Welcome to the Sagittarius Full Moon, the time in the zodiac calendar when the spotlight is on travel and exploration as well as the search for faith and meaning. Sagittarius is a sign that opens us up to the world, which is to say gets us to seek outside of ourselves. The full moon is exact on June 3, 2023 at 11:41 pm EDT, 13 degrees Sagittarius-Gemini. That’s 8:41 pm Los Angeles, 4:41 am London on June 4, 5:41 am Johannesburg, 1:41 pm Sydney, and 3:41 pm Auckland.
Full moons are decision points, a time when we are pushed into action or reaction. Events tend to happen around the full moon. Something is revealed or put into the light of the full moon. They bring to a head something that began around the new moon two weeks before.
I have a fondness for Sagittarius. Then again, it’s my rising sign. As the ninth sign of the zodiac, Sagittarius bridges us into a part of the sky that brings us symbolically out of the self and into the world. It gives us an itch to travel, a restlessness to want more, and push to search for new horizons and new perspectives. Without Sagittarius, we would stay small, insular, and uninterested in anything beyond what we already know.
So, we need Sagittarius. It helps us to put meaning behind our experiences and even our lives. It introduces us to new cultures and distant lands. It also imbues us with a sense of right and wrong, helping us to find a framework, whether that framework is philosophical, intellectual, legal, or religious, to build our lives around.
Sagittarius is also a complement to Gemini Season, a sign that we may think of as Sagittarius’s opposite, but instead it gathers Gemini’s many words and ideas and constructs them into something greater, whether a book, a teaching, or an ideology.
When we have a Sagittarius Full Moon, what’s in the spotlight is our relationship with that sign and archetype. Are we open to other cultures or other worldly perspectives? Do we have a sense of right and wrong? What do we believe in and stand for? Do we love to travel or are we afraid to leave what’s comfortable and known? Do our lives have a sense of mission and purpose?
Mission and purpose and even faith are big existential points. Sagittarius demands that we consider these things.
I often get clients who are at an existential crossroads or crisis point. Although they wish I could tell them what their purpose is … or astrology could tell them, it’s something ultimately we both know has to be discovered on its own.
That’s the thing. Sagittarius is a fire sign. Fire as an element is intensely personal. With Aries, the first fire sign, it’s the fire of self at its most rudimentary level, the fire that motivates us to take action and to go after what we want, the fire of courage and bravery. With Leo, it’s the fire of the Sun, bold and creative, the fire that forges a strong sense of individuality that’s full of passion and personality. With Sagittarius, that fire becomes the fire of the stars, something awe inspiring that captures our imaginations and makes us wonder about where we belong amongst all those stars.
Therefore this is a full moon to wonder, to find our passion, and to rekindle our faith in the universe, especially with the energizing support of Mars in Leo. It’s also a full moon to profess and stand up for what we believe in. That said, everything starts with fire and if our fire is out or dimmed, we have to work to revitalize it — especially under the energies of this full moon.
The Sagittarius Full Moon makes a square to Saturn in Pisces, one of our first big check ins with the planet after its arrival in Pisces three months ago. Which is to say, Saturn is adding a bit of weight to our emotions, thoughts, and experiences during this full moon. Saturn makes us aware of time as well as our commitments and responsibilities. It also, in Pisces, pulls at this dynamic between the two signs — Sagittarius and its external search for faith and meaning; Pisces and its internal search for faith and meaning.
And so we have to get still and search within as much as we need to find the fire and passion of Sagittarius. Saturn can also reveal where we are struggling with our faith or our sense of deeper purpose. It may push some towards an existential crisis.
The full moon is ruled by Jupiter and it points us to the sign of Taurus, which is where Jupiter recently arrived on May 16. There’s a need to get real or get grounded about some of Sagittarius’s broad philosophical themes. Or a need to put our faith into something real. As much as Taurus is about the earth, it’s also a sign that speaks about value. What’s the value of what I believe in? How does it enrich my life?
That said, use this full moon to revisit what your purpose is or to look to different frameworks to help orient your life. Return to what enriches your soul as well as what brings you back to the spark of life. If you’re struggling with the deeper existential questions, take real, concrete steps to meditate and reflect, to have conversations with others, to look for answers in books and well as to look for answers within.
And just a reminder, I talked more about the Sagittarius Full Moon and what it means for you in my weekly video for May 29-June 4, 2023. Watch the replay in the link below.