• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
    • Write
    • Advertise
  • Search/Archives
  • Consultations
  • Free Updates
  • Upgrade to Premium
    • Subscribe to Premium
    • Subscribe by Check
    • Subscription FAQ
    • Premium Subscriber Help
  • Log In

Daykeeper Journal Astrology

Affirmative astrology for challenging times

Aquarius Full Moon: The Virtue of Stuckness

By Sara Diamond

Aquarius Full Moon, Fixed Grand Cross, revel in the quality of fixity

In some of those old farmers’ almanacs, the Full Moon in August was known as the Sturgeon Moon. That’s because sturgeon fish are native to both Europe and the Americas, and they were plentiful in the Great Lakes region at this time of year. Other names for the August Full Moon include the Grain Moon, the Green Corn Moon and the Barley Moon. This is a time of harvest, coming between the traditional pagan holiday, Lammas (August 1 or thereabouts) and the coming Fall Equinox. 

When the Moon is Full in Aquarius, as it will be on August 11, at 6:36 p.m. on the West Coast, that means the Sun is in Aquarius’ opposite sign, Leo. 

In our 12-sign zodiac, opposite signs are just that: they are six signs away and facing each other on a wheel. They share no element – Leo is fire and Aquarius is air. But they share polarity – both Leo and Aquarius are yang or “male” signs. And, crucially for how they operate as a dyad, they are both of the same mode, and with Leo and Aquarius, that means they are two of the four fixed signs.

Leo is the sign of individual creative expression. Aquarius is more about societies. Its energy can be detached, aloof, analytical. Imagine a scene in which Leo wants to be recognized, loves having an audience. Aquarius wants to reconstruct the stage wiring for the benefit of all, and maybe write a more futuristic, innovative script. In a sense, both Leo and Aquarius are outwardly drawn, looking to others. 

At a time of the Aquarius Full Moon each year, one might focus in on how one’s unique, creative talents are an offering to a broader collective.

Each lunation has its own peculiarities, so that every year when the Sun and Moon face each other in Leo and Aquarius, there’s a whole lot else going on in the sky. This year, the Full Moon will be approaching a conjunction with Saturn, also in Aquarius from 2020 to 2023.

A conjunction between the Moon and Saturn is seen unfavorably – especially if one has that aspect in one’s natal chart – by traditional astrologers. That’s because the Moon’s energy is seen as soft and motherly whereas Saturn is more like a stern father. (Yes, this is patriarchal language.) As someone with natal Moon conjunct Saturn in my own chart (in upbeat Sagittarius) I’ve been told by many astrologers that this is a downer, and in some respects, it can be. I have found that my Moon/Saturn conjunction has given me a certain emotional seriousness and stoicism, like a structure (Saturn) for the containment (Saturn) of difficult emotional experiences (Moon). 

At the August 11 Full Moon, you might take some time to consider what sustains you when emotions are heavy. How do you internalize and process the harsh lessons that life inevitably presents? 

The keynote for the August 11 Full Moon is the mode of fixity. As I said, Leo and Aquarius are fixed fire and fixed air, respectively. This year, the August Full Moon occurs while the Moon’s own nodes – the invisible points in the sky where the Moon’s orbit intersects with the path of the Sun, called the ecliptic – are also in fixed signs, Scorpio and Taurus. The nodes are so close by degree to where the Moon and Sun will be, that the opposing lunar nodes will form what is called a fixed grand cross with the Sun and Moon.

Squares, which are approximately 90-degree angles between planets or points like the nodes, are pretty common, as are 180-degree oppositions. Rare, though, is when two oppositions and four squares make a cross in the sky. It happens rarely at the time of a lunation, and rarer still with all four signs involved in fixed signs.

Key words for a fixed grand cross include stuckness and immovability. Imagine being at a four-way intersection, the stoplights have gone out, and one or more of the cars has stalled. No one is going anywhere, at least for a while. 

When someone has a fixed grand cross in their natal chart, they adjust and may become creative in using the stability of a grand cross for focus and achievement. By transit, though, a fixed grand cross, for the time it’s in operation, can be annoying and frustrating. You might feel that way in the days leading up to the Full Moon. A fixed grand cross is an aspect of extreme tension.

Astrologer Sue Tompkins, in her book Aspects in Astrology, writes that the “problem” of fixity is attachment. Taurus is attachment to possessions and security. Scorpio is attachment to feelings and desires. Leo is attached to its own individuality and pride. Aquarius is attached to ideals. 

Our culture, with its focus on action, youth, and perpetual newness, promotes attachments that are profitable, for someone, as with consumerism. But our culture of late is not so good about certain other types of attachments, such as those that would bind people together collectively in Aquarian-esque communities. “The unyielding quality of fixity is both its greatest virtue and its greatest failing,” Tompkins writes. 

What can be done at a time with so much symbolic fixity in the sky? To be glib, one might say something like “let it go” or “go with the flow.” These are, at best, platitudes and at worst, a type of spiritual bypassing. 

 I’ve been thinking instead about hunkering down and reveling, at this Full Moon time, in the quality of fixity. There are things and circumstances that I am attached to and stuck on: my home, my values, my 40-year meditation practice, to name a few. 

Yes, it is good to relax and ease up on yourself at this Full Moon, or any time. What about also acknowledging that much of what you’re fixated on is also quite wholesome and endearing?

Blessings for the fixed grand cross Full Moon!

~ Sara

Sara Diamond
Sara Diamond

Sara R. Diamond, an astrologer based in the San Francisco Bay Area, is a life-long student and practitioner in several esoteric paths. Her style of astrology combines modern-psychological astrology with insights from traditional astrology. Sara is also an estate planning attorney. In addition, she has published four books on right-wing movements in the United States and earned her Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. You are invited to contact Sara via her website at www.SaraDiamondAstrology.com.

Filed Under: Lunar Wisdom

Reader Interactions

We invite and welcome your comments! We're an astrology site, though, and we like to keep things civil, so please be aware that purely political assertions, arguments, or invective will not be posted.

Comments

  1. Jo says

    August 9, 2022 at 12:20 am

    I love the continuation of Maya’s thread though all of us. She wove a beautiful soulful community and helped us all in so many times. I’m looking forward to a reading again soon.

    Reply
  2. Donna Moore says

    August 6, 2022 at 8:33 am

    I love that you are continuing Maya’s creation. Knowing her and having her as a teacher was a joy and astrology has so enriched my life. Thanks for keeping her wisdom alive.

    Reply
    • Susan Wilson says

      August 10, 2022 at 11:59 am

      Hi Donna? This is Susan from Marriott: is this “my” Donna? My Aquarius Sun, Pisces moon Donna? I am so amazed to have randomly looked on this site, after many, many months of not looking, and seeing Your Name!! May God continue to bless you and your family in every possible way. With all of my love, Susan

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

JULY 2025

Major planetary shifts catalyze our participation in humanity's current struggles.

Get Crystal's Premium forecast for more on how to navigate our extraordinary times.


Log in here

Not a Premium subscriber?
Subscribe now »

Current Contents

  • The Bezos-Sanchez Nuptials
  • Don’t Mess with the Zohran
  • Capricorn Full Moon, 2025: Something Strong that Lasts
  • Astrological Influences, July 2025: If We Build It, the Angels Will Come
  • Astrological Forecast, July 2025: Daykeeper’s Daily Success Guide
  • Venus, Goddess of Love
  • Tesla: Out of Gas?

Latest reader comments:

  • Susan Pomeroy on Astrological Death Indicators in Donald Trump’s Chart
  • Lisa Paoli on Donald Trump’s 79th Solar Return
  • andrea harding on Astrological Death Indicators in Donald Trump’s Chart
  • Crystal on Astrological Influences December 2024: Reclaiming Our Helm
  • Susan Pomeroy on Astrological Influences December 2024: Reclaiming Our Helm

Blogs we read:

  • Alex's Asteroid Astrology Alex Miller on astrology, current events & popular culture. A comprehensive source for info on the astrological significance of asteroids.
  • Astrologer at Large Daykeeper writer and astrologer Linea van Horn’s deep and observant reflections on all things astrological.
  • Big Sky Astrology April Elliott Kent’s excellent astrology blog.
  • Chirotic Journal Astrologer Jeremy Neal’s original and keen astrological reflections.
  • Darkstar Astrology Interesting offbeat take on current astrological events.
  • Lunar Reflections Blog Astrologer Kelly Beard on all things moon-related.
  • Mooncircles Dana Gerhardt’s magical Moon-centered site.
  • Mothersky.com Jessica Murray’s rich and thoughtful writings on astrology, spirituality and politics.
  • Starlight News Nancy Sommers’ interesting astrological discussions of current politics.
  • Stars Over Washington Jude Cowell’s astro-analyses of US politics.
  • Woodruff on Substack Frederick Woodruff’s always provocative astro-cultural insights.

Footer

Astro Profiles

  • Marjorie Taylor Greene, Astrological Profile
  • Joe Biden’s 2021 Solar Return
  • Astrological Profile: Bernie Sanders
  • Astrological Profile: Boris Johnson, Britain’s Erstwhile PM
  • Astrological Profile: Joe Biden

More This ‘n’ That

  • Pardonpalooza!
  • The Mars Retrograde Station 2024: Conflict in Flux
  • Vladimir Putin, an Astrological Profile
  • Astrology of a Russia-Ukraine Crisis
  • Astrological Profile: The Biden Administration

Sign up; get in touch!

Free Weekly Astro-Energy Updates

Become a Premium Subscriber and get it all now!

Contact Us

 

All rights reserved · Copyright 2000–2023
Please contact us for reprint permission.