Aquarius Full Moon

The polarity between Leo and Aquarius involves the cohering, radiant luminosity of the Sun set against the fragmenting, intellectual distance of Saturn that can separate from the conditioning of consensus norms to connect with core values that run counter to external expectations. As part of re-centering upon authentic values, a necessary de-centering and disordering must first take place. The Full Moon in Aquarius on 1 August 2023 will extremely activate the polarity between Leo and Aquarius due to the presence of Venus retrograde in Leo. Since the Aquarius Moon is applying to jolting square aspects with Jupiter and Uranus in Taurus as well as a reflective opposition with Venus in Leo, emotions may become messy and paradoxical as we confront old issues at the same time new directions and neglected parts of ourselves demand attention. The Aquarius Full Moon will illuminate the key issues being amplified by Venus retrograde and the areas of life that will be undergoing necessary disorder as we reorder desires, aesthetics, and values.

The 2020 conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in Aquarius demarcated a twenty year collective period rooted in Aquarian themes, as well as a much vaster collective age of air that will endure into the 22nd century. One theme involves the formation of communities rooted within interdependent alliances of shared values, creating networks of mutual support that have the intention of no longer perpetuating the oppressive values of systemic power structures one desires to separate from. An important step within this process is gaining clarity for what you do not value, or no longer value- the exact sorts of questions and dilemmas that Venus retrograde typically activates.

During Venus retrograde periods the star of Aphrodite disappears from evening skies, drawing us into an inner exploration of our tastes, desires, and values as she reaches her closest orbit with Earth while also passing through a phase of invisibility. Venus retrograde has a quality of time that can feel confusing, but ultimately can serve as a portal of Mystery, a magical elixir that can shake us free from where we have become complacent while reawakening the values and desires we need to prioritize with our actions and choices. While the exact date of Venus disappearing from view varies from location to location, the Aquarius Full Moon in general will be illuminating the time period in which Venus will descend into darkness, intensifying her presence within the absence of her light.

The Full Moon is in the airy domicile of Saturn, while transiting Saturn retrograde in Pisces is in aversion to the lunation and not making an aspectual connection to the Moon. Mercury in Virgo is applying to an exact opposition with Saturn retrograde in Pisces, emphasizing the need to make grounded decisions concerning the complex circumstances we are facing and any areas of life we feel restricted or blocked. Mercury is in a much stronger phase and sign placement than Saturn, amplifying the potential for questioning authority and the ways in which our values have been modified by trying to fit in with consensus expectations and conditioning.

Questioning the impact of societal and personal power dynamics will also be activated by Pluto in the earthy domicile of Saturn (Capricorn) forming a square aspect with the nodes of the Moon. With Pluto in transition between the signs of Capricorn and Aquarius, it will be important to remain mindful for how the forming of alternative communities set against mainstream doctrine can crystalize and codify new dogma that can become righteously projected upon others. Venus retrograde periods are powerful opportunities to explore and investigate one’s personal shadow, gaining realization for ways in which we are projecting internal conflicts upon others. The emphasis the lunation places upon on Saturn points to the need for maturity, patiently working through difficulties, and prioritizing the building of a strong foundation rather than impatiently or impulsively rushing ahead too quickly. Indeed, the next Full Moon in Pisces on 30 August 2023 will form a conjunction with Saturn.

With Saturn co-present in Pisces with Neptune, it is additionally significant that the Aquarius Full Moon is aligned with the planetary nodes of Neptune. While the Moon will be forming a conjunction with the South Node of Neptune in Aquarius, the Sun will be forming a conjunction with the North Node of Neptune in Leo. As a result, the Aquarius Full Moon will activate powerful themes of Neptune that can accentuate the dissolution of whatever needs to be let go from the past while we re-dream the way forward.

Collectively, the alignment between the Aquarius Full Moon with the nodes of Neptune, combined with the tension between Pluto and the lunar nodes, will reveal ways in which belief systems such as politics and religion are shaping conflicts around the world. Personally, the activation of Neptune’s nodes will call for a questioning of our creative visions and whether or not we are following our authentic dream with our work as well as sustaining faith in our ability to make it happen. Making the changes needed to align our available time and space with our core creative desires will be important during Venus retrograde in Leo, in part because Venus will station direct on 3 September while forming a conjunction with the North Node of Neptune in Leo- a potent opportunity to gain significant traction in world building and dream manifestation. While it’s too early within the Venus retrograde process to understand the full scope of change underway, the Aquarius Full Moon shining a spotlight on the nodes of Neptune can facilitate deepening into relationship with the inner metamorphosis beginning to occur.

In the week following the Aquarius Full Moon, Venus will disappear from the evening skies into her invisible, underworld phase, calling us into an inner exploration of the ways in which our tastes and attractions may be shifting or deepening. It will be important to remember this is a liminal process of Venus to sustain curiosity regarding, as feelings and desires will continue to morph and mutate rather than settle definitively. Venus will form a catalyzing square aspect with Uranus in her earthy domicile of Taurus on 9 August, which in some cases may correlate with unexpected events that spark surprising new directions. In general, however, the influence of Uranus will amplify the potency of Venus retrograde, particularly its potential for breaking free from stale attachments and sources of pleasure that are no longer aligned with authentic passion. As Venus deepens into her descent, within her absence from visibility we may come into deeper contact with the invisible, inner sources of desire that shape our external values and attractions.

Venus will become increasingly fiery, purgative and purifying as she approaches her conjunction with the Leo Sun on 13 August, burning off inessential desires as she reaches her closest orbit to Earth, as near to us as Venus can be within her orbital cycle. The conjunction between the Leo Sun and Venus on 13 August will be the heart of the retrograde process and a day to claim for renewal and rebirth. It’s a moment when Venus reaches what Demetra George has described as “the protected space at the heart of the Sun . . . the sanctum sanctorum, the innermost holy chamber of the mystery initiations.” This is a time to tend to the mystery of internal mutations and to be curious about how our inner shifts will eventually lead to external change.

At the same time that Venus will have removed her presence from visible viewing, Mercury and Mars in Virgo will be visible as evening stars while moving in between crucial aspects with outer planets. While Mercury in Virgo will be forming an opposition with Saturn retrograde in Pisces on 1 August that could feel restrictive, Mars in Virgo will be forming a flowing trine aspect with Jupiter in Taurus that will bring inspirational force to work through problems and difficulties with pragmatic focus. During the subsequent waning phase of the present lunar cycle, Mars in Virgo will move closer and closer into a stimulating trine aspect with Uranus in Taurus, eventually forming an exact trine with Uranus on 16 August, the same day as the New Moon in Leo. The combination of Mars and Uranus will incite fiery drive to make change happen and break free from the ways in which we realize we have been holding ourselves back from forward momentum.

Mercury in their earthy home and exaltation of Virgo will have the most essential dignity of any planet, heightening the transitional potential of Venus being in an extremely liminal phase. On the same day that Venus forms her liberating square aspect with Uranus on 9 August, Mercury will reach their maximum elongation as an evening star while simultaneously forming an expansive trine aspect with Jupiter in Taurus. Mercury at greatest height while in direct contact with Jupiter can take on longer range vision while helping us to flexibly adapt and respond to present circumstances. Mercury reaching maximum elongation also means that the star of Hermes will be beginning to slow down in anticipation of stationing retrograde on 23 August. August and September will be unusually liminal months, and so it makes sense that Mercury will be empowered through essential dignity to help guide us through the twists and turns in storylines that will be occurring.

Aquarius 1 Decan

The Full Moon will illuminate the first decan of Aquarius, associated with the Five of Swords card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. In the image of the Five of Swords, we see a swordsman pridefully watching his conquered rivals walk away, leaving him solitary in a freshly cleared domain. Fitting for an Aquarius Full Moon that is ruled by Saturn while applying toward an opposition with Venus retrograde, the first decan of Aquarius is ruled by both Venus (descending order) and Saturn (triplicity order). The combination of Venus and Saturn can aid in separating ourselves from dynamics misaligned with our values, but the ways in which such shifts and separations can damage relationships will be important to be mindful of as we renegotiate whatever relationships need to be adjusted. This does not imply that that it has to be personal relationships in need of changing, but that it could be our relationship to anyone or anything that we realize needs to be altered. The Full Moon in the first face of Aquarius is thus ideal for reflecting upon however your life has been impacted during the buildup to the stationing of Venus retrograde in Leo on 22 July, and how those shifts have been deepening since the stationing.

Austin Coppock in 36 Faces ascribed the image of “The Mark of Exile” to the first decan of Aquarius, calling it “a face of exclusion and intentional exile,” a place where “there are discoveries to be made and profit to be had on the periphery.” Coppock noted that many images in older texts for this decan “depict the difficulties of living on the margins, on the outside,” whereas others reveal figures “whose labor results in both beauty and financial reward.”  Coppock further linked the meaning of the Five of Swords to this face through the independence, liberation, and “wider and deeper understanding of reality” gained when breaking free from the orthodox of one’s time and accepting “the mark of the heretic.” In this way, the image of the Five of Swords card reveals how some relationships become necessarily sacrificed when entering exile away from societal norms, while new vivifying relationships will also arise in alignment with the liberated sense of Self that emerges in the process of becoming.

The Hellenistic text the 36 Airs described the goddess of Justice, Dike, as inhabiting the first face of Aquarius. Coppock in 36 Faces linked Dike with “the abandonment of relationships which do not live up to Lady Justice’s high standard” that can correlate with activations of the first face of Aquarius. The sword and scales of Lady Justice can cut through to the heart of the matter within the first decan of Aquarius, weighing the matters and directions that deserve our full devotion versus the ones that are misaligned with our soulful essence. When seeking pleasure, passion, and the resources needed to survive and thrive on the outskirts of consensus culture, there is a need for true allies and resonant networks of support. Let the light of the Aquarius Full Moon guide you toward deepening into relationship with those who can support your deepest calling, while also letting the silvery splendor of the Moon in the sign of the Water Bearer pour down upon you, filling you with the courage needed to pursue your true desires. 

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References

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: The History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans. Three Hands Press.

George, Demetra. (2019). Ancient Astrology in Theory and Practice: a Manual of Traditional Techniques. Rubedo Press.