“Cosmic Powder Keg”: The ARIES SUPERMOON at 24°♈35′, Thursday, October 17, 2024, 11:26 UTC

October 17, 2024 ASTROLOGY OF NOW, Lunation articles 1 Comment

“If a society permits one portion of its citizenry to be menaced or destroyed, then, very soon, no one in that society is safe. The forces thus released in the people can never be held in check, but run their devouring course, destroying the very foundations which it was imagined they would save.” ~ James Baldwin

The Full Moon on 17 October 2024 is far from any ordinary lunation. For one, it’s the most luminously intense Supermoon of the year, occurring at 11:26 UTC. Lighting up the sky at precisely 24°35′ Aries—Luna ignites the very core of our being. Positioned in tight conjunction with Eris and flanked to the other side by Chiron, the Moon becomes a powerful conduit for raw, unfiltered energies that demand confrontation and a decisive outcome. Opposing this Aries Moon is the Libra Sun, closely aligned with the asteroid Juno, intensifying several relational dynamics into the cosmic mix.

Hot on the heels of the Libra South Node annular eclipse of two weeks prior, which unearthed perhaps some of the shadiest facets of our relationships and social constructs, there is much to be dealt with here. For one, the lingering developments of that eclipse are now magnified by the rising intensity of this SuperMoon, recklessly pulling on our heartstrings and exposing anything raw, unruly, and unaddressed. Naturally, nothing goes uncontested at Full Moon time. The most critical aspect adding fuel to this celestial firestorm is the T-square formed by Mars at 22°55′ Cancer, squaring both the Sun and Moon. Mars, dispositor of this Aries lunation, is in his fall in Cancer, adding a volatile emotional undercurrent to the already charged atmosphere. Furthermore, like gasoline to the fire, Mars in Cancer lends a mutual reception to the Aries Moon, inflaming instinctual reactions and defences.

With Pluto freshly stationed direct, lingering at the final degrees of Capricorn, and Venus clinging to Scorpio’s anaretic degree, the cosmic environment is ripe for some seriously transformative upheavals. For those who have been on the fence, unable to commit or make any decision, this is the moment where resistance to change meets its breaking point, demanding that we drop the indecisions and niceties and confront the gnawing tensions in our lives. The energies at play are filled with an ominous sense of finality—not interested in half-measures; they push us to the edge, forcing us to own our shadows or risk being consumed by them.

Cardinal Crosshairs:

The Aries-Libra Tussle

At the heart of this lunation lies the Aries-Libra axis, a cardinal polarity that thrusts us into the thick of the constant conflict between self and other. Aries, ruled by Mars, embodies the innate, primal urge to move, to be fiercely independent and assert its individualistic boundaries. It’s the spark that ignites initiatives, drives our desires, and fuels the impulse to carve out one’s own path without restraint. Libra, ruled by Venus, stands in stark contrast, representing peace, balance and inertia, and the nuanced art of maintaining the homeostasis of a harmonious relationship. It’s the mediator that weighs options, seeks balance and fairness, and values maintaining connection over the spoils and carnages of conquest and conflict.

Illuminating the unconscious drives and instincts associated with Aries—the Full Moon hence highlights our innate instincts to charge ahead, claim territory, and assert identity. These are the parts of ourselves that crave autonomy and resist bending to anyone else’s rules. The opposition from the Libra Sun demands conscious reflection on how these self-driven impulses impact our long-standing relationships and social equilibrium. These are themes relevant to the Aries/Libra journey of the Nodal axis and the cosmic melee between the need for personal freedom and the obligations we have to others.

Certainly, under these auspicious circumstances, we’re not here to passively contemplate these themes; this lunation summons us into the trenches, forces us to ask hard questions: How can I assert myself without steamrolling those around me? How do I compromise without selling out my core values? The intensified oppositions leave no room for avoidance; the cracks in our foundations—be they in relationships, partnerships, or within ourselves—are laid bare.

Both Aries and Libra, despite their differences, are deeply invested in the fight for something meaningful. Aries charges forward in pursuit of excelling self-identification and authenticity, while Libra champions justice, fairness, and mutual respect. Libra isn’t passive; it understands that harmony often requires active effort and sometimes, conflict. The challenge here lies in navigating this polarity—staying true to yourself without burning bridges, maintaining respect for others without losing sight of your own needs.

Fuel to the Fire:

Eris and Chiron: Exposing the Raw Wounds

The conjunction of Eris and Chiron with the Full Moon intensifies the already volatile Aries energy, transforming this lunation into a crucible of personal and collective reckoning. Eris, the marginalised dwarf planet named after the goddess of discord, isn’t into subtlety. When aroused, she exposes the underbelly of societal norms, hurling fireballs of strife, envy and resentment, summoning our most primitive survival instincts to the forefront. Under her influence, suppressed tensions become impossible to ignore. Being so far on the outer, these are themes often not instigated by personal conflicts; Eris stirs the collective pot, pushing raw, competitive edges to the surface and demanding that we confront the messy, uncomfortable truths we’ve sidelined for decades, centuries.

Chiron’s proximity to the Moon also vamps up this dynamic by tapping into deep-seated wounds around identity and self-worth. Known as the wounded healer, Chiron in Aries represents the existential angst of asserting oneself in a world that often demands conformity. This placement brings forth the “wounded warrior” archetype, reflecting an inner struggle that isn’t content with passive healing. It’s easily triggered, combative, and when paired with Eris, it can provoke aggressive defensiveness—a reactionary stance against any perceived threat to autonomy or validation.

The dark synergy between Eris and Chiron can manifest the nastier facets of their combined energies. Identity-based rage surfaces, fueled by a need to defend or validate the self that borders on the destructive. It’s an intense, survivalist response where validation isn’t just desired but demanded as a matter of existential necessity. Relationships become battlegrounds for ego clashes, with neither side willing to back down, both driven by an intense need to feel recognised and to prove themselves as individual entities. This sort of chaos underlines a broader trend, as Eris and Chiron head into a series of powerful conjunctions throughout 2025, foreshadowing an escalating period of turmoil.

At the core of this lunation, under Eris’s recklessly disruptive hand, lies an opportunity for massive evolutionary growth, forged as a result of years of brewing unrest, escalating protests, battles for rights, and acrimonious stand-offs. Arguably stemming back to the early 1920’s when Eris entered Aries, these demonstrations have marked a long period of upheaval, and now, it all comes to a head. This is far from any gentle wake-up call; it’s a volatile shift born from the tension between those demanding change and forces clinging to the status quo. The Full Moon brings this clash to the forefront, forcing us to confront where we’ve conformed, where we’ve compromised, and how we’ve become distanced from our raw, unfiltered self.

With all outer planets due to ingress into new modalities in the next 2-3 years, this is a pivotally historical moment where the choice is clear: either succumb to the chaos and uncertainty and continue in stasis or channel this upheaval into a catalyst for profound global transformations. This Full Moon demands that we confront the parts of ourselves that don’t fit neatly within societal constraints, reclaim our disowned power, and bring the repressed, the uncomfortable, and the unspoken into the light. In this climactic moment, we must decide whether we’re ready to confront the uncomfortable truths and drive that power towards lasting change.

Mars in Cancer: The Emotional Powder Keg

Mars in Cancer adds further tension to this astrological melee by forming a charged T-square with the Sun and Moon. Traditionally the planet of action, aggression, and desire, Mars is weakened in Cancer, a sign more associated with emotional security and personal comfort. Instead of direct action, Mars’s energy turns defensive, reacting emotionally rather than assertively. Worse still, the mutual reception with the Aries Moon amplifies Mars’s impulsive nature, leaving us hypersensitive and quick to take everything too personally. Under this Full Moon, the emotional atmosphere becomes volatile, ready to explode at the slightest provocation.

The Mars-Moon/Eris/Chiron-Sun/Juno T-square intensifies emotional volatility, pushing frustrations to the surface. Mars in Cancer heightens sensitivity, leading to reactive outbursts and defensiveness even over minor issues. Old wounds, especially those tied to identity and self-worth, resurface with raw urgency. The tendency to perceive others’ actions as personal threats escalates quickly into conflict, with emotional stress manifesting physically, particularly in Cancerian areas like the stomach and digestive system. As Mars battles the Moon’s intensity, rapid dismissiveness and angered defensiveness toward others fuel alienation, further feeding cycles of self-sabotage and emotional turmoil within all relationship complexes. This peeved-off drive to be left alone to “be ourselves” risks isolating us from the very connections needed for healing and growth.

If Mars is already this triggered by every little thing that gets under his skin during this lunation, it’s hard to imagine how he’ll handle the upcoming opposition to Pluto. Due to his retrograde in the coming months, this opposition will hit three times, and it’s set to provoke some seismic shifts in how we assert ourselves. If our reactions are too subjective or at odds with the real evolutionary forces in play, we’re in for some serious heartbreaks. There’s able to sidestep the massive transformative demands Pluto will impose, especially if we’re still caught up in our personal dramas.

Additional Influences

With Jupiter now retrograde in Gemini, forming a sextile to the Aries Moon and trine to the Libra Sun, there’s an opportunity to expand our perspective, albeit not through insipid means and sources. Jupiter in Gemini pulls us to reconsider where we’ve been too siloed in our thinking, too caught in the noise of our own echo chambers, encouraging a broadening of our mindset. Maybe read books instead of scrolling through endless memes on our beloved media streams. It’s a reminder that while the Aries Moon stirs action and the Libra Sun seeks balance, we’re being asked to look beyond surface conflicts and consider the underlying narratives we’re buying into. This alignment beckons us to revisit our assumptions, dismantling outworn mental constructs, even if it means staring down our own contradictions.

The tense oppositional dynamic between Venus at 29° Scorpio and Uranus at 26° Taurus, both struggling in severe detriment, pinpoints where attachments, clung to with desperate insistence, might shatter in an instant. Venus, tightly aligned in sextile to Pluto and trine to Neptune, amplifies powerful desires and stirs up submerged emotional currents; yet Uranus disrupts any illusions of stability in both material and emotional investments. Here lies a brutal truth: for those unwilling to engage in true alchemical transmutation within their relationship attachments, this lunation’s shocks could bring heartbreak that cuts to the core. The craving for emotional intensity grates strongly against impulses for freedom, setting the stage for seismic shifts within. Meanwhile, Saturn retrograde in Pisces, pressing down with a semi-square to Pluto, brings an unyielding alchemical force that demands reconciliation with long-ignored responsibilities. The stakes are high: this is the crucible moment where judgments that have been deferred are now weighted with lasting consequences, pushing us all towards some grand metamorphosis or, if resisted, a devastating fall into disillusionment and despair.

Final Thoughts:

This Full Moon in Aries signals a tipping point, where those who’ve been marginalised can no longer be silenced or ignored. The Aries Moon squared by Mars, with the Libra Sun caught in the crossfire, brings an eruption of forces that demand fairness, not by negotiation, but by confrontation. We’ve run out of patience for compromises that dilute real change, and the upcoming Cardinal Grand Cross ensures that only those willing to fight for their rightful place will endure the storm.

Here at the threshold of ultimate reformation—no more illusions, no more playing small. Indeed, this is a crucible moment, where we must strip away the weak, the outdated, and the superficial to rise, fully transmuted, into the power that has long been suppressed. If we just step back from ourselves a little, we can see that true change is here, right before us, but only for those brave enough to step forward and claim it.

As always, I’ve prepared a series of in-depth horoscope readings for each sign providing further actionable insights, tailored to navigate you through this powerful phase of transformation. No fluff—just raw, cosmic insights to anchor you through the seismic shifts ahead. Much love, and many blessings for the Supermoon xx