Full Moon in Aries: “Holding the Tension”

Written By John Wadsworth

We have a full moon in Aries today (9 Oct, 9.55pm, UK time), and it is a particularly poignant one.  To say that things feel stretched right now would probably be an understatement for many of us!  This Libra season has been a real balancing act so far, and this full moon is likely to both accentuate the tensions we are feeling whilst at the same time, drawing us into a greater awareness of the nature of relationship.  

The Aries-Libra axis on which this full moon falls, is where we really face up to relationship, and have to encounter that which which is (or at least appears to be) other than ourselves.  And the challenge of this polarity is to recognise and embrace our inevitable relatedness to others, while remaining true to we are in our own unique essence.  If we tip too much toward the Libran pole, then we tend to yield too easily to another’s wishes in an attempt to accommodate them or placate them, but when we lean too much into the Aries pole, we can become fiercely entrenched in our own desire, personal will and need for self-preservation.  

This full moon sees the Sun and Moon in opposition at 16 degrees of Libra and Aries respectively, and what makes this a particularly sensitive moment is the presence of Chiron, the wounded healer, in conjunction to the Aries Moon, and Venus conjunct the Sun on the other end of the opposition.  Moon conjunct Chiron puts us in touch with the vulnerability of our core wound, and can make us especially ‘touchy’ and defensive, while the Moon opposition to Venus tends to over-emphasise our concern with keeping the peace at any cost.  It’s a tricky balance, which really requires us to be compassionate with ourselves, and receptive to our own needs, while remaining mindful that the demands being made on us by others (however unfair they might seem) are also coming from their need to protect their own hurt place.  So the best advice probably is "try not to take it personally!”.  One of the things about full moon energy is that it stretches us, makes us confront and hold the tension between the opposing forces within us.  Under this Chiron-Venus energy, we need to be extra mindful to hold ourselves and others with tenderness and compassion, listen without judgment, welcome open and honest disclosure. If we can, there is real opportunity for healing in relationships. 

The context of this full moon is important to recognise.  First, it falls between the end of a tricky Mercury retrograde period and the beginning of a longer Mars retrograde period, which starts on 30th October, which I will discuss more in my next article.  This is also the last full moon before the eclipse season begins, with the solar eclipse on 25th October, and total lunar eclipse on 8th November. Eclipse seasons tend to bring up more deeply rooted patterns and their energy reaches further into the future.  

In addition to all that, we are also currently experiencing a return of the Saturn-Uranus square aspect. We might have thought we’d seen the back of that in 2021, but it has reformed this month within the same degree (Saturn 18˚ Aquarius, Uranus 18˚ Taurus) and is plugged direct into this full moon by aspect (Saturn is trine the Sun, and sextile the Moon, while Uranus is inconjunct the Sun and semi-sextile to the Moon).  The Saturn-Uranus square has been the primary signature of the so-called ‘culture wars’ which have intensified on several different fronts in the past eighteen months since this aspect has been active.  The revolutionary energy is rocking our world, shaking the foundations of how we traditionally make sense of the world.  At the same time, the stress of this energy is also persuading us to conform to authorities external to our own inner knowing.  It is making us confront our idealism, issues around free speech, censorship, new forms of societal control, what it means to be ‘progressive’, what needs preserving and what needs to change.

Taken altogether, this month represents some of the most challenging astrological weather we’ve seen this year, and how things will unfold over these next couple of months is difficult to predict.  So what can we do in our lives to best situate ourselves in relation to what is unfolding around us, and how can we integrate the teachings of this full moon? The wisdom of Libra is guiding us to watch, listen and observe, to suspend judgment in the scales of balance, to walk a middle path, and to find a place of peace and balance within. Aries, on the other hand, is imploring us to come forth with courage and conviction, to pick up the warrior's sword, declare a position and mark a line in the sand.  “I am a sovereign being, and I have the right to be myself and to stand in my own truth”, Aries declares!  

Our task here is to remain mindful of the opposing and contradictory narratives that are constantly lobbying for our agreement and consent, whilst remaining true to our core sense of self, our essential values and our truth.  And when we do take up a position, we need to be clear about what it is that we conforming to, and the extent to which this requires us to trust in an external authority.  To what extent are we subject to the Libran weakness of over-compromising in the face of social pressure?

My mantra for Aries runs like this: "I am here, I am now, fully present as I am!" When we truly show up in our authentic presence, we know what is right, without having to be told by external media, and when this is aligned in us, we know what to do, and we do it in a way that naturally disarms the other, without the need to go to war.

Full Moon blessings to all.

—-

Short Courses in Different Aspects of Astrology

I am offering a series of 3-week short astrology courses, in the Autumn 2022 /Winter 2023. I have four courses that you can currently enrol on, with the first one starting in mid-November. The courses cover a range of different topics, requested by diploma students. However, they are available to everyone for a fee of £80 (plus £4 booking fee if paid through credit/debit card or paypal)

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John Wadsworth
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An Astrological Perspective On Our New ‘Fisher’ King