A Full Moon of Learning and Growing

Friday morning's Full Moon in the eighth degree of Aquarius is a fascinating one, with a complexity that underscores the intensity of these times. The retrograde stations that dominate the current astrology dramatize the ending of one summer month and the beginning of another. We have had Eris, Uranus and Venus turn retrograde in the past week or so, while conservative and limiting Saturn is stationing to direct motion the very next day, on Saturday. The Uranus- Eris conjunction in Aries is just one outer planet emphasis, with another being the highlighted presence of the transformative energy of Pluto in mid-Capricorn, also featured in this Full Moon, a call from the universe for massive change to continue unfolding in our society and in all our lives. A glance at the headlines allows us to recognize that, as Dorothy was famously forced to admit, we really are not in Kansas anymore. Things are getting direr, and yet the upside is that the impetus is there, getting ever stronger, for us to begin to make necessary changes, both individually and as a culture.

In this Full Moon configuration as well, retrograde Venus is found at the very beginning of Virgo and about to re-enter Leo where she will reside for the next nine weeks. As Venus retrogrades through this fiery sign, and conjuncts Jupiter once more, they re-create the fabulous light show that we saw in late June. This aspect perfects on August 4th, with Mercury joining in a triple conjunction in the same timing as the Last Quarter Moon, on the evening of August 6th. In the days following this Full Moon, Saturn is stationing to direct motion so that he remains in almost perfect square with the Venus-Jupiter forming conjunction. Saturn does not change from its current degree and minute as Venus and Jupiter meet in the same degree of late Leo next week. With Saturn so prominent for at least these next two weeks of early August, we will have quite a good dose of the limitations and restrictions that he famously symbolizes, as well the long-term lessons for which Saturn is also known. It might in fact prove to be a great time to read the work that noted psychological astrologer Liz Greene made her initial reputation on, referring to the positive side of this ancient archetype, Saturn: A New Look at an Old Devil.

Neptune too is highlighted in this Full Moon, being aspected by both Sun and Moon in their opposition. With Neptune in the midst of this potent mix of astrological archetypes, you are brought further toward the inside, to an area of your psyche that remains for the most part hidden from your conscious gaze. This is a distinct chime with the prominent Venus retrograde that also brings attention to the dark undercurrents of relationship energy that normally go unnoticed at the level of consciousness. This reminds us that while we might seem to exist strictly in the sunlight, we are yet like the iceberg, since nine-tenths of our functioning remains underwater. We do better with the circumstances of our lives when we remember to pay homage, as this Full Moon is enjoining us, to this simple and inescapable fact.

The Sabian Symbols for this Full Moon are of interest, as always. For the Sun, in the eighth degree of Leo, we find "A Bolshevik [revolutionary] propagandist," for which Marc Edmund Jones has "the indomitable expectation of the human spirit as it gathers strength from the innermost reaches of [his or her] enduring nature" selfless energy developed to an extreme." In a nice chime with Eris as spiritual warrior he states that, "the degree is a determination to share the soul's vision and to make a permanent impact on history." For the Moon, in the eighth degree of Aquarius, we have "Beautifully gowned wax figures," referring to the wax museums that were popular in the early 1920's when these symbols were originated. Jones states that "the human spirit gathers strength ... from personal idealizations [that] identify values worthy of emulation," and sums up the inner meaning of the degree as "achievement through effective dramatization of human character on some level of everyday understanding." Indeed we do best when we realize that we exist in many more worlds than one, and all at once, including the one in which we recognize that what we do lives after us, inspiring others who will follow, and powerfully affecting the evolving society of which we each form a crucial component.