Astro-Therapy: Full Moon in Libra — Relationships & Dynamics...

Avoiding conflict with another is starting a conflict with oneself...

This Full Moon on April's fool day, is illuminating the Libra zone of your chart — and wherever that falls, that's where it manifests. Libra is a dual sign: the sign of relationships, represented by the scales of justice and balance. Libra doesn't want to be good — it wants to be fair. Because to be fair, is to be good.

In my work with patients over the past two decades, I see a common thread: relationship issues. Not just romantic ones — but the full spectrum. Family, work, friendships, and most importantly, the relationship we have with ourselves.

As the Bible says: "Love thy neighbor as yourself." But nowhere does it say to love another more than yourself. Even on an airplane they remind you: if you're traveling with a child, put your mask on first.

We often engage in exchanges that aren't necessarily fair — but they're... okay. We gloss over issues to maintain the peace, believing that conflict can be avoided without consequence. We overlook small — and sometimes not so small — offenses, hoping the energy will dissipate, that the transgression will fall into oblivion so we can all just move on... But the opposite is true.

When we allow transgressions against ourselves, we align with the transgressor — and we unwillingly become our own enemies. The "little" offenses become amplified. You kept the smile toward the other, but you began to frown at yourself. You became the enabler of the disrespect directed at you. You allowed a lack of consideration — perhaps from someone you love — and now you resent them.

Or maybe you accepted mistreatment at work for the sake of your job — and now you feel like it's Monday morning every time you commute or hop on a Zoom call.

These situations rarely resolve on their own. Occasionally, someone having a bad day catches themselves and doesn't repeat the offense. But more often than not, these situations set precedents. The precedent that you accepted — willingly or not — the offense at hand. And the best predictor of future behavior, besides astrology, is the past. If it happened once, it can happen again. And it will.

When an offense is repeated enough, it becomes the new normal. And once it's normalized, you may not even know how to stop it. The repetition creates buildup — and the buildup creates a breaking point.

The breaking point is the point of no return. The moment you can no longer tolerate the offense. By this time, your care for the relationship — personal or professional — is compromised, because it has come into direct conflict with the relationship you have with yourself.

You may resent them as much as you resent yourself.

So the breaking point is both liberating — and potentially destructive.

The question is: how do we aim for liberation without the destruction?

This Libra Full Moon opens the window to set the record straight.

Yet this is not a green light to charge ahead into conflict like a ram — though with the Stellium in Aries, the temptation is real. But warrior Mars, ruler of Aries, is still swimming in the waters of Pisces, tempering the fire and building gentle strength... So the goal is to address the issue. Not to burn the bridge.

And The moon opposed Saturn, the lord of reality, and Neptune, the lord of illusions, so this brings a reality check, where we come to a realization, bridging the gap between what we though the relationship was, vs. the reality of what it actually is. And Venus, ruler of this Full Moon, is in grounded in her home sign of taurus, but in a square with Pluto — lord of transformation — challenging us to change, and in square with Juno, the asteroid of partnerships, so we are being called to transform is the way we relate.

So the other party may resist. Not only are they accustomed to the dynamic — but they benefited from it. So they may not be ready to change.

With Mercury, the messenger, in aversion with the full moon, we might have a blind spot, and we might not know what to say, or how to go about it, but Mercury is favored with a supportive trine with Jupiter, it's ruler: the so called great benefic, exalted in Cancer and in it's exaltation degree! so we can harness this energy! But with the new moon in square with Jupiter, we might need to exercise some restrain, not to over do it...

So how to handle it?

Step one: Get clear.

Be very clear in your own mind about the injustice at hand. If you're still dragging self-doubt from your upbringing or self-limiting beliefs, you won't convince anyone of your value until you believe it yourself. Imagine tho offense done to someone you love, sometimes is easier to detach and see the situation objectively

Step two: see this person or situation as your teacher — showing you exactly what still needs healing within you — is a blessing in disguise. From that wider perspective, you can forgive both them and yourself. But forgiveness is not forgetting.

Step three: Embody the version of you who knows better.

Sometimes this looks like fake it till you make it.

Ask yourself: how would someone I deeply respect handle this?

If someone is disrespectful, a simple "Excuse me?" puts on the brakes.

It makes them pause and reconsider what they said — or how they said it.

If they persist, you are not responsible for their actions or reactions.

You don't have to engage.

Silence speaks louder than words.

Don't be afraid to hold eye contact. It conveys courage — you're not unresponsive because you're afraid, but because you refuse to relate at that level.

And if things escalate, you can always walk away.

Step four: In professional settings, master the art of non-reaction.

I understand this is far easier in personal settings than when the other person is an authority figure and you have bills to pay. In those scenarios, non-reaction is often the most powerful tool available.

Your unresponsiveness is not glossing over, looking the other way, or a lack of courage. It is a cold limit on engagement.

It says: I know you're the boss. But I don't operate like that.

Remember:

You teach others how to treat you, based on what you're willing to tolerate from them.

Finally: if any of this feels like an impossible task right now, that's exactly what counseling is for! Reach out for a consult.