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Taurus Full Moon: Spellbreaking

By Jessica Shepherd

The world is a spell, an enchantment, an amazement, an arabesque of such stunning rhythm and a plot so intriguing that we are drawn by its web into a state of involvement where we forget that it is a game. – Alan Watts

I’ll be honest, I was hoping the content of this essay would be different, that the spellbreaking I’m writing about would be the broken enchantment of Donald Trump. Poof, in a puff of orange gas, gone, many glad to see him as a distant, strange memory. But, as we’ve learned, his spell has more power than we’d thought.

How does a spell begin? I know this from working magic. You must hold an image of your desire in your mind. Then you use words, incantations, that you repeat over and over again. The more you imagine this image, and the more you repeat the incantations, the more your emotions respond and the stronger the spell becomes. This is the essence of spell-working.

There are personal spells, like the spell of romantic love… and collective ones that make a direct leap from the imagination of one person into many, as propaganda. Hitler was good at this. So is Trump, a Trickster figure who, perhaps by sheer luck, spoke just the right words and images to en-trance a majority of our country into believing that he is the answer to their unrest and dissatisfaction. Match an image with the right words, add emotion, repeat, and you have a spell.

Lynn Bell gave an excellent talk at ISAR on spellbreaking, the inspiration for this essay. We each fall under different enchantments in life, which she suggested we explore by planet. The spell of love is Venus. Perhaps the spell of loyalty belongs to Saturn or Moon, misplaced idealism to Jupiter/Neptune, power to Pluto, etc. Each spell has its own compulsive quality, and it’s subsequent dis-enchantment… falling out of love, falling from power, disillusionment over a job, person or place that formerly enticed us. There are toxic spells. Lynn told the story of a young woman whose mother told her she was unwanted from birth — a very toxic spell.

Via Lynn, Carolyn Myss has said, “I don’t think people realize how easily influenced they are, and the worst aspect of it is that, for the most part, the people who cast spells in our lives hardly qualify for holding that kind of power over us. Give that a serious thought for a moment. Breaking a spell takes a great deal of conscious effort, especially if the source of that spell is a person with whom you have a complex relationship. By complex, I mean that the relationship can be loving, competitive, aggressive, or approval-based — or the person could be deceased.”

So how does a spell break– and when? In magick, to break a negative spell you must understand all the components of it, see the situation clearly, and know that you are not a victim, that you have your own power. You strengthen yourself spiritually and mentally, via meditation and affirmation. You remove yourself from any situation that reinforces the spell (ironically, traveling over a body of water, to another country, is a powerful spellbreaker). And finally, there’s the act of ritual, of taking symbolic action. If this sounds similar to a strategy you’d take in a counselor’s office, psychology and magick have big overlaps.

Through client work, Lynn has linked the progressed balsamic Moon phase, and hard transits of Saturn, to times in our lives when old patterns can finally end. I’m a counseling astrologer, so I can only look at the US as though it were my client. In the US Sibly chart, transiting Saturn is taking its sobering first house journey, while shadowy Pluto opposes our Cancer Sun. We’re having an identity crisis. Who are we? So if this were the chart of your child, or your self, would you abandon them/you during a time of crisis, name call, or figure it out? I experienced both of these transits over the past six years; the temptation of my lower nature was strong and compelling. It was hard to love myself through it, to not get pulled under by fear and negativity, but it can be done. We can grow through this. This spellbreaking will take time.

Full Moons are spellbreaking times. Every month we have an opportunity to break hypnotic patterns. We’ve reached the apex of the lunar cycle whereby we gain the fullest illumination, or awareness, of a situation before the Moon starts her process of letting go into the dark hemicycle. At these monthly Moons, we stand in the fullness of life, yet apart from it, can more objectively see what’s come to pass, and what’s ready to be let go.

There’s a lot to let go of at this Full Moon. Grief, shock, anger and fear, for a start. Yet Taurus Full Moon is a gorgeous affirmation of our personal values, and the beauty of this natural world. The Sun still rises each day, and the Moon, too. On my daily walk with my pup, Magnus, we watch hummingbirds drinking from flowers. No election result changes that. The landscape of our future may be uncertain, but when isn’t it? The real questions are, will this era lower the degree of love we have in our hearts, or raise it? Who will we be? What is the best possible response we can have? It’s time to love stronger, harder. To put our values into action. As we’ve learned, love without power is no match for fear with power.

We can break any negative enchantment with our willingness to see our own true power in this situation. Let’s rise, daily, just as the Sun and Moon do, to our better natures (and imagine that for Donald Trump, too, because we need that from him). And let’s acknowledge we are always weaving spells with our words, images, and emotions, and choose only positive, empowering spells in our lives, knowing that the images and words we give our emotions to, and the frequency we repeat them, verbally and in the privacy of our own mind, will create our reality. And so it is.

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About Jessica Shepherd

Jessica Shepherd is a writer, astrologer and health coach who has studied and practiced modern astrology since 1992. She is the author of A Love Alchemist’s Notebook: Magical Secrets For Drawing Your True Love Into Your Life (Llewellyn, 2010) and the books Venus Signs: Discover Your Erotic Gifts and Secret Desires Through Astrology
(Llewellyn, 2015) and Karmic Dates and Momentary Mates: The Astrology of the Fifth House (Moonkissd, 2014). In 2018, after living in California for twenty years, she relocated to Honolulu, Hawaii with her husband, dog, and cat. Find out more about Jessica at Moonkissd (www.moonkissd.com).

Comments

  1. CK says

    Nov 15, 2016 at 5:01 am

    Thank you for this thoughtful article. I especially appreciate your urging to send and speak encouraging words over Trump. He needs it and I need it for my healing. After several hours of horrified shock, I found myself finding good and positive outcomes that can come of the election. One of the top good things was the almost overwhelming fear I felt. Fear focuses our attention and creates a powerful pivot point. Shall we (I) pivot into the auto-response system of fight-flight and resist this new reality? Or better, make a rational choice and focus on what is before me, a table of plenty, an incredible blessings of good health, fresh air, happy family and more. We’ve spent much too much time with our energy straining outward and far away, focused on lives far removed from our own. The election was like the snap of a rubber band bringing us back to our own lives. Here, now is where we live. It’s ok to focus on our own lives and our own communities for a while.

    Reply
  2. BEKA says

    Nov 14, 2016 at 8:54 am

    This is fantastic, thank you! So healing in its clarity and simplicity. You provided a portal to expansion her. Blessings!

    Reply
  3. Akasha says

    Nov 13, 2016 at 1:13 am

    I once had a boss like that. Everyone in our department knew how clueless he was, but he would reign by terror and only put on a masterful show for those 15 monthly minutes when he had to make a presentation in front of the big bosses. And during those times he was a different person, a star, I was amazed by! Lying to his teeth, of course, but able to make a good impression every single time. He put his energy in those small moments that mattered in building that false facade and getting promotions. Illusions and spells work in the sphere of politics, media and capitalism…

    Reply
  4. Pat E says

    Nov 12, 2016 at 1:02 pm

    Exactly what I need to help me out right now. I was about to give in to “powerlessness” and you’ve helped me regain my strength and keep on no matter. Now for just the right “spells.” Third eye will help me. And so will that tiny bird sitting on the fence outside my bedroom window yesterday. Thank you!

    Reply

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The Moon is in its
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in the
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Today's Lunar Aspects (Greenwich Mean Time)
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Astrologers use a variety of house systems, or methods of dividing up the sky into twelve sections. I use the Porphyry house system; another popular house system is Placidus (this is the default on https://astro.com). If the chart I send you looks different from what you are used to seeing, then likely a system other than Porphyry was used. Whole signs, Equal House, Regiomantus, and Campanus are examples of other systems. If you find all of this confusing, do not worry. It is likely not critical to your report.

m  Conjunction:  Like peas in a pod, planets in conjunction tend to come from the same place. They act together, but it’s also hard to tell them apart. This aspect can increase talent, focus, and intensity (“two are better than one”). Or one planet can disappear as the other dominates. Their connection feels so natural, it’s easy to think everyone blends these planetary energies just as you do—but mostly, they don’t!.

p  Sextile:  Planets in sextile are compatible, though without any fireworks. This aspect doesn’t demand your attention. It quietly presents an opportunity. You can join these archetypal forces. Donna Cunningham has called this the “Oh, that!” aspect, because that’s generally what her clients say when she describes their benefits.  To get the most from sextiles you need to actively work them.

q  Square:  Squares are wild and wonderful—but difficult too. The power struggle between these planets was likely defined in your youth, when they were impossibly challenging. People are usually aware of their squares. They force the issues that make you to grow. And that’s their gift. They ensure you learn your lessons. When you rise to the occasion, they bless you with energy, action, and success.

r  Trine:  Michael Munkasey has dubbed this the “goddess aspect” because it’s so lovely. Identifying talents you may have perfected in a previous life, trines can bring you joy. There’s a nice flow of energy between planets in trine. They support and reinforce each another. But without any struggle, you might take them for granted—neither using nor developing their gifts. An unattended trine can sometimes trick you into negative behaviors.

t  Inconjunct/Quincunx:  Your quincunx planets are innately incompatible. Bringing them into harmonious expression requires constant adjustments. This can be stressful, also motivating. You’ve got to keep changing your process, opinions or attitude—which promotes highly creative solutions.

u  Opposition:  They say opposites attract—and planets in opposition are never far from each other, though they’re constantly bickering. You may be triggered into awareness of this aspect by other people who seem to resist or undermine you.  An opposition can make you feel uncertain, insecure, or discontent, until you can accept and see yourself in both energies. Typically people find it easier to identify with one side and project the other onto unsuspecting others in the outer world.

First House: Personality, physical body, beginnings. Includes the Ascendant and rules physical appearance, the image you project to others, your general outlook on life, how you start things; may describe your role in your family system, often guides your first impression of immediate environment.

Second House: Money and personal finances, sense of self-worth and basic values, personal possessions, talents.

Third House: Communication, thoughts, language skills like writing and speaking, early schooling, siblings and neighbors, short trips, coming and going around town.

Fourth House: Your home, psychological foundations and roots, family, parents, domestic life, instinctive behavior, ancestry, your connection with the past, sense of security, domestic life, real estate. conditions at the end of life.

Fifth House: Children, creativity, romance; pleasure, entertainment, self-expression; all forms of “play”, speculation, gambling, and attitude towards taking risks; hobbies, attitude towards romance, lovers as opposed to partners, attitude towards having fun.

Sixth House: Work and job (as opposed to career), daily life, attitude towards service and coworkers, helpfulness, pets, attitude towards routine and organization, how you refine and perfect your skills.

Seventh House: Partnerships, one-to-one relationships, marriage, the first marriage, the “significant other”, business partnerships, competitors, open enemies, lawyers, mediators, counselors, contracts, negotiations, agreements. clients/the public.

Eighth House: Transformations and crisis, your ability to meet and rebound from crisis and change, sexuality; sex, death and rebirth, rituals and personal growth, your partner’s resources, addictions, psychology, other people’s money, taxes, divorce/alimony, inheritance.

Ninth House: Attitude toward expanding horizons, religious beliefs and personal philosophy, higher education, long-distance travel, morals, foreign languages and cultures, personal truths, publishing, commerce, advertising, your sense of adventure.

Tenth House: Career and profession, your contribution to society, social status, public reputation, material success, how you carve out a public identity for yourself; attitude toward authority figures, parents, caregivers, bosses, governments, attitude towards responsibility, desire for achievement.

Eleventh House: Friends, groups, organizations; hopes, wishes, aspirations, personal goals; your philanthropic attitude, concern for the collective, humanity; like tenth, can bring recognition and honors for fulfilling hopes and dreams.

Twelfth House: What’s hidden beneath the surface, karmic dustbin, limiting childhood/past-life messages, self-undoing, hidden enemies, hidden weaknesses, dreams, secret affairs, lost items, hospitals and prisons, hidden strengths, spiritual studies and soul growth.

A  Sun: Our vitality and magnetism; self-identity, ego.
Roles: The Self, the Hero, the Performer, the King.

B  Moon: Intuition, emotion, nurture.
Roles: The Mother, the High Priestess, the Child.

C  Mercury: Mind; physical dexterity and mental agility.
Roles: The Thinker, the Communicator, the Student, the Trickster, the Merchant, the Thief.

D  Venus: Our capacity for pleasure, receptivity, creativity, and social connection. Also indicates our relationships, self esteem, and financial abundance.
Roles: The Lover, the Seductress, the Artist.

E  Mars: Desire, initiative, anger.
Roles: The Protector, the Athlete, the Warrior.

F  Jupiter: Luck, opportunity, expansion, higher learning, religion.
Roles: The Scholar, the Gypsy, the Traveler, the Monk, the Professor.

G  Saturn: Hard work, commitment, focus, inadequacy, leadership, suffering, loss.
Roles: The Task Master, the Grim Reaper, the Wise Old Man, the Builder, the Cynic, the Boss.

H  Uranus: Change, breakthroughs, upsets, discoveries.
Roles: The Revolutionary, the Humanitarian, the Visionary, the Snob.

I  Neptune: Imagination, spirituality, idealism, addictions, deception, compassion.
Roles: The Artist, the Romantic, the Guru, the Addict, the Martyr, the Victim.

J  Pluto: Transformation, power, psychological dynamics, helplessness.
Roles: The Terrorist, the Detective, the Psychotherapist, the Dictator, shady people.

a  Aries: Pioneering, competitive, selfish, impatient, courageous, reckless, independent, dynamic, domineering, “Me first!”

b  Taurus: Patient, stable, lazy, dependable, practical, sensual, stubborn, artistic, possessive, greedy, gentle, loyal.

c  Gemini: Intelligent, curious, adaptable, quick-witted, restless, clever, scatterbrained, lacking follow-through.

d  Cancer: Nourishing, intuitive, protective, moody, sensitive, maternal, domestic, childish, cautious, creative.

e  Leo: Proud, dignified, vain, expressive, romantic, generous, childish, overbearing, self-assured, creative.

f  Virgo: Perfection-seeking, practical, methodical, petty, critical, studious, discriminating, cautious, never satisfied.

g  Libra: Charming, sociable, peace-loving, refined, diplomatic, artistic, indecisive, apathetic, easily deterred.

h  Scorpio: Passionate, secretive, penetrating, resourceful, suspicious, manipulative, jealous, sarcastic, intolerant, determined, aware.

i  Sagittarius: Freedom-loving, philosophical, optimistic, enthusiastic, careless, impatient, talkative, a know-it-all, broadminded, athletic, honest.

j  Capricorn: Serious, responsible, practical, hardworking, stubborn, brooding, inhibited, status-conscious, domineering, unforgiving.

k  Aquarius: Progressive, individualistic, unpredictable, cold, intellectual, artistic, eccentric, shy, impersonal, scientific.

l  Pisces: Compassionate, intuitive, ungrounded, romantic, impractical, self-sacrificing, seductive, musical, artistic.