AQUARIUS NEW MOON – 18 February 2015

Exact at 11.47pm GMT, 6.47pm EST!

Here we have the second Aquarius New Moon of the year, which is quite unusual, hence the phrase, “Once in a blue moon”! The first occurred in the very first degree of Aquarius, while this one is in the very last degree and minute of Aquarius! The Moon will pass into Pisces literally 10 seconds after the New Moon is exact and the Sun will enter Pisces two and a half minutes later! This New Moon is holding on in Aquarius by the skin of its teeth! As it is in the final degree, there is a sense of completion to this New Moon, as well as new beginnings. You can’t have a beginning without an ending of some kind. This is a time to contemplate what we need to leave behind in the dark of the moon in order to move forward and grow. It is also a time to set new, healthy intentions and plant seeds that will bear fruit when the Moon is full.

This Moon is also a perigee Super Moon, which means that it is very close indeed to the earth and will have a stronger effect than usual on both the tides and our spirits. We are made up of about 80% water, so it makes sense that it would affect us as well! This New Moon also marks the beginning of the Chinese year of the Wood Goat. The Wood Goat is a gentle, empathetic, peace loving humanitarian creature and this year could bring a focus on how we can all help and take care of each other. Big questions such as how we provide for children and the elderly could come more into focus. Combined with the element of wood, this could be a year of more truths being spoken and moving forward with the extreme issues which are affecting humanity. This is an ideal time for some inner work and according to a well-informed acupuncturist friend of mine it is very important to take care of our liver this year which also involves watching our alcohol consumption.

The Sun and Moon are forming their monthly union once again in the eccentric, forward thinking and innovative sign of Aquarius. Aquarius is the visionary who dreams of a better future for us all and who comes up with some quite unique and off the wall ideas that challenge the status quo! Aquarius stands for liberty, equality and brotherhood and longs for a world based on these principles rather than one driven by power, corruption and greed. This New Moon is a good time to set some intentions for ourselves and the planet to help create a better world to live in. What vision do we have of our future? This is the time to contemplate what that is and plants the necessary seeds to make it happen! Aquarius is the rebel, the revolutionary, the non-conformist. He thinks outside of the box and receives messages and insights like bolts from the blue. We should use the energy of Aquarius, the master of detachment, to look objectively at our lives, viewing them from a different perspective altogether. For some reason we are getting a double dose of this Aquarian energy, calling us to challenge our status quo and free ourselves of any stagnant energy. During this moon we may find ourselves having some kind of epiphany or realisation as to where we are stuck and how to move past our blocks.  

The Sun and Moon are forming aspects to both Pluto and Uranus and are actually sitting smack, bang on top of the midpoint between the two planets. This brings the energy of the Pluto Uranus square into focus, forcing us out of our comfort zones and challenging the structure of our lives. We are about to experience the last of 7 squares between these two planets, which will be exact on 17 March, so the energy is building now. The squares have been exposing their flaws and tearing down societal power structures so that something more appropriate can take their place. On a personal level we have been pushed to step into our true potential, stripping away any habits, relationships, situations or patterns that might be holding us back from being all that we can be. This is, and has been, a somewhat unsettling process, as we step into the truth of who we are rather than the person we think we ought to be. The word “authenticity” has had a lot of air play in the past couple of years, but this is what we have been asked to move towards – being authentic, real and utterly true to ourselves. The old rules don’t apply anymore and we are now feeling our way around in this new, unfamiliar territory and way of being. There is no going back, however, and this last square will be the last push to strip away any unhealthy patterns and ways of being that simply no longer serve the people we are becoming.

So, finally, the last of the Pluto Uranus squares draws near, ending a profoundly transforming process which has its roots in the Sixties when Pluto and Uranus formed a conjunction in Virgo and brought about much social unrest, change and revolution.  As this process draws to a close, we have a new square starting to form. Saturn in Sagittarius is challenging Neptune in Pisces and the two planets will form a loose square this February and then a series of three exact squares in November 2015, June 2016 and September 2016. This loose square is a taste of things to come and involves two very different energies indeed! We have Saturn, the planet of structure, discipline, control, reality, commitment and limitation coming up against Neptune, the planet of faith, fantasy, dreams, imagination and illusion. This is quite a clash! Both Saturn and Neptune are forming aspects to this New Moon, so the energy is very prevalent at this time.

Neptune is the planet which dissolves boundaries, reminding us that we are all one. Saturn creates boundaries and structures. We could find that boundaries become blurred, both in our personal lives and between countries. Societal structures and rigid belief systems could be gradually weakened and dissolved by Neptune’s gentle, compassionate influence. This combination could also produce melancholy and paralysis through irrational fear, which is something to be aware of. Free floating anxiety and gloominess is a possibility during this time. We could become more aware of our blind spots, shortcomings and weaknesses at this time so it is important to be open and honest with ourselves rather than remaining in denial. While Neptune is prone to living in fantasy land and likes to find ways to escape reality and come up with impractical dreams, Saturn is the voice of reason and could shine the harsh light of reality on Neptune’s veil of illusion. We could find ourselves having to think realistically about our dreams as Saturn bursts the proverbial bubble! Any tendency that we might have to bury our heads in the sand and live in denial could be challenged during this time. Disillusionment is also possible.

Saturn in Sagittarius symbolises rigid, traditional belief systems, while Neptune in Pisces is very fluid and represents collective consciousness in which we are all one; unified and connected by something bigger than ourselves. Our faith could well be tested when these two planets confront each other in the heavens! Reality (Saturn) could morph (Neptune) and societal structures could dissolve, creating more of a sense of unity. Indeed, we could lose faith altogether in those who have authority over us.  It definitely feels like Pluto and Uranus are passing the baton onto Saturn and Neptune and that this is the continuation of an important process. What we have here is a battle between social and religious structure of Saturn in Sagittarius and the unifying spiritual connection of Neptune who reminds us that we are all essentially the same. One Love.  This square could well help destroy the illusion of separation. The energy could definitely go both ways, as Saturn challenging Neptune could create shattered illusions, dashed hopes and people being forced out of a state of denial, while Neptune challenging Saturn could dissolve boundaries and structures, cause faith and unconditional love to force us out of limiting beliefs, and could also mean reality becoming very blurred. This square has been building for the last week or so and will start waning in the next few days so this is merely a taste of things to come later this year.

In the meantime we have the trine between Jupiter and Uranus growing in strength, reminding us that anything is possible and creating sudden opportunities to grow and shine. This is a very positive and hopeful aspect indeed but, as with all trines, it is important to make the most of any opportunities that come our way and recognise what might be being offered to us. Jupiter is also the focus of a Yod (Finger of God) involving Chiron, the Wounded Healer, and Pluto in Chiron. This is a wonderful opportunity to exorcise some demons and heal some very deep wounds which might be holding us back from moving forward.  Pluto and Chiron are encouraging us to dig deep and unearth some very old, buried hurt. As they are both pointing the finger at Jupiter in Leo, it could be a great time for doing some work to heal our inner child, thus enabling it to shine again in all its glory. It may be a bit painful and somewhat uncomfortable, but any healing work done at this time could reap amazing rewards.

The Sabian symbol for this New Moon is “"Deeply Rooted In The Past Of A Very Ancient Culture, A Spiritual Brotherhood In Which Many Individual Minds Are Merged Into The Glowing Light Of A Unanimous Consciousness Is Revealed To One Who Has Emerged Successfully From His Metamorphosis". Wow. This is a very special New Moon, methinks. There is a sense of unified consciousness and some old wisdom and information coming through that is for everyone, to be shared, belonging to no-one. We have certainly been going through a metamorphosis over the past couple of years with this Pluto Uranus Square! This symbol speaks of the Aquarian ideal of brotherhood, where we are not self-serving but rather contributing to something far bigger than ourselves. That is something to consider during this New Moon, how we fit in to the bigger picture and what we have to offer the whole. This may not be a very comfortable Moon, as we could find ourselves feeling a bit unsettled with the Pluto Uranus energy rattling our cages. If this is the case it might be a good idea to contemplate what needs to change and what we might need to release that is no longer serving us. We must take advantage of this last burst of Aquarian energy and take a long, hard look at ourselves and our blind spots with objectivity, honesty and detachment. Then we will know what we need to let go of in order to move forward.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Much love

Amy

xoxo