Full Moons highlight the culmination of the current cycles, bringing the lessons into full view. The last New Moon began the journey of moving forward in some significant way. This Super Full Moon echoes that sentiment, with Aries being the first sign of the Zodiac. We begin again. And again. And again. We are resilient creatures.
There is no doubt massive change in the air. Pluto squares the Moon’s Nodes, waking us to more significant consequences, almost karmic lessons. And change is that bumpy, paradoxical relationship between the new and what was. Life is full of these paradoxes:
The journey versus the destination, intuition versus logic, fate versus destiny, control versus surrender, stability versus change, unity versus diversity, shadow versus light, evil versus good, me versus you.
Making it even more confusing, there are gradients to these polarities, shades of experience rather than strict one side or the other.
Welcome to the Full Moon in Aries and the Sun in Libra- the natural opposition and example of life’s inherent paradox.
Though these paradoxes keep life interesting, they also make it really tricky. Because we humans tend to gravitate to the simplicity of sides. The desire for ontological security is part of our nature. Thus, we have a tendency to decide what we believe and what side to take by how it makes us feel rather than a nonbiased assessment of facts. In truth, taking sides can feel heady, validating, exciting and straightforward. There is something intoxicating and even awe-inspiring about our chosen team winning a sporting event or feeling connected to a larger cause. We especially love to feel special or if we have some secret knowledge or information. Side-choosing can also be terribly destructive, though, where groupthink stifles creativity or polarized ideology causes actual harm, hate, or even violence. Nothing grows in a closed system.
The goal of the paradoxes is not to limit us but to expand us. Because when we embrace the complexity of our differences, we find even more profound understanding and knowledge. We can’t truly find solutions unless we truly understand the problem. And that understanding takes time, critical thinking, and the ability to revel in complexity. Yet, we are also not meant to stay here forever, lounging in the diplomacy and stasis. We are eventually meant to pick a side- option A or option B.
Aries reminds us of the importance of choosing a side. The challenge is choosing what side to take. Thus, we need Libra’s assessment to aid in Aries’s decisiveness.
This question goes beyond this Full Moon and into bigger patterns as the North Node is currently in Aries, highlighting some more significant, more collective medicine we are presently living. Those Aries qualities of individuation, authenticity, freedom, and assertion are amazingly poignant when standing for those causes that highlight the best in us and woefully dangerous when they are not. Because authentic self-expression is not meant to be without guard rails, a free for all of reactive thoughts or opinions. In the words of Adam Grant, “Authenticity is not about expressing every opinion you hold. It’s about ensuring your voice reflects your values. If you prize respect and kindness, your comments shouldn’t be filled with contempt or cruelty. Ideas are worth sharing when they reflect your ideals.”
With Jupiter in Taurus newly retrograde, assessing what truths reflect our values will be critical.
In this way, Truth is not so much what you believe. It is who you become when you believe it. Inner and outer, it is a time of assessment.
~Does your ‘truth’ make you more compassionate, kind, loving, authentically honest, and profoundly humble?
~Does your ‘truth’ make you less judgmental, less shaming, and more radically accountable?
~Does your ‘truth’ uplift, inspire, and celebrate those around you?
~Does your ‘truth’ allow, even encourage, interconnection and cooperation?
~Does your ‘truth’ allow, even welcome, debate, vision, and the growth that comes with new ideas and insights?
~Does your ‘truth’ exemplify you treating others as you expect to be treated?
Embracing Aries is standing in our integrity, using anger and passion as a force of creation rather than destruction. It is about remembering to think before we speak, making sure it is not our reactive parts running the show. We also need to spot reactive conflict and call it out for ourselves and others. To turn away from conflict entrepreneurs that peddle their wares of divisiveness even when gravity pulls on a convenient narrative. Even when it entertains us. Even when it makes us feel special- like we have all the answers and are on the “right” side. Because, it must be noted, if we find ourselves on the side of reaction- i.e., name-calling, bullying, contempt, hate, grift, conspiracy theories, “othering” another, we are on the wrong side.
Aries does represent those inner and outer warrior parts that pick the side of a soul rebel. The warrior parts of us determined to fight the noble fight, rise to call out injustice, and set necessary and healthy boundaries via assertion, not aggression. Living the paradox of Aries and Libra reminds us to harness the correct use of leadership (Aries), tempering any rugged individualism with empathy for the whole (Libra).
So if you are feeling extra feisty right now, if some injustice has emerged somewhere in your life, if you are being called to set an important boundary and assert an essential part of yourself- good. Get ready. Because, inner and outer, there will be more of that coming. Our job is to align our values with our words, use paradox as an opportunity to learn, and let the best parts of us lead the way.
“The challenge of our time is to mobilize great masses of people to make change without dehumanizing one another. Not just because it’s morally right but because it works. Lasting change, the kind that seeps into people’s hearts, has only ever come about through a combination of pressure and good conflict. Both matter. That’s why, over the course of history, nonviolent movements have been more than twice as likely to succeed as violent ones.”
― High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out
~This Full Moon occurs at 6° Aries.
~If you could use some help figuring out what the current astrology means for you, or would like some coaching around the concepts mentioned, Contact Me.
~Photo by Samuel Chenard on Unsplash
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