There will be a powerful Full Moon on Sunday night, leading up to its peak on the morning of February 22nd at 10:19am PST. This full Moon falls in sidereal Leo, opposing the Sun in sidereal Aquarius. The Moon joins a heavy influence from Jupiter and Rahu, who sit near the end of Leo, ingraining a headstrong movement towards power and responsibility. Meanwhile, the Sun may feel the shadow energy of south-node Ketu joining him in Aquarius, which can bring forth contraction of the physical body or of our sense of connection with spirit.
This full Moon in Leo will really light up our sense of personal power and duty. We are able to get in touch with the emotional sensation that surrounds us when we feel responsible, in charge, and accomplished. This may come as the bounty of an active time of service, as Sun in Aquarius has motivated us to take our bodies and actions towards a place of universal service this month (though we may have neglected self-care a little in the process). We may have felt some confusion around this effort due to Ketu’s recent transit into Aquarius, and Rahu’s into Leo.
Any shadows in our personal subconscious around the relationship between service and personal power are likely to start coming to light now. We must look for how to achieve a symbiotic balance between the two, rather than pin them in our minds as a discordant opposition. Jupiter’s and Rahu’s presence in Leo can amplify any feelings of lust for personal power or greed, which are likely to flare up around this full Moon if we aren’t mindful. The key now is to activate a healthy and complementary interaction between empowered leadership and care for our own “kingdom,” and inspired, humble universal service.
We will really begin to feel the shadows of this opposition (Aquarian vs. Leonine energy) over the next two weeks as we approach an eclipse on this axis on March 8th (around 6pm PST). There are some areas of life where we may go to extremes and allow the call to duty and responsibility to become a greedy power-quest, whereas at other times we may get lost in our grand ideas for humanity and neglect responsibilities that are closer to home. You may realize that you have underlying motivations to possess and harness personal power through so-called acts selfless service, or that you are avoiding allowing your unique and individual expression of divine spirit to shine through in your crusade to enlighten the planet. There is a time and place for both service and empowerment; self-love and universal love are both necessary ingredients for a truly loving existence.
Investigating these themes will continue for the next year-and-a-half, as long as Rahu and Ketu, the north and south nodes of the Moon, transit these signs. Whatever houses these are in your personal chart will be affected, and it’s likely that you will go through a lot of change and revelation in whatever areas of life these are for you. The upcoming eclipses will amplify this energy and give you a good look at what personal work needs to be done throughout the coming year.**
This full Moon is on the Vedic nakshatra (star-sign) called Magha, “the mighty.” Falling across the first thirteen degrees of Leo, this constellation summons forth the kingly, divine stature of the Sun (Leo’s ruler). Magha constellation was often interpreted as a throne, and other times as a Lion. It is one of the brightest nakshatras in the sky, evocative of its royal nature. The deities for this star are the Pitris–“the fathers,” or, our ancient ancestors. This is a powerful full Moon for calling forth ancestral wisdom and knowledge. Furthermore, this star is ruled by Ketu, who also relates to deep-seated subconscious wisdom that may have come from past lives or ancestors.
This full Moon is also receiving a drishti (glance, or aspect) from Saturn, which could be helpful as he reminds us to slow down and not get too headstrong in our grabs for power and responsibility. The Sun receives a drishti from Mars, which may help to rev up our vitality a bit while the solar giant sits with the fatigue-inducing Ketu. Mars will have just transited into Scorpio on February 20th, where he will join Saturn for the greater part of the summer, through September. This combination will bring a lot of intense energy to the sign of Scorpio, and whatever houses and planets lie there in your chart.
Eclipse cycles, as we are entering now, are very important times to boost or maintain your spiritual practice, so as not to feel tossed about by the powerful subconscious drives and changes that arise. Meditation, routine, and grounding practices are key, as these energies can tend to throw us off-balance. Lighting a candle is a particularly helpful part of practice to incorporate, to call forth illumination to the shadowy, smokey energy of the nodes, Rahu and Ketu.
**Eclipse cycles such as now are very helpful times to receive a personal reading to understand how you will feel affected individually. We will also cover what the Mars-Saturn conjunction in Scorpio means for you.
**I am sharing a free Rahu-Ketu report to help you understand the effects of this transit and the coming eclipses for each individual Vedic rising sign, available for free at somyadevi.com.