We’ll have a Full Moon in Libra on March 25, at about midnight on the Pacific coast. This one will be what’s called a penumbral lunar eclipse. An eclipse occurs when a New or Full Moon is close, by degree, to the lunar nodes, those invisible points in the sky where the Moon’s path intersects with the Earth’s path around the Sun. Some eclipses are total, some partial. A lunar eclipse is called penumbral when the Moon passes through only part of the Earth’s shadow. It should look like a slightly darker than usual Moon.
Any Full Moon is an occasion to contemplate the tension between two opposing signs. On March 25, the Sun will be at 5° 7’ Aries with the Moon at 5°7’ Libra. Since Aries and Libra are both cardinal signs of initiatory action, people feeling this Full Moon most strongly will be those whose natal charts have the luminaries or planets also in cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn.)
The Aries/Libra axis highlights relationships between one’s self and everyone else. Quandaries include: what do I need to be independent, while also having some of my needs met by You? The light and shadow of an eclipse time suggests there’s something about one’s relationships that is hidden and calling to be revealed.
Finding a balance between Me and You may be tough when we’re talking about Aries and Libra. Fire sign Aries, ruled by Mars, can be said to be brutally honest, whereas the Libran way is one of tact and harmony. To be clear, a Libran personality is not one free from conflict. A Libran personality may be habitually drawn toward conflict, in order to help resolve it, and someone who seeks to avoid conflict may find themselves acting passive-aggressively.
Aries often gets a bad rap for being confrontational, while Libra wants to make nice. In my book, being nice without a healthy dose of realism, honesty, and willingness to confront conflict is not the same thing as being kind.
At this March 25 lunation, while the Libran Moon may have you wanting to just get along with everyone, the Aries drive for directness is stronger. In traditional astrology, Aries is the place where the Sun is said to be “exalted.” Aries is the instinct of life to march forward, unimpeded. Along with the Sun in Aries, the transiting lunar north node, symbolic of our collective future, is also now in Aries. So is Chiron, the Wounded Healer and Mercury, the Messenger. Think for yourself and speak your true mind.
There’s a balm here, too, in the alignment of sky forces on March 25. The airy Libran Moon will have just made a harmonious trine aspect with powerful Pluto, now in air sign Aquarius. Air signs are social and communicative. They’re like a “breath of fresh air,” bringing a wider perspective, and that’s a good balance to the fires of Aries.
At each lunation, we look to the “condition” of the planet that “rules” or guides the sign the Moon is passing through. The Libra Full Moon is “ruled” by Venus, which is currently in one of its most comfortable signs, Pisces. At the March 25 lunation, Venus’ closest aspect is an encouraging sextile aspect with expansive Jupiter, now in the solid earth sign Taurus. Venus is the planetary force of love, harmony, and beauty. Especially while in Pisces, Venus connotes a type of love that is unconditional–for all beings, in a spiritual sense, and also for our particular loved ones.
Love flowing freely between what’s You and what’s Me is all well and good. But in the context of the Aries/Libra polarity of this Full Moon time, there’s a need for balanced wisdom. Wellness includes knowing what’s yours (Libra) and what’s mine (Aries.) The chart for this Full Moon gives a clue for finding this balance. It’s Saturn.
Of the planets visible to the human eye, Saturn’s the furthest from the Sun, and like all of the planets, Saturn’s meanings are complex and many. They include limits, maturity, the passage of time, the kind of growth and learning that develops wisdom. Saturn moves slowly in its orbit around the Sun, spending about three years in a sign, making each of its passages long and enduring. Saturn has been in Pisces since early 2023 and will remain in these vast waters, mostly, until early 2026.
The most striking of the aspects for the March 25 lunar eclipse is a conjunction between Saturn and Venus in Pisces. Together Saturn and Venus carry a message about loving boundaries within relationships, within the flow of love and art. An artist, musician, or writer produces beauty within the limitations of a format, like the flat surface of a canvas or the 14 lines of a sonnet. Any great love or friendship is bound by time and will one day end, leaving behind only its ripples. In the search for a balance between what is Mine and what is Yours, there’s also an interplay between the love one dreams will go on forever, and the love that is only possible now.
Blessings for what is hidden and what is revealed at this Libra Full Moon,
~ Sara
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.
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