This morning's Full Moon in Aquarius is set to help us break free from the chains of the past so we can step more fully into the futures we've envisioned. Like the month of August that this full moon ushers in, we're presented with a set of very different energies to integrate within ourselves for more balanced living. With Saturn stationing direct this Sunday - a planet that co-rules Aquarius - it's time to get serious about moving forward with goals, love, and money in ways that are a genuine fit for us. This is not the time to play small or to avoid responsibilities; rather, it is a time to assess where you are and where you want to be through the most discerning lens possible and make a commitment to action.

Aquarius is a sign connected to experiences in becoming one's totally authentic self regardless of the opinions of others. The endgame of this sign is about accessing complete and total freedom for the self and for society. Anything that stifles authenticity and self-expression must fall by the wayside; putting on facades and adhering to social norms are not a part of the Aquarius playbook. Sometimes eccentric and quirky, always inventive and visionary, these folks are called to forget about tradition if need be and follow their path without apology.

This Aquarius Full Moon is an opportunity to get real about where we feel the most stifled and held back in our lives. It's a time for truth-telling and holding fast to your ideals and visions with no regard for limiting past conditions or opposition. Be honest: where in your life are you feeling stagnated or hemmed in? What do you really want in life? The rebellious Aquarian moon's pull will lead you in that direction if you can conjure up the courage to follow through...with follow through and a commitment being the real keys to liberation at present.

Jupiter Square Saturn & Venus Retrograde: Re-evaluating The Path To Success

Aquarius is all about freedom, but sometimes the changes that lead to freedom don't manifest overnight. When our desires are strong and the realization of those desires seems far-off, patience isn't always easy to tap into. But we know that if we want to create radical change in our lives, sometimes we have to be willing to take ongoing action and commit to creating those changes through ongoing, conscientious efforts. 

Enter Saturn, whose role in the evolution of human consciousness on Earth revolves around commitment, responsibility, and dedication. Saturn's influence in our lives can feel entirely restrictive, but limitations can and do serve multiple purposes. Have you ever felt so hemmed-in that you finally found the strength within yourself to break free, even if it took time to achieve newfound freedom? Saturn's station this weekend shows that events related to reality checks and building solid lives from the ground up will likely come to a head. You could find yourself feeling blocked from self-expression somehow, walled-off from moving forward, seeing everything that stands between you and your dreams so clearly that the end goal seems impossible...until you commit to creating a realistic course of action to build your desires from the ground up. 

Saturn presents reality and truth exactly as it is. We might feel discouraged by those realizations, but ultimately, that knowledge is power. It can only help us align our visions with the complete picture of reality if we use it wisely. Embracing gratitude for the truths being revealed and taking consistent action based on what you discover is the surest way to master Saturn's lessons.

With Saturn about to move forward through the final degrees of Scorpio, the symbolism suggests that we're ready to move forward collectively, too - forward on lessons centering on financial honesty and responsibility, relationship boundaries, and being entirely realistic when it comes to all things related to sex, money, and personal empowerment.

Speaking of love and money, Venus is in her retrograde cycle through September 6. Venus and Jupiter square off with stationing Saturn, making relationships, money, and personal values a central focus for this full moon weekend. Venus is at 0 degrees of Virgo for the full moon, but slips back into Leo this afternoon. With the Goddess of Love moving backwards in the very early degrees of Virgo, there's an added air of responsibility to an already serious atmosphere. It's as if her playful and potentially self-oriented tendencies in Leo are being called back into review while in Virgo, a sign that centers on practicality, humble introspection, and being of service to others. Her square to Saturn says, "It's time to mind the details of your life," and full scrutiny of the details of how we've been spending our time or money could cause some friction. 

Jupiter's involvement here promises that if we use our resources wisely and come up with a plan to balance work and play, our desires and our responsibilities, more joy and abundance are almost guaranteed to come our way!

You can make good use of the realizations that come to light during this full moon by being as honest as possible with yourself about:

• The ways in which you are or aren't moving toward your goals
• The ways in which you've been spending resources of any kind - time, money, thought-power and focus, physical energy. Do those "spending habits" align with your long-term visions?
• Whether your actions are aligned with your deepest values and what serves you best; this could center on involvement in relationships that aren't a true match for you, a job that's outworn its expiration date, or thought patterns and other choices that hold you back.
• If you are confidently expressing your core nature in all parts of life

If we take the time to invest in what really matters and commit to a solid plan of action, great personal freedom await us. Are you ready to dig in and make your dreams a reality? Be attentive to what unfolds in the coming days and weeks, and trust that consistent action will pave the way for joy and success!

© Jen Howell,  Bright Star Astrology & Healing Arts, 2015. Unauthorized use or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to this site and writer with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

This evening's emotionally-charged New Moon in Cancer is an opportunity to face issues in your inner life and closest circles with courage and gusto. Issues of emotional and physical security, the healthy expression of anger and other potent emotions, and the capacity to be free from the past are all up for intense renewal and new beginnings.

Cancer is the sign that is most connected with home and family, with our biological and soul-level roots, with past memories that can stretch beyond those we've acquired in this lifetime. Ruled by the Moon herself, Cancer is a sign of love, compassion, nurturance, and mother energies, of complete emotional security: the totality of a thriving inner and outer sanctuary. The moon and Cancer are also associated with habit patterns we cling to because they are familiar - not necessarily because they serve our best interests. 

Uranus is square to the Sun and Moon, zapping whatever part of our lives Cancer represent in our personal birth charts with the energy of radical change. Feeling an intense desire to break from the status quo in your personal life? Experiencing restlessness and the need to break with familial patterns or close relationships that stifle your self-expression? Feeling compelled to make some kind of profound change that will lead to experiencing more peace, love, and nurturance in the sanctuary of your life? That's Uranus working to bust you out of limiting self-perceptions and into the light of your soul's calling. Uranus will Station Retrograde later this month, making its connections with this new moon  even more significant. We'll all get a chance to do deep review work of just what those newfound emotional freedoms might look like while Uranus is retrograde from July 26 to December 25.

Mercury-Mars Opposing Pluto: Repression That Leads To Release & Empowerment

Liberating ourselves from past patterns and conditioned emotional responses takes courage and perseverance, and we're getting just the cosmic boost we need to crack old foundations to access that power. Mars and Mercury are exactly joined in Cancer, giving our thoughts and words an especially courageous, straightforward, and impassioned edge as they oppose Pluto in Capricorn. Mars is an emotional powerhouse in Cancer, amping up our desire to protect the home front and those we love. It also adds enormous passion and the capacity to act on our feelings to the celestial mix. Mercury's connection brings a significant mental focus to our innermost feelings and private worlds, both physically and in the realm of imagination.

There's an energy about now that might best be described as "one foot on the gas and the other on the brake". Pluto represses and buries what it touches...at least for a while. While it's contacting Mars and Mercury, we're likely to feel a certain heaviness or fatigue, as well as possible repression of emotions, communicative abilities, and sexual or creative energies. Though Pluto can give incredible staying power, we can only allow those energies to build up for so long until they explode into external events, and often in messy and potentially harsh ways. 

We have a profound chance to tap into this Plutonian essence for carefully-measured yet honest and straightforward self-expression now. Pluto shows where we've been repressed for far too long, where we can let intense and overwhelming feelings surface for release and total self-empowerment. Allow for the release of taboo or powerful feelings - or connect with the parts of yourself that feel broken, rejected, fearful, or denied and reach out to them with love and courage - to root into the essence of your Divine heritage.

Venus Square Saturn: Getting Real With Love and Money

Are you feeling friction between you and a friend or relationship partner? Are your spending habits not adding up with the reality of current financial circumstances? Are your values at odds with friendship dynamics, career path, or any other part of life? These Venus-Saturn themes are woven into this new moon as well, making it the perfect time to do some serious evaluation of what's working and what is not in those areas. This could be an ideal week for having an honest conversation that makes or breaks commitments so you can honor your needs more fully. Necessary break-ups are never fun, but Saturn Retrograde in Scorpio is making one last pass to dredge up potentially unpleasant truths so we can deal with them once and for all. Monetary security is significant at present, since emotional security is inextricably linked to having the financial resources to meet our needs for shelter, safety, and comfort. General themes around money, shared resources, trust, and integrity in personal relationships will be prominent through mid-September; Saturn's square to Venus as she prepares to turn retrograde on July 25 highlights them even more.

The New Moon is exact Wednesday, July 15 at 9:24 PM EDT. The 24-hour period before and after new moons is an ideal time to contemplate how you can create new beginnings by reflecting on the issues it brings forward. Once the 24-hour period is passed, the climate is right to begin new projects and "plant seeds" to bring new projects or visions to fruition. 

To find where these new moon themes are impacting you, find the part of your birth charts that holds 23 degrees of Cancer. This is where you're called to root in to what whole-self security means to you; where you are due for radical change so your needs can be met more fully; to express your feelings honestly from your deepest power center. 

Act with empowerment and strength, but allow love - perhaps self-love and compassion most of all - to shine from the core of your choices. 

© Jen Howell,  Bright Star Astrology & Healing Arts, 2015. Unauthorized use or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to this site and writer with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.