Do you have a planet, house cusp, or angle squaring, opposing or making a conjunction to 5-6 degrees of aries or libra within a 5 degree orb? This would be 0-11 degrees of the cardinal signs aries, cancer, libra and capricorn. If so, you will want to note the full moon coming up at 5:57am EDT at 6 degrees 0 mins Aries on Friday September 29th 2023. It is a more significant full moon than usual given that on March 25th 2024 there is a lunar eclipse at 5 degrees 7 mins Libra and eclipses are active for about 1 year prior to their occurrence. These degrees are about 181 degrees apart, forming a close opposition and will draw attention to the house they fall in, even if not falling on a planet or angle. 

      Lunar eclipses are full moons with more power. Full moons and lunar eclipses serve to bring hidden information out to light, the moon has reached maximal brightness, and issues/ information previously hidden come into awareness.  Lies and half truths can be revealed, against a person's wishes. Things that you never anticipated happening can happen suddenly.  Full moons and lunar eclipses are about closures and endings, tying up loose ends, organic finishing of what was started. The main theme is letting go of the past, consciously shutting one door so the next one can open. If something had been building up for some time, the final event can happen near a full moon or lunar eclipse. Significant life events and major life changes typically are indicated by the eclipses. You can discover new things about yourself, others and situations you have been in for some time, the brightness of the moon illuminates these insights more clearly. Emotions, particularly repressed emotions, can be more easily processed when brought up to the surface, and it is an intensely emotional time. You may find things hitting a boiling point, as things tolerated in the past cannot be tolerated any longer and you realize there is no way forward with a certain person in your life or situation you are in. I look at it in a positive sense because you see the real nature of people you are closest to, sometimes it can hit you like a ton of bricks, but in the long run it is always for your good. Maya Angelou said "when someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. People know themselves much better than you do. That's why it's important to stop expecting them to be something other than who they are."  

        Don't necessarily expect a major event on the day of the full moon or lunar eclipse (although this is possible). New and full moons will be active for the month they occur. Eclipses usually manifest in the year leading up to and following them, most commonly in the few weeks around the eclipse day, a month before or after the eclipse day, and after that, at the 3 month, 4 month, 6 month or 1 year mark. After a year, eclipses will have to be triggered by a transit to activate.

     Transiting uranus at 22 degrees taurus is making a close sesquiquadrate and semisquare to 5 degrees aries-libra, which will bring in a sudden and unexpected directional shift accompanying the full moon and eclipse, which can be highly unpredictable and sometimes erratic. There could be a turning point, a fork in the road, with the impact of your decision being felt for a very long time. Uranus is currently in retrograde motion and will go direct on January 27th 2024 at 19 degrees taurus, so this aspect of uranus will make an exact aspect to the degree of the full moon and eclipse during that time and again when it is in direct motion. 

      The transiting north and south nodes will also be exact on the degree of the October 14th 2023 solar eclipse in December 2023 and January 2024, which is a more potent time for directional shifts and major life changes and events. The nodes are a point of fate, and represent fixed karmas that will unfold at the destined time. It may feel things are beyond your control, and things happening in a whirlwind, however these are things planned by your soul for this point in time, for your personal and spiritual growth.

     One of my clients, whose MC-IC axis is 5 degrees aries- libra (MC represents career and IC represents home) decided to resign from her career on March 23rd 2023, and symbolically the same week one year prior to the eclipse on March 25th 2024. Her feelings that the work she was doing was not a good fit for her strengths and interests had been building for several months prior, though she tried hard to make it work. I remember telling her that the changes had already been planned for her and without knowing what was in store for her, she knew intuitively something much better is on the way. She responded saying it (March 23rd) was her last day seeing clients and that she had been feeling about her career that it needed to end right now, and that she could not understand why (it was not burnout). She added that maybe she could sense the astrological shifts happening and is seeking something which is more aligned with who she really is.

       If a planet, node, angle or house cusp are being activated by the eclipse, note which houses they are placed in, and if its a planet, it will impact the house it rules, and the house which it disposits. For example if your saturn is at 5 degrees aries in the 5th house, and capricorn is your 2nd house cusp, the eclipse will impact your 2nd and 5th houses. If your venus is in capricorn and venus rules the 1st house, saturn being the dispositor of venus, will also influence the 1st house. This is because saturn rules capricorn.

     As an example of the timing of eclipses, my north node and south node are at 8 degrees aries-libra falling in the 3rd and 9th houses. In November-December 2023 I will be going to Southeast Asia and South Asia for a full month, visiting five countries, all cities I have never been to before. I am very grateful for this trip of a lifetime, it was booked just one day after my jupiter return this past April and that same week, the eclipse on April 20th 2023 at 29 degrees aries fell in my 9th house.  My jupiter, ruler of my 9th house of foreign travel, at 22 degrees aries, is eclipsed on October 14th 2023, the eclipsed degree being 21 degrees libra. Jupiter is also placed in my 9th house. The transiting north node will make an exact conjunction to my jupiter this December. My neptune at 7 degrees capricorn is activated by squaring the lunar eclipse and full moon, the sea and water are represented by neptune and I will be on a cruise visiting these countries. I noted for my solar return this year that my natal jupiter is 5 degrees conjunct the ascendant of the solar return, and the nodes and jupiter in the solar return are conjunct the asc-dsc axis of the solar return. In a few cities in South Asia I will have jupiter or the nodes exact to the degree on angles in the relocated chart. In astrocartography, when a planet is angular it will dominate in your psychological and physical experience in any given country, even if that planet is not as active in your natal chart. The closer it is to an angle, the more intense the experiences will be. When you see repeating themes across various charts, it enhances the likelihood of significant events happening at that time.

        How do you anticipate this full moon and lunar eclipse to impact your life? Let me know in the comments.

       

           Saturn, uranus, neptune and pluto are often retrograde once a year, mercury 3 times a year, venus every 18 months, mars every 26 months, and jupiter every 13 months. Currently we are in a season of many retrograde planets;  mercury, jupiter, saturn, uranus, neptune and pluto are retrograde and we are still in the shadow of venus' retrograde (venus turned direct on September 3rd). What does this mean in terms of impact on human affairs? Retrogrades turn the planet's energy inwards, making us reflect and analyze at a deeper level than we normally would. It turns the planet's energy inward so that it becomes significantly more intense. As a result, people can overanalyze matters in a way that can distort their opinions and assessments of other people and situations. It is similar to a hard neptune transit in this way, where we see what we want to see based on what we choose to pay attention to and what we ignore or dismiss. The more retrograde planets there are, the greater the tendency is for this to be. For this reason, major decisions and beginnings are to be avoided during this time: signing contracts, hiring/ firing people, launching businesses, buying/ selling/ moving homes, making major purchases, making major changes to the appearance, starting a new job, starting a new course, and many more. Misunderstandings and miscommunications are frequent, especially if mercury is one of the planets retrograde as it relates to the way we think and communicate our thoughts.  If you do start new ventures, you may be questioning your decision or having regrets later. I noticed that people who are born with 5 or more retrograde planets in their chart have a general tendency towards over thinking, excessive analysis and/or anxiety. If you have this, it is advised to tune into the wisdom and intuition of your body as you make major decisions rather than relying just on the mind and intellect. The mind can weave many intricate webs but the body does not lie.

        Venus retrograde includes two shadow periods on either side. This year, venus entered its shadow on June 19th at 12 degrees leo and will only end its shadow on October 7th. Venus went retrograde on July 22nd at 28 degrees leo. It stationed and turned direct on Sept 3rd at 12 degrees leo and it will leave its shadow on Oct 7th at 28 degrees leo. Venus retrograde is traditionally said not to be a good time for meeting new people, especially potential business partners, friends and romantic interests. The reason is that people you meet on venus retrograde may not be who you believe them to be. It may not be that they are deceiving you, it is more likely that you are viewing them through a biased lens, or perhaps projecting unrealistic expectations or feelings onto them.  When they cannot meet your expectations, there can be disappointment. Venus retrograde can also bring people from your past back into your life; perhaps you get an email, text or phone call out of the blue from someone you hadn't interacted with in several years. It is a wonderful time to rekindle friendships and other relationships that may have gotten lost over the years provided you left them on good terms. However, if you left them on bad terms or there was unfinished business that leaves you feeling uneasy, accepting them back into your life on a venus retrograde will cause you pain down the road. The same themes that caused the separation will be clear again when venus leaves its final shadow period. I believe that the way someone leaves your life is all the closure you need, there is nothing further to be said because their actions said it all. If they hurt you and failed to apologize then, and now want to come back in your life with no accountability, why take them back so they can hurt you again? People who say whatever makes them feel better in the moment, do not consider the impact of their words on the listener, and are careless with your heart do not deserve your time and energy. Those who love you will take the utmost care not to hurt you, and if they do, they will try to rectify it right away. Love inspires and brings joy, if your 'love' brings you mostly tears and pain, it is not love.

     You should avoid making major decisions in a close relationship on a venus retrograde because chances are there could be a reverse of some kind. Venus relates to what we value, and when it is retrograde we may not be prioritizing the right things. There may be a fixation on things that don't really matter in the overall scheme of things. You think differently about your partner and/or the relationship dynamics when venus is retrograde as compared to when it is over. When venus is direct, there is more clarity and objectivity around love and relationships. In contrast,  the internalized venus energy can cause one to mentally go over many memories and feelings in a relationship, with a bias for the positive or the negative depending on what you are contemplating doing (examples can include starting to date, turning a friendship into a romance, moving in together, getting engaged, getting married, breaking up, separating, divorcing etc.) If you felt stagnant or unhappy in a relationship prior to the retrograde, once the retrograde (and even the shadow prior to the official retrograde start date) starts it can cause you to mentally review all the reasons the relationship does not work, neglecting all the reasons it does work.  The bias can hasten a decision that would normally not be taken without the excessive mental analysis of a retrograde. Feelings are intensified and will cloud your reasoning. Situations can easily be blown out of proportion. For this reason, it is best to wait to have serious conversations about your relationship when venus is direct, because sometimes people regret what they say or the actions taken because it does not reflect what they truly feel inside. This is not to say that actions can not be permanent under a retrograde but rather that the conversation will not be over as quickly. There will be some self-doubt/ second guessing or matters to tie up before it can reach its final end. If you do make a decision in your own mind about your relationship under a venus retrograde, wait to see whether you still feel the same at least a few weeks after the final shadow period has passed. If you do, it would be safe to go ahead with the decision.

     Around July 22nd and September 3rd this year are when venus stations. These are dates to watch for (along with the day before and day after it; July 21st-23rd and September 2nd-4th). These are times where there can be a lot of confusion around matters related to venus, especially romantic relationships. You or your partner may say things to each other that you don't really mean, as a result of your own confused thinking, but the words can stick with them for a long time. The worst part is you are likely to change your mind soon after the words are said and it will probably affect the other person's feelings towards you. Therefore, on the dates venus stations, it is ill advised to speak to your partner about the dissatisfaction you may be having with them because it will come back to haunt you.

       If you have planets or angles at 12 degrees leo or 28 degrees leo, this venus retrograde would have been even more impactful. Wherever these degrees fall in your chart, whether it is a planet, angle or in a house, is a good opportunity to re-assess, re-evaluate and reflect. Analyzing and critical thinking can be a good thing when it is done in proportion and we can discover subtle things about ourselves, our loved ones, and situations we find ourselves in, that normally would not be as apparent. A season of many retrogrades such as the one that we are experiencing can be very useful in giving attention to matters we usually would not explore to that depth. Journalling is one of the best activities for this type of energy and can help bring awareness to the hidden patterns in our lives, maybe even the nature of the karmic cycles we keep repeating.

​How have these retrogrades affected you? Let me know in the comments below!