by Silvianne K. Delmars | Feb 10, 2025 |
The dynamic Leo Full Moon is exact on Wednesday, February 12, at 5:53 am PST, with the Moon at 24 Leo 05 opposite the Sun in Aquarius. Leo is about stepping fully into our essential creativity as a sovereign being, exuding confidence and healthy self-love that just naturally activates and transforms those around us. Ideally, the Leo archetype fosters universal realization of the fact that, “I am God and so are you!”
Royal star Regulus, the beating heart of the Lion constellation, is aligned with this Full Moon, transmitting its majestic magic. We are summoned to embody our highest vision for ourselves, courageously forging a new path forward in the midst of uncertainty and doubt.
With the Sun standing opposite in airy, evolutionary Aquarius, we are also reminded that to stand fully in our sovereignty we need to honor our uniqueness and that of others, fostering collaborative relationships sourced in maximum freedom for everyone to be themselves.
The Sabian symbol for Leo 25, the degree frequency of this Full Moon, is “A large camel is seen crossing a vast and forbidding desert.” This symbol speaks of the importance of maintaining our independence and self-reliance, especially in times of great challenge or hardship. We must be able to center in our core self and be nourished and guided by our independently-developed convictions, rather than looking to outside sources to provide a sustaining road map.
This Full Moon’s emphasis on individuality is ramped up by a close square to change-agent Uranus in pleasure-loving Taurus. Time to unearth and follow the trail of our wildest desires, calling in unexpected new ways of being in our quest to more fully embody the unique, loving, creative individuals we came here to be.
Ceres and Mercury Joining the Sun
The Leo Full Moon is illuminated by Ceres and Mercury in Aquarius, both just a degree or two away from the Sun. Let’s take a deeper look at Ceres’ presence and the offerings she brings, which will continue to be activated over the coming months, as the transformational dance of multiple planets through Pisces and into Aries continues to unfold over the coming year and beyond. These changes are being intensely seeded over these next few months, in tandem with the new Pisces overstory Venus synodic cycle beginning at the end of March.
Greek temple of Ceres in modern day Paestum, Italy
Named after the Roman goddess of agriculture, Ceres nurtures others on physical, emotional, and spiritual levels. In a chart, by sign, house and aspects, she can point us to a deeper understanding of how we nurture, what we need to feel nurtured, or even what we think we have to be or do to receive nurturing from others. See this presentation on Ceres by my colleague Gael Chilson.
Ceres can also highlight issues of isolation and depression, and represents the essential grief and rage that go along with deep loss. In her Capricorn overstory synodic cycle, which began last July and ends this coming October, she is calling into question our collective relationship with this deeply nurturing archetypal Great Mother, as expressed through the zodiac sign of earthy, practical Capricorn.
Like Ceres living through the loss of her beloved daughter, we can certainly find ourselves consumed with anger as we feel into the escalating destruction of the natural environment, fuelled by institutionalized greed and a pathological disconnection from the truth of who we truly are. And we certainly have a tremendous amount to grieve, as our souls tap into the visceral inner awareness of who we were, and what we once had, when we lived in deep harmony with nature’s sacred blueprint, and of all that we have lost through theses thousands of years of descent into the deepest materialism in the depths of the Kali Yuga.
In her 15-month journey of archetypal integration, Ceres entered Aquarius in early December, just after meeting up with Venus in the last degree of Capricorn, and then immediately encountering Pluto in the first degree of Aquarius. What new insights are longing to be integrated, as Capricorn overstory Ceres opens herself to the lofty, objective eagle’s-eye-view of avant-garde Aquarius?
According to Demetra George, for Ceres in Aquarius, “Ideally, the mothering experience fostered self-determination and a recognition of the rights of others. Nurturing is expressed through teaching others to accept their eccentricities and themselves, even if they ‘follow the beat of a different drummer.’ Self-acceptance can be gained through following one’s own original and unique path.” From Asteroid Goddesses: The Mythology, Psychology, and Astrology of the Re-Emerging Feminine (pp. 112-113).
Ceres meets with Mercury on February 11, within in the 3-day Full Moon window, and then encounters the Sun on February 14, at 26 Aquarius 26, receiving cosmic transmissions in the heart of the underworld phase of the cycle, out of our view behind the Sun.
The Sabian Symbol
Aquarius 27, by Ruby Fumizki
The Sabian symbol for this Aquarius 27 degree frequency is, “An ancient pottery bowl filled with violets.” This evocative image points us to the value of enduring traditions, especially when acting as a container to bring forth the nurturing beauty of nature’s gifts. James Burgess reminds us that, “Our capacity to feel more sensitively is brought to expression when we have beautiful and vulnerable things around us.”
Ceres’ Further Journey
Ceres will then move into Pisces on February 23, completing the transformational gathering that includes the Sun, Mercury, Saturn, North Node, and Neptune together in this final zodiac sign. An incontrovertible confluence of cosmic energies, calling us to ecstatic union with Sacred Mystery.
It is certainly no coincidence that Ceres is such an integral part of these central astrological alignments set to unfold over the next few months and into next year, including the movement of both Saturn and Neptune through late Pisces into Aries, and the recent nodal axis shift into Pisces/Virgo.
As an inseparable part of the Earth community, we are in the throes of an unprecedented death and rebirth experience. If we are to learn to come into a functional right relationship with our planet mother (Ceres in Capricorn), we must allow ourselves to be seeded by transformational new ways of being, accessed through a radical re-connection with our unique soul selves (Ceres in Aquarius). We are being deeply impulsed to clear any attachments to old stories that are holding us back from calibrating more fully with the new frequencies of pure cosmic love and compassion currently bathing our corner of the universe (Ceres in Pisces).
Time to call on our inner Ceres to nurture and support us, as we bring forth the beautiful, sacred container of our most cherished, enduring ancient wisdom, to hold the delicate flowers of an intuitive awareness of a radical new way of being, not yet born but deeply felt.