ARIES NEW MOON/SOLAR ECLIPSE - 8 April 2024

 

Exact at 7.20pm UK time (BST)

This is a much talked about and much anticipated New Moon that brings the potential for a fresh start, a clean slate and a new chapter beginning. It feels like a pivotal moment, as we transition into a new way of being. Aries is the first sign of the zodiac and brings to mind a seed that has been germinating and is now beginning to shoot out of the ground in search of the sunlight. Aries is the part of us that has the courage to start fresh, to explore new territory, and to prioritise ourselves and our needs. Combine a New Moon in the first sign of the zodiac with a total Eclipse, and we certainly have a recipe for a big shift, especially in the realm of our relationships.

For the past couple of weeks, since the last Eclipse on 25 March, we have been in the “Eclipse window” which is an incredibly potent time energetically that has given us the opportunity to clear away anything that is not serving our highest good so that we are ready for whatever is to come next. For many of us, the clear out has been quite brutal! It is quite likely that whatever is coming next will be unlike anything we have experienced before, which is why it is so important to clear the decks in order to open ourselves up for the new energy to come in. Our relationships in particular have been tested in recent times, and some have needed to end in order to make way for the new chapter.

Eclipses activate the Nodal axis, and the Nodes of the Moon are currently in Libra and Aries, the relationship axis. With the South Node in Libra and the North Node in Aries, we are encouraged to let go of any tendency we may have to acquiesce, or to compromise ourselves, or to avoid rocking the boat for the sake of keeping the peace, or to turn a blind eye to issues because we are afraid of losing a relationship. Aries is the part of us that knows that we are better off being alone than in a toxic relationship or a relationship that doesn’t serve our highest good and truly enhance our lives. Aries encourages us to be brave, honest, direct, forthright and candid about our true feelings, even if it is scary, unfamiliar and brings the risk of losing the relationship. Aries asks for us to be true to ourselves and to honour our needs, and this Eclipse window has been helping us to free ourselves from any unhealthy or unhelpful patterns within our relationships.    

With the Eclipses occurring during Aries season, we have had the potential for really putting the cards on the table, so that they are in full view and everyone knows exactly where they stand. It is far better to be honest and clear about our feelings and to leave no room for ambiguity or mixed signals. Chiron the Wounded healer has also been a very big part of this Eclipse season, bringing our core wounds to the surface to be examined, honoured and hopefully healed.  Chiron is in the exact same degree, as the Sun and Moon during this eclipse, which could prove painful as it forces us to confront old wounds and our deepest insecurities but can also bring a massive amount of healing and help us to connect with our higher purpose. Again, honesty and courage are being called for here, and we might have to call a spade a spade and to do what is right for us, even if it does bring pain or discomfort.

Interestingly, Venus, the planet of relating and the ruler of the Libra South Node, has recently entered Aries as well, which also calls for an honest, direct kind of relating which could even bring a good dose of tough love, whereby everybody knows where they stand. Venus is forming a supportive sextile to Pluto during this Moon, which makes perfect sense as it brings the potential for some shedding and some real emotional honesty that truly penetrates to the heart of the matter. Pluto can be ruthless and helps us to confront issues that we would usually prefer to shy away from because it’s too hard. Combined with Venus can help us to bare our souls to one another, exposing our tender, vulnerable underbellies. It can also help us to let go of whatever, ultimately, is not serving the highest good of all.

This Moon does seem to be calling for radical honesty, starting with us being honest with ourselves. It feels like we are somehow being prompted into a new way of being in relationship. So much is being stripped away during this Eclipse season, preparing us for this new chapter. This Venus Pluto sextile will be exact on Saturday 6 April, preparing us for this Eclipse, but will still be strong on the day of the New Moon. Anyone with personal planets or angles around 1 or 2° of a sign will feel its energy most acutely, especially those in Aquarius or Aries.

Mars, the ruler of Aries, is in a strange place during this Moon, which could make direct action somewhat difficult. Mars is in dreamy, sensitive Pisces and is also sitting next to Saturn, which could have a bit of a delaying effect, asking us to be patient. Mars in Pisces is not exactly a recipe for direct, motivated action, and could bring a desire to somehow “numb out”, not to mention that our sleep could be a bit disturbed and our dreams very active, making it a bit harder to function! It can help us to act from a place of compassion, empathy and sensitivity but could also mean that anger comes out in strange, indirect ways. Mars and Saturn are good for disciplined, focused action and laying foundations, but could also mean that we somehow feel blocked from acting. However, maybe the time to act is not now. Maybe we are being asked to wait until the time is right.

This conjunction will be exact on Wednesday 10 April, and anyone with personal planets or angles close to 14° of a sign, especially the mutable signs of Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces will feel its energy the strongest. On another level, Mars and Saturn could involve force or aggression being used for control by those in authority, which could have an impact on the collective. Chiron in Aries has also been associated with war, historically.

Just to add to the soup, Mercury is retrograde, also in Aries! As always, this is a time for going back over old ground, checking nothing has been missed, reflecting, rewriting, reviewing and revisiting if need be. Mercury joined up with Chiron on 20 March and now is working its way back towards its second conjunction of 15 April, with the third and final pass occurring on 7 May. We have a chance, with this conjunction, to consciously understand our core wounds and any sabotaging patterns these wounds bring with them, in a way that we have not been able to before. It can bring some very honest, direct and potentially painful conversations that can ultimately help us to be more aware of ourselves and can help us to heal. We all have our blind spots, and sometimes it can be really helpful for someone else to point them out to us, even if it is uncomfortable!

The 2nd Mercury Chiron conjunction will occur on 15 April, and those of us with personal planets or angles around 20° of the cardinal signs Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn will feel its impact most strongly. Lucky me, my natal Chiron is 20° Aries!

The Sabian symbol for this New Moon/Eclipse, at 20° Aries, is an interesting one: “A young girl feeding birds in winter”, which Dane Rudyar describes as “Overcoming crises through compassion. Nature’s seasonal rhythms imply an oscillation between living and dying. Through creative imagination man can “fly over” the cycle and discover means not only to escape from the fatality of seasonal decay or deprivation, but to assist other living entities to survive through crises. Migrating birds fly south (symbol of Aries 12), but by establishing a partnership with other creatures unable to escape wintry deprivation or death, man can maintain the life of the spirit (symbolised by birds) steady through all cries if, like a “young girl,” he is widely open to the promptings of love and sympathy. With this symbol we witness human activity motivated by sympathy overcoming the seasonal phase of impotency. Life potency in nature spirits reaches a higher level in the human being. The theme is THE TRANSMUTATION OF LIFE INTO LOVE”.

Love is the answer! This symbol brings to mind Mars in Pisces, which really does bring the potential for acting from a place of love and compassion. I am sure there is a good reason why the ruling planet of this New Moon happens to be in such a sensitive, gentle, empathetic sign, rather than a more forceful, direct one! It is as if our actions are being guided by something much bigger than ourselves.

There is no doubt that this is an incredibly powerful Eclipse season. The past couple of weeks have been very intense, and much has been cleared away and stripped back in preparation for new growth and this new chapter. We are called to be brave, curious, honest and open to what might come next. It feels like we are going through an upgrade, and on 21 April we also have the long-awaited Jupiter Uranus conjunction, which also has the potential for bringing an expansion of consciousness, so these are exciting times! The New Earth is forming, which is unlike anything we have known before, so we must simply let go of the past and any preconceived notions of what might be coming, opening ourselves up to new possibilities and asking to be shown the way forward. And don’t look back!

Much Love

Amy

xoxo

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Artwork: New Life by Amy Bird

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