The AQUARIUS Full Moon will grace the sky on August 19 reaching peak illumination at 2:26pm EST.
In this blog post you will find:
Introduction: Moon 101
The Sun and Moon are in a cyclical relationship as they weave through the seasons of the zodiac. This celestial dance provides us with an intuitive road map to explore our own inner/outer journey as we too make our way through the ebb and flow of nature's seasons and come into new and ever-changing dimensions of our lives.
While the Sun is ruler of the day and influences our "outer" expression in the world, it is to no surprise that as ruler of the tides and queen of the night the Moon is also ruler of our emotions and "inner" felt experience. Our emotions have long been associated with representations of water and the sea: fluid, ever-changing, ebbing and flowing. As the Moon pulls at the tides, we also experience this influencing force on our emotions, desires, shadow realms, fears/worries, psyche, and dreams.
Self-knowledge arises through a process of uncovering hidden layers of self through revelation and integration. This process is mirrored in the ebb and flow of the moon which is why it's something we learn to observe and track. As the light of the moon waxes, more of what lies hidden becomes revealed - our deeper motivations, mechanisms, and feelings. As the light of the moon wanes, we are given time to integrate these new learnings and discoveries.
This Full Moon falls within the sign of Aquarius toward the end of the Sun's transit through Leo. Keep reading to learn how you can use this powerful Moon portal to explore new dimensions of self seeking expression in the world.
Full Moon Energy
Since the Moon is the closest "planet" to Earth, this satellite zips around the zodiac very quickly, completing its round in less than a month. Actually, the entire trip takes 29.53 days, to be exact, and is measured from one new Moon to the next. We call this a lunation or lunar cycle. The peak or mid-point of every lunation happens on a Full Moon.
During a Full Moon, the Earth is sitting between the Moon and Sun. The Sun's light illuminates the face of the Moon for all to see. From the vantage point of Earth, the Moon and Sun are dwelling in opposite constellations, thus forming an opposition. This can make for a challenging or intense aspect of energy but also full of potential since the polarities (yin & yang) are in natural harmonic balance. In this case, the influencing energies of Sun (Leo) and Moon (Aquarius) are in a dynamic conversation that we will explore.
You can think of the Full Moon phase as a culmination moment in a particular energetic cycle, where some inner change, new awareness, or intention that was revealed six months ago is reaching maturation, coming into full form, or manifesting in some way. The bright light of the full moon illuminates or brings to the surface something that is ready to be seen, integrated or incorporated more deeply into who you are becoming. Full Moon energy is a time for honoring the journey, celebrating your growth, offering gratitude and being with any grief.
Aquarius Full Moon Insights
SYMBOL | WATER BEARER: symbolically and eternally giving life and spiritual food to the world. The water from the vessel washes away the past.
PLANETARY RULER | URANUS: the planet associated with enlightenment and ingenuity; represents the spark of intuition that spurs invention.
ELEMENT | AIR : element of thought and mind.
HOUSE | 11th HOUSE: rules friends, groups, aspirations, our sense of true inner purpose, belonging to a group, and humanity.
MODALITY | FIXED: seeks out stability; can be committed, focused and resilient.
The Aquarius Full Moon occurs once a year when the Sun is in the sign of Leo. It comes 6 months after the Aquarius New Moon. This Full Moon brings us to the end of Leo season as the Sun prepares to transition into Virgo on August 22nd. Seasonally we are on our way toward Autumn Equinox. It's a time of ripening and strength building.
Two weeks ago, the Leo New Moon was inviting you to courageously shine your inner light and share the gifts of your spirit (or whatever form of abundance is overflowing from within) with those around you: your community. Leo season initiates us into harvest season. It is a time of abundance and culmination that follows Summer's growing season. We are reminded that abundance is relational, it's not something we grow on our own. It's something that we grow together.
Every living being has unique gifts to share with others. No two beings are alike. Our collective intelligence awakens when we recognize and take the time to discover and nurture each other's gifts because they are needed and necessary. Humans are an ecological niche. Leo is the spark of light that burns within each of us. This inner light is the source of your own inner abundance. It refuses to be extinguished and embraces life as a creative process.
Now the Sun in Leo stands in opposition to the Moon in Aquarius. The Moon in Aquarius shows a strong emotional need to be part of a group, and to involve oneself in efforts for humanity. Groups and communities are the context where we get to shine our light, play with it's powers, and give it shape relationally. As ruler of evolutionary edges and innovator in friendship and community, this Aquarius Full Moon invites you to express your most unique self. In doing so, you invite others to bring their most creative selves forward! And this, my friend, is where the magic happens.
It's here where we get to celebrate, honor and PLAY with the gifts each of us has to offer in service to the dream we are co-creating. That's what Leo season is all about: embodying the courage to shine knowing that in shining your light, you give others permission to do the same.
What you need to know about Aquarius
THE FIXED CROSS
AQUARIUS - LEO AXIS
TAURUS - SCORPIO AXIS
Stability, directed choice, immovable intent of soul, direction
This Fixed Cross (highlight in green) is one of the three zodiacal crosses. The Fixed Cross represents the conscious development of awareness and the growth process.
"Fixed signs are still and inward, drawing energy to themselves rather than thrusting outward. They correspond elementally to water and geometrically to the in-drawing circle." - Vicki Noble, Motherpeace
Aquarius is the fixed air sign (circled in the diagram); opposing it is the fixed fire sign of Leo. Together they create one axis of the Fixed Cross. Air and Fire (masculine) always create an axis and Water and Earth (feminine) create the other axis. There are three crosses that make up the zodiac wheel. Each cross contains each of the four elements. In this case the fixed signs are represented by: Aquarius (Air), Leo (Fire), Taurus (Earth), Scorpio (Water).
ELEMENT: AIR
AIR: MIND
LIBRA, AQUARIUS, GEMINI
Air is the element of the mind. It is related to perception, the intellect, study, communication, music, harmony, inspiration and sound.
"Ideas come from somewhere unseen, and drift in and out of our minds like the wind. Air is also the breath of life. Each day we wake with new breath within us, we have the ability to experience the wonders of life. When someone is a 'breath of fresh air' they bring new perspectives and a renewed sense of life to our reality, not unlike the qualities of air." - Kayla White
Air signs feel at home in the imaginal realms of thought, poetry, philosophy and the arts like music and song. They thrive in the pursuit of humanitarian efforts and hold big visions for the collective. They are often called to contributing their voice to change as communication is often a strength and find enjoyment in articulating concepts and new ideas.
RULING PLANET: URANUS
Qualities: electricity, society, chaos, change, vibration, originality, nonconformism, deviation, revolution, superior mind, research, genius, wear, liberation, invention, technology, investigation, renovation, eccentricity
Uranus is one of the "modern" planets, together with Neptune and Pluto (although pluto is no longer considered a planet). This expression refers to planets that were unknown in antiquity, at a time when it was not possible to glimpse them with the naked eye.
Uranus is often dubbed the "Frozen Giant" because 80% of it is made up of frozen methane, water, and ammonia. It has 27 moons and very faint rings compared to other gas giants.
CONSTELLATION
Aquarius the Water Bearer is a constellation of the zodiac that contains mostly dim stars. You can see it best on a fall evening in the Northern Hemisphere or a spring evening in the Southern Hemisphere.
Aquarius lies in a region of the sky sometimes called the Sea. This part of the sky looks dark and deep, but of course there are stars here, as there are everywhere. The stars in this part of the sky tend to be faint. In western sky lore, early stargazers associated the star patterns here with water in a celestial sea.
Aquarius the Water Bearer is usually portrayed as a man pouring a stream of water into the mouth of the Southern Fish.”
Aquarius Full Moon Ritual Elements
Aquarius Full Moon Ritual
What You'll Need
1. Elements for your altar. Drawing on the Aquarius Ritual Elements above, consider what you might want to bring to your altar. Start simple. There is absolutely no need to go out and "buy" altar items. This is something that we encourage you to unlearn. Everything we need is within us and can be found around us. A simple candle will do, or a yellow flower for example.
2. Candle & lighter for the eco-somatic practice
3. Journal & something to write with for the journaling portion.
Important Considerations & Prep
1. RIGHT RELATIONSHIP: being in right relationship with your spiritual practice means approaching each aspect with humility, curiosity and reverence. This includes checking yourself on the nature of how you relate to "objects" as things and the process itself.
For example, if you feel called to stones as part of your ritual, consider WHY first. Then contemplate the impact of whatever action comes next. For example, instead of mindlessly purchasing cheap precious stones from somewhere like amazon (which have more than likely been harmfully mined/extracted and then shipped across the world as part of the consumer machine that's destroying our planet), perhaps part of your spiritual practice is to resist such a prompting and instead take the time to go for a mindful walk in your backyard, or a nearby stream and see if the right stone presents itself to you.
2. CLEANSE & PURIFY YOUR SPACE: Cleansing, also known as purification, is the practice of clearing out and releasing negative energy from your space, as well as energy that’s just old, stale, stagnant, or no longer serving you. Here are a few different methods:
Physical cleaning: dusting, vacuuming, opening windows for fresh air
Salt: a common element used for purification and protection in many different cultures. To use, simply sprinkle salt along doorways and windowsills to protect them from negative energy entering or just keep a small bowl of salt on your altar or nearby surface.
Smoke cleansing: light incense or burn a bundle of dried herbs such as rosemary, cedar, or mugwort. Choose plants that you have grown yourself or that grow abundantly wild nearby, plants that you have ancestral tied to or just those that have been grown and harvested ethically.
NOTE: If you do not have meaningful/authentic relationships to Indigenous culture and customs, "smudging" with white sage cultural appropriation and is dishonoring to Indigenous nations across Turtle island. It is important to understand that smudging is not just about burning sage to purify the negative energy from your space but is a sacred ritual that is culturally specific to tribes such as the Lakota Sioux, Comanche, Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Navajo. If you have been gifted sage by an Indigenous friend, use to your discretion in how to engage with this medicine. This sacred plant is being abused, exploited and mass-harvested for commercial and consumer use which perpetuates the violence of white supremacy and settler colonialism. Take some time to locate yourself within a settler-colonial context interwoven with the land you currently occupy. Check out Native Land to learn the name and more about the territories you occupy.
3. CLEANSE & PURIFY YOUR BODY-MIND
Take a shower our bath; visualize any negative energy that has accumulated in your auric field to be washed away as the water goes down the drain.
Meditate, center and take some time to ground in stillness and embodied presence.
Write or speak your intentions for your ritual out loud
4. BE MINDFUL & STRIVE FOR INTEGRITY ALWAYS.
Altar Creation
Creating an altar is optional. Altar tending is a beautiful practice, especially if you have a designated area in your home that you can tend to over the course of each moon and seasonal cycle.
Tending to an altar is an intentional practice that supports your exploration of nature spirituality and carries the potential to deepen your relationship to the energetic archetypes of the unfolding seasonal & moon cycles.
To set up your altar, simply play with any number of the ritual elements offered above in the chart by using symbols, colors, precious gemstones, symbolism, etc.
There is no right or wrong way to go about creating, tending or being with your altar, however we do not condone cultural appropriation or theft of any kind.
Eco-Somatic Practice: Collective Orienting
For this eco-somatic practice we will be drawing upon the element of AIR since this new moon falls within the sign of AQUARIUS.
ABOUT THE PRACTICE: The element of air is associated to realms of movement, mind, communication and sound. As an element it is invisible, but its reality can be felt within an all around us whether thats in every breath we take or the breeze against our skin. This practice explores our how we move through space and interact with / relate to other forms of life. It supports our ability to sense ourself as part of a collective moving and breathing body.
For this practice, I invite you to find a place outside whether that's in your back yard or even among people. It's a practice that you can take anywhere because it's all about noticing yourself in relationship to the movement of others.
MATERIALS: no materials needed.
STEPS:
Before you begin the practice find a place to stand or sit where you can turn your gaze inward to the felt sense. Sense your feet on the ground and the connection you have with earth and gravity.
Now sense the crown of your head as it reaches toward the sky, lengthening the spine.
Allow your muscles to relax and soften as you sense the strength and dignity of your spine.
From here, bring your awareness to the ebb and flow of the breath, allowing it to be soft like gentle waves lapping against your inner short.
Breathe into your front and back body along the path oof spine as you inhale. Lengthen your crown and root your feet into the ground as you exhale.
When you feel a sense of inner connection, begin to open your eyes and orient to the space around you. Notice the quality of the landscape as a whole. Is there stillness or movement? Is it bright or dark? Is it lively or somber? Is it quiet or loud? Are there human people, tree people, stone people? Who's there?
Hone in on a few particular elements or people. Again, notice the movement, pace, quality. Sense all of these things while noticing what it stirs in you. How does your breath respond to the environment? What do you notice in your chest or belly? What does this place or landscape evoke in you?
Find the anchor of connection at your feet and the ebb and flow of the breath. Now allow your awareness to be wide and peripheral as you sense into the collective space as one body. Your awareness, movement and participation is an element within this collective unfolding. How are you inspired to contribute and shape this story through sound, gesture, movement. Explore this in real time.
What do you notice about the relationship between your inner self and outer self?
Journaling
What came up for you during the eco-somatic practice? Take some time to reflect on anything you'd like to hold onto.
You might also feel called to answering any or all of the following:
What are you being called to bring into the world?
What areas of your life are still caught up in the old? Where are you still conforming?
What is something you're curious about?
Where is your edge? How can you lean into that edge? What can a healthy risk look like for you?
Finish the following sentences:
A habits of thought or behavior that I am releasing is....
A new practice that I would like to incorporate into my routine is...
Something that I am letting go of is...
Something I am welcoming in is...
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