Full Moon in Aquarius

(I'm nominating Spock as patron saint of this full moon.)

This is tomorrow: 10th August, around 7:10 pm (GMT).

It'll be the largest full moon of the year – the moon will be at perigee, the point in her orbit where she's closest to Earth. Very intense.

I'm going to try to be brief for a change, because I don't have a lot of time to write this!

What we have this full moon are a lot of intense, clashing energies coming from fixed signs. The sun and Mercury in Leo will be opposing the moon in Aquarius, and these poles will be squared by Mars and Saturn in Scorpio.

Fixed signs are...fixed, basically. Stubborn, intractable. They don't negotiate – they insist. Aquarius insists on its ideology and its vision for the future, Leo on its personal importance, Scorpio on its security and control.

What we've been seeing in the news these past weeks are a bunch of conflicts that look hopelessly intractable, involving ideological differences that admit of no resolution.

And the world is getting drawn in, taking sides. It's a kind of contagion - & it's getting out of control. (“Out of control” is how the WHO is now characterising Ebola in West Africa.)

There's a lot of emotionally charged rhetoric going on...a lot of terror and panic. There are bombs raining down on a lot of places right now.

Mars and Saturn are traditionally known as the two 'malefic' planets, and having them mixed up with this full moon is...tough. It's bad enough to have the two of them conjunct: Mars-Saturn contacts are known for their violence and cruelty.

But also they are conjunct in Scorpio, sign of extremes. Black-or-white, all-or-nothing. So we are looking at extreme cruelty and no middle ground – scorched earth. Utter savagery.

Plus Mars and Saturn are squaring the sun and Mercury in Leo, which can be read as hubris and bombast on steroids.

And also they're squaring the moon in Aquarius, which can be about emotional shock and disconnection – shell shock. Or emotional polarization, or dogmatism.

So you can see how bad this can get...how this full moon lights up a very apocalyptic storyline. You have only to turn on the news these days to see these themes playing themselves out. It's tragic.

But remember the word 'apocalypse' comes from the Greek for 'revelation' or 'uncovering'. That's the potential good in this scenario: it represents an intensely powerful potential for revelation, mental clarity, objectivity, deep understanding. Maybe not on a global political scale – though one can dream. But on a personal level, definitely.

Aquarius is about humanitarian ideals and our shared vision for the future. At worst it can be rigid and dogmatic, but at best it is rational, unsentimental, independent-minded – and very concerned with the well-being of the collective, and with creating a better future.

These are all necessary qualities when you're trying to negotiate a peace deal or bring aid to a warzone or see through propaganda. Cool-headedness and clarity are very important right now, what with the overblown and emotionally-driven rhetoric we're being exposed to on all sides.

So in the spirit of Aquarian progressivism and optimism, I am determined to see this full moon as a good thing...as an opening for some kind of rationality and intelligence to get through to a world that is imploding with hatred and violence.

Something nice about this full moon: despite the fact that it is bound up with the two malefics (Mars and Saturn), we are also moving into a conjunction involving the two benefics (Venus and Jupiter). Venus is currently in the late degrees of Cancer, applying into conjunction with Jupiter in Leo, exact on the 18th  August. This aspect represents some kind of luck or blessing -  something lovely. So that's good, and much-needed.

The sun and moon also make some very nice aspects to the north node in Libra and also to the moon's dispositor, Uranus in Aries. Meaning this story is ultimately not about war, but about a struggle for peace, justice and right relationship. And this struggle takes place on an individual as well as a collective level - though the individual level is actually where it can make the most difference.

It is about thinking for yourself, exercising emotional restraint and discrimination, expressing yourself clearly and calmly... even when self-expression has the potential to get you ostracised. Lilith (a point representing the lunar apogee, or the point in the moon's orbit at which the moon will be furthest from Earth) is conjunct the sun and Mercury in Leo, and this carries the risk of ostracism via communication. But the message of Lilith is that it's better to be alone and free than to go along with the status quo and be enslaved. Even if it means you're demonised for it.

Lilith, in the Jewish tradition, was Adam's first wife, who refused to be made subject to him and was exiled from Eden. She was known as the mother of demons after that.

Well there are plenty of people out there willing to demonise (or worse) anyone who thinks differently from them these days, we know this.

Anyway, because of all these planets in Leo (Jupiter, Mercury, the sun, and in a few days Venus) opposing or squaring planets in signs that deal with the collective (Aquarius and Scorpio) I am inclined to think that this is about a personal, individual response to collective patterns.

That's only one way of reading it, of course. But I think luck and hope (Jupiter) are dependent on how we filter these collective currents through our individual psyches, and how we express ourselves (Leo).

Because the moon is in such an unemotional sign, I think it's probably a good idea to avoid getting too emotionally worked up over the panic-inducing things that are happening. The problems the world is dealing with are a direct result of people losing any sense of proportion or equanimity. And with Mars and Saturn in Scorpio, extremism has very dangerous consequences.

It doesn't matter what form your extremism takes. Leftists can be every bit as extreme in their views as radical Islamists. You have to take the other side of the story into account: that is the message of the north node in Libra, the sign of relating and fairness. You have to take other people's views and experiences into account. Maybe actively seeking out other points of view is a good antidote to extremism...we can easily spend our lives surrounded by people who agree with us and back up our opinions, and information sources that confirm our prejudices. The way things are going, that's a recipe for collective disaster.

Anyway, to sum up: it's extreme, violent weather out there. If you focus on changing yourself, freeing your mind and avoiding personal extremism, you'll be better off and maybe you'll be of benefit to others.

Don't surrender your mind to anyone or anything – not to a dogma or to an emotional appeal or a cause. Try to think for yourself and stay objective. If you feel yourself being swayed by panic or moral outrage, try to take a step back – there is detachment and clarity on offer if you want it.

Maybe ask yourself: "what would Spock do?"

And try to express yourself even if it feels isolating. That's the only way people get to hear alternate points of view at all.

(Dissent & skepticism, Aquarian style.)