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Sovereignty and Pleasure: Aquarius Full Moon
On July 22nd, The Sun returns to its kingdom, Leo. This year, Leo season seems to require additional strength, dynamism and resilience as the Sun moves toward an opposition with Saturn. Expect higher (and tough) truth's to be revealed, and a big part of Leo season is to integrate and adapt to the aftermath that might come from this.
Right as we enter this season we are welcomed by the full moon in Aquarius on July 23rd, offering us a spoonful of potent medicine. With taskmaster Saturn ruling the lunation of this period, it is here to remind us on our responsibilities surrounding truth, setting boundaries and coming face to face with unavoidable tensions.
Let's take a peak at what's all going on, other than the full moon.
Venus Conjunct Mars
The lovers of Venus and Mars enjoyed a dramatic embrace in Leo on July 13, and continue their dance together through the sky through the end of July. This is a dynamic duo, the union of beauty (Venus) and pursuit (Mars), love (Venus) and ardor (Mars), and many of us are experiencing strong romantic and friendship attractions—and repulsions—through this period. Mars-Venus can indicate the lovers’ reconciliation as much as the lovers’ quarrel, and together with the recent powerful Mercury retrograde, may have resulted in quite a few hookups and run-in’s with former lovers.
But as Venus enters Virgo (July 21 until Aug. 15), we may begin to notice exactly why that old flame burned out, and see all the flaws and shortcomings of the person we were so hot to climb all over just a few minutes ago. The same applies to newly forming friendships and partnerships of all kinds, and Venus in Virgo is ultimately a positive influence, as we bring in Virgo’s discernment and strong preferences to anchor our pleasures to something solid and real. We can expect many highs and lows of getting more intimate with others in July.
Venus Opposite Jupiter & Mars Opposite Jupiter
The highs can be really high, though, with Venus opposing the planet of expansion, Jupiter (exact July 22) for about a week, followed by Mars opposite Jupiter (exact July 29) for about two weeks. Venus-Jupiter is big heart and Mars-Jupiter is big action—in fact, Venus-Mars-Jupiter is the original Big Dick Energy. Having Venus in the Mars-Jupiter mix can help our surges in confidence be more caring and harmonious, truly manifesting the BDE of “confidence without the cockiness.” (Think of the bold confidence of actress Carrie Fisher, for example, who was born with this exact combination of Venus-Mars-Jupiter.)
Even with Venus’ added grace, we may still find ourselves riding high on our ideals, and any crusades we have going will get a little extra kick of zeal. On the positive side, we may leap into some new adventures and it is a good time to initiate a new course of study, or inject new life into current studies. It is also a wonderful energy for loving ourselves up, tapping into pleasure and joy and opening up to the good things of life. On the problematic side, we may overestimate our strength or our skill, and we can fall into the trap of overpromising and not being able to deliver! Be prepared: as Mars makes his way into Virgo (where he will be from July 29 to Sep. 14), we will be encountering more limits and details and the more humbling parts of life.
Jupiter Backs into Aquarius
We can also expect any exuberance to come down a notch due to retrograde Jupiter backing into Aquarius on July 28, where he will remain until Dec. 28. Jupiter is leaving his watery home sign of Pisces and re-entering restrictive Saturn’s territory in airy Aquarius. Our quest for expansion may begin to take on more somber tones, and desires for improving social good and the human condition will be stoked. We might also reflect on the period Dec. 19, 2020 to May 12, 2021 to see if there are any loose ends from that period, or if any new developments in an area of our lives took hold then. We may be asked to revisit those topics and address anything left unfinished from that time.
Full Moon in Aquarius
Air sign Aquarius, symbolized by the Water Bearer, is ruled by the game-changing, electrifying, planet of rebellion Uranus and rules the eleventh house of networking, groups, and long-term wishes. Those born under the sign of Aquarius — or with other personal planet placements (the sun, moon, Mercury, Venus, or Mars) in the air sign — tend to be progressive, future-minded, humanitarian, social, quirky, free-spirited, and drawn to forging platonic bonds. But they can also be contrarian and, as the fixed air sign, obstinate and susceptible to black-and-white thinking. Aquarians are hard-wired to strike out on their own, railing against convention, but when they get so entrenched in their ideals, they risk losing some of that free-spiritedness they're so well known for.
Which brings us to the Full Moon in Aquarius on July 23 at 7:37pm Pacific. The bright light of the Sun (our conscious self) fully illuminating the Moon (the unconscious self) can help us pierce some of the illusions, delusions and confusions that emerged in this past Mercury retrograde (May 14 - July 7). With the mind of Mercury opposing power-monger Pluto (exact July 25), we may find ourselves pulled into obsessive thinking, or really intense emotional conversations. If we take the power of the mind inward, some of our inner landscapes and thoughts may feel heavy or sticky, and cause discomfort.
We can tap into the Aquarius nature of the Moon and establish a proper emotional detachment to bring clarity to confusions, delusions or uncomfortable thoughts. We can also tap into the erotic dynamism of the Venus-Mars opposition to joyous Jupiter, to make a positive break with confusion or deception. If we struggle with enacting our own will, or find ourselves caught up once again in the Drama Triangle of Victim-Persecutor-Rescuer, don’t cling to rose-tinted glasses and overly romanticize the people and the situation. This Full Moon gives us energy to move through and away from entanglement in unnecessary discomfort or abusive dynamics.
We have an open invitation to allow in what is truly pleasurable and brings unequivocal goodness into our Souls—and these things can guide us towards the truth and towards what is real. Let’s experiment with allowing joy into our hearts, and know what this Aquarius Full Moon wants us to know most of all: This world was made to be free in. “Anything or anyone/ that does not bring you alive/ is too small for you,” as the poet David Whyte exhorts. Lay claim to your erotic sovereignty—it belongs to you, for pleasure and joy is a human birthright.
May this full moon in Aquarius inspire us all to seek collective sovereignty, and act from a place that is not afraid to demonstrate a fierce and courageous love.
Full moon blessings!
Cosmic sightings by astrologer Erica Jones
Interested in a personalized astrological reading? Get in touch with Erica here.
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