Full Moon in Leo: Mom, can you come pick me up? They're asking me to be my authentic self (01.25)

The Full Moon in Leo perfects on January 25th at 11:53am CST. The Sun is in Aquarius and the Moon in Leo are opposing at 5º creating a Full Moon. These are culminations, the climax of an annual cycle whether by fate or by our own hand. You may notice that New and Full Moons dominate our monthly experience, but they also work in 6 month cycles, the events that take place this month will integrate themselves completely by the New Moon in Leo on August 4th 2024. The purpose of these articles is to hone a deeper understanding of these cycles, articulate the archetypes we may see as a collective, and to advise any challenging astro weather for a calmer mind and spirit. If you enjoy these, you can subscribe to my newsletter to be notified when a new post is uploaded.

Aspects:

• Sun-Moon at 5º Aquarius-Leo square Jupiter at 6º Taurus (1º orb)

• Mercury at 14º Capricorn conjunct Mars at 15º Capricorn (1º orb)

• Jupiter at 6º Taurus sextile Saturn at 5º Pisces (1º orb, separating)

• Venus at 2º Capricorn trine Jupiter at 6º Taurus (4º orb)

• Mars at 15º Capricorn trine Uranus rx at 19º Taurus (4º orb)

• Mercury at 14º Capricorn trine Uranus rx at 19º Taurus (5º orb)

• Sun-Moon at 5º Aquarius-Leo conjunct-opposing Pluto at 0º Aquarius (5º orb, separating)

Delineation:

The Full Moon in Leo is always ruled by a detriment Sun in Aquarius meaning it is required to express itself differently, it doesn't have its usual autonomy behind a stiff Saturnian mask. Expression is one of those things that typically comes through obvious facial expressions, be it elated or upset. Art in all of its vibrancy, telling us a story through the strokes. The musical that narrates with feeling and voice, the more annoying, the better. Creativity is a language for being alive, it's one that we can learn or one that we can innately lean into when we listen to our own spirit– that is because this is the Solar domain, and of course, we do live in a Solar system.

However, when the Sun is in Aquarius, we confront what it means to present ourselves to society. It is one thing to be the child at home, unafraid and ignorant of what it means to be embarrassed, it is another to be fully formed with a lifetime of shame ingrained into the fabric of the concocted identity that you feel you've had to build. Aquarius, being Saturn ruled, allows us to develop through a healthy amount of shame. This is what allows us to maintain harmonious community, learning and growing from mistakes and some of our more toxic and selfish behaviors, but there is a dark side to this as well. The debilitating cringe, the intrusive memories of mistake, the involuntary groan that responds to how we used to behave. Saturn is an agent of maturity but it is only because these experiences stay with us, standing the test of time, that we remember what not to do, who not to be, what not to say.

Pluto has just ingressed Aquarius too, you may want to study the months of March-June 2023 as this will tell you a bit about what you'll be seeing in theme this year. Pluto in Aquarius is a transit that will change the way we relate to society, ourselves, our relationship to humanity. Over the next 20 years, shame is a thing that will no longer live among the shadows, but something that unleashes itself, becoming shameless. On one hand, this frees us from the bind of self repression, freeing the individual. On the other, this creates larger discord and more separation as we do not always agree with everyone's mode of expression. This is not inherently terrible either though, especially as so many communities are built off of false niceties that require a sacrifice of our true selves. At the time of the Full Moon, if you are not acting authentically and are instead giving into the spiral of shame, you will feel deeply limited. I made that mistake during Pluto's short transit in 2023 and the consequences were extreme– Pluto is the lord of the underworld, we can expect nothing less than extremism and loss. This also means that we can experience the other end of the spectrum, the polar opposite of communal limitation and loss is total freedom, individual harmony, and gain. Choose your fighter: dystopian or utopian.

Aquarius often deals with a sense of right timing. I do think it's helpful to consider its traditional and modern planetary rulers to articulate this– Saturn is Father Time, but it is certainly the linear, binding sort of timeline that we usually picture. The order and the boxes that we must check in order to move to the next milestone. Viewing life as a series of endless milestones and potential failures until death do we part. Meanwhile, Uranus is the planet of foresight, the planet that rotates on its side, spinning at a 90º angle. Doesn't that give an interesting perspective to Aquarius and its association with time? While society says, "This is the way it's done," body says, "If I just wait a little bit longer, I can surpass all of you." Everyone thinks you're strange until you are a success.

This Full Moon may be a reminder that we are all on our own timelines, that there is an order to things for each of us, but that it may not always be apparent, it may not be written down, we may not even be consciously aware of it ourselves. Sometimes there is simply a feeling of when to act and when to wait, shame is something that can prohibit us from our own timing, it may pressure us into waiting or acting inappropriately. Aquarius is ahead of its time, adopting its own unorthodox methods. Like I said, the Sun is about identity, but Aquarius has to find a way to express it differently. The normal modes of expression aren't working and this is because

a) we are not able to fit into a box with our personal creativity– it isn't as easy as singing a song or holding a specific facial expression

b) we have been shamed away from what or how we want to express or

c) we are internalizing rejection as shame instead of an opportunity for success and alignment elsewhere.

Pluto being so present at this lunation shows a clear film of fear coloring the experience. Perhaps past experiences are rising to the surface, but knowing that Leo is a symbol of courage? It's the fear that holds us back from that polar opposite: Total Self Harmony. Self sabotage will be easy to cling to at this time, but if you can push past self destruction, shame, blame, guilt, the debilitating cringe, Leo waits on the other end of the axis with success, recognition for your unique expression, the simultaneous vulnerability and safety of being seen.

The luminaries are in a T-square with Jupiter in Taurus who has only just passed its station direct degree. You've been prepared for this, whatever this is, this expansion, this leap, this risk. Rewards are available when you take the risk of shamelessness, this is the kind of energy that accompanies overnight change. Squares are challenging, there's no way to get around it. It reminds us that the road to success is naturally resistant, it goes against everything in our bodies when we make the choice to do something alone or differently. Humans have a pack mentality, we must depend and rely on the carbon dioxide around us, we are heterotrophs. We naturally feed on the lives around us, it is no wonder that individuality is met with panic, rejection, suffocation. Who will you be without others? Except, you will always find new and more aligned communities when you step out of the ones that scare you into submission.

Mercury is conjunct Mars which alerts us to an active learning experience, a "learning curve" even. Sometimes, we do have to study the traditional way in order to apply the non traditional methods. Since the conjunction is in Capricorn, it could be that we're having to adapt to an official way of speaking or doing that feels foreign and clunky. Though, when you learn to operate in this way, the advancement possible is endless. Like learning a language and then innovating with your own coined terms, playing off of existing syllables, but you have to learn how to do it "right" first. This is an aspect that tests boundaries, it may even incite a certain kind of voiced rage that is required if you want to break out of limitation. Mercury-Mars can be a source of frustration and argument, but it might be helpful to keep in mind that friction can lead to change, it is likely that our heads and bodies are moving together in synchronicity. Hard to complete tasks have the ability to move faster than usual. Though, transits through Leo always come with a warning label: Pride comes before the fall. Mercury-Mars at the time of the Full Moon may remind us that our words and actions have very real consequences!

However, despite this caution, the veil that typically blurs possibility and the unexpected lifts in the weeks surrounding this Full Moon, the only thing that truly stands between you and opportunity is your own ingrained limitation, the heart that races before going on stage or answering the phone, the clearly listed qualifications that you've told yourself you don't have, and really? It's the resistance to trying, to fear of rejection, the doubt that keeps you from victory. I hope that this Full Moon, you prove all of those inner voices wrong, that you dispel the illusion of misplaced shame. Be who you are, it is enough.

GOOD LUCK.

Your friendly neighborhood astrologer,

Katie