Full Moon In Taurus And Comet Holmes

Way back in 1892, two days after the annual full moon in Taurus, a comet was spotted by Edwin Holmes after its brightness increased significantly, making it more noticeable in the skies. Now 115 years later and two days before this year’s full moon in Taurus (UK time = 26th Oct @ 6am), it suddenly and unexpectedly expanded in brightness again, moving from being an under-achieving, average Joe in the luminosity ladder to being one of its fastest rising stars, plucking it out of astronomy obscurity faster than a reality-show contestant can say ‘overnight success’ (story here)

So what’s that all about then? Is it simply referring to the reappearance of the utterly luminescent reality-show winner, singer Leona Lewis with her newly released single, the darkly Scorpio/Taurus themed ‘Bleeding Love’ (You cut me open and I keep bleeding love!!)? Or is there something more? (And something more than being headed for those doom and gloom predictions that comet astrologers of old invested so heavily in, as I have really had it up to here with irritating apocalyptic predictions, it’s all SO 1999)

Along with the smooth as a sports car synchronicity of the Taurus full moon link-up spanning 115 years, it was the quick and unexpected change in the comet’s appearance that got my attention, because Uranus, planet of sudden, unusual, and unpredictable movement is currently opposed to Venus, the planet that rules Taurus, (and therefore a VIP planet for this full moon chart), while Jupiter, the planet of increase and optimism, sits at right angles to both Venus/Uranus.

But not only that, the comet is located in the constellation of Perseus, the mythical Greek action hero responsible for rescuing his future bride Andromeda from the clutches of some terrible sea monster while on his journey to slay scary snake-haired Medusa. Perseus is the ultimate swashbuckling romantic hero (very Mars in Cancer), and is portrayed as the emotionally driven Knight of Cups in the Mythic Tarot, because the authors saw a strong similarity to the arms-length idealising of women that medieval knights favoured . According to the Mythic Tarot description “Perseus is different from other heroes precisely because of this high idealism and worship of women”. Not sure about that, but it's certainly all very Venusian and rather lunar too, especially the lunar earth of Taurus opposing the deep waters of Scorpio; and weirdly the Perseus/Andromeda story seems to be playing out in the full moon line-up of planets. Taken from this translation of Ovid, here's the meeting of Perseus and Andromeda:

"As soon as Perseus saw Andromeda's arms bound to the rocky cliffs--he might have thought her a marble statue, save that the light breeze ruffled her hair and a slow tear dripped from her eye--he felt the fires of love. He gaped, so taken by the beauty of her form that he almost forgot to beat the air with his wings. Hovering he cried, "O, you shouldn't be bound with these chains but rather with the bonds that link lovers! Tell me your name, your nation, and why you are shackled here!"

At first the maiden said nothing, embarrassed to answer a strange man. She would have hidden her modest face in her hands had they not been bound. Her eyes were free; they brimmed with tears.

Finally after many false starts, afraid that it would seem her silence was hiding her own crimes, she told him her name and her country and explained that she was chained here because her mother had so boasted of her beauty. Before she could finish the story, the waves thundered and an oncoming beast towered over the great sea, hiding the waters beneath its breast".

Isn't the sheer optimism of Perseus, in his willingness to take on the 'impossible' task and heroic journey of slaying Medusa, more than a bit Jupiter in Sagittarius? and then there's the modest maiden (Venus in Virgo) reaching for freedom from the sea monster unleashed by Poseidon (Uranus in Pisces). Turns out this full moon theme unexpectedly has Perseus meeting Andromeda, via the slaying of Scorpio type she-devil's, written all over it.



There's more on the comet here, and from Lynn Hayes here,
on the astrology of comets here,
and more about the myth of Perseus here , and here.