October 2020: Tarot spread for the full moon in Aries

The October 2020 full moon falls in the sign of Aries. The Aries archetype is known for its bold – often rash – action, for going where angels fear to tread. As the first sign of the zodiac, it represents the active core of our spiritual journey on earth, and teaches us to act in accordance with our ideals. The Aries archetype teaches us to be unafraid to march to our own drumbeat, to assert our willpower towards the attainment of our desires, and to embrace beginner’s mind and the innate trust and explosive power {conviction + action} that is needed to start something new.

Spiritually, the Aries archetype teaches us about action. And as most of us know, it’s easier to talk about the things we want to do than to put in the work and actually do the thing! Aries teaches us that courage is the key to unlocking the full potential of this spiritual principle. And that comes from connecting your head to your heart, focusing your will, and taking consistent action towards your dreams.

Full moons tend to heighten our emotions, but the October 2020 full moon could be an overly emotional one, bringing some heated tension to the surface. Mars, the ruling planet of Aries, is currently in retrograde, and may bring to light some upsetting information.

An excellent way to deal with this heightened emotion is through mindfulness. Practicing presence, single-tasking rather than multi-tasking, and spending time immersed in a hobby will help to smooth out any jagged edged and frayed nerves at this – and indeed any – time.

Astro-tarot influences for the October 2020 full moon

To throw some more light on the astrology of the full moon in Aries, let’s take a look at the astro-tarot influences of this lunation. The full moon falls in decan 1, which is represented by the 2 of Wands. This is to be interpreted in conjunction with The Emperor, which is associated with Aries.

The 2 of Wands represents a desire to change the status quo. Though things may look fine from the outside, there’s some discontent and boredom brewing under the surface. At the same time, there’s the fear of making the wrong decision and an unwillingness to upset the apple cart. The Emperor represents leadership and clarity of vision; as well as worldly knowledge and wisdom gained from experience. It also represents a time to take charge of your life and wield your personal power and authority.

This, then, speaks to the need for clarity of vision and the determination to do what needs to be done to bring that vision to life.

We can often go through the motions, living life on autopilot. Our daily routines and responsibilities can become a well-worn track that we trudge through every day, ignoring the other paths that go branching off what we already know.

It isn’t surprising then that boredom can set in. A strange dissatisfaction that we can’t quite put a finger on, because when we look at our life, everything may well look “normal” on the surface. So we numb that uneasiness with the infinite scroll or too much Netflix or simply try to brush it away in any way we can.

And yet, if we listen to that dissatisfaction, give it some space and allow it a voice, what changes may it spark? In what ways would our life change?

The question then becomes, how do we give voice to our dissatisfaction? Make space to listen to it?

The best way I know how is by carving out some time with a pen and journal in hand. Have a dialogue with the dissatisfaction you feel – ask it what it wants to tell you, why it’s coming forward now, what is missing, and then ask it what would make it feel better.

What you’re doing is having a conversation with a part of yourself, which can feel a bit strange at first. If that’s the case, just sit in silence, allowing the dissatisfaction you’re feeling the space to come forward, and when you feel ready to begin, start writing by asking a question. Starting with a question allows your inner self – the dissatisfaction in this case – to provide you with an answer. Spend at least 25 minutes without interruption with this technique, and see what comes up for you.

Sabian Symbol for the October 2020 Aries full moon

The Sabian Symbol for Aries 10 degrees is A Teacher Gives New Symbolic Forms To Traditional Images.

This is an interesting symbol, that brings up a couple of thoughts for me. One is the fear that a lot of us have around sharing our ideas or vision, believing that everything has already been spoken about before and we have nothing new to offer. But the fact is, the way that you talk about your idea, the influences shape your worldview, would put your personal stamp on them, setting them apart from others who speak to similar things.

There’s also the idea of personal change and growth. Of the need to cast off old stories and patterns and ways of thinking; to re-write the stories we tell ourselves and to continue to evolve and grow on our path. This speaks quite powerfully to being brave enough to look at things from a different perspective. To ask what if and then see where that leads you.

Tarot spread for the October 2020 full moon in Aries

Here’s a tarot spread to tap into the energy of this full moon.

1. Kindling: Draw 2 cards. These represent your sticky emotions, the ones that have you feeling dissatisfied/bored/stuck

2. Match: Draw 1–2 cards. How you can get unstuck. Use these cards to come up with action items to move out of stuckness

3. Fire: The Aries energy that you can tap into to move boldly forward

4. Mama moon says: This is always a message of love and hope

Journaling questions for the October 2020 Aries full moon

There are no separate journaling questions for this full moon. I recommend that you try the inner dialogue journaling exercise explained above.

If you share your tarot readings using this spread on social media, please use the hashtag #moontarotstories so we can connect with each other.

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