Today’s Full Moon in Sagittarius (3:43 AM ET, 20º38’) brings attention to how our thoughts and beliefs shape our view of the world, how we expand our horizons and our knowledge, and our willingness to venture forward even when we don’t know exactly where the path will take us.
At a full moon, the Sun and Moon are in opposite signs of the zodiac, pulling focus to one of the six zodiacal polarities.
Gemini/Sagittarius: Seeking Answers vs Seeking Wisdom
The full moon in Sagittarius occurs during Gemini season —when the Sun is in Gemini — and the Moon is in Sagittarius. This axis is about how we think, what we believe, our quest for learning, knowledge, wisdom, and meaning. It pulls focus on the lenses through which we see both our local environment and the world — and how those experiences shape each other.
Years ago I had a mentor who articulated a distinction between questions and inquiries:
Questions seek answers. Inquiries seek wisdom.
This feels like a fitting distinction between Gemini and Sagittarius, and the polarity that is being highlighted at this full moon.
Gemini: Questions Seek Answers
Gemini is relentlessly curious. It is ruled by Mercury, which loves the details.
In Gemini, we ask questions in pursuit of knowable answers. Like a journalist — one of Mercury’s archetypes — we want to get the story right. We seek certainty through information and data, facts and figures.
Gemini is the reporter, just trying to get the facts straight. It’s focused on the basics: what things are and how they work. Gemini is local and smaller scale. It’s community and neighborhoods. If we think of the signs as following a timeline of life, Gemini is the early years of primary education.
Gemini is “book smart:” it learns through reading, from researching information that has already been gathered.
It isn’t concerned with putting that information in a bigger context or assessing a larger meaning.
That’s the function of Sagittarius.
Sagittarius: Inquiries and Exploration Seeking Wisdom
Ruled by Jupiter, Sagittarius seeks meaning and context. It doesn’t want to see your spreadsheets or your data points; it is focused on the bigger picture.
If Gemini is the newspaper reporter, Sagittarius is the opinion columnist — less concerned with the specific facts of the story and more focused on the potential impact.
If Gemini is the learning you do in school or the education you’re given, Sagittarius is the knowledge and wisdom you gain out in the world on your own — from your travels, explorations, and adventures.
If Gemini is “book smart,” Sagittarius is “street smart.”
Where Gemini seeks concrete and defined answers, Sagittarius is pursuing the intangible: meaning, belief, and wisdom.
Curiosity, Gemini’s core trait, tends to focus our attention towards specifics of things. Gemini (and Virgo, Mercury’s other sign) is where we get into the details.
In contrast, Sagittarius’s core trait is openness and expansion. Like Pisces, the other sign ruled by Jupiter, Sagittarius looks through a wide lens.
It’s not that Sagittarius lacks a goal. In fact, the symbol of this sign is the arrow of the Centaur.
What Sagittarius knows, however, is that even if you have a clearly defined goal, and even if you align your bow and arrow with precision, once you release the arrow you no longer control how it moves through the air and where it lands.
Sagittarius sets up the conditions, then remains open to what unfolds. It’s here for the adventure of the journey, not just the destination.
Full Moon in Sagittarius: Integrating Information and Context
In some respects, these seem like completely opposites ways of being. And this is where the full moon comes in: it shows us that in this polarity lies synergy.
Your experiences in your local neighborhood and communities influence how you view the world. Even if you’ve never been to certain countries, you likely have beliefs about what people there are like, what you might expect when you go visit — or even if you’re willing to visit. Those beliefs are shaped by the people around you.
And what you learn on your travels will influence how you see and interact with your local community.
Your view of the specific facts and data points shapes how you see the big picture. And your view of the big picture can influence how you see the facts: appreciating the context helps you discern what facts are even relevant.
This is the crux of wisdom, and what differentiates it from knowledge. Knowledge gives you the what and how, while wisdom is about the when and why.
Full Moon in Sagittarius: A Call to Expand
An important signature of this full moon is the mutual reception between the moon and Jupiter. The moon in Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, which has just moved into Cancer, which is the moon’s sign.
Jupiter in Cancer is also in the sign of its exaltation, which gives it vast resources to do its job — which is to help us expand and grow. And that’s the ultimate message of this lunation.
The information we learn from books, school, and courses is important. We need a foundation of literacy to navigate the world and engage with people. But ultimately, our real education comes from being out in the world: from putting the information we learn into practice and opening to new experiences.
Set your sights, aim your arrow, release it, and follow the path. Trust that it will lead you to a place of deeper wisdom.
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