April 5 brings the first Full Moon of the spring season, at 16° 7” of Libra and exact at 9:34 p.m. on the West Coast of the U.S. The Pink Moon, as it’s called, invokes a sense of new growth and softness.
When the Moon is full in balance-seeking Libra, our Sun is still in sharp and hard-charging Aries. The Aries/Libra axis speaks to questions of what is “mine” and what is “ours,” with the demarcation lines not always clear. The Moon at its phase of maximum light illuminates hidden places, and when the Full Moon is in Libra, it’s a time to consider how to bring our relationships into greater balance. Libra is a sign of aesthetic beauty and diplomacy.
Each of the 12 zodiacal signs is grouped in one of the four elements seen in all of nature and in our own psyches: air, fire, water, and earth. Each zodiacal sign is also in one of the three modalities, or ways of being: cardinal, which initiates and moves things forward; fixed, which gives stability and endurance; and mutable which is in flux and allows for the emergence of what’s next. Each sign is also of one of two polarities, traditionally dubbed “feminine” and “masculine,” though these can also be called “yin” and “yang,” or inwardly and outwardly drawn.
Aries is of the fire element and Libra is of the air. Both are cardinal yang signs. Aries energy, at an extreme, can feel like having one’s head on fire, full of ideas not yet well thought out, but urgent. Libra is like the setting sun when it’s time to relax after a day’s work. Libran personalities are known to be people-pleasers, even to the point of not saying or even knowing what they really want. It’s not so much that a Libran-style person can or can’t stir up conflict. It’s that situations involving conflict may be more obvious for them because what they really seek is harmony and accommodation.
Libra is Venus’ air sign, and at this Full Moon, Venus is residing in its other home sign, the fixed earth of Taurus. Following after instinctive and impulsive Aries, Taurus brings a focus on creature comforts, and the shoring up of resources both in terms of money and possessions and also the security inherent in having good self-esteem.
At the April 5 Full Moon, Venus will be in a wide conjunction with Uranus, representing that which is just plain odd and unexpected. Between the Moon and Uranus at this time is Juno, one of the “asteroid goddesses” and the one thought to symbolize how we relate with intimate partners. Juno and Venus, together in Taurus, encourage a feeling of commitment and sensuality. Also co-present in Taurus at this time will be Mercury and the transiting lunar north node, lending a practical, grounded approach to thinking and communicating about the future. To enhance that Taurean feeling of solid earth beneath your feet, you might go out and do some gardening or walk barefoot on the grass.
Venus, by the way, is the Roman name for Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty. I’m now a book review contributor for several astrological publications, one of which is a digital quarterly called Time Lords. For a recent edition of Time Lords, I reviewed a fantastic book called Modern Witchcraft with the Greek Gods: History, Insights, and Magickal Practice, in which authors Jason Mankey and Astrea Taylor teach about how to invoke the qualities of the Greek deities. In the chapter on Aphrodite, Astrea offers an invocation for cultivating self-love that you can say or sing to yourself: “I see Aphrodite in me. Grace and beauty, I welcome thee.”
In astrology, as in ancient myths, Venus is the counterpart to Mars. Astrologically, Mars entered the sign of Cancer on March 25, after having spent an unusually long seven months in Gemini. Now Mars (action, courage) is moving through the waters of Cancer, the archetype of the Great Mother. This Mars transit invites action that is soothing and parental toward ourselves and others.
At the April 5/6 Full Moon, the Sun is flanked by Jupiter and Chiron, all now in blazing Aries. Jupiter and Chiron recently made their yearly conjunction, and on April 11, the Sun and Jupiter will have their annual meeting. Chiron, the Sun and Jupiter, in Aries and all together opposite the Libra Moon, highlight expansive opportunities for healing work.
So much healing potential, combined with the stability of multiple planets in Taurus, makes for a Full Moon respite in what are, ongoingly, difficult times. Two weeks later, on April 19, we’ll have a second Aries New Moon this year. It will be a fiery solar eclipse, urgent and total. Now, though, the Moon’s mood is more like a blanket of calm, something to rest with.
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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