A full moon, we know, is a moon dedicated to reflection. A full moon in Leo reflects the light of the Aquarius Sun, two luminaries negotiating the sky as it darkens and drapes over us. The moon in Leo is proud, emotional, and creative. She gets hurt as easily as she falls in love. A Leo moon feels more secure when she’s in control of her intimate environment and she secretly likes to give up the reins. But, a full moon in Leo answers to the Sun, and the Sun is in Aquarius, which is ruled but Saturn, co-present under those same stars. To understand the Leo moon’s predicament, we have to understand Aquarius, and we have to understand Saturn.
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Saturn teaches us accountability. It challenges us to accept what no longer works, to eat our mistakes, and to build back stronger. In Aquarius, Saturn is at home but not idle. These fixed stars have a critical influence, but Aquarius is also invested in a constructive approach. Saturn in Aquarius asks: How do you commit yourself to building something steadily, over time, without compromising who you are and what you believe? How do you use what is known to you to help shape an unknowable future?
Some of these answers lie in the conjunction of two other planets under a sign ruled by Saturn. On February 16, the same day that the full moon perfects in Leo, Mars meets Venus in Capricorn and they begin the long journey of figuring out: How do you marry your will to your values? Your drive to your desires? Your courage to your attraction? In Capricorn, both Venus and Mars are in it for the long haul. Mars is exalted and Venus is ardent in her own way. They know what they want and aim to get it, no matter how long and difficult the road. And, while it’s true that dedication and discipline play a big part in their long game, trust is the thing that carries them past the finish line. Trust that they are the arbiters of their own ambitions and haven't fallen under an ingenuine influence. Trust that a Capricorn knows good bones when they spot them.
This kind of trust — in the self, in the other — is not earned easily. It arrives on the other side of personal reckoning. It requires you to have enough faith to bet on yourself and enough self-reflection to know when all bets are off. Perhaps this is where the sextile from Jupiter to Uranus comes in: a faith in the process, even if that process requires coming apart, which it almost always does. On a collective level this can look like a dissolution of borders, a national struggle, a dissociation from systems that support authorities that no longer serve the people who give them power. It can look like an international health crisis that is transforming the way we think about freedom and about love in the most humanitarian sense.
It’s worth noting that Mercury in Aquarius still forms a conjunction to Pluto, having just touched it on the 11th. This conjunction can often be a revelatory one, a time when vital information is unearthed, a time for the truth no matter how difficult that truth is. Under the full moon in Leo, in Mercury’s wake, Mars and Venus move toward Pluto at their own pace, and pride is a part of the story. It’s one thing to receive information and another thing to accept it. It’s one thing to recognize the mechanisms within you that were born of fear, that once kept you safe and now hold you back. It’s another thing to admit that you could do better — by yourself, by those you love. It’s a beautiful thing to want more for yourself, to devote your days toward the very ordinary and incredible work of learning to live differently.