I have been surprisingly consistent with these lunation posts for nearly a year now, but something about this particular Full Moon seems as if it is begging for rest among such intensity. What a surprising thing to receive from a Martian Moon who is naturally productive even amidst the turmoil. Then of course the ruler of this lunation, Mars in Pisces, often amplifies surrender, trust, emotional drama and provocation all of which can be quite exhausting. Instead of forcing myself to throw something together haphazardly, I thought I might utilize these last few days of Mercury retrograde to revisit a piece I've already written: Alchemical Desire. This was uploaded on November 13th 2023 for the New Moon in Scorpio. The Full Moon is always some sort of crescendo in the lunar cycle that begins back at the New Moon, they are counterparts. While reading (or re-reading if you've been with me for awhile), consider what this first six months of a new Mars synodic cycle has initiated, motivated, severed, or alchemized for you. Remember, these are roughly 2 years in length and the house, sign, and ruler of the Mars cazimi (that last occurred on November 17th 2023) may silently push you forward throughout the 2 year cycle. You may realize it's been there all along acting as the angel (or devil) on your shoulder as it calls out each of your desires.
You might consider that this Full Moon may allow us to revisit emotional turmoil and losses with new eyes, newfound confidence even. It will likely connect you directly back to the Aries and Pisces houses as they are Martian ruled and occupied. I lost a large chunk of money this week and in the past, that probably would have triggered me, so would the health issue that I had to pay for. I am realizing that I've finally made enough shifts for this issue that used to be ohhhh soooo scarrryyy to sort of pass over me like a cloud. Lightly, floating, temporary. I mean, I'm not thrilled, but what an upgrade from screaming, crying, and throwing up. That's some transformative stuff right there.
I also think the New Moon piece is relevant because while we won't have a direct opposition to Uranus it is still opposing by sign and of course, the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction perfected a few days ago. The Full Moon could illuminate the chains you're in the process of breaking free from as well as provide us with those after shocks if "nothing happened" for you the day of (though remember, this is a 14 year long journey, the exact conjunction is only the seed). Pluto in Aquarius is T-Squaring the luminaries as well, I spend a good part of this article meshing Scorpion insight with Aquarian foresight, they are joined in the middle by a soul level need for autonomy. So, so relevant!
Here's the piece from the New Moon:
There are two faces of Mars, a duality we see within each of the traditional planets. Every traditional planet rules two signs and through this we see a natural personification of that planet, it becomes something that feels more like the moodiness and dimension of a human being or anything with a degree of consciousness. To be clear, it isn't that one sign is this and the other sign is that but rather that each are feeding off of the same ingredients and digesting it differently. Venus might be both refined and of nature, but Venus expressed through Libra may embody refinement through the process of socialization and finding its nature through the inclination to create, while Venus expressed through Taurus may find its refinement in repetition of tradition and nature through the physical body. There is an already existing dualism and it multiplies through each of the signs. The luminaries are the only inner bodies that don't rule multiple signs though it doesn't make them any less dynamic. The Sun is colored by the rest of the ever shifting planetary system (and vice versa) while the Moon is the very nature of changeability, moving through a different sign every few days. They are certainly not lifeless in comparison, but uniquely and dependently personified by their environments rather than by sign expression.
It's important to mention this because if we're going to talk about any of the planets, we have to be aware of the sheer possibility of that planet and to understand that we may not get to choose how it will show up in our lives. Now, sometimes, we know what to expect. If Venus is at home in her own sign and making clear and harmonious aspects to the inner planets in the sky, we know she is supported and more likely to express her diplomatic and benevolent side, showing us the creator, the lover, and bestowing the valued. However, throw in some oppositions and malefics to influence her and she's suddenly awakening to her inner war goddess, violent within her equity. This a predictable and logical result though, it's understanding the astrological language that makes delineation possible.
True unpredictability is often signified by the outer planets, perhaps a symbol of the collective influence. We may all experience one singular event, but our reactions, skills, resources, level of resiliency, and personal knowledge will vary and clash and change leading to a very individual journey. I suppose this could be said for all astrological influence, but the outer planets bring a sort of extraterrestrial authority, one that is beyond Saturnian, worldly, dominance. Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto exist beyond what is already contained– in fact, trying to contain them would be like trying to bottle and refrigerate the concept of genius (a true genius knows that these moments come sporadically and not in a way that can be truly owned). With this New Moon influenced closely by the outer planets, but especially Uranus and Neptune, we see this very sensation occurring: Collective unpredictability creating something unique to us. We may not know which side of Mars we are getting– productive and administrative or militant and destructive, but we know that something alchemical is happening.
The Sun, Moon, and Mars in Scorpio are all closely opposing Uranus (retrograde) in Taurus. The Taurus-Scorpio axis walk a fine line between trust and distrust, gain and loss, knowing and not knowing, the physical and the metaphysical. Uranus, a planet we are familiar with as a messenger of the future, associated with Promethean foresight, is opposing planets in Scorpio, a sign of insight. It's good to remember that Aquarius (ruled by Saturn and Uranus) is the bottom of the chart from Scorpio, the inferior square. The bottom of the chart is a sector known as "the end of matters", the anchor, the root, or foundation of a sign. The very dwelling of Scorpio is rooted in foresight, but this is delivered through something more internal and quiet. This naturally causes a friction between Scorpio, a sign of private matters, and Aquarius, a humanitarian meant for community. This square is the understanding that not every insight is safe to divulge to the greater public. Scorpio knows better than anyone that secrecy is often synonymous with survival. It's a complicated thing because sometimes the opposite is true, sharing your insights and your desires (both Scorpio themes) can attract the community to help it happen.
This is difficult because Scorpio is a sign that struggles with that favorite word of mine,
A u t o n o m y .
Not only does this sign crave its freedom from control (another indication of the Scorpio-Aquarius square), but often its freedom from the chains of desire. When the larger community knows about your desire, it can be easier to control you. It is our desire that can fuel us, but it can also consume us (even without the help of others) leading to a profound loss of self. Currently with the planet Uranus in Scorpio's opposite sign, Taurus, this theme is loud and present. This opposition has to learn how to bridge the gap between a physical kind of greed and an unwillingness to attach itself to anything ever again after a significant loss. Scorpio develops a sort of distrust and a fear of its own power once it realizes where its desires have created avarice or materialism without conscience. It's a fine line between this divine insight– an inner knowing that you feel called to xyz– and taking what does not belong to you or conversely, losing what does belong to you due to single mindedness.
This is the face of Mars that wrecks, destroys, shatters, and devastates. This face isn't inherently bad either, many things need a bit of destruction in order for reconstruction. It's why Martians excel in positions of power where reorganization and transformation is necessary, be that the surgeon, the politician, the chef, the mother. That transformation may be as serious as removing a tumor or as trivial as breaking an egg yolk, but the process of "breaking down" or "busting open" is in every hidden corner of cyclical existence, it is essential to life itself. This is a theme often found in Aries, the other Martian sign. These "losses" that Scorpio endures are for its own reconstruction, there is often something misplaced about the desire behind the thing once owned and perhaps it is even that Scorpio thought it could ever "own" it in the first place. It is a difficult sign, it's the sharp and blaring reminder that we are visitors everywhere we go. Aquarius being the anchor of Scorpio is in fact, not really an anchor at all, but is instead the foresighted, but soft spoken, vagabond that teaches Scorpio about moving on and letting go, shaving off the psychic weight (and even Aquarius struggles with this theme, still a fixed sign!).
The other side of Mars that we could see in the weeks surrounding the New Moon is that efficient, restorative Emperor. Mars understands that sometimes? Desire is what drives us out of bed every morning. Desire is natural, a byproduct of living in the world. Can it be misplaced? Perhaps, but desire is often crucial for the sake of movement. I can't tell you how many times I've desired a very particular thing that I did not receive in the end, but that lead me towards much needed movement– to something that I did not intend for, but something that was necessary for my future, fostering who I needed to become. It is only through following desire itself that evolution is possible. This is the face of Mars that helps us to see the interconnectedness, the metaphysical hidden in the deeply tangible... it is the side that comes before and after the loss, this is where we become resourceful.
Mars so close to this New Moon and opposing Uranus retrograde may give us each variations of these faces– a new desire, the shedding of the old desire, the loss that came from the desire, the fear that comes right before you engage in the pursuit of desire, the fruits of the desire itself, the redirection towards the "right" desire... and, I'm sure Mars can invent even more possibilities than what I have listed here. Uranus retrograde often connects us back to the old in new, shocking, and unpredictable ways. It has us squinting, "Now where have I see this before?" this can create anxiety, but it can create a breakthrough too. Regardless of what your personal New Moon story pans out to be, pay attention to what really matters in all of this. You can't take any of the physical things with you, but the insight and awareness available to us now is the stuff of the stars. Questions about the seemingly stuck, the delayed, and the unanswerable is likely to receive a response at this time. Uranus in the sign Taurus gains its booming voice where the intangible becomes rock solid. This is a chance for clarity, for truth, for the movement necessary for the ultimate journey.
(Happy FULL Moon)
Your friendly neighborhood astrologer,
Katie