This Blood Moon is the mother of all Full Moons, with such powerful potential to create major shifts in consciousness and to help liberate us from old karma and the patterns that bind us! Eclipses represent a period of significant endings and new beginnings; a turning point, as one chapter ends and another begins. This one, however, feels even more potent because Uranus, the ruler of the Moon and harbinger of change and liberation, is squaring the Sun, Moon, Mars and the Nodal axis. Wherever Uranus is found in our natal chart shows the dynamics that we have chosen to liberate ourselves from in this lifetime, and wherever it is right now shows us in what area of our lives we are experiencing change and transformation at the moment. The last Moon brought a feeling that enough is enough, that it’s time to let go, and as this Moon builds there is a sense that we are being stripped back, peeling back layer after layer of our conditioned selves so that our true, core essence can come shining forth. This process could be extremely painful and unsettling or amazingly exciting and freeing, or all of the above! It is time to wake up to who we really are.
This Moon falls on the Leo/Aquarius axis, with the Moon in Aquarius directly opposing the Sun in its own sign of Leo. The two luminaries are also sitting smack, bang on top of the Nodes of the Moon, hence the total eclipse. The Aquarius Moon is joining forces with Mars and the South Node of the Moon, taking us back to the past and highlighting any old trauma that we might have suppressed, causing a tendency to detach or dissociate from our emotions or to project the old trauma onto people and situations out of a subconscious fear of it happening again. We have all experienced trauma of various types and in various degrees in this and other lifetimes, and if it is left unresolved and undealt with then it tends to play out in the form of emotional patterns and projections, so that we keep recreating the past over and over again, perpetuating the trauma.
This Moon is the chance to get off the hamster wheel. We have an opportunity here to liberate ourselves from old stories and to purge these old, unhealthy patterns and projections, shedding the skins of our past. Like an onion, layer upon layer is being peeled back to reveal our inner core; our true, unique essence. We might experience old, buried memories resurfacing and we could become painfully and acutely aware of the way that our emotional patterns are playing on a loop, creating unhealthy dynamics in our lives and relationships and preventing growth. It is quite like that we are going to have to be brave enough to really confront ourselves and recognise what need to change. This may not easy work; indeed it might be downright uncomfortable, but the rewards will be great.
The purpose of Aquarius is to liberate us from the many layers of parental and societal conditioning that we have received over many lifetimes, revealing our true, unique nature. Uranus is very present right now, helping us to wake up and become more objective about how we have been shaped and moulded and what we need to do to free ourselves from this conditioning. We are encouraged to practice the art of detachment, freeing ourselves from unhealthy attachments and an overactive ego, and recognising any behavioural patterns that are holding us prisoner and preventing further growth.
Aquarius dares to think outside of the box, and to challenge authority and cultural norms. It is the part of us that questions what our parents and society have told us and has the inner strength to be different and stand apart from the mainstream if necessary. Of course there is also a shadow side, which is feeling like an outsider, or feeling ostracised somehow, like we don’t belong. We might be working with that energy right now as well, and could be dealing with the consequences of making the choice to take a different path or stand apart from the crowd.
The North Node is in Leo, with the Sun right next to it, pulling us forward on our path towards growth. Leo encourages us to take our own, unique essence out into the world and to let it shine! If Aquarius helps us to bust out of the mould and individuate, then Leo helps us to take charge of our own special destiny and create the life we want. Leo also helps us to find the path to joy, reclaiming the parts of ourselves that we might have left behind as a result of certain traumatic events in our lives. While Aquarius helps us decondition and liberate ourselves from old patterns, Leo helps us to put that into action and realise our full potential and take charge of our own destiny. This is all a possibility for us at the moment, although with Uranus square the Nodes we could become all too aware of what is blocking us from this joy and creative self-actualisation that we sense is possible. We may have to revisit old, unresolved material that seems to keep replaying in our lives and relationships, keeping us trapped in the past and preventing growth. It is time to wake up, to remember who we really are, to release ourselves from the past, to sever old attachments, to set ourselves free, to let go of these patterns and blocks that seem to keep tripping us up over and over and over again!
We do have some very helpful energy around to help us out with this process. Chiron the Wounded Healer is currently in brave, bold and forthright Aries and is forming a helpful, harmonious aspect to the Sun, Moon, Mars and the Nodes. This will help us to be brave enough to face ourselves honestly and without fear. There is great healing potential here, but we might have to have the courage to confront some pretty uncomfortable material, not to mention old memories coming to the surface and potentially unsettling revelations, realisations and insights. Chiron is also forming a challenging aspect to Saturn at the moment, which again is forcing us to recognise how certain crystalised, rigid or entrenched patterns of behaviour are keeping us prisoner. This combination could cause us to feel quite vulnerable as old wounds are brought to the surface, and could also bring up old grief or feelings of guilt or futility. We might have to confront how our need for control is preventing us from healing. Sometimes we need to just surrender and let the walls come down.
Uranus and Saturn are also forming a positive aspect to one another, which further reinforces the sense that we are currently being given the opportunity to break free from the past and liberate ourselves from old conditioning and restrictive or limiting behavioural patterns. It feels like we have a chance to reinvent ourselves somehow and gently dismantle any structures in our lives that are preventing growth. Uranus is shaking up the status quo while Saturn is helping us to remain relatively stable during the process. We don’t have to completely throw the baby out with the bathwater. We can learn from the past while paving our way for a better future.
And all the while, this beautiful harmonious trine aspect between Neptune and Jupiter is building again, and will be exact on August 18. This brings the faith that ultimately everything is happening for a reason and that somehow it will all work out the way it is supposed to. These two have been dancing with each other since April and can really help us to face our shadows with compassion and forgiveness. This combination brings the potential for amazing spiritual growth and for helping one another in the spirit of unconditional love and acceptance. We all have our struggles and failings and we all have our shadows. Jupiter and Neptune help us to really empathise and find compassion for one another and to see past all of the crap to each other’s true essence. This combination helps is to surrender and let go of resentment, attachment, control and anything we might be holding onto that isn’t serving us anymore. It allows us to find our flow and to be open to synchronicities and helpful omens. It gives us faith and trust that life is unfolding exactly as it is supposed to.
The Sabian symbol for the Sun/Moon midpoint is interesting and poignant, at 5° Taurus: “A widow at an open grave”, which Dane Rudyar describes as “The impermanence of all material and social bonds. “All natural compounds decay,” said the Buddha. The most beautiful and enjoyable substance loses its potential energy through continuous actualisations and the principle of integration and form is withdrawn, leaving the Void – “the open grave” that ends all attachments. The Void is the great challenge: What next? One must begin anew, and if possible at a “higher,” more inclusive and universal, less egocentric, level. This symbol may seem negative, yet it opens the door to self-renewal. Beyond the personal attachment rises the possibility of participating in a larger sphere of existence. The possibility rarely manifests itself except, as one is ready to DISCARD THE PAST.”
This symbol again brings the sense of us being somehow stripped back, severing attachments and letting go of the past so that we can begin anew. This surely does feel like an incredibly powerful Full Moon / Eclipse which has the potential to really help us to rid ourselves of old conditioning, purging unhealthy habits and patterns and moving onto the next level of our evolution. This is a fateful time, when we let go of anything that is preventing us from creating the life that reflects our true nature. It’s a time of confrontation, releasing, purging and letting go. People and situations may pass away and new ones may take their place. We could become acutely and uncomfortably aware of our more unhelpful patterns of behaviour. Change is most definitely afoot and we have the potential for some massive shifts, both on an internal and external level, especially if Uranus and the Nodes are prominent in our charts right now. It’s time to let go of who we thought we were supposed to be and to become who we really are. Our cages could be well and truly rattled during this Eclipse season, but it is time. We are ready.
Much Love
Amy
xoxo
Painting: Joy of Freedom by Freydoon Rassouli