Virgo's Moon:
The Eye of the Dragon
Subtle Meanings of the Full Moon in Pisces 2005

Malvin Artley, our regular esoteric commentator, examines the subtle meaning of the Full Moon in Pisces for 2005. This is Virgo's Full Moon, as the Moon is Full in the sign opposing the Sun. Malvin is especially interested in Chinese astrology and so explores this lunation with reference to the Lunar Mansion, the Horn, the fixed star Spica and the Venus Jupiter conjunction in Virgo, a phenomenon that occurs but once every 12 years. He gives some revealing insights into the cosmic growth spurt that our stage of humanity is now undergoing. This full moon will test the hearts of many and the purity of our motives. The responsibilities for our actions will be strongly emphasized. This Full Moon most closely resonates with the year and is a call to let go of antagonisms, to renew our dedication to the main work, to honor the work of others as well as our own and to find and adhere more strongly to the essence of the rituals that lead us to the Light.

Greetings, my Friends!
Bear with me a little on this one........There is method in it.

It was a glorious spring morning the other day. The weather had been unusually kind to Adelaide and I could feel the expectancy in my system as I sought to shake off the final vestiges of the winter cold. The Sun shone brightly and cast its shadows through the blooms of the native trees, rousing the heady perfume of the wattle trees as its heat evaporated the morning dew. The chorus of the birds was suddenly shattered as the back door to the house flung open wide and Anjou burst through the door. She could tell........this was to be the day! She raced out onto the lawn and found the spot she was looking for.

“Yes, this is it”, she thought to herself as she circled the spot, looking intently at the grassy patch of light. Then, she stopped and stood-frozen with an intensity of purpose that would be the envy of any meditator. And stand there, she did, and for some time. Nothing moved her – not the noise of the traffic, nor the now-resumed chattering of the birds, nor the calls to breakfast, not even her full bladder. She was determined that she would catch them this time. Her focus was complete. She could see the shifting rays of sun through the trees. The tension built in her frame as the moment approached.

Suddenly......What was that?! There was a fleeting movement of light across the patch of grass. “Yes! Yes!” she cried. “They're here! It's the Light People!” She could no longer contain herself. She danced around the patch of lawn, tail wagging and barking at the top of her lungs. “The Light People are here! The Light People are here!” she could be heard to exclaim as the glare from the window darted its reflection across the patchy lawn still wet with dew. They still eluded her, however, although she was having the time of her life.

OK. Thanks for humoring me a bit with that one, but there is a serious side to the story, as we will see. Anjou, of course, is a dog, rather elegant, but spooky, standard poodle – and a Piscean at that. In a curious sort of way her actions illustrate a peculiar aspect of Virgo, however – not that I am comparing Virgoans to poodles. There is a long history connecting Virgo with the appearance of great world Teachers – avatars, as they are called in the East – personages endowed with the effulgent Light of Spirit. From past Virgo letters we know the sign is associated with the highest and most powerful part of our essence, which is our eternal Spirit or monad. It is also very much connected with the angelic realms and with the development of bodies of all types, bodies that house the monadic essence. In that regard, it is said that Virgo “involves the service of the immediately present”. In other words, Soul, Spirit and matter are all united in service in this great sign. This is one reason why this sign is so associated with work and why it forms the natural sixth house of the zodiac, for the material worlds are ever the servant of the higher worlds.

The Azure Dragon

Virgo is the constellation (note that we are talking constellations here and not signs) that houses the star Spica, which is the determining star of the first Chinese lunar mansion called The Horn. I simply call Spica “The Eye of the Dragon”, for this lunar mansion is the first sector of their Azure Dragon – the heraldic animal of the eastern direction in their astrology. We have recently had a beautiful conjunction of Venus, Jupiter and Spica. As the ancient Chinese astrologers may have said, “The Great White and the Wood Star shone brightly in the Eye of the Dragon”. This would have indeed been a very fortunate omen, and it would have indicated victory in battle, a good time for construction, buying land and for marriages. For those who tracked events last month, we also know that Katrina hit New Orleans under that influence. The Horn is associated with rains and floods, along with everything else just enumerated.

However, the Venus/Jupiter conjunction was in Libra, I can hear people say. This is true enough, but the Chinese zodiac does not precess through the centuries as does the western zodiac. What you see is what you get with Chinese astrology, in a manner of speaking. We have spoken of the differences between constellations and signs before. One cannot interchange signs and constellations, I can also hear many astrologers say. The fact is that both signs and constellations are used in the esoteric side of astrology, and one of the features of esoteric astrology is to construct a chart that simply uses the arms of the constellational crosses with the planetary placements therein alongside the standard western horoscope that is adjusted to the seasons. The former uses no houses, whereas the latter does.

For those readers who are interested in the angelic associations within astrology, the Horn is said to have a tutelary deity associated with it – a genie that is able to transfix serpents with its gaze. Thus, we see that at least a part of the constellation of Virgo is associated with control of the lower realms. To the esotericist, serpents are always associated with knowledge and wisdom – the Soul in humanity – even though the standard association of the symbolism for the Horn is quite mundane (serpents being terrestrial snakes instead of exalted beings). Still, the higher correspondence of serpents with wisdom works here and there has always been a profound wisdom that comes through Virgo when its higher aspects are realized. Therefore, the angelic presences associated with the Horn (24° Libra – 5° Scorpio roughly, by sign) control the development of all within the lower realms via the Soul of all in the manifested world. We should be careful to note that constellations and signs are always used hand-in-hand in the more subjective side of astrology and the standard horoscope with its houses is the external backdrop through which the subjective horoscope works.

The implications of the preceding two paragraphs as they connect with the recent disaster in New Orleans should be examined here because that event is another beginning of things in many ways for the world at large, and not simply for the US. It marked yet another influx of spiritual energy of a type that will re-shape our world. We see the hurricane as a disaster and as suffering, which it was from our limited perspective. However, our lives will eventually be changed for the better as a result of the work of these forces.

In part two of this article, Malvin Artley continues his exploration of the esoteric meanings of the Full Moon in Pisces for 2005, especially in the light of how the souls of people in these times will be transformed by the new energies that are awakening in the cosmic being.

Read part two of The Eye of the Dragon