On August 3, 2020 at 11:58AM EDT - the Aquarius Moon opposes the Leo Sun (at 11 degrees) giving us this month's Full Moon and this year's Full Moon in the future-focused sign of Aquarius.
Full Moons bring things into the light and often to a conclusion or culmination (peak energy).
If you have planets or points in your natal chart on or very near 11 degrees of the fixed signs - Aquarius, Taurus, Leo or Scorpio - you will probably feel this energy strongest.
This is the Aquarius/Leo polarity.
Prideful and kingly Leo, ruled by the Sun and the Sun is in Leo now, so very strong, gets himself reflected back to himself through Aquarius who says, "Leo get with the program, this isn't all about YOU!"
and Aquarius, where the Moon doesn't want to be at all because the Moon rules Cancer and needs to feel everything and Aquarius, the sign that seeks to blend our higher mind with reality and in order to do this needs to step back/detach - Aquarius, gets reflected back to itself through Leo who says "love means attaching and getting close enough to see them sweat Aquarius so who/what do you really love? and where are you in all of this? where are you in your own life?"
Aquarius is our smarty-pants, detached and objective air sign.
The sign of individuality, equality, friendship and community, freedom and de-conditioning (by any means necessary) - fixed and "know-it-all" Aquarius is the sign of the genius, the revolutionary, the scientist/futurist (often of the madder variety) and the exile.
Ruled by (ancient ruler) Saturn and (modern ruler) Uranus - antithetical archetypes, Aquarius energy itself is polarizing. It is the sign of polarity, which is a property (but also a locket that I haven't pimped in a long time, so HERE is a link).
With the Moon and Sun forming a tension filled T-Square with chaotic Uranus - and keep in mind this is a collective post, you will need to look to the themes of your Aquarius and Taurus natal houses for the most personal view - this is about a radical change/shock/surprise/result and with Uranus in Taurus (and answering to Venus) this change could come through our resources, values, money or relationships.
Since Uranus - the planet squaring the Full Moon energies - is co-ruler of Aquarius, this makes the square's challenges even more powerful. Saturn is the other ruler of Aquarius and we need Saturn to stabilize this alien-Uranus energy.
Saturn is retrograde (so some connection to the past with whatever is going on), but strong in his home sign of Capricorn. So whatever Saturn is depressing - probably the thing we are refusing to deal with (maybe the urgent questions around how we are supposed to live now) is going to bubble up. But probably not slowly like Saturn would do it, because that square to Uranus will bring things out - suddenly.
So, even though we have seen this coming or should have/could have - it can still strike with an unexpected WHALLOP.
Uranus changes are actually the cure for Saturnian depression,
but because unpredictable and chaotic stuff is challenging and stressful - even when it brings us to really good stuff in the end, remember the New Moon energy this Full Moon culminates offers us Sedna's finger-birthed porpoises if our own fingers were/are cut off (by daddy).
We are genetically wired toward craving stability and things we have already experienced (in order to stay alive) dramatic change carries a signature of trauma - and through Uranus and our Aquarius placement our connection to previous lifetimes/ancestral and even collective trauma.
Squares, since our back can feel against the wall, can be scary and stressful when they are happening, but they are usually the things in the long run we look back on and realize we needed to go through. This Moon connects us back to the New Moon in Aquarius in February 2020 and also carries us forward to February 2022 when Jupiter will reach this degree.
So what does the Full Moon in Aquarius mean? Let's unpack the chart!
The Aquarius Moon is answering to chart rulers - Saturn, retrograde at 27 degrees Capricorn - his home sign - and exactly opposing Mercury (in Cancer), and Uranus, at 10 degrees Taurus - answering to Venus - and squaring the Moon and Sun (forming a tight fixed T-Square). Venus (ruler of Taurus and remember Uranus is in Taurus) is in Gemini and conjunct the North Node and opposing the Galactic Center. The Moon is trining Chiron (and the Sun sextiles Chiron). The Sun closely conjuncts asteroid Pandora (yes, of pandemic fame and we will talk about her at the end of this post).
At the same time fiery Mars at 17 degrees Aries - his home sign - squares Jupiter and kicks off the first of his many upcoming battles with the Cappy planet titans, that carry us through the rest of 2020, so maybe he is thinking something like, "I am going to mess up these old dudes for ruining everything".
Got it? Me, neither!
The strongest aspect (other than the solar opposition) is always the Moon's - so that is the square to Uranus. This is waning, but barely, so the Sun has reached this square Sunday and the Moon reaches this point on Monday.
Squares with Uranus bring shocking disruptions.
Since Uranus co-rules the chart - this 'change' aspect is more strongly felt.
Something seems to come out of nowhere, although if we are honest with ourselves it really doesn't - MAJOR DISRUPTION or shocking surprises, for better or worse
(always for better in the long run, keep this in mind).
The square from Uranus to the Leo Sun indicates the disruption of 'ego' attachments and with the Full Moon bringing the energy to a peak/culmination - there could be a surprising or disruptive ending. Breakdowns. Breakthroughs. Break-ups. Breaks. Since Aquarius rules groups and friendships there could be changes within our social network or maybe we make the decision to liberate ourselves from an important group dynamic.
At the same time with this Full Moon in Aquarius's co-ruler Saturn exactly opposing Mercury, our communication, conversations, thinking will be serious.
News can be sobering.
Mercury, who's been in Cancer for a long time now, feeling her/his way through every conversational landmine (and this is not Mercury's cup of tea believe me) is now opposed by the "winter is coming, winter is here" REALITY of Saturn. Rules, limits, maybe what we can't say. An official document might be involved. An official ending. An official commitment.
This is their third square of three, so maybe here is the final answer. Oppositions to Saturn have a signature that says 'reality check/report card' time. We could hear a "no" now. If we are the 'Saturn' in some situation, we might want to check in with ourselves as to whether or not the answer really needs to be so all or nothing. What are we really saying with our need for so much control?
Is this 'the third time's the charm' or 'three strikes you're out'? Maybe we are out, but this doesn't have to be a bad thing either - think porpoises! And again, since this opposition is Cancer/Capricorn (we have been dealing with this for so long now) we don't seem to be done with this (plus Venus moves into Cancer this week right after Mercury exits) - home, family, security vs work, career, security. The inner vs the outer. The dynamics of a soft mom vs. a hard dad.
Venus (ruler of Taurus and so ruler of Uranus at this lunation) is in Gemini, so answering to Gemini's ruler Mercury, who remember, is opposing Saturn.
Venus is approaching (applying to) the North Node - our best collective way forward, while opposing the Galactic Center - our homing signal. The need to break away from our entrenched beliefs about who and what is right or wrong and begin to move toward more innovative answers. This could bring some good news/or at least some news that moves things forward - and is exact in a couple days. Keep in mind, this is Gemini, not rocket science. So, what is the best/closest solution now? What gets this done for now?
Gemini is the sign that rules early childhood education - and with schools about to open here in the United States with things standing in such disarray this is almost certainly going to be more of a focal point.
I tossed in Orcus, knowing only that he is kind of the Roman "Pluto", because he is exactly interacting, in stressful aspects, with the lunation. I could only find out that historically he had something to do with honoring oaths/contracts, so there could be something for some people with that energy now. He also pulls 11 degrees Virgo into the mix, and maybe the feeling that something is life and death or a situation with a before and after feel to it - something like what a contact with Pluto might bring.
At the same time we have Mars, kicking off the squares we talked about HERE.
We could courageously and confidently kick something off, too, now and get something going from the embers of this Full Moon. We just need to be careful whenever we are dealing with Jupiter's enthusiasms and appetites that we are not over-extending ourselves, our resources, our money, etc. We don't want to let 'momentum' take us somewhere we are not really wanting to go.
We are in the space "in-between" spaces now, best for small moves because things that look like great ideas now might not look so great in six months. This isn't an excuse to sit on our ass, but it is a reason to keep it small/local for now.
With challenging charts like this one we always look for a way through and we can see there is a sextile (waning) to Chiron (in Aries). Chiron sextiles suggest healing will come through acceptance of the challenging situation Uranus evokes and, because Chiron is in independent Aries, by responding with self- initiated action and courage. We can take care of ourselves/stand up for ourselves/be ourselves.
Know this.
Since Taurus rules food, make sure you have some in your cupboards please. Taurus also rules the Earth, so severe weather events are also possible.
Uranus is about stepping into the unknown and the ways we step into the unknown are 1. we get drop-kicked into it through Uranian events like this one 2. we kind of sleep-walk into it through busy-ness, doing what we have to do, doing what comes next, which is sometimes and maybe even most of the time, just fine and mostly how we do it or 3. we make a conscious choice knowing/believing there is solid ground on the other side of the unknown and that we are protected or 4. we trust we will learn how to fly/thrive in change and not need the solid ground anymore anyway.
We can maybe choose our method of transport, but not the fact that we are going.
Asteroid Pandora - I wrote about asteroid Pan and his part in the "only thing to fear is fear itself" aspect of this pandemic, but never got back to Pandora. With her in close connection to our Leo Sun at the time of this Full Moon in Aquarius, we should look at the ways she might connect with what is happening right now.
Pandora is the "first woman" story to the Greeks, made by Zeus for mankind as a punishment after Prometheus steals fire from the Gods and gives it to men. Something like Eve in the Bible, she is seductive/seduced, and blamed for all the ills of the world being unleashed (in Pandora's case after a whisper from Mercury makes her insatiably curious). She has, through the centuries, represented not only our ability to be tempted, but maybe our present state of 'containment' and the choices we make out of curiosity that sometimes open us up to things we cannot control. Asteroid Pandora orbits between Mars (action) and Jupiter (expansion, hope), and of course, the only "ill" left in the jar/box after she opens it is "hope".
Pandora being combust/blown out by the Sun at this lunation and opposing the Moon could be seen as "hope" itself being not enough - we need to work to find our own solutions now. We will talk more about her and her connection to the 2012/2020 energies and even to Donald Trump in a post this week!
HEADS UP - the New Moon in Leo in two weeks is the best we've had in awhile. Also, if you are incubating a new project, etc, you really want to get your ducks lined up before Mars goes retrograde on September 9th.
BIGGER HEADS UP - this Mars/Jupiter square is setting up the 'Clash of the Titan' style final acts of 2020. I am going to do that post this week, too, and the more I look at this fall, and especially October, the more unbelievable it all looks!
xo all - see the weekly HERE for more on the week of August 3rd
