Welcome to Blue Moon
The Online Home of Astrologer Elaine Kalantarian
Thanks for swinging by my little corner of the Web! I offer private consultations at various times throughout the year — both natal and relationship readings. I am currently, however, on a summer consulting break until the September equinox.
In the Moon du Jour section below, you will find a new essay posted every 2½ days as the moon changes signs. Following the moon's sign, and the aspects it makes to other planets, allows us to better anticipate the emotional milieu, the prevailing atmosphere of the day.
I also post essays at each month's New and Full Moons, and other key astrological events. The most recent essays are listed below. You can join my mailing list to receive notices when I post essays. If you have a special interest in a particular area of astrology and would like to request an essay topic, I would love to hear from you!
You can follow Blue Moon on Facebook and Twitter as well. In the About section, I share a bit about myself and my personal philosophy regarding this ancient and enduring craft of astrology.
The Moon du Jour — Stabilizing Taurus
After the bustling Aries Moon (the sign from which Luna has just decamped), it is not unusual at all for us to have several plates spinning in the air and no clue as to how to get them all down safely. The karate-chopping pace of the last couple of days, while doing wonders for personal initiative and trailblazing, can result in our overdoing it BIG TIME. read more....
Balsamic Moon Sliding into the Sun
Moon, worn thin to the width of a quill,
In the dawn clouds flying,
How good to go, light into light, and still
Giving light, dying.
— Sara Teasdale, "Moon's Ending"
The Moon is now in its final "balsamic" phase of the monthly cycle. The Crone's slender crescent rises in the morning just before the sun into which she will soon disappear. This is a very beneficial time to go inward, to retreat and reflect, meditate, rejuvenate. It is a time to rest in preparation for a new cycle that begins at the New Moon. We are naturally more contemplative and in need of quiet solitude at this time, at the dark of the moon. The body too naturally releases tension and can unwind and recharge. It is also much easier for our bodies to release toxins, so cleansing routines, fasting, are all especially potent at this time. Enjoy this quiet time in the cycle to take a break from our overly busy, all too artificial lives and feel the natural cycle, commune with the inner and outer cosmos here at the dark of the moon.
The balsamic "spell" ends at the exact time of the New Moon, the monthly conjunction of the Moon and Sun, which this month falls at 0 degrees of Gemini on Sunday, May 20th at 4:47pm, Pacific Daylight time. This New Moon also happens to be a solar eclipse, an annular ring of fire eclipse. More on that and the New Moon in Gemini soon....
Searching for Lilith THE SCORPIO FULL MOON May 5, 2012
The degree of this Full Moon falls in opposition to "Black Moon Lilith," which prompted me to research the mythology and religious views around this particular "dark" feminine archetype. I have not yet incorporated Lilith in my own astrological counseling practice for a variety of reasons, and so I wanted to take some time to read from sources both inside and outside astrology to gather some insight into this rather confusing and somewhat nebulous astrological "hypothetical point." There are at least two (some say three) Liliths: a "Black Moon" Lilith which is a calculated point (lunar apogee) in the Moon's orbit around the Earth, and the asteroid Lilith, which is not the same as this Black Moon point. read more
Earthy Balance THE TAURUS NEW MOON April 21, 2012
Sitting on the kitchen table with us this morning, along with the morning coffee, were three little custard cups of garden soil that my husband had collected yesterday.
One of the tasks we do each spring is test our garden soil pH with this rather involved chemistry kit we purchased a few years ago. Soil pH is important — worth the hassle of testing — for if it is off by too much, overly acid or alkaline, plants cannot draw sufficient nutrients and won't thrive no matter how much you coddle them. read more
The Tao of Taurus THE SUN ENTERS TAURUS April 19, 2012
Today, our central, life-giving star departs the cardinal fire sign of Aries to enter the tranquil pastures of Taurus — the beginning of a new solar month flavored by this sensual, stabilizing sign.
A fixed, earth sign, Taurus could not be more UNLIKE bold, on-the-go Aries. Well known for being rather stubborn and somewhat inflexible, Taurus the Bull's higher purpose is not to irritate but to consolidate — to identify the nonessentials and start snipping away. There are four things the Bull detests the most and they are: clutter, complications, distractions, and being rushed. I probably should have listed "being rushed" first. Taurus will immediately dig in her heels if anyone, however charming, tries to suggest any course of action she hasn't already thought through completely and deemed worthy. For Taurus's raison d'être is to shepherd what has already been initiated further along the road to completion. In order to do this, Taurus must be practical, realistic, and most of all focused on what really matters, focused on the priorities — for example, finding that luscious clover patch.... read more
Back on Boogie Street MARS STATIONS DIRECT April 13, 2012
What a week! Pluto stationed retrograde Tuesday morning. Representing no less than the chthonic underlying forces of life and death, Pluto is associated with profound change, survival, resources, sexual power, and all types of compulsive obsessions. Pluto is everything buried deep in the vast underground circuits of the psyche. All of which are being stirred up, in varying amounts for us all right now, illuminated by Pluto's retrograde station.
And apparently that's not enough for one week's celestial events, for last night here in California, Mars made a turn-about as well, stationing "direct" (regaining its apparent forward motion) after being retrograde since last January 23rd. Planetary effects seem to be much more acute around the time of their stations and so if "stuff" has been coming up for you this week, frustrations, anger, and also old fears emerging perhaps like the "Creature from the Black Lagoon," you can thank Pluto and Mars. Pluto, especially, is an expert at mining this kind of deeply buried matter just for our "benefit." read more
The Oak and the Linden THE LIBRA FULL MOON April 6, 2012
At each Full Moon, our two luminaries gaze at each other across the expanse of the zodiac wheel, shining that silvery night light on a different pair of opposing signs. This month's perfect circle of light features the vitalizing rays of the Aries Sun reflected through the balanced lens of harmony-loving Libra. Associated with love, rapport and relationship, Libra is ruled by Venus, the Goddess of Love and Beauty; and this particular lunation is the last Libra Full Moon with Saturn simultaneously transiting this sign of the "significant other."
Saturn spends roughly 2½ years in each sign and has been transiting through Libra since the fall of 2009. Providing us with ample "feedback" on where we fall short on that "conubial bliss" front, over the last couple of years, the labor of relationship has been holding court in our lives in one way or another — either the challenge of being in one, or the sorrow and loneliness of not being in one. read more
The Selkie's Message THE ARIES NEW MOON March 22, 2012
The day after my wedding, a "few" years ago now, on a morning walk along the beach, I spotted a seal. While not really a rare thing to see from a southern California beach, it isn't exactly typical either. What made the encounter memorable was the eye contact.
I had spotted her little round head bobbing just above the water only a few yards from shore. Seeing her well before she noticed me, I was able to catch her reaction when, at last, her eyes landed on mine. And how "human" that reaction was when she discovered she was being watched! Raising both eyebrows in wide-eyed shock, she opened her mouth in what looked like a little gasp, and immediately slipped back down into the water. read more
The icon at the top of this page is the glyph for asteroid 309-Fraternitas, a combination of Sun, Jupiter and the Earth, and symbolizes goodwill.
The Japanese woodblock print, Kingfisher and Iris, is the work of Shoson Ohara (1878-1945). Ohara is considered by many to be the foremost 20th century designer of bird and flower prints, or kacho-e.
© 2012 Elaine Kalantarian, all rights reserved