2010 Aquarius Full Moon

by Stephanie Azaria

July 25- 26, 2010

9:38 PM EDT / 6:38 PM PDT/ 1:38 AM GMT (July 26)

2 Leo 59 / 2 Aquarius 59

A note about the degree of this Full Moon: some programs are generating it as 2 Leo/Aquarius 59, others as 3 Leo/Aquarius 0, which is a difference of one minute in longitude (basically, inconsequential). I am going with the earlier degree because its Sabian Symbols are so fitting for the energies of this particular Full Moon.

The Aquarius Full Moon may not be an eclipse, as the most recent Full and New Moons were, but it has a radical intensity all of its own. Liberating, motivating, action-oriented and paradigm-altering, it compels us to break free from personal institutions and live on terms that are true to each of us alone.

The challenge of any Aquarius Full Moon involves maintaining individuality in a group context — allowing our internal fire to burn brightly while finding our place within the greater community. That fire is getting amped up now with a vengeance. The time is here for our fire, voice, uniqueness, whatever label you want to put on it, to get full, honest and joyous expression. We’re ready and eager, and the world is asking for it. So whatever threatens it — thought patterns, programming, alliances, situations, circles of friends — is falling away, while counterparts that fan, appreciate, delight in and enjoy that expression are rushing in and growing stronger. Bottom line: Each of us is more comfortable than ever with who we really are and allowing that person to come out and play. Our playgrounds are changing as a result, and so are the people sharing them with us.

What’s coming to light and to consciousness now is directly connected to processes of change that have been going on over the past 18 months. This moment in time is not merely a culmination of those processes, but also a personal assimilation of it. This Full Moon coincides with several major redefining events in the sky and, as if to underscore the importance of this convergence, every planet in these events is in close contact to the Sun and the Moon. We’re seeing, experiencing and implementing surface and subsurface change, from every angle that you look at it.

Here are the technical reasons: Jupiter, which expands everything he contacts, is in the open, easy flow of a close trine to the Sun in Leo, enlarging our childlike passions and encouraging us to pursue and express them as dramatically as we dare. This encouragement is getting fueled, spiked and inflamed at sporadic intervals because Uranus, the awakener and cosmic rebel, is also in this trine, traveling with Jupiter, and throwing big, unexpected shifts in perspectives and situations into the mix. The fact that Uranus is retrograde prolongs the impact or the scope of each of the bolts he’s lobbing. (Note how frequently you hit twists and turns in situations that started taking shape since the end of May, when Uranus entered the degree where he is currently doing an about-face.) On top of that, Uranus is the ruler of the Moon, which means that the bringer of change and alternate viewpoints is in charge of this entire event.

Uranus and Jupiter would spell change enough on their own, but they have plenty of company. Saturn, the planet of structure, order and the way things have always been, is himself in an easy flow to the Moon, making it possible and easy for us to take whatever this Full Moon stirs up and ground emotionally. More importantly, Saturn is also in direct contact with Uranus, ruler and host of this Full Moon. Saturn and Uranus have been in a push-me-pull-you throwdown since November of 2008 (hence the 18-month retrospective for this event), shaking each and every one of us out of old patterns of thinking and behaviors and cracking us open for new approaches that are better suited to our core natures and the way of the future. On July 26, Saturn and Uranus bring this throwdown process to an end and complete their fifth and final opposition. The first four (on November 4, 2008, February 5 and September 15, 2009 and April 25 of this year) took place on the Virgo/Pisces axis, dislodging the dominant paradigm of sacrifice, enmeshment and codependency and pushing us toward personal intactness, healthy boundaries and put our own bodies, business, gardens and well-being in order. Their final standoff occurs on different terrain, the relationship axis, represented by the signs of Aries and Libra. This move forces us to take the issues of personal intactness and boundaries that we have been grappling with and apply our new approaches to how we relate to each other. Pretense, hiding, masks, artifice, previously agreed-upon ground rules are all breaking apart now. No more hiding; we have to be who we are, openly, unapologetically, even flamboyantly. From this point on we can remain in a relationship only if we can be ourselves in it — which is a variation of the theme of this Full Moon as well. We are to be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth in relationship to each other, as well as in any and every group and community setting.

Encouraging this coming out — making it inevitable and unavoidable in fact — is the ongoing, action-demanding square between Saturn (lord of structure and the old ways) and Pluto (lord of the underworld, total transformation and monsters that lurk deep, deep, deep within). These two titans have been reworking relationship programming and dynamics off and on since the middle of last November — forcing us into awareness of the returns on our investments, focusing us increasingly on issues of reciprocity and pushing us to renegotiate many an alliance and arrangement. This clash between Saturn and Pluto is locking into Uranus and Jupiter as well, forming a t-square that will become the much ballyhooed cardinal cross in the first week of August. There will be much to talk about on that configuration in the weeks to come. Suffice it for now to say that impetus to change, to grow, to evolve is coming at us everywhere we turn, now and for the foreseeable future. Each push is bringing us more fully into ourselves, and pushing our true selves more and more out into the world. This Full Moon signals that it’s time to embrace the process, make it our own and have fun with it.

The Sabian Symbols drive the same point home, speaking in terms of breaking from a system and allowing inner youthfulness to come to the surface. Here is Lynda Hill’s interpretation of the Sabian Symbol for the Moon at 3 Aquarius, reprinted with her kind permission from her book The Sabian Symbols As An Oracle, the Special Edition:

A DESERTER FROM THE NAVY STANDS SUDDENLY AWARE OF A DAWNING TRUTH: FREEDOM IS NEVER THE RESULT OF COMPROMISE

Commentary:
‘A Deserter From the Navy Stands Suddenly Aware of a Dawning Truth: Freedom is Never the Result of Compromise’ shows someone who’s come to the conclusion that staying in a situation that stretches, tests or ‘Compromises’ his needs, desires and values in some way is not worth the energy that has to go into it. Like being in the ‘Navy’, perhaps he had signed up for something for the long haul. He was expected to fulfill some employment, destiny, mission, or perhaps staying committed to a relationship. Now there’s been a realization that the mold cast for him just doesn’t work. It doesn’t satisfy his inner desires and longings. He may have been able to adjust to the situation for a while, but the time has come when he has to leave, bail out or jump ship.

Oracle:
A decision to opt out may be based on moral or ethical grounds, where someone doesn’t want to perform some duty or act because it is against their principles, or in order to maintain a sense of free spirit, mobility or independence. In the situation facing you, you may find that the rigorous restraints and rules of the situation are no longer comfortable, bearable or tolerable. This can be about you, or it can be about someone (or something) else. Being “signed-up” to some commitment can be restricting, limiting and sometimes confronting. There can be a feeling of being taken away from loved ones, home and family for a reason you don’t really understand and not wanting to accept the pressures of separation. However, it could be the exact opposite -home and family life can be too constricting and there may be a desire to leave to pursue another, more independent life. However, there are always consequences for opting out, running away or not playing the game. Are you prepared for them? Is there a ‘Sudden’ realization, ‘A Dawning Truth’ that what you’ve been doing is not necessarily what you want to be doing?

Keywords:
Rebellion and rebelling. Leaving, although allegiance had been pledged. Opting out because of pressure, harassment or bullying. Taking risks to get out of a dangerous/destructive/alienating situation. Being left behind by someone who’s “jumped ship”. Going AWOL. Standing by personal truths.

The Caution:
Not playing by the rules of socially structured games. Self-ruin. Refusal to face social consequences. Not turning up when expected. Withdrawing support when one should be involved in a physical, emotional or spiritual way. Blowing security. Rats deserting the sinking ship.

I had examined myself pretty thoroughly and discovered that I was unfit for military service.
Joseph Heller-Catch 22

A man must consider what rich realm he abdicates when he becomes a conformist.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

His secret realization of his physical cowardice led him to underrate his exceptional moral courage.
Vera Brittain

COWARD, n: one who, in a perilous emergency, thinks with his legs.
Ambrose Bierce

I was court-martialed in my absence, and sentenced to death in my absence, so I said they could shoot me in my absence.
Brendan F. Behan

There are two freedoms – the false, where a man is free to do what he likes; and the true, where he is free to do what he ought.
Charles Kingsley

The brave man inattentive to his duty is worth little more to his country than the coward who deserts in the hour of danger.
Andrew Jackson

Lynda Hill’s interpretation of the Sabian Symbol for the Sun at 3 degrees Leo is:
A MATURE WOMAN, KEEPING UP WITH THE TIMES, HAVING HER HAIR BOBBED

Commentary:
‘A Mature Woman’ here is ‘Keeping Up With the Times’ through having a modern hairstyle; she’s ‘Having Her Hair Bobbed’. She doesn’t want to be out of touch with fashion and considered old-fashioned. Getting her ‘Hair Bobbed’ helps her to present an image of being modern and in tune with what’s current in the world. As she’s said to be ‘A Mature Woman’, the hairstyle may be her way of making a statement that with the changes that are happening in her life she’s feeling somewhat different about herself. When the Symbols were brought through in 1925, it was indeed rather radical to cut your hair in a ‘Bob’ if you were a woman.

Oracle:
Although we cannot really become different by changing our appearance, feeling good about the image we display does radiate both inwardly and outwardly. This might be just what is needed in the situation that brought you to the Oracle. However, as comforting and rejuvenating as an external change may be, remember that it is your inner self that is the essence of your persona, not the mask you wear. Altering your appearance for the sake of being trendy may be detrimental to your self-esteem or confidence; you may feel as though you are constantly following the crowd. ‘Keeping Up With the Times’ can sometimes become an obsession. Be sure that you are not making these cosmetic changes to replace something lacking inside. Having said that, asserting your right to present your own style and feeling confident about yourself can be invaluable for self-esteem and can lead to others appreciating you for your true qualities.

Keywords:
Making an effort to keep up with trends. Asserting one’s independence from social constraints. Wanting to shrug off the years. Adopting a younger attitude. Following the herd. Going along with the things for the sake of being trendy. Plastic surgery. Changing appearances. Hairdressers and hairstyles. Gray hair. Hats and scarves. Meeting the challenges of age. Radiating sexuality. Bad hair days. Mid-life crisis. Being a trendsetter.

The Caution:
Relying on external fashion to disguise inner emptiness. Cosmetic changes that are transitory. Making superficial but not meaningful alterations. Fashion slaves. The illusion of keeping up with the times. Giving up on one’s appearance. Battling society’s glorification of youth. Mutton dressed up as lamb.

You can’t make the Duchess of Windsor into Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.
Cleveland Amory

You’re only as good as your last haircut.
Susan Lee

My concern today is not with the length of a person’s hair but with his conduct.”
(On campus radicals) Richard Milhouse Nixon

When a woman ceases to alter the fashion of her hair, you guess that she has passed the crisis of her experience.
Mary Austin

By common consent gray hairs are a crown of glory; the only object of respect that can never excite envy.
George Bancroft

A mode of conduct, a standard of courage, discipline, fortitude and integrity can do a great deal to make a woman beautiful.
Jacqueline Bisset

Are you reeling in the years, stowing away the time?
Steely Dan

*The excerpts from Lynda Hill’s book The Sabian Symbols As An Oracle, the Special Edition, © Lynda Hill 2002, have been reprinted by permission of the author.