Tomorrow morning’s Full Moon in Leo is bold, brash, and inescapably bright. There will be no missing this one on the world stage, or in our lives.
The Moon in late Leo opposes the Sun and Mercury in late Aquarius, with a square to both sides from Uranus in late Taurus. These are all fixed signs and strong planets, here to say what they’re gonna say with the full expectation of being heard.
A key question is whether we can believe everything we hear.
In the last face of Aquarius, we prepare to leave the known for––something else. What that is, is not exactly clear. Ruled by the Moon and Venus (in different systems of rulership), there’s a desire here for stability along with the recognition that what we currently see will not give us what we want.
One phrase associated with this decan is “divided mind.”
Yet Aquarius is a very cerebral place where we focus on big ideas, core principles, and the clarity of the knife’s edge. So we find ourselves, Sun and Mercury, feeling absolutely clear that things cannot continue as they are, while divided about what (exactly) to do about it.
The Sun and Mercury are our core self and our mind. No surprise that in the world today, many, if not most, of us feel we’re standing on the brink of a great change and yet unsure. What exactly is ahead? What are our choices? What is likely to happen if we go this way or that? Unclear.
The Moon in the last decan of Leo is embattled. Here we have fought for and won our throne, and now must defend it. This Moon is courageous and tenacious but might be held back by defensiveness. Here, too, there’s a lack of clarity about what is best to do, and what the consequences of our actions might be.
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The square from Uranus in the last decan of Taurus challenges both sides. Here at the end of Venus’ lovely, stable Earth sign, we face into the fact that nothing we build or grow or work on will last forever. A modern response to this can often sound like, “Then what’s the point? Why work so hard if it’s all going to disappear?
Another response might be a combative, “Oh, no it won’t! I will build something so strong, so solid, it will last forever.”
I suspect the most effective response in late Taurus is something more like, “That’s OK, I know. I don’t need a monument. I work to leave the world better than I found it, and that’s enough.”
But neither Aquarius nor Leo may be satisfied with that, which is the tricky part of this Full Moon.
We have conviction, courage, and tenacity all in the presence of uncertainties within and without. Sometimes, uncertainty calls forth the most courage, a determination to continue in the the face of not knowing. Sometimes, uncertainty creates bravado and defensiveness, a sense of doing a thing because we decided to, even though we’re no longer sure it’s a good choice.
The most interesting part of this Full Moon will be tracking responses to it in the news and in our own lives.
In the news, we may see real courage and conviction as individuals and groups choose to take a stand against injustice, deceit, and wrongdoing.
We may also see bravado as public figures push ahead with words and actions that are on very shaky ground but are insisted upon with bluster, force, and lies.
Both can be reflections of this particular Full Moon.
In our own lives, we may find ourselves in similar positions. Are we needing to defend ourselves in the face of others who make fun of or dismiss our beliefs, or even demand we give way.
We may find ourselves questioning whether strong statements we’ve made in the past are really true, in the face of new information or action that leads us to question our own assumptions.
Wherever we find ourselves, we can be sure feelings and language will be strong.
Mars remains retrograde in mid Cancer and out of bounds. We’re still feeling all the feels and getting really tired of this high level of emotionality.
Mars trines Saturn in mid Pisces. Saturn will do his utmost to set boundaries and keep sorting out the real from the imagined, but Saturnian boundaries may feel too forced, too confining, for this very emotional Mars.
Our feelings about this dramatic Full Moon will reflect our own birth charts and where we are in our lives.
This is a complicated time.
The Mars retrograde is in full swing as Mars moves ever more slowly to his direct station on February 23. The Venus retrograde is getting underway. She has already entered her preview period and entered Aries, the sign in which she stations retrograde March 2.
Mercury’s first retrograde of 2025 will happen inside the Venus retrograde, both in terms of the dates involved and the degrees of the zodiac. This territory at the end of Pisces and beginning of Aries gets a lot of attention this year.
We are reexamining almost everything, it seems, with no clear idea where it will all end up.
So what do we do with these intense and complicated energies?
First, we pay attention, both to the news cycle and to what’s happening in our lives.
Next, we track our reactions. Are we standing up and speaking out? Are we feeling beleaguered and attacked? Are we confident or questioning? Acting out of conviction or bravado?
Without judgment, we can use our responses to track what we need.
Are we questioning core values? That calls for careful assessment and introspection. Are we dominated by difficult emotions? Look to self care practices that calm and center us.
If we are members of groups who are targeted or under attack, look for resources and community to help create and maintain boundaries, and support our inner strengths.
This time in history, and tomorrow’s Full Moon, call us to speak up. We are challenged by the times we live in to know ourselves deeply, so we can take a stand on what is most important to who we are.
In the words of Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, it’s time to get up, stand up, stand up for your right.
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