The Heart is Full with the Harvest Moon

The Moon becomes full at 11:39 am PDT on Thursday, October 5, at 12 degrees Aries.

The Sabian symbol for the full Moon is :

A triangularly shaped flight of wild geese.

The Wild Geese, by Wendell Berry

Horseback on Sunday morning, 

harvest over,

we taste persimmon and wild grape,

sharp sweet of summer's end.

In time's maze over fall fields,

we name names that went west from here,

names that rest on graves.

We open a persimmon seed

to find the tree that stands in promise, pale,

in the seed's marrow. Geese appear high over us, pass, and the sky closes.

Abandon, as in love or sleep,

holds them to their way,

clear, in the ancient faith:

what we need is here.

And we pray,

not for new earth or heaven,

but to be quiet in heart,

and in eye clear.

What we need is here.

Here, as we arrive at the 'petticoats' of the year, (autumn in the north, spring in the south), we are given a powerful, relationship-themed Full Moon. 

Photo by fowijoerg on instagram

The Sun and Moon are in Aries/Libra, the relationship axis.

The dance between self and other, together and apart, is found here. 

Datura meteloides by Paetra Tauchert

At the same time,

Venus and Mars,

the planets of love and war,

of feminine and masculine,

of attraction and aggression, are as thick as thieves at 19 degrees of Virgo opposing Chiron in Pisces.

This tells us that it's time to examine our closest relationships 

(both love and friendships) and see to their tending, their healing.

A relationship is like a garden, if it is neglected then it will grow weeds.

It's time to weed the patch. 

This full Moon is also sort of a 'going away party'

for Jupiter in Libra,

who is about to depart for the land of Scorpio. 

We've spent the last year in expansion mode

around the concept of "other".

In order to grow,

we have needed to be able to get fuel

from our interactions with other people.

This has helped us to learn more about life

through another's perspective. 

    Photo by msfancyplants on instagram

On October 10, Jupiter will enter Scorpio,

but for now, lets embrace the fullness

of the Libran archetype before it moves on.

In a repeating theme, the Sun and Mercury are also close together

in the sign of Libra, opposing the Full Aries Moon. 

An Aries Moon has its own feisty brand of independence and spunk.

It loves to have an ally, a teammate.

Fighting side by side with said ally, against the perceived enemy,

or for a worthy cause,

is what Aries does best. 

But Libra reminds Aries that after all the brawling, the roughness,

and stress, more than anything,

they need some good old fashioned Love. 

And Aries reminds Libra

that too much compromise,

too much attempting to please

the other,

results in codependency

and a loss of personal cohesion/integrity.

An ideal partnership

is made up of two strong,

healthily boundaried individuals, who come together by choice

and form a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. 

As anyone can tell you, its an ongoing work in practice.

And this Full Moon says its time to focus here, now.

      Photo by Ole Salomonsen 

In even the best relationship/friendship there is room for healing,

growth and improvement. This Harvest Moon is asking you to

"up your game" with your closest companions. 

Happy October, 

With love,

Paetra Tauchert, Astrologer