The August 2022 Full Moon will be seen in our skies on August 12th (in the UK/Europe) – and that’s the day that marks the beginning of the grouse shooting season in the UK. Grouse is a game bird (found mainly in Scotland) and, in times gone by, shooting grouse was a sport that was popular with the aristocracy and upper classes. August 12th marked an important day on their social calendar and was glorious indeed – unless you happened to be a grouse.
Fortunately, the other things associated with the August 2022 Full Moon are less life-threatening in nature – particularly if you’re a bird. It’s also known as the Green Corn Moon, the Grain Moon and the Red Moon, as the Moon at this time of year can appear to be a rusty, russet coloured orb. Though these names seem prosaic, that in itself is a quality that reflects the importance of the Moon in the agricultural calendar and the rhythms of the natural world.
The Full Moon’s significance in astrology is, however, related to those events that are illuminated by its reflected light. A Full Moon always represents a culmination and its sign and aspects reveal the things that will be grabbing our attention over the next few days – and in the weeks to come. There is always some fallout from a Full Moon – and this one will be no exception.
August 2022 Full Moon: The Essentials
The August 2022 Full Moon will be found at 19˚21′ Aquarius and it reaches its maximum illumination at 01:35(UT). Aquarius is the fixed air sign. It’s associated with idealism, revolutions, independence, progressive values, science, technology and the expression of some fanatical opinions. Those associations give us an idea of how the lunar energy will be expressed – and it also gives us notice about the themes, concepts and issues that may reach culmination – or come to a head – around this time.
At a personal level, the Full Moon in this sign can result in things coming to head in a way that causes emotional shocks and surprises. There is also the possibility that you will need to look at things in a new light, or from a different angle than you have done previously. All of this is consistent with the Moon in this sign – and it’s one of the things that makes it so hard to predict exactly how anyone will react to the August 2022 Full Moon in Aquarius – it’s a chaotic influence and many of you will react in unpredictable ways, or in ways that seem more erratic than usual.
Of course, it’s possible that you will have to respond to other people’s weird, rude or tactless behaviour – and that’s something that can occur at both a personal or impersonal level. In fact, as Aquarius is the sign of aloofness and detachment, impersonal may seem like the best way to respond to events; you may hear the words, “Don’t take it personally, but…” more times than usual around this time.
So, that’s the kind of lunation energy that’s going to be hard to ignore, but to appreciate what we may be dealing with, let’s look at the August 2022 Full Moon chart.
August 2022 Full Moon: The Chart
And it’s a chart that is notable for the amount of tension it contains. With a Full Moon, it’s easy to overlook the what that means in reality. The Sun and Moon are opposed to each other and, symbolically, that’s important. The head and the heart are opposed. Reason and gut feelings are opposed. Will power and passivity are at odds. Whatever the light of the August 2022 Full Moon illuminates, the challenge is to agree to compromise – or agree to differ.
The tension in the August 2022 Full Moon chart is shown by the t-square aspect pattern that connects the lunation to some of the Zodiac’s more troublesome players; the Moon is conjunct Saturn, currently retrograde in Aquarius that difficult pairing is also square to another awkward combination, the Mars – Uranus conjunction in Taurus. One more thing. T-square aspect patterns demand action. They’re dynamic. Bear that in mind. You cannot ignore a t-square.
August 2022 Full Moon: The Aspects
Full Moon Conjunct Saturn
Let’s look at the aspects in detail. I’m going to look at the conjunction with Saturn first. A conjunction is the most powerful of aspects and Saturn is powerful in Aquarius, the sign of its traditional rulership. The Moon conjunct Saturn slows the emotions. In Aquarius, an intellectual and independently minded sign, instinctive responses are carefully considered, reasoned and objective. The Moon conjunct Saturn here doesn’t lash out; with this combination it’s a time to keep feelings to yourself – and opinions too.
In a natal chart it can be a sign of shyness and emotions restriction – and some of you in close contact to this part of the lunation may experience a degree of this – even if it’s not your natural disposition. The mood may strike you – and it will have been a long time coming. It’s a serious combination for a serious time, but there’s another side to this too. The Moon conjunct Saturn can make you feel emotionally numb or paralysed. You may want to block out some of the things that are revealed around this time.
As ever, I’m also going to look at this lunation from a less personal aspect – as events in the outer world are also influenced by the heavens. In mundane astrology, the Moon represents things that come into the public domain or are of public interest, and Saturn represents heads of government, state assets and things in public control. These are serious matters and – even if you’re not a news hound – it won’t have escaped your attention that there are matters in the public interest concerning exactly that. And with those bodies in Aquarius, the energies are expressed in Parliamentary and governmental systems.
So, in the UK for example, the ruling Conservative party is holding elections (Aquarius) for a new leader (Saturn) and it’s likely that the leader will be a woman (Moon). The ongoing hustings are in the public domain – and are of public interest as only the party members can elect the new leader. It’s a process that’s under the spotlight; there have already been many revelations and bitter arguments so can we expect even more around this time? I expect that we can.
In the US, there is a lot of stuff going on that relates to former President Trump (Saturn) and his appropriation of documents that are supposed to remain the property of the state (Moon). No doubt, more things will come to light as the lunation progresses, and many people will feel as if it’s been a long time coming (Moon conjunct Saturn). However, we need to look at the other major aspect in the t-square to appreciate where the real tension is coming from.
Full Moon Square the Mars – Uranus Conjunction
First, a word about the Mars – Uranus conjunction in Taurus. I wrote about the first Mars – Uranus in Taurus conjunction some time ago, as it occurred around the time of the January 6th ‘incident’ on Capitol Hill, Washington DC, USA. What goes around comes around and here we are, many months later – Mars has taken another turn around the Zodiac and is making contact with Uranus, before taking an extended vacation in Gemini – and that conjunction is a key player in the August 2022 Full Moon.
I’ll keep going with the ‘impersonal’ theme and remind you that in Mundane astrology Mars and Uranus together signify tension and disputes and, in Taurus, that is likely to be of the economic variety. Wherever you live right now, you will have noticed that prices are rising and budgets are being squeezed. In the UK (where I live) there is the feeling that things are coming to a head in that area – particularly where household energy bills are concerned. People are seriously angry (Mars) about their electricity (Uranus) bills.
This connects with the Conservative leadership election as the candidate who is likely to win seems unwilling to deal with this issue. That’s likely to be a big deal around the time of the lunation as we see that things are only heading one way. In the US, you may also feel as if you’ve been here before; some of the issues currently involving the former POTUS may relate to the July 6th violence (a truly shocking Mars-Uranus event). In Taurus, we are reminded that the things we thought were secure can be up-ended by greed, a lust for power and an unwillingness to let go.
At a personal level, those of you with planets and points in orb to the August 2022 Full Moon, may experience some stress about your personal finances. Feelings of insecurity may make you edgy and easy to trigger – and you may be forced to look at new and innovative ways to make your situation secure. The extent to which you are affected by events – that may not be in your control – will become evident around the time of the August 2022 Full Moon – if they haven’t done so already; Mars and Uranus can strike early, so be aware that this is something you will need to get up to speed with – and soon.
The Background Noise
Those of you who are regular readers of my lunation reports will know that sometimes there are aspects in a lunation chart that are important – even if the Full Moon is not directly involved in them. This is one such month; a trine from Mars feeds into the Venus-Pluto opposition in Cancer-Capricorn – and that’s important because it really gives us a flavour of the underlying issues that are relevant at this time.
Mars Trine Pluto
The t-square in the August 2022 Full Moon chart is connected to Pluto with a trine from Mars and – even though we think of a trine as an ‘easy’ aspect, it contains some dangers. In predictive astrology, it tends to refer to ongoing situations, or things that happen fast, as there are no obstacles in their way. Mars and Pluto are signifiers of conflict and crime, disputes, opposing sides, major changes – and things that people would prefer to keep hidden.
A lot of what we are seeing in the world right now, relates to those themes. A drive (Mars) for major change (Pluto) underpins a lot of what we are seeing right now and the conflicts arise because people have differing opinions about what changes are needed. It seems to have reached a stage where it’s brutal and uncompromising; manipulation and corruption (Pluto) have been revealed on a grand scale – and it appears as if the system is rigged in favour of some – and not others. Pluto often signifies a tipping point with existing conditions.
This is a known quantity and is nothing new, so why is it such a polarising issue right now? The answer lies in the nature of Pluto and Mars – and their current signs. Those planets are currently in earth signs – Taurus and Capricorn – and that keys us into material reality. Reality is combustible, difficult, volcanic and explosive. When you tie that into this lunation, then things may be revealed to be febrile indeed.
In your personal life, you may also be going through a process of major change. You may have initiated it (the best use of this energy) or you may feel as if you’re chasing after something that’s getting out of hand and you don’t know whether to continue or cut and run. As the Earth signs suggest, getting realistic about life is what you need to do before you initiate change; if you don’t do that then reality could hit you hard – and you’ll be forced to act in ways you find more difficult to deal with.
Venus Opposite Pluto
The Venus – Pluto opposition is (once more) all about the money. Pluto tunes in to great wealth and Venus represents the cash and resources we need to get through our lives. When they oppose, then someone has all the cash and all the power – and I’m guessing it’s probably not you or me. Having power over resources – of all kinds – is a major issue. Whether it’s about the criminal exploitation (Pluto) of money or the natural world (Venus), these two planets in opposition symbolise the ultimate in relationship inequality.
It’s the kind of thing that can manifest in your personal life, just as easily as it can be seen playing out in the outside world. Many of the issues and events we se unfolding right now stem from this power play and deep inequality. if you’re affected by this lunation, you may be affected at a deep level by those outer events. You may feel powerless or you may feel a desire (Venus) to transform (Pluto) things as much as you are able. Again, if you’ve been going down that route, you may feel you have reached the tipping point…
In your personal life, it’s also a dynamic that can play out in your relationships, finances and – at a deeply personal level – in issues like your self esteem. A major transformation may be required in your value system. What do you feel is fundamentally worthwhile? How much do you value your own survival? Are you willing to change in order to improve your relationships or your sense of self worth? Answering these questions may not be easy, but the events surrounding the August 2022 Full Moon may cause you to start looking at life anew and work out what’s really important to you.
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© Sara Shipman 2022
Picture Credit: Image by danny moore from Pixabay
Always love reading your writeups. 🙂
Hi Shanae – thank you, so much appreciated!