Albert Einstein famously said that you can’t solve a problem from the same level of consciousness that created it.
In a similar way, we can’t solve a problem by looking only at the place where that problem arises.
One of the things that I find most useful about astrology is that it helps me see the common patterns that emerge as different events happen in different places.
Each aspect or transit on its own pulls our focus to a particular place in our chart, a different area of life. We might ascribe it a particular meaning.
When we view these events as a collection of individual happenings, it can feel overwhelming; we don’t know where to look, what to prioritize.
When we pull back, we can see there’s a cohesiveness around them. Detaching from an investment in the meaning of any one aspect gives a more complete view of the whole.
Nothing happens in isolation. Each aspect or transit impacts the others. Each moment is a part of a bigger story. When something happens in one place it impacts other events happening in other places.
And it’s in this broader context that solutions emerge.
This principle is reflected in today’s full moon in Aquarius, which coincides with two other significant aspects. Considering each aspect individually gives us a lot of information and data points. But if we take a moment to step back, we can see a bigger story and lesson emerge.
Full Moon in Aquarius
The full Moon peaks in Aquarius at 2:31 PM ET, with the Sun and Moon at 9°16’ of Leo and Aquarius.
At a full moon, the sun sits directly opposite the moon. The moon in Aquarius sits opposite the Sun, which is in the individual-focused sign of Leo.
Aquarius is a sign focused on the collective. As opposed to Leo, which is the sign of the heart, Aquarius is a sign of the mind. This is the sign of the “know it all” — a sign focused on facts and detached from emotion. It pulls us out of the personal emotion to the universal facts that can apply to all.
Aquarius is a sign focused on innovation and problem solving through a structural, practical lens.
Full moons illuminate and magnify. This one especially so as the moon is at Perigree, the point in its eliptic that is closest to earth. So the moon will be bigger in the sky; it’s light will be brighter, helping us to see more.
The Sun is in Leo, focused on the self and creative expression. Also in Leo is Venus, which is retrograde, marking a period of review and reflection that is by nature focused on the self.
This full moon in Aquarius invites us to step back — even if just for a moment — from the focus on ourselves to see the bigger picture. It offers us an opportunity to consider how we can use our skills and individual experience to solve a problem in a way that serves the collective.
Mercury Opposing Saturn
Also today, Mercury in Virgo forms an opposition to Saturn in Pisces.
Mercury in Virgo can be focused too much on the details to the point of losing the bigger picture. It can cause us to be paralyzed in the web of perfectionism and overwhelm.
Mercury opposing Saturn in general can feel like we are being blocked in some way. But Saturn in Pisces is not like Saturn in other signs. Pisces is a sign where individuals merge into oneness, where all boundaries dissolve, where we seek meaning.
Saturn in Pisces is less about walls and road blocks, and more about containers.
When we have the right container for our work — when we frame it in the right context — we can find more ease and flow in that work.
Saturn in Pisces reminds us to step back from the details, to zoom out and illuminate the bigger picture and the deeper purpose of our work. We can more ease and flow even in the most pedantic tasks when we remember how these tasks fit into the bigger picture and help us serve.
Mars Trine Jupiter
Mars in Virgo drives forward in an effort to be productive. After its own opposition to Saturn last week, Mars trine Jupiter can bring a feeling of triumph. There is this desire to win.
The trine to Jupiter in Taurus is a supportive, flowing aspect. But this is not about working harder or more.
Running faster won’t necessarily help you win the race. If you’re running in the wrong direction, or if your body is not in proper alignment and using correct form, you’ll end up either in the wrong destination, injured, or both.
Earthy Taurus is a place of grounding, a place where we seek rest and enjoy pleasure and the fruits of our labor. Jupiter helps us expands and broadens perspective. This supports the action-oriented energy of Mars in a way that is different from how we might ordinarily consider productivity.
This trine tells us that sometimes the most productive strategy is to rest and nourish, to allow ourselves a moment to indulge in pleasure as part of the path to our goals, rather than merely the reward for achievement.
Weaving the Threads
These three events happening on the same day are impacting different areas of life, but in the same way and with the same message:
They tell us that the best way to solve a problem we might be facing is to take a step back and see the bigger picture. Perhaps we might be informed by our personal situation, but the solution will only come through thinking about the collective.
When we can use our personal experience as a form of service to others, and find solutions that are good for all, we will find greater meaning and purpose that will help fuel our creativity and create more ease and flow in our work.
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