When we actively confront people with a full heart, we lead not with judgement but with compassion and a desire for a harmonious outcome. The Sun entered Libra on September 22nd, when the Sun enters either Aries or Libra, the divine masculine and feminine principles of day and night are in equal harmony to one another. We call these Sun entrance points Equinoxes and for the northern hemisphere Libra season signifies the beginning of Autumn while in the southern hemisphere the sign Libra ushers in Spring. Wherever you are on the globe, the equinoxes are important markers of transition and change.
During Libra season we always experience a full moon in Aires which conjures within us themes such as: independence, confrontation, balance between self and other, relationships and duality. The opposition of the Sun and the Moon releases energies from within us that have been buried deep, waiting for the right moment to be let go. The Sun reflects and illuminates its divine white light onto the surface of our Moon blasting the shadows with its pure radiant, solar, life-force. This simple cyclical ebb and flow dance guides us to appreciate the inhale just as much as the exhale, to neither linger nor grasp for one over the other. As we traverse the Sun on our tiny beautiful planet, we understand the key to harmony is balance and the key to maintaining grounded footing is to remain equanimous through both the light and the dark parts of life.
Ma’at is the Egyptian goddess deity that is a personification of truth, justice, wisdom, law, harmony and the seasons. She is the goddess that all souls meet after their departure from the material plane. Before the soul can transcend up into the cosmic ethers and re-unify with the great source, it must be judged by Ma’at *. The way Ma’at is able to tell if a soul is worthy of transcendence, she weighs it with her ostrich feather. Ma’at was born from Ra (The Sun) and Hathor (The Moon), she is the goddess of the equinoxes and is present in many celebrations of balance and harmony. Her connection to Libra is uncanny, she uses the scales of justice to weigh the heart, the scale is the only inanimate object in the zodiac and is the symbol for Libra. Ma’at represented the daily law and practices that the citizens of Egypt were expected to follow in their everyday life and Libra’s ruler Venus, the Roman goddess of justice is the deity that we all unknowingly follow as the ruler of the justice systems in government courts. Hence why you will often see depictions of owls, a woman with a sword, scales or blindfolded on court room seals. These symbols are reused throughout the world in various ways and stems from our relationship to the cosmos but more specifically, the relationship between the Sun and the Moon.
“Training is the first part of the Warrior’s path, and thus the Warrior’s Moon. Fighting effectively is more than just running into the battle in blind wrath. The first demons that need to be subdued are the ones inside, and this is the lesson that the Warrior must learn before he can pick up a sword.” – Raven Kaldera
Full Moon in Aries is named “The Warrior’s Moon” By Astrologer and Northern Pagan Shaman, Raven Kaldera in his book Moon Phase Astrology, and this Full Moon in Aries is definitely going to bring the warrior from within us out into the foreground. Full Moons and quarter moons are when energy becomes manifest, which is why we see a lot more action, change and movement during these moon phases. The warrior from within is here to lead the way into what appears to be a confrontation with the other. If we understand alchemy at all however, we come to find that the ‘other’ we are fighting against is that which has been latent inside us, materialized through our perceptions of the outside world. Treat the other how you would treat your inner self. We see power struggles within relationships, groups of people and ideologies where a dormant well of unspoken boundaries were kept hidden. It’s easy to forget that when we don’t overtly express a boundary with another that there is room for misinterpretation of these unspoken boundaries. Telling someone how to respect you is not rude, it is an act of kindness towards yourself and them. Everyone has a different definition of what respect means to them, you have to convey that openly, plainly and direct or else there is room for miscommunication.
The Aries Full Moon this year makes contact with Chiron, so the emotionality of this Moon is heightened and can feel like a stinging thorn in the side of the ego. It hurts to share how we feel, and it can bring us pain to have to create these walls between ourselves and those who do not respect our needs. 1 day after the Full Moon the Moon meets up with Mars in Aries, set yourself up for success now by writing down all the ways you have felt disrespected, unfairly treated, talked down to and make amends with it. Promise yourself from this point moving forward, that your friends, family and your bosses will know what your threshold is, so they are made aware whether or not they are encroaching on your emotional space. This is what the Full Moon in Aries is opening up for us, opportunities to confront old relationship wounds in order to move forward and heal where we have let ourselves down by not sticking up for our values, beliefs, space, territory, friends, what have you!
Mercury turns Rx in Scorpio two weeks after the Full Moon in Aries, expect a well spring of hidden information to pour forth. Maybe you yourself have some secrets that you have been bursting at the seams to share. Whatever has been hidden will be revealed, the winged messenger moves through the netherworld sign Scorpio to dredge up past secrets and that which has been swept under the rug. If there is something you have been wanting to tell a friend or loved one that has just been eating you alive, now is the time to go on with it.
Mercury is moving deep into the subconscious mind, purging what we have forgotten from years ago. This time of release should leave you with a lot less weight on your shoulders and a lot more room in your heart. The lightness from expelling our inner demons is a liberating act and one that the lord of karma, Saturn aids us with. Sometimes you have to cut to the chase, swift and sharp can be the least painful.
Mars retrograde is making his way into a square with Pluto, the planet of the underworld and will meet this caretaker of ghosts just in time for Samhain celebrations. October 8/9th – 12/13th the two sync up and boy do the energies feel intense, one day after their meeting Mars makes an opposition with the Sun. The two masculine forces are battling it out for dominion over the territories. Heightened aggression and polarity are hard to miss. We may find that we become easily triggered by societal issues and polarizing political banter, “we can’t just sit around any longer” a message we hear loud and clear. Mars is the planet of brute force, the military, sexual drive and how we exert our force onto the world around us. On the personal level, this can be a time when the path of least resistance is the most productive and we may feel like we want to fight and act out, but that energy will only be turned around onto ourselves. The time for action is when Mars turns direct, it can feel like most of what we try to fight for is blocked in various ways so notice if the universe is telling you a big “NO”. But what we do find during this deep transit is the key information that we need in order to win the battle. Use the information wisely and take action with timed precision, otherwise excess energy can be wasted. Remember the lessons you learned during the Full Moon in Aries and the themes of Libra, remain strong, convicted and equanimous.
Our lady Venus in Virgo remains in beautiful aspect to Mars, Lilith and the Moon throughout these heavy transits and offers us strength through grace. She moves out of Leo and into Virgo the day after the Full Moon, shifting the scales of justice towards service for those in need. We see more organized mobility around offering aid, food and services to the sick. Compassion for service industry folks and the nurses and doctors who have been taking care of our wellness all while risking/ sacrificing theirs. The issues around healthcare and wellness culminate when Venus makes an opposition to Neptune on October 17th / 18th just after the new Moon in Libra. Venus’s harmonious aspect to Lilith makes way for cunning and slick communication from the feminine point of view. She makes it hard to look away as she pierces the veil of false light. We see strong female leaders standing out and hitting directly where the weak spots are. There is a very confident and independent nature that comes out of feminine performances. How we as a society express love, sex and self-expression is praised as a liberating and progressive feat. We find creative solutions that can wow a crowd. On a personal level this will feel like a liberating time, of course with all of these heavy aspects forcing us to purge out what has been hidden, there is no question that the lightness of being outweighs the heaviness of conformity.
Major aspects for this Full Moon Aries
Moon and Chiron – wounded emotions Moon inconjunct Mercury
Sun inconjunct Uranus
Mercury opposite Uranus – October 6th/7th
Mars Rx separating from a square with Saturn which culminated September 29th
Mars Rx moving into square with Pluto – begins October 8th – October 10th