The end of September brings us the Harvest Moon of the Full Moon in Aries, which fires up the skies on September 29 at 2:57 a.m. US/Pacific.
This will be the final supermoon of 2023, when the Moon is at its closest proximity to the Earth, pulling the tides higher and lower than usual. Many of us may be called to explore our free will and autonomy, perhaps provoked through an apparent clash of wills with others, or maybe more rooted in an internal struggle to set or maintain a course of action. It may be helpful to consider what our divine will is, the goals or purposes set forth for us by our own soul or higher self, which is often a great mystery unto itself.
Though this discernment may come through a rebalancing of our relationship to Mars—to passion, anger, competition, and self-assertion—we’re also looking at a bit of a karmic cleansing during the first two weeks of October as Mars, Pluto, and the South Node of the Moon interact.
This dynamic combination indicates an encounter with the gravity of the past, as Pluto intensifies the transformation of the karmic inheritances symbolized by the South Node of the Moon. This is accompanied by the New Moon solar eclipse in Libra that seems to point to new forms of expressing the self in relation to old forms of inhabiting a collective “we”.
Our thoughts, however, may be caught up in a dance of the real (Saturn) and the idealistic (Neptune) as mental Mercury opposes Neptune (exact October 2) at the end of a retrograde, which opposed both Saturn and Neptune.
Many of us got a preview of what the incoming Saturn conjunct Neptune (February 2024—May 2027) holds for us as individuals and as a collective. We might reflect on any themes of fluidity, changeability, and seeing through illusions that occurred since August 3, in order to prepare for that long and very significant world transit. Whether we might look forward to the dream-making promise of Saturn-Neptune or dread its disillusioning perils, the ability to discern what is true will require a great deal of courage.
The Aries Full Moon’s arrow of desire asks us about the courage and heart required to pierce through any self-deception and grasp our soul’s divine will to make our offering to the Good Dream of the Earth.
The night of September 29 will be flooded by the light of the Aries Full Moon stirring the cauldron of emotions. Aries is a bright, hot, and impulsive filter on the instinct-driven Moon, and yet the Sun’s conscious light of awareness is tempered by the lens of socially refined, graceful, and diplomatic Libra. The question of how we flourish or suffer in our relationships to others may come to the fore under this lunation, as we encounter limits on our will or our self-determination and fight to strike a balance.
Venus is thought to govern the activities of Libra. At the end of the Venus retrograde period’s extended excavation of our desires (exact October 6), the experimental and freedom-oriented mood of Venus square Uranus will reveal how it has defined that excavation as it makes its final exact aspect under the Aries Full Moon.
The interdependence that Venus and Libra Sun represent will face off with the independence represented by Mars and Aries Moon, offering us some questions about sovereignty, both our own and others’. Many of us will have to consider the ways in which our will both clashes and converges with that of others. Mars and Aries are associated with the will, although they are considered a purely egoic drive, a self-assertion wholly rooted in an isolated self.
While individuality is crucial to the integrity of the underlying unity of existence, each of us can also locate a divine will, which we might think of as what is uniquely ours to accomplish or contribute in this life. The divine will emanates from the soul or the higher self, and thus includes the reality of Venus and Libra, that we inhabit a community of life composed of many individual wills.
What happens when our will or our mission in life seems to conflict with those we love?
Navigating such conflicts of will may be a sore point that is illuminated by this Full Moon. However, with Mars currently passing through the sign of Libra until October 11, we might more easily recognize how it is possible to cooperate with the divine will within everyone else around us.
Mars Square Pluto
The trick, of course, is cultivating our connection to the soul’s divine will, to right thought, speech and action, and with Mars square Pluto (exact October 8) the more aggravated aspects of our Mars energy is indicated. Mars embodies the experiences of pursuit, anger, bitterness, annoyance, and humiliation, and he also carries the feelings of triumph, pride, competition, and victory. Whether our Mars is underactive, perhaps expressing as fear, avoidance, or inappropriate submission to others, or our Mars is overactive, maybe attacking others without provocation, inappropriate hostilities, or getting lost in a tunnel vision of rage, the nature of our martial imbalances may be reflected to us throughout the first two weeks of October. We could be offered a chance to identify and clear away obstacles to connecting with our higher self’s divine will.
We require Mars’s energy in order to survive, not just to orient towards ultimate meaning and purpose in life via connection to divine will. Sorting through the imbalances of Mars in our lives can help us to better protect ourselves on the day to day, while also getting to the heart of our direction in life.
Mars Conjunct South Node
North Node Aries and South Node in Libra
Solar Eclipse of the New Moon in Libra
Part of the rebalancing act for Mars must contain an encounter with the weight of the past, as Mars crosses the Moon’s South Node in Libra (exact October 18), the South Node being a point used in astrology to represent karmic inheritances of all kinds. It is a particularly potent crossing, since Mars is also squaring the titanic power of Pluto as a stationary Pluto squares the Moon’s nodes, promising to help us all get a good look at buried secrets or forgotten treasures related to our particular mission in life. This cosmic combination of Mars, Pluto, and the Nodes will correlate to something of a karmic flush out for many of us, which may continue on through the coming eclipses.
September 29 brings us the first Full Moon on the Aries/Libra axis since the Moon’s nodes changed signs on July 17 to place their emphasis on how we achieve our goals through personal will (Aries) or social roles and belonging (Libra). New forms of expressing the self will get to interact with old forms of inhabiting a collective “we”, as the most relational polarity among the signs is now fired up by eclipses, with the next solar eclipse occurring in the sign of Libra on October 14. The New Moon in Libra’s October 14 eclipse contains both a karmic binding and unbinding process, as its ruler relational Venus opposes the lord of karma, Saturn. If we think of karma merely as action, this eclipse indicates a change in the people we are dancing with, or in the nature of our dance together. The people and communities we have shared so many experiences with, both in this life and previous lives, may be reshuffled over the next six months and, in some cases, may catapult us to the next stage of our life’s journey.
Mercury Opposite Neptune
Mercury Enters Libra
As part of the karmic flush out, we might have to sort through what is real and what is merely idealistic, and distinguish utopian visions (utopia meaning “no place”) from the Good Dream of the Earth. Mercury joins the party in Libra on October 4 (until October 21), having just completed the path of their retrograde in Virgo on September 30. Mercury’s retrograde since August 3 featured an opposition to the reality principle of Saturn and the dream maker Neptune, and on October 2, Mercury makes their final opposition of the retrograde period to idealistic Neptune. It could be helpful to review the events of that retrograde period, starting at the beginning of August, for previews of what the upcoming world transit of Saturn conjunct Neptune (February 2024—May 2027) will bring into our lives and into our world.
Saturn-Neptune brings up the importance of our relationship to water, both in the literal sense and in the metaphorical sense of the experience of fluidity, mutability, and the ability to take many very different forms. It also represents the dance of the real (Saturn) and the imaginal (Neptune), the never-ending mystery of exploring the stories we conjure about our lives and the meaning inherent in them. This mystery can be at turns both frightening and enlivening, requiring courage and a willingness to venture out beyond what is currently known. With this opposition of Mercury to Neptune, we are called to reflect on our ability to discern what is true—such as our soul’s true divine will—as the physicist Richard Feynman, himself born with Saturn-Neptune, put it: “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.”
Full Moon in Aries by Moon Sign
The Moon represents who we are before we even think about who we are. She represents our instinctual self and she describes our deepest vulnerabilities, as well as our most profound capacity to connect with others. Full Moons amplify energy and emotions, and this Harvest Full Moon indicates an encounter with limits on our will, and the effort to pursue our mission in life. Let’s see how the Aries Full Moon impacts your own Moon placement!
Aries Moon
This is your Full Moon of 2023, Aries Moon! The word “compromise” may not be in your vocabulary, and that is as it should be. But there is something more that partnership wants from you, and it can only come from seriously considering the merit of the other’s point of view. Something juicy is waiting on the other side of a collaboration more intimate than any you’ve tried before.
Taurus Moon
The usual comforts might not be so comforting under the light of the Aries Full Moon. This lunation may in fact help you to see the ways you try to escape difficult decisions, Taurus Moon, and redirect your attention to what must be faced and embraced.
Gemini Moon
The circles of friends, colleagues and acquaintances who most influence your sense of self in the world are under the spotlight of the Aries Full Moon, Gemini Moon. You may notice that whereas some are comfortable allies on your path, others are more challenging—these challengers can help you find deeper sources of confidence and belief in yourself.
Cancer Moon
Maybe there is less of a fight to bring your true self to the world that so needs your gifts and talents, Cancer Moon, and more of a surrender to that higher self and your true nature. The Aries Full Moon might stir you deeply, but it’s only in service to your full flowering.
Leo Moon
While so much of the past six months may feel like it’s reaching a culmination point, Leo Moon, this Aries Full Moon would like to carry you through a few more peaks and valleys. Your broader philosophy of life may be stretched and evolved as you integrate what has shifted, particularly as you tend to your inner passions.
Virgo Moon
It’s hard to tell a Virgo Moon what to do, and yet a battle of the wills may feel particularly vulnerable under this Aries Full Moon. You might try holding the tension point as long as possible, rather than caving to fears or to pressure, to see what creative, unthinkable solutions could emerge.
Libra Moon
The Aries Full Moon says it’s high time for you to get more assertive in your desires, Libra Moon. I know, it can be difficult to know exactly what you want, but there is no need to hide out in the demands or needs or wants of the other any longer—trust how your relational spheres shake out, as you assert your own soul’s divine will.
Scorpio Moon
You may find yourself chafing under the constraints of obligations, Scorpio Moon, as the Aries Full Moon applies pressure to your schedule. A ritual of release and forgiveness might be just the thing to help clarify how your time is best spent.
Sagittarius Moon
Your greatest enemy may be your own internal critic, Sag Moon, as you experiment and play around with new ideas, new pursuits and the self-development that results. The Aries Full Moon would like to invite you to befriend your fears and to stop looking for the critic outside of you—it’s the one within that you need to understand.
Capricorn Moon
The Aries Full Moon may sound a somber note for you, Capricorn Moon, and you may be tempted to harden your heart against any pain—both perceived and real. A better strategy may lie in allowing your emotional response to align you with your highest values.
Aquarius Moon
You might exchange harsh words with peers or siblings under the influence of the Aries Full Moon, and while it’s not pleasant it may also be just the thing that’s needed to grow a greater understanding of each other, Aquarius Moon.
Pisces Moon
All your dependencies on others, particularly in the realm of income and finances, are likely to be agitated under this Aries Full Moon. Your usual defense mechanisms and efforts to protect yourself may run counter to your own interests, Pisces Moon, and you may be better served by taking a new approach to your interdependence with others.
