Universe, we can each become healing transmitters who can help humanity at this troubled moment. The Sufi teacher Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan has taught that one way to access the transpersonal intelligence that emanates from the Galactic Center is through the third eye.  Concentrating on the third eye, he writes, can help us overcome the conditioning of our  environment and strengthen our spiritual insight. (Note of warning: he advises that one should never work with the third eye as a way to project personal power or manipulate others.) 

So this Full Moon, align your higher self with the "stargate solstice" - that cosmic gateway of divine healing light and energy. After some moments of purification and silent meditation, ask that you be of service to the invisible beings who guide our planet. With eyes closed, concentrate your attention on your third eye - that point of light in the center of your forehead. Imagine that the two rays of light cast by your eyes have converged into a beam of light. Next, imagine that that beam is like a kind of cosmic wisdom superhighway that links you up to the hierarchy of angels, spirit guides and oversouls. 

Continuing to concentrate on the third eye, imagine that you are both seeing and travelling into the Galactic Center. As the source of spiritual guidance reveals itself to you, feel light waves of wisdom pouring into your being. Receive visions, messages, and light. Experience cosmic starlight flowing into your body and emanating through your aura, illuminating the atmosphere around you. Communicate wordlessly; be in oneness with the source of light and life. Float in the universe of stars and planets. As Pir Vilayat says, think like the Universe. Be the *star* you once were.

Then, slowly, with a prayer, dim the light of your third eye and return to Earth consciousness. Dedicate yourself to being of service to the wisdom you have received and the world you have just visited. As Christ brought with Him the promise of redemption, so, too, can you honor His memory this time of year by kindling your soul as a light in the darkness of the world.

And from all of us at MoonCircles, we wish you a sacred, blessed holiday.

• The Galactic Center is at 26 degrees Sagittarius
• Awakening: A Sufi Experience, by Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan