The Sagittarius Full Moon, the Galactic Center & Tina Turner's 'Beyond'
What's love got to do with it? Everything.
Hey all,
Hope this museletter finds you well.
Happy full moon. Today, the sun is at 13 degrees of Gemini and the moon is directly opposite at 13 degrees of the jaunty, adventurous sign of Sagittarius.
It’s the first full moon since the skin-shedding lunar eclipse full moon in Scorpio last month. The idealistic, forward-looking vision of the Archer is just the medicine we need to venture forth with new hope after the deep release of parts of our pasts that eclipse season brought upon us. The unifying theme for the axis of Gemini the twins and Sagittarius the centaur-archer is knowledge & communication. This full moon is a culmination point of all of our collective learnings over the past month, and the light of the sun is shining on our embodied, inner knowing.
The moon in Sagittarius represents knowledge and communication expressed through long voyages to far-off lands, gurus, doctrines, philosophy, formal education, and spirituality. By contrast, the sun in Gemini represents knowledge and communication expressed through chatting and exchanging ideas with those close to you- siblings, neighbors, the marketplace, local community.
The conscious sun in the sign of local knowledge is shining her light on the subconscious moon in the sign of universal knowledge. The full moon acts as a mirror, and during Gemini season la luna is an embodied reflection of the idea that there is unifying, universal truth within each of our location-based, personal truths. The Sagittarius full moon shines with the brilliance of interconnected, universal knowledge that has been distilled, like a fine wine, through space and time.
The archetype of Sagittarius has a shadow of being dogmatic and righteous because they are often prone to think that, in their questing, they have found the ultimate truth. But as long as they stay off their high horse, shy away from ultimatums, and recognize, like Gemini, that there is always another opinion out there, their deep synthesis of varying personal beliefs can be truly enlightening. The exceptional beauty of Sagittarius is the bravery of the archer to transcend their immediate surroundings and synthesize information from the past and the present, the east and the west, the mind and the body. There is deep curiosity in both Gemini and Sagittarius, different ways of knowing from opposite sides of the ecliptic.
People are not stupid. They believe things for reasons. The last way for skeptics to get the attention of bright, curious, intelligent people is to belittle or condescend or to show arrogance toward their beliefs.
-Carl Sagan
The rulers of the Gemini/Sagittarius full moon axis: Mercury and Jupiter
Gemini is ruled by Mercury (Hermes in Greek mythology), the swift messenger between worlds, god of commerce, trade, transportation, and tricksters. A guardian of the crossroads between the underworld and above, Mercury controlled the movement of words, goods, ideas, and people, and linked the divine and the mundane. Thus, Gemini season is all about the linking of ideas, movement, and socializing.
Sagittarius, on the other hand, is ruled by Jupiter (Zeus in Greek mythology) the great father of the sky, commander of lightning and thunder, overseer from the backs of eagles. Jupiter also happens to be Mercury’s father. (Mercury’s mother is the earth and fertility goddess Maia, for whom the month of May is named). Jupiter does not travel between worlds, but rather sees from above, bringing light and controlling the weather.
Jupiter, as the ruler of this Sagittarius full moon, is currently transiting in the sign of Taurus and conjunct the North Node of the moon, making this full moon extra hungry. In Taurus, Jupiter expands and gives benevolence to themes of stability, earthiness, and sensuality. Next to the North node, there is a striving toward expanding that Venusian grounded feeling, a desire for slowness and rest and nourishment.
This can be felt this full moon with the Sagittarian inner knowing that comes from our bodies and, quite possibly, from the center of the galaxy itself. This lunation is a great opportunity to tap into that universal truth within yourself in the middle of Gemini season, which as a season can feel more Mercurial, buzzy, heady, and flighty.
Sagittarius is ruled by the lower half of the body, including the hips, thighs, legs, lower back, pelvis, liver, pituitary gland, and sciatic nerve, so take some time to ground down into your legs and the earth today as you bear witness to your inner Jupiterian truths.
Take some time to listen to your inner knowing as something that has been distilled and synthesized over your own life and the life of your ancestors. Just for today, release the need to add anymore information, data, or other opinions to what’s already inside you.
Sagittarius A: Universal Wisdom from the Galactic Center
The Galactic Center is the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. This black hole, as big as 4 million of our suns, is known as Sagittarius A, and is thought to have been created from the origins of our known universe, the Big Bang. Just as Earth orbits around the sun every 365 days, our solar system is on an arm of the spiral galaxy, and we rotate around the Galactic Center every 230 million years. Fittingly, the Galactic Center is located in the sky (from our vantage point) at 26 degrees Sagittarius.
From our point of view here on Earth, the archer’s bow in the Sagittarius constellation points his arrow directly towards this Galactic Center. He aims his arrow towards a powerful blackness, firing it as a destination into the center of the great unknown, the root, the beginning. This alignment of our solar system with the Galactic through the constellation of Sagittarius lends itself to the universal wisdom archetype of the sign. The archer is the seeker of truth from the great beyond, the connector of the dots, the seeker of the meaning of life, guiding us all the way back to the center of the universe, perhaps to the beginning of time itself.
If your birth chart contains planets on at 26 degrees Sagittarius, you might feel this energy in an intense way. People who have planets there are thought to have direct access to the Galactic Center. They tend to be inspired quickly, easily and effectively in whatever field they are in, with whatever is important at the time. There aren’t intermediaries there. Imagine that the teachers of the Galaxy have their headquarters at that point. We are all connected to the Galactic Center, and those with 26 degrees of Sagittarius in their charts are especially open pathways through which inspiration, wisdom, and guidance flow very very readily.
(I just learned that when I was born, Neptune was at 26 degrees Sagittarius. I can say that my dreams have always been influenced by this questing energy, and I’ve always felt tapped into deep space in a way that other’s maybe aren’t… so there’s that! Do you have any planets conjunct the Galactic Center? I’d love to hear your experience!)
Here’s a cool video for all you astronomy nerds that goes into more (beautifully photographed) detail on the Galactic Center. Enjoy!
Tina Turner’s Beyond: A Sagittarian synthesis of chants and prayers
“Each of us is born, I believe, with a unique mission, a purpose in life that only we can fulfill. We are linked by a shared responsibility: to help our human family grow kinder and happier.”
-Tina Turner, from her 2021 book Happiness Becomes You
Rest in Power, Tina Turner. The inspirational powerhouse singer, dancer, and author was born under the Sagittarius sun on November 26, 1939, and passed away on May 24, 2023 under the sun in Gemini. She sold over 100 million records worldwide, was the first black artist and first woman to be on the cover of Rolling Stone, was ranked among the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, was twice inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and received 12 Grammy Awards, which include eight competitive awards, three Grammy Hall of Fame awards and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Whew!
In addition to her Sagittarius sun sign, her Mercury and Venus were also in Sagittarius at the time of her birth. And at 25 degrees Sagittarius, her natal Venus was aligned with- you guessed it- the Galactic Center.
Tina Turner’s life story exudes the deep hope, optimism, and connection to spirit that is represented by her Sagittarius stellium. Rising to immense fame and power out of an abandoned childhood and abusive relationship with Ike Turner, Tina spent her later years in deep spiritual practice, living in Switzerland with her husband Erwin Bach and converting to Buddhism.
I was recently introduced to several albums she made from 2009-2016 with Dechen Shak-Dagsay and Regula Curti, a series with the title Beyond. The albums blend prayers, songs, and chants from Buddhist, Christian, and other traditions with the goal of helping to bring people from all belief systems together. The Beyond Foundation’s mission is to create a universal and compassionate sound:
Music is the universal language that unites people, nations and cultures. We produce, moderate and finance music albums and give artists a world stage. With our projects we connect cultures and religions of the world with music. Artists from all over the globe can inspire each other, collaborate and create a worldwide team spirit of togetherness. We want to live values like understanding, compassion, tolerance and mutual respect beyond all cultures and perceptions of the planet.
Tina’s spiritual message from the original album Beyond reminds us of the universal truths of love, impermanence, and unity:
Go beyond fear. Refuse to follow impulses of fear, anger, and revenge.
No one lives forever. Embrace the cycle of life that is the greatest love.
Start every day singing like the birds. Singing takes you beyond.
Go beyond the rights and the wrongs. Go beyond to feel the one-ness of the unity. We are all the same.
Looking to find our way back to the source.
Keep singing. Singing takes you beyond.
What does love have to do with it? Love grows when you trust. Love inspires and empowers us to do great things. When you go beyond is where you find true love.
Have a listen to the Youtube recording above, or find the whole album on Spotify. Sit with it and tap into the syncretistic values of a Venusian-Galactic-Center-queen, bringing it all down from the center to her millions of Earthly fans. Leave it to Tina Turner to unite the Sagittarius-Gemini axis by bringing universal, spiritual, musical wisdom for the people at the end of her time here on this Earthly plane. :)
I’ll leave you with that. There’s plenty of intergalactic musical content for you to sink your teeth into with the videos above! I’ll see you in 2 weeks, when I’ll hopefully be recovered enough from eclipse-fueled life changes to start recording my somatic videos again. We shall see!
Until then, I’m gonna take Tina’s advice and start every day singing like the birds.
All my love until the next new moon,
xoxo
Alison
Also: In this Tina Turner video from 1966 of River Deep-Mountain High, where she echoes sentiments from Beyond ("I love you baby like the flower loves the spring, I love you baby like a robin loves to sing..."). https://youtu.be/uj0wPrN_Y_4