Taurus Full Moon of Electrical Earth Awakening with Shiitake

08°38' Taurus
7:49 AM PST
Saturday, October 31, 2020
Fungus: Shiitake (Lentinula edodes)

Welcome to this Taurus Full Moon of Electrical Earth Awakening in Scorpio Season!

Sun entered Scorpio on Thursday, October 22rd. 

This Full Moon is extremely tightly conjunct with Uranus (within .03 of a degree). This aspect highlights Uranus' stay in Taurus from May 2018 to April of 2026. This is a very earth-shaking placement for Uranus and a big symbol of our time, personally and collectively. Uranus is considered in their "fall" in Taurus, without much power and resources to do what Uranus does best. Uranus suddenly liberates, Taurus patiently builds; Uranus disrupts the mind, Taurus anchors in the embodied senses. There may seem to be opposite energy here, or perhaps just a unique complementing of one another.

For these 7-8 years, the Uranus in Taurus archetype point towards a slow release, a build up of earth's quaking, liberation of our stubbornness, and a kind of breakthrough when it comes to our earthly senses. The Uranian awakening is awakening us to the earth and to our sensual bodies. It is as though our bodies are part of the earth and things don't begin or end at the surface.

This Full Moon here is a portal into this lightning earth energy. Full Moons surface cycles of emotional release and heightened energy (and also heightened sensitivity).

Shiitake mushrooms or Lentinula edodes (Image: Kulture Parkin). 

Earth Awakening
Uranus often symbolizes a detachment, restlessness, sudden disturbance, or wayward behavior. What about Taurus is becoming liberated or innovated? Finances, homes, senses, bodies, sensuality, stories, stability, patience, rigidness, denial, possession? While Uranus commonly experiences disruption and change, it's important to remember that ultimately it is for the power of awakening. 

A deep awakening shows us there is something beyond the world of form. Fear is a natural reaction of moving closer to the truth.

Though while there is something beyond the world of form, this doesn't mean we simply reject or neglect the world of form for spirit. We don't just live on earth, we are embedded in earth. When you sense your own body, you can sense the earth's.

As we experience this change of body (our body is the earth's). Maybe consciousness is not ours to begin with. Maybe it is earth's. The Greek term psyche (soul) comes from the verb 'to breathe' or 'to blow like the wind'. 

Breathe into this fullness and release. Relax into it. If we stay right where we are then things become vivid and then very clear.

What is resourceful and what is not resourceful? How are you too stubbornly independent? Where does unconventionality or conformity not serve you? Feelings of isolation or detachment might surface. There is an increased need for change. For seeing beyond the ordinary. Stay present to your experience because any expectations or plans will be faced with new truths.

Shiitake mushrooms fruiting (Image: Kulture Parkin). 

Lightning, Earth, & Mushrooms
Mushrooms and lightning have quite a history. For ancient Egyptians, mushrooms were considered “plants of immortality” created by mushroom-seed coated lightning bolts hurled to earth by Set, the Moon Swallower, who was also the the red god of storms, chaos, darkness, destruction, and death. In the Mayan creation story of the Popol Vuh, three kinds of lightning, or kakulja’, are mentioned. These 3 lightning bolts are: kakulja hurukan (“lightning bolt one-leg”), chipi kakulja (“dwarf lightning bolt”), and raxa kakulja (“green lightning bolt”). Does the one-legged lightning bolt refer to a mushroom? Do all of these lightning bolts allude to the precious mushrooms?

Intentional mushroom cultivation likely began around 1000 CE in China and Japan, and one of the most notable Chinese legends and cultivation grandfathers was Wu San Kwung. He laid the foundation for the way we now cultivate Shiitake mushrooms: cutting, inoculating, soaking, and shocking logs. Yes, shocking logs. From pounding on logs with hammers to electric stimulation of mushrooms in Japan, we've seen that this arousal leads to higher mushroom quality and quantity. It's thought the shocks lead to a decrease of proteins and enzymes and then a sudden increase, thereby stimulating growth.

Shiitake logs (Image: Kulture Parkin). 

Retrogrades
Mercury is far into the depths of retrograde, having re-entered Libra on the 28th. Mercury is just about to slow down and station direct at 26°50' Libra on November 3rd, which, yes, is election day in the U.S. Think back to September 23rd -- what were those themes of relatedness for you? This is when Mercury entered their shadow.

October 14th is when Mercury stationed retrograde in 11°40' Scorpio.

Mercury will clear their shadow on November 19th, 2020.

Mars is still in retrograde. Mars stations direct on Friday, November 13th at 15°14' Aries. Began Rx on September 9th at 28°08' Aries. Entered shadow on July 25th, and won't clear their shadow until 2021 -- January 4th to be exact. 

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality.
To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
- Buckminster Fuller

sending you beautiful taurus full moon spores of sensual earth lightning!!

-gabriela