There is something symbolic to me about the Moon reaching its fullness in Pisces, the last sign of the zodiac, just as the retrograde season is peaking with Mars turning retrograde on September 9th.  At that point there will be an astounding seven planets retrograde (including Chiron, or six without Chiron which is still astounding).  I did a little research project in which I attempted to find another period in history where there were this many retrograde planets for more than a week or two (in 2020 it lasts about five months) and even though I went back to the 1700s I was unable to find any period like this one.

Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac – the sign that represents letting go, returning to the source, the ultimate journey to consciousness.  This feels to me like the culmination of what 2020 has been all about.  I realize that it looks like simple random chaos to many people, but when you observe patterns and planetary cycles there is a clear underlying call of the Earth for humanity to make a change.  Our present course is unsustainable, and something had to snap at some point.  There is also symbolism in the fact that we are in the transition from the Age of Pisces to the Age of Aquarius, and Saturn will transition into Aquarius with Pluto soon behind.  In 2025 there is a tremendous planetary shift with all three outer planets – the planets that inspire transformation – changing signs at the same time. 

(Geeky astrological details: Uranus will move from Taurus into Gemini.  Neptune will move from Pisces into Aries.  And Pluto will enter Aquarius, aligning in a trine to Uranus, the modern ruler of Aquarius.)

In astrological symbolism, the end of a cycle is like a dumping ground of the karma that has accumulated during the cycle.  A planet at 29 degrees, at the end of a sign, puts great emphasis on the matters of that sign.  I call it a “do or die” kind of situation in which we have one final opportunity to master the lessons of that particular placement.  I believe that we are in that dumping ground right now – completing the 2147 year cycle of the Age of Pisces and the 16 year cycle of Pluto through Capricorn.

As we reach the peak of this once-in-an-age retrograde period, a period of reckoning in which we have been forced to face our darkest demons – both internally and externally – today’s Pisces Full Moon offers an opportunity to go deep within, to the source of the Great Truth that lies in the soul of consciousness.  In this way a greater understanding of how these puzzle pieces fit together can be gained, and we can rediscover our place in the world and the meaning of it all.

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