The Full Moon this month will take place August 13th at 2:58 pm EDT/6:58 pm GMT.

The Full Moon is the culmination of the lunar cycle and the beginning of the waning phase of letting go. In Aquarius, the Full Moon seeks to achieve a pinnacle of social justice and fairness – an observation of the world in which ego, the realm of Leo, is no longer a part of the equation. However, since the Full Moon is an opposition between the Sun and the Moon, and any opposition requires balance and integration, it becomes more important to balance the Leo quality of a healthy sense of Self with the Aquarian quality of transpersonalization.

The love and beauty of Venus is tightly aligned in this Full Moon since she nearly exactly conjoins the Sun and showers her blessings on the event. However, that pesky alignment between Mars and the Uranus/Pluto square suggest that challenges lurk beneath the surface and must be attended to, rather like a party that takes place at the mouth of a dragon’s cave. The conjunction between the Sun to Venus tightens over the next few days and the two remain within a few degrees of each other through the last week of August. The Sun represents the development of the individual Self, and just as the light of the Sun can overpower the radiance of Venus in the sky, the focus on Self in a Sun/Venus conjunction can obscure the yearning of Venus for harmony and connection with others. The fact that Venus is in Leo (the sign associated with the Sun) at this time enhances the focus on Self and encourages the heart to open in new and more balanced ways than ever before.

Ideally under this influence we will find balance internally between self-orientation and connection, and this will be facilitated by a conjunction of Mercury to both Sun and Venus that helps to activate the mind and enhance communication. On the 18th Mars forms a harmonious sextile to benevolent Jupiter which helps us to find expansion and good fortune. This is a great aspect to have when Mercury is retrograde, and should help to facilitate all aspects of messaging and transportation between the Full Moon and the 19th or so of August.

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