A Liberating New Moon + Solar Eclipse in Aquarius

Reclaiming personal freedom and Liberating our most authentic self.   

This is what the new moon at 27° Aquarius asks us to attempt. On February 15th, the Sun and Moon conjoin for their monthly meeting, rising together in the morning and setting together in the evening. They spill the secrets of things yet to come and encourage life on earth to reset for the month ahead. This dark moon in Aquarius holds special importance, for it’s also a partial solar eclipse. This solar eclipse serves as the action oriented counterpart to the emotions that began stirring back on the lunar eclipse on January 31st. Eclipses always occur in pairs. Events that occur around this time begin to set the tone of the next six months, until the next eclipse series begins in July 2018. Look around your chart and see if you have any points at 27°, for this eclipse will be directly affecting that planet and area of life. 

During a solar eclipse the moon obstructs a portion of the sun and for a brief moment the moon reigns supreme, darkening the solar essence. Eclipses are inherently emotional, as the very presence of the phenomena comes as somewhat of a natural disruption. Can you imagine how people thousands of years ago must have reacted to this frightening occurrence, when their life giving sun was suddenly swallowed into the darkness of the moon? Eclipses itself have been heralded as an omen for centuries, but good and bad are often two sides of the same coin. Eclipses are wildcards. They rush things into our lives and they occasionally pull the rug out from under us. Embrace any changes that stir within you or any actions outside of your control that take place at this time. Most often, abrupt endings or changes can help pave the way for growth and new beginnings.

This Aquarius new moon and solar eclipse is conjunct the tiny communicator planet Mercury, entangling the winged messenger’s own story into our eclipse tale. Our thoughts, ideas, and speech get sucked into the vortex. It’s time to use our voices and breathe life into our unique visions and ideas. We should let our minds meander into a more meditative state now, and a less media-induced one. This new moon promises aid to those writing out their personal perspectives as well as speaking their truths. The new moon is also in a positive aspect to change-bringer Uranus, allowing for new opportunities, if one only reach out and grab them. Uranus can aid in breaking out of our own ruts, if we only trust the process and embrace newness.

Last but not least, this new moon features action-oriented Mars and disorienting Neptune in a square. This may mean that actions taken at this time may be done haphazardly or with confusion. While new moons are often great times to plant seeds of intention, we may need to hesitate awhile before taking any firm action. Mars/Neptune can weaken energies and make us susceptible to tiredness. We can also fall prey to escapism through substances as an outlet instead of exercising our bodies physically to release. The ideas and goals we hold in our minds for this new moon may This new moon would be best spent doing some yin yoga, meditative thought, and writing. Giving your mind a good rinse is key with this eclipse, for it's time to throw out whatever doesn’t need to be floating around needlessly in your brain. Meditation and calming the mind is truly a discipline, which is fitting see as Aquarius is traditionally ruled by the master of self-control, Saturn.

Valentines Day and Venus in Pisces

Ah, love is in the air. I’ve often wondered why the ever mushy and materialistic Valentines day takes place in the middle of airy Aquarius season. In my understanding, the Aquarius archetype typically takes a much more detached, unemotional, unbound, and open minded approach to our modern day vision of “love”. The warm, overly romantic, and indulgent essence of Valentines day seems much more like a Leo holiday, the sign opposite of Aquarius. It wasn’t until I decided to read a little backstory on Saint Valentine himself that I began to see the true Aquarian underpinnings of this holiday. 

Apparently, Saint Valentine was a priest who married lovers in secret when the Roman empire decided to place a ban on marriages in an effort to encourage men to join the army and steer them away from having wives and families. St. Valentine thought this was bullshit and continued to secretly wed people, defying the Empire’s decree. Ultimately, the Roman empire found out about his treasonous actions and beheaded St. Valentine on Feb 14th. “Now Thats What I Call Aquarius, vol. 1”. The very essence of Aquarius is the anti-establishment martyr! Aquarius always faces hardship and judgment for staying true to themselves and for always holding down the dream of what’s best for mankind, even if it means being beheaded for believing that people should do whatever the hell they want. 

What does help us warm up to Valentines day this year is the entrance of lovely Venus into dreamy Pisces, as of Feb 10. Venus in Pisces is considered to be exalted, and exaltation gives a planet added power and strength to do whatever that planet does best. Venus is our relationship planet and she’s known for warmly bringing people together for a good time. So why does Venus function so strongly in Pisces? When Venus is in Pisces, she can bring this loving relationship factor to the whole world. Pisces represents the ether and the ocean that ties us all together. Pisces is a place of return. It’s an ending, a death, a connection back to source. Here, Venus can share her love and beauty with all, interconnecting all of us together to find a higher truth and brotherly love.

Venus in Pisces makes us all a bit more idealistic about what we want our relationships to look like.  She encourages us to write poetry, write songs, get creative and playful. Venus in Pisces is a deeply creative time, in terms of building a relationship or making your own art for yourself. Venus will remain in the sign of the two fish until March 6th, so use this time wisely to get in touch with your art, your lover, or both! We can all step into the sea of love now, partner or no partner. We can get in touch with love in it’s most basic form. Friendship, family, partners, animals, kindness.. the list goes on. Tap into your source of love and disregard the structured, societal dances of false affections.

The Planetary Picture: February

Happy February everyone! Aquarius season is well underway, with the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and the south node currently inhabiting the sign of the water bearer. Our hearts and minds are geared towards delving deeper into the collective consciousness, as we ponder how we each as individuals fit into the larger picture of our society. Aquarius is a fixed air sign, meaning its job is to maintain and stabilize the rest of the season, as a fixed sign, and to turn us away from our emotions and towards the detached rationale and logic of the mind, as an air sign. Aquarius energy longs for us to connect with one another, to create friendships, to join groups, and to come hand in hand with humanity. Aquarius also represents the ever unique, non-conformist in all of us. When we can openly embrace our wild inner weird, we can embrace the most authentic versions of ourselves. This is what Aquarian energy asks of us.

Meanwhile, as the freedom-loving, humanitarian Aquarian parade marches on, Saturn and Pluto continue to trudge through Capricorn. Saturn here asks us to stand firmly behind our convictions, to pursue our goals with diligence, and to be utterly self reliant. Pluto has been in Capricorn for the last 10 years, tackling societal taboos around power and control. These two planetary heavy hitters will stay in Capricorn’s realm for some time to come, flushing out further issues of government, abuse of power, and perceived authority in our society. Jupiter, the planet of spiritual and psychological growth, continues to move forward through the depths of Scorpio. Jupiter in Scorpio has been assisting in the ongoing exposure of sexual taboo and abuse in our society, revealing that sexuality is where we need to place our focus, in order for us all to achieve some deeper healing.

Mars, having freshly entered Sagittarius, finds himself in a more loud and rowdy position than in quiet, suppressive Scorpio. Mars primarily gives us the gifts of energy, action, and self assertion. Mars’ stay in Sagittarius offers us the wherewithal to tackle uncharted territory, to dream big, and to explore spirituality and philosophy. We have stronger faith in our beliefs and ideals at this time, which can help in taking physical action towards accomplishing our more lofty goals. Mars in Sagittarius can also have us believing that whatever we think to be true must be true for all, potentially making us a little unrelenting when it comes to hearing other people’s points of view. Hopefully we can all tap into the abundance of thoughtful, observant Aquarius energy to work hand in hand, instead of fist and fist! 

Wildcard Lunar Eclipse In Leo

On January 31st, we are graced with the first eclipse of the new year, a Full Moon Lunar Eclipse at 11° Leo. Lunar eclipses are like full moons on crack. They’re often emotionally turbulent and act as strong internal catalysts for change. Solar eclipses often bring on events outside of ourselves or our direct control, where lunar eclipses plant the idea of our next move through our thoughts and feelings about the current situation. This eclipse ties back to the Solar Eclipse of August 21st, 2017. Whatever actions or events that took place around August of last year are now beginning to bear fruit and may require some necessary adjustments. Lunar eclipses are primarily active on an internal level, so take a good hard look around your inner landscape. Whatever hints are being revealed to you at this time likely hold the plan for your next step. This can be a strongly emotional time for everyone, so try to allow for space and patience with yourself and others. Our best judgement may not be employed at this time and it’s ideal to keep a light schedule of things can get a little hectic. Eclipses can make us all a little wonky and feel a little crazy, as they usher in a period of rapid change and growth.

Not all eclipses are created equal! Some pass by with little to no notice while others seem to usher in an entire new set of life circumstances. This is because in order for an eclipse to be specifically important to you, it needs to be activating a planet in your chart. For example, this eclipse degree occurs at 11° of the Leo/Aquarius axis. Look around your chart and see if any of your planets or points are around 10,11,12° degrees, for this indicates that there will be activity surrounding this planet. If on this go around nothing in your chart is particularly active, simply keep an eye on the houses that the eclipse is occurring in for you, wherever Leo/Aquarius falls. This will still be an area of ongoing activity, though it may appear to be more subtle than if it were activating a planet. We’ve all been learning lessons from the Leo/Aquarius axis since last May. Leo and Aquarius themes represent: The individuals expression vs. The collectives expression, Personal Love vs. Detached Love, Spontaneous Creativity and Collective Creation. We’re learning to find our individual place in our society. We’re learning to surrender our personal egos to for greater good. We’re also bringing our personal creative vision into building the future world before us. This is what the Leo/Aquarius axis is all about. 

Look below and read for your Rising Sign to see what areas of life will be activated by this eclipse for you!

Aries Rising- 5th/11th Houses activity- Romance, Creativity, Friendships, Groups, Self Expression.

Taurus Rising- 4th/10th Houses activity- Home, Family, Parents, Career, Reputation, Recognition

Gemini Rising- 3rd/9th House activity- Education, Siblings, Neighborhood, Mind, Spirituality, Religion, Travel

Cancer Rising- 2nd/8th House activity- Values, Income, Property, Finances, Loans, Debts, Inheritance

Leo Rising- 1st/7th House activity- Body, Self Image, Appearance, Relationships, One on Ones, Marriage 

Virgo Rising-6th/12th House activity- Health, Employment, Coworkers, Employees, Solitude, Retreats, Restoration

Libra Rising- 5th/11th Houses activity- Romance, Creativity, Friendships, Groups, Self Expression.

Scorpio Rising- 4th/10th Houses activity- Home, Family, Parents, Career, Reputation, Recognition

Sagittarius Rising- 3rd/9th House activity- Education, Siblings, Neighborhood, Mind, Spirituality, Religion, Travel

Capricorn Rising- 2nd/8th House activity- Values, Income, Property, Finances, Loans, Debts, Inheritance

Aquarius Rising- 1st/7th House activity- Body, Self Image, Appearance, Relationships, One on Ones, Marriage 

Pisces Rising- 6th/12th House activity- Health, Employment, Coworkers, Employees, Solitude, Retreats, Restoration

Potent New Moon in Capricorn

☉☽  Today marks a most potent first new moon of 2018, with the Sun and Moon aligning at 26° Capricorn. It’s time to reach beyond our envisioned boundaries. It’s time to make a fool of our fears. If you haven’t fully committed yet to your new years resolutions, don’t be discouraged! This new moon actually marks the best time to begin getting focused and organized towards accomplishing those goals we decided on a few weeks ago. On New Years day we had a full moon in Cancer, in which emotional activity was heightened and the issues of our current situations highlighted and on display. Full moons aren’t an ideal time to begin a new regimen, for they’re more geared towards awareness and illumination. New moons on the other hand are all about new beginnings, and they’re flavored by whatever sign they take place in. Today’s new moon takes place in Capricorn, a sign dedicated to fulfilling it’s personal journey and accomplishing it’s greatest dreams. Today is the real day for creating and enacting your plan for the year to come. 

The moon is dark in the sky, waiting patiently to be painted with light and infused with energy for the goals that lie ahead. With the new moon in earthy and material Capricorn, it’s super important for us to write our intentions down on paper. Capricorn is a realistic and down to earth sign, so wishy-washy goals that float about in our minds don’t stand a chance of lasting here. Write down what matters, make it physical and concrete. Put it somewhere you will frequently notice as a reminder to yourself. Capricorn energy is all about learning to cultivate self-discipline and autonomy. Plant your seeds and set your intentions, for we will reap what we sow this year, and we’re gonna need a lot of plain old hard work to do it. Currently 6 planets reside in the sign of Capricorn, making the energy of the sky lop-sided and simultaneously hyper focused on the energy this sign represents. This abundance of planets in the zodiac’s only Cardinal Earth sign tips the scales for all of us, as we’re asked to really hone in on our ability to commit to hard work and personal ambition. Believing in ourselves and our journey in life becomes increasingly paramount. 

Whatever planets the new moon is in contact with flavors the month ahead and tells us where to look for upcoming themes. This new moon features close contacts with Venus, Mars, Chiron, and Uranus- making this a potentially emotionally charged and romantically flavored time for healing and growth. The new moon is conjunct the planet of love and relationship, Venus, which imbues the month ahead with a strong focus on relationship energy. This conjunction suggests our intimate relationships and values play a bigger role than average over the next month. The new moon also forms a sextile to Mars, our ability to self assert ourselves, and Chiron, our ability to heal our wounds. Mars gives us a boost of added energy at this time in order to tackle our projects, while Chiron offers us the opportunity to take a look at some old wounds that may need tending to. Last but not least, the new moon is square to unstable and chaotic Uranus, perhaps hinting to us of surprises, revelations, break ups, and shake ups still to come over the next month. If anything this can help to give us breathing room from a stale situation. So while we are reaching for the stars and pursuing our most meaningful goals, we also have to contend with the growth of our relationships and the old wounds that still fester in our psyches. We have to allow for change to refresh us instead of frighten us, and we have to get dead serious about what we want and who we want to become. 

Saturn enters Capricorn

Happy winter solstice everyone! The Sun has just entered into the sign of Capricorn and is conjunct Saturn today. Can you sense the subtle shift taking place around us? Saturn, as of yesterday, happily returned home to the sign he has rulership over, Capricorn. Saturn and Capricorn are close kin, for they share a very similar set of standards and goals. Whatever house we have Saturn moving through in our chart, or residing in natally, is where we need to learn self discipline. Saturn asks that we go through things alone and that wherever we go, we always hold a flame for our innermost sense of self. Capricorn is a sign associated with the mountain goat, one who resiliently climbs the highest mountains in order to reach whatever prize awaits at the top.

Capricorn is associated with hard work, power, ambition, and achievement. Saturn in Capricorn beckons all of us to take ourselves seriously. He asks us to do the work of our soul, to haul our true passion on our back up the cragged mountain, even if it maims us or leaves us breathless. For the last three years, Saturn in Sagittarius has taught us to dream about our vision. We were put to work in the realm of our imagination. We were asked “who do you long to become? what do you wish to accomplish in this life?” Now, Saturn has moved into one of the most hardworking and realistic signs of the zodiac. The time for day dreaming is over. It’s time to put your nose to the grind stone and work hard to manifest the results you’ve been dreaming of. Saturn will remain in Capricorn until 2020.

Saturn in Capricorn will teach us to be alone, to trust ourselves, and to make peace with a sense of solitude. We should be mindful of a tendency to become melancholic during these times, because we can become so hard wired to accomplishing our goals that other facets of life can accidentally fall to the wayside. Saturn is also associated with inhibition and fear, which is something we must also continually challenge and question, as we work our hardest to become who we want to be. Last night I sat with a friend and we joked to each other about Saturn, asking if either of us had felt the shift in signs, even though it had only been one day. We laughed, for ofcourse we didn’t wake up yesterday suddenly super ambitious. But we did notice something small. We had committed to trekking out in the cold to take a pretty intensive yoga and meditation class. That simple and small commitment to one’s own physical and mental well-being is actually what Saturn is all about! We had earned a feeling of achievement just by doing something mindful for ourselves and by staying true to our word about attending. Honor your Saturn in Capricorn journey by taking on commitments that you can stand by. Honor your Saturn by working hard and feeling fearless. Honor your Saturn by being true to yourself.