This new moon is a partial solar eclipse. It follows the full moon lunar eclipse in Leo two weeks ago and will be the second and final eclipse this eclipse season.
Eclipse season comes around every six months, as the sun and moon line up with points in the earth's orbit called the lunar nodes. Eclipses are supposed to mark periods of accelerated change, and this new moon is certainly about change - it's in Aquarius, a sign associated with revolution. And freaky rebel planet Uranus, the ruler of Aquarius, aspects the new moon beneficially. This looks pretty zingy, in a good way – you can expect some kind of bolt from the blue or jolt with this, but one that is ultimately beneficial and liberating.
As this new moon is conjunct messenger planet Mercury, the jolt is likely to come in the form of new information, thought or communication that blows your mind open and offers you a radically new perspective. The road ahead may look very different to anything you'd previously imagined.
Changes and disruptions are a big theme this year. Uranus will shift signs in May, moving into solid, steady, habitual Taurus – and this denotes unpredictable shocks to our basic sense of stability. Taurus hates change, but change is coming. Our lives are not going to be continuing along the same old ruts this year, like it or not. And this eclipse is a prelude to the shake-ups ahead – whatever weird shit is happening to you right now, it should give you a good sense of the themes of the rest of the year, and the kind of changes you'll be called upon to make.
So I'd say, pay attention! And be ready to roll with the changes instead of resisting them. This is a perfect time for innovation and new ideas, and you're going to need these things further down the line – so use this eclipse energy to get yourself unstuck. And if something is being taken away from you, try to shift your perspective so that you can see how you're actually being liberated from it.
There are some caveats to this otherwise brilliant eclipse: be sure the information you receive is correct before acting on it, look before you leap, curb your enthusiasm, keep a clear head. Aquarius is very prone to ideological extremism, a form of intellectual delusion. That's definitely in play here: the new moon is squared by Jupiter in Scorpio, which can be very polarising and extreme. Also, Mars in ideological Sagittarius squares Neptune, meaning the risk of self-delusion and self-defeating action is high.
This risk of going overboard and losing your head will be intensified over the next couple of weeks as a load of planets move into Pisces ahead of the full moon in Virgo on the 2nd March. It looks like a lovely full moon, but whenever you get this much stuff going on in Pisces, the risk of delusion is heightened. I'll write more about it closer to the time.
But for now, enjoy this eclipse and the month ahead – overall it looks very positive and exciting! A lot of new ideas will be opening up; revolution is in the air. Just try to keep your feet on the ground while your mind is busy being blown.
This is tonight, Friday the 16th September at 8 pm GMT.
It's a penumbral (partial) lunar eclipse in the final sign of the zodiac: Pisces, which is concerned with the dissolution of form and of ego. Also sacrifice, faith, magic, art, drugs, delusion - whatever dissolves the boundaries between this world and the Otherworld, or between the self and the larger cosmos.
Full moons symbolise culminations or endings, and Pisces is the final sign of the zodiac. And eclipses are supercharged. So the symbolism here is definitely of an ending.
Potentially a painful one: a Pisces moon is sensitive, idealistic and emotionally porous, and for the eclipse she will be conjunct Chiron. Chiron signifies a wound that will not heal, but can become a source of knowledge. In Pisces, the wound can be to our faith in life; our sense of a transcendent, guiding purpose. Or to our ideals, illusions and romantic fantasies.
So basically we are looking at a very thin-skinned, vulnerable emotional tone. This is aggravated by a square to Mars in Sagittarius, which can be a bombastic, aggressive, impulsive influence – like someone who insists on pushing their agenda without any sense of tact or emotional subtlety.
Extreme emotional sensitivity vs. tactless aggression - someone is likely to get hurt here.
--But there is also the potential to transcend your sense of injury by focusing on the larger picture, having faith in the grand design, serving others. Some kind of sacrifice might be called for - of ego, maybe.
The moon opposes the sun and retrograde Mercury in matter-of-fact Virgo, and Mars squares them. The Virgo stuff, especially with Mercury retrograde, is about caution, humility, getting your facts straight, thinking and rethinking before you open your mouth. A focus on the small, mundane, practical details; also a need to serve others.
With the north node in Virgo (and tied into this eclipse) - this is the way through. I've been harping on about this for months, but it bears repeating: do not let a mood of hopelessness or despair get the better of you. Keep attending to the small, practical stuff. One foot in front of the other, one mundane task after another – keep your mind on the little daily tasks at hand and don't look too far ahead, because the road ahead is unclear at present.
We had the final pass of the Saturn-Neptune square on the 10th September, and it's still very tight – so basically the future is all up in the air. Worrying about it and allowing yourself to get depressed is counterproductive. So is indulging the longing to escape your present circumstances – and that includes drowning your sorrows or succumbing to your addictions. You have to keep dealing with what's in front of you in a systematic, practical, organized manner, because there is really no other way out. “The best way out is always through” - per Frost.
The poem that quote is taken from illustrates the mood of this full moon pretty well...it's about a woman going crazy (moon in Pisces) under the weight of her domestic duties (Virgo), and telling a traveler (Mars in Sagittarius) her story.
The poem is ambivalent as to her fate – but this sky is not so ambivalent. Virgo is definitely the way through, so keep doing what has to be done. Despite broken illusions, hopelessness, dreams of escape, despairing moods and the sense of the ultimate futility of existence – just keep doing your Virgo.
It is likely that the issues we are dealing with under this full moon have to do with relationships. Jupiter (as of the 9th September) is in Libra, sign of marriage and close partnership. And Venus in Libra has been tangled up with Pluto and Uranus – gods of transformation and shock - this past week, sparking off big, abrupt shifts in relationships. Venus squared Pluto on the 11th September and she opposes Uranus, planet of revolution and disruption, for this eclipse...the exact opposition is on the 18th September.
With Venus opposite Uranus, the relational shifts we're looking at may be abrupt endings – but this can also be about radically transforming the way you relate, giving people the space they need to be themselves, detaching from drama and shitty old power dynamics, examining and transforming your patterns and your unconscious control issues re. relationships...
So it doesn't have to be about endings! But if you are facing the end of something, please keep in mind that every ending is also a new beginning. Mars is beneficially aspecting Uranus, and this is about freedom, personal authenticity and new vistas opening up. As Jupiter (travel, luck, expansion) is now in Libra, these new vistas are likely to be about relationships.
(Urgh, sorry. SO cheesy. But it fits.)
I think things will be easing up and feeling more dynamic in the weeks ahead. We will be past the intensity of eclipse season. Then our nerve-frazzling Mercury retrograde ends on the 22nd September, a few hours before the autumn equinox.
At the equinox, the sun moves into Libra – and this year the sun will be conjunct Jupiter in Libra. This is a big, happy, creative influence, especially re. relationships. Maybe a little over the top, but exuberant and hopeful!
The next day, Venus changes signs – from Libra to all-or-nothing Scorpio. Venus in Scorpio has her issues (drama, power games, obsession, jealousy, betrayal), but in this case she's well-aspected. So I would read this as being about great intensity and depth in relationships: true love. To the death.
Then Pluto resumes direct motion on the 25th September, in beneficial aspect to Mercury and the north node in Virgo – practical restructuring is underway! Earth-shifting life changes become workable.
We have a new moon in Libra the 1st October – the sun, moon, Jupiter will be conjunct in the sign of relationship, marriage, harmony, balance and justice. This opens a new chapter where Libra matters are concerned – or a whole new book altogether. I think it looks like a really solid new start.
It's all pretty exciting. So if you feel low at this full moon, don't fret, and try not to act out. Have faith. It's just a mood; better days are ahead.
This is today, the 7th April, around 12:20 pm GMT.
Oh man. It's such a zinger. Just in time, too.
Our last new moon, in Pisces, ushered in a swampy, drunk kind of 28-day lunar cycle – quite dank and depressing really.
Well this new moon is the antidote. It's a powerful, charged-up new start.
A new moon in Aries is the start of the whole astrological year. It signifies beginnings in all their rawness and urgency. And this one is a bit more raw and urgent than usual!
The sun and moon will be conjunct Uranus in Aries, planet of shock and rebellion. They'll also be squaring Pluto in Capricorn, which is about restructuring, hidden corruption coming to light, death and transformation.
We are past the historic, transformative series of exact squares between Uranus and Pluto (2012-2015), but those heavies are still in square aspect, and this new moon sparks it off again.
Under the Uranus-Pluto square over the past few years, a lot has changed. For better or worse. Think of your life, your self, in 2012 – and now look at you, four years later. Did you ever think you'd be this person?
A lot has been absolutely blown to bits; a lot has been re-built from the scorched earth. And the restructuring process is ongoing – the future isn't what it used to be, and we all have some adaptation to do.
Anyway, whatever way you look at it, this new moon will be a deep jolt. Especially if you have planets or chart angles in the cardinal signs (Aries, Libra, Cancer and Capricorn) - something is going to shift in a lasting way.
A deep jolt, and possibly nasty – Aries is warlike, and with Pluto involved, things can get pretty dark. I guess it won't be the calmest month on the world stage – but that's the norm now.
But nevermind the world stage. We are dealing with Aries, sign of the self – so this is all about YOU.
What do you want for your life? Not for anyone else, not for the planet, not for your highfalutin' ideals. For YOURSELF. What do you really, actually WANT? What kind of future do you envision?
Because by now you must know: nothing is going to go according to plan! Nothing is going to be quite what you'd expected.
Maybe you need a new M.O., because the one you had pre-Uranus square Pluto just doesn't cut it anymore. You don't believe the same things as you did, you don't want the same things. You're not the same person.
This new moon looks like a really good time to look at what you really, truly, deep-down want, going forward – and to set your intentions toward that end.
New moons are magical. Setting intentions at a new moon is a powerful thing. This is when you plant your seeds. The act of clarifying and articulating a desire is like planting a seed – something is bound to come of it.
But Aries new moons are super-special, because they set the tone for the entire year ahead. Meaning today at the new moon, you can set your intentions for the year ahead and expect them to carry a charge.
Ask yourself: what do I want for ME? What do I need? What has to change completely? What baggage do I have to drop?
Aries has an association with selfishness, but this is really not about being selfish. It's about being true to yourself. Your deepest desires are in you for a reason, and it's bigger than just you. Desire is how destiny manifests itself. What you want, what you're drawn to, what you value, what you love – that stuff creates the shape of your life.
This lunar cycle really does look to be about desire. We have Venus (love and money planet) in Aries, where she is a total warrior for what she wants. She's beneficially aspecting the new moon's dispositor, Mars in Sagittarius. There is a lot of sparky desire-driven energy here.
Mercury (mind and communication) has just moved into Taurus, where he is preoccupied with practical, earthbound reality – and also matters of pleasure, desire, contentment, self-esteem, ownership. This is a calming, stabilising influence on our minds and communication – useful when we are dealing with so much fire and drive. It'll help us to look at what we want in the light of reality, and see what is actually possible (and healthy) vs. what is not.
Plus Saturn in Sagittarius beneficially aspects the new moon – and this is about having a vision for the future.
Clearly, this is not about short term anything. It's about the long haul. That's why I think this is a really good time to set intentions for the future – with Saturn involved, your intentions will carry weight. Maybe write them down. Jupiter and the north node are in systematic Virgo, so list-making is favoured!
It can be pretty difficult to clarify what we actually, deep-down want. It can involve some psychological excavation. You have to cut through layers of things you think you want, that were programmed into you by your culture or family or social circle.
We are looking to get down to the core of what actually drives us here. What lights you up, engages you, makes life vital and meaningful for you? It's different for everyone.
But this is not about superficial desire. It's about the deepest levels, and it may involve stuff that is buried or taboo for you. There's a need to excavate – who are you really? What are you really about?
And to purge all the stuff you're carrying that isn't really yours and has nothing to do with what you actually want out of life. No more distractions, no more drama.
Sing it Mary J!
This emphasis on depth work has to do with Pluto's involvement – now at the new moon, and also at the full, which will be on the 22nd April, in Pluto-ruled Scorpio.
Scorpio is about psychological depth, the taboo, the Shadow. Also, desire in its most primal, compulsive form.
Driving home this focus on the depth stuff, we'll have the sign's two rulers, Pluto and Mars, both stationing retrograde just a few days prior to the full moon in Scorpio. There is a deep inward focus here, and it will be in effect all through the summer, as Mars retrogrades through Scorpio.
So yeah – this month definitely looks like it's about focusing True Will.
Aleister Crowley was an unsavoury human being and largely full of shit, but I think he was right on this score: “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law”.
But first you have to dig out what it is you really want – not what you think you ought to want. Not what would please your parents or your friends or even your ego.
If you can identify what really drives you and be drawn by that lodestone, provided you're not harming anyone, you can't go far wrong.
Anyway, I really like the look of this month, though it's quite violent and intense! And fraught. The usual cautions apply. Expect some kind of depth charge / jolt this new moon, especially if you have planets or angles in mid-degree Cardinal signs. Something is going to shift in a lasting way, and it's likely to be uncomfortable. Don't be surprised if it's nasty - there are some hidden agendas at work here. But whatever hits you or erupts out of you, it won't really be out of the blue. This has been building for some time.
Mind yourself and don't fight anything out to the death please. Don't blow yourself up, or anyone else. It'll be easy to overdose on rage.
Also, we are dealing with a mutable t-square now, involving Neptune in Pisces, Mars and Saturn in Sagittarius, and Jupiter and the north node in Virgo. This influence will be in play for nearly the rest of the year. It looks pretty jangled and confusing to me – like it'll be hard to know what's true.
I guess this makes it all the more important to clarify your deepest intentions and desires now. Like, now. TODAY.
