A Formidable Passion

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Today, the Full Moon fulfills the promise offered at the Aries New Moon by challenging the status quo of our relationships. The Sun is in Aries asking that we assert our individuality while the Moon is in Libra asking that we balance  our needs with the needs of others. The opposition between Aries and Libra is also an opposition between Mars and Venus; two planets of formidable passion whom at the moment are in mutual exchange and moving toward a symbiotic union just prior to Venus stationing direct. We are well advised* to take heed of our hard fought for independence and not sacrifice our cherished self-discovery of the last weeks in an impulsive and impassioned act of selflessness which could easily leave our self -esteem debilitated and be a selfless act contrary to the cosmic offering of mutual self-respect and equality.

If we consider the chart cast for this event, using universal time, we find a celestial ricochet of Martian and Venusian fireworks lighting up the chart: the Moon in Libra, ruled by Venus, is in the 2nd house of Venus; the Sun in Aries, rule by Mars, is in the 8th house of Mars; Venus disposing the Moon is in Aries, ruled by Mars, on the cusp of the 8th house of Mars; and Mars disposing the Sun, Venus, and Moon is in Pisces, exalted in Venus, in the 7th house of Venus. The Moon in Libra and Mars in Pisces are quincunx suggesting that our potential for self-sacrifice threatens our emotional need for compromise and mutual consideration, but all in all, the cosmos has loudly delivered a celestial mandate for cooperative, peaceful negotiation in our relationship with others in all matters concerning personal and shared assets.

This may not be an easy mandate to fulfill but it is an essential  one if we are to collectively work together and make the changes in our daily lives ( Jupiter, Chrion, and Neptune in Aquarius in the 6th house ) that can free us from past restraints and insure our survival for the future. The ruler of this chart, Mercury, recently entered Taurus speeding toward a harmonious aspect with Pluto Rx in Capricorn and Saturn Rx in Virgo ( another celestial conversation under the rubric of the mutual exchange between Venus and Mars ) insuring that we can build future alliances from the rubble of the past but not before we take a good, hard conscious looking at what values from our past have constructed the reality of our present. It may feel as if something from the outside is responsible for the current tension in our life, and  it may be tempting to point our finger at others in blame, but the cold, hard truth is that we have contributed to whatever it is that is making us anxious, and now is our time to  journey into the underworld and accept individual responsibility for our past actions. Pluto, god of the underworld, demands naked self-honesty before we can die to our past and be born anew in our present. Fortunately for us the lunar illumination of this Aries Full Moon is giving us the Libra passion for honesty and the Aries passion for direct action; it is left up to each of us to use our passions with conscious awareness.

This is the first Full Moon of the Vernal Equinox; filial escort to the annual celebration of renewal and resurrection which we have inherited from our earliest ancestors worship of the Moon as cosmic womb and tomb birthing life, death, and regeneration. We had an opportunity to set an intention at the Aries New Moon to give birth to a new aspect of ourself which today we are challenged to share with others in equanimity, peace, and harmony.

* With infinite wisdom and insight astrologer Jessica Shepherd illuminates this Full Moon , which is a must read for those of us committed to self -discovery and a continuing unfolding of self-awareness.