Nature has the ability to create artistic patterns without even trying. There is no forethought required. The grand canvas of earth responds easily to nature's brush and chisel.
My exploration of the beach at low tide on the lagoon banks today reveal some curious patterns in the soft sand. Near symmetric circles dot the landscape all over, where the tide has receded and exposed the lagoon bed.
How does nature create such neat and perfect circles underwater life this? Obviously there's a reason, yet it escapes me. The human mind is instinctively drawn to - or able to see - patterns in nature, like those seen in clouds.
Besides the circles, I see ridges or ripples on the exposed lagoon bed, made by the movement of water. The sand is a maleable medium for sculpting by wind and water, leaving impressions that assist beautiful to the human eye because of their symmetry perhaps.
Full Moon with major planetary alignments
In coming hours today, we'll have the exact full moon, known as a Supermoon due to it being closer to the earth than usual now. Thus the moon will appear around 15% bigger to the eye of the observer this evening when it rises at sunset.
This full moon, or Purnima, as it's called in India, is celebrated as a festival or holy day, called Balarama Purnima, marking the birthday of the 8th avatar of Vishnu, named Balarama. He is the older brother of Krishna who appears as the 9th avatar, with his birthday celebration in around 8 days from now, called Janmastami.
Today's full moon curiously coincides with some other planetary alignments in the night sky, some of which can be observed with the naked eye or via telescope. For example, the planet Mercury is making its transit of the Sun now, and is in exact conjunction as I write this. Mercury is retrograde now, passing across the face of the sun in a period lasting just for today, named "Cazimi" by medieval Arabic astrologers and astronomers.
Mercury in the heart of the Sun
"Cazimi" literally translated to mean "in the heart" of the sun. Symbolically Mercury is said to be seated on the throne of the Sun King for a few hours today. At this time mercury is invisible to the eye due to the binding rays of the sun. Usually for a week before and after this day, Mercury is combust, or debilitated, but just for today, in the exact center of the sun, it is considered exalted, making for a very suspicious time of genius and magic.
Add to that the fact that the Sun/ Mercury 180 degrees opposite the Moon, are both aspected by Uranus which is situated 90 degrees or half way between them, from our geocentric point of view.
Furthermore, another massive alignment is occurring between the biggest gas giant planets now. Mars is in the same place in the heavens as jupiter, in conjunction. And those two are in 90 degrees or square aspect to both Saturn and Venus, who are in opposition to each other. This makes up the second T- square alignment, with Sun-Mercury/ Moon/Uranus being the first, as mentioned above.
Thus we have two T-square alignments now, both involving 4 planets each. This includes the full moon, the Mercury cazimi, and the rest, which includes Jupiter square to Saturn, or the 1st quarter phase of the 20 year Great Conjunction cycle of Jupiter and Saturn, which began at their conjunction in 2020.
We all remember 2020 as the year the Covid pandemic and global lockdown occurred. Well now this theme is returning, with rumors of the next pandemic, Monkeypox. Nature is cyclic and the grand cycles are based on astronomical movements of the planets and Sun, with their ripple effects here on earth, like ripples on the sandy lagoon bed.
So today is a big day, with full Supermoon offering increased gravity tugging at the earth and our minds, while Mercury adds a window of opportunity for those who can harness it's gifts. Mercury and Apollo (Sun) are the Greek mythic brother gods, while Krishna and Balarama are the Vedic Hindu Indian brother gods. Is there a correlation? We can only wonder.
The planets may be aligning, while on the ground a potential global war or pandemic is being orchestrated. Nevertheless, here on the southernmost shores of Africa, life goes on as usual, led by the tide that's dictated by the moon. Ultimately we're all led by the influence of the sun, moon and planets. Most of us are just oblivious to their pull, though it's going on all the time, creating all the patterns on the planet and in all of our minds.
Photos my own. Written and published via my mobile device onto the Hive blockchain from the beach.