 With Mercury and Saturn out of the retrograde woods we only have one inner planet (Jupiter) and two outers (Uranus and Neptune) looking backward. And really this Rohini full moon tomorrow night is a sweet one. It is promising growth. The Sun and Mars in Jyestha opposite grant us the courage to conquer whatever we need to do to receive the expansive growth we desire.
But really I want to talk about the most intriguing part of this full moon. A day after the full moon, aka Saturday, Jupiter will step back into Gemini. Since the 15th of May this year until 19th of October our planet of expansion zipped through the sign of communication. What happened for you during this timeframe? In my own life it marked a time of unexpected international travel (to give you an example). Now with that in mind it's retrograde back to this sign (and more importantly the house it governs) will give us a repeat of that capsule of time to revisit and perhaps correct. Even more fascinating, it stays within the lunar mansion of Punarvasu. Punarvasu is a return to light, a second chance of success. There is something about these 5 months in 2025 that deserves another go now. Jupiter will be retrograde until March 11th 2026 and on 3rd June 2026 swim into the nurturing and most auspicious sign of Cancer. But until then we have something to gain from going backward to learn something from this year. Perhaps we rushed through the lessons. Maybe we didn't communicate or express fully what we needed to. Maybe there was a piece of the puzzle that didn't come together at that time that could now, particularly when Jupiter moves direct in March next year. Either way, have a ponder and feel free to share in the comments below or book a reading with me to explore further. I wish you a wonderful full moon ahead. Stay light, Mark :)
0 Comments
 You know the day destroys the night
Night divides the day Tried to run, tried to hide Break on through to the other side ~The Doors Tension ahead! With so much in Scorpio (Sun, Moon, Mercury and Mars) and the two big players Jupiter and Saturn retrograde we have a lot of moments for breakthroughs on the horizon or should I say on the internal plane/battlefield. With Jupiter in Cancer and Saturn in Pisces there is an abundance of water energy. Water heightens our intuition, our emotional responses and also our propensity for enlightenment. An Anuradha moon requires the devotion in relationship to ourselves, our loved ones and to our purpose. It is time to push through the barriers that guard the door that carry us away from love and instead forge onward toward strong and enduring commitments. I read a quote by Ravi Shankar today "If there is fear or confusion in your life, it is because of a lack of commitment". Commitment takes strength, worship, faith, transformation and patient persistence. Where do you justify your bad habits, gaslight yourself or others to feed lack of integrity or scatter your energy needlessly. With retrograde Jupiter and Saturn we have a beautiful opportunity to dive inward in regards to our beliefs and morals and overhaul anything not true or serving us/others. Listen to your heart/your inner guidance and you will know where you need to grow this new moon. For Radha (who this moon is named after) embodied unwavering and passionate intensity for her love of Krishna (the divine). With full expression, ecstasy and utter commitment she earned the right to dance and be the dance of life and love. Stay light, Mark  I did not believe the information
Just had to trust imagination My heart going, "Boom-boom-boom" "Son, " he said "Grab your things, I've come to take you home" Hey, back home ~ Peter Gabriel I want you to imagine yourself walking through a pitch black cave. Sand beneath your feet. The smell of the damp walls surround your senses. You cautiously step forward. One step after a hesitant other. This cavern contains your past, your fears of the future and the void of the unknown present. As you walk through this darkness you begin to see a light ahead. This light ahead is the full moon on Wednesday night. Since the new moon a fortnight ago what has become obvious hindrance or stagnant of where you need to move to? What is residing in your life that needs to be taken away to get there? This full moon has quite a lot of birthing energy to it but with a birth we must pass the threshold of death to get there. Like Charon carrying the mortal to immortal on the boat to Hades - we must have something taken away from us to provide the fertility of new ground. And new ground is cultivating, is culminating this full moon. Let go or be dragged. Basically the quote for 2025 am I right? Stay light, Mark :)  ’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved; How precious did that grace appear The hour I first believed! ~Amazing Grace There is much to say about this new moon approaching on the 21st. It is the Indian new year Divali - where the sun is at its darkest and the moon cojoins to light the lamps of the soul to carry us over the threshold. The moon and sun are in Chitra the divine architect who builds merit for the good karma we have offered to the world. But even more so tonight (around 6:30pm AEST) Jupiter moves from Gemini to Cancer exalting in the sky. This exaltation heralds a return to wisdom. A return to truth and goodness. A return to light. Of course there is so much to observe that is wrong, unjust and to be corrected in this world but Jupiter finding its feet in Cancer is a welcome step forward. Cancer is the nourishing love of the mother. Much like the cow (a holy sattvic animal revered in India) it overflows with milk much more than its calf requires. There is an abundance of love and support available and there is a steady kindness providing this nutrients. Until the end of the year this new moon carries the foundations to make things right, to correct wrongs, and to hope again of a better future. To explore this further book a reading with me how it effect you personally. Stay light, Mark :)  Bright lights and tired streets
We could get away No time to even speak Nothing to say No rain or storms above That could make us stay Let's walk above the city You and I ~ Paper Kites Ok listen up my cherished readers. Yes, we are heading into a powerful lunar eclipse Sunday eve/Monday morning. Yes, eclipses are karmic. Yes, they can be unsettling energetically. Yes, they can quickly change your mindset/life. No, they are not the elevation of humanity in 5D. No, they are not ruining your life - that is up to you. No, they aren't inherently negative energy. And yes, you may smoothly sail through unaffected. With that out of the way here are some suggestions of what is arising this full moon lunar eclipse. A Purva Bhadrapada Moon opposite an eclipsing Purva Phalguni Sun has much to say. The easiest way I can to break this down is to say there will be some detachment from initial enjoyment of self to amplify raising spiritual energy up. This raising of spiritual energy can bring a moment of clarity depending where the moon is in your chart. On the opposite side there may be some release from where the sun is causing a cut of old identity/mask one has worn. All in all I personally see this as a positive karmic shift for many of us this weekend. Conversations or encounters could be enlightening and quickly evolving. Fears may surface to be either confirmed or held/seen and put to bed. The symbol of the moon is quite fascinating here - two faced, two edged sword, funeral bed or lightning bolt. The two faced symbol can mean playing both sides but can also mean there is two ways things can go, two sides/two perspectives - the sword can be used to offend or defend - the funeral bed means a surrender/ending - the lightning bolt brings in instant resolution and insight. So this insight can be used for good or bad it's up to you but ultimately this eclipse brings an end to confusion and elevates us into a way forward. Stay light, Mark  Here I am again facing an anger and fear that is not my own.
Here I am again repeating old patterns that crush my soul. Every time I think I've made a step, every time I feel I've moved along, every time I know it's for the best, every time I break ~ 17 year old Mark Ashmore I've written songs since childhood. A musical journal of longing, angst, hope and sadness which was my way of expressing shadows I feared and doorways I couldn't muster the courage to enter. But recently this old song I wrote has been playing in my head. As we approach this upcoming new moon we are at a collective precipice. This new moon begins the eclipse season ahead and has much to say about the past and what we are all holding onto and more importantly being asked to end. Magha is a moon that casts us backward to ancestry. To the lines, traditions, expectations and trauma of our bloodlines and genetics. It is here we are entrenched in a family of karma and past actions that has to play out and places our current lives where we are. Our race, economic position, health, habits etc are governed by this line and force us into an institution that governs our fate to some degree. Of course under universal law this is already decided but on a human level it can often feel unfair or limiting to some degree. The vedic master David Frawley writes about Magha "The importance of moving beyond physical forms and structures comes out here." So as much as we deeply need to honour our ancestry and pay respect to it for surviving and thriving us into being we are also called to embrace our inner sovereignty and now leave it behind to move forward. So over the next day or two meditate on your past and particularly why you do the things you do that aren't consciously embedded in soul and now it is time to bow to them, thank them and let them go. Stay light. Mark :)  Don't lose your faith in me
And I will try not to lose faith in you Don't put your trust in walls 'Cause walls will only crush you when they fall Be, Be here now, here now ~Ray Lamontagne From an astrologers perspective I can't recall the amount of times I've been asked in desperation this year 'Mark, what is happening in the stars?!' (in comparison to other years). As a chainsaw trims a cherished Hibiscus outside my window as I type I think this describes the year thus far. We are being pruned, cut back and it's loud, irritating and why won't it stop?! And as I tried to persevere through the chainsaw-ery and was beginning to come into a reactive/judgemental state I realised: hey, there are other rooms in this house and I can change my environment/mindset instantly to something more preferable (and peaceful). And this my friends/readers brings me to our upcoming full moon. The sun in Ashlesha is bringing up our poison (so watch what and how you say what you want at present) and across the earth the moon is in Shravana. With Mercury (our comms) and Saturn (our karma) retrograde we are being asked to step back. Not into the past. To step back from the momentum. To not continue the past and its trajectory. These spirals we find ourselves sinking down, these drains we keep, are no longer if we don't want them and now we have the opportunity to pause the continuity. A Shravana full moon is asking you to look at the poison arising (that wants to come up and out, not go back in and store) and listen to the wisdom of what it has to offer. Shravana has a symbol of the ear. The receptivity of hearing is a passive one. The active state of listening is one that requires understanding and paying attention. It is a process of both this full moon. Take in what you hear at present - the pain and the lessons of the past, then listen to what your inner compass/soul/intuition is asking of you to step into/out of. Remember a spiral can move in either direction. As the environmentalist prophet of 90s morning television Captain Planet once said: the power is yours. Stay light, Mark :)  It's a full moon of invigoration tomorrow evening. With the upcoming Mars and Ketu conjunction on the 24th stirring up a release from our old past ways/habits/actions we are enlivened this full moon to clear the way ahead for this confrontation around the upcoming new moon. With Saturn turning retrograde on Sundays things are going to slow down and become more focused/perhaps even heavy. Any unfinished business (or learnings unfinished) that we have missed since Saturn moved into Pisces at the end of March are now being reassessed. In fact this goes back even further to the last 2.5 years. From January 2023 has there been anything left or avoided that you can now look at over the next few months?
Overall the upcoming full moon should feel energised and can bring about a victory over some previous hurdles of the last 2 weeks. A Purva Ashada moon can bring about a quick cleansing of that which you were battling and bring you out the other side winning. We can all do with a win after the energy that has been building collectively. Wishing you a purifying lunar illumination back into your power and strength. Stay Light, Mark :)  Love, love is a verb
Love is a doing word Fearless on my breath Gentle impulsion Shakes me makes me lighter Fearless on my breath Teardrop on the fire Fearless on my breath ~Massive Attack The new moon on Wednesday is quite the new moon. With Jupiter exactly aligned with our two luminaries, abundance rains. Yet for this abundance to rain upon you you need to make some effort. Directing your energy to a goal will spark an immediate reaction of attraction and manifestation yet this could pass you by if you remain idle. With the stormy Ardra moon we may find turbulence on this journey or an emotional release is required to intensely express and clear the way ahead. Yet the light at the end of the tunnel sings like a siren your way to auspicious shores ahead. We are in a karmic hold at the moment, held by the karmic snake as all planets in the sky are hemmed in by the karmic axis, so the world at large is moving through some heavy karmic activity/lessons. Mars the warrior is day by day approaching the past life axis like a soldier on the battlefield toward an enemy and we can feel the tension rising. The past is catching up with us and we shall see the ripening of this conflict by the following new moon. But as doom and gloom as this sounds, liberation is insight. Mars will battle then break the karmic container forging forward with new energy and action. But for now focus on what needs to be expressed to unblock the way personally for you to initiate the change needed to create growth. If ever the was a time for a setting of new intentions ritual THIS is your day! Goals, manifestation and reaching out towards them are all encouraged on this day. Try to have positive thoughts, affirmations and praising inner dialogue as this will propel you further into this expansive frequency. Onwards and upwards, Lightyears! Stay light. Mark :)  When I look at the stars for the upcoming full moon in Jyestha (Tuesday/Wednesday) I immediately think: potency. Sure we have a yoga (combination of planets) that is causing some serious heat/unrest as of tomorrow (which I'll get to) but ultimately those seeking serious upgrading transformation we are entering the eye of the storm. The wonderful vedic sage David Frawley writes about this moon 'It shows karmic battles that require our complete energization in order to overcome.'
Let's get real: the world is a shaky place at the moment. Those in charge are losing their grip on the power they hold over the people and the people are gaining both disillusionment and revolution. The towers around the planet of hypocrisy, corruption and subterfuge are being challenged and they are showing cracks of where they may crumble under restraint. Now before I become the next Nostradamus how does this play out your personal life? On the Micro stage we look at our own karmic battles - we only need to think of our own inner wars. Where in our lives are we in conflict (with others or our ourselves)? Where are you in obstacle (with others or yourself)? Over the next 2 months we are in a battle of sorts with our past. When Mars and Ketu (past life axis) come together we are in the fiery battle ground of personal, ancestral and global patterns that recycle us into suffering. This calls for the inner alchemical surgery if we use this time wisely - if we don't things can get a little disastrous. These two celestial bodies together can cause anger, accidents, war and violence so please choose option A (for yourself and for others). When we choose to have courage to face our demons the external transforms to the most potent, powerful and superhuman space. This is the potential of the next full moon ahead. Be brave! Stay light, Mark :) |