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There’s something quietly reassuring about the knowledge that every 29 and a half days, we experience yet another full Moon. Although technically each full Moon takes place only at a precise instant, its reverberations and resulting effects in our life last even longer, which means we feel the subtle sway of the full moons of 2024 for days, months, perhaps even years to come.
What Happens During a Full Moon
According to astrology, planetary objects each carry their own vibe and voice, capturing certain aspects and tendencies that are innately part of our personalities, not unlike the theory of archetypes explored in Jungian psychology.
The Moon embodies our emotions, our desires, our more passive aspects, even our shadows that tend to unconsciously determine our perceptions and behaviors. As with the Sun and Earth and planets, the Moon transits through the astrological signs according to the order of the zodiac circle, starting with Aries, then Taurus, followed by Gemini, and so on. Everything that the Moon reigns in our psyche is filtered through the lens of the sign the Moon currently resides in.
As the Moon dances from sign to sign every two and a half days, its mood changes accordingly. And, it is believed, so do ours. We experience the shift subtly, often without even knowing we are under the spell of a particular sign. Rather, we simply slip into a slightly not-quite-uniquely-our-own manner of observing, interpreting, and responding to situations.
The enhanced illumination of a full Moon is believed to heighten the magnitude of our emotions and our ability to perceive our psyche and those things that we keep hidden, even from ourselves, including our unconscious underpinnings. We might feel things more intensely, or some may say manically, and we feel them according to the sign ruling the Moon at that moment.
Why It’s About More Than Any Single Full Moon
As we experience a full Moon, there can be a tendency to approach it as an isolated moment in time. But what is often lost in contemporary astrology is the emphasis that the ancients placed on the cyclical nature of these lunations. We experience each full Moon throughout the year in a different sign of the zodiac, beginning with Aries and ending with Pisces, only to repeat that again and again.
Whereas much of pop culture focuses attention on the full Moon’s capacity for manifestation of our desires, perhaps the true takeaway of the full Moon is our ever-evolving understanding of ourselves over time.
Instead of expecting the full Moons of 2024 to show us something in our reality, we could instead allow them to show us the enhanced self-awareness and knowledge that comes from experiencing ourselves as we dance through these different signs over time. Rather than outright expectation, we can ask ourselves, how has my understanding of myself changed since the last time the Moon was full in this sign? (Note the handy journaling prompt.)
Each full Moon has the potential to draw you more and more into awareness and an understanding of self. The question isn’t so much what is the Moon doing to you, but what has it been teaching you?
What Are the Dates and Signs for the Full Moons of 2024?
January 25 | Full Moon in Leo
February 24 | Full Moon in Virgo
March 25 | Full Moon in Libra
April 23 | Full Moon in Scorpio
May 23 | Full Moon in Sagittarius
June 21 | Full Moon in Capricorn
July 21 | Full Moon in Capricorn
August 19 | Full Moon in Aquarius
September 17 | Full Moon in Pisces
October 17 | Full Moon in Aries
November 15 | Full Moon in Taurus
December 15 | Full Moon in Gemini
How Many Super Full Moons Are There in 2024?
A super Moon takes place when the full Moon’s placement along its elliptical orbit coincides with a closer-than-usual proximity to Earth. What results is the full Moon appearing to loom slightly larger, notably as it is closest to the horizon. As each super Moon exerts a stronger gravitational draw on the Earth, the result is higher tides and, many believe, an exaggerated effect on our moods.
The four super full moons of 2024 will take place in subsequent months, beginning in August and ending in November, with the one closest to Earth taking place in October.
Are There Any Blue Moons in 2024?
There are varying definitions and traditions surrounding the term “blue Moon.” In 2024, it refers to the rare experience of four, rather than three, full Moons taking place in a single season between solstice and equinox. This year, August’s lunation will align with that criteria, earning it the distinction of a “blue Moon.” Although blue moons were once thought to be related to situations in which betrayal takes place, the effects of it are simply the heightened sensitivity that accompanies any full Moon.
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