Full Moon in Aries, October 2020
We are tired. We are frustrated. We have had enough. And now we have the full moon in Aries. While it has the potential to be a rough emotional ride, you can use the energy to help release tension, burn up frustration and reignite your energy.
Aries is the first sign of the zodiac. It’s a cardinal sign (which means it’s great at starting things), has the element of fire, is ruled by Mars and relates to the first house of self, identity, a sense of who we are and how we define ourselves. All up, it’s an action-packed, intuitive, decisive and bold kinda sign.
The full moon brings light to a situation. It shows the way. We use the full moon to let go and release what we no longer need, to say goodbye to the stuff which isn’t working for us anymore. And letting go can be a really vulnerable experience.
Despite all the warrior bravado, underneath it all Aries is actually quite a vulnerable and tender sign. Think of animals being born in spring wobbling on their new legs or the tender shoots of a blossoming plant—there’s an innocence there that needs to be respected. So it’s a reminder to be aware of and to nurture the vulnerable parts of yourself so they can help you grow into something stronger.
The events of 2020 have made everyone really vulnerable and with this vulnerability comes new ways of relating to each other. I have often mentioned how this year has been a lot about the ‘we’ and the ‘me’—who we are and who we are in relation to others. With the moon in Aries opposite the sun in Libra, this is an extra dose of this theme. There have been relationship bootcamps this year—some have strengthened, some have ended.
Whatever your experience has been, your relationship with yourself and your relationships with others has changed. Now it’s time to allow the old parts of yourself that are stopping you from fully and authentically relating to others begin to fall away.
Back in March the new moon in Aries was conjunct Chiron. Chiron represents the parts of ourselves where we experience the deepest wounding, yet this also becomes the part where we experience our greatest healing and in turn use this knowledge to help others. It is also known as the Rainbow Bridge between ego and soul, for when we do the work on ourselves we open up a greater connection with god, source, our higher self (pick what word resonates with you).
With Chiron in the mix back at the new moon, it kicked off a period of scratching open the scabs and examining our core wounds in relation to self and to examine who we are without using our jobs, status, possessions or lifestyle to define us.
This full moon has Chiron in the mix as well, indicating that perhaps those wounds are ready to heal over again. We have learnt what we needed to for now. We have new priorities and values. It’s time to reflect on how you have changed over the past six months and what this healing has meant for you.
Keep in mind that Mars is still retrograde (in Aries, no less) which means we are going through an internal expression of the warrior planet, rather than an external one. It may feel harder to get things done with your motivation and drive operating at a lower intensity than normal. No matter where you turn you come up against roadblocks stopping you from moving forward. Frustrating, huh? Well on this full moon Mars will be conjunct the asteroid Eris, who is known for flipping tables and generally causing havoc.
Your ego might want to throw a tantrum and destroy everything it can get its hands on. Or a destructive curve ball may land in your lap that you didn’t see coming. The moon will pass Mars and Eris roughly 24 hours after it’s officially full, highlighting more of the intense feels. It can help to do intense cardio or strength work, or even punch a pillow to help this fire energy move through your body.
In other planetary news, Mercury is in its pre-shadow phase in Scorpio, starting to do its detective work to really get to the bottom of our emotions. Pay attention to the themes that arise for you now as they may come up for deeper examination when Mercury goes retrograde on the 14th.
Pluto moves direct on October 4. The great transformer will take some time to really get moving again, but it’s nice to know that all the planets in Capricorn are now direct. Retrogrades are an internal time, so we can now start to put all of that inner work out into the world. Amongst other things, Pluto rules the underworld and deep psychology. It’s also the higher expression of Mars—Mars rules personal motivation and desires, Pluto our soul mission. Pluto makes sure our actions come from a pure place without ego. This retrograde has seen us all go into our own underworlds to face our shadows and purify our desires. It’s been messy and painful, but the work has been necessary—we needed to purge in order to collectively move forward in a new direction.
A lot of people are upset with 2020 because they haven’t been able to do the things they wanted to do. It’s been a year of surrendering to what is. And one day in the future we will be able to look back and appreciate the year for what it was. To that effect, make a list of the things you wanted to do but couldn’t and think about whether you still want to do them. Then make another list of all the things that you did instead and reflect on how this has changed you.
As the Rolling Stones said, ‘you can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need’. 2020 hasn’t been the year we’ve wanted, but it’s been the year we’ve needed.
Allow this full moon to burn away the old. Be purified, reborn, renewed so you can be ready to move forward.
The exact time of the Full Moon is:
AEST: Friday 2 October @ 7.05am
United Kingdom: Thursday 1 October @ 10.05pm
US Eastern: Thursday 1 October @ 5.05pm
US Pacific: Thursday 1 October @ 2.05pm
Find your timezone here.
A ritual for the Full Moon in Aries
I have curated a playlist on Spotify to take you through the Aries themes of action, energy, personal power, motivation and being a warrior. To get the greatest benefit out of it, I recommend that you dance to this. When we dance we move energy through our bodies and can shift things that we didn’t even know we needed to shift. In some cases, we may not even be aware of what we released but just feel generally ‘lighter’ afterwards.
Dancing under the energy of the Full Moon is extra-powerful as this is a natural time for us to release old patterns, beliefs, ideas, emotions that we no longer need. It helps create space within us to invite in something new.
How to do this ritual
Set-up: Find a space in your home where you won’t be disturbed for at least an hour. Make sure you have enough space to dance without bumping into furniture. Have a water bottle on hand so you can stay hydrated. Also have your journal or some paper to record any thoughts that may come up during the ritual.
Head to the Settings in Spotify and make sure you have turned off Autoplay so that once the playlist ends you are able to sit in silence. (If you are using the mobile app you will find Autoplay under Settings - Playback.) Also make sure that you have turned off any other shuffle or repeat settings—you want to listen to the playlist in the order that it has been curated.
Set up any speakers or headphones so that you have the best sound possible. (I like to listen through headphones so I can really block out other sounds and feel into the music.)
Create a mood: Light a candle or some incense, dim the lights.
Read the blog post about the themes of this Full Moon, then perhaps sit in contemplation or journal out some of the things that you personally wish to release and transform.
When you are ready, start the playlist. Move your body in a way that feels intuitive in each moment. No-one is watching so you can really let go of your inhibitions. When moving, I like to close my eyes or have a soft gaze so I stay more in my body. Just make sure you stay aware of where you are in the room so you don’t bang into any furniture and hurt yourself.
The playlist is designed to take you on a journey through the Aries themes of action, energy, personal power, motivation and being a warrior. If thoughts, feelings or emotions come up for you keep moving them through your body. You might find that certain areas of your body, like your shoulders or hips, feel stiff at first and want to be moved in a certain way. This is your body releasing things that have become stuck.
The final track is a sound healing. Sit or lie down and allow the music to wash over you as your nervous system settles.
Once the music ends, you may find you want to lie in silence for awhile or journal about your experience. Just do whatever comes to you intuitively.
Drink plenty of water after the ritual. Having a shower afterwards or a soak in the bath with some epsom/himalayan sea salts can be really nice as well to help symbolically ‘wash away’ anything that you were releasing. Eating magnesium-rich foods (bananas, almonds, dark chocolate) can also help replenish your system.
You might feel like you have an ‘energetic hangover’ the next day or have emotions come up. Be gentle with yourself, rest when you can, drink lots of water.
I have been working with this style of ritual on the Full Moon for awhile now and have found it to be a great way to release and let go. I hope you find it as beneficial as I do.
With love
Tanya
xxx
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If you want to go deeper into the archetypes of your chart and learn more about what makes you, you, then my Align to Self series might be for you.