Intuiting Who We Are

Prior to writing about the second full moon in Capricorn, I want to acknowledge the assassination attempt against former US president Donald Trump on July 13 at approximately 6:15 p.m. EDT, just as Uranus and the star Algol were forming an exact conjunction at Taurus 26°, with Mars about one degree away,¹ even though the exact Mars–Uranus conjunction didn’t occur until the early morning of Monday, July 15. In the new-moon article, we talked about that triple conjunction saying that Algol was always considered a malefic star related to the decapitation of heads of state, which nearly came true this time around. By the time the full moon arrives, the Mars–Uranus conjunction will still be in “orb” or tolerance but out-of-sign because Mars will have entered Gemini as seen in the enclosed chart.

The full moon will occur on Sunday, July 21 at 29°09′ of the Cancer–Capricorn axis at 3:17 a.m. in California, 4:17 a.m. in Mexico City, and 12:17 p.m. in Central Europe. When we look at the chart (left), the Sun–Moon opposition stands out right at the 5–11 o’clock markings, if it was a clock face—the exact “hours” represent sign changes in an Aries chart. Note that Moon and Pluto are together at 11 o’clock, and Neptune at 9 o’clock forms a sextile with Moon and a trine with Sun (shown in green). Add Mars that just entered Gemini (7 o’clock) and there is a lot of action at various sign boundaries.

As you know, the final degree of a sign is called the anaretic degree and represents an area where the sign archetypes are particularly strong, including those of its “shadow” aspect. However, we have also seen that planets often enter a new sign with a bang and not a whimper. In a new revision of the holistic-zodiac overview page, I will examine closely the Principle of Polarity that gives rise to such intensity found on both sides of a cusp or boundary between two signs. For now, let’s keep in mind that a sign’s 1° and 30° degrees manifest all of its archetypal symbolism strongly.

Sabian Symbols

The Sabian symbol of Cancer’s final degree, where Sun will be located at the full moon, has the image: “A Daughter of the American Revolution”, expanded as the prestige and conservatism of a long-maintained heritage. Its key phrase is: Glorification of the Past. Meanwhile Capricorn 30° (Moon) has the symbol: “A secret meeting of men responsible for executive decisions in world affairs”, expanded as the power to assume responsibility for crucial choices arrived at after mature discussions with those who share this power. Its key phrase is: Executive Power.

The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is an organization for women who can prove to be descendants of people who fought in the war of independence from the United Kingdom. Regardless of whether the ancestor had been a violent revolutionary, a rabble-rouser, or even a fugitive from justice, over time they all acquired an air of respectability simply by having “been there”. Ironically, DAR is a conservative group that often goes against the same revolutionary spirit it is supposed to honor.

More importantly, we know that Cancer represents the triumph of the individual coupled with insecurity regarding his place in the collective so it shouldn’t be a surprise that its anaretic degree extols the value of tradition so as to provide perhaps a societal basis for his individuality. Similarly, the final degree of Capricorn, the sign of the State as ultimate manifestation of a collectivity, talks about a small group of individuals making decisions for everybody else. Once again we see both anaretic degrees showing us the inherent “weakness” of the signs.

An Anaretic Mystic Triangle

The triangular configuration formed between the Sun–Moon opposition and Neptune at Pisces 29°50′ is called a mystic triangle and it is one of the most successful configuration in a horoscope. The third planet provides a productive and creative alternative to the straight confrontation of the opposition. We talked at length about the Cancer–Capricorn polarity in the article about this year’s first full moon in Capricorn, to wit: Cancer is when our individuality is integrated by the Day Force and Capricorn refers to the integration of that individuality within a larger collectivity, effected by our relatedness which is impulsed by the Night Force. Of course, we must take into account the two anaretic symbols discussed earlier.

Any full moon brings to light issues about its polarity. On one side we are urged to fully develop who we are as individuals (Cancer) while at the same time belonging to as large a community as possible (Capricorn), which necessarily means compromising for the good of the many. Neptune reminds us that we can do both if we base our behavior on love and compassion, both to ourselves and to our fellow beings. At Aries 23°31′, Chiron forms a T-square with the full-moon axis, making this another opportunity for healing any remaining issues around who we are and how we fit in the world. Furthermore, Moon forming an out-of-sign conjunction with Pluto at Aquarius 0°55′ nearly guarantees that the full moon will be intensely emotional, especially for those of you having planets or angles in the final two degrees of the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn) or in the initial two of the fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius).

Mars and Uranus

Even though the conjunction between Mars and Uranus was exact on July 15, Mars at Gemini 0°23′ and Uranus at Taurus 26°32′ will be only 3°52′ degrees apart when the full moon comes around, with Uranus still forming an exact conjunction with Algol. The symbol for Gemini 1° has the image of a glass-bottomed boat revealing undersea wonders, which refers to the conscious mind becoming aware of unconscious energies, provided that the boat (the ego) has a glass bottom and is able to perceive outside energies, where “outside” refers to psychic depths below the normal level of consciousness. While we spoke of Mars in Taurus as being relentless, in Gemini it uses the rational mind and its capacity to form close relationships to get what it wishes. Last year, when Mars spent four months in Gemini, we mentioned that it is not a comfortable phase for the planet of action since in Gemini it is forced to ponder alternatives, which may be a good thing to “tone down” the effects of its conjunction with Uranus. However, if we look at the full-moon chart, we see that it forms an exact trine with Pluto at Aquarius 0°55′, its higher octave, thereby having tremendous power to act.

And speaking of higher octaves, at the full moon, Uranus will form an exact square with Mercury at Leo 26°03′ and when they make significant contact we have energy to think outside the box, our conscious mind is able to tap into a large pool of intuition. Such intuition may find an easy target in healing, since Mercury forms a trine with Chiron. Mercury in Leo refers to a very creative mind which Uranus will bring in spades. It is worth noting that both Mars and Uranus also form mystic triangles with the full moon axis and, in fact, we can see a Trapeze configuration formed by Sun, Uranus (or Mars), Neptune, and Moon (or Pluto). The Trapeze is a powerful “closed” configuration that contains two mystic triangles and two Minor Grand Trines energizing the opposition. This full moon is getting tons of energy from the three transpersonal planets and Mars!

More About Neptune

In addition to the mystic triangle with the full moon, Neptune is exactly conjunct the midpoint (Pisces 29°08′) between Saturn at Pisces 19°03′ and the North Node at Aries 9°12′. Saturn in Pisces, you may recall, refers to giving structure to our dreams. When we talked about the new moon in Gemini, we mentioned the Sabian symbol of Pisces 20° (a table set for an evening meal), where Saturn has been for over a month. Such symbol tells us that an individual’s needs will be met “at the appointed time” by the community with whom he shares a web of spiritual energies. We also saw that Saturn’s “dance” with Neptune is about letting go of crystalized structures in our life and in our mind that impede our progress. Saturn retrograde keeps on asking us to reflect on unfinished business and its midpoint with the North Node is where we will get opportunities to do so. As usual, having Neptune in that spot may bring confusion or inspiration to the process, particularly being in the degree that speaks about visualizing our future.

With both Neptune and Pluto moving retrograde and Uranus venturing farther into the final degrees of Taurus, the transpersonals continue to tighten the Minor Grand Trine chaired by Neptune, so to speak, which is the main configuration responsible for bringing a higher level of consciousness to humanity. By touching all three planets directly, the full moon is likely to bring awareness to our personal process in recognizing, accepting and maintaining such higher level of consciousness. Unfortunately, we are talking about a double-edged sword. On one side, the old paradigms will be reinforced and we are likely to see a strengthening of the inertia we must overcome. The chaos will get louder as we get closer to Pluto’s final return to Capricorn on September 1, when the Minor Grand Trine will be tightest, given that Uranus will begin its retrograde motion on that day. However, the work we do to identify and let go of those old paradigms will pay dividends in the future, when the Minor Grand Trine moves to air and fire signs.²

Venus, Jupiter and the Nodal Axis

You probably remember that the Nodal axis is formed by the intersection of the planes of two orbits: Earth around the sun and the moon around Earth. Therefore, even though I only plot the North Node in the charts, the South Node is directly opposite—located in this case at Libra 9°12′. I say this because when a planet forms a sextile with the North Node it implicitly forms a trine with the South Node and vice versa, much like when at a full moon a planet forms a sextile with Sun, it automatically forms a trine with Moon. If you look at the full-moon chart, Venus at Leo 11°59′ forms a trine with the North Node and thus a sextile with the South Node, and Jupiter at Gemini 12°26′ forms a sextile with the North Node and thus a trine with the South Node.

Another Trapeze configuration involving the North Node, Jupiter, Venus and the South Node comes out of these aspects. In other words, both Venus and Jupiter form mystic triangles with the Nodal axis and provide alternative paths to the Nodal axis opposition. Such opposition, you may recall, refers to the quest for personal sovereignty (North Node in Aries) while discarding any relationships that are not supportive of such a quest (South Node in Libra). This has been a recurring theme throughout the year that we have interpreted as an urge to integrate our sacred feminine (Venus) with our sacred masculine (Mars). If your head hasn’t exploded yet, Mars and Venus are separated by 71°35′, just 0°25′ from an exact 72° quintile aspect whose keyword is artistry in the sense of creative skill or ability that may or may not be developed.

Discussion

There is so much astrology in the full moon chart, both at the personal and global levels, that you must be lost by now. The Sabian symbols tell us a story of compensating for what the signs naturally lack. The proud Cancer, able to stand tall on his mature individuality seeks to be socially relevant by relying on tradition, and the sociable Capricorn, builder of the powerful State, needs a small group of individuals to make crucial decisions. But a full moon only acquires meaning when viewed as the mature product of what was potentiality at the new moon that began the cycle, and the new moon brought energies related to our quest for personal sovereignty and valuable relationships, represented by the Nodal axis and its rulers: Mars and Venus. Furthermore, these two planets are featured prominently in the full moon chart.

A person operating at the member of society level can ignore the outer planets and yet the chart’s structure doesn’t change very much. Mars and Venus are still related by the quintile aspect that aims to integrate his masculine and feminine sides. Mars is involved in a mystic triangle to resolve insecurities related to the polarity of selfhood versus role in society by acting, his usual modus operandi, but not before considering various alternatives since it is in Gemini, bringing Mercury to the mix. Mercury’s considerations to work out the conflict resolution must take into account healing a sense of not belonging due to the trine it forms with Chiron whose T-square with the full moon axis places healing into the original conflict. In the meantime, Venus aims to expand the scope of our valuable relationships with the aid of Jupiter.

Putting back the outer planets relates the conflict resolution to a higher level by overlaying the transpersonal Minor Grand Trine on top of the structure just discussed, as well as giving Neptune a central role in the entire process due to the sextile it forms with Mars, its aspects with the full moon, and its conjunction with the Saturn–North Node midpoint.

Wrapping Up…

Pay close attention to your dreams this weekend. The prominence of Neptune in the chart, the exact square between Mercury and Uranus, and Mars trying to act taking into account our subconscious, as long as our ego gets out of the way (glass-bottomed boat), are signs that much subconscious information will be available.

Saturn, Neptune and Pluto are all moving retrograde, making this full moon a good time to reflect on unfinished businesses that may be affecting our capacity to shed the old and embrace the new. In particular, I suggest pondering the relationship between two polarities: who we are with respect to our place in the world, and who we are with respect to our relationships—both are featured in this full moon.

As mentioned earlier, the conjunction of Moon and Pluto will make it an emotionally-charged full moon. Nonetheless, try with all your might to ignore the chaos with which we are bombarded daily. I know it’s hard, but it’s the best we can do to accept the higher level of consciousness that humanity needs. In more ways than one, we are paving the way for others to follow.

Always Love. 🌹🙏💖

1. At the time of the shooting, Mars was at Taurus 24°48′ forming an exact conjunction with the Midheaven (Taurus 24°19′) of Donald Trump’s chart, which symbolizes his public life. (Birth data: June 14, 1946 at 10:54 a.m. in Queens, N.Y.). ↩︎
2. We have talked numerous times about the 1939–1945 period, when a similar Minor Grand Trine was formed (Pluto entered Leo on 6/39). I consider 2024 (Pluto in Aquarius most of the year) to be roughly equivalent to 1941, when the allied forces were losing the war and the future looked bleak (Uranus in Taurus, Neptune in Virgo). It wasn’t until 1942, after the United States entered the war, that the tide began to turn (Uranus in Gemini on 5/42, Neptune briefly in Libra on 10/42), although the war was basically decided in 1943 (Neptune in Libra 8/43). I see 2025 and 2026 following a similar pattern this time around (Uranus in Gemini on 7/25 and 4/26, Neptune in Aries on 3/25 and 1/26). ↩︎