Sunday, April 2, 2017

Lower than High

If you look up at the Moon tonight you will see it just below the feet of Gemini.  (During this millenium the constellation of the twins falls in the sign Cancer.)

The Moon is highest in the sky during the Cancer 12th of its monthly cycle.  The Crab mascot helps us remember that we see it high in the sky because we are crawling across the bottom of our daily tilted revolution.

During the current few years, while the dragon's head is backing through Libra and Virgo, the Moon is well below the ecliptic for the high part of its cycle, and just as high above it for the low part.  If it were on the same level as the main orbital highway we would see the Moon above the Twins' feet.  It is actually flying 4 and a half degrees below the ecliptic.

Still, for now, this is the height of its ride on the pythian squiggle.

The Dragon's Head is the poetic term for where the Moon's path crosses above the path of the ecliptic.  When the Moon and Sun are lined up near the Dragon's Head it looks like one of them is eating the other.  The Dragon's Head is associated with reincarnation of the psyche, a Greek term, which we nowadays refer to in English as soul.

The Moon and Sun are only lined up with Earth when the Moon is new, or full.  So eclipses only happen when new or full Moons occur near the head or tail of the dragon.

What fascinates me is this expanding and contracting of the Moon's wave over a 19 year cycle.  We have been in a contracted period and are only this year returning to the stage where the Moon will gradually reach the feet of the twins, climb to the knees and then approach the heads of the twins.

The increase will be in small increments over the next 8 or so years.  You can follow the Moon as it passes through the twins every month and see for yourself what the ancients meant by the term dragon.