Everything You Need To Know About The Aries Full Moon

As the mother of the heavens, the moon embraces all signs, but there are some elements that watery, emotional Luna just can’t jive with. This Sunday, October 16, the moon will reach her apex in Aries, a fiery, often brash sign—one the moon, frankly, finds grating and dickish. Consider this lunation a bad cosmic date. Will you be uncomfortable by this creepy pairing? Undoubtedly. But if you’re smart, flexible (really flexible), and open to your own vulnerabilities, you can come away from this disaster changed for the better—stronger, even—with a good story or two, and maybe a couple of free drinks.

Autumn is here in the Northern Hemisphere, inviting a Persephone-like energy to the air. We’re outraged by obvious gender imbalances and abuses, but our own narcissism and exhaustion threatens to drive us underground when we must stay on the surface to shine light on these darknesses. The moon’s moody nature has earned her a reputation for being a bit bratty, but the energy of the Aries full moon leads our attitudes from teenage riot grrrls to subversive provocateurs and agents of revolutionary change, especially when it comes to gender equality and conformity. Where some see snotty hardheadedness, others see a passionate commitment to questioning an unjust status quo. Malignant haters will try to flip subversion and reclamation of ourselves on its head, turning images of the sexually free and liberated into damaging pornography, both literally and figuratively. This energy is the perfect catalyst to ignite our awareness—as feminists of all genders and sexual identities—to how violently manipulated we’ve all been by a system that’s quite fucked.

A fun side effect of the gender warfare we’ve found ourselves in during this extraordinarily feisty full moon is our flair for challenging gender roles and stereotypes in our day-to-day lives and (most importantly) fashion sense. Masculine-leaning personalities might opt for something super femme now, and vice versa. Don’t let the shock of it dissuade you from taking a sartorial leap, though! Fashion favors the bold this full moon, especially for you fire signs.

People born with their sun or rising sign in a fire (Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius) or air (Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius) sign—plus wild cards Scorpio and Cancer—will be most poignantly affected by this moon’s influence. Moods are subject to wild and dramatic changes, which can come off as quite a laugh for more grounded earth and water signs. For Capricorn, Taurus, Virgo, and Pisces, watching the passionate, overly intellectual signs squirm in their own cosmic mess provides an entertaining, adventurous twist to an otherwise mundane weekend. Those caught in the whirlwind of their own emotions won’t find this funny, though, feeling like they must “turn it on” to appease an audience, as if they’re on stage. As obnoxious as this might be, forget about bottling up your emotions, even the dark, fiery rage you might experience now. Complete, even brutal honesty with those around you is necessary to survive. The truth must be exposed.

In relationships, partnerships, and sexual unions, some secrets, lies, and affairs may be revealed. Uranus, the planet most closely associated with divorce and unwanted surprises, has the moon in a headlock while she transits through Aries. For some, this new information will be a darkly welcoming confirmation of their intuition, possibly even the end to a long history of gaslighting. But for others, this will be a life-altering situation that either destroys your partnership or fuses your emotional DNA closer through struggle and strife. Be brave—even provocative—in the face of any fear of change in your love life. Uranus demands that we change and will use force to ensure you make those changes if you don’t do so willingly and voluntarily. This is no time to resist the tides.

Of course, the lighter side of this is confessions of secret love and admiration. With Venus, goddess of love, shimmying and shaking it with Jupiter, planet of abundance and luck, some of us might have an ace up our sleeve in matters of the heart. These sudden realizations might make some of us (particularly women) aware of our power to the point of intoxicating our otherwise balanced sense of compassion. Those of us who’ve endured trauma and abuse at the hands of men or former partners may feel a heightened sense of cynicism at these confessions and lash out with cruel jokes and teasing. You don’t have any obligation to entertain someone who’s creeping you out or making unwanted come-ons, but consider the bravery and honesty needed to speak about these emotional matters—especially attraction. If the person respectfully let you know that you’ve caught their eye with your magnetic nature, do your best to summon the patience to not bite their head off or lead them down a dead-end path for your own amusement. Punishing the next one won’t cleanse you of the last one’s sins, boo.

The Libra sun, naturally so fair, balanced, and socially focused, is the Bonnie to rebellious Aries full moon’s Clyde, made even more sassy by an opposition from surprise-a-minute Uranus. Some personalities (especially air and fire signs) are relishing their moment as the rabble-rousing social provocateurs, haters and bad reps be damned. Sometimes, these outbursts are the shadow of past trauma we are still working out psychologically and energetically. We can’t help but challenge a status quo that’s injured us so deeply over and over again, and some of us might be faced with triggers of explosive rage. Slamming doors and volatile arguments with parents and partners are probable, as are restless, mischievous children.

Imaginations are running wild now, too, thanks to the Aries full moon conjunct Uranus, so it’s vital that we have plenty of creative outlets during this lunation. Otherwise, our idle imaginations could take some dark turns. Uranus mingling with the moon lends a bizarre, wacky energy to the tough, unconventional, rebellious wave we’ve been riding. Some of us might have the uncontrollable urge to shock and freak out the general public, yet paradoxically become mortified by the bad gal/boi reputation we earn. But it’s not all humiliation; this wild party vibe brings excitement through electrified chaos as everything’s in flux, especially our emotions. You might be thrust into the spotlight as a notorious starlet involuntarily, but you’ll need to filter out the negative talk and gossip. More than likely, those found in the eye of this aspect’s storm will be the center of rumors, labeled dramatic and reactionary. Be yourself and find solace in your own realness.