The Moon will reach its full phase with the Sun at 4 degrees, 54 minutes of Pisces/Virgo on August 27 at 9:19 pm Pacific time (and early on August 28 in the east.) The August full Moon is nicknamed the Sturgeon Moon because historically in the Great Lakes region of North America, these fish were most plentiful in late summer.
This year’s August full Moon is also a partial lunar eclipse, following after the solar eclipse of August 12. The lunar eclipse should be visible in much of North and South America. On the west coast of the U.S., the eclipse will begin at moonrise and peak at about 9:12 p.m.
Eclipses come usually in pairs (sometimes in threes) in what’s called an eclipse season, twice a year. An eclipse occurs when a new or full Moon are close to the zodiacal degree of the Moon’s nodes, the invisible points where the Moon’s orbit intersects the Earth’s path around the Sun. About every 18 months, the sign pairing of the lunar nodes changes. The nodes recently shifted to Leo (south node) and Aquarius (north node), and though these are not the signs where the Sun and Moon will be on August 27, they are close by degree, and thus the Moon will be partially eclipsed by the Sun.
In Indian astrology, the south lunar node is called the dragon’s tail, a symbol of what is “past” and to be released. The north node, the dragon’s head, is the “future,” or what one is drawn to. It is neither easy to let go of the past, nor to face the future. The lunar nodal axis, in a birth chart, or in the collective, is generally a challenge. A Full Moon is thought of as a time for release, and given that the Pisces Moon will be close to the Aquarius north node, there’s also a future orientation to this lunation.
At any Full Moon, we look to the mode of the signs where the Sun and Moon are traveling. The 12 zodiacal signs are grouped both by element (earth, water, fire, air) and also by modality, which is an orientation toward action and being. There are four signs to each of three modes: cardinal/initiatory, fixed/stable, and mutable/changeable. Cardinality is the drive to start something. Fixity is the ability to stay the course. Mutability is the flexibility to adjust and make change.
What we have with Pisces and Virgo is two mutable signs, Pisces in water and Virgo in earth. These two signs are opposites, and they are also complimentary. Virgo (where the Sun is now) is analytical, a stickler for detail and correctitude while Pisces is imaginative and colors outside the lines. Virgo’s glyph is a harvest maiden, separating what’s useful from what’s not. Virgo’s inclination is to do the right thing, as service. Pisces is every bit as service-driven but is broader and more accepting, of everyone and all that is.
Mutability is the key feature of the August 27/28 eclipse. Close with the Sun, Mercury will also be traveling in Virgo at this time. Mercury, in its own home earth sign of Virgo, is extra potent, separated by only a degree from the Sun. Mercury in Virgo is like someone whose sharp mind juggles and analyzes innumerable details, linking one idea to the next to solve a problem.
On August 27/ 28, the Sun and Mercury in Virgo on one end, and the Pisces Moon on the other, will form a tense 90-degree t-square with Uranus, currently traveling in Gemini, which is Mercury’s home air sign. Gemini’s style is ultra-curious, seeking more and more information, even when too much of a good thing might lead to overwhelm and indecisiveness. Uranus is the planetary force of disruptions, and liberating discoveries. Uranus travels far-out from the Sun, changing signs only every seven years.
Uranus’ long transit through Gemini (until 2032) correlates with many possibilities, from technological advances to incidents involving language and ideas causing unexpected harm. With Uranus in Mercury’s fast-moving sign of Gemini, quick change is the name of the game.
Therein lies a caution for the August 27/28 Full Moon eclipse. A t-square is like a pressure cooker. A t-square at an eclipse and in mutable signs is inherently unstable and potentially volatile.
Good advice at the time of this lunar eclipse is to guard one’s words, one’s media intake, and the credibility afforded to all the swirling messages in the air. When events are moving fast and uncontrollably, it may be that all one can do, for safety and sanity, is to center awareness in one’s feet planted firmly on the ground.
Blessings for the Pisces Full Moon eclipse!
~ Sara
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