This is a powerfully potent Full Moon, not least because Pluto, the planet of the power, the soul and transformation is standing still in the heavens after being retrograde for the past few months. Whenever a planet is stationary it has a greater influence and impact, both personally and collectively, and Pluto brings the potential for soul growth and metamorphosis. Not to mention that the Moon is full in Aries, a very brave, enthusiastic, assertive, forceful, honest, independent and pioneering sign that has the potential to bring up anger and even aggression. Full Moons tend to bring things to a head as they illuminate all that has been simmering away beneath the surface, and a Full Moon in Aries could ignite our passion and fire, bringing some strong emotions up that simply demand an outlet!
The Sun is currently in peace-loving, diplomatic and fair-minded Libra, sitting directly opposite this Full Moon in Aries, the sign of the warrior. Aries and Libra are the relationship axis, and as such we need to find a nice balance between the energy of the two signs in order to cultivate and maintain healthy relationships. While the Libran part of us is adept at the art of compromise and listening to the needs of the other, it can also go too far and turn into people-pleasing and sitting on the fence. The Aries part of us, on the other hand, is more adept at taking care of our own needs and practicing the art of self-love. It is the part of us that is able to say “No” when our boundaries are being trespassed, and to remain true to our own independent path, even when in relationship. However, when the balance tips too far towards the extreme of Aries, we can become self-serving, reactive and unable to listen to the other’s point of view.
This Moon involves an intriguing blend of energies, and it will be interesting to see what might come of them! On the one hand we have Chiron the Wounded Healer sitting right next to the Aries Moon, illuminating our personal and collective wounds, while on the other hand we have Venus, the ruler of Libra, sitting right next to the Libra Sun. This brings the potential for some deep healing to occur in the realm of our relationships and also within the collective. With the Moon and Chiron joining forces, we could have some raw, honest, messy, and even downright unpleasant emotions come up as we are prompted to be really honest with ourselves and do some profound inner work, if we are brave enough, that is! We could find ourselves much more reactive, defensive and easily triggered, as our insecurities and sore spots are somehow prodded and poked.
Venus in Libra, on the other hand, finds such “ugly” emotions hard to bear! Venus seeks beauty, peace and harmony, so we could experience an inner battle between the wish to not rock the boat and maintain the peace, and the need to bring some gnarly material out into the open so that it can be acknowledged, worked through and hopefully healed. Chiron and the Moon in Aries is not “pretty” in the slightest, but it is helpful. Our hurt, irrational, wounded inner child could come bubbling up, full of rage and pain. Venus in Libra, however, could help us to find a way of handling whatever comes up with grace, kindness, diplomacy and the capacity to truly listen and to hear one another. Venus in Libra reminds us that in between the two people, with their hurts, insecurities and weak spots, is the love that they each share.
What might this mean on the collective level, with the sign of war opposing the planet of peace during this Moon? Chiron in Aries could highlight the collective wounds we all share around war, aggression and violence, while Venus and the Sun seek only peace, love, cooperation and harmony. Those of us with personal planets or angles around 16°of a sign will feel the impact of this Moon most acutely, especially the Cardinal signs Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn. However, the Fire signs and Air signs will probably benefit from it.
Venus is travelling with the Sun in Libra for quite some time, from the beginning of October until the beginning of November, when Venus will finally stride ahead of the Sun. This feels quite hopeful and helpful for our relationships, but also in terms of the global situation, as it brings the potential for fairness, cooperation, justice, balance, peace, harmony, equality and diplomacy. On a personal level it could make us all too aware of any inequality or imbalance within our relationships, with an urge to balance the scales in as gentle a way as possible.
Saturn in Aquarius is supporting this Moon, as it is forming helpful aspects to the Sun, Moon, Venus and Mars. This adds a stable, grounding, sensible influence, with the potential for us to put the necessary work in to make our relationships more successful and solid. This applies globally as well as personally, bringing opportunities for those in authority to work together in a cooperative manner to balance the scales and create a greater sense of fairness, peace and justice. We can only hope! Saturn is the part of us that is patient, disciplined, ready to be accountable for ourselves and take responsibility for the kind of world we would like to live in and the kind of relationship we would like to have. Saturn helps us to lay down the bricks to build a solid foundation and to see things as they really are, rather than how we would like them to be. It helps us to find a deeper level of commitment, both to our relationships and to helping to make the world a better place to be.
The ruler of this Aries Moon is Mars, the planet of action, desire and drive, which is currently in Gemini, the sign of the mind and communication. This could help us to get things out into the open and to have some honest, candid and direct conversations. It can help us to have the courage to speak up where necessary. However, it can also make our minds very busy indeed, making it hard to switch off and rest. Mars has been in Gemini since 20 August and will remain there until 25 March, due to going retrograde, which is an unusually long time for this assertive, forceful, energetic planet to spend in one sign! It is a great time for practicing the art of direct, honest communication, but may not be great for our sleep!
Pluto’s influence in this Moon can help us to face ourselves and delve into the dark recesses of our psyches, stripping away self-deceit and forcing us to recognise our personal and collective shadows. This can be very uncomfortable, as we recognise the unowned parts of ourselves that we would rather deny the existence of. With all this Moon Chiron activity, which could trigger old childhood wounds, there is an opportunity here to have a long, hard look at ourselves, looking in the ugly mirror instead of projecting our “stuff” out onto others. There is the potential for some profound soul growth and transformation here, especially for those with personal planets or angles around 26° of a sign. That being said, none of us will be immune to the effect of Pluto during this Moon, as a stationary planet is a powerful force.
Pluto will now be going direct, continuing its journey through the final degrees of Capricorn. It will be interesting to see what dark material will be exposed as Pluto continues to detox the patriarchal power structures, showing them up for what they really are. Uranus and Saturn are now at the peak of their great square-off - the battle between the old way and the new way, between control and freedom, between authority and the “People”. The old structures are falling so that a new world can be reborn out of the ashes. However, as they say, it is always darkest just before dawn.
The Sabian symbol for this Moon is interesting, at 17° Aries: “Two dignified spinsters sitting in silence”, which Dane Rudyar describes as “The ability to transform a natural lack of potency into poise and inner serenity. This symbol refers to the value of a dignified INWARD WITHDRAWAL”. The question is, are they sitting in silence because they don’t need to communicate, or is something left unresolved and unspoken between them? It seems to hint at some kind of emotional blockage here, that maybe needs to be brought out into the open in order to break the silence. What has been left unsaid that might be causing toxicity within our current situation?
This Moon seems like a very good opportunity to get some uncomfortable material out into the open in a kind, gentle and graceful way, in the spirit of love and compromise. Wherever we are experience a feeling of imbalance in our lives and relationships, we have a chance to bring a sense of harmony and peace. There could be some emotional pain, and we could feel quite triggered, angry and reactive, but at least Venus is here to ensure that we deliver any home truths in a gentle, caring manner. Venus and the Sun in Libra can ensure that we truly listen to one another in the spirit of finding a peaceful solution and creating a sense of balance and equality. Whatever comes up for us during this Moon could be incredibly healing, as long as we are willing to look in the mirror and truly own what we see. Then we have the potential for some real soul growth.
Much Love
Amy
xoxo
Painting: Allegory of War and Peace by Pompeo Girolamo Batoni 1776