The Full Moon in Aries on Saturday October 15th at 9:23pm PST (5:23am UK on Oct. 16th) brings into focus the balancing act between self and other, assertion and diplomacy, keeping the peace and saying what needs to be said.
The Full Moon is conjunct Uranus and Eris, signalling the potential for shock, surprise, insight, and inspiration. There is an air of activism about this Full Moon with the sun in justice-oriented and Libra, the Moon in the warrior’s sign of Aries, conjunct to freedom-loving Uranus and the outsider, Eris.
This Full Moon brings to a head what was initiated at the start of this lunar cycle with the New Moon in Libra, and also may bring a completion to something that was started last March, with the New Moon in Aries. As the culmination of the lunar month, it’s possible to receive recognition, completion, or a welling up in the Aries part of your chart (see my last post for which house this Full Moon is in for you). With the moon fully illuminated, something may come to light, or be revealed. Emotions connected with the meaning of this lunar cycle may well up for acknowledgment and release.
This Full Moon highlights the planet Uranus. Richard Tarnas links the symbolism of Uranus to the mythology of Prometheus, who stole fire from the Gods, and was punished for doing so. Uranus is about liberation, genius, and innovation: the freedom humanity won through learning to use fire, and all subsequent technology; the freedom that comes from daring to stand out, to be the lone person who says, let’s try this differently.
There is great reward but also potential pain and trauma that comes from being an outsider: the possibility of isolation, ridicule, or even persecution for being different, for not fitting in, for daring to challenge consensus reality. Even when we’re not conscious of such pain, the deep memory of trauma informs who we are. But so does the deep memory of our inherent genius.
This Full Moon brings with it the potential for glimpsing the meaning of the hidden trauma and genius that structure our reality, the significant events that shaped this life or past lives, the layers of story that inform who we are and how we perceive. The patterns that act like invisible magnets, drawing us to certain experiences and people so that we may repeat past patterns blindly, or perhaps come to see them for what they are so that we may be free.
If painful memories arise, honour the potential for healing that comes with that. Seek support. Take time to rest, to process, to witness. Stay open to intuitive flashes, to sudden insight. Write down your inspirations and ideas. Trust the process.
Saturn square the nodes (exact Oct 7th) signals important choices; looking toward the future and making a long term plan. In the lunar month of Libra, our new direction involves collaboration and partnership. Mars conjunct Pluto in Capricorn (exact Oct. 19th) lends focus, motivation, power, and discipline to work toward our long term vision. The dark side of this aspect brings a potential for militarism or violence.
The energy at this time is potent and fiery. There is great potential for liberatory insight, but also the possibility for anger, and aggression, or violent shocks. To help you gain insight into what this Full Moon means for you, and to work with the energy in a constructive way, I’ve created an Astroyoga practice for the lunar month of Libra. Around the time of this Full Moon (the days leading up to it, and following week) would be a wonderful time for doing this practice, or for taking the time to reflect and honour the astrology in another way.