Hi y’all,

The new moon lands at 8 degrees Aquarius tonight at 5.07pm MST. The new moon is the conjunction of the Sun and Moon, meaning they are both at the same point. The moon is in the Earth’s shadow and is dark for a few days. This symbolizes that the emotional/subconscious nature is in shadow, not yet illuminated by the conscious light of the Sun. It means we have a more primal energy, a more raw state that gives birth to a new energy, culminating with the full moon in Leo on February 10.

Aquarius is all about connection to the collective. How we maintain individuality and yet identify with groups of people. If it’s opposite sign of Leo is all about personal power and creativity, Aquarius is about people power and dreaming. Leo is ruled by our close-up star, the Sun. Aquarius is the far-off star, associated with clairvoyancy and vision. Traditionally ruled by Saturn, in modern astrology ruled by Uranus, Aquarius breaks the mold. It’s like the concept of genetic variance. If a gene pool is too shallow, it’s not good for the population. Aquarius comes in and gives us the alterations we need to keep the line moving into the future. The farsight of the Aquarian nature is ahead of its time. They have their finger on the future pulse, with their far-out knowledge directly sourced from somewhere else in the universe. Aliens, maybe? Who knows.

This moon cycle will have us thinking about how we fit into the collective. Over the next couple of days, it’s better to lay low and make plans to be carried out around the full moon. Are we contributing to what’s going on around us, or are we separate from it? Are we fulfilled in the roles we have in group settings? Are we happy with the identity we’ve cultivated within those roles? The seeds are being planted now.

A couple of things going on in the sky right now that activate this energy in different ways. First, the T-square of Uranus in Aries square Pluto/Mercury in Capricorn square Jupiter in Libra is still going strong. Election fallout, maybe? We are still actively engaged in transforming the public world we live in, and as these planets are generally very slow moving, we’ll be figuring it out for awhile. We are expanding relationships while totally rebelling against the self-image that has been brought into focus recently. Surprisingly, Saturn’s placement in Sagittarius right now is offering relief to this T-square. This means that having a solid, grounded understanding of the philosophies that rule your life can provide relief to the attention/stress caused by the T-square. After the last couple months, Saturn and it’s sextile to Jupiter in Libra is encouraging us to remain calm in the storm, reminding that Saturn lessons are hard but ultimately here for our growth.

Luckily! Mercury exits the shadow zone of the Retrograde in Capricorn today (think I listed it as leaving on the 29th, but that’s wrong). There’s been a LOT of Big-Picture Life Planning going on, everyone has had an intense drive to figure out long term goals over the last month. Well, starting today we get to move forward on a lot of the issues we’ve been dealing with, breaking into new territory after what seems like months of rigamarole. Mercury will be passing over Pluto again in a few days, and we’ll have more chances to transform and meet our struggles with power through communication. The difference now is that we will be able to move on rather than be stuck in a quagmire. Go get em!

In the next week or so, both Venus and Mars will be moving from the sign of Pisces to the sign of Aries. This indicates to me that we’ve been in a bit of a dream state, feeling unusually immersed in our subconscious/dreamstate. When they are both fired up in Aries, I expect we’ll feel more into ourselves. It will definitely increase aggression, in terms of objectives, knowing what you want and how to get it. These planets in Aries could also have us feeling more ‘selfish.’ Which is fine, unless you forget the interests of others while you’re getting yours. And when I say get yours, I mean get ready for some sensual times. I’ll write more about both of these events, including the upcoming Venus Retrograde. So! We’ve been all up in our dreamy selves, serving others, connecting to the universe. Now we’ll be connecting with our own damn selves.

Use the energy of this moon cycle to recharge your group energy. Friends, contacts, networks are all of tantamount importance at this time. Many times, we define ourselves through our interactions with others. This Aquarius energy emphasizes that. No man is an island, and we’ll be very aware of that now. Aquarius is also the sign of hopes and dreams, so now is the time to plant as many seeds as possible. How are you fertilizing these seeds? How are you cultivating each step toward your goals? Are you taking action every day to reach that far-off star? Any actions in that direction will take you far.

Cheers!

Will

P.S. Used my ephemeris for the dates, the Buddha Board at Golden Braid Books to draw the image, and probably excerpts of SEXTROLOGY by Starsky and Cox.