July 13: Full Moon in Uttara Ashadha: Keep Focused, You got this / Saturn rolls back into Capricorn

*I’m on vacation and won’t be online for the next month. I’ll highlight only two of the major planetary events this next month: the Saturn shift and the Full Moon. It’s nice to know Mercury and Venus are in signs they like to be in, and so our abilities to connect and compromise are strong.

FULL MOON in Uttara Ashadha: You got this

There will be a Full Moon in sidereal Sagittarius in Uttara Ashadha “the latter victor” on July 13th at 14:38pm eastern time. This is a  beautiful sign that is ruled by the 10 Vishvadevas, a grouping of deities whose names are:

Vasu (goodness), Satya (truth), Kratru (will-power), Daksha (ritual skill), Kala (time), Kama (desire), Dhriti (forbearance), Kuru (ancestors), Pururavas (abundance), and Madrava (joy).

These are the energies we need to embody this next moon cycle. Uttara Ashadha has the focus, persistence and the ablity to see that goals worth doing take time, strength and optimism. This portion of Uttara Ashadha is in Sagittarius (it also rules a portion of Capricorn) and so pulls in Jupiter and is also ruled by the Sun. These planets tend to be encouraging by nature. While there is so much happening in the world at the moment, this Moon comes along to say: stay focused; lean on your people; this will take time; you got this.

The Moon will be aspected by Rahu, the eclectic north node of the moon, nudging us to get creative and to think out of the box with how we approach things. The challenge of this planetary connection is it can feel voracious in its drive, which can create some mental/emotional instability. Uttara Ashadha tends to be an even-keeled sign, so it should be able to manage the intensity Rahu presents and can show up as precise attention and heightened drive. Again, the key message is to keep your nose to the grindstone but know when it’s time to take a break and share the load.

Refer back the to qualities of this lunar cycle to keep you motivated: goodness, truth, will-power, skill, time, desire, patience, ancestors, abundance and joy.

SATURN IN CAPRICORN: July 12-Jan 17

Saturn is retrograde until the end of October and will roll back into sidereal Capricorn from July 12, 2022 until January 17, 2023. This will give us a chance to revisit some of the issues, ideas and opportunities presented during its previous transit through Capricorn over the last 2+ years (Jan 24, 2020-April 28, 2022). Think of this as a chance to personally tie up loose ends from this time and revisit / complete projects that were dropped for one reason or another.

On the global stage, this transit is a challenging time for world leaders, which we have already seen. Saturn in Capricorn represents the old patriarchal ways. Make it retrograde and there’s a feeling of digging the heels in deeper as the tide inevitably turns. But Pluto is sitting with Saturn during this transit in Capricorn (it began late Dec 2020 and will be there for 20 years: New Year’s Pluto Shift and Jan 12, 2021 New Moon in Uttara Ashadha: the latter victor — Alexia Neonakis Vedic Astrology). This can bring a destructive and revolutionary quality with it, and is specifically about overturning the traditional ways. Without a doubt, we have been and are in revolutionary times. In fact, the birth chart of the United States has Pluto in sidereal Capricorn, and so the US is experiencing a “Pluto return” - a revisiting of its ways and even overhauling aspects. There will be changes, not just in America but all around the world. Capricorn favors organization, structure, sustainability and longevity, so whatever happens now needs to have these qualities going forward. This is a 20 year transit and so the efforts and effects will take time.

If we pull back and get a birds eye view of things, the bigger picture over the next few years is one of the old ways crumbling and the emergence of the new. But change is hard, especially for those who have been in charge for so long and for those who are used to these old ways, even if they aren’t truly authentic expressions but rather blindly following tradition. And so this transition won’t be smooth or easy; Saturn would stay in Capricorn forever if it could.

In the immediate moment, we are also working with Mars-Rahu in Aries (MARS-RAHU in ARIES June 26-Aug 10: Focus on the track, or create chaos in the field? — Alexia Neonakis Vedic Astrology) until early August. This adds impatience, anger, violence and the strong potential for the unexpected to occur. It can be volatile and reactionary, and can also be the spark that lights the fire. We have the potential and ability to harness this energy and use it in a single-minded and laser-focused way, if we are able to keep it well directed and grounded.

This is where other planetary transits and the bi-weekly lunar cycles are critical as they rule “manas” and our “vikruti” - the potentially disturbing and unsettling effects of the external world on us and how stable our minds and emotions are. In short: how we respond. This is when we prioritize self care practices that support mind/body/soul such as the Ayurvedic “dinacharya” daily routine (see resources page on my website or reach out to a practitioner for direct support).