Harvest Moon, When All Things Ripen

Full Moon in Aquarius Constellation, September 10, 2022

Please note that this and all my other forecasts are based on the sidereal zodiac used in both Vedic and western sidereal astrology, not the tropical system used by most western astrologers. All the astrological charts below are calculated according to the sidereal zodiac and Lahiri Ayanamsa.

The Full Harvest Moon will reach its climax on Saturday, September 10 at 5:59 AM EDT (9:59 AM UTC). The Moon is strongest when waxing the day before it reaches its fullness. This is known as Purnima Tithi, which will begin Friday, September 9 around 8:40 AM EDT (12:40 PM UTC) and will last until the occurrence of the Full Moon (Pratipada Tithi) on Saturday. Use the World Time Buddy to convert these to your own time zone if it’s different.

Friday night during the Purnima Tithi is the time for Full Moon rituals, prayers, meditations, and for making potions.

This will be the last Full Moon of our summer season (northern hemisphere). Known to Native Americans as the Harvest Moon, Full Corn Moon, and also The Moon When All Things Ripen, this particular lunation represents the fullness and completion of summertime.

The days leading into, the day of, and a few days after a Full Moon are always brimming with mystical and spiritual energies, but they also constitute an intense time of "high-tide" emotional energy, so we should be aware and mindful of this. Mercury will retrograde about six hours before this Full Moon, which means we should expect the unexpected in the days ahead.

Of all the Full Moons in 2022, this one offers some of the most ample spiritual and healing blessings because it occurs in Aquarius, the Water Bearer who pours forth the cosmic waters of life, i.e. divine power, healing, and wisdom. The Aquarius Full Moon can give us a direct experience of Source Energy which brings soul sustenance and mind-body-spirit healing as well as restoring a sense of hope and faith no matter what our life circumstances.

The Full Moon will occur in fiery Purvabhadrapada nakshatra which is represented by the front legs of a funeral cot, emblematic of the great mysteries of death. In its ideal expression, this nakshatra represents passion, idealism, higher consciousness, and transformational processes. In its lower expression, it may represent some very angry, anxious, hypocritical, paranoid, or impulsive energy.

In the Vedic calendar, Pitru Paksha, the Fortnight of the Ancestors, will take place beginning at the Full Moon Saturday, and for the coming 16 days. Every year during this time, rituals are performed to pay tribute to one’s deceased ancestors, and it is a time when death rites are performed.

Pitru Paksha takes place during the waning Moon in Bhadrapada month (September), which follows the Ganesh festival and precedes the Sharad Navaratri, the autumnal festival of Nine Nights of Mother Divine, or Mahanavratri. This is the season when Devi Durga’s shakti (power) becomes most potent and accessible (September 26 to October 4 this year).

The upcoming Mahanavaratri coincides this year with the Jewish high holy days, beginning with Rosh Hashanah on September 25, and ending with Yom Kippur on October 5.

The Mahalaya falls within the Pitru Paksha about a week before the Navaratri festival begins, when the Divine Mother Durga is invoked to come down to Earth. The ancient rishis of Vedic culture understood that this time of year in the northern hemisphere is incredibly sacred and steeped in liminality, which is why they established this period for honoring those who have gone before.

The timing aligns with the inner and outer electromagnetic changes that take place in the fall season as Mother Earth is shifting and beginning to turn inward, just as our own energy systems are preparing to move deeper within. Autumn season will begin on the equinox on September 22/23. In this season of letting go, it is natural to contemplate death and offer tribute to our loved ones in the afterlife.

May you enjoy these last days of astronomical summer (or winter) where you live...and enjoy a peaceful Full Moon.