New Moon in Aries 2018-The Mountain

Each time I look at this chart, I have an inkling toward “Wow! It's suddenly spring!” And, here's the thing. Spring officially started quite a while back, actually, as the Sun crossed the Aries/Solstice point. Yet, at the same time, Mercury went retrograde and decided to give us a few extra dollops of wintry leftovers. Plus, it's pretty typical for Spring to show up a little late when the New Moon in Aries is at the tail end of the sign...like we have here. However, the proximity of the New Moon to Uranus says...sudden bursting forth. So, at this New Moon and following as the Sun finds Uranus by conjunction, this is literally how it may feel. One day a snowy, cold blustery world and an impatience in waiting for the season to really get rolling to...all of a sudden you walk outside and the whole world is blossoming. Beautiful sight. Not so great if you have allergies, I presume. But, yes, I expect it to be like that.

In and out of this “Late Spring” I've seen the little hints that the season is indeed truly here. All the pretty early flowers have bloomed. Daffodils, crocus, hyacinth...even my strawberry plants. Mainly serving as “teasers” since those blossoms have also been covered by snow in the last few weeks. It is apparent we are transitioning into a new season. It's just very, very slow. Here, though, Mercury is direct which should bring the change completely about making these last few burst throughs of winter seem like a dream...long forgotten as we head into warmer months in the Northern hemisphere.

Another thing is, when I think of an Aries New Moon, I think of taking off in new directions quickly. Aries doesn't hesitate and is often the first to shoot out of any gate. Yet, this New Moon is different. Just as Spring has been slow coming in, so should we. Just a few days after the New Moon cracks open, we leave Aries season for Taurus. Taurus does not rush. Nor does she shoot out of any gate unless there is provocation. So, as we set our “go” intentions under this Moon we need to bear in mind both our work load (as it is likely vast) and our pace. The things ahead of us right now are not “one and done” type of things. They call for endurance, our time and careful attention. We are plodding, plotting and being mindful of the follow through here working toward quality not cheap and quick. Saturn and Mars in Capricorn aim for that as does Venus in Taurus.

It's not like we are left wanting for the power of endurance, foresight and energy, either. We still have the Jupiter/Pluto sextile strongly in force which can assist us in focusing efforts into a sharp laser beam. Mars operates methodically in Capricorn. Traversing one step at a time...one task leads into the next and the next as if walking up stairs. Not that the goat doesn't know what potentially lies at the top of that staircase. He has a “goal” to reach that sits up there. But, he doesn't waste a whole lot of time dreaming or worrying about that last step other to ensure that the step he is working on right now does eventually fit into the schematic that leads him to that last step. He knows where he needs to go and what he needs to do. Mars in Capricorn is focused on what is right in front of him first because the pavers he lays now are just as important as the capstone. The bottom of the structure supports and balances the weight of the whole. Therefore, the early work we do in our plans needs follow through and our attention just as much as our end goal. It all fits together in terms of quality effort which is what is demanded of us here.

Yet, our workload is not the only matter of interest here. Between this New Moon and the Full Moon in Scorpio on the 29^th, several things will have shifted. Saturn turns retrograde on April 17^th. CHIRON ENTERS ARIES ON THE SAME DAY (which is a HUGE deal). The Sun enters the sign of Taurus on April 19^th. Pluto turns retrograde on April 22^nd. Venus leaves Taurus and enters Gemini on April 24^th. Mercury makes his 3^rd square with Saturn on April 25^th. By the time the New Moon in Taurus rolls around on May 15^th, Mercury is already in Taurus and Uranus is barely hanging on the edge of Aries at 29 degrees as Mars holds tightly in square from Capricorn and is also in his retrograde shadow. Talk about turning over a new leaf. That sounds a lot like the whole barnyard is turned upside down to me. At any rate, to say that things will have significantly changed between mid-April and Mid-May is a bit of an understatement. Biggest part of that in the scope of this Lunar cycle being Chiron's entrance into Aries. All of the incoming shifts merely reinforce the need to take things slowly and methodically even if that seems counter-intuitive to the season of Aries itself. The first green shoots of spring are always doomed, anyway. They either get late season frost or are the first to get pruned. Taking your time in emergence in just a good idea, here. We are aiming for strong, steady and sturdy growth here. Not spindly offshoots.

The ruler of this Moon is Mars. We find him on the following symbol: A repressed woman finds psychological release in nudism. Escape from bondage to social inhibitions. Readjustment of relation of spirit to body. Self-purification. Self-confrontation.

Just look how busy Mars is here. He is still within orb of a trine to Venus, though that wanes now. He waxes toward a conjunction with Pluto and sextile with Jupiter. He has barely left his sextile with Neptune. Plus, he's headed right for Black Moon Lilith in Capricorn (which is still a packed full sign at the moment). In Capricorn, I think of him working to establish himself in a leadership or mastery position within the world. Here, his symbol speaks less of worldly interaction and more of a focus upon self. Here he is shedding. He is releasing himself from “Social inhibitions,” grounding in body, purifying and confronting himself. All of which are progressive acts of Capricorn. Highly developed themes. Particularly the part that mentions “escape from bondage of social inhibitions” as that speaks directly of the Devil card which connects to the sign of Capricorn and Saturn. Capricorn is the sign of reputation--- big deal to some folks. So releasing attachment to that is no small undertaking in many realms.

The cohorts of the Devil are freely chained. In one version (Ciro Marchetti's) the Fool cowers in front of the Devil as if being overpowered. But if you pull back your perspective on that card, you can clearly see that the “Devil” is in fact, a projection from the Fool, himself. As if the Fool were the movie projector and the image of the Devil is what is being projected upon the “bigger” screen. No matter how you look at it though, the “others” in the Devil card are connected directly to the Devil whether by loose chains or their own projection. Both of which are wholly individually controllable once your realize your power in any situation when dealings with the Devil. My thing with that being, I see the Devil as a scapegoat, mainly. He gets the blame for all kinds of human indiscretions that have absolutely nothing to do with fallen angels and everything to do with the insidious side of man. At any rate, to discover one's power, we do need to come into a place of self-confrontation and shed any attachment we may have that blocks us from accessing the power we find. This is the suggestion from Mars on this degree. It can be as simple as standing fully naked in front of the mirror. Seeing what it is you feel like you need to work on but still being accepting and loving to the whole. There is release specifically mentioned here in the ability to do just that...to merely be comfortable in your own skin whether the outside world likes it or not.

For the New Moon itself, the Sabian for 27 Aries reads as follows: Through imagination, a lost opportunity is regained. Beginning of mental maturity and slow growth of the creative faculty. Revision of attitude. Mental house-cleaning.

With a lot of the sky now retrograde or soon to be, we are under a period of personal review. Mercury is direct now. We may have gleaned a new perspective on a few things. This symbol hints at just that. Was it a past failure? Or, is there more going on here? Was the failure perhaps one of those blessed unanswered prayers? Or, have we given up on something just to see the thing is not dead yet and there is still hope? Either way, our personal point of view is likely to shift here in regard to something important. I can barely even address the “revision of attitude” statement because I've heard I have an “attitude problem” my entire life. But, the turn around is suggested here as well as taking the garbage out of your head and clearing mental space for new ideas instead of lingering stagnated worries. The whole of the set up feels like a relief to me and that can come to each of us in varying forms. It is incentive and inspiration to keep going even if the path ahead is long and cumbersome.

The neat thing about that is the hidden and likely not noticed set up we have going on with Juno and Chiron in Pisces. Chiron is leaving the sign of Pisces soon, as I have mentioned. But, at this time we are called to commit, love unconditionally and to care for the parts of our wounded self that were revealed in Chiron's journey through Pisces. That little aspect embraces the message from both symbols relevant at this New Moon saying “accept yourself and all your flaws” and “look at things a little bit differently from that perspective of self-acceptance.” Gentle realization but also profoundly powerful. Seeing as we are called to place our best foot forward and firmly, that type of personal power coming in at this New Moon is quite useful.

I cannot drive home the point enough that this is not a “take off sprinting” New Moon. It is just not the light and active Aries energy we know even with the catalytic conjunction to Uranus coming in. That conjunction serves as brilliant energy to kick off new projects but even in that the tasks ahead are laborious and demand our effort and undivided attention in the construction of them. Pluto and Jupiter will provide the focus we need for such. Mars will provide the task oriented style and endurance we require. Still, we are the ones that have to do the actual work here. Mars in Capricorn doesn't sit around waiting for someone else to take care of things. He can see what needs to be done and just gets busy doing it leading through his actions. The fact that this is NOT a pick up and run with it Moon is reaffirmed by way of our guide for this lunation. The Three of Pentacles.

There is nothing in the three of pentacles that is indicative of haste. However, it does come with a willingness to learn as all 3's present. This time we are learning by doing. These folks are actively focused on his craft. Most versions depict not only the craftsman but others as well. Some folks may be providing feedback or critique. Others may be lending their own wisdom in an attempt to help the craftsman hone his own skills. Regardless of how you look at it, though, this is not merely a task we take on ourselves. There is help and education available to assist us. Key in that is choosing the right help instead of letting outside “naysayers” distract or discourage us from taking the initiative toward change or increasing our skillset.

On the most basic level, this card is an indication toward apprenticeship in which we volunteer to learn under someone who is further up the ladder in experience in some area than ourselves. From that position, we can learn from both the mistakes and successes of our chosen “master.” We may pattern ourselves after them or go our own way with our skills eventually. Point being, we are learning with a desired outcome in mind here. That outcome being to develop our own skillset to a degree that we no longer need apprenticeship in this field. We eventually grow into our kind of mastery.

We may dream about the ways we can apply our skills in the future once they are acquired. But, in this card, we are focused on the very task we are working on at this moment. That one pentacle we are carving is as far as we allow our attention to wander at this time. Or should be.

In Astrological association, the Three of Pentacles correlates to Mars in Capricorn, the ruler of this New Moon. Pointing us again to the methodical building within the framework of our more long term goals. Determination is a requirement here. It is suggested that we work hard while also paying attention to the details of the work itself remaining fully mentally engaged in what it is we are doing. That is not to say that the card indicates a long set of the doldrums either. For evidence of that, I ripped the quote used in reference to this card straight out of Ciro Marchetti's book. It reads, “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the outcome”---Aristotle. I find pleasure in accomplishment and completion myself and this card leads us toward that end as long as we decide to actively participate while realizing the blessing in the fact that we have the mere ability to do the work in the first place. Plus it helps tremendously to take enjoyment and pride in the work we have chosen to do.

What is it that is “your craft?” Is it something that you can devote yourself to? Do you enjoy and love what you do? Does time get lost for you in that space of creation? This New Moon offers us the chance to really focus in on our chosen mode of creation and slowly and sturdily increase our abilities there. If you love and take pride in what you do, the whole thing unfolds...kinda beautifully, actually. But, if you don't love it and it doesn't reward you with a sense of achievement? Well, I'm going to have to ask, “Why not?” If you find yourself in that position, then you could be carrying a really heavy and cumbersome load by the time we are through here. So, changing things up in that realm (if so), would be the best place to start.