On Friday, April 1, 2022, at 2:24AM EDT the Aries Moon meets the Aries Sun giving us this month's New Moon; our annual New Moon in Aries - kicking off the lunar year.
We think of Aries as the warrior/competitor, but Aries energy isn't really about winning or losing (maybe don't tell this to an Aries Sun sign, because Aries WANTS to win)
- Aries is really about having the COURAGE to start that race/face the battle in the first place. Aries
supports jumping in and taking action. He doesn't promise us that we
will come out a winner or even come out alive (yes, he's ruled by Mars and he's totally bad-ass), but he does promise us we will have evolved from the experience. And that's what we're here for. We didn't come for the outcome, the outcome has already been decided. We all win in the end. We came for the experience. Aries knows this.
A New Moon in Aries gives us energy, confidence, initiative, courage. It's a time to step up and be ourselves. A flame is lit (cardinal fire). IT'S TIME TO START!
Let's unpack the chart.
The New Moon is just coming off her meeting with Mercury and sextile to Vesta. So, in the lead-up to Friday's New Moon some information comes in/a conversation happens/maybe a decision is made (this could show up as an argument, but it doesn't have to, words can also be painful with Chiron nearby). This is happening in fiery Aries, so it will likely be short and to the point/could happen quickly.
This will be the START of a continuing conversation or idea and is creating an opportunity in our Aquarius house thru Vesta as we dedicate ourselves to words/choices/plans and follow-up with actions that reflect our true values/what is sacred to us. Vesta speaks of something that needs a steady focus/can keep us up at night (sometimes Vesta pulls in a home situation and actually with this Aries Moon being about physical self/maybe especially our head - Vesta/Mercury/Chiron/Mars we probably want to be a little extra careful around the house - for example watch out for - food poisoning, accidents, painful arguments, viruses, etc). The Vestal Virgins in ancient Rome were the priestesses of Goddess Vesta and charged with maintaining the sacred fire that was never allowed to go out. They were also 'virgins' meaning un-owned by men and since this sextile is Aries/Aquarius, both freedom-loving/individualistic signs, there might be something here that creates freedom through responsibility or speaks of our need to be 'un-owned' somehow. This might also speak of the opportunity coming through a group situation or, again, our responsibility to a group even as the Aries New Moon's primary focus is on ourselves.
With Vesta here, this New Moon feels like a chance to walk our talk with something. We say this something-or-other really, really matters to us and here is a chance to prove, via our New Moon actions/starts/situations, that it actually does. What we give our time and attention to IS what matters to us. So what are we giving our time and attention to?
The New Moon's first aspect after meeting the Sun is a conjunction to wounded healer Chiron.
A health situation or a vulnerability/weakness, maybe an embarrassment, is triggered. This could be a very old fear around being able to take care of ourselves or be ourselves. With the Sun here, whatever this is will be VISIBLE. We might feel like we haven't succeeded or we blew it, that maybe we weren't brave enough or fast enough or new enough. We might be saying the words no one wants to hear or be the one hearing them. We might be dealing with a health problem.
The challenge here, and an Aries New Moon, believe me, IS UP FOR A CHALLENGE - and we all have access to this - is to allow the loss/setback/wound/fear to MOTIVATE us.
Yes, we are starting from kind of an uncomfortable place/not at our strongest at this New Moon, BUT maybe that is our super-power here. The wound being, quite literally right now, the place where the light comes in (to paraphrase Rumi).
The ruler of this Aries New Moon is Mars. He is making his way though Aquarius, not his favorite sign, but high off his days in Capricorn, he is still pretty high functioning here - smart, logical, focused on the future. Mars is applying to his conjunction to Saturn/Juno. He will meet Saturn on April 5th and Juno on the 10th.
(today is the day Juno makes her own square to the Nodes of Fate - a decision point/crossroad regarding a contract, relationship. Will we stay mired in the collective obsessive drama, the secrets, the death or turn a page toward something that is more solid and simple - something that is growing and that gives both parties, this is happening in Aquarius keep in mind, room to BREATHE)
In a few days, Mars will meet Saturn at 22 degrees Aquarius - this is where Jupiter stationed direct back on October 18th, and at the master number of 22. In terms of our New Moon story, this can bring a delay, road block, no, ending, reality check, report card. Seeing this coming NOW is something we can keep in mind. Here is where, most likely, our progress is blocked.
Now, this is not a reason to avoid starting - we want to move through the process of whatever we are doing. But this IS a reason to take things seriously, to have patience, to think LONG-TERM. We want to be aware of this and NOT jump impulsively into something foolish, because the Aries New Moon can feel like we MUST DO IT NOW. And maybe we must do something now, but we don't have to do everything all at once or move too fast. There is alot of Pisces energy, we should be able to intuitively feel what we need to do, if we slow down a bit and breathe.
People ask me, with situations like these, "can't I just wait until after April 5th to start and avoid the Saturn conjunction altogether?". But, it doesn't work like this. Whatever we start in this New Moon 30 day cycle (and because this is the beginning of our new lunar year, this really applies to the next 12 months) will hit this early Saturnian wall. And this is really about our inner authority/sense of AGENCY - which we heal by stepping into - Chiron! - but often will be projected outside of ourselves and show up as real-world limits, etc. Meetings with Saturn are report card time/can also bring rewards we have EARNED.
This isn't something we need to fear, we just have to keep in mind we will be held accountable for what we are doing/starting.
At the same time they are meeting each other, Mars and Saturn are squaring the Nodes of Fate, which is a karmic cross-roads. Mars and Saturn together here is a VERY RARE THING. There are opportunities now, maybe with our back against the wall, maybe by taking baby steps, to dis-entangle ourselves from something that is no longer life-affirming. Keep in mind, Mars is the ancient ruler of Scorpio and that South Node, so whatever we are needing to turn away from will probably be quite active now. The North Node - our best path forward - in Taurus is ruled by Venus, and, as Mars is meeting Saturn and squaring the Nodes, Venus is FINALLY entering her exalted/beloved sign of Pisces just in time for our 'April miracles' - we are tilling the ground within us to receive GREAT things, even if we aren't sure what those things are yet! We will talk about our 'April miracles' in the next post!
We've talked about the Scorpio South Node/Taurus North Node many times, including HERE. This New Moon cycle is asking us to make a MOVE/CHOICE, because remember the next New Moon is an eclipse (also the Full Moon in two weeks), so what we do NOW and how we respond/react to what is happening, is pulled, with us, into the Eclipse spin cycle.
We don't want to pull in some big complicated mess that requires 37 things to go right in order to work. We want to be turning toward something NEW, stabilizing, practical.
After Mars gets past Saturn and his squares to the Nodes, he is going to meet up with Juno. Juno has already met Saturn - we sealed the deal, came to a liberating understanding - and, so, now here is where we are taking action with this. Then Mars will make some adjusting aspects, but no big aspects until he gets into Pisces. Mars is less effective in Pisces, so we want to be doing what we can do now.
The Sabian Symbol for this New Moon, which I rarely write, but often take into consideration, is about a "Triangle of Flying Geese". This is very Aries/Aquarius and speaks of having the courage to TRUST OURSELVES AND EACH OTHER. It also speaks of something 'taking off' and this 'taking off' moving all of us in a new direction. So, although this is an Aries New Moon which is very much about ME (meaning you/each of us!) - the moves we make, the starts we take, the energies we allow to go to waste - impact all of us in very real ways.
Look to the house Mars rules in your natal chart (Aries on the cusp) for the place to START. If you want to know what area of life this is, shoot me an email with your birth-date, place and time and I will let you know.
In short, this Moon is about taking action/starting what YOU want AND realizing this isn't going to be perfect or totally comfortable and you are going to have to deal with some LIMITS or unusual situations, and that's OK, you need to start/move forward ANYWAY. Just keep going. This won't be perfect and never will be. That's life.
New Moon Affirmations
AFFIRMATION TIPS: get into a calm, centered frame of mind - always make affirmations from a positive space (meaning certain) - write your affirmations down by hand in script, speak them out loud. With a fire New Moon maybe write your affirmations on strips of paper and burn them - now release your attention from these things knowing that your intention is known.
