Super Full Sturgeon Moon in Aquarius
Super Sturgeon Moon in Aquarius 12.08.22 - 2.35 am
Super Full Sturgeon Moon in Aquarius, Friday 12th August, 2.35 AM (BST)
The fourth and last supermoon of the year is a full moon in Aquarius. A supermoon is a new or full moon, which is at its closest orbital point to the earth. The moon travels in an elliptical path around our planet. In astronomical terms, this is described as an ‘eccentricity’: a measure of the amount the orbit deviates from a perfect circle. This closeness means that the usual effects of the moon are amplified. So, in terms of a full moon that means a bigger, brighter moon and a heightened gravitational force; a force that causes much higher tides. A supermoon also augments the way we experience its energy, on an emotional and spiritual level.
Aquarian energy is quite different to any other sign. It is complex and, at times, paradoxical even. On the one hand, it represents the collective: community, groups, societies, institutions, and the rules that govern them (this may have more to do with its traditional ruler Saturn, which represents tradition, order and structure). It also represents our collective consciousness – our interconnectedness in what we feel vibrationally – and the technologies that bind us (the internet being the most obvious example here). Aquarius’s modern ruler Uranus is very much to do with future-facing technologies, rebellion and innovation. This is illustrative of the paradox of this sign. The construction and the destruction. It can conceive, innovate, build and then want to tear it all down. AI, and the current debates around possible sentience, have a very Aquarian feel to them, for example.
The very meta thing about this moon – which is about creating structure and tearing it down – is the astrological architecture that it is involved in: a fixed T-square. A fixed T-square (fixed referring to planets in the fixed signs of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius) happens when two planets form an opposition to each other and are squared by a third. This moon in Aquarius is opposing the sun in Leo and is being squared by Mars and Uranus in Taurus. This means that fixed sign energy is getting lit up to the max.
The shadow side of fixed sign energy is an attachment to behaviour or stories that may longer be working for us. And this is where we can really work this Aquarian energy in our inner landscape (the moon represents our inner world). It is inviting us to see and explore the attachments and the narratives we have built; the dreams or desires we have constructed and patterns of behaviour that we continue to repeat. We are being called to investigate the paradoxes we may have built within ourselves, that is, to explore and weed out beliefs that may not belong to our authentic selves; that belong more to conventions we are adhering to.
Aquarian energy is self-aware, incisively intelligent, empowered and eccentric. It doesn’t care about should. And it certainly doesn’t care about the past. It is supremely forward-facing and radically honest. The collective concern of this sign manifests in placing more importance on what is right and true over what is acceptable. Uranus, the contemporary ruler of Aquarius, is associated with breakthroughs, extremes, innovation and shifts in perception. It facilitates upheaval and expansion. It is the ‘divine awakener’.
This supercharged supermoon and fixed T-square is inviting us to awaken to our own unhealthy rigidity, and to let go of the things that belong to it. In the body, we can think about this as the release we experience through tensing and relaxing a muscle. Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) is an established technique that uses controlled rigidity and relaxation to treat somatic states, such as anxiety and stress. This moon is metaphysical PMR. It is asking us to identify/experience areas of tension and then release; specifically, the constructs of ‘this should be happening’ or ‘this needs to happen because….’
How to work with the energy of this full moon? Progressive muscle relaxation is an excellent practice for this full moon, physically and metaphysically. There’s some great information out there on how to do it. One way is to lie down or recline in a chair - just make sure that you are super comfortable - and breathe deeply and slowly for a few minutes. Then, focus your attention from the forehead. Squeeze the muscles in your forehead for 15 seconds. Really feel the tenseness and the tightness. Then slowly release for 30 seconds. Notice the difference; notice the feeling of space in the relaxed muscles. Breathe slowly and deeply again. Continue down your body using the same contraction and relaxation for 15 and 30 seconds, respectively. Move down the muscle groups in your body. From the forehead move to the jaw, then the neck and shoulders, arms and hands, buttocks, legs and then your feet.
We can also work with this technique by tapping into where we feel rigidity in our lives. After performing PMR physically, and in a relaxed state, try feeling into where you experience a feeling a stress or tightness around the ‘shoulds’ in your life; around anything you may be holding tightly to in a way that is no longer doing you good. This may be in the form of relationships, certain behaviours, attitudes; any role you may be playing that no longer feels truly authentic. Aquarius energy knows that change is positive and necessary to move forward. And we need to make space to do that. This may not feel entirely comfortable, but transformation isn’t; being radically honest isn’t.
As Aquarian John Travolta said: “So you know what I’m gonna do? I’m gonna do something really outrageous, I’m gonna tell the truth.” This is exactly what this moon is calling us to do: to tell the (outrageous) truth.