On February 11, 2021 at 2:05PM EST, the Aquarius Moon meets the Aquarius Sun giving us this month's New Moon; our annual New Moon in Aquarius.
This one is flavored by a stellium in Aquarius, so MEGA Aqua energy!
This is our fourth(!) New Moon at 23 degrees, all interacting with Eris at 23 degrees Aries. Aries and Aqua are buddies, so this month we get the opportunistic sextile. We have pondered the significance of the '23' itself in previous posts and it's probably no coincidence we get all these 23 fresh starts following the year the number 22 was pretty much wiped off the map!
At the Chinese New Year it seems appropriate to think about the I Ching - hexagram 23 is named 'stripping away'. The dead and dying stripped back to reveal the living energy at the core. The more of us we have invested in this old dying world/self/situation, the more painful this process is. It's kind of pointless to have a direction to go when we get to Hexagram 23 since it is a time to be transformed, not a time to act. Until we have shed these old energies/situations we would only be creating the same old patterns. Life is making sure that doesn't happen.
Stripping away follows 'beauty'
(which is Hexagram 22, interesting isn't it that beauty's dark side is narcissism and also the kind of emphasis on a narrow definition of success that blinds us to the harm we can do),
so beauty/success, by the time we get to 23, has actually been exhausted and this is why 'stripping away' must follow.
In the last couple years many of our external supports/motivations have been taken away/outgrown/exhausted and rather than embark on an anxious search for new support, maybe this Aqua sandblasting is a time to honor our autonomy, our principals, what we know now - the 'stripping away' leaving us more centered and less vulnerable (although it can feel like the exact opposite is happening).
We are kind of like a newly sheared poodle hiding under the bed forgetting this is what a poodle actually looks like without all the pink bows and fluff!
Now this 'stripping away' is something to be considered, if you would like to consider it, when we ponder the significance of all these 23 degree New Moons (we have one more after this month) - this stripping away is a very BIG process that won't be rushed.
This New Moon in particular looks like a powerful and focused fresh start, not without its challenges, but nothing good ever is - being seeded over the next couple weeks and growing into its fullness by next summer's Full Moon in Aquarius - and this year, because of course, celestial magic being well, magical, but also perfectly mathematical, in a year with Aqua's ruling planets battling it out - we actually GET TWO OF THESE (Full Moons in Aquarius, I mean, next summer).
I've tossed in some newish aspected asteroids and our regular cast of characters.
Let's unpack the chart!
The Moon and Sun are at 23 degrees Aquarius. They are sextiling Eris EXACT, squaring Mars, semi-sextile Pluto, sextile Astraea, they are conjunct an EXACT Pallas/Hekate conjunction. Aquarius has an ancient ruler - Saturn - and a modern ruler - Uranus. Saturn is squaring Uranus (and Circe). Saturn is also opposing Hygeia (one of our tested significators for the virus) and sextiling Chiron. Uranus is conjunct Circe and Lith, squaring Saturn and inconjunct Chiron. We also have Venus and Jupiter EXACTLY conjunct in Aquarius - that packs a powerful and beneficial PUNCH. And Vesta and Neptune EXACTLY opposing each other.
The Moon and Sun are sextiling Eris. An opportunity to be ourselves or opportunity coming through authenticity. Conjunct smart Pallas and wise/crone Hekate whatever seeds we are planting now have the added bonus of wisdom, the ability to mediate/strategize - go to war without actually spilling any blood - and lean into the future (Pallas). Hekate, again speaks of an outsider energy - that fringe dweller crone. She is about a time of transition/those forks in the road and although having her here can’t help us see how it will all turn out, she does help us put away the old/the
things that don’t belong with us anymore (not much room in her tiny house in the woods I would imagine). She often shows up when we don't know where we are going and helps us to not fixate so much on the not knowing/the changes. Having seen it all (kind of like the number 23), she helps us onto the right path - not the easiest/smoothest path necessarily - and helps us attract the right people. Hekate's niece Circe - more, kind of 'loner' Goddess magic, is conjunct change-maker Uranus. Famous for her island oasis, transforming men into pigs and beguiling Odysseus, Circe's story, like Hekate's, is much bigger and more powerful than this. Again, this speaks of transformation and, keep in mind, with astrology we are always looking for repeating aspects/patterns/archetypes.
Hekate and Pallas are EXACTLY sextiling Astraea - we talked about her before and her promise to return to usher in a new Golden Age. She is in Sag now, conjunct Juno and the South Node. Said to sometimes speak of a tendency to 'stay too long' she could be helping us let go of relationships/contracts/beliefs that are no longer good for us.
The rulers of Aquarius - Uranus and Saturn - are applying to next weeks' exact square. The first of three in 2021. The new vs the old. Freedom vs limits/rules. The redistribution of power that is the 2020's and can only come through chaos. We are going to talk about this in a series of posts, but as it applies to the New Moon, we can see there is tension/struggle here, even within ourselves. Saturn is also sextile Chiron - this is our BEST repeating aspect of 2021 and will be a three-peat. Having this in play during this potent New Moon is powerful. Saturn - the limits/responsibilities - maybe especially within group settings can heal these deep soul woundings around our ability to take care of ourselves/be ourselves.
Venus (and keep in mind the Taurus planets are answering to her) is conjunct Jupiter. Both our beneficial energies EXACTLY TOGETHER at this important New Moon - this speaks of fortuitous outcomes with what we are starting now. This is in Aquarius where things come suddenly AND over the long haul.
Vesta, our sacred focus/what keeps us up at night, is opposite Neptune. This is kind of repeating the Taurus squares in the sense that it can be draining our focus/motivation. It's hard to focus on this practical Virgo day-to-day stuff/our health/our work as we need to with this exhausting/escapist/illusive Neptune opposition. This also shows the importance of staying grounded. The best way to use this energy, and this is also a repeating aspect, is to dissolve a fixation on something that can't be fixed. The Neptune answer is pretty much always - let go and let God. Neptune square the Nodes can see us being played like a fiddle if we aren't grounded in something real. Illusions should have dimmed/become less potent over the last couple weeks.
Mercury is retrograde in Aquarius. He/she is doing everything the Moon and Sun are doing, but he is doing it backward (and in high heels). He is sextiling Juno and the South Node and trining the North Node. AND he is bridging the Sun/Moon and the goodies of Venus/Jupiter. His backwards thing is VERY IMPORTANT. For us, for our relationships/contracts, for what we are starting, for what we are ending. The re-dos, re-looks, re-visions, re-thinks are important and we dismiss this stuff at our detriment later.
To bottom line this one -
your Aqua house is mega-loaded at the time of a new beginning in AQUARIUS. It can feel overwhelming .. because it is.
Collectively this is about our future, our groups, our highest thinking, our causes, technology/science, innovation, the collective itself. With the rulers of Aquarius squaring each other now - there is tension/frustration built into whatever is starting. Limits create focus and focus erases limits. Creativity needs limits. If I said to you "make something" (and I probably wouldn't because that sounds kind of rude), you'd be all over the place. But if I said to you, "make something out of a Cheerios box", you'd come up with something amazing (yes, amazing, I have total faith in you). The world is like this now. We don't have everything. There is alot we don't/can't have, but we've got that freakin' Cheerios box. With Vesta opposite Neptune we need to know what matters to us and need to apply our focus to this practical/healthy/day-to-day stuff. We need to be grounded.
With Venus conjunct Jupiter there is the STRONG possibility of a positive outcome if we work the process of this chart.
The New Moon energy is strongest over the next two weeks - this is when you want to be seeding whatever you are starting. Set your intentions. Verbally. Write them down. The energy we set into motion now will grow over the next six months until we reach the Full Moon in Aquarius AND we get two of them this year, so double the opportunities to reach some kind of peak/result with this. But Aquarius is less predictable, being co-ruled by Uranus, than almost any other energy. Nothing is guaranteed. And the good part of this 'not guaranteed' thing is, it pushes us to be putting our time and energy and resources into stuff we would want to do even if it doesn't 'succeed' - that's how we get to some kind of authenticity. Every one of us becoming a little more authentic and that's how we, collectively, become a lot more authentic.
AFFIRMATION TIPS for your monthly New Moon: always make affirmations from a positive place (positive meaning both happy and certain) - write your affirmations down by hand in script, speak them out loud.
Then release your attention from these things knowing that your intention is known.
Know these things are already yours.
xo all
