Full moon in Aries

Full Moon in Aries for 2019

On Sunday, October 13th at 2:07 p.m. PST, the full Moon in Aries will rise.

A bit bit about full moons for the curious mind:

Full Moons occur when the Moon is on the opposite side of the earth from the Sun, situating them in the opposite zodiac sign as the Sun. This forms a polarity, called an opposition, where each planet tugs at the other, like a taut string. Sun/Moon oppositions evoke tension between our core sense of self (Sun) and our emotions, instincts, and feelings (Moon). This tension can inspire compelling insights and realizations, and full Moons are said to be times of revelation and illumination, as well as completion, release, and ripening.

This full Moon finds us at the polarity between Libra and Aries. Libra is an air sign that focuses on relationships, harmony, balance, and art, and we’re in Libra season right now (the time when the Sun is in Libra) until the Sun enters Scorpio on the 23rd. During Libra season, we tend to experience life through more of a Libran lens. We have greater access to Libra’s gifts, but alongside that, the potential pitfalls of its shadow, which include indecisiveness and conflict avoidance.

Ruled by Venus, Libra is a peace-making, love seeking sign. It wants everyone to feel comfortable at a party, and it doesn’t want to go to bed angry at its lover. Its deeper drive though is to appreciate the harmony in life and see the big picture (like zooming out to see the earth from space), which we have more capacity for during Libra season. Libra can take the messiness of life and collage it onto a cohesive, beautiful whole, which is where its artistic quality manifests, alongside general refined sensibilities. It’s able to see diverse perspectives more than the other signs too (hence the Libran reputation for being wishy washy and indecisive).

Each full Moon, a sign whose season is half a year away enters the spotlight. In this case, that’s Aries, which firmly contrasts with Libra. While Libra focuses on “you, us, and we,” Aries is all about “me.” It’s the infant of astrology, the big bang of fire that launches the zodiacal cycle, and it’s unafraid to champion itself on its quest to soak in life experience. Aries knows what it wants and tries to get that, and this impulse can be important to heed during the Aries full Moon.

Do you hear the urging within you to advocate for your best interests?

How would your life be different if you listened to it more, assuming you’re not already oriented that way?

This night is a powerful opportunity for that kind of insight, as well as initiating action in that direction. Ruled by Mars, Aries is the archetypal warrior, and on this full Moon our emotions may be volatile, fierce, fiery, and bright accordingly. Some will likely extend from a sharp sense of self: what we want, feel, and believe would be helpful to begin.

Aries is a gritty sign that affirms boldly and unwaveringly that it – and by extension, all of us – deserves the space it occupies on this earth and a chance to pursue happiness with no strings attached, and it’s willing to fight for that. It reminds us that who we are as individuals matters, while Libra reminds us that everything that lives belongs in the greater whole.

One use of this full Moon can be reflecting on ways we feel our relationships and other life circumstances honor – or dishonor – our sense of self. Aries will walk away from what doesn’t serve it. While I’m not suggesting that we give up close ties lightly, being able to release what’s harmful to us is a critical life skill, as is recognizing what that is. The evolved Aries is a master at both, and both are move available to us on this full Moon. The shadow side of Aries though can favor impulse and callousness over wisdom, sometimes at great expense to self, so it’s probably wise to let ourselves brainstorm on this night, but not act on anything extreme we thought of until we’ve sat with it for some time. On a more basic level, this is a powerful Moon for self-care: strategizing it, prioritizing it, and engaging in it.

Libra season provides an opportunity to find balance and clarity before the intense internal composting that occurs during Scorpio season. We’ll be tasked with walking into the shadow and sitting with the things some of us spend the rest of the year avoiding. We’ll be called to heal, transform, purge, and be willingly afraid, riding the unrelenting wave of energy.

This is an intense time in terms of other planetary activity too, both on the full Moon night and in the coming few weeks. Venus and Uranus, and Mars and Saturn, will have difficult meet ups, and the Sun will dance with Jupiter while getting into it with Pluto. Depending on how these transits resonate with your birth chart, this could surface relationship tensions and call for greater self-honor and authenticity. You may feel impelled to grow, yet simultaneously feel mired in limitation and doubt. You may feel highly motivated, yet somehow also unsure of yourself and perhaps even stifled. The key with this is a Libran one: hold to the wisdom of the bigger picture, and an Aries one: meet adversity bravely and stick up for yourself. If you can ride this energy with an open mind and willingness to be challenged and humbled, it can be fruitful for inner alchemy.

Otherwise, for those of you who work with Tarot, here’s a spread for this full Moon:

• Card One: What’s in my best interest that I’m not doing?

• Card Two: How can I better champion my needs and healthy wants?

• Card Three: What could I stand to release?

• Card Four: What of the big picture am I not seeing?

• Card Five: What do I not appreciate enough about myself?