ARIES NEW MOON - 27/28 March 2017

Tuesday 28 March, exact at 3.57am GMT, Monday 27 March, exact at 10.57pm EST

This truly is a Moon of fresh starts and new beginnings, as it is the first New Moon of the astrological year! Aries is the first sign of the zodiac and represents the impulse to start something new and to bravely venture into new territory. The days leading up to the New Moon, while the moon is waning, are a time of purging and letting go of the old so that we can start fresh for the new cycle. You can’t have a beginning without an ending! This is when we get to shed our skins, so to speak, so we can make space for what we want to allow in. This is a time for planting seeds in the form of intentions, because often what starts as a little thought, idea or feeling around the time of the New Moon will gradually grow in our consciousness until it comes to full bloom around the time of the Full Moon. The New Moon is an incredibly potent time for consciously setting intentions for ourselves and this one is no exception. Aries can help free us from the conditioning we received in childhood and the emotional patterns formed then that no longer serve us. Indeed, we may well find that we want to completely bust out of the mould and smash our patterns to smithereens as we realise how restrictive and sabotaging they are becoming!

Aries is the sign of “I am”. Being the first sign of the zodiac, it is very instinctual in nature, acting and reacting on hunches and feelings, very spontaneously and impulsively, without forethought. Aries is the part of us that consciously acts on our soul’s desires, which are often unconscious, thus aligning our personal will with our higher will. On the other hand it can also cause us to do something stupid that is purely reactionary and not in line with our higher purpose at all! The expression “Throwing the baby out with the bathwater” comes to mind here! When I think of Aries I see a flower or plant forcing its way out of the hard ground of winter to greet the Spring sun. It takes a lot of energy, strength and courage to pierce through the darkness and out into the light! Aries is the pioneer in us that can “break new ground”! It represents that part of us that needs the freedom and independence  to explore and discover ourselves and ask questions like” Who am I?” “Why am I here?” “Where am I going?” “What is my destiny?” “Am I on my true path?” Aries is a very independent sign that is very adept at taking care of its own needs. In the extreme it can lead to self-centredness, whereby the needs of others aren’t taken into consideration. Sometimes this is exactly what is needed, however; for us to put ourselves first.

This New Moon could bring up some strong urges in us to make change in our lives and to follow direction we deem necessary to make sure we’re on the right path. We could experience feelings of anger or frustration at whatever situation we find ourselves in and could act quite impulsively, without thinking things through first. We might even throw the baby out with the bathwater! It is possible that we will make a strike for independent action, needing to take care of our own needs and to be a bit selfish.  Aries is very adept at the art of self-love! We could become all too aware of old emotional patterns or behavioural habits that are hindering us instead of helping us. It could be that they are so obvious to us, and that we are so fed up with them that we are somehow able to release them and leave them behind in the dark of the moon.  We could have a very strong feeling that something needs to happen in order for us to grow and we should also have the necessary strength and courage to start the process. We may have an instinctual sense of what we need to do to in order to be true to our own personal path and destiny.

One thing is certain, the energy of Aries is brave, spontaneous, strong, independent, honest and forthright, so we are being asked to have the courage to quite simply be who we are and follow the path or direction that feel right for us, whatever that may be and even if it doesn’t make sense right now. We must trust our instincts! The ruler of Aries is Mars, who is in earthy Taurus at the moment, which is teaching us the art of patience! Before we throw ourselves off the deep end we are invited to pause a little and chew the cud, so to speak. Mars in Taurus encourages us to carefully consider our actions and in aspect to Neptune he invites us to trust our intuition and sixth sense before we make a move or jump too quickly. Mars and Neptune together symbolise inspired action, so this is a good time to turn within for guidance. We must listen to the little voice whispering in our ear and not dismiss it! It could also be that we really want to make something happen but somehow feel held back from doing it immediately. If so, we must simply accept and trust that this is the way it must be, for reasons that will become clear later.

Interestingly enough, Venus, the ruler of Libra, which is the sign directly opposite Aries, is sitting right next to the Sun and Moon in Aries. Not only that, but she is retrograde, which is forcing us to revisit our relationship issues and our values and self-worth. This brings a sense of having to go backwards in order to move forwards. Aries is raring at the bit, wanting us to make changes and have any experience we might need to find out who and what we are, while Venus is asking us to sit back a bit and reflect on our relationship to ourselves and others. How are we holding ourselves back from having successful, fulfilling relationships? What old emotional patterns are still potentially sabotaging our chance of true happiness? How might our lack of self-worth sabotage our relationships and prevent us from drawing towards us all that we want for ourselves? How can we become more adept at the art of Self-Love?  Do we need to be more honest about our true feelings and more assertive about our needs? Or, have we been too self-serving or self-absorbed and neglected the needs of our loved ones? Might we need to resolve a relationship or situation in order to be able to move forward on our true path? What needs to be released in order for us to grow? What, when it comes down to it, is really important to us? It is time to be really honest with ourselves, and by so doing, with our loved ones.

The only aspects to this New Moon come from feminine bodies; Venus, the goddess of Love and Beauty, Juno, the goddess of marriage and loyal, committed relationship, and Black Moon Lilith, the Dark Goddess who brings our shadows into the light. Juno is forming a challenging aspect to the New Moon, which could cause us to question our relationships and whether they are truly meeting our needs or whether they are impeding our growth in some way. With Juno in Capricorn it could be that we feel the need to decide whether they are viable in the long term, or worthy of deeper commitment. The aspect between Black Moon Lilith and the Moon is a helpful, harmonious one, helping us to face our shadows and the parts of ourselves that we know exist but usually find it hard to actually admit to! Lilith can help us to bring our self-defeating patterns or behaviour out into the light of our consciousness so that they lose their power over us. It is amazing how powerful it can be to simply be aware of our sabotaging patterns and where they stem from and to observe how they affect our lives and relationships rather than acting on them unconsciously and allowing them to rule and ruin us! Lilith is in Sagittarius at the moment, which could really cut through to the truth of the matter, in no uncertain terms! It might be quite hard to hide from ourselves during this Moon!

The Sabian symbol for the New Moon at 8° Aries is “A large woman’s hat with streamers blown by an east wind”, which Dane Rudyar describes as “Protection and spiritual guidance in the development of consciousness.” We get the impression that it is rather a strong wind, and as it comes from the spiritualising east it is quite possible that it represents spiritual or psychic forces. The hat is a form of protection, and Rudyar says “Under protective guidance a still most receptive person (a woman) is being influenced by spiritual forces.”  My sense is that while we may feel like we are being knocked about a bit by the wind, or even being blown off course somewhat, or being pushed towards something, we are actually being guided by our higher self and must trust that we are protected and are heading in the right direction. This symbol could symbolise a shift in attitude or direction so it important to pay attention to where we are being prodded. While the wind may be strong, she is a “large woman”, so she is not likely to get knocked over! As such, as with Mars in Taurus, we may feel some strong urges and desires for change but it is important that we stay grounded and not let ourselves get carried away! Patience is key. Not Aries strong point!

“The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind,

The answer is blowing in the wind”

Bob Dylan

Much Love

Amy

xoxo

Picture:  The Winds of Change: Inner Strength 2– Marleen Visser