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.