The Full Moon tunes our feelings, moods, intuitions, creativity and our unconscious; such are the moon’s currencies. This Full Moon in August happens in the imaginative and sensitive sign of Pisces, which is ruled by Jupiter. Jupiter represents wisdom, luck, philosophy, peace of mind and spirituality. The trilogy of these energies means August’s Full Moon is serving you a high potency dose of self-awareness with a splash of introspection and a twist of intuition.

The Full Moon in August occurs during the Moon’s monthly perigee so it appears larger in the sky.  In modern times this is referred to as a Super Moon. This Moon is also known as the Fruit Moon because this is the time of year when the apples, plums, peaches, grapes and berries are at their ripest and heavy with juice. Just as the fruit turns to it’s most saturated hue so will the sky begin to arrest us with displays of opulent color signaling the days turning shorter. Even as we enjoy nature’s visual display coupled with a perfectly ripe piece of fruit in the warm summer night, other perfectly ripe fruit is falling onto the ground uneaten and beginning to decay.

You see, the Fruit Moon is when all the plant life puts it's self out there for it’s final performance of the season in the ancient drama of creating new life. The weeping of seedy, fleshy hopefuls that stain the sidewalks and streets are nature’s lost dreams and aspirations. It sounds tragic but the truth is not every dream can live on as some must give way to those that are meant to flourish. The fruits that hit the deck are reabsorbed and fertilize the Earth for future seasons. It is the fruit that is eaten that will plant the seeds of new creation and nourish you throughout the coming months.

Some of you may experience this Full Moon awareness with vivid, prophetic dreams. Others may not be able to sleep a wink because their mind is a whirling dervish. Whatever your process it’s a time to truly hear the will of your unconscious, which believe it or not Baby, has a direct line to the Universe. Examine your feelings of unruly compassion or dig in to your persistent agitations. Witness yourself witnessing yourself. Your imagination will be fluid and charged, allow it to communicate to you through vivid fantasies and explorations of your greatest fears. Seek out the nourishing morsels of insight you have to offer yourself.

This Full Moon is an opportunity to bend your heart open in revelry under the bright big Super Moon and give thanks for the natural intelligence of your intuition. Some of you may express that gratitude with cartwheels off of docks into the bioluminescent water of the archipelago; while others may finally sit down in front of that dusty alter for a moment of mindfulness. Whatever form it takes, give it intention, give it space to metamorphosis on it’s own, actively surrender to it and allow it due process.

The Dakota Sioux call this the Moon When All Things Ripen, the Shawnee – Plum Moon, the Tlingit call it the Berries Ripe on Mountain. Whatever fruit dangles on the vine of your intuition, pluck it and take a juicy bite. Then, touch the Earth, connect back the lessons you have intuited, and put on your shoes. The next step is the most important one as you begin your descent into the harvest season with awareness in hand. Don’t look back at the fallen fruit, live in the now and feel nourished by the delicious sweet lesson of the fruit well earned.

As Mary Oliver wrote in her poem The Plum Trees:

Such richness flowing through the branches of summer and into the body, carried inward on the five rivers! Disorder and astonishment rattle your thoughts and your heart cries for rest but don’t succumb, there’s nothing so sensible as sensual inundation. Joy is a taste before it’s anything else, and the body can lounge for hours devouring the important moments. Listen, the only way to tempt happiness into your mind is by taking it into the body first, like small wild plums.

Words by Jamie Leigh Fish
Full Moon artwork by Garek Jon Druss

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