The Moon in Leo will reach its full phase with the Sun (in Aquarius), on February 12 at 5:53 a.m. Pacific time. This one’s called the Snow Moon. We’re just past the pagan holy day of Imbolc, February 2, celebrating the fact that spring, though not yet visible, is not too far away.
This year the Leo Full Moon comes just two days before Valentine’s Day, which is fun because fiery Leo has the reputation of being among the most “romantic” of the Sun signs. For astrologers who associate signs and houses, Leo is linked to Fifth-House themes of creativity, drama, and childlike playfulness. Leo wants to shine like the Sun that rules the sign, as the center of one’s own personal universe. A Leonine personality may crave approval from others, even when such attention is not forthcoming. Can one be impressive just to oneself, or does there always need to be an audience?
Leo is a fire sign, its style one of passion and flare. Its opposite sign Aquarius is of the air element, a more detached way of being. Leo, the fixed fire sign, is hot, smokey, and smoldering. Aquarius is like a cool breeze, maybe even cold and distant, or at least aloof and objective. Each pair of polar opposite signs brings qualities that offset each other. A Full Moon is a time to savor how opposites attract.
The closest aspect at the February 12 Full Moon time is the Sun’s conjunction with Mercury, also now in Aquarius. Mercury is the mental planet of perception, thought, learning, and speaking. Mercury in Aquarius brings the possibility of egalitarian ideas, things that are good for everyone. On the world stage now, though, democracy is under threat from the dark side of communication technology, in the hands of power-mongers out for themselves alone, to say the least.
The February 12 Full Moon features a t-square between the Sun/Mercury conjunction in Aquarius, opposite the Moon in Leo, both making a square aspect to Uranus in fixed earth sign Taurus. Uranus is the force of surprises, not inevitably good or bad. It’s a cliché for me to say that events may take an explosive turn.
The chart for the February 12 Full Moon gives some clues, though, for care-taking. Asteroid Chiron features prominently. Chiron symbolizes sacrifice, sensitivity and healing from wounds. (In Greek myth, Chiron was a centaur, half human and half divine. He was a teacher of medicinal and mystical arts to other centaurs, yet was unable to heal his own mortal wound and ultimately exchanged his own immortality in a deal with Zeus to liberate one of the other gods.) The Full Leo Moon is just past a harmonious trine with Chiron in Aries, firing up action for one’s own health and well-being. Mars, still moving retrograde in nurturing water sign Cancer, is square to Chiron. There’s pressure now to hunker down, at home and with loved ones, for safety.
Mars in Cancer is also in a harmonious trine formation with Saturn, in the midst of its three-year travels through watery Pisces. Saturn is limits. Pisces is unbounded compassion. At this Full Moon, the trine between Mars in Cancer and Saturn in Pisces is a call to act judiciously—which includes maintaining wise boundaries—when taking care of oneself and others, especially in emotional waters.
This brings me back to the theme of a Full Moon in fiery Leo. The Moon reflects the many ways we seek comfort and emotional contentment. The Moon in Leo wants romance, passion, the feelings of falling and being in love—and by that, I mean love not just for one other special person but also for oneself and for the Divine.
Readers may be old enough to remember our childhood Valentine’s days, when we gave a little love note to all the other kids in class, and to the teacher. What a friendly, romantic passion that was, with a bit of the drama of Leo, and the joy of giving something, equally, to everyone, like Aquarius. It’s a simple memory of child’s play, one that may bring comfort, in these times, now.
Blessings for the Leo Full Moon and for the Valentines of your heart!
~ 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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