The Full Moon in Capricorn arrives at 12:52 am on Thursday, June 28––which means the Moon will look most full on Wednesday, June 27 in any time zones close to my own Eastern US time.
In fact, time zones west of me will welcome this Full Moon on Wednesday night.
Capricorn is a serious sign and this is serious Full Moon. Traditionally, June brings the Strawberry Moon, but this year’s Moon might taste more bitter than sweet. A glance at the chart shows why:
The Moon is conjunct Saturn, who rules this Full Moon because he rules Capricorn. The Moon at 6°28′ is beginning to pull away from Saturn at 5°48′. But they are less than a degree apart so we still feel Saturn’s weight.
If Saturn were direct, this could at least be a Full Moon for getting stuff done. Instead, he is retrograde. We are likely to experience limits and barriers instead of a push to get ‘er done.
Remember that Full Moons shine a bright light on something. Here, what gets lit up are places we feel blocked.
We all have goals. We also have obligations. Maybe our list is something we feel good about; maybe it’s something we would prefer just go away; probably it’s some of both. Whatever. Some things just need to get done.
Sometimes, we can’t. External roadblocks. Unexpected barriers. Internal resistance. Stuff we can’t quite put our fingers on. Somehow, things don’t happen.
This Full Moon can highlight some of the reasons we feel held down, grounded due to mechanical difficulties or bad weather.
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There is another important reason we’re confronting limits right now: On June 26, at 5:00 pm EDT, Mars stationed retrograde. This once-every-two-years event stops the planet of action in his tracks, sends him back over some important ground, and finally lets him move forward again.
This time, Mars is retrograde in Aquarius, which is the other sign Saturn ruled before Uranus was discovered. He is also sitting right near the South Node of the Moon, a place of letting go of the past. He will cross over this point twice before his retrograde is through.
What does this mean?
This Full Moon will bring us into the past, a territory we will travel through during the months ahead.
This might be our personal past. It could be family history, or ancestral past. It might include material from a past so deep we don’t understand why it’s come up at all.
But here it is.
We in American and in other “new” countries have a complex, contradictory, and often uneasy relationship with the past. Throughout the Americas, only indigenous peoples are native here. The rest of us are all immigrants.
This is problematic at the time in history when nation states want to emphasize borders and foster a “nativism” that is more about defining who is allowed to stay than recognizing who is truly native.
We can become politically and socially aware and active. Behind that, we choose whether to ignore or explore where we’ve come from, who our people are, and what strengths and challenges are hidden in our ancestral lines.
There are many ways to explore ancestry and lineage. There are bloodline ancestors, exploring genealogy and DNA. We can study the history and mythology of the countries our ancestors came from.
We can also look to other kinds lineages––spiritual, creative, or personal. Some of us practice in traditions that keep lineages alive and well recorded. If ours does not, we can create a lineage for ourselves.
Who have been our key teachers? Who has nurtured and inspired us? Who protected and taught us?
This is an excellent time for actively exploring our past. What stories have we brought forward? What memories do we keep?
Of course, not all of the past is comfortable. Sometimes the past needs to be healed. Sometimes soul can be reclaimed.
Chiron the wounded healer is loosely squaring the Full Moon. He turns retrograde July 5 and is also moving very slowly in the sky, preparing to turn back to slip into Pisces once again before committing fully to his journey through Aries.
Chiron shows where the past has wounded us and, in this time of Mars traversing the South Node, the wounding we feel might come from a very deep past indeed.
We might experience more direct aspects of our past. During Mars retrograde on the South Node can bring people from the past back into our lives. Or we might find ourselves remembering, revisiting, reaching out, or traveling.
If difficult aspects of the past come up, view them as opportunities for healing.
Sometimes that healing can take the form of mending, in which old disagreements can be laid to rest, old hurts forgiven, and relationships rebuilt.
Sometimes healing takes the form of finally making peace with something or someone and being able to move on.
Perhaps other recent transits have already brought up things from your past, to the point where you are ready to say, “No more!” If this is where you are, focus on reclaiming.
All ancestral traditional offer beauty and strength. If your family history has been traumatic, reach farther back. Choose a part of your ancestry that holds interest for you and explore it.
One message of this Full Moon is that we are. We are. We exist in this place, this time, this body.
The Moon and Saturn are both in the first decan of Capricorn, the first ten degrees. Austin Coppock links this decan to the experience of being fully embodied. Being grounded in the most positive way.
The Sun sits in the first decan of Cancer, which also relates to the experience of being embodied, in a feminine way. One key image for this decan is the pregnant mother, holding within her womb the child to come. A reminder that we too are ancestors.
This means that body-centered practices are supported at this Full Moon and beyond. Meditation, movement, and bodywork help keep us grounded in this physical world. Good self care can move beyond “keeping ourselves going” to become active self love. This is another path of healing.
The mood may be somber, but the light of the Full Moon is bright in the sky, showing the way. Jupiter has been near the Moon this past week, easily visible in the night sky (when not masked by rain clouds).
During his retrograde, Mars will move closer to Earth than he’s been since 2003, bright, red, and ready to be seen.
We are not left in the dark.
There is a star with the Moon and Saturn at this Full Moon: Kaus Borealis, the Northern Bow in the constellation Sagittarius. (We remember here that the signs of the seasonal zodiac no longer match the constellations in the sky and this is a choice, not an error.)
This star, at the top of the centaur’s bow, is associated with success through effort. It is also associated with being mentally active and having a sense of justice. Sometimes life can be serious. Sometimes we need to buckle down and make an effort even when nothing seems to be moving.
At times like these, we look to where the light is. We follow the spark that lights the way.
I use Unsplash for almost all my photo illustrations. All astrological charts are my own. The images in this post include the title, adapted from the photo of sandy feet by Matthew Wheeler, the photo of the sleeping bear by LDaniele Levis Pelusi, the quarry by Mariusz Prusaczyk, the grounded boat by Casey Horner, and the tower and stars by Bryan Minear.