Full Moon in Aquarius, 18 August, 2016

This morning’s full moon = passing through the sign of the water-bearing Aquarius: the genius, the rebel, the criminal. As astrologer Steven Forrest might say, if you’re a genius or a rebel and you either get it right or win the fight, you are honored and praised. But if you lose, well, you are likely to become condemned as a criminal or at least be vilified as such.

Today, I’m thinking of the Dakota pipeline protesters, risking their lives to keep safe their sacred treaty land (what little they’ve been left with after Europeans invaded and stole most of it), under the light of the full moon tonight and many other days– to protect their natural resources, their water, their plants, their non-human animals, and all of their human being LIVES. They also know that this struggle extends far beyond the land in question– and that *all* of our waters and lands and lives are at once simply, intricately, and deeply connected. Those bearing Aquarian energy root for the underdogs, the voiceless, the shunned of our society, THE PLANET and its PLANTS, with ideas to create necessary, positive change. May the pipeline company owners and politicians with bursting pockets choose to follow what is right and contributes to life, versus what is best for their bank accounts and contributes to death.

I am also thinking of the many police officers of the United States who may consider themselves ‘good’ cops, because they personally do not do anything ‘wrong’ involving racist or otherwise discriminatory actions. The Leo sun is shining its most direct & bright light, from our earthly perspective, on the gorgeous Aquarian Moon today, making it a prime time to consider how our silence is truly violence. So-called good cops, when overlooking bad cops’ actions, are no longer ‘good’ cops. As Desmond Tutu states: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” NOW is the time for all officers who may have witnessed unjust actions on the job,whose consciences are weighing heavily on them, to stand up and do the right thing by exposing injustice, no matter what the costs. This potent, change-making Moon reminds me to personally strive to do the right thing for those among us suffering the most. Our own humanity is washed away when we ignore the mass suffering, mistreatment, and genocide of others. Cognitive dissonance is rather like the opposite of compassion.

And if there’s one thing that I believe & feel astrology is best at, it is cultivating compassion. We can use our own natal charts and the transiting motions all around us to remember how to be our highest selves in this lifetime. May we stand up for the oppressed- at every turn, throughout our lives, and in doing so, heal and grow our own and collective humanity.

The three images above were all taken by me (Powers) with my phone’s camera over Cayuga land around 8:30pm August 17th, about nine hours before peak full moon hour of 5:27am, August 18 of 2016.