Full Moon in Pisces 2023

August 30 9:36 PM EST

This is a profoundly psychic and spiritually meaningful full moon, that also urges us to break through old limiting illusions and step into a new level of authority and accountability in our lives. Though the full moon is conjunct Saturn, “Lord of Karma”, this need not be a bad thing. In fact, Saturn is the ultimate realist and pragmatist. And what could the greatest gift of all be? Really? To be able to look and see things clearly and understand them for what they really are, unobscured through our lens of fantasy and projection.

Fantasy and projection, however, are the currency of Pisces. So here we have an interesting paradox. Traditionally a full moon in Pisces portends a time of introspection, connection, imagination and inspiration. It is a time when we pierce the veil of illusion of the material world and come to understand that all things are meaningful and interconnected. Depending on how adept we are are at working with this knowledge and the wisdom that can be gleaned through this “sixth sense”, we have the capacity for profound insights and breakthroughs. If we are ill-equipped, however, for the rising tide of emotions and psychic insights that this powerful, but subtle, lunar time can bring, then we may find ourselves “awash” in unwelcome feelings and sensations, tossed to and fro on the currents of our own and others inner landscapes. Pisces is, after all, the sign connected to empathy and “empaths” and as such we can have difficulty discerning where our needs and feelings end and anothers’ begin.

But it is unique to have a Pisces full moon that is conjunct stable, mature, realistic and sober Saturn. Saturn takes about 3 years to transit through a given zodiac sign and it just recently entered Pisces in March 2023. So while we have two more full moons in Pisces while Saturn is present in that sign (in 2024 and 2025), both of those full moons are only loosely conjunct Saturn (10 degrees apart in both cases), while this 2023 full moon is a much closer conjunction. The full moon is at 7 degrees Pisces and Saturn is at 3 degrees. After 2025, there will not be a full moon in Pisces conjunct Saturn for another 28 years. So we can think of this 2023 full moon as Saturn making its presence known in a strong way, wanting to “point us in the right direction” in so far as we are just beginning to register the lessons of this entire Saturn in Pisces 3 year period, and it is eager to help us in our ‘preparation’.

There are many meaningful themes associated with this Saturn in Pisces 2023-2026 period, including a deepening understanding of “Spiritual Law”. Saturn has to do with structures and material form, and at a very baseline level, this includes our metaphysical understanding of the energetic principles that makeup our universe: namely that thought and energy are the building blocks of reality and create form. Or, as Pisces Albert Einstein said “Matter is energy (light), whose vibration has been so lowered as to be perceptible to the senses”. Pisces is associated with undifferentiated energy, and Saturn is associated with form. So during this entire 3 year period, and ESPECIALLY now around the time of this full moon, we are more rapidly coming into realization of these truths.

So what does that mean in a practical way? It means that we could have powerful experiences now of “coincidences” or “rapid manifestation” in our lives. We could have a passing thought about something and then have it come up quickly the next day in casual conversation with someone else. We could hear from that person who just crossed our mind. We could set an intention to attract something specific into our lives and watch it occur more effortlessly than usual. We could see the detrimental effects of our judgment or frustration pop up when others seem to “feel” our negative emotions directed at them more acutely. Can we “measure” these effects or “prove” this to be the case? No. Metaphysics operates at a deeper level of reality than our current “science” is capable of understanding or measuring. Does that mean it is not real or true? No. And now is the time to see and decide that for ourselves. Again, this will be unfolding for many in the years to come with Saturn’s 3 year transit through Pisces. But there are “peak” times for this energy, and this full moon in one of them.

For some these realizations could come in “drip” form, like slowly acclimating to a new way of seeing and being in the world. For others, it may be that around this full moon or other times when Saturn in Pisces is very active, that we have deeply profound AHA moments or “crazy” serendipitous events that point us towards a new way of knowing and perceiving. Whatever it is for us personally, it is wise to pay attention.

That is because the voice of our True Selves, our higher inner selves, is communicating to us very strongly now. This is always the case when Pisces energy is dominant, but especially now because BOTH Mercury and Venus are retrograde at the time of this full moon. Retrogrades are associated with introspection and the capacity to reassess and reevaluate. When the inner planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars) go retrograde it is a meaningful time to look closely at our instinctual drives, needs, desires, and behavior. In other words, our default operating system. By contrast, when the other farther out planets are retrograde we may be dealing more with reassessing different ways we interact with our whole community or specific areas of our life. With inner planet retrogrades, it is very personal and specific.

We have been in the midst of a six week Venus retrograde in Leo period that is now drawing to a close when Venus goes direct just after the full moon on September 3rd. This entire summer has in some ways been a meaningful reappraisal of our heart-centric connections, our deepest values and priorities, and our self-love. Ideally, we are well positioned at the time of this full moon to receive a ‘final parting blessing’ from Venus Rx in Leo, in the form of a concluding epiphany, or perhaps a new connection or relationship that feels more aligned and current to us now.

We are also in the midst of a Mercury retrograde, this time in the sign of Virgo. Mercury retrogrades occur 3 times per year so are significantly more common than Venus retrograde. This is, perhaps, due to the fact that we are well served by more frequent ‘check ins’ and upgrades as far as our plans and communications, which is what Mercury Rx represents. Mercury went retrograde on August 23rd and goes direct on Septmeber 15th.

But this specific Mercury Rx in Virgo is significant when we place it in the context of Venus Rx in Leo and the full moon conjunct Saturn in Pisces. Virgo, where the sun is also located now, is the sign connected to simplicity and discernment. So what better lesson could we have as we work on deepening our recognition of “Spiritual Law” and tapping into personal psychic power and authority? We must ‘cut the clutter’ and focus on essentials. We must be mindful to only speak and think in a way that points us in the direction of the manifestation of what we truly desire. That means eliminating old baggage and old stories, confused and outdated desires and patterns. How do we know what those are? Venus Rx in Leo has spent the summer showing us! It has spent the past few months pointing out to us what we are ready to release and also what/who is up to be re-integrated or re-incorporated into our lives in a higher deeper way.

These are deep invitations of this full moon. But again, we must be careful not to fall into the ‘trap’ of lower vibrational Pisces. (*side note: there are no traps except for the ones we unconsciously set up for ourselves). We can see this in the full moon chart with Mercury Rx at 19 degrees of Virgo opposing illusive Neptune at 26 degrees Pisces. Neptune is also opposing Mars at 2 degrees of Libra. As with anything, we could work with or experience this aspect at the higher or lower vibrational ends of the spectrum.

As co-ruler of this full moon (along with Jupiter), Neptune plays an important role here. Neptune opposing both Mars and Mercury Rx could increase the chances of confusion, changed plans, drama or disappointment. We could be bound by illusion in our words or behaviors or encounter others whose words and actions are not in integrity. The combination of Mercury Rx/Mars/Neptune can reek of classic ‘scams’, lies, get-rich-quick schemes (especially with Venus Rx), and general dishonesty or evasion. With Venus Rx highly potent at 12 degrees of Leo, stationing as it gets ready to go direct within days of the full moon, we are NEEDING to get the messages about anyone in our lives who may unfortunately be engaged in these behaviors so we can snap ourselves out of illusion (Pisces) and back to reality (Saturn) and avoid or mitigate any harm that could be incurred through continued participation in these relationships.

Likewise, if we have been allowing lower vibrational Neptune to influence OUR communication (Mercury) or actions (Mars), now is the time to take accountability (Saturn) and course correct as necessary. Just as our own psychic senses are highly attuned now, so are others. This means that any white lies or drama we may have been perpetuating can much more easily be seen by others. We can bury our head in the sand, deny or avoid (lower vibrational Pisces) dealing with this, even if others ‘call us out’. But this just sets us up for more challenges with Saturn down the line. The scales will always be re-balanced (*another good lesson of Mars in Libra). The best course of action is to use the invitation of this full moon to sort out anything and everything that feels like it has been avoided, buried, or we have been in denial about. When we enlist Saturn to help us in these tasks in a practical way and take full ownership and accountability for our choices and responsibilities, we can clear up blocks that have been preventing us from shifting our lives to the next level.

And finally, Jupiter is the other co-ruler of this Pisces full moon. This is a beautiful gift and blessing. Jupiter in Taurus since May 2023 has been helping us tend to the seeds of what matters most to us so we can better learn how to care for and nurture ourselves and our most sacred creations. Jupiter and radical Uranus have been moving together recently through earthy and grounded Taurus and have been key players this summer in catalyzing and clarifying the upgrades initiated by Venus Rx in Leo. Jupiter and Uranus are conjunct at 15 and 23 degrees of Taurus respectively, and BOTH are stationing at the time of the full moon.

This means that Venus, Uranus AND Jupiter are all stationing! This is unusual and powerful. Whenever a planet is on the single degree where it changes direction it is highly influential. It is rare to have 3 planets stationing simultaneously. And goes to show just how much we can get out of this full moon if we decide we are ready and WANT to heed the deep and mysterious call of our higher selves (Pisces). We are at a choice point with trusting this part of ourselves and committing to being in integrity (Saturn) with how we show up and what we are co-creating in the world. And we are going to see the results of those choices quickly and meaningfully in the upcoming weeks and months.

*art by @cnikarts