Full Moon in Aquarius

The annual Full Moon in Aquarius always activates the inherent polarity between Leo and Aquarius, zodiacal signs that serve as the celestial homes of the Sun and Saturn. Selene reflecting her fullness of silvery light in Aquarius can bring opportunities to question and probe experiences, sifting through the fragmentary artifacts of memory within our psyche in need of reflection. While the Sun in Leo has a centering force that helps us embody our authenticity and express our essential creativity, the Full Moon in Aquarius offers the prospect of intellectual distancing and the degree of detachment necessary from recent drama to contemplate the next steps needed for effective growth or inner integration.

The polarity between Aquarius and Leo will be especially acute during the Full Moon in Aquarius, as the Moon will be applying toward a conjunction with Saturn in Aquarius and the Leo Sun will be approaching its annual opposition with Saturn that it will complete on August 14. Moreover, the Aquarius Full Moon will illuminate the key turning point in Saturn’s synodic cycle when the star of Kronos comes closest to Earth within its orbit during its solar opposition, glimmering at its brightest level in the night sky. Adam Gainsburg has taught that Saturn initiates us into a pivotal stage of our relationship with external and internal authority when we cross the threshold demarcated by Saturn’s retrograde passage forming an opposition with the Sun. There is a maturation available in how we participate authentically within the world around us, as new potential emerges to gain greater confidence in taking the responsibility to contribute meaningfully based upon a process of having questioned the reliability of external and internal authority figures since Saturn began its retrograde passage on June 4. The activation of Saturn’s opposition with the Sun by the Aquarius Full Moon is especially powerful due to the necessity of each of us taking greater personal responsibility mediating the volatility of current events in which societal structures have been falling apart in correspondence with the longstanding square aspect between Saturn and Uranus as well as the more recent tumult triggered by Mars forming a catalyzing conjunction with Uranus and a stormy square aspect with Saturn.

Indeed, the Aquarius Full Moon not only will illuminate a major shift in the solar cycle of Saturn, it also will spotlight a critical turning point of 2022. The Full Moon in Aquarius on August 11 is situated in between the eclipses that occurred on April 30 and May 15 and the eclipses that will occur on October 25 and November 8. The Aquarius Moon will be at the southern bending of its own nodes, separating from a square aspect with Uranus while applying toward a square aspect with Mars as well as the lunar nodes. The Aquarius Moon at the bending of its own orbit brings an additional level of objectivity and detachment from mundane affairs, as the Moon will be at its greatest southern latitude and the farthest distance the Moon can be within its orbital plane from the path of the Sun. With the Moon at its lowest point in its orbit, the Aquarius Full Moon is a calling to sink into sensation and get to the bottom of root causes in circumstances. The proximity between the Moon with Saturn can further accentuate contemplation in order to bring about needed reordering from our inner depths.

Recent world transits have had the symbolic impact of the Tower arcanum, as Mars moved from a conjunction with the North Node of the Moon and Uranus in Taurus on August 1 into a harsh and combative square aspect with Saturn in Aquarius on August 7. Moreover, Venus in Cancer recently formed an opposition with Pluto in Capricorn on August 8, dredging up deep emotional and relational issues that have been impacted by the shattering shocks and liberating releases that were unleashed in correspondence with Mars, Uranus, and the North Node of the Moon joining forces while clashing with Saturn. As a result, the Full Moon in Aquarius will bring light into the darkness of whatever has been stirred up on unconscious levels as well as facilitate realizations regarding how to adapt to larger collective changes taking shape.

The Aquarius Full Moon applying toward a conjunction with Saturn in Aquarius has deeper meaning when considering that Saturn is still in range of a close conjunction with the fixed star Deneb Algedi. Deneb Algedi is the star marking the tail of the Sea Goat constellation and is associated with the Babylonian creator god Ea and the Sumerian creator god Enki who brought the gifts and arts of civilization from his realm of subterranean water. A trickster and wise magician bent on reordering civilization with the greater good of the community in mind, the flowing freshwater of Enki transfigures the landscape of dry land, creating wetlands and fertile soil in which the food and resources needed to fuel civilization can grow. Gavin White in Babylonian Star-lore wrote that “Enki’s waters bring progeny to all creatures” and “bring life to the cultivated fields.” Similarly, old magical texts on the fixed stars declared that the image of Deneb Algedi brings prosperity and increases wealth, as well as enhancing one’s home and keeping it secure.

Furthermore, the vast intellect and sacred eye of Ea/Enki understands the fathomless depths of metaphysical laws and how they may be integrated into human systems of law and order. Bernadette Brady wrote that like the “justice-oriented ancient god who was seeking to bring civilization to his people,” the star Deneb Algedi “continues to be reflected in the laws of the establishment, and the structure of civilizations that yield ordered societies.” Yet while Deneb Algedi can correspond with established law, its deeper meaning lies within the type of reordering law from chaotic change that we have been collectively experiencing and will continue to experience in the years ahead.

As the Aquarius Moon waxes full near the star of the Sea Goat’s tail in the sky, we can turn awareness into the oceanic, immaterial expanse underlying our reality where the roots of form take shape. Take space from the cacophony of current events to discover how you can reorder personal structures and systems to be in flow with the changing currents altering the landscape, while staying centered within your own sense of integrity. Deneb Algedi is a powerful ally when reflecting upon the visions from subconscious senses ready to manifest without regard for external standards of judgement, while simultaneously discerning how to integrate innovate ideas into the societal systems and codes of laws presently operating in the world. It may not be clear how to bring new ideas into reality yet, but by setting intention to nurture and foster their manifestation we can begin the process of patiently discovering the best course of development for them.

The cunning wisdom of Enki will be further available through the fortunate role that Mercury in Virgo will be playing within the surrounding field of astrological transits. Mercury is visible as an Evening Star within its domicile and exaltation of Virgo, while applying toward a flowing trine with Uranus and the North Node of the Moon in Taurus it will complete on August 16. Mercury is out of aspect with the polarity between the Leo Sun and Aquarius Saturn, instead picking up the emancipatory revelations available to be accessed through the close proximity between Uranus and the North Node of the Moon in Taurus. Mercury is the ultimate mediator of polarities, and its potent capacity for analysis and reflection while in Virgo will be needed medicine for whatever difficulties we will be facing.

The Aquarius Full Moon will also illuminate the entrance of Venus into Leo. Venus in Leo loves to spark inspiring desires to actualize our creativity in everything ranging from daily tasks to larger projects connected with our life purpose. The dramatic flair that Venus in Leo possesses for bringing awareness of our fertile potential and igniting desire to actualize it will be amplified due to the fact that Venus will be applying to a flowing trine with Jupiter in Aries. Venus will complete her trine aspect with Jupiter retrograde in Aries on August 18, and so we will have a week following the lunation to be creatively active with the supportive fire of Venus in Leo and Jupiter in Aries. Since Venus in Leo will simultaneously be heading into an activation of the volatile fixed cross that the Aquarius Full Moon is also triggering, Venus in Leo will be in position to shake up the places that have become stagnant through resisting change in favor of the comfort of stability. If you have already been embracing change while in a process of dismantling the stability of the past, Venus in Leo can help in finding greater flow and harmony within the changes taking place. During the waning half of the present lunar cycle, Venus in Leo will form a square aspect with the lunar nodes in Taurus and Scorpio on August 25, a square aspect with Uranus in Taurus on August 26 (at the same time Uranus will have an intensified presence due to stationing retrograde on August 24), and an opposition with Saturn in Aquarius on August 28.

The capacity of Venus in Leo to help us adapt to our present state of becoming within volatile current events will be further amplified due to the co-presence of Venus and Ceres in Leo. Venus is applying toward a conjunction with Ceres in Leo that she will complete on August 22 at 13º24′ Leo. The last time Venus formed a conjunction with Ceres was on 3 April 2021 in Aries, and so it could be helpful to reflect upon the changes that have taken place over the course of their cycle together. Ceres connects with many of the current issues impacting world events, such as the food shortages and economic collapses occurring around the world. Yet Ceres also has psychological significations connected to the grief and difficult emotions many are experiencing due to not only personal experiences but also the wider field of intergenerational trauma that can be activated during the kind of volatile astrological world transits we have been experiencing. As Venus in Leo moves through a conjunction with Ceres into a catalyzing square aspect with Uranus during the waning half of the lunar cycle, it will be necessary to strike a balance between the abundant productivity Ceres is capable of nurturing and making space for rest and release of emotional material as we process the complex and difficult emotions that arise during times of immense collective and personal rebirth.

Aquarius 2 Decan

The Aquarius Full Moon will illuminate the second decan of Aquarius associated with the Six of Swords. The six swords in the image are anchored, suggesting firm resolve and grounded focus. Yet the swords are also staked into a boat journeying through watery, liminal space. There is a vision behind the image, a bold determination to follow foresight into foreign territory. The ferryman is in a role of guidance not unlike the psychopomp Mercury, which is fitting since Mercury is the ruler of the second face of Aquarius. T Susan Chang in 36 Secrets wrote that the Six of Swords excels at “problem solving,” being “excellent for symbol manipulation and masterful at metaphor . . . good for writing your way out of a paper bag and thinking outside of the box.” 

As the ferryman in the Six of Swords is creating a network in between shores, linking the known with the unknown, he is an apt symbol for Mercury being the ruler of the second face of Aquarius. Austin Coppock in his book 36 Faces ascribed the image of “Heaven and Earth” to this face, writing that it connects multiple territories with a sense of “principled but fierce wisdom,” as well as that the fixed nature of this face “stabilizes commerce between heaven and earth” while also establishing “independence between multiple worlds.” Coppock declared it to be a decan “of independence, of living and becoming according to one’s principles” so that one may “connect worlds without becoming beholden to them.” Like the ferryman and Hermes, those who occupy this face mediate a “steady commerce between heaven and earth” according to Coppock, allowing for “the connection of the orthodox and the unorthodox, the known and the unknown” as well as “the ideal and the practical.”

Furthermore, the Hellenistic text the 36 Airs ascribed Phobos to the second decan of Aquarius, the divine son of Ares and Aphrodite who is associated with the fear evoked in battle and war. Austin Coppock noted that as Phobos is connected with the etymology of “phobia,” its presence in this face also reveals “the fear that people have of what lies outside their small worlds.” It also brings to mind the double edged sword of fear that can also be associated with Saturn, in the way fear can lead to poor choices rooted in paranoia as well as the kind of inspired action that erupts when we have our backs against the wall and the odds stacked against us. If paralyzing fears arise in the time surrounding the Full Moon in Aquarius, seek the steady hand and patient pace of Saturn in Aquarius that can help in grounding into the present moment and addressing the practical issues most in need of our attention and action. May the mountainous magnitude and solid sentience of Saturn be available for guidance, bridging the eternal with the present moment, illuminating the next steps to take in our process of becoming.

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References

Chang, T. Susan. (2021). 36 Secrets: A Decanic Journey through the Minor Arcana of the Tarot. Anima Mundi Press.

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

White, Gavin. (2007). Babylonian Star-Lore: An Illustrated Guide to the Star-lore and Constellations of Ancient Babylonia. Solaria Publications.