Aries Full Moon
Aries Full Moon on September 29, 2023 at 3:57am MST, with energies perfecting at 06degrees Aries.
With the autumnal equinox we hit a turning point in the seasons, the weather and our journey. We are in the phase of this cycle of seasons in the Northern Hemisphere where we are harvesting our crops of all types from seeds planted during the Aries New Moon of March 21, 2023.
This Moon phase is really not connected to any other astrological aspect, though there is much going on astrologically- it is just not in direct conversation at this moment in time. So with that: how do you move and respond in the world when things are going on around you but are not about you?
Moon rise with a retrograde Saturn In Pisces on Sept 27, 2023, Bears Paw, Alberta.
Photo: Stephany Smith
Grandmother Moon, please help me understand the energy around me and within me as I work to remove what blocks me from my real self in this Full Moon in Aries. This is the first moon phase where we get to experience the Aries Libra axis where the Lunar nodes have also transitioned into. The Lunar nodes will spend about 18months here. The feeling that initially arises in this is that of lessons on self involvement with the outside world. What serves us to help the other and the emotions we get met by doing so. These emotional motivations are either conscious or unconscious to us. The goal is to make them conscious.
One of the challenging questions I find myself asking in those moments is- would I do that thing if I wasn’t trying to feel this emotion? And does this really feel good, like deep down in all honesty does this feel good in me?
We all like doing things for others. It’s a beautiful gift to give someone. Human connection, having an interest in humanity, wanting to see others succeed and grow is something that we naturally enjoy doing and instinctively want to do. It seems to me when faced with these types of curious ponderings, I need to choose to look within myself for any blocks to the loving flow of doing and being there for others. Looking within is always the place to start.
This doesn’t mean stop doing stuff for others. It means wondering about your ‘why’. Why do you do it? What do you get out of it? Does that allow you to avoid something deeper in yourself? Doing stuff for someone else so you can avoid yourself can cause major relational issues.
What came to mind is the issue of personal responsibility. Though this may be too complex and/or deep of an issue to tackle in a short space, I feel I have an example to keep it digestible in an email: doing the house work. If you live alone you know the entirety of the household mental and physical load falls on your shoulders. You get used to your flow of getting these tasks done, this also may include the decision to outsource. However you chose you get this task done. Now in relationship as in you live with other people, the decision to outsource may still be in action- the question is who took on the mental load of getting it done?
Then there is the possibility that you share the tasks with those you live with. It can be enraging when the other doesn’t do their ‘job’ around the house. So you do it- and what feelings do you get from that? Are you truly satisfied about taking that job over or do you feel drained and over time resentful? There’s a laundry list of other emotions that come up as well in the areas of shame and fear. Fear tells you a story about something that already happened that you really really really never want to experience again in this way. Shame tells you about blame and guilt- likely feelings inside you about what happened when you didn’t get your tasks done, leaving you to project what was done to you onto that person.
Are you justifying taking over your partner’s task of vacuuming? Really look at that. It’s one thing if you talked about it and said “Hey lover, I see you’re having a busy and/or difficult time right now, would you like me to take this off your plate as I have room on mine to get it done?” Or “Hey lover, we both don’t have capacity to do some much needed stuff around here can we talk about solutions for a moment as it’s been on my mind?” You involved yourself in a different way with your partner. You initiated, you led, you allowed your partner to receive and respond so in turn they can initiate and lead, and also give back. The “we-ness” of personal responsibility is when we make the energy flow both ways in interpersonal relationships. I took personal responsibility that something happened and then I wanted to navigate the available solutions with those involved because I love them. There’s no attack, no need to get defensive (unless a trigger for healing happened- in which case the vacuuming can truly wait till you guys sort through that first). And best of all- the outside world also doesn’t get invited in it.
Ummm… that’s an interesting addition to this example and to our understanding of the energy of the Aries Libra axis. Dive in. When you tackle stuff personally going on that involves others you are less likely to pour it out to the rest of the world. We, yes, tend to reach out to our tribe when wrestling through the nitty gritty of an issue and our healing- but it usually doesn’t feel good share about it beyond that (in my opinion). When I look at the sky and see that the Moon and Sun are hanging out by themselves in this moment- that’s a big signal about noise we take in from the outside world coming into our relationships- and is that noise really serving you to have your listening ear?
So when we circle back to that feeling of self involvement and what we get out of doing stuff for others- take a moment to exhale this Full Moon and listen inward. You may be doing something you wouldn’t actually do if your energy was really flowing mutually in both directions of giving and receiving. This includes making adjustments on the how and why you do things, not necessarily taking away altogether. Just making it different so your love flows in and out. Often cleaning up the energetics and intentions of what we do has a huge impact on what we do for ourselves and others.
The second feeling that I am getting about the Lunar nodes and this Moon phase in Aries Libra axis is the excitement of getting close with others also means getting close with myself. The capacity to be close with myself opens me up to being closer to you. We are in flow of the Hermetic quote: “As is above, so below.” That “I” mirrors “You”. This feeling brings me back to my point of wanting to be here for you, connected to you to help you in ways that I am skilled and gifted to do so. That mutual reception of giving and receiving works both ways in relationship with myself when it flows with others. It’s our energy- that is the nugget of personal responsibility. And in the above example gives a glimpse of what happens when we take over tasks or roles from others- we take away their personal responsibility. That blocks the flow of energy in the relationship to them and ourselves. They feel it, you feel it. And I doubt it’s what we intended, I know for me that’s true- I never intended to take on responsibility that was not mine. In our house at the moment we like doing the cleaning together, we have fun with it. For us we also found it’s a way to connect and build up dreams for our future and desires for our wants in a home. This outcome may not work for everyone or home. This is an exciting area to explore for relationships of all types that live together. It’s amazing what you can learn about yourself and others in the daily nuances of life when you really lean into what is possible.
With that loving deep inhale and exhale, and warm gratitude of your time to take in what I wanted to share and give you.
Stephany