A Dramatic and Graceful Full Moon

The Full Moon that graces our skies late Wednesday evening, August 1st, represents quite a powerful configuration. This is due to a number of astrological factors all happening simultaneously in concert with this intense lunation. Uranus and Pluto, triggered by the Sun and Moon, are now closing in — less than a degree away — on the second hit of their much-discussed square aspect, which comes up again in mid-September. This will be a degree and a half earlier than the recent June 24th event, since they are now in retrograde motion. Chiron participates as well, being exactly one sign away from Uranus in the same degree of Pisces as Uranus occupies in Aries, with Pluto making a sextile. Then, Jupiter in the eleventh degree of Gemini is exactly trined and sextiled by this Moon and Sun, which is very pleasant, and in turn aspects Uranus, Pluto and Chiron, trining Uranus, squaring Chiron and creating a Yod with the Sun to Pluto, while Saturn and Venus also make aspects to Pluto.

As if this were not enough, we have retrograde Mercury, entering the final week of its backward motion, making a close quincunx to Neptune now and all through these next ten days, including its station on the late evening of August 7th. Mercury in retrograde brings us to a meditative stance in any case, one more appropriate for inner than for outer work; and that much more so when compounded by numinous Neptune. Mars in the middle of Libra completes a Grand Trine in Air signs with the Moon and Jupiter, so that we have a thoughtful and mentally active time ahead of us for the rest of this week, and one that is well-suited for deeply thinking about who we are in our innermost selves, the places inside us that no one really sees. Neptune, other-dimensional planetary energy of universal oneness, takes us there, Mercury in retrograde takes us there, and Jupiter in square with Chiron takes us there as well.

We are all of us more than the persona that we present to the world and even to each other in private. Jung taught us that. We suspect that this is so with our innermost intuitional being, the being that transcends ego considerations of who is winning and which among us has the most gold, the being that represents who we really are. And yet, consistently, we fail to fully recognize ourselves. Perhaps, in this graceful juncture that is also somewhat troubling, and transforming, we will come a little closer to understanding our true nature.