Happy Full Moon in Pisces!
The Full Moon is today (8/30) at 9:35 PM ET at 7º Pisces.
I’m writing to you one week into my break from social media. Trying not to sound obnoxious here but it really has been informative. It’s fascinating to notice what my desire to “check in” with Instagram or Twitter (where I never even felt involved) or even Reddit (which I’m not sure counts as social media as much as anti-social media) is really about.
I have never posted enough to get that addicted to the notification part of it. I don’t get enough of them. I’ve had most notifications turned off since 2016 anyway, and am on Do Not Disturb most hours of the day. I set up my iPhone so that when I unlock it, there are no apps on the home screen. These mindful intentions might make it seem like I have some kind of zen relationship to my phone but it’s just my south node in Virgo a façade of organization. It’s so easy to jump over those guardrails and scroll.
What I’ve noticed in this last week is that picking up my phone isn’t about the likes (though OF COURSE I get a dopamine rush from every little heart just like everyone else) but about a desire to be somewhere else. I reach for my phone when I want to avoid something uncomfortable whether that’s boredom, sadness, panic, anger, frustration or overwhelm. It’s an escape hatch where I hope to (and often do) find an instant solution. Obviously there are many other things to get lost in beyond Instagram or Twitter, many even more toxic. But my brain does feel different after a week without getting lost in other people’s (curated) lives and hot takes and comment sections. So far this detox is reinforcing my belief that magic (for me) is about having the courage to stay present through the uncomfortable process of being.
This duality multiplicity we all experience via the choice to stay present vs. fall into all kinds of voids, reminds me of the way the Pisces archetype is often described to astro newbies. When learning astrology, you discover that Pisces is not just “the fish” but two fish swimming in opposite directions. “One is going toward reality and the other one is going toward fantasy,” is how it was first described to me. As a Pisces Sun myself, I obviously relate to the state of being both somewhere and everywhere at once, often dipping into not only my own fantasies but those of everyone around me. The Full Moon in Pisces is usually a chance to dip one’s toes into infinite waters, escaping the necessary systems and order that come along with Virgo season. But this Pisces Full Moon is not about escapism. Going exact conjunct Saturn, this Full Moon is a reality check. It’s a Full Moon to solidify dreams. It’s a Full Moon to solidify what we’re moving toward and also what we’re moving away from. There’s some necessary grief that comes with things abandoned, but so much joy in what’s waiting on the other side.
The Labyrinth
As I discussed on this week’s forecast pod, this Full Moon is significant because it happens at the same degree (7º Pisces) where Saturn stationed retrograde back on June 17.
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