The Moon at 23 Libra will reach its full phase with the Sun at 23 Aries on April 12 at 5:22 Pacific time. Every month, the Moon becomes fully illuminated when it reaches a point in the sky exactly opposite that of the Sun. The two lights oppose each other like seats on a see-saw, meaning that any Full Moon is a call to balance. All the more so, at this time of year, when the Full Moon occurs in Libra, the quintessential sign of balance.
When the Moon is full in April, it’s called the Pink Moon, a Native American moniker, not for how the Moon looks, but for the blossoming of the moss phlox wildflower at this time of year. There’s a pink softness to the quality of the Moon in early spring, this first Full Moon after the vernal equinox.
In balance, the pair of opposing signs occupied by the Sun and Full Moon are complimentary rather than adversarial. Aries is about the self. Libra is about everyone else. It’s a cliché to say that one must take care of oneself, first, before being ready to care for others. To do otherwise can be called codependence, whereas balance means inter-dependence. Everything’s not just about You, but it’s also not just about Me.
What’s most striking about the April 12 Full Moon is its precise opposition with Chiron, conjoined with the Sun in Aries. Chiron is the slow-moving asteroid symbolic of woundedness and healing, named for the Greek mythological figure who was a centaur, half human/half horse. Chiron was a teacher of healing arts who, despite all his wisdom, was unable to heal a wound he’d incurred by accident. His way out of permanent suffering, finally, was to sacrifice his immortality in an exchange he made with Zeus for the liberation of Prometheus.
The myth of Chiron is good medicine for the April 12 Full Moon. The Libra Moon, opposite Chiron, speaks to the inevitability of emotional (Moon) woundedness (Chiron) in relationships (Libra). And yet, it is through relationships that one has the greatest possibilities for emotional healing.
Aries, of the fire element, and Libra, of the air element, are both cardinal, action-oriented signs. At this Full Moon, one might initiate specific actions for healing in partnerships—any kind of partnership. Balance means neither neglecting oneself nor making one’s own needs exclusive.
For guidance at any new or full Moon, we look to the “ruling,” or guiding, planets of the signs involved. The Libra Moon is guided by Venus which is just emerging from a period of retrograde motion. At the April 12 Full Moon, Venus will be stationing, making its symbolic power enhanced, like a vehicle revving its engine before speeding up.
Venus at the Full Moon right now is part of a stellium (a cluster of planets) in the waters of Pisces. Ancient astrology, dating to Hellenistic times, is based largely on a system of “dignities” whereby each planet is considered to be more, or less, at home when traveling through particular signs. Venus is “exalted” when traveling through Pisces, meaning that Venus is like an honored guest, at ease in expressing Venusian qualities of love, harmony, and beauty.
I learned ancient astrology from Adam Elenbaas, an astrology teacher who’s now prominent in the podcast world. On a recent podcast, Adam explained why Venus is “exalted” in Pisces. It’s because Venus is related to springtime qualities and to the proliferation of plant life when it rains and it’s warming. That’s how it is during Pisces season, late winter in the northern hemisphere of our globe. Now in early spring, pink wildflowers display the artistry of Venus in Pisces.
At the April 12 lunation, Venus will be conjoined with Saturn in Pisces. Saturn is the outermost of the naturally visible planets, representing the limits of things and the wisdom of holding good boundaries. Conjoined with Venus, Saturn lends a serious tone to the pursuit of balance in relationships. Venus and Saturn are also conjoined with the Moon’s own transiting north node in Pisces, suggesting a collective focus these days on what each of us may do to promote compassion for all beings. Finally, the Pisces stellium includes Mercury, the Messenger. While Mercury is in Pisces, communications may be fuzzy around the edges, or just subtle.
The cluster of planets in Pisces at this Full Moon is forming a harmonious trine (120-degree aspect) with Mars in Cancer. (Mars has been traveling back and forth through the sensitive waters of Cancer for several months and will ingress Leo on April 18.) All of this is to say that the Libran quest for balance at this Full Moon is buoyed by an abundance of harmoniously positioned planets in water signs.
Soon after the Full Moon, Mercury will enter Aries (late on the night of April 15). At 0 degrees of Aries, Mercury will meet up with Neptune, which entered Aries on March 30 for the first time in 165 years.
Neptune’s entry into Aries is one of the major outer planetary sign shifts of 2025. (Saturn will move into Aries on May 24; and Uranus will move into Gemini on July 7.)
Because Neptune is one of the transpersonal planets, its significations are beyond the Venusian realms of individual personalities, like how You and I might get along better.
Neptune’s recent foray into Aries is like a newly lit match on collective dreams and ideals. At this Full Moon time, may one’s aspiration be for some pink Libran calm, and a bit of balanced ease.
Blessings for the 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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