The new moon at 7’37 Aries is exact on Monday march 27th, 2017- marking the first new moon of the Spring season (or the fall for those in the southern hemisphere). The vernal equinox was on March 20th yet this start to a new season was in a waning moon, with the dark of the moon occurring 3-4 days previous to this lunation (from Friday march 24th through Monday until the new moon turns). With dark moon/waning energies at the start of the season I wouldn’t be surprised if many of us were not feeling so springy and ready for new beginnings ;) The dark moon is a time to release, let go, retreat and reflect. The dark moon coming right after the equinox is a reminder that we need to deal with the past and let go of who holds us back before we can move forward and onward in life! This is also reflected in the current Venus retrograde cycle we are in (for more info on that click here- XXX) as Venus retrograde is a time to go over the past and reevaluate things. This is traditionally not a time to start new things just yet! Yet all this Aries flying around wants things to happen NOW!!! So finding ways to be patient, think before we speak and act and bide our time for the right time to initiate and activate is key right now.
This new moon is potent as it is conjunct retrograde Venus, with the exact Sun/Venus conjunction happening just a couple of days earlier (Saturday the 25th). The Sun/Venus conjunction marks the midway point of the Venus retrograde cycle- and often coincides with insights, aha moments, deep feelings and emotions arising. When the Goddess is in her Underworld cycle we are asked reevaluate our relationships, values, self-worth, self-Love and our relationship with money. When she dives down deep as she does during her retrograde journey she can help us shine a block on the things that actually hinder us from experiencing more self-love, abundance, joy and happiness in our lives. With this New Moon conjunct Venus retrograde we have the symbolism of new beginnings (New Moon in Aries- the first sign of the zodiac) but there’s a twist. We have to deal with the past before we can move into the future. We have to dive deep to get to the root and core of what holds us back before we can move onward. We have to get in touch with the unprocessed feelings and emotions that contribute to self sabotage in finances, relationships, self care and more. So this new moon is a call to DIVE DEEP and be willing to look at what is arising in our inner and outer lives.
This new moon is also trine to mean black moon Lilith in Sagittarius. She just recently moved into Sadge in February 2017 and her 9 month stay in this sign focuses on Truth. The dark goddess sees into the shadows and sees what others do not want to see. Sagittarius is a sign that is searching for Truth and with Lilith in Sadge we have a piercing capacity to get to the heart of matters. The shadows she can see into and through are dark and deep- and she can bring those shadows to Light ultimately for healing! She does have a shadow side but in the new moon chart her aspects are harmonious, supporting our capacity to go deep and really face the shadows within and without that keep us stuck, toxic, asleep and apathetic.
Another important aspect configuration with the new moon is the very wide square to Pluto and Juno in Capricorn. In the days following this new moon the moon will square Pluto on Tuesday the 28th and then sun will square Pluto on Saturday april 8th (incidentally the same day as the 2nd of 3 Venus/Saturn squares). Pluto is the excavator and roto rooter. His energies help us clear out the stuck shit! But hard squares can also unearth power/control dynamics and deep dark shadows that people (or perhaps us!) have been very invested in keeping hidden! With Juno aligned with Pluto (widely but they are there- with the exact conjunction on 11/11 later in the year)- there is potent energy for big time transformation, death, endings and/or rebirth and renewal playing out in relationships, commitments and contractual agreements of all kinds. It’s interesting to see Venus on the New Moon and Juno with Pluto- as both Venus and Juno are the first two bodies i look at when wanting to get information on relationships in an individual’s chart. So this new moon has an energy of excavations- going deep and taking back out from under the carpet that which we swept inconspicuously underneath it months or even years ago. Relationships that are toxic have deep roots in the past- until we deal with the past we cannot heal or fully disengage from the drama. This can also bring up deep stuff from childhood- relationships dynamics that were going on when we were little become an imprint and example for what relationship is (or at least what we think it should be). This may not be conscious- as it got introduced to us before we had the cognitive capacity to question if it was right or healthy. We take stuff on from childhood simply because we are little and we don’t know another way. Later in life though we have the chance to question things and do deep work on ourselves around patterns we keep playing out that clearly are not working for us. The astrology right now is perfect for this kind of Soul excavation!
The ruler of this lunation is Mars (he rules Aries) and he is in earthty, stable Taurus- a great sign for slowing us down and helping us to be less reactive and more reflective, less aggressive and more interested in finding points of compromise. Yes there is still a ton of Aries flying around but with Venus retrograde in Aries we are being asked to reign in our impulsivity, reactivity and self-focus. We are being asked to think before we speak and act and think about the implications of things said or done in the long term. We are also being asked to think about others and how it affects the whole- not just our own piece of the pie. With mars making lovely aspects to Neptune, Pluto and Juno- he helps us to deal with things with a steady, slow approach.
Another aspect to be aware of in the new moon chart is one that dominates the entire Venus retrograde journey and this is the Venus/Saturn square. In the new moon chart Saturn is at 27’44 Sagittarius and he will station retrograde in 9 days (exact on April 5th). He is on the Galactic Center- the center of the milky way galaxy and a place that many ancient cultures see as the Great Womb of the Mother out of which everything in our galaxy was birthed. This is a high frequency point of wisdom, awakening and Truth! Yet it’s not all Love and Light! The GC point shines a Light so intensely and so brightly that all our shadows are illuminated tenfold. “the brighter the Light, the darker the shadow” and the GC helps us to wake up often by smacking us out of our ignorant, apathetic stupor. The Truth shall set us free- but at first it will piss us off. The GC sheds that kind of Light. With Saturn, the Great Task Master and Lord of Karma, on the GC we have HUGE opportunities for self mastery right now but also profound wake up calls around karmic consequences coming home to roost that we must take accountability and responsibility for. No easy feat and only a deep commitment to showing up to do the work will get us there.
Venus squares Saturn 3 times during her retrograde journey- the first was the end of January when she also conjoined Chiron the Wounded Healer- effectively triggering the Saturn/Chiron square (a long term transit that is about getting to the core of our biggest stuff that keeps us stuck, sabotages us and keeps us playing out the same karma). Her 2nd and 3rd squares are on April 8th and April 21st with Saturn stationing on the 5th and Venus stationing direct on the 15th. We essentially have two stationary planets- meaning they are the most potent- and they are squaring each other TWICE. Big time points of decision, critical turning points, reality checks and wake up calls are incoming in Love, money, values and self Love. The good news is when we work with Saturn and choose to be responsible, discerning, aligned with our integrity and committed to doing the work- a Venus/Saturn square can be a time of committing deeply to something- be it an old or new relationship, a new way of living, a new way of dealing with finances, or a new commitment to self care. And with this new moon conjunct retrograde Venus widely square to Saturn on the galactic center the stage is being set for stepping up our mastery, dealing with our crap and honestly facing what holds us back as it’s the only way to move forward and grow!
I leave you with Ellias Lonsdale’s star sparks meditation for 8 Aries (we always round up to the nearest whole number with sabian symbols). What strikes me the most is his comment that “there is often denial linked with this frequency. We won’t let ourselves consciously realize what we are doing and why. And usually this component is the one which stops us the most.” This is what this new moon and Venus retrograde are all about. Moving past denial- seeing the blockages within and the ways in which we self sabotage and take actions in our lives that are not in alignment with our values and are not sourcing from self-care. Where we feel stuck we can find freedom right now. It will take work and conscious effort- but it will be well worth it!
Many blessings sent your way…
~divine harmony
STAR SPARKS
By Ellias Lonsdale
Aries 8 A lizard dressed in blue satin and pointed shoes
Putting us all on. Semblance’s sensed as an open portal into playing with the appearances to make them come out any way we want them to. Getting so far into this style that we can design our self-presentation to fit any situation which arises and to further whichever dynamics we feel identified with or wish to be representing and trying on for size.
A dazzling quality of self-impersonation. We are just like ourselves, only perpetually exaggerated and played up. We are allergic to the subtle, the gradual, the unimpressive secondary factors. We just want to be there now and get it over with.
The capacity to entertain, to impress, to charm, to manipulate, to do whatever it takes. The motivation to toy with what we don’t take seriously anyway. Recognizing that what is ephemeral can be experienced in its own wild sphere and played with, taken anywhere we please.
A tremendous temptation to abuse this edge and go over it into more serious errors and distortions. If we push it too far, if we really think we’re clever and cute, we are capable here of driving ourselves and everybody else crazy with the fascination, the compulsion, the addiction. But all of it is invented, contrived, put on.
Even at our worst, all we are really doing here is experimenting. We are seeing how far we can go in each direction we feel most drawn to and unable to deny. And we are intent upon making the most of our chance to become many ways or to momentarily track with whatever happens to arise.
There is often denial linked with this frequency. We won’t let ourselves consciously realize what we are doing and why. And usually this component is the one which stops us the most. The skillful means is to cop to all of it and to give ourselves free reign to be ingenious and resourceful and just a bit wild and wacky. When you’ve got it and you flaunt it, this can be quite a gift or it can be a stuck place if you let it be.