New Moon in Aquarius: A Shower of Blessings

New Moon in Aquarius: A Shower of Blessings

“If you want to change the world, love yourself.” Alcazar

I am coming off the high of a four-day meditation retreat in which I experienced rarified vibrations of energy from other dimensions. The goddess Isis brought us to the other side to encounter our deceased loved ones. Guides from unseen realms healed our bodies, helped us release the limitations we have brought with us from the past. And we were steeped in the energies of love and gratitude. It was exquisite and while it sounds pretty woo-woo, I cannot deny the impact it had upon me and my soul. And what a perfect prelude to Mercury turning direct and a Super New Moon in Aquarius!

Aquarius is the only sign of the Zodiac that focuses on humanity as a whole. It is depicted as the water bearer, pouring blessings from heaven upon the totality of incarnated souls below. Aquarius is the 11th of 12 signs, just before Pisces where we conclude another trip around the Sun, release the past and begin a new zodiacal year with Aries at the March Equinox.

Aquarius has come to symbolize a vast array of themes, everything from science and artificial intelligence to revolutions and independence. As an Air sign, we are entering the realm of higher mind. One of the co-rulers of Aquarius is Uranus, the first planet beyond our Earthly vision, only discovered after the invention of the telescope.

The symbolism here suggests that Aquarius invites us to expand our vision – so much easier in Air than Water or Earth. We will talk a lot about Air this year because the Moon’s Nodes are moving out of Taurus and Scorpio, Earth and Water signs, into Aries and Libra – Fire and Air signs. Not only that, Pluto makes its first ingress into Aquarius giving us a sneak peek at the possibilities and challenges of the Age to come.

Furthermore, Sedna, the new outpost at the frontier of our solar system, moves from Taurus into Gemini on June 15th. This means the entire spiritual context of our lives will be expansive Air. We have been mired in materiality. We have moved so far away from Spirit that a large percentage of us actually don’t believe there is anything more to reality than the material plane. As Sedna lifts into Air and opens up more space for our minds to travel, we will explore the frontiers of consciousness and discover who we really are. And that discovery will become the foundation of a new paradigm out of which we will create a new world.

Our current world is the reflection of our collective psyche. Enough said. During the Isis meditation I mentioned above, the Egyptian goddess said, “Just in case you didn’t know, your world IS the Underworld.” My mind exploded – of course it is! Let that in and everything will make sense to you. When mythology refers to a descent into the Underworld, it describes our soul’s journey on Earth and the multiple deaths and rebirths we experience along the way.

But let’s look to the upper world realms. We’ve turned the corner, despite what the news portrays. We’re headed up and out of the hell we have created and space is opening up at the same time. I know I am optimistic, an idealist, and that’s because I have been given a vision of our possible future, and the knowledge that it is our mission to restore peace on Earth, to overcome the shadow side of our psyches, to evolve out of and back into Spirit where we are always and forever One, and then to embody Spirit and re-establish the mythical Garden our hearts remember. And it can be so fun, so filled with the joy of creation, the safety of community, belonging to a glorious enlightened humanity. Oh my!

This year is about Love and Light – opening more to the blessings of the Divine Feminine as She returns to us and brings us back into balance. The year began with a Venus/Pluto conjunction. Grace came to the Underworld. This New Moon features a great diversity of goddesses, each bearing a quality of the Divine Feminine.

Super New Moon in Aquarius

On Saturday January 21st the Moon, which is at perigee, closest to the Earth, reunites with the Sun at 1 degree of Aquarius. If you recall, on the December Solstice of 2020, Jupiter and Saturn came together, as they do every 20 years, to initiate a new cycle of communal growth, this time in Air. Jupiter and Saturn cycle through the elements in 200-year periods. We have just been through 200 years of Earth conjunctions. On that eventful Solstice, these social planets came together at the zodiacal threshold of Aquarius for the first time in 800 years.

Think of the symbolism of the first New Moon of 2023 landing on that very threshold that Jupiter and Saturn crossed together. We’re in a 20-year period of transition. There is much debate about when the Age of Aquarius begins, but it’s a meaningless pursuit. We are either in it, transitioning into it or approaching it from a greater distance. Doesn’t matter. We’re moving and we have to start packing up in advance. The themes are here. #1 How do we heal the separation? We are a fractured society and we’re not alone. No wonder there is so much loneliness in the world.

As I have said so many times before that you might be tired of hearing it, the whole transformation takes place within each of us, one by one by one. That’s one of the paradoxes of Enlightenment. We can’t change humanity, we can only take responsibility for our small part. That makes each and every one of us super important.

The Divine Feminine is about Being. The Divine Masculine about Doing. It’s a perfect partnership, except when it’s out of balance. One of the gifts of the pandemic was the opportunity for time and space to get back in touch with our Being.

The New Moon takes place at 12:53 pm on Saturday at 1:32 Aquarius, three degrees away from Pluto and exactly opposite Black Moon Lilith. In the USA chart the New Moon is in the 2nd House. Associated with the sign of Taurus ruled by Venus, the second house is about value. On the material level it is about our valuables – our money, our assets etc. On the psycho-spiritual level, the Second House is about self-worth. Planets in this house reveal the challenges that we must overcome to arrive at self-love, and it is this self-love that provides the context for abundance.

In the USA 2nd House we find Pluto in Capricorn and the South Node in Aquarius. Our allegiance to materialism has warped our values. The presence of the South Node tells us that we must address the unresolved issues of our troubled past. During this lunar cycle the Sun will conjunct this Node. We can expect more shadow material to emerge. Aquarius in our 2nd House reminds us that we are all equal, we all have value. The more we try to deny our past, the more it erupts through tragic violence.

Black Moon Lilith is in our collective 8th House at the beginning of Leo, exactly opposite the Sun/Moon conjunction. So let’s examine this enigmatic symbol. She isn’t actually a body in space, but rather an invisible point, the apogee of the Moon in its orbit around the Earth. When the Moon is closest to Earth, as in the current New Moon, she becomes emotionally embroiled with the human ego. We get to see where ego defenses still block us from authenticity. But when the Moon is furthest from the Earth, she is also furthest out in space, in more rarified realms, gathering information from the Cosmos to beam back at us. With Lilith we are out of bounds, out of the realm of our patriarchal paradigm. She reminds us that we have a unique relationship to our Feminine Energy, that we have autonomy and sovereignty and great power.

Lilith was the first female, created from the soil of Earth just like Adam. They were equal in every way. According to Jewish lore, Lilith wanted sovereignty but Adam demanded a dominant role. Lilith rebelled, so Adam asked for a replacement and God took one of his ribs to create Eve. What an intriguing patriarchal story!

So Lilith is the Shadow Feminine, independent, autonomous and fully equal to the Masculine. Lilith shows us in our charts where we have power, possibly suppressed in our paradigm. She represents areas in which we might experience power struggles, where our anger and resentment of societal structure reside. Lilith is a dark warrior goddess, like Eris and Pallas. She stands up for herself and her divine rights.

At the New Moon Lilith is conjunct the dwarf planet Varuna which is exactly conjunct our collective North Node. Varuna is all about sovereignty and the North Node is the future into which we are flowing.

We all have an inner Lilith and we need her. She is a gateway to our divinity. Especially now when the power struggle between the masculine and feminine is being played out in our government. The war on women intensified last year along with the war on truth.

I’m not suggesting we all pick up placards, although I sure would like to see an Equal Rights Amendment pass. What I suggest is that we get in touch with this source of power, men and women alike. Lilith holds the keys to sovereignty. Where Lilith lies in our chart is where we can reclaim our power.

Haumea in Scorpio

The New Moon opposition to Black Moon Lilith, Varuna and our North Node is powerful all by itself, but we have the added influence of Haumea, the goddess of rebirth, diversity and abundance. At 1:01 degrees of Scorpio, Haumea is exactly square the Lunar Axis. We have a T-Square, with Haumea as the fulcrum for the New Moon themes. This dwarf planet is named for a Hawaiian goddess who joyfully creates abundance through diversity and with each creation, she is reborn. She represents the regenerative power of creativity.

Haumea is beginning a long journey through Scorpio, the sign of Pluto, of death, rebirth and transformation. One of the shocking issues our world faces right now is the accelerated extinction of species within the animal and plant kingdoms. Our abundance, the health of our ecosystem, depends upon our diversity. With Haumea entering the Underworld, we will be forced to face the consequences of our shrinking diversity. One more symptom of the dead end to which our paradigm leads.

Haumea is 8 degrees away from the transiting South Node. They move toward each other this month but don’t form an exact conjunction until July just before the South Node retrogrades back into Libra. Our past is coming to meet us again, this time with a focus on our shrinking diversity. How will we respond?

Venus conjunct Saturn

At 23 and 24 degrees of Aquarius, also in the 2nd House, are Venus and Saturn, conjunct our nation’s Chariklo, the female centaur, consort of Chiron and the one who took care of him. She holds a loving, healing, nurturing context wherever she appears. She assists the healing of conflict between genders. Saturn represents the established paradigm which binds us together. Venus brings her vibration of balance, peace, beauty, love, relationship.

Saturn symbolizes what we manifest from the content of our psyches. He brings our thoughts, feelings, beliefs and attitudes into physicality so we have a mirror of our collective mind. This lunar cycle is an opportunity to bring more balance and harmony into our world.

Venus and Saturn are sextile Eris at 23 Aries. Eris has been much activated recently. For the last 7 years or so she has been squaring Pluto. Eris assists our transformation through the chaos of discord. She demands we seek our authenticity and drop our pretense. She has also been transiting over our nation’s Chiron revealing the discord in our collective psyche. She has provided us with all the information we need to heal and release before our nation’s Chiron return in April of 2024.

Pallas Athena

More gifts from the Goddess realm – Pallas is at 14 Cancer conjunct the brightest star in our heavens: Sirius. They both are within one degree of the USA Sun. Sirius is conjunct our national Sun! Maybe we’ll examine this stellar influence in July when we celebrate our nation’s birthday. The brightest star we can see shines on our national identity. Sirius can be located by following the angle of the stars in the belt of Orion. Check out the night sky to the East.

Pallas is a warrior goddess but also represents Divine Wisdom. She sprang from the head of Zeus. In Cancer, Pallas is telling us to feel into the wisdom of the heart. What in us isn’t getting nurtured? How can we nurture self, and others? In all our decisions this year, we can benefit from some quiet consultation with our hearts. What does love tells us?

Ceres and Juno

Ceres is opposite Jupiter which is conjunct Juno in Aries. If you recall Roman mythology, you know that Jupiter and Juno were the king and queen of Olympus, thus the heavens. Their conjunction is within 10 seconds of arc. What a clear message about the balance of power! Juno is a symbol of commitment. In our charts she may reveal issues of betrayal, infidelity and disloyalty. How do we deal with them? How do we not betray ourselves?

Jupiter and Juno are opposite Ceres in Libra, which is conjunct MakeMake whose purpose is to help us see the bigger picture. Ceres brings focus to our relationship with the Earth, the nurturing Mother of us all. The bigger picture is that we are embedded within the energy of the Earth which is not an inanimate object, but a living, breathing consciousness. We are interdependent with all of nature, all the plants, animals, elements. Our Earth is the Goddess in physical form – generous, abundant, life-giving, prolific.

Jupiter expands our awareness. Mother Nature has been a harsh mistress so far this winter, disrupting our lives, knocking out our power, flooding our land, grounding our transportation. She definitely wants our attention. Juno poses questions about betrayal. Whom are we betraying when we disrespect our Earth?

Earth is evolving, just like us. Our planet usually vibrates at 7.83 Hz. Over the past several years, monitors have registered spikes in her frequency as high as 16 Hz. We’re all lifting into a higher vibration. Ceres carries the energy of the Divine Mother who loves her children, who grieves for them and rejoices with them as she shares her wealth.

Vesta conjunct Neptune

All the asteroid goddesses are holding prominent positions at this New Moon. Vesta is conjunct Neptune in Pisces drawing us into spiritual practice, reminding us to keep tending that sacred flame within. It will be even more important this year because there will be a disconnect between our vision and our manifested reality. With Pluto transiting the last intense degrees of Capricorn, there will be resistance and opposition to change. When we take time to reconnect with our own depths, with the flame of Spirit that flickers within, when we cultivate the higher frequencies of gratitude, compassion, appreciation and caring, we radiate these energies into the collective. We hold the field of our devotion (Vesta) for all of humanity. And it will make a difference.

Neptune has completed its opposition to its natal place in our chart. As he navigates the last degrees of Pisces he asks us to remember our connection, to let our imagination reach into unknown realms and reunite with guides and angels. We are not alone. Unseen allies have come from all over the universe, from other dimensions, from the quantum field and the great void beyond, to support our liberation. They rejoice at our progress. Apparently we are evolving faster than was anticipated. We may all live to see a miracle.

Mercury Quincunx Mars

Mercury has just turned direct at 8+ Capricorn. Mars turned direct at 8+ Gemini on January 12th in Gemini, Mercury’s domain. A quincunx is a re-evaluation. This 150 degree relationship between planets happens twice in a cycle. The first quincunx comes before the opposition. We are editing our first draft before the opposition. The opposition brings greater perception and illumination. The next quincunx, called the waning quincunx, is about integrating new information. We have had years of horror at the disintegration of civility in our nation. Mars will have spent 7 months energizing our minds, fertilizing them with new information and ideas that will evolve into new perceptions and beliefs.

Mercury retrograde is always a time of review, but it isn’t over until Mercury moves beyond the degree at which it turned retrograde. Until the 7th of February we will be in the retrograde shadow. So we have some bonus time to rethink our lives, our goals, our desires, our work, our relationships, the direction in which we are going. In the Aquarian spirit, we can consider how to bring our gifts and talents into service.

Conclusion

Uranus stations direct on January 22nd at 14:56 Taurus. All major planets will be direct until Pluto turns retrograde on May 2nd at 0+ degrees of Aquarius. All this forward motion supports ours. It’s a great time to begin new projects, set new goals, get clear about our destination and what we truly desire to manifest.

The Full Moon will be on February 5th in mid-Leo. Venus moves into Pisces on January 26th where she will be until the next New Moon in Pisces. More themes of love, connectedness and relationship. As the energies shift, take the time to realign with them. Life flows with ease when we are in tune with the cosmos.

There are so many Aquarian themes I didn’t mention. If you want to learn more about this sign check out my newsletter about the Full Moon in Aquarius.