The Sun continues its journey through Aries, the diurnal, fiery abode of Mars, the God of War. Now the energy and events of this season begin to reach their chaotic climax as the Moon becomes full in Libra, opposite the Sun.
It’s hard not to feel this chaos palpably as both trade wars and conventional wars have been fomenting this past week while building up to the full moon. Because the maximal amount of moonlight is reflected onto the earth during this time, a flood of energy arises in the aethers that can create all manners of crisis and lunacy.
This full moon is occurring in Libra, the diurnal, yang sign of Venus. Venus rules love, beauty, and the arts. In Libra, we see Venus’ compassionate, aesthetic emphasis geared towards cultivating proper relationships between people, and maintaining balance, harmony, and fairness within social dynamics and interactions. Libra expresses Venus’ energies of love and beauty through poise, politeness, and diplomacy; ensuring that our own desires and agendas are indexed to the needs of those around us, Libra calls us to diminish the self in service of a greater good that can only be achieved by social considerations.
In the wheel of the year, Libra predominates over the autumn equinox and the beginning of the dark months, when the cold of winter is an impending reality and hard decisions must be deliberated over; here we see the more clinical, detached version of Venus - a focus on what is right and good in a very abstract, absolute sense, which also hearkens back to the cold ratiocination of air signs in general.
When the Moon goes full in Libra, she opposes the Sun in Aries. In contrast to the social, adaptive qualities of Libra, Aries is highly self-interested. Aries predominates over the spring equinox, in which the bright futures of spring and summer call for immediate action. As the exaltation of the Sun, it provides the passion, zeal, and energy required for us to see what we desire and to claim it for our own.
Aries is ruled by Mars, the God of action, self-interest, and war. Aries focuses on the self and its interests, in opposition to the collective, social needs of Libra that by nature limit the interests of the self. At the spring equinox and the time of planting and preparing summer’s harvest, the prescribed medicine of this time is Aries-esque immediate action in the pursuit of victory, in contrast to Libran deliberation and indecision that comes from the heaviness and high stakes of the fall equinox and the impending wintry cold it portends.
This lunation pulls us into an interpersonal, self-critical focus that can freeze our goals and agendas in place. The forward movement brought by the Aries sun is interrupted by Libran deliberation. Personal will contrasts with interpersonal needs, self-interest with collective interest, fast action with calculated deliberation, and simplistic action with poised caution.
Around the time of the full moon, people find that the agendas and goals they were pursuing for themselves in their life become intercepted by unforeseen collective concerns. Zealous action becomes frozen in place by deliberative fears.
The heights of Aries’ passion are overshadowed by ominous feelings of self-doubt and uncertainty; that you may have missed something, or not considered your circumstances clearly enough.
The initial enthusiasm and excitement that accompanies fast growth and forward momentum degenerates into burden and obligation in order to see those intentions through.
This is most clearly exhibited now in the collective social din and fear centered around trade wars and rising geopolitical tensions that make engaging in our work exceedingly difficult. How can we act on our passions and “follow our bliss” the world feels more inhospitable? How can we listen to the guidance of our spirits when public outcry and terror are so deafening?
I think the answer is simple, though certainly not easy to implement: trust your gut. Don’t base your decisions on fears and anxieties. Your intuition and inner guidance won’t speak to you with a voice of fear or dread. No matter how chaotic your circumstances will be, the right move forward will always be accompanied by a feeling of peace.
So for this full moon in Libra, keep true to the direction of your spirit. As other obligations and commitments arise for you to address, resolve to address and tend to them without reacting. Let go of the self-doubt and uncertainty that can arise so sharply during this time. If you make a mistake, learn from it and let it go; don’t let it make you gunshy.
Though frustrating, the contrast formed by the disparate obligations and distractions arise will ultimately put your interests and into sharper focus. By being pulled away and buffetted by the changing winds of Libra, you will achieve greater clarity about the topics you should focus on; on a deeper level, the purpose and goals of your spirit will start to become clearer if you let this lunation do its work.
Red ruby elixirs help us get clear on what we want. Stinging Nettles incite action and purges stagnation that keeps us frozen in place. They are also just starting to come up now - this is most seasonally appropriate time to work with them!
Stay true to your inner voice as the fluxional, cardinal winds of the air-sign lunation temper our sense of rightness. As you listen to your inner calling and sense of responsibility, the stressors of this period will reveal what is really important to you. You will emerge stronger and more integrated as a result.