Full Moon in Sagittarius

A full moon occurs every 29.5 days when the moon is on the opposite side of the earth from the sun. Lunar phases and the months of the year are inextricably linked; the word 'month' takes its root from the word 'moon'. A month was originally defined as either 29 or 30 days, which is roughly equal to the 29.5-day lunar cycle or ‘synodic month’ (the time between two successive syzygies, such as new moons and full moons). However, some of our calendar months were later padded out with extra days, in order that 12 months would make up a complete solar year of 365 days. The lunar calendar is part of our ancestral time. A natural rhythm – like our heartbeat, or the sunrising each day – and one that speaks to our souls. This full moon in Sagittarius is very much about illuminating what is in our souls.

Sagittarius is a mutable fire sign represented by the centaur. Centaurs are human-horse hybrids, born from mythic consciousness. In mythic time, phrases such as or ‘once upon a time’ or ‘long ago and far away’ describe time as if the past is still happening. Sagittarius is concerned with not just the past, present and future as linear, solid constructs, but with more magical, cyclical, expansive expressions of time that themselves belong to ‘long ago’. On one level, this full moon in Sagittarius is an invitation to connect with that way of experiencing time; to connect with the big picture; to connect to the ancient magic mode of consciousness.

“...the entire Paleolithic cultures operated in the magic mode of consciousness in which natural events like an eclipse, a lightning strike, a rainbow, or an earthquake could be a sign predicting future events such as someone’s death or a good day of hunting. The magical world was operating on telepathy, synchronicity, and reading omens. Synchronistic events did not involve a dialogue between humans and the world, but a monologue within a united mind/body which included humans, animals, plants, rocks, and everything else. Shamans were the heart of the operating system working as spiritual guides, healers, and manipulators of the magical laws.”

As a hybrid, Sagittarius represents both the separate parts of its form – the utterly wild and the civilized – and the integration of these halves; the “united mind/body” from a more ancient time. Most of us in the developed world find ourselves in an overly civilised and urbanised environment. Our lives are dominated by linear time; by needing to be places on time, which often means we’re not in (inhabiting) time, or present. We find ourselves in a state of non-integration with the natural world. Daily, we experience a discrepancy between how we evolved to live and how we now live. This full moon is a call to integrate ancestral practices in our daily lives: to rewild.

How to Rewild Yourself

Spend more time outside. Too much time inside has many adverse effects on human physiology, so look for ways to get outside – from coffee on the patio to working by a pond.
Integrate more movement into your day. As well as spending most of their time outside, ancestral humans were also far more active than most people today. Look for opportunities to get moving, from cooking by hand to taking the stairs.
Spend extended time in wild settings. Beyond spending more time outside, look for opportunities to be in nature. It doesn’t have to be a wilderness – even a small patch of green can reduce your stress levels.
Positively stress your body with some discomfort. Positive stress is known as hormesis and it brings many physical and mental benefits. Ways to experience it include fasting and cold-water immersion.
Go barefoot. Opting for minimal footwear when possible will improve the musculature of your legs and feet and reinvigorate your skin.
Aim for autonomy in small social groups. We evolved to interact in small, trusted groups. Prioritise socialising with people whom you truly trust and respect, and deliberately reduce the size of your online social networks.
Eat wild foods, learn to forage them yourself. Learning to source some wild foods from your local environment is a fun and beneficial way to spend time in nature.

There is something almost psychedelic about Sag energy; a desire to release oneself from the confines of an individuated self and melt into the collective. To adventure, to be free. The above rewilding practices are an expression of our urge for adventure and exploration; a desire for freedom and autonomy; a need to connect beyond our own individual notion of self, or ego. There is a strong quest energy with the mythical centaur too. Sagittarius is truth-seeking. In terms of the integrated self, this is a potent moment to release anything that doesn’t feel true and authentic in our lives and, in turn, making space for what is true to come into our lives. A harmonious sextile between this moon and Pluto in Aquarius supports this personal growth and transformation.

During any full moon, we always work with an axis of energy of the sun and the moon, as they are in opposition. During this full moon, the moon is in Sagittarius and the sun is in Gemini. Sagittarius and Gemini are complementary energies. Sagittarius is about connecting to a more mythical, magical way of being, while Gemini supports the integration of this expansiveness into the day to day and into our individuated experience. It is the processing – the filtration – of the divine into our existence. Jupiter, the ruling sign of Sagittarius, is also in Gemini at the time of the full moon, which further heightens this symbiotic relationship between the two signs.

The shift from Jupiter in Taurus to Jupiter in Taurus is a profound one, with the energetic focus shifting from resources, safety and security to connecting, learning, experimentation and innovation. This will be a less predictable, more intuitive time, with surprising developments becoming part of the fabric of our lives.

How to work with the energy of this full moon in Sagittarius? The keys are to release, connect and rewild. Release anything that doesn’t intuitively feel like it belongs to the greater truth of your life (the moon heightens our intuition and knowing). As Sagittarius is a hybrid of the mind and the somatic, it may feel right to feel these things in your body and then express them through writing. In terms of the notion of connecting, this moon is a rare, delicious invitation to connect to a pre-industrialised experience of time, which we can access through various means, including some of the rewilding techniques mentioned above. Anything that brings us into the experience of our bodies. Although Sagittarius is a hybrid of mind and body, rewilding is an adjustment to the overly emphasised mind-culture of our modern world, so this connection and rewilding work should have a sensory focus.

Image credit: Beres Ioan on Unsplash

Paleolitic cultures quote from Centaur Mind: A Glimpse into an Integrative Structure of Consciousness by Azin Izadifar (California Institute of Integral Studies)

How to Rewild Yourself by Jessica Carew Kraft

Lynsey Allett21 May 2024