What will you call this Full Moon? Some call it the Pink Moon, named for the abundance of ground phlox in North America that blooms around the time of April’s full moon. For me, this is definitely a Pink Moon as we are in the midst of cherry blossom season here in Vancouver. And it is not just the cherry trees! The plum and apple trees are also in full bloom, and I see the buds appearing on the local hawthorn trees, which typically flower around Bealtaine. It is no wonder hawthorn is called the Queen of the May!
Others will embrace this day as Lunar Bealtaine. There are many dates for the Wheel of the Year fire festivals and many celebrate Bealtaine not on the traditional date of May 1st, but on the solar date, lunar date or a date that feels right to them. Lunar Bealtaine (SH) and Lunar Samhain (NH) are celebrated on the Full Moon in Scorpio. Let the celebrations begin!
Scorpio Super Full Moon Energies
This Full Moon is a Super Moon, so called because the Moon is close to Earth at its perigee. It will appear much larger in the sky, especially when close to the horizon as it rises in the East just after sunset. This is the first of two Full Moon Super Moons in 2021; the next is May 26th.
It is said that the Super Moon magnifies the moon’s energy and that of its zodiac alignment, in this case Scorpio. You may vibrate with this energy for two to three days around the “main event”.
Many see Scorpio as a sign of great drama with intense and secretive qualities. It can be seen as a sign of extremes, life fully experienced from heights to depths, and embracing the essence of both water and fire. It is associated with our unconscious and our deep instinctual gifts. It has been long associated with rebirth, sexuality and sensuality, and transformation. These are powerful elements and qualities, especially in this Super Moon, powered by the Scorpio’s courage, passion, and persistence.
The Scorpio Shadow
Raise your awareness to the shadow qualities of this sign, for those moments when courage shifts to domination, when passion shifts to obsession, when persistence shifts to clinging to something that no longer serves you.
The Scorpio shadow can manifest as a tendency to ignore the nuances and complexities of a situation, to see things as “black and white”, and be subjective rather than objective (perhaps to the point of ignoring the values or beliefs of others). Stepping into that shadow can lead to judgment, control and/or manipulation, or even retributory behaviours.
Bring this awareness into your Full Moon soul work.
With the “hinge of the year” arriving on May 1st (or today, the Full Moon in Scorpio), raise your awareness to this tipping point into the Light Half of the Year (Bealtaine, in the Northern Hemisphere) and the Dark Half of the Year (Samhain, in the Southern Hemisphere) and what is manifesting around you and within you.
Raise your awareness to their energies, and how they connect and balance each other.
| Bealtaine | Samhain |
| Light Half of the Year | Dark Half of the Year |
| Celebrate New Life | Honour the Dead, the Ancestors |
| Waxing Energy | Waning Energy |
| Active and energetic | Rest and Restoration |
| Connection to Intuition | Connection to Intuition |
| Liminal time, thin veils between the realms | Liminal time, thin veils between the realms |
As you consider your Soul Work and rituals, whichever Hemisphere you are in, consider the connection between Bealtaine and Samhain, and how each manifests in you and your spiritual path. That could even be as simple as:
- what you start at Bealtaine, complete by Samhain
- what you learn from Samhain reflections that will inform your fresh starts at Bealtaine
- or something that manifests even more deeply.
The Goddess Connection
Typically at the Full Moon, I look to the energies of the the Mother goddesses such as Gaia, Demeter, Hestia, Danú, Mother Mary, Isis, Astarte / Ishtar, Brighid (although associated by many with The Maiden, Brighid also protected women in childbirth).
And with this Full Moon also Lunar Bealtaine and Lunar Samhain, I also look to the goddesses I associate with those festivals for support and connection, taking inspiration from the archetypes of The Women’s Wheel of Life (by Elizabeth Davis and Carol Leonard).
For instance, at Bealtaine I look to the goddesses celebrating the sensual and fertile goddesses representing The Lover archetype such as Aphrodite or Shakti. At Samhain, I look to the goddesses representing The Sorceress archetype such as Cerridwen and Medusa.