The Cosmic Story: Aries New Moon 2021
The Fire of Creation
In many ways, this Sunday’s Aries New Moon is another beginning of the astrological new year – another aspect of Spring Equinox. Now the Light and Dark will grow imbalanced until Summer Solstice/Winter Solstice.
Up North, the Light is returning.
Astrology is based on cycles. Such as the soli-lunar cycle of Sun and Moon. Astrology looks at the planetary cycles and tries to understand what happens when two planets connect to each other in different mathematical configurations. It also looks at how present cycles are related to past cycles.
This New Moon is connected to a few past cycles and planetary aspects, so we’ll be revisiting what happened in the past so we can move into the future.
Aries symbolizes the fire of Spirit descending upon us, giving us life, giving us the opportunity to start over, to begin again. Just as we’re energized by this fiery Spirit, Spirit wants to be expressed. Fire wants to burn!
The paradox is that fire is both creative and destructive – it is up to us to shape something with the fire into the third, transformative state. (You can read more about the magic of Fire and its patrons at The Bard's Grove) We humans can use fire to both create consciousness as well as destroy life.
At this moment of cultural crisis and transformation, we’re each being asked by destiny to make our choice – will we create a new life here on Earth and heal ourselves and Mother Earth or will we continue to kill and destroy life?
This Aries New Moon will square the sensitive degrees of Capricorn where Saturn, Pluto, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury came together last year to such devastating effects. Now these archetypal energies have been regenerated (Pluto) and infused with hope and imagination (Neptune in Pisces). We have opportunities now with Jupiter and Saturn in Aquarius to affect collective consciousness through our technology and our common visions.
The world is at a turning point. We can collapse back into a death culture that thrives on war and power, or we can emerge into a new world where peace and cooperation can set our energies flowing to heal Nature and re-create ourselves.
Will we use the pure fires of this powerful Aries New Moon to heal or destroy ourselves? Never doubt that our individual choices will unite and set the vision for our future.
Whatever you think of President Biden, he is setting a course to re-build America from the bottom up. This is a vision that helps people while it works towards climate accountability. Hopefully, COVID has given us a sense of sacrifice and community. Pluto says it’s time for us to take responsibility and sacrifice our time or money to create ‘a more perfect union’. (Abraham Lincoln)
Like the new light of sunrise, Aries and Mars embody a pioneering energy, the same type of energy used to explore and later unfortunately dominate the New World. After people settling in America used this Mars energy to fight and conquer this wild, beautiful continent, their descendants focused that Mars energy on commercial enterprises and scientific and technological discoveries. It is the energy that America has thrived on. It is a young, eager, adventurous energy that made us a great power in the world.
Lately, though, we seem to have lost this pioneering spirit as a country. Perhaps turning away from it because we’ve seen and understood what its done to our Native peoples, to the land and to other countries. Or perhaps our relative wealth breeds contentment and sometimes laziness.
But this decline aligns with the fact that we’re at the end of America’s Pluto cycle (our power and our past), which runs from 2021 – 2024 and perfects (conjuncts natal Pluto) for the first time on February 20, 2022 (2/20/22).
As the cycle ends, a new one begins. What will we make of it? While Pluto works to destroy what is no longer viable, it also wants us to evolve and grow. Will our evolutionary track lead us to extinction? Or to new heights of human consciousness, compassion and wisdom? We have to work with Pluto on this one. As this archetypal energy of power and surrender is renewed, we the people will partake of it. Just like Americans engaged with it before we declared our independence in 1776.
This death and rebirth energy compels us to question ourselves and our values. What are our country’s values? What do we stand for? How do we value our natural and cultural resources? How do we value our people, who are all immigrants and therefore orphans who have been uprooted from their motherlands. What are we willing to fight to protect – people or things? How should our government be structured and should our collective government provide us with basic necessities for ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’? How should the country’s finances be organized – should the economy be the cultural center or just a tool when we put life at the center? What role does private business play in our country? What role do citizens play?
While Aries is about the individual Hero’s Journey, the truth is our whole world culture needs regenerating. So humanity is being called to the Hero’s Journey.
Will we answer the call?
This is who we were born to be. This is what we were born to do.
Aries New Moon 2021
The Aries New Moon occurs on April 11, 2021 at 3:31pm Alaska time, 4:31pm PDT/ 7:31pm EDT and on April 12, 2021 at 12:31am GMT.
The Sabian symbol for the Sun
and Moon at 23* Aries is: A pregnant woman in a light summer
dress. Besides being an image of fertility, pregnancy is an
inner process. This New Moon is so juicy and full of potential.
Summer is the time when the Earth is most fertile. Take this image
with you as you plant your New Moon seeds in the dark. Watch for the
slim crescent Moon on Tuesday.
That’s the day to begin something new.
This Aries New Moon is comprised of a conjunction of 6 planetary bodies: Chiron, Mercury, Sun, Moon, Eris and Venus join energies to fill us with the courage and strength to be authentic, strategically engaging in the world in new ways. If we ask these archetypal energies to guide us, they can help us manifest what creative ideas we’ve been working with this past year.
We’ll need some guidance as this New Moon squares 23-24* Capricorn where the transformative conjunction of Pluto and Saturn happened last year on January 11, 2020. As well as to the degrees of the three Jupiter-Pluto conjunctions during 2020.
This Aries New Moon squares where the Capricorn New Moon on January 13, 2021 occurred. That New Moon was conjunct Pluto, hopefully helping us confront our fears. With this New Moon in a first quarter square to January’s New Moon, we get to move past our fears to a clearer vision of what’s needed. We are being asked to choose. That’s what free will is all about. The choices we make.
Since we are helping rebuild our society (sq to Pluto), we as citizens have the responsibility to find out what our government is doing. When we go to City or Town Council meetings, we have a voice in what happens in our local, state and national communities. If we all pay attention, we can help communities steer our way through these troubled waters. This is the time to make new commitments to transform the world. Just don’t settle on the exact form yet. Play with your options! Aries loves to play.
This Aries New Moon fire is fanned by Saturn, Jupiter and Mars in air signs, sparking new ideas and possibilities. With Saturn in the mix, we have to come up with good, solid ideas before we act on them.
Like the shifting, dancing flames, however, it isn’t time to settle in on one answer or way. That comes later on this Spring. Now is the time to dance with the flame and try out new shapes and patterns to see which one rings true for you.
With Venus and Mars dancing together in a cooperative, encouraging sextile, our values and our desires dance well together. Our values and what we love will become clear to our authentic Self. It’s time to brake free from patriarchy’s capitalistic spell controlling our desires.
Mars, which rules these Aries planets, is in Gemini and likes to play around with different ideas and information – so it’s a good time to do more research. With a creative trine to Jupiter in Aquarius, it’s a great time to talk with people and find out what they’re thinking about, which will help you consolidate your own ideas.
Communication is key here, especially since Mercury in Aries is in what’s called mutual reception with Mars in Gemini – they’re staying in each other’s home sign. Mars can be argumentative, so please try to listen before you speak. It’s about really hearing what others say before you respond.
We do have to watch out for Mars since he’s out-of-bounds – meaning he’s going to be a wild card energy, that refuses to play within the lines. Allow your thoughts and ideas to be outrageous if you want. You’ll be winnowing through them in the next month or so.
With Mars in Gemini and Jupiter in Aquarius closely supporting this New Moon, you’ll want to pick and choose which seeds to plant, since you might have an over-abundance of them.
Mars’ sister, Eris, warrior goddess of the Heart, mediates between this New Moon and Venus. She will insist that we listen to our hearts and our values (Venus) when we set our seed intentions – otherwise she’ll create dis-cord for going against our hearts’ desire.
Find your Aries house. Look at what sign and house your Mars occupies. These will tell you which road is right for you. Understand what underlying motives make you want to take action. With Mars in Gemini, first and foremost, you are going on an adventure of the mind (Georgia Stathis). Think of all those possibilities!
When Mars goes into Cancer on April 23rd, the same day as Mercury conjuncts Uranus in Taurus, your emotional body will come online and you’ll know what direction to take.
Over the next week or so, Venus, the Sun and Mercury will square Pluto, helping us leave behind old habits and ideas that no longer serve us in our new story. You might run into some old power dynamics that you’ll have to deal with. Don’t react! Try to understand what’s going on and choose how you want to deal with it.
Venus moves into Taurus from April 14 – May 8. Things will feel more gentle and enjoyable. Venus is beginning her Evening Star phase as the Goddess of Love and Wisdom rather than her Morning Star phase as a Goddess of War and outer engagement.
All the planets are moving forward now until Pluto goes retrograde on April 27th. So things might move forward rapidly now. Just go with the flow and see what happens.
The Sabian symbol for Pluto turning retrograde at 27* Capricorn is: Pilgrims climbing the steep steps leading to a mountain shrine. It's time to go in search of higher consciousness.
Mercury, Mars, Saturn, Venus, Pluto and Pallas Athena are connecting to the Gemini/Sagittarius nodes. This bit of information from astrologer Anne Ortlee: when planets aspects the nodes like this watch for people to come into your life who will have an affect on you in some way. So see who you connect with in the next few weeks. They might be bringing you the help you need.
The Sky is ever changing and so are its energies. Try to keep up but be good to yourself. This is still a new and emerging energy we’re dealing with. Take care of it as you would a beloved child.
Blessings of the Spring to you all!
Cathy
I Want A Lot
You
see, I want a lot.
Perhaps I want everything:
the darkness
that comes with every infinite fall
and the shivering blaze of
every step up.
So
many live on and want nothing
and are raised to the rank of
prince
by the slippery ease of their light judgments.
But
what you love to see are faces
that so work and feel thirst....
You
have not grown old, and it is not too late
to dive into your
increasing depths
where life calmly gives out its own secret.
~ Rainer Maria Rilke ~
(Selected Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke, trans. By Robert Bly)
