by Silvianne K. Delmars | Aug 17, 2024 |
The Aquarius Full Moon, honored in the TOTAMS tradition as the Vision Quest Moon – see Daniel’s article here! – is always a timing that supports us in seeking a vision to inspire and guide us over the months, and maybe even years, ahead. This year’s expansive Aquarius Full Moon is accelerated by a dizzying array of exact alignments on the very same day, whose impact will continue to unfold over the weeks and months to come. Let’s see what messages we can glean as we seek wisdom and guidance for these perilous times. See also my weekly Lunation Update!
The Full Moon is exact at 11:26 am PDT at 27 Aquarius 17, opposite the Sun in Leo. Just a few hours earlier, Uranus in Taurus makes an exact square to the Sun, forming a precise T-square with the Full Moon. Uranus resonates deeply with the sign of Aquarius, amping up the energies of unexpected, evolutionary, unpredictable change. And with Uranus now deeply inhabiting earthy, pleasure-loving Taurus, expect to be shaken to the very core. This is change on all levels of being, spirit, soul, mind, and especially body.
No Time to Think Small
This is no time to think small. As you walk out onto the literal or metaphorical mountain for your all-night vigil, seeking guidance from Great Mystery under the light of a powerful Moon, don’t be afraid to seek a vision of cosmic proportions. In the current circumstances, it’s not a sign of hubris, but rather an acceptance of radical responsibility for unfolding the divine cosmic being you truly are into human manifestation.
With the Full Moon opposing not only the Sun in Leo, but also Vesta (in the very same degree) and retrograde Mercury (in the preceding degree), the cosmos is putting up a neon sign, flashing a signal that enthusiastically transmits Leonine creativity and regal presence, begging us to turn our most sacred focus to the undeniably creative exuberance of simply being alive, as we open to sparky messages from the depths of our own soul.
To safely soar to the farthest reaches of expansive Aquarian consciousness, it is imperative that we are anchored in an unbreakable connection with our own sovereign truth, sourced in the deepest, most genuine self-love. Half-measures will not be adequate to the rigors of the journey.
The 28th Degree
With the Moon, Sun, and Uranus inhabiting the same degree in three out of the four signs of healthy-self exploration at this Full Moon, the invitation to explore the corresponding degree frequency symbols simply could not be ignored. John Sandbach, originator of the Chandra Symbols, has this to say about the 28 degree frequency:
“There are no shortcuts with the 28. One has to be thorough, and if one does a sloppy or mediocre job with the 28 you will be miserable and guilt-ridden until you go back and fix it. The 28 demands that you keep being better, that you improve, that you work toward a higher state of evolution… Since the 28 craves perfection it can become strongly attached to laws and rules and concepts of what is right. This can then turn into self-righteousness. To overcome this it needs to keep asking itself, ‘does this attitude or behavior truly serve my purpose?’ Coming back to purpose is a key need for the 28th degree. It is refined and perfected by having to deal with the limitations that life presents it with, for ultimately limitations push it toward attunement to the sacred.”
It is important to note that this is not a perfection demanded from the outside, based on a value system divorced from nature and the deepest sacred truths of existence. Rather, I imagine it to be a search for perfection instigated by our inmost, personal daemon, our unique creative genius, that spurs us on in a soulful striving that the soul knows can never really be attained and yet must be attempted. Like Don Quixote, we are destined to dream the impossible dream, and in the quest are made whole, with all our imperfections.
Chandra Symbol
The Chandra symbol for Aquarius 28, the degree of the Full Moon, is
“A tapestry loom. On it is a half finished tapestry.”
Ellias Lonsdale’s commentary begins,
“Working very hard to fulfill what a previous self set out as unfinished business. Being driven to the utmost to get it down perfectly this time. A whole cycle of lives in the Earth coming toward fruition and turning to seed. An astounding dedication to the task at hand. Holding nothing back from matching hand and head in intelligent and well-modulated task orientation. The craft of those who have done this before and who are resuming their service cycle in midstream.”
John Sandbach summarizes the message of Aquarius 28 as “Tunneling under obstructions to find alternative ways of progressing.” If you’re feeling stuck, this would be a great time to be out in nature, under this Full Moon, asking for a new perspective. We are all, individually and collectively, facing daunting obstacles. The unresolved traumas of our past are up for resolution and can no longer be put off or denied. The task can feel insurmountable.
This Is What We Came For
But at the same time, the energies of change, of a whole new frequency of being, are just as undeniably present. This is what we came for. We have all lived many cycles of lives, coming to fruition here and now. These are not ordinary times, as we stand at the ending and beginning of a Great Turning of the cosmic wheel of time. There are energies in support of our emergence even more undeniably powerful than the ones that oppose us.
And, we must stand in our true essence and be willing to invoke them, to be the cosmically-attuned co-creators we were born to be. This truth is beautifully encoded in the complex interplay of these powerful Aquarius Full Moon alignments.
A whole New Level of Spiritual Awakening
And just in case one mind-blowing T-square were not enough to convey the message, Great Mystery has provided us with a second one, strongly activated on the very same day. This one is operating from a very different set of zodiac signs, in the cross of service-to-spirit.
The centerpiece is the first of three squares of Saturn by Jupiter, exact a few hours after the Full Moon, with Jupiter in Gemini squaring Saturn in Pisces. The second occurs on December 24 of this year, and the final one next June. The push pull of Jupiter expansion in airy Gemini squaring off against boundary-setting Saturn in numinous Pisces begs us to bring a whole new level of spiritual awakening down into the real world. It won’t be a slam dunk. And, the potential for real change is powerful.
How we face this crisis depends upon each of us and our ongoing ability to remain true to our unique vision, sourced in felt awareness of our personal truth, in the face of inner and outer resistance. With Mars in Gemini adding its penchant for scattered action to Jupiter’s enthusiasm, it’s important that we remember John Sandbach’s admonition to apply the litmus test of coming back to our deepest sense of purpose in all our actions. This is an essential antidote to Gemini’s dilettante shadow.
This T-square in the mutable signs is completed by Venus in Virgo, which makes an exact square to Jupiter about 12 hours before the Full Moon, and then opposes Saturn a few hours later. The Leo synodic cycle overstory Sacred Feminine is traversing Virgo at the first chakra ascent gate, fully committed to the sacred work of attuning to the subtle rhythms of nature, informed by the wisdom of the greater cosmos.
Like Venus as she anchors in the hard-won realizations of her underworld death and rebirth experience, we are facing up to the necessity of looking within for support. We can no longer afford to pretend that the illusory constructs we were taught to rely on have anything to offer. As the world around us disintegrates before our eyes, we must be willing to seek out our own deepest power and grow the roots that will hold us fast to Mother Earth, as we show up to co-create a New Earth.