This week’s astrology has been marked by the sense of needing to make a decision — possibly about speaking your truth to an authority figure (that includes any internalized authority). Have you been feeling a sense of pressure in that regard — or possibly noticed how you express your own power in your life?
That situation, if you experienced it, correlates to Mercury in Aquarius in a square to retrograde Saturn in Scorpio earlier in the week. We just saw this astrology exemplified by California Senator Diane Feinstein’s speech on the senate floor Tuesday. She called the CIA on the carpet regarding the illegal search of computers belonging to the committee that oversees the CIA, ultimately to cover up the CIA’s failed torture program.
You might not have experienced Mercury-Saturn quite so dramatically in your life, but chances are you felt it.
That aspect is now separating (that is, weakening as the planets move along). But as whatever situation Mercury-Saturn represented for you is resolving by virtue of some decision you’ve made, a source of relational tension is just beginning to build: the Virgo Full Moon, exact Sunday at 1:08 pm EDT.
For this Full Moon, we have the Sun in emotional, empathic, clairvoyant Pisces being opposed by the Moon in mentally oriented, particular Virgo. Both of these signs have strong affinities for service, but even that good intention can come under some strain during a Full Moon.
The Moon in Virgo is great for reorganizing your physical environment. Interpersonally, however, it tends toward being overly critical. If you’ve ever had an intimate relationship, you know how quickly the joy and fun can get sucked out of things if you (or your partner) always point out what isn’t ‘good enough’ or isn’t working right.
The Sun in Pisces is fantastic for deeply creative work, psychic contact and inner exploration. But it comes with a kind of permeability to its emotional boundaries — great for spiritual connection, problematic if one is not able to discern lighter and darker influences from each other.
Squaring the Sun and Moon in this chart is Pholus in Sagittarius. Pholus is the planet of ‘small cause, big effect’ and the runaway chain reaction. In a square to the Full Moon, it’s a reminder to be aware of how even small statements and actions can ripple out, affecting those around us. Emotional reactions can take on a life of their own, as can critical statements made with anything less than empathy motivating them. The same is true for joy and kindness; you just need to make them your intention.
It isn’t always easy to see our motivations clearly, especially when emotions are heightened. Same when we’re having trouble seeing our own shadows — which is the situation during a Full Moon. When the Sun opposes the Moon, its light is reflected off the Moon’s surface. The correlation is that our consciousness (Sun) sees itself reflected back by other people we’re relating to. That reflection obscures somewhat the other person’s emotional reality — and makes it harder for us to see our own issues as residing within us.
Full Moons also tend to bring relational situations to a head and can break a deadlock, all while influencing us to be hypersensitive. In that heightened, reactive state, it can be easy to forget that the sensitivity of others is increased, too.
While you may be the Sun in your own personal cosmos, the person you’re relating to is the Sun in theirs. To each other, we’re mirrors, like the Moon — but we’re mirrors with the power of choice, awareness and compassion. To make the most of the opportunity, it will help this weekend to lean on your creativity and ease off the urge to criticize. That is, claim your stuff, remember your empathy, and think before you speak.