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The illumination of the full Moon in Aquarius in late August 2024 reveals our shadows as well as our gifts. It shows us what we are capable of achieving as well as how we may stumble. It’s an invitation to balance progress with reflection and to ensure that our steps forward are informed by our lessons from the past.
What Day is the Full Moon in August 2024?
The full Moon in Aquarius takes place on August 19, 2024, at 11:26 Pacific time.
What the Full Moon in Aquarius Means for You
The astrological position of the full Moon governs what will be revealed on that night. It also tells us what will be nurtured by the full Moon’s vibrations. Through understanding the zodiac sign influencing the full Moon, we direct our attention to the qualities that will be amplified and highlighted. This allows us to see them more easily, shift them if needed, and nurture them.
Aquarius is one of the more complicated signs of the zodiac—and perhaps one of the most misunderstood. At its heart, the air sign represents the collective, which includes people in a given society as well as their rules and structures. Aquarius governs the collective consciousness, which in its simplest definition is the shared thoughts of a society.
You can think of the collective consciousness as all of society’s beliefs, opinions, and energy. This creates thought paradigms and ingrained belief structures that influence everyone’s perceptions and conditioned patterns, whether we realize it or not. It influences societal norms and group dynamics, including how we treat one another, who leads the collective, and who changes the rules that govern all of us.
The collective consciousness is a vibration of what the collective is doing, thinking, and feeling at any time that we all exist in and can tune into at any time. This vibration is best understood through the lens of Aquarius.
Although Aquarius governs everything having to do with society and coming together to form societal structures, it also values individuality and helps us break the structure of society through rebellious acts that challenge the status quo.
To reconcile these seemingly opposing influences of Aquarius, we need to understand them as a continuous cycle of evolution. We are hardwired to evolve as human beings. We want to evolve, and so do the societies in which we live. Without change, and without humans who demand change, society stagnates.
Aquarius propels us forward by helping us challenge what is not serving humanity. The energy of Aquarius helps the ones who evolve past the current collective go on to challenge it. The rebels and the rule-breakers are the ones who ultimately change society. The people who take a chance to be who they are regardless of being accepted by the collective or not shape the way others live. They are the risk-takers and the people who can see a better future.
So while Aquarius helps us form a society, it also helps us break it down and rebuild it. This brings out our visions of who we are, who we are within a collective, and what change needs to happen so everyone in the collective feels society is serving them. Aquarius reminds us that we all have a responsibility to contribute to the evolution of humanity by finding out who we are and speaking our truth.
During the full Moon in Aquarius, become keenly aware of how you are influenced by society. How have you been programmed by the world around you? Our societal training comes in many forms—our parents, our schools, and our peers. In our early stages of development, we are like sponges. We absorb the environment around us and pick up habits, behaviors, and conditioned responses without our awareness or the awareness of the people whose behaviors we are absorbing. We form concepts by merely living in a world full of other people whose combined knowledge creates the collective consciousness.
Allow this full Moon in Aquarius to help you find your individual freedom among the collective. What do you need to release to find your truth? What beliefs are not yours but were merely taught to you? What feels like you? How do you want to share that person with the world?
As you find your truth, speak it. Do this with your words and actions, but also do this with your being. Notice the vibe that you emit and ask if it reflects who you are. Also, ask how your vibe is contributing to the collective consciousness. Are you helping yourself and humanity ascend evolve to their highest potential?
What the Full Moon in Aquarius and Sun in Leo Means
Every astrological sign has its opposite sign on the zodiac wheel. Each pair exists on an axis that encompasses different aspects of the same concepts. These signs have commonalities and they have differences, but at their core, they are concerned with the same themes and bring us unique perspectives and lessons to unravel.
The full Moon sits in the sign of the zodiac opposite the Sun, which means as the full Moon sits in Aquarius, the Sun sits in Leo. The Moon’s energy is working with and playing off the Sun’s. When the Sun is in Leo, we all have Leo’s aspects heightened in our personalities, regardless of our sign. When the full Moon lands in the opposite sign of Aquarius, we can see ourselves from a different angle and understand the lessons Leo is currently teaching us from a different perspective.
Aquarius and Leo are both concerned with defining our individuality. They both encourage us to know who we are, accept who
we are, and be who we are in every situation. They equally inspire us to shed expectations from others, rise above the fear of rejection, and align with our essence.
Leo focuses on how we can celebrate our uniqueness and love ourselves unconditionally. Aquarius focuses on how we can celebrate our and other people’s uniqueness, understanding that the collective is made of individuals. Where Leo helps us find our self-expression and lead others through our voice, Aquarius teaches us that we have the power to move society forward when we express our truth and take a chance to show up and be seen.
When we work with the energies of both Leo and Aquarius, we can honor each other as individuals and learn from different perspectives. During this full Moon in Aquarius, align with Leo to feel your most authentic self and align with Aquarius to be able to show up in the world as that self.
Draw strength from these signs as you break free of any societal programming that demands you fit into the status quo. Instead, give yourself the freedom to stand in your truth and share it. Know that not everyone will agree with you and that it’s okay. When you show up in the world with confidence and integrity, people listen and you end up changing your part of the world.
On the full Moon in Aquarius, we also have the opportunity to release the lower vibrations and integrate the higher vibrations of both signs. Leo’s lower vibration, or shadow side, seeks approval and validation from others. When we align with this side, we depend upon the collective to love us so we can love ourselves. We become needy and unaware of the pressure we place on others to validate our talents. These signs help us acknowledge when we might be betraying our truth to fit in with the crowd and pretending to be something we are not.
In this frequency, our self-acceptance becomes interlinked with the outside world. We may cause drama to gain attention, no matter if that attention is negative or positive. We also allow the ego to take over as we manipulate others and demand praise.
We may also do things to simply fit in with others instead of staying true to ourselves. When we emphasize fitting in, we forgo our truth and accept someone else’s. We also accept standards that are not our own. If you find yourself aligning with this side of Leo, feel into your truth. Find ways to love yourself unconditionally and break free so that you can share yourself with others, even if that means not fitting in.
Aquarius, on the other hand, is concerned with unconditional love for humanity as a whole. The highest frequency of Aquarius sees everyone as equal, no one better or worse than their neighbor. Furthermore, everyone is entitled to live their life as they choose. Individual freedom is at the center of this frequency. Like Leo, Aquarius’s energy asks that we show up as ourselves in every situation. But Aquarius goes one step further and asks us to accept others just as they are.
In reality, we are all the same, we are all one. The more we accept the collective, the more we accept ourselves and vice versa. The higher vibration of Aquarius gives way for people to be themselves, without judgment and without feeling like they need to fit into some box designed by someone else. It is true freedom based on unconditional love for all of humankind.
Aquarius, like Leo, also has a lower side to its energy. This shadow, or extreme, side forgets about the individual and their unique needs. When we align with this frequency, we forget to take personal responsibility for the problems around us. We blame the larger organizations that govern and spin tales of what should be done instead of realizing we contribute to the greater whole.
One clue that you are aligning with this vibration is when you start blaming others for things you could change yourself. Blaming is disempowering. When we blame, we forget that we are just as powerful as and equal to the people making the rules. We each have a responsibility to contribute our uniqueness, voice, and greatness to the world.
August’s full Moon allows us to shed both the lower vibrations of Leo and Aquarius and shift toward the higher frequencies. Imagine a line of energy. At one end, we have Leo demanding attention from others and, on the other end, we have Aquarius blaming the collective and forgetting that we are individuals with the power to change the world. In the middle of these extremes is a balance point composed of unconditional love for the self and for the collective.
The integration of both of these higher vibrations empowers us. We no longer fear the opinion of others but instead stand in our truth, attracting people who want to stand with us. We contribute our unique gifts and talents to the collective and inspire others to do the same.
What Are the Other Astrological Influences on the Full Moon in Aquarius?
Each full Moon is unique because of the aspects it creates with other planets. This full Moon in Aquarius has several aspects that contribute to its intensity. The Moon and Sun both square Uranus in Taurus. Uranus is the planet that causes change. This energy illuminates where we’re experiencing stagnation and helps us make breakthroughs. It helps us think from different perspectives and create new patterns that evolve into a more progressive way of life. It is also the ruler of Aquarius and governs the many eclectic views that the sign brings us.
Squares, or 90-degree aspects, can cause friction or tension. They show us where we are blocked and what we need to overcome any obstacles. With both the Sun and the Moon squaring Uranus, it is a time to look at where you may be resisting change. Are you holding onto old patterns that no longer serve you? Are you attached to comfort zones given to you by other people? How can you dare yourself to step out of the familiar and embrace the unknown?
This square also challenges you to think outside the box. It invites you to challenge limiting beliefs and ask yourself if you are trying to solve problems or issues with old methods that are no longer compatible with your current situation.
On this full Moon in Aquarius, become more aware of your thought process around your way forward. Ask yourself how you can update your thinking and, in turn, uplevel your frequency. You are constantly attracting what you emit. If you are sending out a frequency that is muddled by limiting beliefs, old paradigms, or outdated assumptions, then you will not attract what you need to evolve and manifest your current visions.
This full Moon in Aquarius is an opportunity to transcend old paradigms that hold you back and step into a way of feeling, thinking, and being that is more aligned with your potential in this lifetime. Its unique energy is further amplified by its conjunction with Mercury retrograde.
When Mercury retrograde aligns with the full Moon in Aquarius, expect a powerful push to rethink your approaches and review your plans. Aquarius is the sign of innovation, freedom, and forward thinking. With Mercury in an apparent backward spin, these advancements may come through revisiting past ideas, old conversations, or unresolved issues. This is a time to embrace the unconventional, but also to be cautious about the clarity of your communications and the stability of your plans.
Your Invitation During the Full Moon in Aquarius
Both nurturing and releasing are the work of any full Moon. The dual nature of this phase of the lunar cycle is what makes it feel intense in the emotional body. You may find it challenging to focus your attention. If you feel emotional waves arise, bring your attention back to nurturing and releasing.
As you journey through the full Moon in Aquarius, ask yourself what higher vibrations of both Leo and Aquarius you want to nurture in your life and how they can work together. This dual energy enables you to innovate and communicate with heightened awareness, gain new insights by revisiting the old, and align your visions with wisdom gained through retrospection.
During this full Moon in Aquarius, feel how you, as an individual, can shape the world. We each bring something unique to the collective, but all gifts are of equal value. This is the essential lesson of the Leo and Aquarius axis—understanding that each of us is special, unique, and extraordinary. When we know this, we create a collective consciousness filled with the highest vibration—unconditional love for all.
Learn more about the full Moon in Capricorn, including additional astrological insights and journaling prompts, in the Aquarius Moon workbook, from which the above is excerpted. Also, experience your most authentic self in with the free Affirmation Guide.
About Our Contributor
Jill Wintersteen is the founder of Spirit Daughter, a lifestyle brand devoted to helping you live your best life through understanding the energy of the Universe. She also writes workbooks on each full Moon as well as other astrological events. Follow her on Instagram @spiritdaughter.
