A Full Moon Tribute to a Friend Taken too Soon
Greetings friends,
I know this one is long, but sometimes that's how it goes.
If you have been out after sunset, you know we have an amazing supermoon gracing the night sky. Today, the Moon is full in Aquarius and is inviting us to find ways to explore the dance between our hearts and minds.
Aquarius is also the sign of friendship, appreciating each other for who and what we are, and not settling for the status quo. To that end, I want to use my space here to share some lessons from, and give tribute to, my friend and fellow astrologer, Kelly Moran. Kelly left her physical form last week, too early in my opinion, but the ripples she made will be felt for a long time to come if I have anything to say about it.
In honor of Kelly, here are a few things I learned from her that totally apply to the energy right now.
Be unapologetically you!
Kelly Moran was my first real astrology friend. I was paired with her as part of a professional astrology mastermind in 2021 (thanks, Bronwyn Simons!). We participated in class and met outside class to ponder the lessons and everything else. She was a free spirit who lived alone in the desert of New Mexico and made bold and provocative art. She wasn’t afraid to be on the fringe and took pleasure in making people a little uncomfortable with her work. My Capricorn, Saturn-ruled self was enchanted from our first meeting. She routinely referred to us as the Pocket Protector and the Potty Mouth. Check out her Vagerarrings (yes, vagina earrings) and her version of face painting.
How can you be more you, no matter what other people think?
Write the story you want to read!
Okay, first off, I stole that phrase from another friend, Denise Ulett from Stars Align Astrology, but it fits. In astrology, many of us talk about the need for “new mythology.” We are living off 2000+-year-old archetypes that in many cases reflect narratives that don’t serve us anymore. For example, did you know that Medusa became a monster because she got raped by Poseidon and then punished for it?
I know. It is time we discussed that part of the story.
Kelly was blazing the new myth trails. Check out her visual retelling of the Medusa story and see the final product here. Last December, she submitted the piece to be part of an art exhibit. Needless to say, the curators didn’t hang it in the show, but in our little circle we decided just that was enough to make the point.
Where do you think the narrative needs to be rewritten? It could be in your head, your family, or society. How can you be part of the rewrite?
Notice all the cool stuff you don’t think you have time for!
Kelly was a Libra, so she could get stuck in her head, but she also had an uncanny ability to notice beauty in unexpected places. The last photo she posted was of a moth shaped like a “stealth bomber.” She also posted sunrises, sunsets, stars, snakes, more bugs, and her dog. Here is a tarantula she found in her yard and named Queen Lilith (named after Adam’s first wife who wouldn’t be subservient, if you are curious) eating a grub. She shared something she found amazing almost every day.
I think that is a worthy challenge. In fact, I commit to sharing something I find amazing regularly in Kelly’s honor. I hope you will join me.
Finally, the end is just the next beginning.
Now that I can’t DM or talk to Kelly the way I used to, I regret that I let life get in the way of spending more time with her. But I know she is still here, just in another form. She has brought the Five of Cups in my last few morning tarot spreads. That’s the card that says, “Quit wallowing about what you don’t have and remember what you do!” Very Kelly. On the day I think she died, a snake crossed my path when I was walking with a friend. That has never happened before. Two days ago, on another path, I came across a hawk, sitting on a poll at eye-level. I stopped and talked to it for quite a while before it swooped in front of me and into a tree. Again, that’s a first in 16 years of walking that path. And on my drive home, while a little weepy thinking about what I wanted to write about her, I saw a car with the license plate “EXQS ME” and I hear Kelly laughing as she said, “Excuse me! You know I am right here!” You get the idea. I see an ending, but it is really just the beginning of the next chapter for Kelly.
So with Venus retrograde, and just about everything else in the sky also retrograde or about to station to go retrograde, there are a lot of endings right now. It may be October before we start to move forward again. But endings are just new beginnings -- for people in our lives, for our jobs, or our kids, or whatever feels like it just won’t budge right now.
I know this is long, but thanks for reading. And thanks Kelly for being an amazing part of my life.
Much love,
Lisa
