Wednesday’s New Moon in Aries – Full Speed Ahead

The New Moon – the darkest time of the month – is typically an energetic low-point, when we feel called to slow down, turn inward and deeply reflect on what we’ve created and where we want to go next.

This one feels a little different. I’m so amped-up I barely slept last night (granted, that post-dinner chocolate brownie wasn’t the wisest choice), and, like a lot of people, I’ve got several projects demanding my attention. There’s just a lot going on, as we might expect with six planets in fiery, passionate, full-speed-ahead Aries.

According to my astro-super-heroine Jan Spiller, author of New Moon Astrology, the Aries New Moon (Wednesday, 2:35 am PDT) is the most important New Moon of the year. Why? Because Aries is the first sign of the zodiac and all about new beginnings, and the Aries New Moon is the first New Moon of the astrological new year, which started at Spring Equinox. In other words, this is a super-powerful time to set intentions for what you want, and to harness this creative energy to make a new start.

The role of the first sign is to be the pioneer, the leader, the catalyst. It takes a lot of energy, and no small amount of courage, to initiate a new direction. Whenever we start something new, we don’t know what exactly is going to happen, how it’s all going to play out. There’s some trial and error involved, we’ll probably make mistakes, and we might even get hurt along the way. Since there’s no map to follow, we have to trust our instincts, which means being very present in our bodies.

This year’s Aries New Moon closely conjoins with Mars – planet of action, passion and assertion and the ruler of Aries – strong in his home sign and amping up the go-go-go intensity. Venus in Aries is also part of the New Moon party, bringing in the theme of honoring our desires as an act of self-love and self-worth.

Eris, one of the recently-discovered planets out in Pluto’s vicinity (the Kuiper Belt), also plays a key role at the New Moon, in a tight conjunction with the Sun, Moon, Mars and Venus. Eris is the Goddess of discord and chaos, but she only acts as a disruptive force when we reject and disown those parts of ourselves that we think are ugly, unworthy, uncool. This New Moon asks us to embrace ALL of who we are, and to make a new start that honors our true selves, wartiness and all. (Eric Francis has more to say about Eris’s involvement in the New Moon here.)

This New Moon also launches us into Eclipse Season – a high-pressure period of accelerated change. What has been submerged in the subconscious erupts into awareness, and developments that have been brewing behind the scenes are catalyzed into motion. Eclipses most commonly come in pairs, but this time we’re blessed with three:  a Scorpio Lunar Eclipse on April 25, a Taurus Solar Eclipse on May 9, and a Sagittarius Lunar Eclipse on May 24. Oh yeah, and the energy is also building toward the third exact square between Uranus and Pluto on May 20, just for some added stimulation.

Since this is such an important New Moon, you will want to set some intentions, make some wishes, do some magic. Which does require hitting the pause button for long enough to tune in, feel where your vital life force energy is calling you, and write down what you want to create with all this available cosmic energy.

Jan Spiller recommends writing down no more than 10 wishes for each New Moon. And, word to the wise, your optimal time for writing down intentions is on Wednesday between 2:35-9:25 am Pacific Time, or after 8:22 pm. (From 9:25 am to 8:22 pm on Wednesday the Moon will be void-of-course – which I don’t have time to explain, but trust me, don’t make wishes while it’s happening.)

If you have a copy of your birth chart and some astro-technical know-how, you can get more insight into what this New Moon means for YOU by finding the house that contains 20 degrees of Aries. (Here’s a previous post where I explained how to do that.)  The areas of life signified by that house are where you are invited to:  connect with your instincts and identify your authentic desires; welcome the disowned parts of yourself that you may have previously left out of the party; take the risk of initiating a brave new direction.

(p.s. In accord with the uber-Aries energy [and with the reality of my limited time], that was the fastest post I’ve ever written, so please forgive any un-Virgoan sloppiness.)

– Emily Trinkaus

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