bold, strong, tall, and shameless
notes on the full moon in aries, september 29th
This month, scrambling to complete my latest workbook release (use code WKBOOK20 for 20% off!), I kindly excused myself from my usual posting schedule for one week. In doing so, I missed writing my usual bi-weekly forecast, from September 15th - 30th. This post would have included three events: the last square between Venus in Leo and Jupiter in Taurus (September 17th), the Fall Equinox and the Sun’s entrance into Libra (September 23rd), and the coming Full Moon in Aries (September 29th).
As it turns out, it actually pains me to miss a deadline, so here we are. For more on Venus and Jupiter’s last square dance, see older posts here and here. And if you’re curious about the significance of the Fall Equinox, check out a video I posted to Instagram talking about some of its mythic and psychological dimensions.
And that brings us to the Full Moon in Aries, which will take place around 5:57am EST on Friday. Forming at 6°of fiery Aries, in its first decan, this Full Moon has a feisty, combustible energy that could really pack a punch. This Full Moon is extra potent because it just barely misses becoming an eclipse by a few degrees—and it is the last lunation before eclipse season officially begins in October.
While all of the sign of Aries is ruled by rough-and-tumble Mars, its first decan (0°-9° of Aries) is Mars’ strongest place. Planets traveling through these early degrees of Aries tend to take on his fierce, battle-ready character. T. Susan Chang writes that historic “images of this decan are consistent, depicting an armed warrior. Themes of red and black, the colors of Mars, run through them. Sometimes he wields an axe, sometimes a sword. Sometimes he is described as restless, sometimes as angry. The Latin edition of the Picatrix describes him as ‘audacie, fortitudinis, altitudinis et inverecundie’: bold, strong, tall, and shameless.”
With the coming Full Moon cosplaying in the garments of an ultra-strong-Mars, we may find ourselves ready to slash, smash, and conquer by the end of this week. In the Golden Dawn’s system of correspondences with the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot, Aries I links to the Two of Wands card, which depicts a lone figure, holding a globe and looking out over a balcony into a bay surrounded by mountains. His ambition and rugged independence seem to play us right into the start of a heroic film.
But—and this is a significant disclaimer—our daring, main character urges are likely to be compromised and complicated right now, since Mars is currently still in Libra. Libra is a Venus-ruled place, where diplomacy, peacefulness, and etiquette tend to prevail. In practical terms, this may look or feel like a tug-of-war between personal expression and social expectations. We’ve likely already been feeling this pressure for a while, since Mars entered Libra at the end of August. At best, the influence of Mars in Libra can help us find artful ways to handle conflict, but at worst, we can find ourselves under- or overreacting to social tension. Now that a Full Moon is coming to spotlight this tension, our desire to articulate how we really feel, through words or actions, may burn through our ability to hold onto others’ approval. And maybe that’s okay—because we can’t be all things to all people. Trying to please everyone tends to please everyone but ourselves. We can lose the thread of our individuality if we’re too wrapped up in what’s most harmonious at a surface level. By contrast, for those who struggle to make concessions or prioritize relationships, this Full Moon could be a meaningful lesson in learning how to do that. The energy of Mars in Libra, especially during Libra season, might come as a helpful reality check for us about the consequences of burning bridges. As the Sun moves through the sign of the Balancing Scales, we must work to value both self and other—to weigh our choices carefully. This is reflected in the decanic imagery of Libra I, where the Sun will be at the time of the Full Moon. Libra I is represented in the Tarot by the Two of Swords, a card that shows the challenge and inevitable cost of making decisions (or not making them!). As Jean-Paul Sartre wrote famously, “I can always choose, but I ought to know that if I do not choose, I am still choosing.”
For additional context clues to guide you this week, look at your Aries house (and any relevant Aries placements) in your chart to see where a fiery storyline may have been developing over the past six months, since a (New Moon) Solar Eclipse took place in Aries on April 20th. Consider this moment as a key turning point in the ongoing changes that the Aries-Libra eclipse cycle (2023 - 2025) are initiating for you. And don’t lose faith that creative solutions can be found. While Mars is in a bit of rough spot during this Full Moon, he is receiving an overcoming sextile with reception from Venus, which is a favorable condition that essentially offers the possibility of cooling flared tempers and finding a path forward, even if some discomfort is inevitable for us along the way. As the Moon continues her travels through the zodiac, the next aspect she forms will be a conjunction to the asteroid Chiron, just before an opposition to Mars in Libra and a trine to Venus in Leo. These subsequent transits emphasize the need to check in with our past wounds and personal histories as we work through the me-and-we dance of conflict. This is a tender time, so good luck and take care.
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