LIBRA FULL MOON - 20 / 21 March

Thursday 21 March, exact at 1.42am GMT, exact on Wed 20 March at 8.42pm EST

This feels like a very significant Moon indeed, as it coincides with the Spring Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. In fact, the Moon reaches its peak of fullness only two and a half hours after the Equinox which is the moment when the Sun moves into Aries. The Spring Equinox heralds a new chapter; a new cycle of development, and Aries itself is an incredibly brave, pioneering sign. When I think of Aries I always picture a shoot pushing itself out of the hard ground after a long winter. What courage, bravery and instinctual intelligence it takes to push up out of the darkness, and what a strong desire to become the plant or flower it is destined to be! Sometimes the way may not be clear to us, and what lies ahead may feel unknown and a bit scary, but we feel compelled to take the plunge nevertheless, trusting that we will end up where we need to be. Such is the energy of this Full Moon and Equinox. The Sabian symbol for the first degree of Aries is quite evocative “A woman just risen from the sea. A seal is embracing her”.  

The Pisces New Moon two weeks ago asked us to rest, turn within and simply listen, opening ourselves up to the guidance of the universe and looking out for the signs that will tell us what comes next. With Mercury retrograde in Pisces, this is certainly not a time to make any concrete plans or decisions, but rather to take time to reflect and listen to the quiet voice of our intuition and the whispers of insight and guidance from the spiritual realms. Mercury will remain retrograde until 27 March, and while it is getting ready to turn direct will stand still for five whole days in exactly the same degree as Neptune, Pisces ruler. If things have got a little bit confused or unclear during this Mercury retrograde, then Mercury about to turn direct while joining forces with Neptune could completely befuddle us, causing ridiculous miscommunications or even deceit to occur and overwhelming our minds with fear, fogginess and paranoia. On the other hand, it could really open our minds up to other dimensions, helping us to access our intuition and compassion more easily and to open ourselves to spiritual guidance in whatever form it takes. Pisces and Neptune often don’t make sense in any concise, concrete, rational, linear way, so this time could be amazing for meditation, contemplation and spiritual insight but not so good for logical, clear and definite communication and decision making!

This Full Moon is taking place on the relationship axis, with the Moon in Libra, the sign of “I balance” sitting directly opposite the Sun in Aries, the sign of “I am”. The key to the Full Moon is finding the balance between the energy of the two signs rather than veering too far in any one direction. Aries is that part of us that needs the freedom and independence to follow our own desires and instincts, allowing them to lead up along our own path of discovering who we are and what we are here to do. Aries is brave, bold and spontaneous and is that part of us that feels the fear and does it anyway. We are now entering Aries season, which will last a month. Libra is the part of us that seeks to relate to others, as it is through the mirror of relationship and by comparison with others that we discover who we are. Libra seeks to achieve true equality within relationships, and is adept at the art of listening to other people’s needs. Libra helps us to truly understand the concept of compromise.

However, both of these signs can go too far. Aries can become a lonely place if we only think of ourselves and aren’t willing to compromise our own desires or listen to the needs and wishes of others. Similarly, if we spend all of our time thinking about other people’s opinions on what we should do and sacrifice our own needs for the sake of others then we lose ourselves and allow ourselves to be knocked off our own path. The Aries part of us needs to be able to act on our instinctual desires and think for ourselves rather than being too swayed by others. The Libra part of us needs to truly listen to others without projecting our own needs or agenda onto them, and by so doing has the capacity for a beautiful balance of give and take. And how can the two signs help one another? The Aries part of ourselves can actually learn a lot about “I am” through the mirror of relationships, while the Libra part of ourselves can greatly benefit from learning to say no and keeping our sights on our own mission here on earth.

This Full Moon could bring to the surface any imbalance we have between the energy of the two signs. This is especially so because we have an almost exact square-off between Mars and Venus, the two rulers of Aries and Libra. This brings the potential for a certain amount of friction within our relationships during this Moon, whereby our passions could run high but we may somehow assert ourselves inappropriately! It would be a good time, however, for getting things out into the open and may also help us to recognise where and how our needs aren’t being met.

Chiron the Wounded Healer is a big player during this Moon, sitting right next to the Sun in Aries and opposite the Moon. This holds the potential for us truly discovering who we are and what we are here for, and shining the light of our higher essence out into the world. Chiron and the Sun in forthright Aries could help us to be really honest with ourselves about our purpose and what we are really here to do and could also give us the bravery and passion to follow our bliss and fulfil our sense of a higher destiny. Feel the fear and do it anyway! Chiron can, of course, bring a certain amount of pain, making us all too aware of our primary wounds and insecurities, but so often our deepest pain can become our greatest gift that we have to offer humanity. Where we are wounded we can heal others! With Chiron opposite the Moon we do have the potential for some pain or discomfort to come up through or from our relationships, as others could point out things or do something that could trigger our old wounds and make us a bit reactive or defensive. However, there is a gift here if we are willing to be open, self-reflective and honest with ourselves and to recognise that any angry reaction or defensiveness is pointing to something that is unresolved within us.  Otherwise it simply wouldn’t bother us!

There is an interesting phenomenon occurring during this Moon, in that we have Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Pluto, the Nodes of the Moon, Vesta, Pallas Athene and Black Moon Lilith all on or around 23° of the signs they are in! As such, anyone with planets around 23° could have quite a lot going on during this Moon! The Nodes of the Moon are certainly getting a lot of action at the moment, which could really help us to move forward and take a step beyond our old, familiar patterns into some uncharted and unfamiliar territory. We are being encouraged to take a leap of faith, moving past our old conditioning and opening ourselves up to growth and giant step forward towards our destiny. Wherever our South Node is in our natal chart, by sign and house, shows the familiar tendencies, habits and patterns that come very easy to us but might also be holding us back. Wherever the North Node is, by sign and house, represents what we might need to move forward and grow, even though it may feel deeply uncomfortable and we might resist it greatly!

Right now we are being called to our North Node, which could involve us stepping way outside of our comfort zone and embracing all that we might usually resist! However, before we do so we may have to deal with some old karma. Pluto and Saturn are both sitting on top of the South Node in Capricorn at the moment, which is a very big deal. Issues around power, powerlessness, control, patriarchal authority and our parental and societal conditioning could be holding us back in the past and preventing us from moving forward. Possibly there is some kind of profound choice we have to make in order to let go of the past and step forward towards our destiny. We may be all too aware of our more compulsive and habitual patterns and tendencies that simply no longer serve us and are preventing us from taking the plunge and allowing ourselves to step towards that proverbial North Node. This could be the moment when we have a chance to clear our karma and recognise how our learned responses and behaviour are hindering our growth. We may also become all too aware of how we are repeating patterns. We have been here before, and if we actually heed the gift of hindsight then we have a chance to recognise the call for change and voluntarily make the right choices before they are forced upon us!

Pluto and the South Node are the first to join forces, exact on 4 April, which feels like a very important moment for our evolution, both personally and collectively. How is the past repeating itself? Have we been here before? What needs to pass away for us to move forward? What choice do we need to make in order to grow and evolve? What can we learn from looking back into the past? What structures or support systems need to pass away in order for something more appropriate to take their place? How are we holding ourselves back through guilt, fear and a need for security?

Saturn and the South Node then move towards one another, exact on 1 May. This is an interesting time indeed, when the power structures are under scrutiny and we are thrown back into the past, hopefully so that we can learn something in order for us to evolve. This is a time when we are really being asked to step up and embrace our true power; the kind of power that comes from within, not power over or against others. However, we may become all too aware of how power and authority is used in the name of greed and personal gain. We have a chance to clear some karma here, but not without some very uncomfortable reality checks! The old ways simply aren’t working anymore, and this combination of Pluto, Saturn and the South Node should make this acutely apparent.

The Sabian Symbol for the midpoint between the Sun and Moon, at 1° Cancer, is “On a ship the sailors lower an old flag and raise a new one” which Dane Rudyar describes as “A radical change of allegiance exteriorised in a symbolical act: a point of no return.” There are some times in life when we have to make a choice. Either we act or something happens that there is simply no coming back from. This seems like one of those moments – a turning point; a decision; a transformation. What needs to change in our lives in order for us to grow?  What old patterns are holding us back? What seeds have been gestating during Pisces season that are getting ready to burst out of the ground? With this powerful Full Moon/Equinox a new cycle is beginning. There is a sense that either we voluntarily choose to make changes that we know we need for our growth or we wait for them to happen anyway. We have been here before. We have a chance make the right choice this time.

Much Love

Amy

xoxo

Picture: Spring Tree of Life by Robin Quinlivan

My website: www.amybirdartandastrology.com