Full Moon Aquarius Demands Growth!

Today is Sunday, August 22, 2021.  It is a Blue Herron Full Moon as described by indigenous people.

The Full Moon is at 29 degrees Aquarius, which is the second full moon this month.  This full moon is relatively rare and thus, we have rare opportunities to contribute something special to the world around us.

Since Aquarius rules innovation, technology and the common good, what will your contribution to society be at this time?

Aquarius rules objectivity, so you are also being called to let go of your subjective, personalized, and narrow perspective in service to a greater cause -humanity.

The moon changes its sign every two and a half days, so it glides over the anaretic point (or 29^th degree) 12 times every month.  The Sun does that too, but only once per month as it shifts from sign to sign.

Tomorrow, August 23, the Sun moves into Virgo.  Today, the Sun is also at the final (or 29^th degree) of Leo (headed to Virgo) while the Moon is at the final degree of Aquarius (headed to Pisces).  The fact that they are in different sign is not as important as the fact that they are both in the last degree of their respective signs.

For them to be aligned at this point suggests that inherent in the day’s vibration, is the potential for some big teachings, opportunities, or shifts.

Aquarius is ruled by Uranus and Saturn, and both planets are currently retrograde, meaning that both planets are focusing their energies inwardly.  This reflects a greater movement toward individuation or freedom from conditioning.  Saturn naturally rules conditioning and limitations, so this is a time of great upheaval and restructuring.  Just look around and witness that everything is in flux.

Uranus is retrograde at 14 degrees of Taurus and Saturn is retrograde at 8 degrees of Aquarius.

Inward energy for Uranus, which rules Aquarius (remember, the moon is in Aquarius), means liberating ourselves from the known or that which has been conditioned.  In this way, we gain more objectivity and perspective for the purpose of making personal changes so you can move forward and feel freer.

Aquarius rules peers and friend groups, social activism and reform, futurist thinking and technology, revolution, freedom, nonconformity, and individuation.

Inward energy for Saturn, which is ruled by Capricorn, means understanding how you self-manage your life.  Saturn will strengthen everything it touches.

Saturn/Capricorn refer to maturity, responsibility, and leadership.  The flip side or shadow side of those qualities is judgment, criticism, and repression.   Uranus/Aquarius hates the concept of repression because it is focused on freedom!

This scenario is like the teenager who insists upon staying out to midnight, but Mom and Dad expect her/him home by 10 pm!

Now is the time to become more responsible and mature. There are probably areas of your life which need more development and mastery.  Maturity appears when you can refrain from projecting your judgment or criticism outwardly. Rather, look within to see what needs to be repaired, restructured, and mastered.

In addition to all this retrograde energy, both Uranus and Saturn are in a tense square with each other until the end of the year.  This square is at the root of feeling so much friction.  The square aspects prompt us to act and, in this case, to change the status quo.

The energy wants us to move forward, but NOT BEFORE we have made the necessary changes.   If we attempt to move on without addressing our inner structure or foundation, chaos is the result.

The theme is:

• Establish a better inner foundation
• Stop repressing or suppressing yourself (and others)
• Understand your desire to be free from limitations
• Become more internally responsible before opening a new chapter or moving on

This 90-degree square aspect is also causing a lot of outer volatility on the planet since Uranus rules out-of-the-blue experiences and Saturn rules structure, institutions, and governments.  Butting heads between freedom and restriction seems to be the order of the day.

For instance, Afghanistan just experienced a radical change in governance earlier this week as Saturn and Uranus incurred an exact square to one another.

There appears to be a clash of values now between freedom and responsibility.  Saturn rules politics so all you need to do is scroll your phone, listen to the news, or talk to a friend and you’ll experience clashing points of view.

These concepts of freedom and limitation are not mutually exclusive. They support each other.  Freedom cannot exist on its own unless there was a foundation to diverge from.

Conversely, when we create a form, it is for the purpose of establishing order (rules of consensus), containment (safety not restriction) and purpose or directional flow.  That is the proper use of time and energy.  After some amount of time however, our forms or structures can become bogged down by repeated use.  They feel more restrictive than supportive. They need a refresher.

Note: This is what happens to most of us at the Uranus (freedom) opposition around age 42.  We call it the Midlife Crisis.  We want to break out of the mold that has been supporting us, because it feels stagnant and limiting. 

That crisis effect is some of what’s happening now in the United States except astrologically, it is really the Pluto Return. Pluto moved into Capricorn in January 2008.  This equals transformation of structure.  Saturn rules structure including the banking system.  The Pluto Return will last until November 2024. The last time Pluto was in Capricorn was from 1762 to 1778

The Pluto return occurs every 247-248 years.  Our “birth” as a country began July 4, 1776, and we are entering those “birthday or return waters”.  That’s often called a Solar Return.  I’ll save the Pluto Return for another article.

The foundation that was created (birth of a nation in 1776) when we were born (our bodies and developing minds), is designed to be a containment system to help order and master our lives.  Structure helps direct the flow of time and energy so that we experience mastery, stability, and security rather than perpetual chaos.

When our foundations and structures require routine maintenance, we have a choice: to complete the maintenance and move on or reshape the foundation because we now require something different than we did when it was established.   This is the Uranus-Saturn square aspect.

The more that each of us takes responsibility for our inner foundation, the freer we become.  We need freedom to grow and sometimes, foundations or structures impede our growth.   Sometimes, they support it. Each person is responsible for assessing that balance within themselves.

As a society, we come together to make those decisions although we do not always agree or gain consensus.  Disagreement allows for new forms to be developed, which in theory, will support our continued growth.  It all begins at the individual level where self-responsibility is prima facie or at first sight, what we must do.

The more individuated we are, the freer we may feel yet the more conflict we may encounter.  That’s because we are at odds with the consensus or established structure.  The more freedom we acquire or grow into, the more that our viewpoint may seem dissenting yet, it is necessary as we depart from outdated structures.

When we become more individuated, it is easier to withstand the collective shifts that occur.  Because we have hopefully addressed our inner foundation or structure, we can then lend our wisdom (Saturn) to progress (Uranus).  Wisdom is the natural outgrowth of maturity and allows for freedom (progress) to occur with order versus chaos.

It’s not an easy road to travel so we often seek out others of like mind to travel with.  Sometimes, we are the lone dissenting voice. In either case, our evolutionary mandate is continued growth, whether we do it independently or together. It will occur!