Lunations
Full Moon
A Full Moon is the bright, culminating point of the lunar cycle, when the Moon stands opposite the Sun and is fully lit. It is the moment things come to light, reach a peak, and ask to be released.
Modern
About two weeks after the New Moon, the Moon reaches the opposite side of the sky from the Sun and shines full. Whatever was set in motion around the New Moon tends to come to a head now: a feeling surfaces, a situation reaches its peak, or something you have outgrown becomes impossible to ignore. Because the Moon and Sun sit in opposite signs, the Full Moon always lights up a polarity, a push and pull between two areas of life. It is a strong time for honesty, completion, and letting go, and a hard time to hide from what you feel.
Traditional (Hellenistic)
The When two planets sit directly across the zodiac from each other, about 180 degrees apart. It creates tension, awareness, and a pull between two sides that need balancing. of the lights was read as the Moon at her fullest power, lit completely by a Sun she faces across the zodiac. Older writers tied it to culmination and visibility, the peak of what the month had been building, and often to release as the Moon turns to wane.
- culmination
- release
- illumination
- polarity
- completion
Lean in
Being honest about what has come to light, and releasing what you have outgrown.
Watch for
Reacting to a feeling at its loudest; let the peak pass before you act on it.
Sources
- Hand, Planets in Transit (1976)The standard modern reference on how transiting cycles, the lunar phases included, are experienced.
- Brady, Predictive Astrology (1999)A modern guide to timing and the rhythm of the lunar and planetary cycles.
- George, Astrology and the Authentic Self (2008)Reads the lights and their phases through both classical significations and a modern lens.