Full Moon in Libra: Boom!

Tiger!

Full Moon in Libra
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
5:27 am EDT
Moon at 6'52" Libra

Full Moons illuminate, and this one has a whole crew already setting up the kleig lights. Massive amounts of power concentrating for this one: Sun, Venus, Uranus and Mars all conjunct in Aries opposing the Moon in Libra.

Everyone else has a piece of this too: Neptune, Mercury and Chiron in Pisces are inconjunct the Moon, creating another awkward push. The ongoing yod (finger of fate) that includes Pluto and Saturn inconjunct Jupiter adds its transformational energy as Pluto squares and Jupiter trines the Moon. Saturn trines Chiron. Juno trines the Moon. Lilith trines the Moon.

What do we make of this?

First, the energy represented in this Full Moon is high volt, high watts. Aries is the sign of personal power, desire, anger, physical energy, libido, the raw force of life surging into this world. This energy is wonderful; it's what keeps everything going. At this concentration, it can also feel threatening and overwhelming. Kind of like "I've seen God and boy, is She pissed!"

How strongly you feel this Full Moon depends on what your chart looks like. The early cardinal degrees (say, 0-12 of Aries, Libra, Cancer and Capricorn) will feel this most strongly. Anything else in the cardinal signs will be affected, and anything else in the early degrees will also feel the effects.

No one is likely to miss this Full Moon. It's more a question of how and how much. Check your birth chart to see which houses this Moon will fall in, and which of your planets and points will be most involved.

Aries is the sign of individual, personal, ME power. Libra is the sign of the Other, the energy exquisitely attuned to the myriad sentient beings out there who are NOT me. The balance is clearly tipped to the "me" side, and yet at the Full Moon, it's the Moon herself whose fully illuminated.

If you're in the hot seat for this Full Moon, you may experience challenges, possibly direct and pointed ones, in key relationships. This may come to a head for you or for a partner. Stuff may get said and done that can't be unsaid or undone. The opportunity is for clarity––is this (whatever "this" is) supporting my healthy growth? The risk is misinterpreting, overreacting, and moving into anger.

Aries is the sign of physicality––our physical health, energy and activity. Being active could be a great way to channel and express this Full Moon. Vigorous workouts in whatever modality you love, including sexuality, could feel awesome. The opportunity: connecting with our body's energy and needs with greater clarity and focus. The risk: Overdoing it, burning out, accident or injury.

Libra is the sign of balance and harmony. The opportunity for this Moon is to find the inner strength and peace to stand in the middle of a firestorm, and remain calm. And smile, don't forget that part. All those things we've been doing to cultivate equanimity and balance in our lives? This Full Moon is likely to take some pokes right at that, saying "Hmmm ... what happens if I do this? What about this? Are you still calm?"

Think about all those jokes with siblings in a car, at home, wherever. One is trying to read, or watch a program, or just be. The other one is waving his hands around, desperate for attention. "I'm not touching you! I'm not touching you!"

The story I offer for this Full Moon is one told and retold by Clarissa Pinkola Estes:

A young woman greets her husband returning from the war. She is thrilled to have him home, and frightened to discover the loving man who went away has returned angry, withdrawn, and dangerous. Desperate, she consults a wise man, asking what she can do to help her partner.

The wise man says he can make a potion to cure her husband, but the key ingredient is an eyelash from a fierce tiger who lives up the mountain. Can she get one? The woman loves her husband, and says she will bring one back. She travels up the mountain, to discover the tiger is larger, wilder and more fierce than she imagined.

It takes months of careful, quiet, calm, focused being. Each day she sits a little closer. She leaves him food. She advances inch by slow inch. One day, she is close enough to get the eyelash she needs. Triumphant, she returns to the wise man, her prize carefully cradled in her hand.

When she arrives, the wise man takes the eyelash and tosses it in the fire! Aghast, the young woman asks why. The wise man says "Now you have the skill and insight. Go home and treat your husband as you treated the tiger."

Garden Hose by Edith Vonnegut

An intriguing story, I've always thought. Part of me says, why does the woman always have to accommodate, be quiet, stay calm, fix things? Why can't the man deal with his anger?

Yet this is a story about ourselves, on the inside. Sometimes the parts of us that are raging, grasping, and out of control cannot stop by themselves. We need to strengthen the parts of us that can hold space, listen and reflect without judgement, and yes, stay calm and carry on.

Knowing we're in a time of big Aries energy, we can plan some extra meditation time, extra quiet, soft music. And also, depending on our needs and temperaments, plan extra exercise, vigorous activity, wild dancing. We can watch for overreacting, for risky behavior, for triggers.

It's not possible for us, as humans, to keep it together perfectly all the time. We may well see, at this Full Moon, which triggers are still active for us, where we fall down, where we lose it. That's OK. We can flow with the Libra Moon's sensitivity and vow to treat our flawed, imperfect and uniquely beautiful selves with all the compassion and love we would offer a much loved partner.

We're the young woman and the tiger both, and also the sage and the wounded warrior. At this Full Moon, all those parts may appear lit up on stage, so we can see with crystal clarity where more compassion, as well as more skill, are needed.