Aquarius Full Moon
to be for (true) me is to be for we
full moon in aquarius
august 1st, 2023
11:31 am (pst)
Hi friends,
How are you doing since the new Moon in Cancer and all those astrological shifts around her?
It’s been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster over the last few weeks of Cancer season, yet with us officially in Leo season now, and with the vibrant rays of the Super full Moon in Aquarius shining upon us, we may be feeling more than ready to leave our emotionally-driven overthinking behind us.
The Aquarius full Moon on August 1st illuminates our desire for more mental/emotional freedom and authentic expression. (P.S. August is pretty cool because it begins and ends with a full Moon on the first and last days of the month!)
When I connect with the energy of this full Moon, I get this “just screw it!” energy. There’s this sense of just not wanting to care anymore about ALL THE THINGS. There’s also a desire to release overthinking, just do the damn things and say things you truly mean to say.
MOON IN AQUARIUS, SUN IN LEO
The Moon is in the innovative, out-of-the-box and collective-minded Aquarius, and the Sun is extra happy in the vibrant, motivated and self-affirming Leo. Aquarius is a fixed Air sign, strong in the mind and inspired by thoughts. Aquarius is all about innovation, and authenticity, always with the greater good in mind. Leo, meanwhile, is all about living from the heart, shining one’s own energy as brightly as the Sun and as bravely as a lion. Leo is focused on “me” while Aquarius is focused on “we.” These energies combined help us comprehend that each of us truly being the unique individuals that we are is what is best for all.
The shadow side of all the Leo energy with this lunation, is that it becomes very easy to confuse attention for love. Yet with Venus being retrograde in Leo during this full Moon (more on that below), we are invited to get clear on how love truly looks and feels to us.
The Aquarius full Moon asks us to illuminate and release the areas where we are avoiding our own light due to our overthinking minds. This Moon reminds us that each one of us is needed, wanted and invited to share our heart’s unique expression, especially during these transformative times.
A beneficial way to use our minds as the tools that they are, is through reflection, and refinement of our values. Especially our values around relationships and love, thanks to the influence of Venus in retrograde.
venus retrograde
JULY 22 - SEPT. 3, 2023
A few days after the new Moon in Cancer, Venus, the planet of love, relationships, sensuality, finances and values, went retrograde in Leo. When a planet goes retrograde, it means it appears to be moving backwards in the sky. Retrogrades are opportune and universally supported moments for us to review, reflect, reassess, refine and realign. Venus goes retrograde every year and a half and stays retrograde for 40 days and 40 nights.
Venus retrograde in Leo invites us to clarify our values, our relationships and sense of self-esteem, and to do so with an open and loving heart.
With Venus ruling relationships of all kinds, our sense of love along with our physical spaces and finances, this retrograde period also has us reevaluating and refining our friendships, partnerships, style and money vibes.
Venus in retrograde isn’t all about doing the “work” though, in fact much of our work during this time is learning to value our pleasure. As my dear friend, mentor and somatic practitioner, Veronica from Waking Womb says - “you cannot do the work without also doing the pleasure.” What she means by this is that from a nervous system perspective you cannot find inner regulation (aka healing) without prioritizing your body’s ability to feel pleasure. Venus also governs pleasure, so reflecting on and refining your relationship with your own sense of pleasure is a big theme during this retrograde.
Here are some ways to work with the energies of this full Moon in Aquarius and Venus in retrograde time period. (of course, do whatever you want, these are just my suggestions!)
Don’t allow distractions, your ego or society’s standards to rule your life, style, or self-esteem.
Do clarify your own standards and values around beauty, friendships, style and self expression.
Don’t cling to old relationships that are clearly not valuing you, or reengage with someone who shows up from your past who’s hurt you deeply.
Do invest your powerful energy into nurturing and cultivating relationships that recognize and value your light.
Don’t compare yourself, your body, your style, your finances, your home or your people to anyone else, especially not curated social media posts.
Do treat yourself with compassion when comparison does arise, and remind yourself we are each meant to be uniquely our own.
Don’t fixate on others people’s values or how other people need to change to love you.
Do focus on your own thoughts, feelings and actions and sharing with others clearly and kindly your values and your boundaries.
Do get clear on what love feels like to you. How do you give love, and how do you receive it?
Do get curious about your values. What do you value in your heart? What do you value with your actions? How do you value yourself and those who value you in return?
May this Aquarius full Moon illuminate the light of your love, and help you to shine it brightly for the world to feel and experience!
with infinite love & appreciation,
Rachael
For journal prompts and more on the astrological forecast, read Melissa’s Astrology of the Moon below.
Check out the YouTube Moon video!
journal prompts aquarius full moon:
Where is my overthinking keeping me from taking action? Can I let it go?
What are my values?
How am I currently living my values?
Where am I not living in my values?
How can I live more in my values?
astrology of the Moon
with melissa from mindset maven
Full Moon in Aquarius:
August 1st @ 9 degrees 2:32pm (est)/11:32am (pst)
mindset maven melissa:
Hey y'all, my name is Melissa and I'm your spiritual bestie who speaks Astrology!
I discovered Astrology a few years ago after hitting a rut in my own life and searching for a way to gain greater awareness. It was a tool that really allowed me to truly understand what my gifts were as well as what were my challenges.
Nothing lights me up more than helping others recognize how to use their gifts (or astropowers) in a way that allows them to show up for themselves through those challenging times.
Connect with Melissa on her website: realmindsetmaven.com
or over Instagram: @realmindsetmaven
Mercury opposite Saturn (8/1 @ 10:18pm EST):
This opposition will bring focus to something in our mental processes or communication. Mercury rules over the mind, how we communicate, and take in information. While Saturn is the bringer of boundaries and responsibilities. When these two face off in the sky there could be something that brings us back to reality. This could play out as challenging if we don’t know how to work with that energy. Remember that there are no bad transits…only opportunities for us to learn and work with what is being shown to us.
If there is a project that requires you to get exact or edit, then this transit can help you focus in on those details. The shadow side of this transit could present as anxiety, or we are presented with a situation that gives us a reality check of some sort. If you are met with this harder version of the transit, lean into the Aquarius energy of the Full Moon to release, and tap into the supportive energy of the Mars trine Jupiter transit.
Mars trine Jupiter (8/1 @ 4:45pm EST):
This one will be supportive to offset the opposition that will occur. Mars can give us the energy and motivation to expand our abundance, healing, or what we want to achieve (all Jupiter themes). The trine will create support for us to focus our motivation into where we want to grow. Tap into confidence with this one! If you are looking for something to help you with deep work, then this one can help give you ease with diving into the work.
-Melissa
do you want to help?
I’m not going to lie, it’s a disheartening time when it comes to the rights of people and the planet.
To help counter discriminatory legislation coming out against the Trans and LGBTQIA+ communities, please check out The Trevor Project.
Let’s never forget how much power we hold when we come together to support and uplift each other. We the people can and do make a difference. Click on the links below for some simple ways how.
Environmental Protection
Reproductive Rights
Human Rights/Anti-Racism Justice
Gun Reform
LGBTQIA+ Equality
If you enjoy learning about working with the Moon’s energies, please subscribe to my bi-monthly Moonletters, by entering your information at the bottom of this page. Thank you!