Hi friends, sorry for the delay on today's intense full moon report. Remember that the vibe and feeling lasts a few days, so the energetics are applicable today and tomorrow. Also please enjoy the up and coming transits we're reviewing below. Stay safe out there during these wild times, we love you.
Today's Aries Full Moon – Lessons on Sovereignty in Relationships
The Full Moon in Aries at 7:56am Pacific on October 20 is looking to be super spicy for many of us, as the hot reactive energy of Mars meets with the elemental power of Pluto in a stressful square aspect right on top of the Full Moon. The sign of Aries resonates with the planet Mars, amplifying our passions, drives and desire to enact our will. But Pluto’s power can magnify both feelings and actions to an unsettling degree. We may be surprised by the force of our own will, or the impact of others’ will, and act out quite unconsciously. Pluto represents the taboo and the unwanted or discarded pieces of our inner world, and this lunation may blow the cover story on our anger and expose what is underneath our rage or frustrations. Our own manipulations and evasions of responsibility may also be exposed, and we may rather choose to fight and deny and deflect onto others instead of being vulnerable about our shortcomings and making improvements.
This Full Moon follows the Sun-Mars conjunction that happened earlier this month, which sets a tone for Mars’ expression over the next two years. Mars embodies our will, our vitality and enthusiasm, and our ability to take initiative—and we can expect the expression of Mars over the next two years to push us to work through the relationship between the masculine/active and the feminine/receptive parts of ourselves. Wounding around our will or initiative is especially highlighted, as implied by Chiron—the wounded healer, wholeness weaver—who is heavily involved in this new Mars cycle around the Sun. The principle of the warrior is receiving an unusual activation these next two years, where it may be hard to understand how to protect and defend what we love, without first becoming aware of all our blind spots—the ways we are manipulated by our own fears, and by our desire to be liked or to just fit in, and the ways we compromise or fail to negotiate in our own interests. This overall picture of Mars’ fresh evolutionary power figures heavily in this Full Moon, and it can be helpful to reflect on how we embody or deny our own sovereignty within relationships.
Aries Full Moon by Moon Sign
The Moon represents who we are before we even think about who we are. It describes our deepest vulnerabilities and our most profound capacity to connect with others. Full Moons bring high energy and rivers of emotion, and this lunation is particularly passionate and stressful. How will the Aries Full Moon impact your own Moon placement?
Aries Moon
This is your Full Moon for 2021, Aries Moon! Your bossy, domineering side may erupt under the pressure of open conflict, as you struggle to find the right words—and likely fail. It can be tempting to retreat into thinking about and intellectualizing problems, when it would be more helpful to be feeling into and empathetic, in order to move through conflicts.
Taurus Moon
Your Taurean stubbornness and difficulty with change may be provoked by strange proddings from your own unconscious mind, which stirs a deep, inner restlessness. It may be tempting to attack a favorite comfort food instead of turning towards that restlessness and finding out what it means and what it wants of you.
Gemini Moon
Hopes, dreams and expectations for the future are stimulated under this Full Moon. It may be easy to fall under the influence of others’ ideas or desires, which seem very exciting and stimulating—but can also scatter your energy in way too many directions. Some Gemini Moons may be drawn to assert creative control over collaborative ideas and projects, and end up in an uncomfortable power struggle.
Cancer Moon
The Full Moon may illuminate any friction between work obligations and the safety or security you desire in a home, provoking some extra moodiness. It may be difficult to tactfully express to others what you need or want, as a regressive pull into crabbiness overpowers your communication skills.
Leo Moon
This lunation may expose your vulnerabilities around receiving recognition or being seen in your gifts and talents. You may feel unappreciated and perhaps get caught up in a false sense of self-importance, as if your ideas are the only ones that can lead to success.
Virgo Moon
Look out for controlling tendencies to erupt around shared finances, debts or any area where you must rely on others to show up and participate. The Virgoan desire for the perfect can get in the way of the good, as this Full Moon provokes familiar patterns of criticism that could shut down a creative response to a stressful situation.
Libra Moon
Your Libran need for social approval or acceptance may create conflict, as you are pressed to express your authentic feelings about a matter of controversy or to deal with others’ difficult emotions. Trying to simply please others could result in anger and discord, as a false sense of harmony is punctured by real conflict.
Scorpio Moon
Frenemies may come crawling out of the shadows under this lunation, attacking your self-esteem or your role in community. You may come back swinging with harsh words and the Scorpion’s sting of the bitter truth others do not want to hear—and it could be hard to soften the message, even if you try.
Sagittarius Moon
Friends or associates may shine light on an area where you are being far too optimistic, or perhaps overestimating your own capacities, which leads to feelings of embarrassment or even hostility. Subconsciously, you may feel personally attacked by such critiques or observations, and respond by distancing yourself from your critics instead of considering the merit in what they say.
Capricorn Moon
Conflict in the sphere of work, calling or vocation may provoke a controlling expression of your Capricornian nature with surprising force. Feelings of domination or being dominated may loom heavy in your heart, as painful memories of past losses are stimulated by present conflicts.
Aquarius Moon
Clashes in the realm of ideas may be more irritating that you consciously realize, as you retreat from your feelings and fall into defense mechanisms of being a know-it-all and above others’ inadequate understanding. It may prove difficult to distinguish between your personal opinion and objective facts or circumstances.
Pisces Moon
Financial obligations as well as other matters of physical and psychological survival may emerge as sources of conflict or anxiety. Your Piscean escapist patterns may want to rear up and add to the confusion, making it difficult to focus or be present to the difficulty.
UP + COMING
COSMIC WEATHER REPORT
MARS-PLUTO
Energetic Mars makes a dynamic square with volcanic Pluto (exact Oct. 21), and some of its power is described in the Aries Full Moon section above. Some ways that we can channel this energy in a positive way is by moving our bodies—like dancing, vigorous exercise, and sports which set our athletic abilities against nature’s power. If our mobility is limited, we can take in film and imagery that depict amazing feats of athleticism or heroism in the face of great danger and let our imaginations carry us into those scenes. This is a great technique for anyone to work with the potentially explosive energies of Mars-Pluto, especially if we encourage our imaginations to carry us beyond our identification with heroic characters and into our own raw will, determination and fighting spirit.
MERCURY IS FINALLY DIRECT
All of this is happening within the context of Mercury’s powerful retrograde in Libra, which just ended on Oct. 18 as they returned to direct motion. The three or four days around the time of Mercury’s change in direction tends to manifest the most potent events or revelations related to the entire retrograde cycle. Confusion, miscommunication and delays may reach a boiling point this week, with your own or others’ emotional reactivity deeply triggered by the Aries Full Moon. The entire retrograde cycle points towards revelations of secrets, encounters with taboo or forbidden information and manipulative speech.
JUPITER GOES DIRECT
As a counterpoint to the intensity of the Full Moon and Mercury’s hijinks, the planet of expansion, optimism, adventure, Jupiter, has returned to direct motion on Oct. 17. Jupiter poked his head into Pisces this past summer, bringing many of us a flush of optimism, but has been retrograding through the sign of Aquarius since July 28. Our sense of progress and vision for the future can be generally hampered by Jupiter’s retrograde motion, as we are called to reconsider the horizons we are aiming for. Jupiter returning to direct motion signals a movement towards understanding how to achieve our goals and will help us connect to opportunities. As Jupiter picks up speed and moves towards the visionary sign of Pisces, we can expect inner obstacles to clear and our confidence to also pick up steam.
VENUS IN SAGITTARIUS
Venus adds her blessings to Jupiter returning to direct motion, as she travels through Jupiter’s home sign of Sagittarius (Oct. 7—Nov. 5). We can enjoy lighter, more adventurous social relations and embrace whatever is new and fresh in our lives, especially once we get clear of the Mercury retrograde (Mercury direct on Oct. 18). Skepticism or suspicion of what feels good will give way to an appetite for the truth about what feels good to us—and many of us will be more available to receive joys and delights which may exceed our expectations.
SUN IN SCORPIO
The appetite for truth is further stimulated by the Sun’s entry into Scorpio on Oct. 22. While this often broody sign can prick suspicions, it is concerned with deep relationships and trust. The ability to join energies with others is highlighted under this influence, and many of us can expect some sudden changes or leaps in understanding our relationship to intimacy as the Sun passes over the long-term aspect of Saturn square Uranus later this month and into November. Saturn square Uranus is interested in helping us to break apart structures and beliefs that we have outgrown and while it is sometimes painful, it also clears the way for our authentic growth towards wholeness and personal integrity. The Aries Full Moon can help launch us in this direction, if we take some time for self-reflection and step away from playing the blame game.
Cosmic sightings by astrologer Erica Jones
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