The Moon will reach its full phase with the Sun on November 15 at 24° Taurus at 1:28 p.m. Pacific time (10:28 a.m. ET). This will be the fourth and last in a series of supermoons, when the Moon’s orbit is close to the Earth, making the Moon appear larger than usual. For eons before modern times and electricity, the bigger and brighter the Moon, the safer it was to see clearly in the dark.
The November Full Moon goes by the apt folkloric names of the Beaver Moon, and the Frosty Moon, coming at a time when individual and collective tasks are to gather resources for what is known: Hard times are ahead.
Taurus and Scorpio are our fixed signs, in earth and water respectively. Taurus is known for the quality of hunkering down with creature comforts and stability, focused on survival, not particularly eager to challenge the status quo. Scorpio’s modus operandimay be cautious. But it’s probing. Scorpio’s ruled by Mars, and it’s ready to sting. Both Taurus and Scorpio provoke questions about being stuck, at an impasse, versus willing to dive down deep below one’s comfort zone. To accept challenge is a prelude to moving on.
The November 15 Taurus Full Moon is conjoined by Uranus, the disruptive force that can bring about breakthroughs and cataclysms. What’s being illuminated at this Full Moon may be more in the realms of disruptive disasters, on full display in the world right now.
Taurus’ ruling planet is Venus, making it the “dispositor” of the Full Moon chart. Venus is in the early degrees of Capricorn, the hard-charging cardinal earth sign, symbolic of the drive to work and achieve something lasting. Venus in Capricorn spells seriousness in Venusian realms of partnerships. At this Full Moon, Capricorn’s ruling planet Saturn is stationing to start moving forward after its recent retrograde period.
What’s most important astrologically at this time is that Pluto is about to finally make its ingress into the fixed air sign Aquarius, where it will be for the next two decades. Pluto, the powerhouse, is the outermost of astrology’s most commonly employed planets. With an orbit of about 248 years around the Sun, it has been in Capricorn since 2008. Pluto dipped into Aquarius briefly in 2023, then has been in and out of Capricorn and Aquarius, until now it will settle into Aquarius on November 19.
Pluto’s travel through a sign correlates with societal disruptions and generational shifts. While in Capricorn all these years, the power struggles have been largely over the old ways of Capricorn, including entrenched, hierarchical institutions. The United States itself—depending on the date one assigns to its birth—has been in the throes of its own Pluto return. As Pluto has returned to its zodiacal position at the time of the nation’s birth, it would be an understatement to say that foundational principles have been shaken.
Power is a double-edged sword: power to destroy and to create. No one can predict how the onset of Pluto’s time in Aquarius will play out. One can only forecast the prominence of Aquarian themes, which include individual freedoms and equality. In astrology, Aquarius has dual rulers: Saturn, the planet of limitation and crusty, old traditions; and Uranus, the far-out planet of disruptions and innovations. Both Uranus and Aquarius have been associated, too, with the domains of technologies, be they beneficent discoveries or oppressive machines. All that’s safe to say now is that the Pluto in Aquarius era will be one of increased technocracy, power struggles over communication and (dis)information, true democracy versus authoritarianism. One Aquarian paradox is that the fight for individual freedom necessitates collective action. Joining with others in groups and mass movements is an antidote to despair.
This brings me to a particular contemplation I’ve had for this November 15 Beaver Full Moon.
Working mostly in darkness, beavers avoid predators by moving furtively, between dusk and dawn. Beavers’ teeth never stop growing, leaving them no choice but to chew their way through work without end. They gather and harbor resources, build dams, move trees and food to their lodges for safe-keeping, all the while re-shaping their environments, thereby benefiting not only their own species but entire eco-systems. For beavers, as for all creatures, survival depends on skillful adaptation, and collective action.
A motto for beavers (and for us) might be something like this: Keep on working, with ingenuity and with others, and by doing so, we won’t die.
Blessed be,
Sara
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