The final full moon of the winter season hath arrived.

The full Worm Moon in Virgo will reach its peak on Tuesday, March 7, 2023 at 7:42 AM ET.

Full moons point to zodiac polarities as the sign the full moon falls in is always in opposition to the sign the sun is shining through.

During this lunation, the full moon in ‘be better’ Virgo is opposing the sun, Mercury, and Neptune who are currently swimming in the romantic, opiate laced, glitter clogged bath waters of Pisces. Because these two signs face one another across the zodiac wheel, they can and should function as mirrors and compliments to one another.

In relationship to this polarity, Pisces mainlines inspiration and Virgo grounds idealism in the soil of pragmatism. Earth gives structure to the imagination of water, lending scaffolding to dream scapes. This is the axis on which the practical and the poetic consort.

Virgo rules the sixth house of daily habits which sounds like tedious maintenance; dusting, flossing, vitamin popping, fiber taking etc. but is in fact the bedrock upon which our health, wealth, and betterment are built upon. How we move through and contribute to the world is vested in how we protect and promote our own vitality. There is nowhere to hide under this full moon which will serve to highlight aspects of our daily life that need an adjustment.

Virgo gets a bad rep for being the resident perfectionist of the zodiac but the sign’s true purpose is more in line with ritual purification asking us to consider what can be pruned so that we might prosper. The ultimate lesson of the sixth house and of Virgo itself is to integrate our mental, physical and spiritual energies into a single force for depth and growth.

Full moons always shine a direct and directly activating light our shadows and invite closures, ceasations and cauterizations. Because Saturn, planet of systems, tough love and tightened belts is leaving Aquarius and slipping into Pisces a mere hour after the full moon peaks, there is a heightened sense of finality. Saturn rules karma lending our full circles and final curtains a fated feeling. Author Chuck Palahniuk, who consequently, and aptly has a Pisces sun and Virgo moon writes, “Only after disaster can we be resurrected. It’s only after you’ve lost everything that you’re free to do anything. Nothing is static, everything is evolving, everything is falling apart.”

I hope you find liberation in these lines and comfort in this message that falling apart is the mirror of coming together, undoing is becoming and loss is discovery.

The names for the full moons given in “The Old Farmer’s Almanac” are drawn from Native American, European and Colonial American origins. Traditionally, the name was used to describe not just the full moon, but the entire lunar month in which it fell. March’s full moon is known as the Worm Moon, a name originally thought to reference the earthworms that emerge as the soil warms, beckoning birds to feed and sing that spring has sprung.

However, the notebooks of Aries explorer and mapmaker Captain Jonathan Carver, who traveled extensively throughout the Midwestern Territories in the 18th century, suggest that the term was used by the Naudowessie (Dakota) to describe the worm like beetle larvae that appear in the thawing bark of trees at this time of year.

In both instances, March’s full moon can be read as a point of revelation, new life, rich dirt and fresh form. Other names for March’s full moon include Sugar Moon, used by the Ojibwe to denote the time of year that sap begins to circulate in sugar maples and Sore Eyes Moon, used by the Lakota to describe the blinding rays of sun (and moon) light that reflect off the melting snow in late winter.

Astrology 101: Your guide to the stars

We’re all under the influence when it comes to lunar cycles but mutable signs Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces will be feeling the fullness most acutely. Be sure to read both your full March horoscope and your 2023 yearly horoscope. Howl loud, cut back to grow full and shine on.

Astrologer Reda Wigle researches and irreverently reports back on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture and personal experience. She is also an accomplished writer who has profiled a variety of artists and performers, as well as extensively chronicled her experiences while traveling. Among the many intriguing topics she has tackled are cemetery etiquette, her love for dive bars, Cuban Airbnbs, a “girls guide” to strip clubs and the “weirdest” foods available abroad.