Sagittarius Full Moon: June 14
There’s passion and excitement in the air this weekend due to Venus’ conjunction with Uranus at 16°53 Taurus on Saturday, June 11. The meeting of the Goddess of Love with the rebellious genius of the zodiac inspires us to experiment with aesthetics and the configuration of relationships. Uranus acts spontaneously and craves freedom. When the two get together, it can bring a change in partnership and our worldview about romance. June is LGBTQAI pride month, and all over the world people are going to be living loud and proud in public, just as Uranus would have it. The Moon in Scorpio opposed this pair on Saturday evening, and then conjoined the South Node on Sunday, highlighting our need to release and renew before the Sagittarius Full Moon on June 14.
The birth chart of LGBTQAI pride is attributed to the Stonewall Riots on June 28, 1969. New York City police raided a Greenwich Village bar, The Stonewall Inn, and the queer patrons fought back against brutality and criminalization. The inception time of the chart is in dispute. Some people use 1:20AM, the time when witnesses report police entered the bar and began harassing patrons, while other sources say the call for police backup went out just before 3AM. The earlier time of 1:20AM puts Aries on the Ascendent, an appropriately confrontational energy, being ruled by Mars in Sagittarius in a sextile with Uranus in Libra. There are several similarities to the astrology of the Stonewall Uprising and the Sagittarius Full Moon on June 14, 2022.
The 6th month of June is associated with The Lovers card in the tarot and Gemini, the sign of the Twins. June is the month of brides, named after the Goddess Juno, but the Stonewall Riots took place after the Summer Solstice during Cancer season. The Stonewall Inn was a haven for LGBTQAI folks, a homebase where queer patrons could live as their truest gender expression and free to love and touch whomever they wished. The Sun at 6° Cancer on June 28, 1969, wants to protect and defend this sacred space, and was being squared by Uranus who had just moved into Libra a few days before.
Uranus changing signs creates earthshaking ripples, such as the volcanic eruptions in Japan and Hawaii, that coincided with its entry and exit into Aries. Uranus is associated with rebellion and breaking with the status quo. It was discovered in 1781, around the time of the French Revolution, when the movement against tyranny brought massive political changes in many parts of the world. The overthrowing of monarchies and establishment of constitutional democracies brought about the end of a royal reign that was based on domination by the few and exploitation of the many.
Both the Moon and Mars were in Sagittarius being ruled by Jupiter in Virgo, the sign of its exile. A planet in detriment indicates a lack of protection or empowerment by the larger environment in which it’s located. The Stonewall Inn was a safe haven for patrons, but the sanctity of the space itself could be breached. Jupiter was moving out of a conjunction with Pluto, a planet associated with devastation and transformation that increases force and power. Mars in fiery Sagittarius is not just willing to fight, it will gladly go to battle for its beliefs. The Moon had just left a conjunction with Mars and moved into an opposition with Mercury in Gemini.
The spark that ignited the Stonewall Uprising was said to be a shot glass thrown by Marsha P. Johnson who yelled, “I got my civil rights!” With that, all the other patrons erupted in protest against the cops attempting to arrest them for gender based dress code violations. Marsha’s act of resistance that inspired the Queer Liberation Movement has been called the shot heard round the world. The P in Marsha’s name stands for “Pay It No Mind”, a most Gemini-Sag kind of motto. The film, Happy Birthday Marsha, captures the moments leading up to this iconic event.
Stonewall was not the first time queer people had fought back against police repression and harassment. The Compton Cafeteria Riots that took place in San Francisco in 1966, were a precursor of transgender resistence. But the genderqueer God of Communication, Mercury, in Gemini carried the story of Stonewall far and wide. We’ve made tremendous strides towards civil rights since the night of Marsha’s rallying cry, yet transgender women of color have benefitted the least from the mainstream LGBTQAI right movement. Culturally the landscape has changed dramatically, but our political progress is constantly under attack and increasingly precarious. Rather than addressing the horrific gun violence that has ravaged the state, Texas lawmakers are proposing a ban on minors at drag queen shows after an all ages Pride event in Dallas.
Mercury moves back into Gemini on Monday, June 13, closing out the Taurus portion of the retrograde cycle. The winged messenger’s sextile with Jupiter in Aries brings a nice sense of forward motion supporting the freedom seeking orientation of the Full Moon at 23°25 Sagittarius on June 14. Consider how far you’ve come since the Sagittarius New Moon on December 4, which wrapped up the eclipse cycle along the Gemini-Sag axis. We haven’t had a Sag lunation free of the nodes since 2020. That in itself is cause to celebrate.
Venus will be at 19°52 Taurus at the Sag Full Moon, still in proximity to Uranus and within 1 degree of where it was at the Stonewall Rebellion. Mars is conjunct Chiron at 15° Aries highlighting the ancient wounds of aggression and violence that need to be healed. Mars trine with the Moon increases the fiery nature of this lunation, and stokes our inner resolve to be courageous in the face of great opposition. The Sun in Gemini is in a trine with Saturn in Aquarius lending practical support for innovation solutions. Saturn will move back into a square with Uranus in August. There’s an opportunity to feel into the way their energies can support each other, rather than antagonize, which is a gift.
The wounds we’re grappling with are not new, but Jupiter has not been in Aries for a decade. It's offering a fresh take on old problems, and a fierce determination to go forth boldly towards a better future. The great philosopher invites us to consider how we can engage with conflict without getting drawn into inner division, how to hold a line without being identified with either side, and the paradox of accepting human limitation while holding ourselves to a higher ideal. The Moon squaring Neptune in Pisces knows that a greater, more compassionate, love is possible on Earth. The course Jupiter is charting for this lunation will lead us to places we’ve never been before. There will be nothing tangible to hold onto where we’re going. But if we seek out the inspiring horizons that blink brightly in the distance, that will be light enough to follow the path.