This month begins with the Full Moon in Capricorn appearing in our skies at 11:38 (UT) on 3rd July. It’s the first Full Moon after Midsummer and, for readers in the US, it comes just before the day of national celebration on 4th July – so ‘over the pond’ this could be quite the emotive moment. It seems appropriate therefore, that the Full Moon is in the sign of power, governance and all things we associate with authority, So, what will it bring to a head? To begin to answer that question, I want to go back in time,,,
When I looked at the lunation chart, I was immediately struck by the Full Moon’s contacts with Jupiter and Saturn – and how those two planets were aligned in a separating sextile. The Full Moon chart is reminding us that we’ve reached one of the important stages of the Jupiter-Saturn cycle, following the ‘Great Conjunction’ of 2020. The Full Moon in Capricorn is also reminding me of the path that the Moon takes as it orbits the Earth; it passes through the ecliptic like a needle passing through fabric, its invisible stitches holding together time and fate, the invisible threads weaving our future in ways we cannot comprehend
So, this Full Moon carries some weight. Appropriately, it’s also a ‘Supermoon’, as it’s occurring during one of the parts of the lunar cycle that brings the Moon closest to the Earth. That makes it bigger, brighter and more powerful in its effects – and from an astrological perspective, it’s one of the big lunations (aside from an eclipse). It’s going to be one to watch for all of us, so let’s prepare for the impact of this spectacular Full Moon
Full Moon in Capricorn: The Essentials
As I do every month, I’m going to start with the essential meaning of the Full Moon and its sign, and in keeping with the Full Moon in Capricorn it’s a Full Moon that’s going to bring issues of power and control to a head. The Full Moon shines a light on those parts of our lives where we’ve been avoiding a few issues. In order to move things forwards, those issues need to be addressed – preferably in a constructive manner. Capricorn is a cardinal sign – that’s why it’s associated with ambition and climbing to another level.
It’s also an earth sign so it’s practical, sensible and realistic. The Full Moon in Capricorn may bring things to a head, but it also demands that we deal with whatever is signified in a realistic and pragmatic way. It seems strange to say that sometimes the best way of dealing with something is to know your limitations – but the Full Moon in this sign may be telling you exactly that – working with what you have (and what you know) may be the most effective solution to any issue that culminates around this time, and over the next few weeks.
At a personal level, It helps to know exactly where in your natal chart – by house position – this lunation illuminates. A Full Moon shining on one of your cardinal points (Ascdendant, Descendant, Midheaven or Nadir)or in an angular house (1st, 4th, 7th or 10th) is always going to present with some immediacy. In Capricorn, it’s going to tell you that whatever is blowing up in your home life, relationships, career – and, of course, your own approach to life may require a slow and steady or considered response. Alternatively, you may be required to show some authority and take the lead in a certain matter.
Your lives are your own – and the issues you face are your own too – but the Full Moon in Capricorn will give you something to handle when it hits an angle in your natal chart. Don’t think you’ll get away with this is if the Supermoon shines in any other house; in the Succedent houses (2nd, 5th, 8th and 11th), the message may prompt you to ‘get real’ in a material, creative, circumstantial or social sense, and in the Cadent houses (3rd, 6th, 9th and 12th) you can expect things to come to a head because of communications, obligations, opinions and plain old secrets and lies.
The devil resides in the detail, and the detail is always set out in the lunation chart. This brings me back to something I alluded to earlier: you may want to cast your mind back to whatever was happening in your life in late 2020 to early 2021 – the time of the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in Aquarius. Whatever was happening then, may be culminating in a new phase right now. In astrology – as in life – all things are connected.
Full Moon in Capricorn: The Chart
Full Moon in Capricorn: The Aspects
Here we have it: this Full Moon in Capricorn is tied into the current sextile aspect between Jupiter and Saturn, with Saturn retrograde in Pisces. They are tied together in a ‘Minor Trine’ and that often indicates situations or events that are still developing. They’re not new situations and they haven’t reached their final completion – but they may have reached to culmination of a critical stage in their progress towards that end point – and that’s what I think the minor trine is referring to here.
The aspect pattern that we can see in this lunation chart is often called the ‘boat pattern’ – two minor trines and an opposition – and it’s easy to see why. What it represents, is the movement from one particular situation to another. It does – quite literally – symbolise a journey, so it contains elements of patience, isolation, adventure and hope. We think of ‘a long sea voyage’ as the way in which many of our ancestors left behind one phase of life for the promise of something new, and this aspect pattern contains that promise: of placing your faith and hope in the unknown in the belief that it will be better than what you have now.
Full Moon in Capricorn Trine Jupiter in Taurus
Let’s deal with the trine aspect first: a Moon-Jupiter trine is considered an positive emotional aspect; feeling good is the usual – and literal – interpretation of that aspect and, while many of you may feel that way, there is more to a Moon-Jupiter aspect than feelings of unbridled optimism. It’s visionary, happy and positive, but in predictive astrology the presence of a trine indicates an ongoing matter or something that happens quickly because there is nothing to prevent it from doing so.
What I would suggest, is that this is a good time to look favourably on any opportunities that come your way; the Moon is instinctive, and if you feel that you should be pursuing an opening that has appeared before you, or that you’re now in a position to grow a project or ambition that may have originated a while ago (perhaps at the time of the Great Conjunction?) then this may be the time to push forwards into that new space – particularly if your existing situation (or whatever it is) has reached the maximum scope of what is currently possible.
Jupiter pushes us into new spaces and places; the end of the line is simply the place where you begin a new voyage and, as this is an earth trine, what you are being asked to do will have a direct impact on your material reality. Jupiter expands, so improving (Jupiter) your material (Taurus) security (Capricorn) may be something you are drawn towards at this time. Be prepared to have to increase (Jupiter) the amount of hard work (Taurus) that you do – in fact, you may find that your workload increases whether you want it to – or not. The upside, however, maybe that increased pay packet, or the sense that you now have more opportunity than you had before.
Full Moon in Capricorn Sextile Saturn in Pisces
Things being hard work brings us to Saturn. Saturn is currently retrograde, so lets dig into the fundamental meaning contained in that placement: Saturn is the planet of cold, hard reality and Pisces is the sign most associated with trying to escape from cold hard reality – so at first glance that’s not an easy placement. However, what Saturn does is bring things down to earth. There are some who will tell you that Saturn in Pisces can turn your dreams into reality; to them I would say this: first, that’s only possible if you work extremely hard and, second, you most likely need to work within your limits and capabilities.
In other words, you need to build on what you know in order to make the kind of progress that constitutes a solid achievement. So, if you have a dream, you can achieve it – but only on Saturn’s terms. Saturn rules Capricorn – the sign in which the Full Moon occurs – so casts a serious note to this particular lunation. Retrograde Saturn likes to get things back on track, so if you feel your life has strayed from its best path, the Full Moon in Capricorn is going to give you the opportunity to correct your course.
A sextile aspect represents an open door – you can walk through it or close it in your own face – the choice is yours. However, if you choose the latter option, ask yourself why you have done so. Is it because you’re afraid of the unknown (very Saturn in Pisces) or the big decisions that Jupiter is asking you to make (so you avoid them) or is it that you can’t face the hard work that Saturn is going to demand of you? You’re likely to be confronted by any combination if these at this time if the Full Moon in Capricorn is triggering a sensitive planet or point in your natal chart.
So, the thing to take away from it all is this: if you’re feeling restricted and in need of expanding some parts of your life, don’t put obstacles in your own way. Saturn in Pisces is great at making excuses – and excuses are some of the greatest road blocks to progress that it’s possible to construct. It’s far better to be pragmatic, cautious where necessary – and trust that a little bit of that Jupiter vision and luck will be on your side. The Full Moon in Capricorn is going to reveal the moment where you have to make that choice of whether or not to walk through the door.
The Jupiter – Saturn Sextile
To end this post, I feel I need to say something about the Jupiter – Saturn Sextile, because the Jupiter -Saturn cycle is providing the background context for this Full Moon. The Great Conjunction in Aquarius that took place in 2020 marked the beginning of a new Jupiter – Saturn cycle. These two planets come together every 20 years or so – and the 2020 conjunction was notable as it marked the beginning of a new era – the shift into revolutionary Aquarius and the air sign cycle from conservative Capricorn and the closure of the earth sign cycle that began with the Great Conjunction in 1842.
Great Conjunctions mark the emergence of new trends, cycles and significant developments in society. Jupiter and Saturn are the ‘social planets’, so that’s to be expected, and they work with the principle of expansion and contraction to produce both evolution and revolution as each new Jupiter-Saturn cycle begins. The next Great Conjunction will not occur until November 4th 2040 (and it will occur in the sign of Libra). Before we reach that point, Jupiter and Saturn will make several contacts by major aspect – and this sextile aspect is the first significant contact in that cycle since 2020.
It marks the point at which we begin to regard the future with cautious optimism. That is true in both a macro sense (the stuff that’s going on in the wider world) and in a more personal ‘closer to home sense’ too – after all, one impacts on the other. However, for that optimism to be well placed, our actions need to be taken with good judgement; making that ‘good call’ is the most important thing that we can do under a Jupiter – Saturn sextile, otherwise we will see good opportunities squandered and our options limited. This lunation places us at that point – so let’s hope good judgement prevails.
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© Sara Shipman 2023
Picture Credit: Image by Junior Peres Junior from Pixabay
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