New Moon in Aquarius: Expect the Unexpected
Full Moon in Aquarius
August 1, 2023, at 11:31 PM PDT/ 2:31 PM EDT
There is no way around it, the energy is fierce around today’s Full Moon in Aquarius. In many ways, August has the most intense energy of 2023 with Venus Retrograde in Leo and Mercury going retrograde on August 24. The planetary alignments are dynamic, which is another way of saying there is a profound atmosphere of change throughout the entire month and this Full Moon heightens and brings to light what has been brewing under the surface.
Before I get into that in more depth, I want to speak to how New or Full Moons actually function. I received a question from someone asking why everyone says this date, this Moon, or that event is essentially a life-changing event, an energy of manifestation (my words not theirs) yet nothing seems to be changing in their life.
First of all, let me fully acknowledge that pronouncements that any specific moment (harmonic convergence, 11:11, the Lions Gate Portal, etc) is the moment that will change anyone’s life I find absolutely reckless, misleading at best, and see a general lack of understanding being put forward as expertise at worse. Frankly, it drives me crazy, mainly because it doesn’t empower anyone. And this lack of understanding can lead to the general idea that astrology is basically BS. I am speaking specifically about astrology because that is my expertise. For example, even though I know tarot for example and have studied it it doesn’t compare to my depth of study within the astrological field.
This is basically how a Full or New Moon can be used: They are opportunities to focus and use the energy at hand (unless they are directly activating something specific within your chart) to help you shift your consciousness.
Any lunar event is only at that point for a few hours, the Moon moves very quickly, literally touching every point in your chart over the course of each month and it is very impersonal. It is essentially everybody's sky, which is what “horoscopes” (which are a type of astrology but not all of astrology they just scratch the surface)are written for “everyone,” sort of like a weather pattern. And yes, just as we are all affected by a winter storm we do feel their influence. But how we experience that is specific to both our individual charts as well as how we personally are working with our consciousness.
New or Full Moons are a microcosm of larger cycles within the macrocosm. They are very general. As we know both from esoteric studies (ancient knowledge and wisdom for example the origins of astrology predate Egypt) and modern physics, everything is connected. So yes their energy can be used. But they are an opportunity, not the opportunity.
They are brief, as I said any lunar event is a few hours of direct energy and then a few days at most of impact (unless it is an eclipse but that’s another blog) versus say Saturn impacting your chart personally which will affect you for minimally a year. It’s kind of like dieting, eating a particular way for 24 hours or even a week is not going to create a drastic change, on the other hand eating a particular way for a year will profoundly impact your health.
It’s funny, though I have a depth of knowledge of predictive work and am quite facile in using it when I do a reading, I actually initially began studying astrology to understand myself more deeply so I could facilitate change within my own life. Now more than 40 years later I am still seeing/learning things about myself that help me to evolve through its lens. There is a great saying “A fish can’t see the water it is swimming within.” Working with my charts (yes there is more than your natal chart and as those of you know who have had a reading, I actually use multiple charts in any reading.) has given me a way of seeing the water and thus changing my view not only of myself but the world. It has consistently helped me to reorient myself and evolve my consciousness. Working this way helps me have more awareness and thus more true agency in my own life.
As Albert Einstein said, “You can’t solve a problem with the same consciousness that created it.” Using your chart as a tool to really understand yourself, particularly the things that can be challenging to see about how we are operating as we move through the world, can if you let it shift your consciousness. And when we shift our consciousness our world changes, both literally and figuratively. That’s why all my classes are in essence process work. I am focused on people having the power to shift their reality, aka manifestation, and their natal chart is a great guide/tool for that. But nonetheless, you have to be willing to do the work of evolving that consciousness and much of our conscious awareness operates so habitually (aka unconsciously) we are in essence doing the same thing again and again expecting different results, Einstein’s definition of insanity.
The Course in Miracles defines a miracle as a shift in perception. Basically, that’s the same thing: Change your consciousness and your world/reality evolves as well. And admittedly it can be challenging, for all of us, to change our minds about ourselves…which is what evolving our consciousness does.
So on that note(aka brief rant) back to the Full Moon in Aquarius.
The Full Moon is shining its light, illuminating what might have been hiding in the shadows, particularly during this Venus retrograde in Leo, the sign opposite Aquarius.
It's not like a switch flicked as soon as Venus started moving backward on July 22 retracing her steps, The effects of the Venus retrograde phase may hit some of us immediately, but usually, it gradually works its way into our lives over the retrograde period. It is a process. It's an interval where we can go deep within ourselves, and dig(Venus symbolically is in the underworld) profoundly into our assumptions and responses, especially to things we've been ignoring and avoiding. We can retrace our steps and find what we lost along the way.
This Moon works hand in hand with Venus, potentially spotlighting unnamed desires, unresolved conflicts (inner or outer), or things you have been procrastinating on and can no longer avoid. I want to stress that this doesn’t mean bad things are going to happen, but I would suggest taking a deep breath and grounding yourself before you respond to events, particularly within your relationships this week. All Full Moons tend to bring our emotions to the surface.
At its best, the sign Aquarius is innovative and individualistic. Wherever it falls within our own charts we are asked to dance to the beat of our own drummer. To gain a larger perspective.
At its worst Aquarius is far more perfectionistic than your most compulsive Virgo. Aquarius has an internalized idealized version of life that it is always measuring itself against. It’s their code, their Holy Grail. And as a card-carrying member of this clan, I can personally tell you it is a beautiful thing. That’s why we are known as humanitarians. But the dark side…nothing is ever good enough. And not being able to live up to perfection can literally prevent us from really living.
How and why is this part of the Aquarian dynamic of consciousness?
The answer lies in the origin myth of its modern ruler Uranus. In the beginning, there was Gaia born from primal Chaos (big bang theory anyone?), and lonely she created the sky God Ouranus (Uranus). Initially, theirs was the ultimate cosmic love story. He would come and lie upon here at night and they were very fruitful. All was good. But then some of the children weren’t quite so perfect - the Cyclops for example. Ouranus couldn’t tolerate them in their imperfection and shoved them back into the caves of the earth. Which ultimately led to Saturn overthrowing his father by cutting off his ‘member’ and tossing it into the sea. Ironically, this is Venus’ origin story; she was born from the foam that arose on the sea as part of this event, essentially a pure creative energy.
The archetypal metaphor under this myth points to where we potentially cut off our own life giving creative ability out of fear that it is not good enough. where we won’t let our ideas and our creative children live, metaphorically shoving them back into the womb rather than devoting our energy to nourishing them.
Today’s Aquarius Full Moon is a reminder that if we do the same things over and over again we can expect the same results. And the Universe, our life, is in a constant state of change, of death and rebirth. So, it’s also inevitable that if we awaken and do something out of our ordinary way of being, something that breaks us out of our status quo, no matter how uncomfortable, we make room for the Universe to surprise us with something that’s different at a minimum and often even extraordinary.
The invitation( aka potential area to focus your energy if you are going to work with the Moon) of this year’s Full Moon in Aquarius is to break out of the box of your current consciousness, to begin to open a new window, and gain a larger perspective. To work at liberating yourself from emotional shackles that get in the way of you taking a much-needed step forward on the pathway of your life.
Remember no matter what occurs a big external shift often magnifies places where we need a little more self-acceptance and support. Where we are learning to be welcoming and receptive not only to ourselves but to life itself. Remember the quote (which I believe is Shakespeare but has biblical origins) “Be not inhospitable to strangers, lest they be angels in disguise.” Unexpected events are essentially strangers: Angels in disguise.
