The first Full Moon of the Summer happens Monday, July 3rd, as though it would drop a veil of mystery over the season’s natural mood of lazy slumber.
Each evening this week, the Moon will rise in the East after sunset in the West, a glorious gibbous moving across the Milky Way, through the Capricorn gateway of gods, to dip its toes in the waters of Aquarius, and on to Pisces by the weekend.
All the while, Jupiter, ancient king of the gods, shines through dawn’s early light, while Venus, at the other end of the day, boldly guards the sunset edge of the world, our brilliant evening star.
This combination conjures all the best of poetry, and none better than Shakespeare. In his play Love’s Labor’s Lost, Shakespeare writes of a King and his three friends that vow to spend three years on retreat from the world, in time spent studying, fasting, and seeing no women. But as soon as they agree to this, a Princess arrives with her three friends, to meet with the King. Of course, everyone immediately falls in love and all four men have to figure out how to get out of their agreement with one another. It’s here that I find a fitting quote for what’s happening the sky this week, with Jupiter at dawn, the king of the gods; Venus at dusk, as goddess of love and beauty; and the Moon bridging them through the night, casting a veil of moonlight over our Summer sleep:
And when love speaks, the voice of all the gods
Make heaven drowsy with the harmony.
As Shakespeare writes, such a love gives double power to every power, so it’s worth repeating these lines, in honor of this week’s star picture:
And when love speaks, the voice of all the gods
Make heaven drowsy with the harmony.
~Mary
Hear this episode on Interlochen Public Radio on Monday morning, July 3rd, and on podcasts everywhere at anytime.
Cover image: Love’s Labor’s Lost, first edition, 1598, including one of the first instances of Shakespeare’s name on a title page.