It has been an eventful two weeks since the New Moon in Leo. Kamala Harris chose a salt-of-the-Earth running mate who isn’t afraid to speak up about the Emperor’s lack of appropriate attire. Our nation got a boost of energy in the form of joy and hope. And the rest of the world came together for the 33rd Olympics celebrating excellence, bringing out the best performances from our dedicated athletes. We were exposed to the wondrous diversity of our human population and there was an uplifting spirit of Oneness.
It seems that 2024 is the Year of Black Women. Not only are we about to elect a black woman as president of the United States, we were treated to the amazing speed and stamina of black women runners in the track and field events, and the courage and control of black gymnasts who have dedicated their lives to perfecting their art. Gold medal after gold medal went to these gorgeous women. It was a thrill to watch and gave me a deep sense of the possibility of a united humanity.
Leo is about opening our hearts, finding our courage, tapping into our leadership and expressing our talents. It’s polar opposite is Aquarius, the sign of humanity’s potential. It simultaneously celebrates individuality and oneness, supporting us with energies that beg the question, “What could we accomplish if we all worked together?”
Sun/Mercury Cazimi
The Full Moon chart is loaded with oppositions and squares. These are all activating aspects, creating pressure and forcing us to pay attention to the conflicting themes that emerge. The pace will accelerate as a result, helping us gear up for the coming Autumn, but also enhancing our perception of reality.
Moon opposes Sun on Monday, August 19th at 11:25 a.m. Pacific. The Sun will be at 27+ Leo in exact conjunction with Vesta, our asteroid goddess of devotion to the sacred. Just a degree away is retrograde Mercury. Sun and Mercury were cazimi on Sunday, meaning they were conjunct, but when the Sun is involved, it carries a more profound meaning. The Sun is our Solar Spirit, the source of life. When a planet is conjunct the Sun it is enveloped in the Sun’s fire and brilliance. It is energized by Spirit, purified in its flames, and rebooted, so to speak, to begin a new cycle of experience. When Mercury is retrograde and cazimi, in the heart of the Sun, it begins a new 4-month cycle, often focusing on new themes.
This cazimi is particularly powerful because the Sun is conjunct Vesta, keeper of our soul flame, that spark that connects us to the Divine. Adding fuel to the flames of transformation is the square to Uranus at 27+ Taurus. Our minds can be flooded with insight and realizations as we begin to see more clearly. Uranus inspires a revolutionary spirit, the very spirit behind democracy. Uranus is a high-energy planet beckons us beyond what we know, what we see, and surprises us with lightning flashes and thunder claps. This eccentric planet is a great awakener.
The conjunction of Sun and Mercury takes place in our 9th House, conjunct our natal Hygeia. The message is clear – it’s time to assess our mental health and make necessary changes. We’ve been on a runaway fantasy madness for the past several years as we watched everything we valued threatened by darkness. So much change, so much loss, so much uncertainty. How healthy are our minds? Are we still fearful? Are we skeptical or cynical about the human race and the future? These are paralyzing states of mind.
With Uranus in Taurus, it’s time to get grounded, to get real. How have we been deluding ourselves? How safe and secure do we feel? How much are we enjoying the small pleasures of daily life? How resilient have we become?
The Sun is also exactly conjunct our natal Black Moon Lilith – the independent, self-sufficient, original expression of the Divine Feminine. I saw that power in the Olympics. The President of the French Olympic Committee commented that this Olympics demonstrated gender equality. And this is absolutely essential as we move forward. Handicapping more than 50% of our population with negative propaganda and paralyzing court decisions will only weaken our Union, and therefore weaken our nation. The Harris/Walz campaign is emphasizing that our strength lies in our union. Fascism always begins with propaganda geared to weaken through separation, demonizing one segment of the population, raising controversial issues that distract us from our purpose. We are rediscovering the power of Oneness and the joy it produces.
Full Moon in Aquarius: Fixed T-Square
And that brings us to the Moon at 27+ Aquarius, exactly conjunct our natal Moon!! The USA is having a lunar return and it touches the emotional body of every one of us. In the USA chart, the Moon represents our collective experience. The Moon is receptive, sensitive, picking up vibes that trigger emotions which settle into feelings and attitudes. These in turn become habits which numb us to the power of the present moment. Eventually they form the context of our collective subconscious. We’ve been traumatized over the past few years, embroiled in a collective angst which like any stress, challenges our collective health. Full Moon conjunct our natal Moon in the Third House tells us it’s time to pay close attention to our thoughts and the beliefs we have formed. Are we living with negative expectations? This is the context out of which our reality is created.
When this Full Moon returns to its natal placement in Aquarius, it casts the fullness of light on our true nature. We are Aquarian at heart. Our nation was founded on respect for the dignity of the individual. We believe in the welfare of all. We believe in equal rights and equal status. And we believe in a more perfect Union. The spirit of Oneness lingers around the world as a result of the Olympics. Our nation is reenergized by a passing of the torch to a new generation of leaders bringing hope and visions of a better future.
We will all feel this energy. It can wash over us and through us. The third house is aligned with Mercury functions, concerned with what and how we learn, how we gather information and process it into beliefs and ultimately, in the 9th House, into elevated and expanded vision. We not only have our natal Moon in the 3rd house, but it is conjunct both Pallas Athena and Quaoar, the dwarf planet of embodiment. Our collective wisdom rests on our ability to integrate higher and higher frequencies of energy.
Quaoar is raw spiritual energy seeking expression through us. This is a vague concept until we begin to open to its power. We are not here on Earth to aspire to a Spirit beyond us, we are here to bring Spirit into our bodies and to ground it into our Earth through creative self-expression, movement and voice.
Pallas is the only goddess not born of woman, but springing directly from the head of Jupiter, the God of gods, the Godhead. And I’ll mention here that at the Full Moon, Jupiter and Mars, just past their exact conjunction, are ramping up the energy of Gemini, one of Mercury’s domains, again emphasizing mental themes. The heavens are reflecting to us an opportunity for transcendence, enlightenment and awakening. This is a powerful moment in time and if we pay attention to what’s going on in the moment, we can identify personal themes that are developing in our lives, as well as in our nation.
Mutable T-Square
Sun, Moon and Uranus form a Fixed T-Square, but we have a Mutable T-Square as well with Venus in Virgo in the 9th House, opposite Saturn in Pisces in the 3rd, both squaring the Mars/Jupiter conjunction in Gemini in our 7th House of relationships.
Venus opposite Saturn asks us to look at what separates us. At the moment it consists of lies, deception, alternative facts and our addiction to unquestioned beliefs. Venus square Mars, especially when it is conjunct Jupiter, reveals the tension between the genders and points to a foundational issue we need to resolve. Mars is within two degrees of a return to its natal position at 21+Gemini, so its energy is running high. We know that Mars can be aggressive and confrontational, so that’s something to look out for, but it can also be incredibly productive. Mars carries out our will and our desire. What do we want in our relationships? How do we create it? Well worth applying retrograde Mercury to examine that theme.
Jupiter and Saturn have reached a milestone in their 20-year cycle. The first square reveals what blockages and doubts we need to address. Jupiter is expansive. Saturn contracts. Jupiter inspires faith. Saturn, at its most uptight, can be cynical, relying only on what the senses can perceive. It can also be depressive when it blocks expression of our emotions, and can spiral down into despair. Luckily Jupiter is prodding Saturn to look at the brighter side and trust life to unfold.
This is a good time to address old fears, relax some of the limitations we have placed upon ourselves, open up to new possibilities and learn to trust the process. Pisces is about endings and Saturn is manifesting these endings for all to see; but Pisces is also about letting go, surrendering to the flow of spirit through us, listening to our inner guidance. Jupiter trumps Saturn in this aspect because Pisces is one of his favored domains. Saturn, the boundary creator, has a difficult time holding things in place in this watery realm, and that includes fears, phobias, and outworn structures of consciousness. Pisces is the universal solvent. Venus in Virgo, by the way, is within 4 degrees of our natal Neptune, ruler of Pisces and the higher octave of Venus. Neptune is the mentor of our unity and the context of our spiritual evolution. The conjunction perfects on August 23rd. Set aside some time to bask in these energies.
The Nodal Axis and the Dwarfs – Cardinal T-Square
While the Sun and Moon form an exact T-Square with Uranus, and Venus/Saturn with Mars/Jupiter, the nodal axis is forming a Cardinal T-Square with the planets transiting our First House. The North Node is in our 4th House in Aries opposite the South Node in Libra in the 10th. This axis addresses the themes of private and public life. The 4th House reflects our childhood upbringing, the environment in which we were raised, with all the conditioning, wounding, ego traumatizing experiences that shaped us. The 10th House addresses how we function in the world, the contribution we make, the impact we have on others.
Natal Chiron is in the 4th house pointing to the need to heal our past, and the health of the collective. Our “childhood” environment was damaging to our union, as we seized the land of Native Americans, decimated their population, imported slaves and mistreated them. Chiron holds these wounds and reminds us from time to time of the healing we need so desperately.
The USA will experience its second Chiron Return on November 8th, days after the election. The final return takes place on February 18th 2025. While Pluto has revealed the disruption of a dysfunctional government along with corruption in all our institutions, Eris has been creating chaos to open up new possibilities, Haumea has been reaching into our depths to regenerate our souls, and Chiron has brought up all our collective wounds. This return period which began in April of 2024, is a powerful opportunity to mend fences, to free ourselves from resentment and judgment, to see with new eyes the unlimited potential of our humanity.
The South Node in Libra has already passed over Makemake in the 10th House, expanding our perception and the possibility of peace. The North Node in our 4th House speaks of the future of our homeland. Both Nodes are at 7+ degrees exactly square Pholus and Ceres at 7 Capricorn, and Quaoar at 8+ degrees which is the exact degree of our natal Eris. We are opening to a more inclusive frame of mind and spirit as we head into the Aquarian Age.
Quaoar is providing the energy necessary for a shift in consciousness toward a more egalitarian paradigm. Pholus helps perceive reality in new ways. Ceres reminds us that our identity (1st House) is intertwined with the Earth.
Ceres has been prominent in our chart at all the crucial moments of change in this century. During the highly contested 2000 election, Ceres was conjunct transiting Haumea and natal Juno. When Obama was elected in 2008, Ceres was conjunct the Sun. In January 2020 when Saturn was conjunct Pluto at 22+ degrees of Capricorn, Ceres was also at 22+ Cap. She was telling us that our Earth is intimately involved in our transformative process. When Jupiter and Saturn made their conjunction at 0 degrees of Aquarius, beginning a new 200-year cycle in Air signs as well as a new 20-year cycle of social awareness, Ceres made her return to her natal position. This was December 21, 2020, reminding us that we were entering a new phase of our evolution at the same moment that Ceres was closing out one cycle and beginning another.
We are symbiotic with our planet and as we evolve so does she. What is the end goal of this alchemical process? A Planetary Consciousness in which humanity awakens not only to the Oneness of the human species, but to our Oneness with our planet and all of creation. Our consciousness will meld with Earth consciousness to create a new planetary awareness, a prerequisite for our future status as members of a Galactic community.
That may seem like science fiction now, but we are just beginning to emerge from the dark ages of domination and violence. Our evolution will pick up momentum. Collective consciousness has already shifted. We may not be here to see the emergence of an evolved society, but we can honor the contribution we are making right now, during this seemingly perilous passage.
One final note about this particular T-Square. It forms a Grand Cross and discharges its energy into the USA natal Jupiter at 5+ Cancer. I’m sure you recall that natal Jupiter is conjunct Venus in our 7th House. Our spiritual evolution depends upon our learning to love ourselves and each other. This is how we form that “more perfect union – through caring, providing safety and security for ourselves and others. As always Love is the key.
I hope I have conveyed how powerful this Full Moon chart is. We have T-Squares in all three modalities: Cardinal, Fixed and Mutable. We have a Lunar Return when the Moon is at its brightest. We have Mercury just past its cazimi with the Sun and we have the first quarter marker in the evolving relationship between Jupiter and Saturn.
So much energy is available to us, so much support for awakening. I recommend staying present in the moment, paying attention to what comes up, observing. This isn’t the time to seek control; it’s the time to let go and allow the process to unfold.
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