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Aquarius Full Moon and Lunar Eclipse Part 2

Aquarius Full Moon 4 Aquarius 45’

6.20am 28 July 2018 East Coast Australia

Let me tell you something about ants.

We know that they work together in order to transport that bread-crumb or piece of cheese from your picnic table to wherever they need to. What we didn’t know is how they worked together.

(Those of you who know a little about Aquarius can see where I’m heading with this- am I right?)

The ant who found that breadcrumb knows she (and most of the heavy lifting in the ant world is done by the females) can’t do what she needs to do on her own. That’s where the community comes in.

There’s no jockeying for top position under the spotlight when you’re an ant. Nor is there a specific hierarchy or pecking order that needs to be followed. Rather than just knowing what to do or following a leader, they actually display a mix of conforming and erratic behaviours.

Some ants go with the flow, others run around looking for a new path forward. Sometimes the direction changes markedly. The leadership changes seamlessly without argument or grandstanding. It’s a little like the ant equivalent of kids sport where everyone has the turn to be the captain. In kids sport, it’s supposed to help build individual courage within the structure of a team. I’m not sure what the purpose is in the ant world – other than to get that breadcrumb off your picnic blanket and to wherever it needs to go.

This all leads me (of course it does) to the Aquarius Full Moon. It’s that balance between the individual and the collective, between self-expression and the joining of like minds, between creativity and collaboration. It’s the point where you take what you’ve created and send it out into the world to meet your hopes and dreams.

The Full Moon in Aquarius is all about acknowledging all the bits and pieces that make us individual, yet also all the bits and pieces that we have to work with in order to co-exist in society. The Full Moon in Aquarius is that point where we acknowledge that we quite simply can’t do it alone.

Socially cohesive tribes who have common goals, watch each other’s backs and trust each other have an awful lot of advantages. It’s not just about ants. Just watch schools of fish wheeling and turning together, presenting a united front to the shark who sees them simply as entrée course. The individual is less important than the tribe. All of their differences are brought together to form the whole…yet each still continues (assuming they don’t end up as dinner, that is) to exist and express themselves as an individual – however it is that fish express themselves, I guess…

We are tribal and social beings. To exist we need others. To achieve our personal goals we need interaction with others – regardless of whether we like them, tolerate them, agree with them or can identify with them.

As individuals, we form that conglomerate that is humanity, and as humanity, we need to recognize that every individual plays a part and deserves to be treated as such.

I understand all of that, yet some of us are more social than others – and some of us are more comfortable in a group than others are. I fall into the latter category. I’m uncomfortable in groups, conferences send me into a panic and as for networking? Yeah, nah…I’m shocking at it. But in my game – indie publishing – I have to learn to get over those fears and reach out to people.

Wherever 4 Aquarius falls in your chart is where you need to be thinking about the balance between self-expression (or ego) and the collective. Given that both Leo and Aquarius are fixed signs, achieving this balance and breaking through to the next level is probably going to involve turning some preconceived idea or long-held belief on its head. That’s ok – it’s stepping outside the group and doing a little erratic running around that can help you find a new way forward.

You just need the courage to do so – and that’s your call – and that’s where Mars comes into this eclipse. As I wrote earlier today, Mars is conjunct this eclipse, and this eclipse feels all about that. Mars is conjunct the south node and the south node is all about conditioned and comfortable behaviour – even if that is no longer doing you good.

It’s like that old saying about insanity being doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. The message is one that if your habits aren’t getting you what you want, don’t just talk about it, do something about it.

One last thing, because this is an eclipse, if there is something that needs to be exposed or realised, there’s a good chance that it will happen – or at least begin to happen. Just saying.

I wrote more about the other aspects to this eclipse earlier today. You can find that post here and more about eclipses here.

Check out April Elliot Kent’s Big Sky Astrology for some really cool information around timing eclipses and aspects to personal planets.

What might the eclipse mean by house and sign? Check out this post by Jessica from Moonkissd.

Also by Jessica, this fabulous post about timing and what could potentially happen. Love it.

Doing it for yourself…

By now you should know the drill – if not, check out this post for a refresher.

If you’re not sure where 4 Aquarius 45’ is for you, simply use the solar guide below, and refer back to Series 1 of the Toolbox for pointers on what each of the houses means.

Get the idea? Why not try it for yourself…

  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Leo, this Full Moon falls in your 7th house. Look to the 1st for balance.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Virgo, this Full Moon falls in your 6th house. Look to the 12th for balance.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Libra, this Full Moon falls in your 5th house. Look to the 11th for balance.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Scorpio, this Full Moon falls in your 4th house. Look to the 10th for balance.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Sagittarius, this Full Moon falls in your 3rd house. Look to the 9th for balance.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Capricorn, this Full Moon falls in your 2nd house. Look to the 8th for balance.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Aquarius, this Full Moon falls in your 1st house. Look to the 7th for balance.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Pisces, this Full Moon falls in your 12th house. Look to the 6th for balance.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Aries, this Full Moon falls in your 11th house. Look to the 5th for balance.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Taurus, this Full Moon falls in your 10th house. Look to the 4th for balance.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Gemini, this Full Moon falls in your 9th house. Look to the 3rd for balance.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Cancer this Full Moon falls in your 8th house. Look to the 2nd for balance.
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Aquarius Full Moon and Lunar Eclipse… Part 1

I live in a house dominated by Mars.

My husband is Scorpio (ruled by Mars and Pluto) with Mars also in Scorpio. My daughter has her Sun, Mars, Mercury and Saturn all in Mars-ruled Aries. As for me? I have Mars in Scorpio and Venus in Aries. To say that there have been rumblings of late would be an understatement indeed.

Mars, you see, is retrograde – and retrograde is not the mode of movement that Mars is comfortable with. The people most likely to feel frustrated, restrained, caged, held back, blocked, whatever, are those with Mars signatures in their charts – personal planets or points in Aries or Scorpio.

Normally I don’t have that much of an issue with this. My extreme Piscean-ness (if there is such a word) helps me navigate the seas when they get a tad stormy and it also helps during Mars retrograde periods that my Mars is natally retrograde. It’s an energy that I’m used to. On the upside, it means that I can temper (for want of a better word) some of the intensity of that seriously intense Scorpio Mars, but on the downside, I am often frustrated by my own delay to act or to assert myself.

Of late I’ve been conscious of anger around me. I can’t count the number of people who have said that they’re feeling it too. I’ve been angry a lot too – for no real valid reason. It’s a latent anger, one borne out of frustration, impatience, perceived claustrophobia.

There have been times where I’ve felt as though I am the proverbial fish in a bowl – able to see what’s outside but constantly banging against the walls unable to get out. I’ve felt myself snap and snip at people for no good reason. It’s not them – it’s me. Ok, it’s possibly a little bit of them, but mostly it’s me.

That’s where tomorrow’s eclipse and the current astro weather comes in. You see Mars is currently square my natal Mars, and Uranus is opposite it. There’s friction in the air – and plenty of it.

I had a full-on overdue meltdown yesterday, triggered by nothing in particular, but by plenty of things in general. It was as volcanic in nature as it’s possible for a Scorpio Mars can be.

Of course, it was over quickly – as these things with me usually are – but it did what a good storm often does after a hot day: it cleared the air. I suspect that it was also the eclipse “crisis” that needed to happen in order for things to change.

That’s the thing with planets in fixed signs – they are by nature change resistant. There’s nothing wrong with this attitude in itself – why change something that’s working? So you hang on and hold on and deliberate and hold off taking action until along comes a crisis and there’s no longer a choice but to take action. And that’s usually when things become super uncomfortable and painful. That’s when they blow skyhigh.

The crisis that occurs at a lunar eclipse is generally one that’s within you. That’s not to say that an external event hasn’t triggered it, but the realisation is coming from within.

This is, even more, the case this time around as we currently have five planets retrograde – Mercury, Mars, Saturn, Pluto, Neptune – with a sixth (Uranus) virtually stationary and retrograde by August 7. That’s an awful lot of energy turned inward.

Given that Mars is the planet being triggered for me at this eclipse I’m looking at the fears that are holding me back. Sure, I’m frustrated by external forces – I’m working longer hours, finances are tighter than they have been, I’m not selling enough books and yadda yadda yadda – but I can’t blame any of that. Nor can I blame anyone else – although I absolutely have tried to do just that. The source of my impatience and frustration and anger is actually within me. I’m the one that needs to take action.

To help myself understand it, I pulled out a previous Moonshadow* report.

“Mars describes what we do to ensure our survival. When we are angry, there’s always a reason: we feel blocked, hindered, under attack. As surely as though we were in a showdown at high noon, we fear for our survival. Steven Forrest says of Mars and the survival instinct that “you can be a hunter, or you can be prey.” If you find yourself feeling attacked or challenged by others during this cycle, perhaps the threat is real. Perhaps you are in “prey” mode, and you are being called upon to learn how to defend yourself. On the other hand, you may be attracting enmity because others sense the aggression or competitiveness you haven’t acknowledged within yourself. Make sure you are feeding Mars by “hunting” what is healthy and challenging for you – the right challenges, the right career – instead of allowing that energy to be diverted into anger and aggression.”

I’d suggest that with Mars sitting next to the Moon at this lunar eclipse this message is one that’s pertinent for many of us – especially those of us with Mars prominent in our charts. Further, Uranus is also square this point.

Normally when there’s a square involved there’s also tension and frustration – and yes, I’ve used that word, frustration, a lot in this post. Something happens which forces you into action…it’s an action that’s the result of something happening rather than a decision that you’ve made.

As for Mars and Uranus? Mars can help us get what we want, and Uranus can help us be who we need to be. When these planets are square, restlessness, rebellion against restrictions, and impulsiveness can occur. We rail against that which we feel (rightly or otherwise) is holding us back, slowing us down, blocking our way.

The danger is if we throw all our obligations out the window – the baby with the bathwater so to speak – and create our own little revolution…which might achieve precisely nothing – except to cause pain to those who might not deserve it.

That’s not to say that a revolution or a rebellion isn’t required – it might very well be. A better solution, though, is one of continuous change rather than sudden upheaval. If you really listen to what’s going on – both within and without yourself – you’ll be pointed to the direction of where this change is required. If you’re constantly feeling the knives in your back or the explosions happening around you it’s a pretty good sign that something has to give – and you’re the one who needs to instigate that.

It’s very easy to blame others or a situation, but far harder to look internally at where the root cause might really be.

Ok, I haven’t even talked about where this eclipse is falling – in Aquarius and Leo…but I’ll do that in part 2.

*If you want to order your own Moonshadow report, follow the link in the sidebar. In full disclosure, I do get a small percentage of every report ordered.

Not sure about eclipses or how to work with them? Check out this post.

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Aquarius New Moon and Solar Eclipse

New Moon 27 Aquarius 08′ Solar Eclipse

8.06am 16 February, 2018 (Sydney AEDT), 9.06pm 15 February 2018 (GMT)

There are a few aspects to talk about in the days leading up to this New Moon, so I’m scheduling this post a few days earlier than I normally would. When you set your intentions though, take those aspects – the ones I’ll be telling you about in the next couple of days – into consideration.

Given that it’s the 2nd New Moon after the solstice, the Aquarius New Moon also coincides with Chinese New year.

I don’t know a lot about Chinese astrology, but I do know that this is the year of the Dog. I just googled my Sheep/Goat horoscope to see what the Year of the Dog had in store for me (don’t ask me for the site, I seriously was just googling around) and apparently I need to be wary of accidents when scuba diving and mountain climbing. Seriously though, it seems there are some surprises and successes, and I need to make health my top priority and watch also for shoulder injuries (just when I’m getting back into swimming).

Anyways, I’ll clean the house this afternoon and wash my hair – part of the whole new year thing is to go into the new year with a clean slate and clean hair. Washing your hair in the first couple of days of the new year can apparently wash your prosperity away. I’ll also roll oranges…or is it mandarins?…over my threshold…just to be sure.

A new Chinese lunar year means a new moon for us all – and that new moon is in Aquarius…so what perfect time to think about your connections.

We’ve been here on the Sunshine Coast for almost a year now and I can say that the only thing I miss about my life in Sydney is friends and family. Working from home I haven’t had a lot of opportunities to meet new people – not yet. I may never have met some of the people I actively “talk” to every day on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram (mostly Instagram – I’m rarely to be found on Facebook these days), but there are a number of people in social media and the blogging community who are part of my sprawling connection network. They’re in my life in some way for some reason. We’ve all connected for a reason.

Everyone that we connect with teaches us something about ourselves, and – good or bad – is there any better gift? Perhaps the greatest challenge we have is to grow into our own skin…to become who we need to be…who we are meant to be.

Sure we have issues with fear, and desire, and hunger and power, but at the end of the day, the only person whose opinion of us really matters to us is our own.

Most of the time we don’t think too much about this. Why would we? Every so often though, something rings our bell. An issue with authority, someone threatening our independence, someone forcing us into the category they believe we should be in, a cause we passionately want to band together with others to pursue.

Yes, what I’m talking about here is the Uranian story. It tends to come up each time transiting Uranus triggers something in your chart, or each time Uranus itself is triggered.

To an extent, it’s also being triggered now – at the Aquarius New Moon.

Wherever 27 Aquarius 08’ (or thereabouts) is in your chart is where issues of independence, individuality, attitude to authority, conformity and connectivity are being raised. It’s also where you now have an opportunity to set intentions to tweak these issues.

The thing about New Moons is that it’s dark – you don’t know what’s around the corner. You have to take the first steps into the dark without knowing what’s around the corner.

The other thing about New Moons is, very often nothing happens to you, it happens within you. You’re the one who needs to set the intention and see what happens.

This New Moon happens to also be a solar eclipse – reinforcing the Uranian themes of this New Moon. (If you want to know more about eclipses, I posted something a few weeks ago.)

To be really technical, this one is from the same series of eclipses (Saros Series 1 South) that last came around in January and February 2000, and before that in January 1982.

To quote from Bernadette Brady’s The Eagle and the Lark:

‘This family of eclipses is concerned with ideas and their enthusiastic expression. If this eclipse affects your chart, you will be flooded with ideas or options. There may seem to be an element of haste, but if you can go with the new ideas, they will have positive outcomes.’

Doing it for yourself…

As you probably know by now, this site isn’t about telling you what will happen, but rather giving you the tools to attempt to identify the themes for yourself. That’s the DIY part of the tagline. If you’ve been reading along, you should know how to find where the New Moon is happening in your chart. If you’re new to this site (welcome), duck across and check out this post before you go any further.

The position you’re looking for is 27 Aquarius 08, or thereabouts. This is the area of life that you’re being asked to look at your connections, your individuality, your future.

Now, let’s set our intentions. Think about the area of life you’re focusing on and set small achievable targets. Make sure that you do at least one thing towards this goal this month. If you’re unsure where to start, check out this post.

  • How do the concerns of this house make you feel?
  • How would you like to feel about them?
  • What positive steps can you take over the next four weeks to minimise the gap between how you feel about this are and how you’d like to feel?

*****Write it down!!!!!!!!!!******

This is the 12th house for me, so I’m focusing on how I relax, unwind – and the fact that I rarely do either – and those habits that continually bring me undone. The 12th is a house whether things tend to be done subconsciously and, as Aquarius is a fixed sign, the habits are, shall we say, well ingrained.

Make like Aquarius and think future, think authentic and think outside the box. What can you do over the next 28 days to change this situation? Are there any quick wins to be had? Be a little progressive and left-field when you’re setting intentions.

If you don’t have any idea about your birth time, or can’t be faffed working it out, you can follow the solar guide:

  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Aquarius, this New Moon falls in your1st house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Pisces this New Moon falls in your12th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Aries, this New Moon falls in your11th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Taurus, this New Moon falls in your10th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Gemini, this New Moon falls in your9th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Cancer this New Moon falls in your8th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Leo this New Moon falls in your7th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Virgo, this New Moon falls in your6th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Libra, this New Moon falls in your5th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Scorpio, this New Moon falls in your4th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Sagittarius, this New Moon falls in your3rd house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Capricorn, this New Moon falls in your2nd house.

If you haven’t been doing so, why not try journaling your lunar journey- you’ll be surprised how, in hindsight, more has been going on than you might have thought.

Gong xi fa cai- happiness and prosperity…

 

 

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Mercury in Aquarius

Mercury moves into Aquarius later today or the wee hours of tomorrow morning – depending on where you live.

Yeah, so what? I hear you say. ‘I’m not an Aquarian,’ you say, ‘so it can’t affect me.’

Yeah…nah. The thing is, the movement of the planets provides the planetary or astro weather forecast for all of us. That means that like it or not, Aquarian or not, for the few weeks that Mercury is in Aquarius, whatever part of your chart is ruled by Aquarius will be where you start to ask more questions, look for more knowledge, want to know stuff.

It’s also a good few weeks to do some future planning, get your head around the latest and greatest app or social media platform and to have that relationship talk that you’ve been needing to have. Actually, I lied about the last one. It’s not a great time at all to do communication that is deep and meaningful in nature. Wait for Mercury in Pisces for that – and bring tissues….just saying.

Want to know more? Of course you do – especially if you have Mercury in Aquarius, or Mercury conjunct Uranus. Duck over and have a look at something I prepared (much) earlier. The link is here.

Doing it for yourself…

If you don’t have your chart, read this post on how to get one.

If you don’t know what the houses mean, check out series 1 of the Toolbox or this post.

If you don’t have any idea about your birth time, or can’t be faffed working it out, you can follow the solar guide:

  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Aquarius, Mercury will be transiting your 1st house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Pisces, Mercury will be transiting your 12th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Aries, Mercury will be transiting your 11th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Taurus, Mercury will be transiting your 10th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Gemini, Mercury will be transiting your 9th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Cancer, Mercury will be transiting your 8th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Leo, Mercury will be transiting your 7th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Virgo, Mercury will be transiting your 6th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Libra, Mercury will be transiting your 5th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Scorpio, Mercury will be transiting your 4th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Sagittarius, Mercury will be transiting your 3rd house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Capricorn, Mercury will be transiting your 2nd house.

Mercury will be in Aquarius until February 18.

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Happy Birthday Aquarius

Tomorrow the Sun will be in Aquarius. This is possibly the most misunderstood sign of the zodiac – although I often say that about Scorpio as well – so if you want to know more about Aquarius, you’ll find it here.

Doing it for yourself…

We all have Aquarius somewhere in our chart. It’s in this part of life that we need to approach with a vision of tomorrow rather than yesterday. Check in on this part of life – can it be approached with a quirkier, possibly less conventional attitude? Does it need to be mixed up a bit?

Aquarius is in the 12th house for me, so this month is always one where the energy is utilised to finish off and ease into my new astrological year ie when the Sun comes into my sign. For me, it’s what I need to leave behind and what I’llbe taking forward.

Check out where Aquarius is in your chart – that’s where you’re getting the warmth of the Sun’s energy right now – why not use it to do a health check on this part of your life? Are you applying sufficient focus to this part of life?

Not sure where Aquarius is in your chart? Check out this post or follow the solar guide below. Don’t know what the houses mean? Check out this post. If you’re new to this site (or new to astrology) start at the beginning of the Toolbox lessons.

  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Aquarius, the Sun is shining in in your 1st house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Pisces, the Sun is shining in in your 12th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Aries, the Sun is shining in in your 11th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Taurus, the Sun is shining in in your 10th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Gemini, the Sun is shining in in your 9th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Cancer, the Sun is shining in in your 8th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Leo, the Sun is shining in in your 7th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Virgo, the Sun is shining in in your 6th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Libra, the Sun is shining in in your 5th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Scorpio, the Sun is shining in in your 4th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Sagittarius, the Sun is shining in in your 3rd house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Capricorn, the Sun is shining in in your 2nd house.
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Venus in Aquarius

Venus is about to move into Aquarius. In Aquarius, she takes pleasure in the quirky, the unusual, the non-conventional.

If you want to know more about Venus in Aquarius, you’ll find the post here. If you have Venus in Aquarius, Venus in close aspect to Uranus, or are (or know) an Aquarian woman, you might want to have a glance.

Doing it for yourself…

We all have Aquarius somewhere in our chart, and it’s this part of life that Venus will be bestowing her presence on. It’s this part of life that you’ll find pleasure in. Consider the avant-garde, something you haven’t done before, people or places that are different to the people you usually associate with and the places you usually go. Experiment, play, and look forward, not back.

Of course, how this manifests for you will depend on what part of life Venus is transiting while she’s in Aquarius. In my chart, Venus is transiting the 12th house (I’m working with whole houses more and more these days). I’m trying meditation on for size at the moment – and looking to restart a yoga practice after about 10 years (or is it more?) away from it. I’m exploring my inner hippy a tad more.

If you don’t have your chart, read this post on how to get one.

If you don’t know what the houses mean, check out series 1 of the Toolbox or this post.

If you don’t have any idea about your birth time, or can’t be faffed working it out, you can follow the solar guide:

  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Aquarius, Venus will be transiting your 1st house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Pisces, Venus will be transiting your 12th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Aries, Venus will be transiting your 11th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Taurus, Venus will be transiting your 10th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Gemini, Venus will be transiting your 9th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Cancer, Venus will be transiting your 8th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Leo, Venus will be transiting your 7th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Virgo, Venus will be transiting your 6th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Libra, Venus will be transiting your 5th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Scorpio, Venus will be transiting your 4th house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Sagittarius, Venus will be transiting your 3rd house.
  • If your Sun or Ascendant is in Capricorn, Venus will be transiting your 2nd house.

Venus will be in Sagittarius until 11/2/18.

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Aquarius Full Moon…and Lunar Eclipse

Let me tell you something about ants.

We know that they work together in order to transport that bread-crumb or piece of cheese from your picnic table to wherever they need to. What we didn’t know is how they worked together.

(Those of you who know a little about Aquarius can see where I’m heading with this- am I right?)

The ant who found that breadcrumb knows she (and most of the heavy lifting in the ant world is done by the females) can’t do what she needs to do on her own. That’s where the community comes in.

There’s no jockeying for poll position under the spotlight when you’re an ant. Nor is there a specific hierarchy or pecking order that needs to be followed. Rather than just knowing what to do or following a leader, they actually display a mix of conforming and erratic behaviours.

Some ants go with the flow, others run around looking for a new path forward. Sometimes the direction changes markedly. The leadership changes seamlessly without argument or grandstanding. It’s a little like the ant equivalent of kids sport where everyone has the turn to be the captain. In kids sport it’s supposed to help build individual courage within the structure of a team. I’m not sure what the purpose is in the ant world- other than to get that breadcrumb off your picnic blanket and to wherever it needs to go.

This all leads me (of course it does) to the Aquarius Full Moon. It’s that balance between the individual and the collective, between self-expression and the joining of like minds, between creativity and collaboration. It’s the point where you take what you’ve created and send it out into the world to meet your hopes and dreams.

The Full Moon in Aquarius is all about acknowledging all the bits and pieces that make us individual, yet also all the bits and pieces that we have to work with in order to co-exist in society. The Full Moon in Aquarius is that point where we acknowledge that we quite simply can’t do it alone.

Socially cohesive tribes who have common goals, watch each others backs and trust each other have an awful lot of advantages. It’s not just about ants. Even fish know this. Just watch schools of fish wheeling and turning together, presenting a united front to the shark who sees them simply as entrée course. The individual is less important than the tribe. All of their differences are all brought together to form the whole…yet each still continues (assuming they don’t end up as dinner, that is) to exist and express themselves as an individual- however it is that fish express themselves, I guess…

We are also tribal. To exist we need others. To achieve our personal goals we need interaction with others- regardless of whether we like them, tolerate them, agree with them or can identify with them. It’s not surprising that the cooperative has adapted and flourished and adapted and flourished. And yes, the repetition was deliberate.

The problems begin when two groups compete with each other for something that the other wants…when egos get in the way.

The thing is We each bring to the table something different for the melting pot. As individuals we form that conglomerate that is humanity, and as humanity we need to recognize that every individual plays a part and deserves to be treated humanely.

It’s all too easy to share with and associate with those only who reflect ourselves- the person we see in the mirror. Yet just how rich and fulfilling can it be to also identify with those who don’t?

I have conference coming up next weekend. It’s for the romance writers of Australia – and as far as romance writers go, they (and astrologers) should be my tribe. I’m presenting at it, and I’m catching up with some friends at it, yet I know that I’m going to feel (hopefully only a little) that I don’t belong or that I have little to contribute.

I‘ve never felt that I fitted neatly into any specific tribe. And, with most planets in my chart hitting Uranus, I’m actually quite proud of all the little weird quirks that make me who I am. Yet at times like this, I wish that I did both belong and stand out.

Wherever 15 Aquarius 25 falls in your chart is where you need to be thinking about the balance between self-expression (or ego) and the collective. I know that there will be times over the weekend where I’ll need to retreat to my own space to get my own energy back. Aquarius is in the 12th house for me, so this makes absolute sense.

Given that both Leo and Aquarius are fixed signs, achieving this balance and breaking through to the next level is probably going to involve turning some preconceived idea on its head. That’s ok- it’s stepping outside the group and doing a little erratic running around that can help you find a new way forward.

You just need the courage to do so- and that’s your call.

One last thing, this Full Moon is also an eclipse – which makes it an uber Full Moon. If there is something that needs to be exposed or realised, there’s a good chance that it will happen – or at least begin to happen. Just saying.

Doing it for yourself…

By now you should know the drill. If not, check out this post and refer back to Tuesday Toolbox lesson 1 and 1.1 if you need help drafting or reading your chart.

If you want to know more about eclipses, refer to this post, and if you want a personalised eclipse report, you can get one from Big Sky Astrology – the link is in the sidebar on the website.

Full Moon/ Lunar Eclipse 8 August, 2017 at 4.10am (East Coast Australia) 15 Aquarius 25’. If you’re in the northern hemisphere, that will be sometime on the 7th August for you.

A note on the Saros Series…

If you’d read my recent Toolbox post on eclipses (it’s linked above) you’ll know that each pair of eclipses belongs to a Saros Series (SS). This eclipse, and the one on August 21/22 (depending on where in the world you are) belongs to SS North 1. This series was last active in 1999, and before that, 1981.

Bernadette Brady, in The Eagle and the Lark, writes this about it:

“Unexpected events involving friends or groups place a great deal of pressure on personal relationships…The individual would be wise not to make any hasty decisions since information is distorted and possibly false. The eclipse also has an essence of tiredness or health problems about it.”

Of course, the extent to which you’re impacted will depend on how closely the eclipse aspects your chart – and the points that are being aspected. Remember, eclipses are unpredictable little buggers – which make them, well, unpredictable, but if you want a clue and can remember that far back, you could find it in the events around or following July/August 1999.

 

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Mercury in Aquarius…

Mercury moves into Aquarius today.

Yeah, so what? I hear you say. I’m not an Aquarian, you say, so it can’t affect me.

Yeah…nah. The thing is, the movement of the planets provides the planetary or astro weather forecast for all of us. That means that like it or not, Aquarian or not, for the few weeks that Mercury is in Aquarius, whatever part of your chart is ruled by Aquarius will be where you start to ask more questions, look for more knowledge, want to know stuff. It’s also a good few weeks to do some future planning, get your head around the latest and greatest app or social media platform and to have that relationship talk that you’ve been needing to have. Actually, I lied about the last one. It’s not a great time at all to do communication that is deep and meaningful in nature. Wait for Mercury in Pisces for that – and bring tissues….just saying.

Want to know more? Of course you do. Duck over and have a look at last year’s post. The link is here.

Mercury will be in Aquarius until February 26.