Paranormalize

Aquarius Full Moon + August's Virgo Season

Destination Unknown: a treacherous terrain for theories when in reality we don’t know shit.

There is no antidote to uncertainty; it’s a mistake to assume one exists and madness to seek it. Clinging to past data, we strain to shed knowledge on shrouded situations. With no means to predict an obstacle’s unfolding, any seemingly viable logic that has served before is doubled-down-to-clown. Speculation is a danger zone and yet some rush to conclusions while not even halfway close to understanding the scope of a problem, barely aware of its source. Gearing up with guesses won’t get us where we need to go and we can’t escape anxiety by pretending we have the answers. On the flip, doing nothing creates MORE anxiety atop the initial panic of a conundrum.

Do you have the capacity to look deeper before solidifying a supposed infallible opinion? Can you change your mind when presented with new information? How do you conduct yourself when intel is not easy to access? Do you sit with a problem or find yourself bolting away? These are the questions in Leo Season’s near-close, sparked by an inquisitive Full Moon in its Sister Sign Aquarius. Lunar Aquarius is lightning-speed, hopping thought-to-thought, yanking us all over their 5000-channel brainwaves.

Humans’ natural predisposition to measure and observe behavior before approaching one other has been a centuries-long safety and survival skill - and negative biases automatically create an air of hostility. What do we do when the other party is shrouded, slow in process, or set in their stubbornness? What if you can’t “logic” your way out of a problem that is soaked in an entangled emotional undercurrent? What if the other party is hiding the truth or dodging accountability by sticking to a narrative that doesn’t add up? What if they refuse to communicate at all?

Even with the thrill of detective work, the end-game is always to acquire an answer. An answer equals a stance, a stance means protection. To NOT KNOW becomes an obsession. ALL people are prone to anxiety in the face of uncertainty, though having the courage to self-advocate during decision-making helps (a primo Leo New Moon topic). Impatience to regain power thru forming a stance, however, is a sticky seduction of Mercury Rx in Leo. Monday’s Aquarius Full Moon asks us to remain open to NOT KNOWING as answers WILL BE DELAYED due to Mercury’s scrambled signals.

Deciding where others’ ominous odd behavior comes from can, yes, provide a vague means of protection, but this false sense of safety blocks any chance of real insight to penetrate the deeper layers of a conflict. Trajectories of yore are especially futile and we often forget that WE were a variable in olden outcomes. There is too often a focus on the other, blaming the external in a problem. Being open to hearing each other experiences takes more effort and patience than suiting up for a psychic war but the gifts of emphatic exchange are abundant. Giving up hard-line assumptions is half the battle.

JUMP AHEAD: AQUA FULL BLUE MOON | AUGUST’S VIRGO SEASON

Focalism! Meta-emotions! Alienation! Oh My!

Aquarius prefers distant observation, sealed off in an air-tight UFO, collecting data from above but not interacting with the subjects. Worse yet, the anxious Aquarius categorizes to keep an organized mind, boxing others into mere roles and ignoring the nuanced spectrum of human existence… the opposite of Aqua’s all-accepting altruism. Optimized Aquarius knows we are many. There is no one or 2 or even hundred ways to exist as people or even as one person. We do not hold one shape, more fluid than solid. Nothing is Fixed except Death. Still, some will demand others shape around them.

It’s ironic that Aquarius ~who represents the Collective~ often falls into the cliche extraterrestrial “alien” archetype: cerebral, cold-fronted (yet full of hot takes), burdened by self-imposed isolation. In the Fixed Leo-Aquarius “me vs. we” Axis, both Signs are known be individualistic, autonomous, “set apart” from the crowd. While fighting for fairness and equality, Leo-Aqua can self-appoint as leaders or experts, claiming to know what is best for the Self and Society while giving off airs of being “more advanced” than everyone else. And they don’t stop. Leo-Aqua has trouble sitting still or staying quiet.

I re-posted tweets re: individualism vs. collectivism on Concoctionary for Virgo’s Venus-Mercury Conjunction. Many comments agreed with responsibility to community; a therapist re-posted that the quip of “not owing anyone anything” is a tool of white supremacy (ding ding!). Other folks were up in arms assuming I meant to abandon the individual altogether (not possible as we will always be individuals). Counter-arguments of various personal choices to say “no” in non-communal conflict abounded (I would never encourage anyone to “go along” with neglect or abuse “for the collective” or otherwise). Other people spewed generalizations defending their hardened hearts (“people are shitty and don’t deserve help”) while trolls proudly laughed that they just “don’t care about others”.

The belief that we have no responsibility to each other is the very poison that has divided the world.

The Sun-ruled Self AND Water-Bearer radicals can inspire a purposeful flight path in troubled times with tiny steps to change direction as needed. When we loosen our attachment to speculation, our view begins to expand into an infinite landscape of understanding, BUT the Leo-Aqua Sisterhood will ALWAYS need to be redirected and reassessed. Aqua’s revolutionary idealism as macro to Leo’s distinctive personal micro is an Axis rarely in cemented harmony. Dissonance between our inner and outer worlds is inescapable with personal and political strain a universal symptom of being on Planet Earth.

To find a middle between the micro and macro is a constant. The work is never done, however, it is the ever-long movement that maintains some semblance of balance. It helps to let go of giving-receiving as transactional, to untie capitalistic thinking, esp. re: mutual aid. Integrating values with actions is never cut-and-dry; moral dilemma WILL arise in subjective situations. Above-all, black-and-white thinking needs to be challenged. When not over-analyzing, categorizing, therapizing out of sheer avoidance or building a defense, we allow ourselves infinite discovery about ourselves and others.

ALL OF THIS IS SCARY WORK. Perpetual motion to keep the peace can at times feel exhaustive but the biggest hurdle are the attachments that humans hold tight to, resources that won’t be shared out of scarcity mindset. It’s easy to run away from complicated, complex people or problems. It’s an easy-out to dismiss others’ pain, especially when their situations will confront reflections and fears in ourselves that we don’t want to face (homelessness is a great example of where people tend to shut down, justify, ignore, and yet so many of us are only a few steps away from losing so much ourselves).

What does refusal to understand others say about the grace we give ourselves in times of transformation?

Conflict is especially painful when one “side” refuses to work towards solutions or is actively creating confusion or harm. Lack of transparency from someone we once wanted to trust can convince us to close our hearts forever, to become an island. We are all bundles of processes programmed by our Pasts, directed to repeat it as products of environments and upbringings. Thus it is normal to try to force an angle when we don’t understand a dilemma. Speculation feels like stability. I have humbled myself recently while jumping to my own conclusions where explanations lacked.

It is liberating to know I could be wrong. It is frightful to realize I also may never know.

WHAT: Aquarius Full Moon

WHEN: Monday August 19th, 2024 2:26 PM EST

THEME: Normalize Empathy, Paranormalize the Process, Downgrade Ego, Upgrade Ethos

Aquarius unites through all-encompassing acceptance. Queue the enriched Water Bearer brand of curious consciousness: when we approach “realities” with no limits (rather than judgment), the persnickety ills of prejudices naturally fall away, opening to a massive universe of value and variation. The insistence on tethering to titles is simply a protective bubble in an otherwise massive frontier. Instead of radical emancipation from the system, we feel a death when we are forced to evolve from an identity. Whether we want to accept it or not, we will always be part of something bigger, beautiful, nuanced, messy, full of joy and sadness and truth.

Humans can morph to situations as needed if the desire to co-exist is strong but parties must be willing to meet each other in the middle.

Signals have been scrambled in August’s Mercury Retrograde, further mussed by its switch from studious Virgo to fiery Leo on 8/14. Reactions are now easily egged on, differing from the Earth Maiden’s precise processed responses though we still have Venus in Virgo until the end of the backspin and Virgo Season itself starts just days after the Full Moon in Aquarius (see end of post for more). Any desperation or anger acted upon for the rest of August will be dramatically unhelpful while this backspin specifically affects the romantic and interpersonal in our lives.

There is an in-between of stoic self-reliance and needy enmeshment and it’s called interdependence. When we have the communication, the respect and the eagerness to work together, we evolve. Still, situations will arise where people are closed off from this option and in Mercury Retrograde’s meddlesome middle, we may just have to wait. Observation alone is advised in the wily winds of the Aqua Moon in Retrograde Summer + Pluto’s Rx in Aquarius. Avoid coming to conclusions about anyone or anything; this Full Moon would rather be experienced than actualized into some kind of strategy or dissertation of defense. Be content to sit with your thoughts and feelings.

The Aquarius Full Moon and Sun in Leo will square Uranus in Taurus tightly, creating additional tension. Uranus can be full of sneaky surprises that dissolve our sense of self or other realms of security. A passion for independence may rage in the astro-meet, but forgoing existing support systems just because they do not fit complete ideals can be egotistical in itself. If there are holes in your foundational units, assessing where we can individually strengthen the ground-level stability in our lives may be worth a long hard look. Appreciating the offerings we DO have is an act of gratitude. Appreciating what we have - before it becomes what we once had - maintains the importance of inter-connectivity in the Now.

Our narrow perspective is asking us to shift, to upgrade our minds, to be open to possibilities at this time.

Abstractions of the Aquarius Full Moon:

• Jupiter in Gemini squares Saturn Rx in Pisces. Uncertainty around the Future (Aquarius’ favorite subject) fogs with fear for the control-freaks. Knowing what we do and don’t have a hold is a useful reality check. Applying Aquarian curiosity WITHOUT A NEED TO DEFINE will ease. Using Mercury Retrograde magick to place our focus within means of personal responsibility will be an act of self-stability. And we can always ask for help. Put down the Pride if it’s dire. There is no shame in reaching out to others when we are at a loss.

• Venus in Virgo opposes Saturn Rx in Pisces. Our relationships get slapped with grim realism and a side dish of isolation, each ills of the Aquarian shadow. Feeling misunderstood or outside circles we wish for too often follows the Water Bearer. Venusian Virgo NEEDS reassurance of a plan as Saturn’s structured discipline floats erratically in its Piscean propellant. Reaching for positive safe houses is a skill we all need to know how to do. Who nourishes and cares for us where others tend to leave us a feeling unseen and unheard? Gravitate towards the Good in your life.

• Celebrate the ME and WE. The Leo-Aqua Axis wants us to see the full range of wholesomeness around us, to appreciate our own creative fertility and the sweetness of community, too. Gratitude is easily forgotten when we’re faced with challenges around feeling aptly supported. Resolve to build upon vessels of potential instead of pouring out potent prospects down the drain. Remember, each glass can be half-full AND half-empty! It’s a matter of perspective.

• Justice is integral to the Leo-Aquarius Axis. And this Full Moon is not going to remain silent on tyranny, bigotry and genocide. Leo-Aqua is determined to right wrongs, thus embracing activism and communal care counteracts Leo Season’s tendency towards bravado and Aquarius’ treacherous waterfalls that hide their feelings. Leo’s natural benevolence when applied to the collective and Aquarius’ ability to see angles from above both lead to further humanitarian solutions. When we advocate too heavily on the individual without noting the importance of ALL, we do a disservice to the bigger picture.

August’s Virgo Season Astrology:

• 8/22 Virgo Season starts! Queue additional intellect with a pinpoint of precision and practicality, grounding us after the larger-than-life Leo Season and the eccentric Aquarian lunar caprice. Summer is settling down. Mutable Earth marks the end of a season; Autumn starts with Virgo’s end and Libra’s beginning. Virgo Season wants us ready for it, filled the brim with a hearty drive to maintain intention and ritual.

• 8/22 Venus in Virgo squares Mars in Gemini. Uh-oh! Romantic snafus full of annoyance ahead! Using Virgo’s analytical smarts to take a step back from dramatic urges and come back to an issue when calm communication can be obtained is the optimal choice.

• 8/23 Mercury in Leo sextiles Mars in Gemini. Luckily, our minds will be re-sharpened the 2nd day of Virgo Season. This side-by-side planetary moment has a confident stride. Using the Aqua Moon’s reawakening to think outside of the box can illuminate pieces to a problem previously shielded by confusion or internal blocks that have stood in the way.

• 8/24 Vesta enters Virgo. Vesta is a major asteroid associated with the hearth, a blessing to kitchen witch Virgo Season and a perfect pairing in this small but mighty Astro realm. Upping ambitions of healthy routine - especially around diet, digestion and detox - increases mental clarity. Magick in the mundane is fertile! Feed on knowledge with room to learn.

• 8/27 Venus in Virgo trines Uranus in Taurus. If we used the 1st week of Virgo Season to get grounded, we may find some extra luck in business AND pleasure! This trine is also strengthened by Mercury Retrograde’s “get your shit together” savvy if that was the recent trajectory.

• 8/28 Venus in Virgo opposes Neptune Rx in Pisces. Virgo Venus can be very critical of imperfections, targeting flaws more than positives while Neptune Rx obscures our vision (if not ruining our delicious delusions altogether). What a damper on how we think things SHOULD be! But when we give ourselves (and others) grace, we see peace in Future arrangements (though this requires much imagination to manifest).

• 8/29 Mercury goes direct in Leo! WOO HOO! Bold, direct and diplomatic communication might be in your corner again. We’ll be in the Mercury Rx shadow period until 9/11 so not entirely in the clear, but this is a relief.

• 8/29 Venus enters Libra, which we adore as Libra is ruled by the Planet of Love. This is a little sneak peek of Libra Season itself and a welcome break from all the hyper-criticism Venus Virgo may have made. However, Venus in Libra will trine Pluto Rx in Aquarius and unfavorable strangers will be highly appealing, victimizing the hopeless romantics in the lot.

• Be mindful that the South Lunar Node in Libra is about to ramp up Autumn’s Eclipse Season. Ignored work around unhealthy attachment will come back to bite. Saturn and Neptune Retrograde in Pisces can work in tandem re: letting go of folly fantasies.

  

  All images by David LaChapelle featuring X-Files stars Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny who are both Leo Suns with Aquarius Moons.

  The Femme Moon and Denizens of Earth are collaborating on an extraterrestrial-themed zine. We’re seeking written and visual pieces for this upcoming 2025 publication. Click for here for more specifics and guidelines.