Today’s New Moon features the Sun conjunct Uranus in early Sidereal Aries, bringing a fiery and electric feel to this dreamy low Lunar Light. Meanwhile, Mercury has stationed direct in a long square with Saturn, who is about to go retrograde himself. Mars is catching up into a conjunction with Pluto, and Venus is opposing Jupiter.
Things we can contemplate surrounding this New Moon:
—Sun conjunct Uranus: The King meeting the revolutionary. The King acting with electric quickness. The lightning bolt that strikes the tower down. The truth-sayer in the spotlight, the rebel taking charge. The genius at play. Impulsivity, frizziness, eccentricity, free-spiritedness: the weird and nontraditional: the outcast, the fringe-dweller, the counterculturist getting illuminated, honored, empowered. Glimpses beyond default reality, whispers from the future.
—As the Sun has also just moved into Sidereal Aries, emphasis is shifted away from the inner, dreamlike landscape of Pisces to the assertive, active, brave engagement of the Ram. On top of the Sun’s conjunction with Uranus, a planet with zing, these two are in the Lunar Mansion of Ashwini, the horse-headed miracle working twins. These two have to do with speed, zest, and heroism within a noble context. Can you feel that quickening pulse?
–The ruler of Aries, Mars, is currently heading into an intense conjunction with Pluto. Here, we might contemplate physical exploration of darkness, heating up that which is frozen. The next couple weeks we might find strong expressions of something hidden, secret, or taboo. There’s the possibility for deep catharsis and clear, soulful action. Transmute, transmute! Finding ways to physically engage with intense or difficult energy will be particularly effective.
—Sun/Uranus and Mars/Pluto also archetypal expressions of Trump’s strikes on Syria, if we care to wonder about the astrological conditions. Mars, the God of World, empowered by the God of the Underworld, a dark and volcanic realm. The Sun, the King, acting with the electric quickness of Uranus.. This should give you a taste for the potential of violence or danger, the potency of the energy present right now.
—Pluto has been in a long sextile with Jupiter the last few months, opening up the invisible, the taboo, the difficult to see and talk about. This aspect is resonant with the Me Too movement, and speaks to a multiplicity of ways that our attention and sense of importance or meaning has been drawn to the dark, the deep, the shadows. Jupiter is the way-shower, the guide, the bringer of abundance, and the fact that he was in a sextile with Pluto at the beginning of his retrograde suggests that something there made him pause, is making him retrace his steps before he can face it more fully. Expect this dynamic to heat up as Mars comes through this month.
—As Jupiter picks up steam in its retrograde, it will leave its stimulating aspect with Pluto and move back into a harmonious trine with Neptune, which was active this fall. This aspect calls to mind a richness of metaphorical and mythological imagery, an overflowing from the dream realm. There might be a stronger pull towards altered states of consciousness, and a deeper draw towards the otherworldly. Look for an expansive inner experience, savor art and synchronicity, and try to temper over-inflated ideas or stories of things. Reality check, reality check.
—Venus has been in an opposition with Jupiter this week, activating Jupiter’s sense of expansion, optimism, and abundance through pleasure, beauty and connectedness. As Jupiter is retrograding through Libra, we can expect this taste for harmony to be educating us about balance, equilibrium, and justice, and for that sense of hope or opportunity to be connected to that sense of rightness. You might feel this especially strongly on Monday and Tuesday, as the Moon sweeps by the opposition’s perfection.
—Tuesday night Saturn will also station retrograde. The last couple weeks it’s been in a long conjunction with Mars—here, we might have found determination, endurance, and a spark for deep work alongside a feeling of exhaustion or burnout—our defenses and integrity compromised. Mercury has just stationed direct in a square with Saturn. This suggests that whatever process of clarification that was taking place in the last few weeks has landed us in conversation with Saturn—our capacity for discipline, focus, and responsibility.
—This last year Saturn was in a long trine with Uranus, harmonizing this Promethean, electric spark with a disciplined sense of duty or commitment. As Saturn retraces its steps through the spring and summer, it will again meet Uranus, bringing back a little more of that fluid connection between these often opposing principles. How do we wed wildness and discipline, freedom and responsibility, solitude and community, individuality and interdependence? Right now, we can contemplate these different principles—later this summer we might expect their integration.
–As Saturn squares Chiron through this retrograde, we can expect our experience of this gravitational reworking to be particularly poignant—if we’re not putting in the work on the things we really need to, it will feel like God’s knee is on our chest, and if the structures we’re working on aren’t in alignment with our highest good, there might be a nagging, mysterious pain asking for our attention.
—Juno is approaching a conjunction with Chiron, which will be precise during the Full Moon. Juno is the Queen of Heaven, consort to Jupiter, and relates to deep partnerships of all kinds. Her visit with Chiron might feel like you a check-up with the relationship doctor, peering in at the core patterns of partnership that weave through your life. At the same time, Mars and Pluto’s conjunction will become more intense as the Full Moon approaches.. This heating up of the dark is definitely sexual and erotic, powerful and empowering.
—The Full Moon itself features a square to the Nodal Axis. In Evolutionary Astrology, squares to the Nodal Axis are thought to represent skipped steps—in one’s evolutionary journey through multiple lives and through an ancestral lineage. A Full Moon on this axis is particularly potent, bringing into our awareness something we might be ignoring. Think of it as a midpoint between eclipses—what needs to shift?
Wanting to explore how all this is playing out for you personally? Check out my readings page!