Full Moon in Pisces: meaning and symbolic reading

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Full Moon in Pisces: what is it about?

A full Moon occurs when the Moon is opposite the Sun as seen from the Earth: the side facing us is fully lit. For astrologers, the two luminaries are then 180 degrees apart, and so in two opposite signs. In a “full Moon in Pisces”, the Moon is in Pisces and the Sun is in Virgo. See also the page on the full moon.

The Sun moves through Virgo from about August 23 to September 22, so these full Moons fall between late August and late September. A sign usually recurs once a year, sometimes twice (about one year in twenty for Pisces, according to my calculation for 1951–2099). This refers to the tropical zodiac, anchored to the seasons; sidereal astrology offsets it by about 24 degrees.

In the sky: the Harvest Moon

The Harvest Moon is the full Moon closest to the September equinox. According to my calculation for 1951–2099, it falls in Pisces one year in two and in Aries the other half of the time. Its particularity: on the evenings around it, the Moon rises at almost the same time each night. Normally, it rises about 50 minutes later each day; near the autumn equinox, this delay drops to roughly 15 to 25 minutes at the latitudes of mainland France (by my calculation). The reason is geometric: at that time, the Moon’s path is only slightly inclined to the eastern horizon.

Farmers used this light at the end of the day to finish the harvest, hence the name. In Paris, this full Moon crosses the meridian between 28 and 46 degrees above the horizon.

The Virgo–Pisces axis: two mutable signs face to face

Virgo is an earth sign, mutable, associated with Mercury: analysis, sorting, precision, service, care for everyday life. Pisces is a water sign, also mutable, ruled by Jupiter in ancient astrology and by Neptune in modern astrology: imagination, compassion, dreams, spirituality, the dissolving of boundaries. Mythology sees in it Aphrodite and Eros, transformed into fish and tied together to escape the monster Typhon. See Virgo and Pisces.

The axis opposes order and blur: knowing how to sort without losing poetry, dreaming without losing your footing. In the birth chart, it corresponds to houses 6 and 12: daily life and the unconscious. See also the Moon in Pisces.

Keywords and symbolic mood

In modern interpretation, the full Moon is a moment of culmination, a contemporary metaphor stemming from psychological astrology and not an ancient rule. With the Moon in Pisces:

• compassion: feeling close to others, sometimes to the point of exhaustion;
• intuition: what we sense without being able to explain it;
• imagination: dreams, art, music;
• letting go: accepting what we cannot control;
• on the Virgo side: sorting, tidying, caring for the concrete.

These are keywords, not announced events. Dreams and intuitions are images to explore, never predictions: see the dream dictionary.

Festivals of the season

The Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhongqiu) falls on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the Chinese calendar, at the full Moon, between September 7 and October 8 depending on the year. It is celebrated in China, Taiwan and Vietnam; Japan has Tsukimi (moon viewing) and Korea has Chuseok on the same dates. Depending on the year, this full Moon is therefore in Pisces or in Aries. North American almanacs call the September full Moon the “Corn Moon” or “Harvest Moon”: these names come from almanacs and are attributed to a variety of Native American traditions.

Full Moon in Pisces and your birth sun sign

Birth Sun in	Relation to the Moon (in Pisces)	Relation to the Sun (in Virgo)
Aries	semi-sextile	quincunx
Taurus	sextile	trine
Gemini	square	square
Cancer	trine	sextile
Leo	quincunx	semi-sextile
Virgo	opposition	conjunction
Libra	quincunx	semi-sextile
Scorpio	trine	sextile
Sagittarius	square	square
Capricorn	sextile	trine
Aquarius	semi-sextile	quincunx
Pisces	conjunction	opposition

These relations between whole signs are conventions: sextile and trine are considered fluid, square and opposition more tense but stimulating, semi-sextile and quincunx linked by no common element. People born under Virgo or Pisces are on the axis, and the mutable signs (Gemini, Sagittarius) are in square: tradition attributes to them a particular sensitivity to this full Moon, which is not a measured fact. Astrologers mainly look at the house of your chart where it falls (birth time and place required): see Reading your birth chart step by step.

Gentle and safe practices

Nothing is obligatory. If the idea appeals to you:

• Contemplate the Moon as the Mid-Autumn festivals do: a quiet moment, outside or at a window.
• Note your dreams on waking, with a notebook beside the bed, without trying to “decode” them at all costs.
• Sort through a drawer or a notebook: the Virgo–Pisces axis invites us to tidy up in order to dream better.
• Candle: a night light in a stable glass, away from curtains, out of reach of children and animals, never left unattended.

Nuanced wording

To avoid	More nuanced
“Pisceans are dreamers who flee from reality.”	“Imagination is a keyword of the sign; it can nourish as much as it can offer escape.”
“Your dreams tonight are warning you of danger.”	“A dream can prompt reflection on what we feel; it predicts nothing.”

Questions for reflection

1. What tires me in the attention I give to others?
2. Where do I need more order, and where more daydreaming?
3. What am I unable to control, and could I accept it?
4. Which form of art or silence does me good?

What this reading does not say

Astrology is a symbolic tradition, with no scientific validation. These lines offer images for reflection, not a forecast, nor advice on health, money or a separation: do not make an important decision because of a phase of the Moon. Pisces is sometimes associated with escape; if alcohol, medication or other substances are being used to get away from things, talk to your doctor or to a support service. If intense emotion or dark thoughts overwhelm you, speak to a health professional; in France, 3114 (suicide prevention) answers day and night, and in an emergency you can call 112 (emergency number across the European Union).

To go further: the new Moon in Pisces, the full Moon in Virgo and Our commitments.

Frequently asked questions

Also read

The meanings mentioned belong to tradition and symbolism. They are neither promises of results nor medical advice. Back to In-depth astrology.