8:55 am  AHST 04/16/2022
  11:55  am   PDT  04/16/2022

  2:55 pm    EDT  04/16/2022
  6:55 pm    UTC  04/16/2022

Full Moons are always about polarities, as the Moon is in an exact opposition to the Sun, which causes the Moon to rise around the time of sunset. The polarity this month is between two Cardinal signs, Aries and Libra. Cardinal signs (also Cancer and Capricorn) are ones that initiate, that like to call the shots and begin things. Fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) typically carry out the work, keep things going, while mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) work to help things change and innovate.

Aries, where the Sun is now, is the first Cardinal sign of the zodiac, about taking the first step, being first in line, and asks the question, what can you do for me? It’s ruled by the planet Mars, the planet of how we take action in the world, which is archetypally masculine (not to be confused with “male”) or outgoing energy. Libra is also a Cardinal sign, ruled by Venus, and initiates in the way of a peacemaker, gathering in people, making things happen through relationship, and asks the question, what can I do for you? Both signs (and all Cardinal signs) are commanding by nature.

But in every planetary opposition there is the hidden task of bringing the opposites together, to see how they can work with each other, rather than battle for who is the “boss”. This of course relates to where we are in the paradigm shift that the world is mid-stream of. It’s no longer about who’s boss, or who has the most bombs, money, oil, guns. It’s about helping each other, cooperating with each other, just as inherently, Nature, the biosphere, is a cooperative ecosystem, despite how some of our Nature programs may depict our human propensity to project our beliefs onto animal behaviors, only showing their acts of aggression. Ask any biologist; we don’t survive unless we are in balance with the natural world.

Enter Pluto. Pluto is in a near-exact square (90˚ angle) to this Full Moon, called a T-square. This planetary configuration points out a pattern of challenge. Pluto is the archetype of the power of the soul, the inherent power of Creation, that dwarfs our ego-driven ideas of what power is. Pluto is ego-denying, busting us when we think we are the most justified in doing what we’re doing. (cf. Will Smith’s recent action).

As a Full Moon configuration, the effect of this energy signature is to push us to honor relationship, to value it above all else. All relationships have the dynamic of Mars (action) and Venus (love). And Pluto is asking us to evaluate our actions in the light of: is it love, or are we acting to fulfill our (egoic) desires? Because ultimately when we act out of our ego’s desire to get something from someone (love, money, power, attention) it will ultimately reflect back to us our emptiness. When we open our hearts and look through that lens, we beckon the Universe to bring to us our heart’s desire, as well as to be of benefit to others around us.

Our imagination is the key to all of this, imagination and the beliefs which spring from it. Jupiter and Neptune are in their rare conjunction in Pisces, the first time since 1856, which is the archetypal signature of using the imagination to create reality. This is something we already do. What we see around us is the result of what we’ve imagined ourselves and our world to be possible. Understanding that this is what we are already doing puts the responsibility more into our hands than we’d thought previously. Since Pisces is emblematic of the ultimate deep truths of our existence, this is an historic milestone, planting seeds of higher consciousness into our field of human endeavor. We may not see the results of this momentous conjunction immediately, but the energy is being initiated.

Mars has just begun its journey into Pisces, where it will be until May 24^th. This reinforces the message of this chart. Mars in Pisces at its best understands that our imagination and connection to our spirit self is how we can take action. Of course, it can also contribute to our fear and negative imaginings, as Neptunian energy has its shadow side, as does every archetypal energy. But Mars is trine (forms a harmonious 120˚angle) to the Moon, reinforcing sharing our dreams with others in order to form collective support. Saturn also is trine to the Moon, suggesting an opening, insights around changing the ways and laws that represent our beliefs in how we do business on this planet. We can think of this as a preparatory time, gaining insight, since when Mars enters Aries in May, it’s action time, and things will start to move.

The Sun in Aries is also conjoined with minor planet Eris, that sister of Mars whose archetype in our patriarchal world is slanted toward revenge, toward being a troublemaker, as long as her feminine warrior energy is disdained by the society at large. She is the Queen of strife, that is, of disagreements over fundamental issues. For example, can people at large govern themselves, or do we need an authoritarian leader to tell us what is right and good for us? This is one of the fundamental issues of our present day paradigm shift that humanity as a whole is wrestling with. Add that to the mix of needing to balance the truth of our connectedness, the essential need for inter-relationship, and we have a Full Moon chart that brightly illuminates the issues of our time.