Cue the Neil Young and let the culling commence — a harvest supermoon in Aries is bringing hellfire and the imperative to share the wealth of what we’ve gathered.
Rising just after sunset on Thursday and reaching its peak illumination around 6 a.m. ET on Friday, this will be the last supermoon of the year and a powerful opportunity to reap, reflect, and revel.
Full moon meaning
Full moons have a habit of intensifying emotions and illuminating that which has been hidden and is in dire need of addressing, what can no longer be ignored or endured.
The sign that the full moon falls in lends its energy to the lunar cycle. In this case, we have war-lording, boat-burning, matches-for-fingers Aries at the lunar helm.
Aries favors contact sports, the color of blood, impulse over reason, and authenticity over likability.
Supermoon meaning
“Supermoon” is a sexier shorthand for what astrologers call a perigean full moon, wherein the full moon appears brighter, bolder, and better because it’s at its closest point to Earth in its elliptical orbit.
Supermoons exceed the disk size of the average moon (shakes fist, there are no average moons!) by roughly 8% and can appear 16% brighter.
As full moons rise, they bring to the surface issues, emotions, intestinal parasites, menses, and other stickiness that demand to be dealt with.
Full moons are about fruition and closure. The very shape of the shine is a metaphor for how we culminate, close circles, and/or end cycles. A supermoon, due to its proximity, heightens these effects; more revealing, more feeling, folks.
Full moons reflect not only the actions and intentions initiated during the most recent new moon, but also what we put into practice during the new moon in the corresponding zodiac sign.
In this case, we cast ourselves back six months to the new moon in Aries on March 21, 2023. Consider the themes presented, questions raised, bridges built or burned, seeds planted, and patterns started during that first day of spring, as you may find them coming to full-blown fruition right about now.
You reap what you sow, and never is the adage more apt than under the ever-loving light of the harvest moon.
Meaning of the harvest moon
Unlike other full moons associated with the Farmer’s Almanac, the harvest moon does not relate to a specific month, but rather the first full moon after the fall equinox.
Supermoon notwithstanding, the bright AF reputation of the harvest moon stands. Normally, the moon rises roughly 50 minutes later than the previous day.
However, in the Northern Hemisphere, near the fall equinox, the full moon rises at sunset and roughly at the same time for a handful of nights in a row. Traditionally, these bonus early-arriving, late-shining moon beams gave farmers a whole night of light for harvesting and celebrating, hence the name.
In a similar spirit (and spirits), alternative names for the harvest moon include wine moon, song moon, and barley moon. Imbibing and bellowing, can dig.
The lunar gospel of the Libra/Aries axis, according to Cardi B
Full moons point to zodiac polarities, as the sign the full moon falls in is always in opposition to the sign the sun is shining through.
We are currently in the pretty on purpose, poetic by principle, people pleasing to a fault, diplomatic sugar baby season of Libra with our full supermoon falling in Aries.
The full moon in Aries is joining forces with the North Node, heralding a time to cut or cauterize bad habits and detrimental ties. We can’t carry what holds us back into the winter ahead.
This imperative is amplified by love-centric Venus in Leo squaring buck-wild Uranus in Taurus, pushing us towards sudden revelations or abrupt cessations in our intimate relationships.
Burn the bad and sift through the ashes at a later date.
Libra is concerned with partnership, and Aries is about the self. These two signs are respectively ruled by the divine feminine (Venus) and the archetypal masculine (Mars).
Libra wants peace at all costs, and Aries wants progress at any price.
We see this polarity made manifest in the spirit and birth chart of Libra sun/Aries moon folks like Cardi B, Anne Rice, Marie Kondo, and John Coltrane — who used the firepower of their undeniable, absolute, and unapologetic infernal selves to create new paradigms to attract/influence and subvert with a smile the collective at large.
The late British writer Denise Levertov, a fellow Libra sun/Aries moon, sings to the spirit of this polarity in her poem “Eros at the Temple Stream.”
The river in its abundance
many-voiced
all about us as we stood
on a warm rock to wash
slowly
smoothing in long
sliding strokes
our soapy hands along each other’s
slippery cool bodies
Quiet and slow in the midst of
the quick of the
sounding river
our hands were
flames
stealing upon quickened flesh until
no part of us but was
sleek and
on fire
Sleek and on fire with hands on each other in an abundant river? What better image to hold in the cave wall of the mind and under the full harvest moon than this?
Harvest moon ritual
As Libra and Aries are opposites, they feed each other; air lends fire logic, and fire moves air to action.
This is the axis of identity, between balance and boldness, radical individuation and receptive collaboration.
Under this full moon, the following questions are ripe for reflection: How do I boldly support beauty? How can I balance the drive of “me” with the needs of the collective “we”? What have I gathered? What can I share? Where can I make space for what will sustain me? Is my impatience an indicator of a need for change or a need for stillness?
Astrology 101: Your guide to the star
- The 12 zodiac signs
- What are the astrology houses
- Here’s what each planet represents
- Sun, moon and rising signs: Get to know your Big 3
Harvest moon rituals can include spending time in nature — the source of all abundance, taking notice of the physical sensation of breathing fresh, cooler air, and welcoming in the darkness and abbreviated daylight that follows the equinox.
Libra is a social sign, it operates and defines itself in relationship to others, and harvest is a time to share what we’ve gathered, literally and metaphorically.
To honor this collection, assemble a feast of food, music, stories, and good company; offer to each other what you have made and what you have become.
As full moons are synonymous with release and Aries with fire, incorporate flames in whatever way feels appropriate/safe/legal, be it a bonfire or a single candle. Speak with a grateful heart and a full belly the oldest prayer the mouth knows — and the moon recognizes, thank you, thank you, thank you.
When is the next full moon?
The next full moon is the full hunter’s moon in Taurus, shining bright, bold, and bull-horned on Oct. 28, 2023. See you soon for the season of the witch.
Astrologer Reda Wigle researches and irreverently reports back on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture and personal experience. She is also an accomplished writer who has profiled a variety of artists and performers, as well as extensively chronicled her experiences while traveling. Among the many intriguing topics she has tackled are cemetery etiquette, her love for dive bars, Cuban Airbnbs, a “girls guide” to strip clubs and the “weirdest” foods available abroad.
