Full Moon in Aquarius
Saturday, August 16, 2008
2:16pm PDT
24º 21’
Partial Lunar Eclipse
2:10pm PD
24º 17’

©2008 Lisa Dale Miller
All rights reserved

Aquarius rules the global community and also the global nervous system, which is surely close to a breaking point. You might be wondering what can I—one small person—possibly do to have a positive effect on the precarious situation of the world? A very Aquarian thing: radicalize your relationship to the world by accepting the power you have to change your own mind and behavior, and through this, affect change on a global scale. If I can borrow a phrase: YES WE CAN!

Step fully into a commitment to teach and serve by breaking down the attraction to focusing only on your own life. Selfless giving to others is a true Aquarian vision of working for the collective upliftment of all sentient beings.

This is the Full Moon for involvement in something larger than you. The Aquarian Full Moon, Neptune (transcendence) in Aquarius (awakening), Saturn (responsibility)/Mercury (thoughts and speech)/Venus (love)/Mars (action) in Virgo (service), Pluto in Sagittarius (probing the deeper meaning of existence), Jupiter in Capricorn (blissful commitment) and Uranus in Pisces (awakened consciousness) will help us all rest deeply in the realization that our individual egos are not the center of the universe. We are part and parcel of something so much deeper.

The Dalai Lama says, “The belief that there is a substantially real self, and the cherishing of one’s own interest at the expense of others, are the two main thoughts and emotions we have nurtured within us through our many lives. But what is the result of this? We are continually suffering and experiencing negative thoughts and emotions, so our self-cherishing hasn’t really got us very far. Also, if we shift our focus from ourselves to others and to the wider world, and if we turn our attention to all the crises in the world, all the difficulties and the sufferings and so on, we will see that many of these problems are direct or indirect consequences of undisciplined negative states of mind,” 2003, Transforming the Mind, Thorsons Publishing.

The unending conflicts around the world have made it even more apparent that compassion, forgiveness, acceptance, patience, virtue, equanimity, determination, and wisdom are essential qualities for cultivating peace. Can you imagine if everyone committed to practicing these humble, heart-opening, mind-transforming ways of being in the world? So much would change. It’s time we stopped convincing ourselves of our own importance and preciousness. Our failure to care about anything outside of our own little lives lies at the heart of our cultural acceptance of the two most aberrant expressions of Leo: greed and a lust for power. So let’s all use this Aquarius Full Moon to transform our minds and get really involved in something bigger than our own personal stories.

Moon/Neptune/Chiron will help us step boldly into the Aquarian side of the Aquarius/Leo polarity. Though Leo is the sign with the greatest attachment to knowing and creatively expressing the self, many astrologers call Aquarius the sign of individuation. This is due to the fact that Aquarian individuation goes past the Leo recognition of self to oneself: it proclaims self-knowledge to the community in the hope that this will awaken in others an awareness of their own condition. Remember that Aquarius rules the breakdown of the old ways by questioning the status quo. Those who create revolutionary change in societies are always the ones who can vision far beyond accepted beliefs and structures. In these troubled times, we all need to practice this kind of farsightedness and elect a leader who will fearlessly work for revolutionary change for our nation.

This is the Full Moon to honor freedom, idealism, humanitarianism, egalitarianism, and the revolutionary impulse toward reform, without causing harm to anyone. Aquarius is the impulse to raise-up everyone and leave no one behind. So in service to these calls to action, become responsible and find out what is really happening around you. Get involved in your community, volunteer your time, and raise awareness in your neighborhood. It’s summer, have a block party and raise funds for a good cause.

This is the Full Moon to wake up, and get politically/spiritually active (two of the most powerful expressions of Uranus/Aquarius!) Remember “a government of the people, by the people and for the people”? Free yourselves from the lies of the spin-doctors. Let go of your complacency and urge your family and friends to join you in speaking out against injustice, impoverishment and war. Get involved in working to fix our broken healthcare system, our outdated air/rail transportation industries, our dependence upon oil and our ever-worsening economic situation. Wake up everyone: our nation is in deep debt!

Worst of all our government is now known as one with a compulsion toward dictatorial use of power. We need to question the authority of our government to make war upon any nation without due cause or direct threat. We need to question the authority of our government to spend billions on “security” while each day so many of its own citizens join the swelling ranks of the working poor; strapped to the max, struggling to make ends meet, and unable to afford medical care. America continues to be complacent and it has made our nation suffer. 2008 is the year to make change happen at the highest level of our government. Get involved and vote. YES YOU CAN!

Speaking spiritually, the Aquarius/Leo polarity is a bridge to enlightenment. The Leo desire to seek, to grow, to be wise and all knowing, leads us to do the hard work that is necessary to evolve our consciousness in order to achieve enlightenment. Uranus represents the enlivenment of kundalini, the life force that resides, curled up like a snake at the base of the spine. The awakening and rising of kundalini is the source of the powerful waves of ecstasy we experience during orgasm. Imagine the intensity of that force flowing all the way up the spine and searing skyward from the top of your head, awakening you to the ultimate orgasmic experience of pure consciousness: “I am that, thou art that, all this is that”. Without this Uranian bridge there is no awakening to the Neptunian/Piscean nirvanic state of enlightenment.

Here’s an Aquarian vision: creating a nation of enlightened individuals is the only means to real security. It is time to make group meditation mandatory practice in our schools and workplaces. Get ready for the next Full Moon in Pisces and start making group meditation part of your Full Moon celebration.

Now more than ever, the world needs our attention and care. This is, after all, a Full Moon; a time of gathering in groups to celebrate, teach, share, and most of all enlighten.

©2008 Lisa Dale Miller
All rights reserved
PERMISSION MUST BE GRANTED BY THE AUTHOR FOR USE ON WEB SITES AND FOR OUTSIDE PUBLISHING