The New Moon in Aquarius: Welcoming the New

By the time you get this it will be past the New Moon, but its effects will ripple out for several days and our ability to set intentions is still strong. It's is la bit lengthy; get a cup of tea and sit down for a bit :)

Astrology is about energy patterns and cycles, and is ultimately about frequency. We are currently still in the Zeitgeist that began in the 60s  when the two revolutionary planets, Uranus and Pluto, met up to give birth to a new generation and a new age. Free love. Free spirits.  Women's liberation. Amazing music. Psychedelics awakening  a hippie movement rejecting conservative values and calling for peace not war. That frequency changed the world

 Then,  the theme shifted from hippie ~ to yuppie (young urban professionals) ~ and many forgot about the revolution (or so it seemed).  People were growing up, getting jobs, raising kids, paying the mortgage. Yet plenty  were also learning to meditate, making art, doing yoga, discovering holistic health and education etc. The  world was changing, the seeds had been planted.  The zeitgeist didn’t go away, it just became more local.

Fast forward to the next majour phase of the grand awakening that emerged 50 years later ~ in 2012 ~ when Uranus and Pluto moved into a  square angle to each other (squares equal tension - equal action/reaction) and co-incidentally,  the Mayan calendar predicted the end of the world, 

 

Although the world did not end - the world as we knew it certainly did. I mean - yikes!   Everything has become surreal, crazy, upside down. Neptune was involved at several eclipses - blurring reality, turning 'truth' into lies. Fake news. Twitter files, lies and corruption. Help!

Then,  fast forward to last week, when Pluto, illuminated by the Sun, marched into Aquarius ~sign of the new age-  sending ripples throughout the collective  as we are enter yet another stage of the awakening, with even more waves of radical change and revolution on its way.  Our destiny is at hand.

Actually your destiny is IN your hands ~ but that's another conversation!

Meanwhile, with Chiron (the wounded healer) sitting on the Collective Destiny Points) and  Uranus (the Awakener) at right angles to today’s New Moon ~ the volume just got turned  up ~ as we enter a period of even greater acceleration and change. AI alone is going to totally transform the world as we know it (for good or ill). Aquarius also rules technology BTW. And although it all seems rather dire, the idea is that this is part of the awakening... and ultimately for our growth and our healing (what doesn't kill you makes you stronger?) 

Chiron on the Collective Destiny Point in Aries says: first we must face the wound, collectively as well as personally,  in order to heal it. This unconsciousness is rooted in our childhood and in our ancestral wounds, and is ultimately is about claiming our personal power and sense of agency(ability to act) . Pluto in Aquarius is about power to the people instead of giving our power away to some external authority. Time to claim our personal sovereignty.  

Who are we and why are we here?

Aurum

'Aurum' is Latin for gold, and in alchemy, the symbol for Aurum/gold is the same as the astrological symbol for the Sun, which represents the Self. Aurum stands for Soul/Self. The above image is about  receive the gold, the ability to be present to the gift of life. This is a still from an art installation I did that turned out to be about about alchemy (I had no idea); in the process of which I read a lot of Carl Jung's writings on the subject. He sees it as  a psychological and spiritual transformation, where we transform the lead   of our unconsciousness karmic patterns  (Saturn) into the gold of consciousness (Sun). Saturn represents the things we must face and release to get to the gold at the end of the rainbow. The task - to self actualize. There will be a series of challenges, where we must experience a metaphorical  death and rebirth before we are ready fully awaken to our true self. Joseph Campbell calls it the Hero's Journey. 

Through facing and overcoming difficulties and obstacles we are forced to grow up (Saturn) and build the character traits that are required to cross the abyss (unconsciousness) - to claim our true soul inheritance (self awareness, joy, anand (bliss)- bringing a true sense of meaning and purpose). In Alchemy, those difficulties are represented/created by what is called the 'blackening' or 'darkening'. Everything must be broken down, decimated, decayed, before transformation can occur; then ~  the quickening can be added that  begins the process of rebirth.   We are all fallen angels waiting to find our wings again.

 This current phase of karmic reckoning began when Saturn and Pluto met up in Capricorn in January of 2020.  Capricorn in this case represents governments, control systems, patriarchy etc. It is where we give our power over to an external authority.   Pluto is known as  'the Destroyer'; it strips us down to make way for new growth. We have been in the darkening and the stripping down ~ and now Uranus (the awakener)  is adding the quickening. These are extraordinary times: Daunting, confusing,  confounding, terrifying, exciting, enlivening, awakening, and  highly uncertain. 

Which brings us back to Uranus. With this trickster energy so powerfully linked to today's New Moon, and Pluto now in Aquarius for 20 years,we can expect an extended period of rapid and radical societal change.  Interestingly,  Aquarius is ‘ruled’ by both Saturn (old) and Uranus (new). Saturn represents the conservative past, while Aquarius stands for the brand new future; Aquarius doesn’t want to be ruled by anything! If the new age truly does symbolize a time of collective freedom and personal autonomy ~ how the heck will we get there? And how will that coexist in a world dominated by technology, mass communication, artificial intelligence, etc. especially when the old ruler Saturn (systems, governments etc)still wants to make the rules? More questions than answers!

 

It seems we are in both the darkening and the quickening at the same time! Not that I know that much about alchemy, but you get my drift.    I know this is intense, but,  this IS intense. We are good at avoiding, until things are really in our face. I think that time is now.  The tricky bit is what to do about it. This New Moon says we can no longer do the same things in the same way and expect a different outcome.

And while it is easy to feel helpless in the midst of current events ~ we are also being reminded now that we actually do have choice. It may not be obvious at times , and we may have to dig deep to find what that means. Aquarius calls people together. A New Moon is a time to vision our way forward, and in a visionary sign like Aquarius even more so. 

 I looked up the meaning of Vision:  

The ability to imagine how a country, society industry etc could develop in the future and to plan for this.

The ability to see"

Something seen  in a  dream or as a result of a religious or spiritual experience.

New Moon. New moment. New choice. 

 

 Part 2: Just before the Moon joined the Sun, it crossed over Pluto, lord of the underworld, and now Mercury (thinking and communication) is doing the same. Time to dig beyond the surface to get the answers you seek.  Pay attention to whatever is rising up  from the depths of your being~ it is asking to be  brought up into the light.

Speaking of which ~  a belated Happy Ground Hog Day (Feb 2nd) - North America's version of Imbolc,  the halfway point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. In the depths of winter,  we reach out for signs of hope.  If the groundhog sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. Seems appropriate.

This can be an important time for  speaking up clearly, though  some may need to temper the tendency to shout too loud (Jupiter/Mercury). There are big lessons around conflict and communication right now ~ how to deal with it in our own lives ~ and how to survive it out in the world. Things are especially volatile due to a Mars Pluto conjunction over next week or so.

Mars = Anger and aggression, with Pluto = Power and control, survival fears.

Together: Power Struggles, Volatility and violence. Possible earthquakes, war, insurrections.

And personally: facing the shadow side of unresolved anger (Mars) rising up from the unconscious realm (Pluto = god of the underworld). 

 

The last time these two interacted was Oct 7th, 2023, when the Palestinian/Israel conflict blew up- (Mars Squared Pluto).  Now Mars is heading toward Pluto once more, they will clash on the 0 degree of Aquarius (Tues Feb 13th); which represents the collective and sits on a collective karmic point. 

Pray for peace.

As  Mars Pluto tends to trigger intense volatility,  some of us will be highly prone to accidents and.or knee jerk reactions. Take a deep breath. Put your sword down. Step away from the fight (and drive carefully).

 

 Venus/Neptune brings a message:  There are angels in the wood work;  maybe we are the angels ~ perhaps we are the ones we have been waiting for!

 

Take a deep breath, keep your head down and your heart open. Spread your wings. Practice Peace! 

You know you want to!

 

"It's incumbent on every single person on the planet to do their own individual work on this~ because nothing is going to cure socially unless we actually heal our own wounds individually and internally." Rick Levine