The seemingly faraway sound of keys clanking inside a lock echoes off walls of stone and misery, awakening a man imprisoned for heresy. He has had weeks in darkness to think about his fate, left to rot in a dungeon for espousing a scientific point of view that ran counter to that of the prevailing powers of church and state. Fearing his ideas could spark a revolution, the man was hastily thrown in prison and forgotten.

But unbeknownst to him, he had an ally in the court, a voice of reason able to cut through the fears of the powerful. His ideas made it to the ears of royalty and it was decided that he should be sent on a mission to prove himself. A voyage across the sea to collect new information in a completely foreign land was determined the best course to decide once and for all if he was right.

The prison door opens, light bursting through the opening, blinding the imprisoned man's eyes like fire. His eyes adjust and there stands a messenger, a scroll in his outstretched hand outlining the decree of his new mission.

After the initial confusion passes, the man begins to realize his outlook has just greatly improved. Not only is he being released from prison, he's being sent on an adventure of a lifetime. His enthusiasm wanes, however, when he is told that he will be accompanied by a bevy of royal guards, there to keep him under arrest as he performs his duties. His freedom is not entirely granted, but exploring the world under arrest is still a much improved state of affairs.

Resisting the pain of loss is natural to the human condition. Yet it is also the catalyzer for our growth. Like physical resistance is required to build a strong body, emotional resistance is required to build a strong soul. The outer planets serve to make sure we understand this.

When the Moon enters Sagittarius and opposes the Sun on Friday May 24th at 11:25pm Central Time, it is like the world opening up to us after a period imprisoned in the darkness of unexpected change. The experience of change as a force can seem like a trap. We can feel as if we have no idea where any of it is taking us and that fear of the unknown can seem overwhelming. But now, with a Sagittarius Full Moon opposing a Gemini Sun, we again find new faith as we feel able to take our experiences out into the wider world.

But the shackles haven't completely come off. We are still bound to the consequences of our recent trials and victories. It is therefore wise to keep in mind that what we might perceive as shackles are in fact our keys to freedom. To the degree we resist our process we feel chained, but if we embrace and adapt with our process, allowing it to take us deeper into ourselves, then we can become liberated. Pluto in Capricorn, Uranus in Aries and Saturn in Scorpio are all serving to remind us of this. And please take heart — who doesn't resist the pain of loss? It is natural to the human condition. Yet it is also the catalyzer for our growth. Like physical resistance is required to build a strong body, emotional resistance is required to build a strong soul. The outer planets serve to make sure we understand this.

Having gone through a Scorpio Full Moon eclipse, followed by a Taurus New Moon eclipse, we've been tested with regard to our survival mechanisms. What are we attached to that we think makes us secure but is actually preventing our growth? What physical shocks are we having to weather in order to make the important shifts within ourselves and let go of those attachments? Our brave scientist above didn't realize it at the time, but his actions leading him to imprisonment were like a request to the gods to be forced out of his old ways and habits. Everything that he had clung to for a sense of security was stripped away. In a sense this has prepared him for his new mission abroad. He cannot take with him his creature comforts and habits. He must continue to change himself if he is to remain alive, but now the context has shifted — instead of complete isolation he is thrust out upon the wider world.

We too are on the cusp of adventures that will require us to build upon the lessons of the recent eclipses, to sail the high seas of our yearning for truth. We must put our personal trials into a much greater, even cosmological, context. We must seek out the truths that pertain to our experience so that we may stand strong with greater faith in ourselves and our connection to Creation. The shift from Scorpio to Sagittarius is what takes us from death and rebirth to seeking answers to the questions of why we must go through it in the first place. The beauty of this shift is that if we seek in earnest, we do indeed find answers.

Sagittarius Full Moons ask us to be bold, to look at our emotional needs and bravely seek out their fulfillment. Take this time to look within and tap into your faith, that burning ember of knowing that you exist for a greater purpose and in the magnificence of your being you are worthy of finding the rewards you seek. For if you cannot find faith in God, in your boldness you will find that God has faith in you.

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