August 9, 2025 at 12:55am PDT—The Full Moon at 17° Aquarius rises like a lantern in an indigo canyon of swirling winds on Saturday, an hour after midnight. It’s a still point amid motion, offering us clarity even as everything else stirs with tension and change.
Though this Moon makes no exact aspects itself, it’s part of a larger and very active sky. In addition, this is the second New Moon in a row ruled by Saturn in Aries, a placement described as its fall, where Saturn’s slow, disciplined approach is at odds with Aries’ fiery thrust to act now and deal with the fall-out later. This tension between urgency and restraint feels frustrating. We may wrestle with an impatient desire to charge ahead, come what may, even as we’re unsure which path truly aligns with long-term stability.
What’s more, as the Full Moon rises, two rare kite patterns hover in the skies, weaving into the fabric of this lunation’s power.
Kite #1: Breakthrough in the Air
Once Mars enters Libra on the 6th, he begins to move into a Grand Air Trine between Uranus (Gemini) and Pluto (Aquarius)—signs that favor connection, communication, and innovation. Ideas flow, insights deepen, and conversations carry us somewhere new.
A kite forms when there’s a planet that anchors one of the three planets in the trine by opposition, like a triangle popsicle. Here, we have two anchors: (Saturn conjunct Neptune) opposing Mars. Whereas the air trine (triangle) offers possibility through the flow of ideas and intellectual stimulation, the opposition (popsicle stick) uses tension, like a bow pulled taut before the arrow flies, to activate the trine. Rather than floating, the energy now has a point of release, turning potential into action.
Example: Book on Dipa Ma
As I write this, I’m reminded of a book I just finished reading about the life of Dipa Ma, a revered Buddhist master who taught mindfulness teachers like Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, Joseph Goldstein, and Sylvia Boorstein.
The book’s insights feel like an Air trine in motion: it challenges my perspectives (Mars in Libra), deepens my insight (Pluto in Aquarius), and offers a path to mental freedom (Uranus in Gemini). But unless I suffer, I guess I’m just not motivated enough to put the insights into action!
The suffering—Mars opposing Saturn/Neptune—mirrors a real-life challenge between consequences (Saturn) and confusion (Neptune) which, when worked with consciously (Mars in Libra), can be transformed into wisdom (Saturn) and spiritual understanding (Neptune). For me, that tension shows up as the discipline it takes to actually do the work: to meditate, to engage in right thinking, and to steady a restless mind. Only then can I receive the gifts Ma Dipa spent her life teaching—which, to me, mirrors the energy of the Air Trine: the gifts of clarity and ease of mind.
Kite #2: Voice Meets Depth
A second kite forms as Mercury opposes Pluto, activating the same Grand Air Trine. Mercury in Leo is grinding its gears as it prepares to station direct on the 11th. This moment invites us to dig deep into Leo’s terrain—pride, self-cherishing, personal radiance, and focus—and turn it over and over with Pluto’s shovel until the nuggets of truth reveal themselves like shiny bits of gold.
With both anchors (Mercury in Mars) of two kites in sextile, the Full Moon in Aquarius could very well culminate in a verbal showdown, albeit a staggered one. Mercury in Leo wants to roar, while Mars in Libra, influenced by Venus, urges diplomacy and perspective. The tension? It comes from the competing desires to keep the peace and be fully heard. What stalls clarity and breakthrough may not be a lack of expression, but bruised pride that lingers from words that dagger the heart.
Six of Swords Tarot Card—Metabolizing Grief
This Full Moon takes place in the second decan of Aquarius, linked to the Six of Swords in the tarot, a card of transitions, crossings, and healing passages through uncertainty. The Six follows the Five, a card that deals with grief, loss, and regret, leading into the transition and healing represented by the Six.
The image shows a figure and a child ferried across choppy waters, leaving behind something familiar but painful, and moving toward a horizon that is still unknown. After the pain of the Five, we’re metabolizing grief in Six. We’re not at peace, but we are moving closer to it. Even if the answers haven’t landed yet, the figures here are taking action as they travel through emotional turbulence.
In the context of this Full Moon, the Six of Swords reminds us that perspective often missing in the beginning comes mid-journey.  When we begin the work, support begins to show up in unexpected ways to help us break old mental patterns as signified by the Swords. This is the Full Moon’s light as a lantern: illuminating just enough of the path ahead to take the next step.
There’s Good News Too!Â
As we cross these inner waters, one of the most heartening conjunctions of the year greets us on the other side: Venus conjunct Jupiter in Cancer, just after the Full Moon on August 11th.
Venus and Jupiter are considered the two benefics in astrology. When they come together, we often feel a sweetening of life and a deeper capacity to give and receive love. In Cancer, their union is especially tender, emotional, and nourishing. It speaks to the security of belonging and the healing power of connection. After the swirl of air and the tension of oppositions, this conjunction arrives like a warm and steady hand lifting us up and out of the darkness of a midnight canyon.
In Summary
Saturday’s Full Moon in Aquarius, rising like a lantern in a dark canyon, invites clarity amid tension and change. With two active kite patterns weaving into the sky’s fabric, the energy supports breakthroughs through both mental discipline and emotional depth, helping us move through transitions and heal from grief. Though the voyage may feel uncertain like a Six of Swords boat ride, the Full Moon offers enough clarity to take the next step toward healing and connection, culminating in the sweet conjunction of Venus and Jupiter, offering love, support, and emotional renewal.
Full Moon image generated in Ideogram