New Moon in Aquarius

This is on the 28th Jan 2017, at 12:06 am GMT

The sun and moon will be conjunct at 8 degrees Aquarius, and not strongly aspecting anything else. So this is kind of a jolt.

Aquarius is about newness, upheaval, shock, revolution. We are getting an overdose of that stuff these days.  This new moon opens a month where we're set to get zapped some more.

I probably don't need to tell you that all this turbulence is more gut-churning than exhilarating.  We're all feeling it. It is profoundly disorienting and destabilising.

Like this over and over...

But please remember - it is necessary. Change is demanded, and change is the opposite of being comfortable.

Anyway, this is another not-exactly-feel-good new moon. Venus is conjunct Chiron in Pisces, which is achy-breaky-heart stuff to the max. It looks like a deep sense of loss to me, or dreams that feel impossible to realise. And as Venus has to do with values and finances as well, we are also looking at broken ideals and money suckage.

Compounding these themes, Venus will be squaring Saturn exactly at the new moon. This is about harsh limitations in love and money matters – what you want may be blocked or delayed in some way, or denied outright. Or a relationship or financial situation may not live up to expectations.

So we are looking at deflation, depletion and a sense of let-down: our dreams and ideals don't match up to cold reality and it's painful. SAD.

(The Venus-Saturn square hits DT hard, by the way. I don't suppose he's feeling so great these days. The harsh realities of his new dream job are probably becoming clear to him...and I bet he's feeling more than a little unloved.)

On the plus side of Venus-Chiron-Saturn, it can be good to know exactly where you stand. It's reality, and it's something solid you can work with. Just don't expect it to feel good!

Troublingly, the collective mood is about to shift from disappointment, confusion and inertia – to action and rage. Mars is on the very last degree of Pisces at the time of this new moon – traditionally one of the most unlucky degrees of the zodiac, associated with death, permanent endings and self-destruction. Those associations will persist in phantom form through the month ahead, as this is happening at the kickoff point of the new moon.

But a few hours after it, Mars shifts signs and enters 0 degrees Aries – the Aries point, the explosive start of the whole zodiac. And this looks like an upwelling of energy and aggression to me – one that will intensify in the collective over the next month as Mars moves toward Uranus in Aries. The Mars-Uranus conjunction will be exact on the 26th February, and exactly opposing Jupiter in Libra as well, with both these poles squaring Pluto in Capricorn. We'll also have Venus in Aries as of the 3rd February.

So very soon and quite suddenly there will be a lot of cardinal fire in the sky – and this means energy and fury. I think we are bound to see some shocking expressions of collective rage here. Staying balanced, civil and nonviolent in an atmosphere of upheaval is going to be a major task.

Speaking of Uranus, Pluto and Jupiter – they have been in cardinal t-square formation since November, and this is not going away for a while. Jupiter stations retrograde in Libra on the 5th February, keeping him in hard aspect to Uranus and Pluto into April. Not only does this intensify the harshly transformative effects of Uranus and Pluto, it acts as a constant strain on our goodwill and our ability to be civil toward others.

A cardinal t-square is a stressful aspect pattern that demands change and adaptation – in this case, the changes are seismic, profound and explosive. That's obviously where we're at, at this new moon in the sign of revolution.

For this the new moon, Mercury in Capricorn will be involved in the t-square, conjunct Pluto. This conjunction will be exact on the 29th January, and it's about bedrock, ugly truths coming to light – despite people's attempts to pretend we are “post-truth” and facts no longer matter. Lies and liars will be outed this month, likely in shocking fashion.

We'll know more at the full moon in Leo on the 11th February – and the weeks leading up to that look very intense. But whatever happens or is revealed, be aware that we're in for a bumpy ride. Change is what people want, and change is what they'll get. But the pace and intensity of change is something no one can predict or control. February is a wild horse.

You'd do well to harness this energy in order to make necessary transformations in your life - in a very systematic, pragmatic way. Remember we'll have the north node in quiet, disciplined Virgo till May. The way through the chaos is still about humility, taking care of practical details and serving others.

So please keep doing your Virgo! And your Jupiter in Libra as well, which is about being generous, balanced, polite and fair in our dealings with others. Staying civilised in the midst of uncivility, in other words.

It will be hard, when all you want to do is punch a fascist.

Unfortunately, the sky does indicate that punching fascists is not the way forward right now. As ever, when dealing with Aquarius, it's worth asking yourself: "What would Spock do?" (Spock - calm, humanitarian, rational and detached - is my idea of the perfect avatar of Aquarian energy.)

Time out!

Full Moon in Cancer

photo by Samuel Aranda

This is tomorrow: Thursday, the 12th January, 11:34 am GMT.

OK, it looks painful and shocking.

I haven't been a big fan of these Cancer full moons, the past few years – despite the fact that the moon is at home in Cancer, her own sign.

The problem has been the now finished (but still potent) Uranus-Pluto square. Having these jolting, ruthlessly transformative energies hitting that soft, gushy, moody Cancer moon is just a recipe for hurt feelings, destructive outbursts and emotional trauma. Especially family trauma.

That's what we're dealing with here. Be nice to your mother please - she's under a lot of pressure.

The chart of this full moon is a cardinal grand cross, an intensely uncomfortable aspect pattern that demands change. The aspects are very tight. And our sensitive Cancer moon is under heavy fire from Uranus in Aries (rebellion, abrupt change), the sun and Pluto in Capricorn (illumination of structural rot) and Jupiter in Libra (the need for justice and balance, especially in close relationships).

Jupiter in Libra may sound like a benign influence, but if you keep in mind that Jupiter magnifies whatever he touches, you are looking at some potentially over-the-top emotional reactions here. Also power struggles, and abrupt relationship changes and re-balancings. Plus some cruelty, courtesy of Mars square Saturn. All in all, it's not pretty.

But at best, this looks like a necessary catharsis to me. Mars is applying toward conjunction with Chiron in Pisces (exact on the 17th January), and Mars and Chiron beneficially aspect the full moon. This is a big emotional outpouring – a bloody mess, basically – that must be acknowledged. You're allowed to feel hurt, to cry and to mourn your losses. It's not self-indulgence but emotional necessity.

Turning pain into art – or faith, or boundless compassion for all suffering – is also an option, with Venus exactly conjuncting Neptune in Pisces for this full moon. This is a beautiful, gentle, dreamy influence. Unfortunately it can also translate into romantic delusion and victim-saviour dynamics in relationships – but given the harshness and violence of this sky, I think it's nice to have so much soothing Pisces action going on. It's anodyne; it softens the blow.

We had a coldly realistic new moon in Capricorn a couple weeks back. It was not a feel-good scenario, but I did think it was a flash of illumination about the road ahead. Now at this full moon in Cancer, the view comes clear – we see exactly what we're dealing with and what must be done. Again, it is not a feel-good scenario. It's ugly. But it is workable.

Mercury is direct again, trining the north node in Virgo, and about to enter no-nonsense Capricorn a few hours after the full moon – and all this speaks of sober, bleak, no-nonsense insight that can be directed with immense practicality. You know the stark truth now, so what are you going to do? It's pretty clear you can't keep doing what you've been doing.

The cardinal grand cross denotes forced change. We are not going to be able to sail through this without adapting to radically changed circumstances. There is no pretending the changes away. They have to be worked with, and it hurts. The future isn't what we thought it would be.

But all the Pisces stuff in the sky says: at least we can try to be compassionate and kind to each other, and have faith that this mess serves some larger design. Jupiter in Libra adds that we should strive to stay fair, diplomatic and balanced, and to be generous in our dealings with others. And Mercury in Capricorn and the north node in Virgo are advising absolute pragmatism: doing what needs to be done to adapt, whether you feel good about it or not.