Full Moon in Leo on February 5, 2023
Each Full Moon presents us with the opportunity to experience and learn lessons through the polarity of both the sign the Sun is traveling through in this season of the Zodiac and its direct opposite. This Sunday February 5, 2023 at 1:28 PM EST the Moon will reach 16° Leo 41’ in direct opposition to The Sun at, you guessed it, 16° Aquarius 41’. In North America we’ll enjoy the fullness of the moon in the two evenings around it; our friends on the other side of the planet will see this in the evening.
Leo and Aquarius have an interesting relationship with one another. Amanda Yates Garcia once shared a beautiful teaching on this pairing that I love so dearly. Leo is the natural ruler of the Sun, our shining source of light and energy for all beings here on Earth and for the other planets within our solar system. Aquarius in the Major Arcana is represented by one of my favorite cards, The Star card. Many of the stars we see shining their ancient light upon us at night have planets and entire solar systems surrounding them.
Aquarius, co-ruled by both Saturn and Uranus, has a very unusual relationship moving between the self and the collective. Moving into it’s own authenticity - which is a major crossover point with its opposite, Leo - its energy usually manifests in situations where norms need to be broken for this to happen (Uranus), then forms new norms (Saturn) which work until they, in some way shape or form, need to be stepped out of again (Uranus). Imagine the process of anything beginning from the most primary elements (if you have a relationship with the Major Arcana think of The Fool archetype, which is correlated with Uranus), then finding form (Saturn), then having a proverbial storm that shakes structures loose when those no longer work (Uranus), then forming again in a way that works better (Uranus). This is quite a lot more complex than Leo’s association with authenticity - to step fully into courage and bravery and love with those most close to you, and those that aren’t still gravitate around to watch (Sun).
Leo, the natural ruler of our hearts, expresses its love up close, to those nearby. It shows us its courageous journey across the sky one way or another, expressing itself in sunrises and sunsets and on every creature in its path. Aquarius expresses its love at a distance, perhaps to those who may never directly experience it in every corner of the universe. Leonic awareness is that of ourselves and those close to us. Aquarian awareness is seeing the way we impact the tiniest, forgotten corners in the universe. In the case of this full moon, as we collectively move through, well, collectivist Aquarius.
Leo out of whack can feel like a sunburn - way too much focus on yourself can really burn you or others around you. Aquarius out of whack can feel like dealing with aspects of the internet - this feels so distant and the focus is on thing so far away, am I dealing with a person here?
As Aquarius rules the calves & ankles, and Leo the heart, and movement practice that gets both these flowing is ideal. Jumping, bounding, walking en-point can all be benficial. Finding spaces we can lovingly express oneself (Leo Moon) amidst a group we then fade into the starry background (Aquarius) and shuttling back and forth is a great way we can work with this polarity. Showing our deep, innermost love for the oddballs, or lost causes of the world, through an expressive art modality is another.
This Full Moon has no conjunctions, meaning no planets are close enough to create an alchemical soup with either the Sun or Moon, hence a good opportunity for us to feel out the Aquarius Sun, Leo Moon polarity quite fully. With Chiron at 12° Aries, we receive support in this full moon working through our collectively wounded sense of self. An 11° Gemini Mars may give us a boost of curiosity in our emotional processes and our intimate relationships, and also how we show up in the collective. Uranus at 15° Taurus forms a very challenging aspect to the Moon & Sun, which may be experienced as our collective nervous system being feeling thwarted by unusual physical phenomenon. The intense reactions over the internet to the 2 weather balloons/spy satellites flying over the US and Latin America from China is an expression of this energy). Stay true to your heart through this weekend!