Full Moon in Pisces — August 31, 2012, 16:58 UT

“Hark, now hear the sailors cry
Smell the sea and feel the sky
Let your soul and spirit fly into the mystic

And when that fog horn blows
I will be coming home
And when that fog horn blows
I wanna hear it, I don’t have to fear it”

– Van Morrison

Today is singer-songwriter Van Morrison’s birthday. He was born on August 31, 1945, in Dublin, Northern Ireland. I’ve been listening to the album Moondance since I was a teenager, and I never get tired of it. One of my favorites on this ageless album is the song “Into the Mystic”. Listen, and sense the Pisces Full Moon of today:

The lyrics are about a spiritual quest, although the listener is able to interpret the words in various ways. In fact, Van Morrison has said that the song has two sets of lyrics, and it was difficult for him to decide, which one he would send to the record company. Originally he titled the song as ‘Into the Misty’, but later thought that it had something of an ethereal feeling to it, so he called it ‘Into the Mystic’. Either way, the song could describe the current Full Moon in Pisces. Mist, mystics and spirituality, they all belong to the realm of Pisces and its ruler Neptune. Also Morrison’s confusion sounds a lot like Neptune’s involvement.

The Full Moon in Pisces was in conjunction with Chiron and Neptune. We can think “Into the Mystic” lyrics as a metaphor for this aspect. The bonnie boat is the Moon floating on the waters of Pisces. The fog horn is Chiron, of course, raising awareness and guiding us safely home through the Neptunian mists. The homecoming spiritually speaking means finding one’s true self. The voyage continues. “I guess the song is just about being part of the universe,” Morrison has said.

The album Moondance was released on Feb 28, 1970. At that time, too, the Moon was conjunct Neptune, as it is now. The Sun was in Pisces, opposite Van Morrison’s Virgo Sun. He has natally a triple conjunction of Jupiter, Chiron and Neptune. The transiting Chiron was opposing the triple conjunction and squaring his lunar nodes. Moondance established Morrison’s career, and on several occasions the album has been listed as one of the greatest albums of all time.

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Moondance was recorded in August-November 1969 and released in February 1970, six months after the first lunar landing. Last week Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon, passed away. He was my hero when I was a young girl. Like millions of people worldwide, I was watching the event on TV and witnessing his famous first steps. When I look at the Full Moon this weekend, I’ll be thinking of Neil Armstrong.

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