First a word about Pluto, which has just entered Aquarius. The thing about the ‘heavy’ planets is that they act more as background than foreground material the majority of the time. Pluto’s change of sign brings a shift, yes, but one that, if we’re distracted by the everyday, we might not feel for some time. We should expect tonal variation, rather than a big splash, though one reason people may be so focused on this sign change could be due to the shift in element: we see Plutonian matters that for so long carried the density, physicality, and real-life ground-beneath-your-feet quality of Earth take on a mental essence of Air, which likely sharpens awareness, even as it alleviates what for so long felt like a continual onslaught of Plutonian threats to our very existence. It can lead to a series of pretty grim thoughts, even mental breakdown and despair, before resurrecting the thinking in new ways that are more effectively responsive to circumstances, especially those that feel life-threatening, than our ways of thinking before. Attitudes about death, change, renewal (including 2nd chances and new ‘lease on life’ possibilities), and what needs to be eliminated will, through Pluto’s transit of Aquarius, become different, and will likely continue to re-make themselves until Pluto finally enters Pisces for good, almost 20 years from now.
With Pluto in Aquarius the perceptual challenges center on both Higher Mind and the thinking around the frameworks we use to elaborate on and explain various life areas, what we might label the impersonal academics of What Is. One of the Aquarian keywords is ‘Understanding’, so that this period may usher in breakdowns in our ideas around methods of destruction, transformation, and renewal, may completely re-formulate our ideas around the sciences, as well as sparking new, innovative approaches to ‘old’ problems, especially ones like climate change and ‘progress’ in tech and AI that once appeared to seriously threaten our own obliteration.
Big effects for individuals emerge with Pluto contacts to the natal planets and points, so will be felt, though the sweeping changes the lord of the Underworld brings with changes in sign are more an experience of societies as a whole, rather than as personal ones for each of us. That said, we can’t help but be affected by what goes on in the wider world, and of course, when we do experience Pluto on an individual level it feels like the most personal of experiences, which are almost guaranteed to emphasize our own powerlessness in the face of the inevitable: aging and death, entropy, permanent loss, transformation, rebirth–in short, the Truth of the Universe. The thing about a Pluto transit to a natal placement, especially to the personal planets and points like the Ascendant, is that it changes us in large and permanent ways that feel like they’re happening only to us. During a Plutonian experience the best thing we can do is take a step back and acknowledge the Universality of the experience, beyond our own personal loss or trauma.
The Full Moon perfects on the 25th just before 9:54 AM PST at 5 Leo 14, with both Earth and Moon recently opposing Pluto, newly arrived in Aquarius. A Full Moon in Leo puts emotional focus on the Self, on something discovered or coming to light about ourselves that we didn’t know before. In this case, the conclusions reached can’t be separated from the effects of Pluto contact; that is, the change, transformation, elimination, or destruction wrought by Pluto is now processed by us emotionally. We see what that change really means to us, with the nature of the change or loss related in some way either to matters of the House(s) that hold Capricorn (most likely), Aquarius (less likely), Scorpio (possibly), and/ or the House where natal Pluto is located (this most likely if transiting Pluto or another body is currently aspecting it).
The Sabian symbol for the Full Moon is, ‘A Conservative, Old-Fashioned Lady Is Confronted By A “Hippie” Girl’. The new meets the old. What we need to remember is that the new isn’t necessarily better, just different–and the same can be said for the old. The kind of discrimination Earth placements offer us may be what needs following here, in order to determine what to keep, what to change. That suggests both Venus and Juno in the current scenario–Love and Empowerment. Keep those in the forefront, and you’ll discriminate correctly.
We also look at the Sun for a Full Moon: ‘A Masked Figure Performs Ritualistic Acts In A Mystery Play’. What’s shrouded in mystery and ritual isn’t really mysterious at all when we come to understand the symbolisms involved–it’s instead a shorthand of sorts for a means to enlightenment. Is anything really hidden from us? I don’t believe it is, if we have the courage to genuinely look at what’s before us. It’s true of the world, and it’s true in our relationships. With the Leo Full Moon, what’s on offer is emotional revelation about ourselves. Don’t be afraid of what you’ll see–it’s truly for the best.
There’s a T-square formed by the Full Moon axis which squares Jupiter in Taurus=this suggests our own experience of the Full Moon will be strongly colored by ‘the facts’ around material matters or in our experience of some larger social condition that affects our material well-being. It’s a distraction, in terms of the eternal; it as well represents a potential overindulgence engaged in as we attempt to cope. It could stand for an emotional disappointment–we expected too much–or the realization that all that glitters isn’t emotional gold. There’s also a square between Vesta and Juno, with the Full Moon at the midpoint, making it semi-square each=what we truly care about, and our own empowerment, are at odds. Taking emotional inventory, weighing what matters most, will be vital to resolving the tension. Surely there’s a way to honor what’s important and still feel we are effective–your job is to find it.
The final aspect that stands out to me is a loose Finger of God, with base of Venus, fairly new in Capricorn, sextile Saturn in Pisces, apex the Full Moon=we may be hit with the realities behind love, assets, relationships, or rivalries, and they hold a paradox: the realities of the situation feel somehow unreal, maybe ideal, or promise to hold creative potential, while our impulse to love and relate is taking a practical tack, wanting to stay grounded in reality (the last thing Venus wants to do right now is go overboard, or assume a potential that doesn’t really exist). The balance between these two attitudes, between the unrealness of the real and the desire to stay grounded in what we’re sure of in relationships, is key to understanding our emotional reactions and reality at this time. It may be a ‘feels too good to be true’ scenario–but for once I’d say, it’s not only true, it’s the beginning of something really rewarding. Trust yourself and your intuition, and enjoy.