New Moon in Aquarius: What difference do you make?
The new moon in Aquarius occurs on 21st January (8.54pm UK time), and sees the Sun and Moon align in the sign of the progressive, idealistic and forward-thinking water-bearer. They fall in the 2nd degree of Aquarius, separating from a conjunction with Pluto in late Capricorn, and applying to a sextile with Jupiter in Aries, which suggests a more optimistic theme for the month, where we can turn over a new leaf and see things in a more expanded way. This new moon also occurs at a time when all the planets are now in direct motion (Mars, Mercury & Uranus have all stationed direct this month), this signalling a time where we can more easily move on with our projects and initiatives. The new moon is the time when we sow the seeds for the month ahead, and this is a good month to create new possibilities for networking, collaboration and visioning the future.
Awakening our Perception, Lightening Our Load
Aquarius is, in many ways, the most radical sign of the zodiac, the one who awakens us to a different view of ourselves and the world. It is the Aquarian who calls the whole group together into a colourful gathering of diverse perspectives and invites each to speak their own truth. Aquarius celebrates our eccentricity, our uniqueness, our difference. That is the gift of this sign, and the hope for the future.
One of the roles of Aquarius in the Zodiac is to lighten the burden of guilt; it follows Capricorn in the zodiac, the sign that bears the weight of our earthly duties and responsibilities. Aquarius can pierce the veil of reality, see through the material manifestation to the energetic patterns of networks of connection that make up the implicit order of reality. Aquarius opens up a broader conversation, invites a clearer perception of who we are as a collective, through the recognition of our shared humanity, beyond differences of outlook and opinion.
The Aquarian Shadow of Abstract Idealism
This all sounds wonderful, doesn’t it, and the very idea of Aquarius and the coming of the Aquarian Age tends to lift our spirits and inspire our hope for a better world. There is an important shadow dimension to this sign, however, and one that is often overlooked; that dream of togetherness can only be achieved when each individual is awake to their own uniqueness. It cannot be sustained through enforcing or co-ercing conformity by attempting to artificially (and prematurely) eradicate that which naturally and culturally differentiates us.
This is a major theme in the world right now, of course. Aquarius holds the ‘high ground’ of thinking in the zodiac, taking the overview of a situation, like an architect surveying things from above, designing a plan of the future, based on an ideal of what should be possible. By adopting this higher perspective, often in the name of inclusion and the philosophically attractive proposition of open access for all, the contingencies of everyday lived experiences are often overlooked. We risk becoming fixated upon a system that has the appearance of inclusion, diversity and social justice, while in reality what we get is bland conformity to an idea of progress, that becomes its own prison, walled up behind abstract technological reasoning, creating a false reality, divorced from embodied sense perception. The consequences of this have really been highlighted during the past two years, while Saturn has been in Aquarius.
Saturn leaves Aquarius, and Pluto enters…
In March, Saturn will leave Aquarius and move to Pisces, but then shortly after Pluto will enter Aquarius for a brief initial spell (until June), returning for its long 20-year stay in this sign early next year, during which time we might expect to feel the deeper shadow consequences of Aquarian idealism, progressivism, and what happens when these are invested with too much power, and we start to realise that our reliance upon technology is destroying our humanness. As we become increasingly remote from our embodied intelligence, and ever-more dependent on an elite group of technical experts to tell us what to do, we become more susceptible to technocracy, the perverted expression of Aquarianism. Aquarius should stand for true democracy, that which recognises the ways in which we all contribute to the common good, in ways that both acknowledge and celebrate our unique differences.
The Interconnected Web of Life
As human beings we are part of a incredibly complex inter-connected system, inter-related with all forms of life, and you don't need to be a technical science expert to know that. To treat everyone the same, as if we will all blandly conform to some abstract modelling is a distorted view of the human experience (again, classic Aquarian shadow territory). It is to deny the innovative, creative, dynamic aspect of life which will collaboratively adapt and respond to any situation, when allowed to fully express itself. Life is irresistible in all its colour and myriad forms of expressions.
Aquarius carries the ever-replenishing and re-juvenating waters of life, the fountain of youth, the elixir of immortality that spills over from our cups when we allow our humanity to shine.
What do you care about, beyond your own personal concerns?
What kind of future do you want to see?
Think about the communities you belong to, your groups of friends, the people who matter to you in your life, the people you choose to have in your life. Consider how much you matter to them, and how the greatest contribution you make to their lives is when you show up as your true, unedited self.
Ask yourself: What is it that makes me different and what difference do I make?
New moon blessings to all <3