full moon in aquarius- 8/20/13

by | Aug 18, 2013 | Lunar Insight

the full moon in aquarius is exact on tuesday august 20th at 6:45pm PDT. this marks the midway point of the current lunar cycle that began with the new moon in leo on august 6th. that new moon was pretty interesting as new moons are typically about new beginnings and initiating things, but right after the new moon was exact the moon went void of course and made no new aspects until it moved into virgo 18 hours later. moon voids are times of non-action, surrender and release. something about this current lunar cycle is about finding that tenuous balance between action and non-action, assertion and surrender. to add to this the full moon in aquarius is the second full moon in aquarius this summer. the first one was on monday july 23rd at the first degree of aquarius and this second one is at the 29th degree of aquarius- book ending the entire sign of aquarius and brining HUGE focus aquarian themes and the area of the natal chart that is activated by these lunation’s.

at the time of the full moon the sun is precisely opposite the moon, opposing the conscious self and ego with the Unconscious. the sun fully illuminates the Unconscious in a way that either brings Light, culmination, completion or crisis into the picture. if we have been addressing Unconscious contents during the first two weeks of the lunar cycle then the full moon brings fruition and a sense that we are on the right path headed in the right direction. but if on the other hand we have been ignoring or denying Unconscious contents and what needs to be addressed (where the full moon falls in our chart gives insight into this) then the full moon can shine a harsh Light on all that we are not looking at and the more emotional, intense, overwhelming affect of the full moon then dominates.

with the sun in leo and the moon in aquarius the axis being illuminated is the axis between me and we, individuality and collaboration, receiving and giving. leo is the sign of the king or queen who shines, leads and performs. aquarius is the sign of the visionary who focus on collaboration, community and uniting forces to attain goals and make changes in the world. addressing where we may be imbalanced in this axis is a focus right now. are we super independent, self-focused and doing our own thing at the expense of a wider community involvement? or alternatively are we collaborating and connecting but afraid of shining our unique Light for all to see? leo is super passionate and intense, while aquarius is detached and unemotional. balance between the fiery side of ourselves and the more detached, airy part is key.

to add to this the sun in leo is conjunct asteroid Goddess ceres and mercury in leo- bringing focus to how we nurture, caretake and provide for our own (and others) safety, security and emotional well-being. this full moon can bring Light to home/family issues that have remained unresolved and/or to our own ego needs and wounds that run how we interact with others on an Unconscious (or perhaps conscious) level. seeing our basic needs is key right now, but also looking at where we expect people to just be there for us all the time, like some Cosmic Parent Figure that is all-providing, all-nuturing, all-sustaining is key. when we are looking for people to always be there for us- or alternatively when we are trying to be always there for others- we are essentially projecting onto others or onto ourselves the Great Mother or Great Father archetype. this is something we need to fulfill within before we can ever truly experience it without. as long as we are looking to other people to fulfill these most basic needs we are giving away our power and asking others to be for us what we cannot be for ourselves. this creates imbalance and lack in relationship and we will either feel abandoned or suffocated- bringing up childhood wounds that were instilled in us due to our parent-child relationship (for more info google attachment theory and read about how our primary caregivers attachment style impacts how we do relationship with others later in life). addressing our attachments, needs, fears and deep Unconscious patterns around intimacy are key at this full moon!

the ruler of this full moon is uranus- who is currently retrograde in aries and doing his T-square dance with jupiter in cancer and retrograde pluto in capricorn. this whole month is the first activation of this T-square, but we will experience it two more times as the planets go retrograde and direct and connect again through april of 2014. uranus has been square pluto since 2012 and will be so until 2015. this collective transit of transformation and change is INTENSE and very powerful. my mantra for this transit is ‘breakdowns precede breakthroughs’- so wherever things are out of balance, stuck, stagnant, toxic and old paradigm- in our personal and collective lives- the shit will be up and the rug pulled out from underneath us so as to support and facilitate change. anytime a personal or social planet triggers the uranus/pluto square we have those breakdowns and breakthroughs brought into even more focus in our personal and social lives. with jupiter triggering this dynamic duo he tends to expand, grow, exacerbate and overdo the intensity these two generate. jupiter likes to throw more fuel on the fire to get things hotter and with uranus/pluto those fires can get out of hand if we are not working with the alchemical energy of transformation in conscious ways. this whole month is a time where we are pushed to the edge of change in our lives and we are asked to take a leap into the unknown. towards the end of this month venus will get involved in this T-square and she will form a Grand Cross, heating up the fires of change and transformation to the next degree! (for more detailed info check the astrology blog i will be posting about it this week).

uranus as ruler of the full moon makes a lot of aspect and they are all intense ones. uranus sesquiquadreats the sun/mercury conjunction and semi squares the moon- bringing the uranus/pluto square energies into the full moon chart in a big way. uranus also opposes venus, squares jpuiter and pluto, and quincunxes the north node. with so many uranus aspects being intense in their nature the disruptive, changeable, upheaval frequency is high. this full moon is about illumination of what we could not see or have not wanted to see. it’s also about radical change and departures from old ways of being- some of which may feel very comfy, cozy, familiar and safe. uranus demands we move beyond the known to get to the unknown- and for the pioneers among us this can be fun, freeing and liberating, but for those of us that prefer to play it safe it can be necessarily unstable and anxiety-producing. learning how to BE the frequency of change, rather than be dragged by it is key right now!

two other things i would like to point out are the fact that venus, the Goddess of Love and beauty, is heading into a Grand Cross with jupiter, uranus and pluto- and at the same time juno, the asteroid Goddess of partnership and marriage, is in square aspect to saturn. tension in relationships in our lives can be a result. navigating the changes happening in our one-to-one connections with others may not be easy this month, but they are necessary. evolution must happen- so old karmic contracts, agreements, expectations and roles being played have to end or transform in some way so that a new way of connecting and collaborating that honors the growth and evolution of both parties is able to be found. the saturn/juno aspect has been in effect all year long- bringing contraction and endings to some connections, while others are going through major restructuring of the connection from the ground up. i personally know 5 couples who have been together of 10-20 years who are in the midst of major changes in the structure of their partnership. some are coming through the other end already, but many are still in it. as both the Divine Feminine and the Divine Masculine shift and change the way relationship dynamics work (or don’t work) also has to change! this is a theme all year long but especially this month with both relationship configurations showing up in the full moon chart- so bringing focus to your own contracts, agreements and expectations of/by others is key right now. a new vision can only come in and ground down when you can see the past accurately and realistically!

for more info on this full moon and what it Lights up in your chart check your weekly horoscopes that will be posted by sunday night. this whole month of august is one of the most potent of the year. you can be change or change can do you. the former is creative, the latter is reactive. either way, it’s gonna happen! may as well embrace it and become one of the many agents of change in the world who are helping to change the consciousness on this planet!

blessings…

~divine harmony