FULL MOON - APRIL 19, 2019

The Full Moon is on Friday, April 19, 2019 at 6:12 a.m. CDT at 29° Libra. The 29° Aries Sun is conjunct Uranus at 2° Taurus.  When Uranus is the "flavor" of the Full Moon there are often unexpected events, unforeseen issues causing changes in plan and a general feeling of restlessness.
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The position of the Moon at the very end of Libra, gives it a type of indecisiveness. Sometimes astrologers say that a sign is in transition to the next sign when it's located at 29°. Libra is a sign that is naturally indecisive as it weighs all judgements in the balance. You may find yourself saying, "Well, on this hand … but on the other hand …".  The Saturn and Pluto station points in the following days will force a judgement or decision. It can be very helpful to have all available information plus the advice of experts in whatever field you are analyzing.

Notre Dame interior - stained glass - 2011 - (c) Marcia Sacks

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fire at Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. When there is a major event in the news like this, I try to pick it apart symbolically and astrologically for its message for me. I first reflected on the Saturn/Pluto conjunction which is in the Full Moon chart. Saturn represents things  that are old and haven't changed in a long time. Pluto symbolizes the transformations like death and rebirth.  So I've been reflecting on the old established structures in my own life. Is it the building itself that has value? Or is it our relationship to the Divine which awe inspiring churches, temples, synagogues and mosques represent? What happens when material structures in our lives are burned or destroyed? Is our relationship with the Divine destroyed? Or is it some thing that we just need to let go of? Or rebuild in an even more beautiful and awe-inspiring way? Maybe there's a way to look at this on the more personal level, symbolically thinking about structures of ideas that I have, ideas that I need to let go of, transform, or reconstruct.

Be compassionate and flexible as you encounter challenges in the next two weeks.

April 24: Pluto Station Retrograde 23° Capricorn
April 29: Saturn Station Retrograde 20° Capricorn

I wrote about these planetary retrogrades occurring together in my article in Yoga Chicago magazine: Astrology, Yoga and Balance.

I don't always talk about the asteroid Chiron in relationship to a lunation chart but I see that Mercury in the chart is conjunct Chiron. One of Chiron's symbols is "the wounded healer." It suggests that you can be helpful to people by sharing your own difficult situations and how you solved them. So rather than giving advice like "you should do this", frame it as "when I found myself in a similar situation this is what helped me."

In the News:

Ray Grasse's book Urban Mystic: Recollections of Goswami Kriyananda has been published this month and is available on Amazon both in paperback and Kindle format. As many of you know, Goswami Kriyananda was my guru. He was a light on my path and the spiritual preceptor of the Temple of Kriya Yoga in Chicago. 

April 28, 2019: The Babaji Festival, usually held at the Temple of Kriya Yoga, is being held at the Moksha Yoga Center this year. It starts at 11:30 a.m. with chanting followed by inspirational talks. I will be giving a talk on "Planetary Cycles: Messages, Lessons and Gratitude”.  Contact the Temple for more info at: 773-342-4600 or kriya@yogakriya.org