Full Moon in Libra: Consequences

Saturday morning, March 31, the Full Moon in Libra arrives, which means the Moon will appear most full on Friday night. This is a Blue Moon, the second Full Moon this month.

Libra, ruled by Venus, seeks harmony, balance, peace, and beauty. Yet the forces arrayed at this Full Moon will be difficult to balance. Instead of an easy springtime Moon, we find a contentious Moon in which frustration, irritation, and karma will all play a role.

This Full Moon is about consequences.

At each Full Moon, the Sun and Moon are opposite. The Sun fully illuminates the Moon in the night sky, a Moon that rises just as the Sun sets, and sets as the next day dawns.

The Moon in Libra faces the Sun in Aries, first sign of the Zodiac and the beginning of the astrological year. The Sun is not alone in Aries. Mercury is there as well, adding Fire to our thoughts and words.

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Mercury is conjunct the Sun at this Full Moon and is also retrograde. Oops. Aries Fire can’t flow smoothly into action. There’s a need to loop back, do over, think again, and none of these are things Aries likes to do.

The retrograde began a few days ago, on March 22. On April 1, the day after the Full Moon and April Fool’s Day, Mercury reaches its inferior conjunction with the Sun.

This conjunction initiates a new Mercury cycle, a New Mercury, if you will, like a New Moon. The retrograde continues until April 15, so, if you haven’t done your taxes yet this year, be sure to double check everything.

Here, then, is the first check on Aries. We want to move forward, get stuff done, say what we think, and other stuff gets in the way. We might experience power outages or overloads, not enough energy or too much. Communications require extra care in choosing what to say (and not say), framing how to say it, and making sure the message is delivered.

It’s important to remember that Mercury is not trying to thwart us. Instead, he is asking us to slow down. Count to ten when an angry retort rises to your lips. Stop before you hit send on that sharply worded tweet. There is an opportunity here to notice when we are triggered and decide how to respond, rather than giving in to a rash impulse.

A more serious obstacle is the fact that Mars and Saturn in Capricorn are squaring the Full Moon. This is a T-square, in which whatever is at the 90 degree angle, Mars and Saturn in this case, challenges both sides. This is a cardinal T-square, in that Aries, Libra, and Capricorn are all cardinal signs, so there is a lot of energy here that wants to move and can’t.

Mars rules Aries. His position in Capricorn, by itself, would not be a problem, for he is exalted here. Mars, the doer, loves Capricorn, a sign in which he can move forward with purpose, steady determination, and a pragmatism unhindered by feelings.

Also, Mars is out of bounds right now. He has moved outside the pattern of movement the Sun follows, slipping away from the Sun’s control. He is stronger, freer, ready to throw off constraints to do as he wills. He is not interested in listening, unless the message is “Go for it!”

But here is Saturn, stronger than Mars in this sign that he rules, ready to stop Mars in his tracks, asking a lot of inconvenient questions about rules, regulations, and–here is the big one–whether we have carefully considered the consequences of our actions.

At some level, we all know that every action, every choice, brings consequences. Some are known, some unknown. Some are intended, some will be unforeseen. But we know they are there.

Often, though, we pretend we don’t. We tell ourselves (and sometimes others), we didn’t mean it that way, we didn’t think that would happen, and how could we have known? In the end, and sometimes sooner rather than later, the consequences arrive and we must deal with them.

Sometimes, of course, consequences are wonderful. Success. Wealth. Good relationships. Health. Healthy families. These are great things. Yet how many times do we see success causing difficulties? We sabotage ourselves. We envy others’ good fortune. We are prickly, often insecure, difficult to please and no one knows this better than Saturn.

Just as Mercury and the Sun reach their conjunction on April 1, so too Mars and Saturn reach theirs. At the Full Moon, both meetings are near and pending. We can feel the competing desires to move ahead with all engines at full, and to halt until we know that everything is as it should be and all contingencies have been considered.

This is awkward.

So we look to the Moon, who is in Libra, the diplomat, the mediator. Can she find a way out of this impasse? The downfall of a Libra Moon, who will empathize deeply with all sides, is a tendency to look for a quick solution that superficially pleases all parties. Giving a little here and a little there can create the appearance of agreement where deep issues remain unaddressed.

In the present circumstances, this would be a mistake. We have already seen that this Full Moon is about consequences. So, as issues arise, we really do want to take the time to find ways to address key issues and not just paint over real differences with something shiny that will soon wear off.

Venus can help.

Venus rules this Full Moon because she rules Libra. Eight hours before the Full Moon, she entered Taurus, the other sign she rules and a place where she is strong, secure, stable, and grounded.

Taurus is the sign of the patient gardener. This is a place where we know, deep in our bones, that some things simple cannot be hurried. Each thing has a cycle of growth that needs to be supported, nurtured, and not rushed. Otherwise, we won’t see a good outcome.

Sometimes, Libra, and especially a Libra Moon, is seen as weak. Ready to give away anything and everything to keep the peace. Unable to take a stand. But this is a limited view of Libra. Perhaps what we see here is one view of the Libra Shadow, an unsupported Libra.

With Venus newly in Taurus, this Full Moon will be supported. We can listen to the voices within and without reminding us to slow down, to breathe. We are invited to apply the Seventh Generation Principle, which asks how each decision will affect generations to come.

This Full Moon, ruled by Venus in Taurus, reminds us that even if we do not live to see the consequences of our choices, others will. Their needs, the quality of their lives, the viability of the Earth, are worth considering. We are stewards here, not consumers. Thinking in this way, we might find it easier to slow down, avoid rash action and hasty words, and find a deeper peace.

I use Unsplash for almost all my photo illustrations. All astrological charts are my own. The images in this post include the title, created from the photo “Show Me the Way” by Lachlan Donald, the photo of the the woman training by Scott Webb, the “Wrong Way” sign by NeONBRAND, and the wild horse by Alecu Gabriel.