Full Supermoon in Capricorn Constellation & Dhanistha Nakshatra

August 11/12, 2022

The full Supermoon will occur on Thursday night, August 11, at 9:36 PM EDT (Eastern Daylight Time), which will be 8:36 PM CDT (Central Daylight Time); 7:36 PM MDT (Mountain Daylight Time); and 6:36 PM PDT (Pacific Daylight Time). Likewise, the full Moon will occur on Friday morning, August 12, at 1:36 AM UTC; 2:36 AM in the UK; 4:36 AM in Greece; 7:06 AM in India; 9:36 AM in Hong Kong; and 11:36 AM in Sydney, Australia. You can use the World Time Buddy to convert for your exact location if it is not listed.

This will be the fourth and last Supermoon of the year. A Supermoon is when a new or full Moon occurs while the Moon is near perigee, the point in the Moon’s orbit where it is closest to Earth. Supermoons are correlated with a larger than usual lunar effect, possibly leading to higher than normal tides, strong storms, and intense emotional disturbance in the few days before, the day of, and a few days after the exact lunation. It’s important during any full Moon period that we focus on the positive and the constructive, as the full Moon energy heightens mental processes for “good or bad.”

According to Vedic astrology, the purnima tithi is the day in the waxing Moon cycle before the full Moon reaches its maximum point of illumination. This month, it will begin at 1:08 AM EDT on August 11, and will end at the full Moon at 9:36 PM on August 11. Please check the Drik Panchang website to find the exact timing for your locale. The purnima tithi is the most auspicious full Moon day for spiritual and healing practices, and for making Moon water or other special potions and medicines.

This month’s purnima tithi is called Shravana Purnima (or Shravan, Sravan, or Sawan Purnima). This is the most important day of the Shravan month. This month and the day leading into this full Moon (purnima tithi) are very special for Shiva worship. It is also a very good day to do special practices like puja/yagya, prayers, offerings, and mantras done to alleviate Chandra Dosha, a Moon affliction in one’s birth horoscope.

In Vedic culture, Sawan Purnima is also the time of Raksha Bandhan, the bond of protection ritual. In modern times, sisters offer a sacred thread (protective talisman or amulet) to be tied on their brother’s wrist to symbolize their unconditional emotional bond. This is known as “rakhi.”

The traditional theme of Raksha Bandhan embraces feelings of humanity and compassion toward any of one’s fellows, including friends and loved ones. In one legend about Raksha Bandhan, Lord Indra’s wife Sachi tied a sacred thread as an amulet of protection around Indra’s wrist before he entered the battle with the demon Bali.

In the Mahabharata, when Lord Krishna accidentally cut his finger on his sudarshan chakra, Princess Draupadi tore a piece of cloth from her sari and tied it around his wound to stop the bleeding. In his gratitude, Lord Krishna considered the cloth as a sacred thread and his promise of protection to the princess.

In the Jain tradition, priests to this day tie ceremonial threads on the wrists of devotees during Raksha Bhandan. Those among certain Hindu religious sects and castes who wear sacred threads often replace them on this date, too, in a ceremony known as Upakarma.

In West Bengal, people still tie rakhi among friends and neighbors, a tradition started by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore in 1905 during Partition. The intention was originally meant to reinforce the bond of friendship and unity between Hindus and Muslims of Bengal. In many circles today, as well, the festival is a time for offering loving and caring intentions to any of one’s friends and relations. All manner of gifts, not just bracelets, are shared with friends, family, and associates.

In the full Moon horoscope, Saturn conjoins the full Moon in the efficient and ambitious Capricorn constellation. This is Saturn’s own sign which brings a strong emphasis on responsibility, practicality, and organizational processes. Saturn and the Moon in opposition to the Sun also form part of a tense grand square (or cross) in cardinal signs, along with Mars, Uranus, Rahu, and Ketu.

This particular grand square formation was also in place at the new Moon two weeks ago, which I have written about before. It can have an impetuous, aggressive, reckless, combative, and accident prone quality. It also suggests various geopolitical crises at play. In order to navigate its rocky energy, we will need to be patient, focused, firm, and steady.

Full Moons represent the energy of culmination or fruition, so perhaps certain matters set in motion in recent weeks will start to come to a conclusion or turning point. The fact that the Moon is conjoined Saturn in Capricorn may suggest a tendency for emotional or physical fatigue, as well as disheartening or discouraging emotions, or personal or current collective events that feel quite hopeless and depressing.

The full Moon will occur in Dhanistha nakshatra, a section overlapping late Capricorn and early Aquarius which is ruled by passionate Mars. The first pada (section) where the full Moon occurs aligns with Leo navamsa, which may in some cases have an aggressive tone or represent disharmony in significant relationships.

One of the main symbols of Dhanistha is Lord Shiva’s drum (damaru), which signifies the ultimate cosmic vibration, the sound of all creation. In its higher expression, Dhanishta’s power is the wisdom to use one’s energies beneficially, with enhanced intuition, insight, spiritual depth, compassion, and charity.

Dhanishta is an auspicious nakshatra ruled by the elemental gods of light known as the Vasus, whose name means “brilliance” and “wealth givers.” Also known as the Star of Symphony, Dhanishta thus symbolizes Divine harmony and oneness. Opportune activities for the Dhanistha full Moon include meditation; spiritual ceremony; music, dance, and other creative activities; travel; and various group activities.

Dhanistha’s qualities correspond in many ways with the Unicorn, the highest representation of Capricorn according to esoteric astrology. This is the ancient symbol of inspiration, universality, higher consciousness, infinite possibilities, eternal life, as well as inner truth and one-pointed focus that leads to both material and spiritual success.

The birth chart of Rainer Maria Rilke, an Austrian poet and writer, has Saturn and Moon conjoined in Capricorn and Dhanistha nakshatra, close in degree to the same placements in this month’s full Moon chart. He was born December 3, 1875 at 23:50 (11:50 PM ) in Prague, Czech Republic (Astro-Databank).

Known for his heartfelt wisdom and powerful lyrical writing, Rilke combined his assiduous observation of the objective world with a deep subjective mysticism. That pretty well describes the higher expression of Moon and Saturn conjoined in Capricorn and Dhanistha nakshatra!

Rilke wrote about the importance of taking a mindful approach to one’s anxieties, pains, and sorrows. He understood that being present with and diving deep into one’s most challenging feelings can be a transcendent experience.

So you must not be frightened … if a sadness rises up before you larger than any you have ever seen; if a restiveness, like light and cloud-shadows, passes over your hands and over all you do. You must think that something is happening with you, that life has not forgotten you, that it holds you in its hand; it will not let you fall. Why do you want to shut out of your life any agitation, any pain, any melancholy, since you really do not know what these states are working upon you? (Letters to a Young Poet)

https://quotefancy.com/quote/892955/Rainer-Maria-Rilke-Our-task-is-to-take-this-earth-so-deeply-and-wholly-into-ourselves

Rilke also believed in the value of taking full personal responsibility for one’s own state of being, which is another powerful Moon-Saturn/Capricorn theme.

If your daily life seems poor, do not blame it; blame yourself that you are not poet enough to call forth its riches; for the Creator, there is no poverty. Let life happen to you. Believe me: life is in the right, always. The future enters into us, in order to transform itself in us, long before it happens. (Letters to a Young Poet)

And with that, I wish a blessed and magical full Moon to all beings everywhere! May peace, wisdom, truth, compassion, and unity prevail.