The Full Moon in Gemini is the final Full Moon of 2022 and the first Full Moon of the northern hemisphere winter. Where I live, a few rusty leaves are still clinging to the trees, but on the day of the New Moon it’s forecast that we will have our first flakes of snow. It’s not for nothing that this Full Moon is also known as the Cold Moon. Unlike many people, I love the winter months and I’m grateful that I live somewhere where I can truly appreciate the changing of the seasons. In the mutable Sagittarius month, change is to be expected.
Lunations are a marker of change; they signify the ebb and flow of life on Earth. Events begin and end with the phases of the Moon – and with each full Moon, things come to a head. One way or another, the Full Moon increases our levels of awareness and when the Full Moon occurs in communicative Gemini that is especially true. Those of you with personal planets or angles close to the lunation will feel the effects of the Full Moon in Gemini more than most.
Full Moon in Gemini: The Essentials
The Moon will reach culmination on December 8th at 04:27(UT) and will be situated at 16˚01′ Gemini. Gemini makes connections and a Full Moon in this sign marks a moment of realisation; as the saying goes, we ‘put two and two together’ when the Full Moon shines in Gemini and this is because we become receptive to the messages we are hearing – both at an outer and inner level.
Information and intuition are going to work together when the Full Moon is in this sign, so we may be able to see the things that were missing from our previous levels of understanding. The Full Moon in Gemini reminds us that emotional communication is an essential part of our lives, so those of you who are most affected by this lunation may receive information that affects you at an emotional or feeling level.
However, as Gemini tends to function at the surface more than some other signs, this lunation may mark a time when feelings are on display – even if for a brief moment. Gemini is changeable and adaptable – but its energies may also be unreliable. When the Full Moon is in this sign, they are the qualities that may mark your responses to events around this time. Feelings may come and go, or be changeable, depending on how you feel about the information you’re receiving.
Having to adapt emotionally to events or change your opinions because you learn that something – or someone – is not what you supposed them to be, may be an experience for many of you at the time of the Full Moon. Of course, as the Full Moon represents the culmination of a process, or a chain of events, such things should be expected. Being in possession of the facts is important – particularly when decisions need to be made. The Full Moon in Gemini will shine a light on the facts – of that you can be sure.
Full Moon in Gemini: The Chart
The chart for this Full Moon in Gemini is tense and dynamic, with the Moon in exact conjunction with Mars. The Sun, Moon and Mars are also part of a t-square aspect pattern with Neptune in Pisces – and Neptune is aligned with Jupiter, now moving forward in that sign. The air-water combination in the t-square aspect pattern also emphasises the combination of ‘hearts and minds’ – and the potential conflict between them. T-squares always demand action, so taking action to resolve – or at least talk through – that kind of issue may feature around the time of the Full Moon.
The Moon-Mars conjunction also trines Saturn in Aquarius. Trines in predictive astrology show on-going situations or situations that develop rapidly due to the absence of any blockage or resistance. However, trines involving Saturn often present us with situations where it becomes easy to resist taking the best course of action, or those ongoing situations may have been as issue in your life for quite some time.
Full Moon in Gemini: The Aspects
Looking at the aspects in the Full Moon chart enables us to drill down into the specifics of this lunation because the planets tell us exactly what issues are reaching culmination – and how they are doing so.
Full Moon Conjunct Mars
The Full Moon in Gemini conjunct Mars always suggests that passion and emotion are bound together, However, the real issue that this aspect is bringing to light is to do with drive and motivation. Mars symbolises our capacity to assert our desires. Mars is assertiveness, aggressiveness, energy and will-power – and it’s those issues that are being examined under the light of the Full Moon – especially as the lunar conjunction with the red planet occurs under rather special conditions this month.
Immediately prior top the maximum culmination of the Full Moon in Gemini, there is a lunar occultation of Mars. This is a rare astronomical – and astrological – event where Mars is ‘hidden’ behind the full Moon because the Sun, Moon, Earth and Mars are in complete alignment. There is a clear message being sent out by a hidden Mars – and it’s this: when Mars is hidden, it’s a sign that you are not owning or using your drives in the most effective way.
This may have resonance with those of you most affected by this Full Moon; issues of competence, competitiveness, courage, taking the initiative, going after what you want or standing up for yourself may be revealed to you by events around the time of the Full Moon in Gemini. And it’s a message that will be revealed to you by your responses to certain situations – or the way you respond to your own feelings that may be telling you that you need to be pro-active rather than passive. There are no excuses with Mars.
It’s a message that is, to a certain extent, being played out by Mars retrograde in Gemini. The Full Moon in Gemini conjunct a retrograde Mars really forces you to look within and focus on whatever big issue in your life needs active resolution. If there is an issue where you have failed to take the lead, then you need to step up and take that lead – but first you need to address your own internal resistance to doing so.
Mars retrograde takes on some similarities with Pluto, in that it’s internally directed. You need to address your own feelings about something before taking action to transform the situation. Wherever Mars and the Full Moon are situated in your natal chart, will give you a clue to the kinds of issues you need to resolve – particularly if this lunation is close to an angle, as the issues being lit up are likely to be personal, familial, relational or vocational. In other words, they are the important things that you can’t avoid even if you try to do so.
Full Moon Square Jupiter – Neptune Conjunction
The lunation’s square to Neptune emphasises the above point. Neptune causes blindness – and one issue you may be dealing with around the time of the Full Moon in Gemini may be the fall out from any misconceptions or misunderstandings that have occurred in the period leading up to the Full Moon. You may feel hopeless about something, or as if you’re not in a position to do much about a particular situation.
If that sounds familiar, it may be that you’re dealing with more than that ‘hidden Mars’. Neptune in aspect to Mars – particularly a square aspect – can undermine our personal effectiveness. The Full Moon in Gemini is asking you to make the connection between your lack of effectiveness – and the ways in which you may be undermining yourself. Mars is about assertion; if you’re failing to assert your own authority, you may be feeling angry with yourself more than anything else.
Sometimes we are our own worst enemy when it comes to getting things done. Excuses, procrastination, laziness – they are all part of the Mars-Neptune dynamic being revealed by the Full Moon in Gemini. And confronting that takes courage – particularly as the Jupiter connection may make problems – or perceived problems – appear larger than they are. With Neptune, there is the possibility that we are not seeing things as they are in reality. And that reality is that you do have the drive to be effective in life – you simply have to wake up to that fact.
Full Moon Trine Saturn
The trine to Saturn does reveal such things to be a long-standing problem. The aspect complex attached to the Full Moon in Gemini suggests that, not only is there an issue with drive and an inability to see the problem, Saturn’s presence also suggests a reluctance to deal with it – or even a fear of doing so. Sometimes we place obstacles in our own path, so this Full Moon in Gemini is asking you to make the connection between your frustration and inability to push forward, and the part you may have played in frustrating (Saturn) your own efforts (Mars).
We all get in our own way sometimes – and when we do, we need to take responsibility (Saturn) for our actions (Mars) in order to get back on track. If you feel you have lost your way – and you’re struggling to rediscover your sense of direction – this Full Moon in Gemini is an opportunity to do that. Saturn’s contribution is always a reality check. That may not be easy, but it can get you back to earth in a way that enables you to work through an issue rather than avoid the problem. Stabilising a situation is always a good first move. With a trine aspect to Saturn, that may be easier to achieve than you though possible.
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© Sara Shipman 2022
Picture Credit: Image by Matthias Wewering from Pixabay
