Cardinal energy snaps in the atmosphere with the New Moon at 00° 50’ Aries on 21 March 2023, 10:23 AM PDT. The New Moon comes in right after the Sun reached Aries on March 20, strengthening the desire to start something new and fresh. Whether or not we can make that happen is another story. The Sun, Moon and Mercury are conjoined in Aries with all three semi-sextile Saturn in Pisces. Mars, Aries’s ruler, is still in Gemini and inconjunct Pluto in Capricorn as well as still within orb of a waning square to Neptune in Pisces. The dissonance created by this situation will likely make choosing a new path challenging.

The Aries stellium (Sun, Moon and Mercury) are semi-sextile Venus in Taurus and Saturn in Pisces. The Aries Sun and Moon are tightly semi-sextile Saturn in Pisces, a reminder of why it is important to take time to remain sensitive to other people’s needs because if we don’t, Saturn in Pisces may decide to hit us with instant karma. Mercury in Aries is exactly semi-sextile Venus in Taurus which suggests we’ll get better results with kind, tactful words rather than snapping at people and attempting to shove our point of view down their throats.

The situation with Mars isn’t likely to change soon. On the New Moon, Mars is in Gemini inconjunct Pluto in Capricorn. Gemini and Capricorn seem to live in different worlds which makes resolving their differences difficult. Gemini lives in a swirl of change, constantly on the lookout for new and interesting information whereas Capricorn prefers a more traditional approach. Conventional Capricorn usually regards Gemini as frivolous, while Gemini typically sees Capricorn as quite boring. Both Mars and Pluto are about to change signs too. Pluto makes the transition into Aquarius on March 23 and Mars will move into Cancer on March 25. Here again they are inconjunct. Cancer’s main focus is on home and family while Aquarius is largely concerned with society as a whole. A feeling of bewilderment is quite common with the Cancer-Aquarius inconjunct. It’s a good thing Mars moves fairly quickly, and by the first week in April will be out of orb with Pluto in Aquarius. In other words, the first couple of weeks in Aries season we may find ourselves moving in fits and starts, having difficulty maintaining a clear direction.

Oh yes, don’t forget Mars in Gemini is still within orb of a waning square to Neptune in Pisces. Mars is not having a good Aries New Moon but we should see improvement once Mars enters cardinal Cancer. Getting away from Neptune will allow for more clarity of purpose again.

A bright spot is the waning sextile between Venus in Taurus and Saturn in Pisces. It is excellent for getting our gardens ready for spring planting, no matter the size of our “garden”. If we need to trim back old growth to allow the new to emerge more easily, this aspect is very good for those projects. This applies to our investments too. It might be time to meet with a good financial advisor to help with those decisions.

The only aspect Jupiter in Aries and Uranus in Taurus make is a semi-sextile to each other. This looks like a curiously lucky aspect that may bring us good fortune in an unusual, down to earth way.

The Aries stellium on this New Moon in Aries is definitely a force to be reckoned with. It can cast a bright light capable of dissipating the Neptune generated fog of the past week or so. Whether we are happy with what is revealed is something else again. Aries is nothing if not direct and, at times, brutally honest. Don’t be surprised if some people actively resist acknowledging the truth of those revelations because it creates too much dissonance within their world view. We’re going to need to practice patience and tolerance while we reflect on the fact the only person we can hope to change is ourselves. Nonetheless, here in the northern hemisphere it is now officially Spring (Autumn in the southern hemisphere). We can set aside our worries for awhile and celebrate this lively Aries New Moon energy by contemplating the possibility of bold new adventures awaiting us down the road. Peace and love to all.

Note: Timing is averaged for EDT to PDT.

Image:  Aries © Stephanie Pui-Mun Law

We are entering a period of significant changes and the New Moon at 01° 22’ Pisces on 19 February 2023 at 11:06 PM PST is the precursor event. The Pisces Sun and Moon conjoin Saturn in Aquarius, and Saturn is poised to transition into Pisces on March 7. Learning to set clear boundaries is one of the lessons we get a taste of on this New Moon.

Pisces’s ruler, Neptune, is loosely conjunct Venus who is poised to leap into fiery Aries about an hour after the New Moon. This is the only aspect Neptune makes which suggests it has little to say at this time. As for Venus, it is closely sextile Pluto which is sitting at 29° until March 23. One question might be what do we need to let go of in our relationships? Learning to move on gracefully is seldom easy and pain free but it con be very necessary to our health and well being. This aspect also allows us to successfully combine in-depth research with our intuition when considering what we value and where we want to invest the most energy.

The busiest planet is Mercury in Aquarius. It makes a waning sextile to Jupiter in Aries, a waxing trine to Mars in Gemini and a waxing square to Uranus in Taurus. The waning sextile to Jupiter in Aries was exact on February 17 and it is the primary source of very inspired ideas about where we want to go in the future. The square to Uranus in Taurus will be exact on February 21, and that’s where we could run into unanticipated obstacles. If we’re willing to be flexible and look for workarounds, the trine to Mars in Gemini will be exact on February 22 and may energize us to take action. Mercury in Aquarius is very rational and quite good at finding another perspective when working on solving a problem. At this time, we’re probably going to be further ahead to stick with logic and reason when working out our issues.

There are a couple of interesting semi-sextiles too. Mars in Gemini is making a waning semi-sextile Uranus in Taurus and Saturn in Aquarius is making a waxing semi-sextile Pluto in Capricorn. The Mars in Gemini-Uranus in Taurus has the potential to cause us to be jittery and on edge with the feeling of waiting for the other shoe to drop. Thankfully Mars moves fairly quickly and will be well out of orb by late next week.

The semi-sextile between Saturn in Aquarius and Pluto in Capricorn is waxing and will last right up to the Full Moon in Virgo on March 7 when Saturn will shift into Pisces about an hour after the Full Moon. Saturn will reach 29° Aquarius on February 27. This is one more reminder, like it or not, we’re deep into a close out phase. There is a strong sense of finality in this aspect, and what leaves our lives is very likely gone for good.

This New Moon in Pisces, so close to the start of Pisces Season, is not so much about making a fresh start but may feel more like an extended dark of the Moon where we spend time contemplating what needs to go and what to keep. It is the Pisces version of house cleaning where we deep clean our closets, both the actual ones and our metaphorical closets. Thankfully there will be more mutable energy (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces) to work with making it possible to be more flexible in our decision making process. It is more important than ever to practice being honest, kind and compassionate, not only towards others but ourselves. Be gentle! Peace and love to all.

Note: Timing is averaged for EDT to PDT.

Image: New Moon © gimbo60

Often the New Moon in Aquarius is a celebration of our delightful eccentricities but that is not the case on this New Moon at 01° 33’ Aquarius on 21 January 2023 at 12:54 PM PST. The Capricorn influence is still quite strong on this New Moon, in part because the Aquarius Sun and Moon make an out-of-sign conjunction with Pluto in Capricorn. Pluto suggests we let go of our garbage before moving ahead because having less weight dragging us down means we can move forward more quickly.

Still the Aquarius Sun and Moon benefit from a preponderance of air and fire in the lunation chart. In fact the luminaries make a waxing sextile to Jupiter in Aries which will hopefully offset the drag Pluto in Capricorn creates. Of course, the Aquarius Moon will be exactly sextile Jupiter in Aries shortly after the New Moon. It will be January 24 when the Aquarius Sun reaches an exact sextile to Jupiter in Aries. This spreads out the upbeat energy enough so we have time to absorb some of it, making us feel more positive about the future.

An important aspect is the conjunction between Venus and Saturn in Aquarius. This stand alone conjunction supports Saturn as the traditional ruler of Aquarius. We may want to give serious thought as to why we are making choices where love and money are concerned. How big a role do security issues play? If we’re comfortable we’re on the right track, we will benefit from this fixed Venus-Saturn conjunction because it favors lasting commitments. Time is always a factor with Saturn, so by agreeing to a long term commitment we’re working with this energy. Just be very, very clear as to why first. What will not be all that helpful when it comes to thinking clearly about love and money is the semi-sextile the Venus-Saturn conjunction makes with Neptune in Pisces. Venus will have pulled away from Neptune by early next week and that will help clear any cobwebs away.

Both Mercury in Capricorn and Mars in Gemini are now direct which is a good thing. However they are still inconjunct on the New Moon and the glitches this creates are not likely going to be fully resolved until Mercury shifts into Aquarius on February 11. It will be February 22 before Mercury in Aquarius is exactly trine Mars in Gemini. Mercury in Capricorn is quite good at handling the nuts and bolts side of the decision making process but it lacks Mercury in Aquarius’s ability to review information from a broader perspective, and that is what we’ll need to finally breakup any impasses.

It is significant the Aquarius’s ruler, Uranus, makes no aspects in the New Moon chart. In a manner of speaking, Uranus is a loose cannon and that’s a position it enjoys very much. Uranus in Taurus is also poised to station direct at 14° 56’ Taurus the day after the New Moon. This will likely affect those with personal planets and/or Ascendant from 13° to 15° in the fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius). We might finally realize what is needed to break out of what has felt like a stagnant period.

Not that anyone wants to hear it but what we’re going to need more of on this New Moon in Aquarius is patience! Yes, Mercury and Mars are now direct and Uranus in Taurus joins them the day after the New Moon. This can give us the feeling of being ready for new beginnings on this New Moon in Aquarius. But as much as we’d love to race ahead we are still going to have to take it one careful step at a time in order to avoid creating more problems for ourselves. It is time to take another look at our lives with fresh eyes which is something all the Aquarius energy can help us with because it reminds us we are all part of something greater than ourselves. Think about causes that are dear to your heart and that contribute to the good of the collective you are a part of, and make an effort to give those a hand. We still need to practice kindness, remember to smile frequently when out and about, and work on being as patient as possible. Peace and love to all.

Note: Timing is averaged for EDT to PDT.

Image: New Moon © gimbo60