The Full Flower Moon 2020

The phases of the moon are among the most fascinating astronomical behaviors we can observe with the naked eye and deeply rich sources of thought and interpretation in Astrology. Among the 9 phases – New, Waxing Crescent, 1^st Quarter Half, Waxing Gibbous, Full, Waning Gibbous, Last Quarter Half, Waning Crescent, and Balsamic – the New and Full Moons capture most of the attention. This article will look at the current Full Moon and talk about the kind of “harvest” you should bring in emotionally during this full moon.

Full Moon – Reap What You Have Sown!

The Full Moon for May will occur on the 7^th of this month at 17 degrees and 20 minutes in the sign of Scorpio; in my Eastern Standard Time zone, it will happen at 6:45 am. It takes 29.5 days from one Full Moon to the next, spending approximately 2 and ½ days in a sign. The day before and the day after comprise what would be the peak time of the Full Moon energy.  The Full Moon is the time of “the harvest” when what began with the New Moon reaches full potential before waning and fading and preparing for a new cycle.

Each month has a certain type of Full Moon; May’s Moon is the Flower Moon.  In the northern hemisphere, this name reflects the full flowering of the plants.  This Moon has two other names: the Corn Planting Moon and the Milk Moon.

There are also several special types of Full Moons: the Blood Moon, which happens during a total lunar eclipse; a Supermoon, which happens when the Moon is full and closest to the Earth; and the Blue Moon (“once in a blue moon”), which is a second Full Moon in a calendar month (occurring once every 2 and ½ years).  The previous Blue Moon was March 31, 2018, and the next one will be October 31, 2020.

Full Moon in Scorpio – Harvesting Truth and Secrets

This Full Moon will take place in the 2^nd Decan (middle 10 degrees) of Scorpio, making it a Scorpio/Pisces Full Moon.  The planetary influences involve Mars as the traditional ruler for Scorpio and Pluto as the modern ruler and Jupiter as the traditional ruler for Pisces and Neptune as the modern ruler.  Thus, this Full Moon will be about how we unlock and handle our deepest beliefs and address our soul purpose.

This Full Moon energizes us to look at our deepest desires and the truth and secrets of our hearts.  With the energy occurring in the middle (17 degrees) of Scorpio, we can feel the need to spend time alone working through our beliefs about ourselves, the people in our life, and the world around us.  We may realize it is time to accept a deep truth we have been carrying, but not acting on, or uncover a secret that needs to see the “light of day”.

With this Full Moon at 17d20m, the Sabian Symbol is 18 Scorpio, “a woods rich in autumn coloring”.  Jones says, “This is a symbol of nature’s high ministry of service to every function and purpose of individual living, and of the varying manifestations of reality supported and brought to its genuine fruitage by the eternal and illimitable resources on every hand.” (The Sabian Symbols, 197) The keyword is FULFILLMENT.

The Full Moon in Your Chart

The Full Moon will occur in a specific location of your chart and in a special relationship with various points in your chart if you have points near the same degree in the same sign, at the opposing degree (180 degrees away from a point in your chart), three signs before or after the Full Moon degree and sign (90 degrees away), or four signs before or after the Full Moon degree and sign (120 degrees away).

Respectively these would be a conjunction (the Full Moon merging with a point in your chart), an opposition (the Full Moon seeking balance with a point in your chart), a square (the Full Moon challenging a point in your chart), and a trine (a point supporting a point in your chart).  It is possible that the degree and sign of the Full Moon may not form any of these relationships and its effect, for this time, would be minimal or difficult to observe.

• Getting to Know the Moon in Astrology

In my case, there are two impacts.  One is consistent with all Full Moons because I was born during a Full Moon. So, I feel pretty much every Full Moon in some significant way.  If you learn your birth Moon phase you will likely discover that the same phase each month has a strong impact on your emotional state.

With this Full Moon, I get the impact of its energy in my 1^st House of Identity, so this Full Moon is always personally intense for me, on top of it being an intense Full Moon.  The points Ceres, Juno, and Neptune occupy this house, so I can expect the intensity of this Full Moon to affect how I feel nourished emotionally (Ceres), how I feel about my duties and commitments (Juno), and how I feel about my purpose in life (Neptune).  The three days of this Full Moon would an excellent time to retreat and do deep inner work.

As this Full Moon approaches, think about what you want to “harvest” from your deep self, your sexuality (another strong aspect of Scorpio energy), your experience with power (your own and from those people in your life that have more or less power than you), and significant transformations you may need to make; all the areas of life under the rulership of the sign of Scorpio.