New Moon, New Season, New Quarter, Now What?
Last night’s New Moon, the Sun, Mercury, and Chiron were all in Aries, the first sign of the Zodiac and the absolute, undeniable ruler of fresh starts and New beginnings. While every New Moon is a chance at a both, a New Moon in the sign that rules them gives you exceptionally powerful opportunities. The tricky part is sometimes they aren’t the ones you had planned on. I am seeing a lot of that this week. Sometimes they were the ones you had planned on, they just didn’t arrive in the package you had expected, or in the timeframe you had anticipated. Times like now.
I am seeing a lot of that this week, too. Sometimes you have more options and opportunities than others. Usually, you have more than you realize; an Aries New Moon makes your ability to see them and put a singular focus on only the best ones very sharp and acute. Aries is the emperor, a sovereign ruler of great strength and power. A New Moon is Aries is famous for clarity and decisiveness. Like it or not, your inner emperor has just handed down your marching orders. Let’s take a look at what this fierce and forceful New Moon has to offer and then find the best way forward.
The Spirit of Aries
Despite the inherent grace of the first New Moon of the 12-month zodiacal cycle, the Aries New Moon is not without its stresses and strains. Here on the material plane, the Aries New Moon usually hits right around the end of the first and the beginning of the second fiscal quarter. Oh, and Tax time. Ouch. As the Moon rules our hearts and our emotions, one of the things that generally happens with this New Moon is we often get really clear – often in bold and bombastic ways – where ours could use a little attention. Or, perhaps, a lot. Aries rules the head. The Moon rules the heart. Aries rules the divine male archetype. The Moon rules the more feminine archetype of love – especially the unconditional love of a mother. One of the biggest opportunities now is simply for greater integration.
First, we get clear and then we make peace with it.
As Aries rules aspects of your identity, another overarching theme of this New Moon is exploring and expanding your understanding of yourself as a soul. What gifts did you come here to share with the world? What are your life lessons and personal liabilities? How are they related, and how do you feel about them? Are they integrated within you? Where are you totally connected to yourself and where do you need support?
Each sign governs a broad realm of qualities and characteristics, experiences, people, places and things. A masculine, cardinal, fire sign—and ruled by Mars—the realm of Aries is strong and fierce, brave, and bold. Aries can be counted on to lead any charge, to be the first over the wall. As the first sign of the zodiac, Aries rules the developmental-age range of conception to two-years-old. On a bad day, Aries is self-oriented and self-absorbed—it is not known for being self-or situationally-aware. Like its constellation, the ram, Aries is famous for throwing itself up against things it can break with its hard, hard head—or at least bend to its iron will.
But on a good day, Aries has all the intrepid zeal of trailblazers, immigrants and pioneers: those who are absolutely certain that what they are leaving for is infinitely better than what they are leaving behind. Aries rules the confidence of a toddler in a superhero costume: eyes wide open, heart full of wonder, fearing nothing, finding joy in every moment, fully cognizant that each one can yield yet another epic discovery.
Let’s make it a good day.
Not an Aries? No worries. Everyone has Aries somewhere in their natal chart. If you don't already know where yours is, now is a good time to find out. And here's why: where Aries lives in your natal chart is where you are brave, fearless, and absolutely hell bent on carrying your karma forward, healing your deepest wounds, and expressing your greatest gifts. Not in a megalomaniacal, narcissistic way; but in a way that demonstrates a healthy grasp of the delicate interplay between self and other.
The 12-month cycle that begins at the Aries new moon is far more spiritual in nature than the cycle that began at midwinter. During this coming cycle, you are poised to take off, clear out, and clean up whatever your next layer of karma is. A hint: be prepared for something big.
The tricky thing about karma is that there are so many different kinds of it. There is karma with people, places and things; karma with concepts and ideas; with land; with money, wealth and power. Most importantly, now, is karma with souls: groups of souls and individual souls, and with your own soul. The single most important new beginning is with yourself as a soul, and as how you express your soul as an individual human this lifetime.
For this spring and the coming year, give yourself permission to focus on the latter. Take this massive opportunity to fully identify, understand, and release bits of your deepest wound—the things that keep you from integrating the masculine and feminine aspects of your psyche and your soul. For only in full harmony can you express your greatest gifts.
Aries is a trailblazer, a change agent, a pioneer. But not everything is yours to change, discover, or explore. One of the biggest challenges of this time of year lives in the heart of the Serenity Prayer: changing the things you can, accepting the things you cannot, and knowing the difference. Remember, the answers lie in your faith, not in your intellect or your physical strength. So don’t skimp on your prayers, meditations, and spiritual best practices. Listen, lean in, and rise to the occasion—or at least find some way to start listing in that general direction. And if you get stuck, call me. We’ll figure it out.
Calendar
Following are some dates to be mindful of and some generic wisdom about them.
March 27 – Mercury into Aries
March 31 – New Moon in Aries; Cesar Chavez Day
April 5 – Venus into Pisces
April 10 – Mercury into Taurus; Siblings Day; Palm Sunday
April 14 – Mars into Pisces, Maundy Thursday, End of Lent
April 15 – Good Friday; Pesach/Passover – The Festival of Liberation – begins at Sunset; both the 25-day Mercury retrograde prelude and the 15-day Eclipse prelude periods begin.
April 16 – Full Moon in Libra: Hare Moon, Pink Moon, the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Growing Moon, the Egg Moon, the Fish Moon, and the Paschal Moon
April 17 – Easter Sunday
April 19 – Sun into Taurus
April 23 – Pesach/Passover – The Festival of Liberation – ends
April 29 – Pluto retrogrades at 28° Capricorn, Mercury into Gemini
April 30 – New Moon in Taurus, Partial Solar Eclipse
Everybody’s natal (birth) chart is different. These differences reflect our individual souls—their journeys and evolution, their triumphs and their tragic flaws. As such, the specific impact of each of the following dates will hit each person differently. But there are some general themes.
Holy days, holidays, and astrological transits are opportunities for us to experience grace. But remember how grace happens: sometimes it comes through discomfort. The gifts aren’t always immediately apparent. All of the days on this list ask you to be more compassionate with yourself and others, to try and be more awake, and to be more open to synchronicity and messages from Spirit. On days when more than one astrological event, holiday or holy day occurs, know that the power of that day will be even more profound. The more events in a day, the more powerful that day is, and the more intentional you should be.
Again, in general, Full Moons are a good time for ending things, wrapping things up, conclusions, and closure. New Moons are opportune times for new beginnings: starting a new chapter of some aspect of your life, tackling a new project, or launching something new. Retrogrades are always about slowing down and paying more attention to aspects of your creative, spiritual, and social lives. The eclipses always reveal; sometimes it is something others have hidden from you, sometimes it is things you have hidden from yourself. Usually, it is a little bit of both. To go deeper, look to the planetary signs and the houses they fall in, and, of course, to your natal chart. Or give me a call. I can help you with that.
Retreats, Rituals, Services, Ceremonies, and Journeys
Choosing the best day or days for your sacred event is a very personal thing. You have to feel your way into it. But there are some generic rules that can help you in your decision-making process. Full Moons and New Moons are considered the best. Holidays and holy days are as well. Full Moons and New Moons that occur during or over a period of holidays and holy days are extraordinarily powerful.
Factor in a retrograde or two and you pretty much cannot avoid leveling up and becoming a much more masterful magician. Especially around anything that has to do with your faith, your trust in it, your ability to serve your faith and serve with it. Seriously.
With that in mind, your best days in the next month for deep, transformational experiences are the following: March 31, April 5, 10, 14 - 17, 19, 22-23, and 29 – May 1.