If you opened this message hoping for more about Ferdinand, I’m about to disappoint you. As far as I know, he’s still in the pasture under the shade of the cork tree happily smelling the flowers—as we also might like to be. And astrologically, Mars is still in Taurus. More on Mars later. He’s about to make a big move.
While bulls might not be center stage in our story now, they’re still part of the action. All that commotion in Taurus that I wrote about last time hasn’t shifted much. Meanwhile, lions are very much still in play. Today we welcome Venus into the sign of Leo and the Full Moon across the Leo-Aquarius axis. Venus strode proudly into Leo late this morning (PDT), where she’ll be until September 5th. In Leo, she encourages us to bring warmth and generosity into our relationships, be bolder with our hearts, and more expressive, playful and fierce with our love. Dramatic gestures and romantic displays might feel more natural, along with a need to be seen and admired. The full moon happens this evening, a couple hours before sunset.
The Sun in Leo is across the sky from the Moon, which reaches fullness in the opposite sign, Aquarius. Full moons illuminate both the night sky and our internal darkness—the things we like to keep hidden from our awareness. At this time of the year, with the Leo Sun shining bright and hot all day and the Aquarius Full Moon illuminating the darkness, it might feel like 24 hours of exposure with no place to hide.
In my last two Musings, I wrote about the recent powerful energetic pile-up in Taurus of Mars, Uranus, and the North Node on July 31-August 1. Last time, I mentioned the return of the off-and-on again clash between revolutionary Uranus and status quo-oriented Saturn that has been waxing and waning since early 2021, and which is now waxing again. This was already a powerful set up, to which we now add the Sun and Moon.
The Moon (relating to nurturing and emotions) is with Saturn, the planet that reminds us of the limitations and responsibilities that come with reality. This can feel heavy or even depressive regarding things we’ve done or need to do. These two are in Aquarius, the sign of the collective—a sign that wants everyone to feel seen and heard in their uniqueness. It’s known for having perspective as well as emotional reserve, detachment, and even coolness. But there’s nothing cool about this full moon.
Leo is a fire sign, also concerned with individuality. Leo encourages us to be courageous, to stand tall, proud and radiant in the creative expression of our unique genius. The Sun, Moon and Saturn are at right angles to Mars, Uranus and the North Node in Taurus. Additionally, the South Node is in Scorpio (always exactly opposite the N. Node). This sets up a what’s called a fixed grand cross or grand square. It’s all tension and conflict in the four signs that don’t like change, across four different areas of life (these depend on your chart). To me, it feels like no matter which way you turn there’s another challenging issue to confront and no one wants to listen or compromise. Frustration is built in. The involvement of Mars adds heat to the Leo fire, which further challenges our emotional detachment. It feels almost impossible to get things done. But if we can stop trying to push the wet noodle up the straw, and instead turn our attention to what is being revealed under all this light, perhaps instead of trying so hard, we are being called to set aside the things that feel so frustrating to “do” right now; to listen to what our hearts most authentically want to express, screw up our courage, and follow Mary Oliver’s advice in her famous poem:
Wild Geese You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers. Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -- over and over announcing your place in the family of things.
Full moons are also times of release. Embracing what we love and value will necessarily mean that we let some things go. The revelations of this week will help us see clearly what we want, need, and love as well as what we don’t want, need or love.
The various combinations of planets and points across these four sectors of the chart will persist for a few days past the full moon. Sunday might feel like a reality check, something like “sober up and get to work,” but alongside that vibe, Mars and Pluto give us a boost, letting us know that Spirit, the Gods, the Universe, or something much more powerful has our backs as we go through the process of transforming our lives to manifest our dreams. By early next week, this particular crucible will be complete, and things should feel lighter.
Circling back to what Mars is up to besides adding fuel to the fire of the current grand cross we find another long-awaited astrological “moment”. Mars moves from Taurus into Gemini on August 20. Ordinarily, that wouldn’t be a big deal. Mars changes signs often, but Mars turns retrograde in Gemini in October, and will remain in Gemini for the next seven months. The themes and feeling of Mars in Gemini will become very familiar to us. As a preview, this is an impatient busy Mars, all action in multiple directions. In all the busyness, whatever comes up between August 20 and the beginning of the retrograde period could be on the docket for review when Mars is forced to slow down, reflect and patiently retrace his steps later this fall. Not surprisingly, Mars, the planet that wants us to “just do it”, is not a happy Mars when retrograde, and not comfortable with this process. There will be grumbling. If you have planets or points in mid Gemini, you’ll get a front row seat to this show with me, and we’ll find out first-hand what it’s all about.
As I mentioned last time, the patterns formed by the planets in the sky show up in different parts of the chart for each of us and astrology can be helpful in these times. Understanding where things are likely to be fraught & where there’s slack helps to not get pulled into the tension. We’re still working with Taurus, Aquarius, Leo and Scorpio. If you know which houses they fall in, these are the areas of life most likely to be lit up for you. If you’d like help with it, or you know nothing about your chart and feel like it would be valuable, I do consultations. Please email me if you’re interested in making it more personal. I love looking at charts with people and for the next few months, I’m doing all consultations on a donation basis.