Lunar Eclipse in Taurus
I use the Midwestern 7-layer dip as a metaphor a lot, and this full Moon in Taurus is no exception. All the planets will bear witness to the lunar eclipse in Taurus, and all will influence the final flavor profile. While the Sun in Scorpio and Moon in Taurus oppose one another, the lands in which the Moon holds this tension are absent its ruler. Venus is away in Capricorn, busy with the grunt work of relating to others in respect and kindness, with clarity and realism. And thank goodness for it. The rest of the field is full of players in risk of being overcome by emotion, hubris, denial or some mixture of them all. Venus sends a supportive trine to the Moon, keeping supply lines open. She's also keeping us grounded and keeping lines of communication open that are needed to manage shared resources.
Despite the intensity and complexity of the moment, Venus in concise Capricorn has a way of getting to the point. Mars is providing a focused message for her to run through her filter of diplomacy. A distillation of values and motives is useful information in navigating our response to this eclipse season.
Jupiter Can Help
We do have another hopefully helping hand in Jupiter, who squares this lunation from objective Aquarius. Squares between Jupiter and the luminaries are a fun but slippery slope in my opinion. At the middle road, we can get a nice boost of confidence, acting like a good hair conditioner or the perfect podcast lighting. That extra oomph we need to take up space. A little optimism or better yet with Jupiter in Aquarius, "wise hope" per Roshi Joan Halifax*. At worst it can have us tripping over ourselves or our ego dreams as we lean forward into hubris, entitlement, and in this lunation, even greed. In the context of these skies, with a potentially weaponized entourage of planets in Scorpio itching to do what they want, I would be cautious of such attitudes. Mars is currently there sharpening his spear, waiting for his opening while Sun and Mercury talk battle tactics.
Venus in Capricorn
The Moon can cling to stability behind its moat and draw-bridge, but something is desired and it is not for free. Something must be risked to move forward on the journey. If not material world things, this full Moon could highlight a realization that asks us to let go and move on, releasing control of the outcome. Alternatively, we could take advice from the third decan of Capricorn and make clear the terms and conditions required to move forward sustainably. Pluto may want to strong arm situations, resources, or people into compliance, so watch for any power dynamics being peddled as a fair deal. Venus is nearby to work her creative compromises and solutions, but she her self only has so much power against corruption. Sometimes failed crops are best simply turned over into the soil to try again next season. File the insurance claim and instead, put effort into prepping for the next growing seasons.
On a Nodal Note
On a nodal note, this eclipse is a zodiacally-staggered one, helping stitch together two pieces of spacetime: the last ~18 months in the Gemini-Sagittarius axis, and the next ~18 starting soon in Taurus-Scorpio. The nodes draw our attention to whatever axis they traverse, asking us to embrace a growth edge at one end, and let go/make space in the other. This current piece of time feels like a coalescence of everything we've been seeing/learning/letting in/letting go in the Gemini-Sagittarius axis for the last year and a half.
Overall I think this full Moon will bring strong urges to act while our feeling body holds onto normalcy for better or worse. If we can stay aware and focused, I think this can be used as a burst of energy to make progress on a project or problem. Alternatively, if we aren't fighting, hopefully we're flirting with gusto or f___ing. Treat your feelings like laser beams and set phasers to stun (not kill). Careful where you point that thing. Babies and bathwater. Don't accidentally burn bridges. (Or if you do in fact need to cleanse-by-fire, burn it down, honey! ) I'll leave it at that.
Good luck dear sky-friends!
*Thank you to Adam Sommer who introduced me to Roshi Joan Halifax and her retelling of Wise Hope