Sagittarius Full Moon
Sagittarius is the ferocious speed of the arrow, the ruthlessness of pinpointing the target. The Moon flowering into fullness amplifies the quickness and fiery visions of Sagittarius, distributing revelations and bringing matters to a head in ways that starkly illuminate issues. The enflamed heat of the Full Moon in Sagittarius will activate pursuit of affinities, kindling the flames of inspiration to go after attractions and desires while separating from old associations that no longer hold the same interest. Although the sign of the Archer excels at striking targeted goals, the Full Moon in Sagittarius will be engaged with the nebulous influence of Saturn and Neptune occupying the mystical sign of Pisces.
The Sagittarius Full Moon on 3 June will be in between a confrontation with Saturn and Neptune in Pisces, as the Moon will be flowing away from a square aspect with Saturn into a square aspect with Neptune. The centripetal contraction of Saturn within the imaginal water of Pisces occupied by Neptune possesses a potent dissolving influence upon old forms of security and stability. We are only at the very beginning of coming to terms with how Saturn and Neptune’s alignment in 2025 and 2026 will reshape our world, and so the Sagittarius Full Moon will reflect the ways in which we can feel how Saturn and Neptune are already transfiguring our perception of reality and possibility. Within the downward spiral of Saturn and Neptune’s internal stirring, new forms of inspiration and creativity will begin coagulating and emerging at the same time we feel disoriented from the washing away of old ideals and dreams. If the Full Moon activates a sense of disillusionment, be curious about the ways in which you are being guided into a deeper understanding of your circumstances.
Unfortunately, those lacking self-analysis and interest in self-exploration can become easily provoked into self-righteous behavior under the influence of the Sagittarius lunation clashing with Neptune and Saturn. The inciting of hubris and assertive arrogance will be further accentuated due to the Full Moon emanating from a flowing trine aspect with Mars in Leo. However, the Sagittarius Moon is also applying to an integrative sextile aspect with Chiron in Aries that can be helpful in coming to terms with the ways in which old wounds of identity and relationship are intersecting with present circumstances. It will be helpful to engage in practices that facilitate grounding and mindfulness in order to clarify the ways in which you sense a shapeshifting of goals and creative direction occurring. With the Sagittarius Moon separating from both of the traditional malefic planets while applying toward Chiron and Neptune, there will be an opportunity to gain new perspectives upon issues that have been contributing to personal difficulty.
The Full Moon is in the fiery home of Jupiter while Jupiter is occupying the fixed, earthy sign of Taurus. Although Jupiter is not forming a major aspect with the Full Moon, Jupiter is forming a conjunction with the North Node of the Moon. Combined with the Moon’s aspects with Saturn, Mars, and Neptune, the aversion between Jupiter with the lunation could signify a blind spot in relation to present ambitions. Yet the fertile potency of the union between the star of Zeus and the lunar orbit will inspire making major forward momentum with plans. Jupiter in Taurus prefers slow and steady growth that leads to enduring forms of support, and so it will be advisable to contemplate present desires and goals thoroughly, taking your time to reflect upon underlying motivations and coming to terms with the essential core of your values and their alignment with your present trajectory.
Though it will be important to avoid leaping too quickly ahead, the speedy star of Hermes will be inciting drives for accelerated innovation due to forming a conjunction with Uranus in Taurus. The conjunction between Mercury and Uranus on 4 June at 20º24’ Taurus is more important than normal due to the fact that Mercury stationed retrograde in range of a conjunction with Uranus in Taurus on 21 April 2023. Now that Mercury has completed its retrograde phase and is quickly moving forward as a Morning Star into a conjunction with Uranus, we may experience significant revelations regarding whatever work we have been crafting since April. Moreover, we not only passed through a Mercury retrograde phase that lasted from 21 April to 14 May, we also passed through an intensifying eclipse season involving a Solar Eclipse in Aries on 19 April and a Lunar Eclipse in Scorpio on 5 May. The combination of Mercury retrograde with eclipses served as an immense catalyst for change, and while we may have had to undergo a period of volatility that made it difficult to integrate the full scope of change being felt on internal levels, the Full Moon in Sagittarius will spotlight the ways in which Mercury and Uranus are now making us fully aware of the most important direction to follow forward.
Simultaneously, Venus in Cancer will be reaching her greatest height as an Evening Star while also passing through a flowing trine with Neptune in Pisces. Venus resplendent in her maximum elongation and immersed in a watery flow with Neptune will evoke sensual pleasures and revelry in dreamy landscapes of imagination. Underneath the full illumination of the Moon, escape from the stress of daily toil may be found through intimate exchanges, exploration of fantasy, and ecstatic expression of creativity. Take delight in the watery pleasures of Venus, for once she enters the fiery sign of Leo on 5 June she will encounter the underworld inferno of Pluto.
Around the same time that Venus will be enthroned at her greatest height following sunset, she will also enter the queenly sign of Leo on 5 June. Due to Venus stationing retrograde on 23 July at the end of Leo, the star of Aphrodite will remain in Leo from 5 June until 8 October. As we begin to adjust to the extended journey of Venus in Leo, she will come closer and closer to Earth in her orbit while also becoming brighter in light, amplifying desires and creative impulses in the month ahead. We have a long road of Venus in Leo opening up, one that will shake things up in order to rebalance the harmony of relational and creative elements in our life. Due to Venus immediately forming an opposition with Pluto in Aquarius on 5 June and then traversing tension with the lunar nodes at the northern bending on 8 June, from celestial heights will Venus survey the wide expanse of Eros. Soak in the whole scope of desire, noticing the depths of both the light and dark side of dreams. The creative passions of Venus in Leo will begin pulling us toward the upcoming season of chthonic transformation that the star of Aphrodite will be guiding us through.
The entrance of Venus into Leo also brings Venus into the same zodiacal territory as Mars. Venus and Mars will cohabitate in Leo from 5 June through 10 July, but due to Venus slowing down in speed they will never form a conjunction. With Venus stirring things up with Mars in the month ahead, be aware that dramatic issues may be brought to light that will take time to fully work out. Though the phase of Venus retrograde is typically the most volatile, the period leading into her stationing at the end of July may coincide with internal or external conflicts that need to be addressed before Venus takes her plunge into the underworld. Venus and Mars in Leo may also put us into deeper contact with our essential Eros and the exciting new creative direction we wish to pursue.
Sagittarius 2 Decan
The Sagittarius Full Moon will illuminate the second decan of Sagittarius associated with the Nine of Wands card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. In the image a bandaged and alert figure stands with his chosen staff planted firmly in the ground, with eight other wands of varying size rooted behind him. The resilient strength and courage to persist in the face of opposition found in the image resonates with the meaning of the second face of Sagittarius. It is significant that the figure has been wounded at the top of his head, as Sagittarius unifies fiery spirit with the will of the body. T. Susan Chang in 36 Secrets associated the Nine of Wands with “peak power in the realm of ambitions and drives,” and “the kind of strength you need to meet challenging situations- which inevitably arise despite your firmest convictions that they won’t.” Since the Moon is ruler of the second decan of Sagittarius, the Full Moon will experience illumination within her own face.
Austin Coppock in his book on the decans 36 Faces ascribed the image of “The Bridle” to the second face of Sagittarius, stating that the battles and conflicts pictured in the Nine of Wands card “are necessary to inflame the will and provide the heat necessary for the fusion of the mind and body.” Coppock praised the capacity of the second face of Sagittarius “to keep the body and mind in line with intention, despite contrary forces,” as its rulership by the Moon and Mars brings the ferocious resiliency needed to protect what we most value in the face of opposition with all of the odds stacked against us. Yet Coppock cautioned that while the second face of Sagittarius “represents a formula for strength in the face of opposition,” we must discern when circumstances “do not demand, nor reward such a response” but instead require yielding to develop a different strategy.
The dichotomy of fighting to protect a vision, whether it is securing a boon through victory or bewailing the loss of defeat, is found in ancient textual images of the second decan of Sagittarius. In the Birhat Jakarta a golden woman of grace picks up gems from the ocean, while in The Beginning of Wisdom by Ibn Ezra as well as the Yavanajataka there is a chest of golden ornaments and jewels set before a beautiful woman. These images are in contrast to images in other texts signifying sadness and fear, such as a “lamenting woman” in Three Books of Occult Philosophy. These images of mourning and unearthed treasure are also curiously resonant with the figure of Kore who was ascribed to the second face of Sagittarius by the Hellenistic text the 36 Airs. Austin Coppock linked Kore’s presence here with her form as Persephone Praxidike, mistress of the furies and the forces of Nemesis that create the adversarial force necessary to bring forth our most heroic qualities.
Safron Rossi in The Kore Goddess: A Mythology & Psychology associated the archetypal Kore with “psychological integrity” and “what it means to be grounded in one’s essential nature as an individual.” To Rossi, the sacred qualities that the Kore personifies include “unto-oneself, sovereignty, vitality” and “authenticity,” viewing “one-in-herself as central to the archetypal stream of the Kore.” She further referenced classicist Guilia Sissa that the Greek meanings of kore and parthenos included “a treasure that one guards (phylassein), a value that must be respected (terein).” Rossi identified “innocence” as being intrinsic to the Kore’s shadow that can lead to becoming “untouchable, impenetrable, self-enclosed.” Associating the Kore with Persephone, Rossi noted that “when we can embrace a more complex perspective that is not primarily concerned with maintaining psychological innocence, Persephone’s myth shows us how Kore consciousness is forged by underworld initiation.” Indeed, Rossi stated that “Persephone-Kore is the divinity within the painful loss of innocence for it is she who shows how there would be no growing down into authenticity without the forays into the underworld.” These archetypal revelations concerning Persephone-Kore will be important to keep in mind as Venus heads toward her retrograde phase that will begin toward the end of July.
May the silvery fullness of moonlight unveil the presence of lovely-tressed Persephone Praxidike, the pure bloom who nourishes life and guides souls through the trials that bring forth destiny.
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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.
Rossi, Safron. (2021). The Kore Goddess: A Mythology & Psychology. Winter Press.
Gray Crawford 