Pink Moon in Libra

Pink Moon in Libra Tuesday 6th April at 5.34 AM (BST)

“Real liberation comes not from glossing over or repressing painful states of feeling, but only from experiencing them to the full.” Carl Jung

The Pink Moon is named after pink phlox wildflowers, which bloom around the time of April’s full moon in North America, in the early spring. Other Native North American names for this moon are the Breaking Ice Moon and The Moon of the Red Grass Appearing. These names refer to the spring thaw and the sprouting of new growth that happens at this time of year. The winter is over and new life – represented by the return of vibrant colours – is here.

Throughout time, and across cultures, this moon – the first full moon after the vernal, or spring, equinox in the Northern hemisphere – represents a time of growth and birth; of return and renewal. The neo-Pagan name for this lunation is the Awakening Moon. In Christianity it is the Paschal moon: the moon that is used to determine the date of Easter; a Christian tale of resurrection and rebirth. Celtic names for it include the Budding Moon, New Shoots Moon and Growing Moon. It marks the beginning of a time of growth and transformation, in nature and in us.

In astrology, the moon represents our inner world and our emotional needs. This month it is at 16° of Libra while the sun, which represents our identity in the world and our life’s purpose, is opposing it at 16° of Aries. Libra is represented by a set of scales symbolising not only balance and harmony, but also relationship. Libra rules the 7th House of (long term) relationships and partnerships. Ruled by Venus, Libra speaks to us about the human desire for meaningful connections; to the beauty – Venus represents love, beauty, sex, fertility, and prosperity – that we find in our most significant one-to-one relationships.

The relationship we have with our own selves informs, shapes and creates all our relationships in life. Our self-critical inner chatter, and the stories we create in the mind about our lives, can restrict or augment how we are in relation to another. During this full moon we are working with the opposition between sun and moon. Aries is “I am” and Libra is “we are”. This is an explicit exploration of the nature of our relationships with others, through the relationship we have with ourselves. Especially those parts of ourselves we perceive as ‘other’, such as our shadow.

This full moon in Libra is opposing Chiron and Jupiter; both of which speak to these notions of self and relationship. According to myth, Chiron was accidentally wounded by Heracles's arrow coated with the poisonous blood of Hydra. The wound was incurable but Chiron, immortal because of his divine ancestry, could not die. Rather, the centaur became a healer. He transforms suffering into healing and growth.

Carl Jung popuarlised the term “wounded healer” and the concept of the shadow, or shadow self; using it to describe the part of the unconscious mind that is made up of all the perceived dark, undesirable parts of our psyche. In his book Dreaming through Darkness, Charlie Morley says that: “The shadow is our dark side, but not dark as in ‘negative’ or ‘malign’, rather dark as in ‘not yet illuminated’. It is comprised of everything within us that we don’t want to face. That is, everything both seemingly harmful and potentially enlightening – all that we have rejected, denied, disowned or repressed.” Often this includes “our shame, our fears, our emotional wounds.” We can work with the energy of this moon to illuminate our wounded selves; our shadow selves. It is an integrative moon. One that dares to witness everything – all of us. The moon’s opposition to Jupiter speaks to expansion through allowing everything to be seen and heard. This moon wants us to be uncensored and wholly real.

How to work with this full moon in Libra? Notice the relationships that are working, and those that are not. Which connections can we let go of, and which can we deepen? This moon puts us in touch with authentic intimacy and what that feels like. It illuminates the innate knowledge we carry with us at all times around what is right and true, and what is not.

This is also a potent moment to do some integrative work in terms of our relationship with our own self. Below are two sets of questions from Dreaming through Darkness relating to our dark shadow (containing our rejected or perceived negative traits) and our golden shadow (unfulfilled potential). The subject is much bigger than this reduction, but it is a good place to start thinking about shadow work.

Answer the questions without a lot of thought or deliberation and note down your answers if possible.

Dark Shadow

What am I most afraid of?

What lies about myself do I tell others?

What am I most ashamed of?

What do I hide from others?

What personal habits cause me pain?

What part of my body am I least happy with?

If I can remember, what are the themes of my anxiety dreams or nightmares?

Golden Shadow

What things in life bring out the best in me?

If I didn’t need money and were “following my bliss” how would I spend my life?