Wendy Cicchetti

The Aries New Moon calls forth our creativity, courage, and commitment and sparks a quantum leap forward. It’s time to clarify what we want to create and take inspired action toward our dreams. Though every New Moon brings an opportunity for rebirth and renewal, this one is supercharged. Not only is it the first New Moon of the astrological new year initiated at the Aries equinox on March 20, it’s also conjunct Uranus, planet of revolution, freedom, and sudden change.

Since 2011, Uranus in Aries has encouraged us to break out of limiting self-concepts and liberate our unique genius. Now, as Uranus prepares to move into Taurus on May 15, this New Moon brings a jolt of awareness about our true self and higher purpose, underlining the lessons of the last seven years. We’re challenged to move through our fears and take the risk of going after what we really want.

While the Sun is exalted in Aries and strengthens our desire and will, the Uranian influence at this New Moon suggests that we might need to surrender the preferences of our egomind to the unexpected flow of change. Our task is to follow our passion and excitement, and trust what unfolds.

Also conjunct the New Moon is another disruptor of the status quo — Eris, Goddess of Discord. Uranus and Eris have been traveling together since 2016, and the New Moon right between these forces catalyzes their conjunction. We can harness the surge of fire from this Aries stellium to help us break through stagnation and reawaken our warrior spirit. This lunar cycle could be a wild ride, but creativity arises out of chaos, and our hidden gifts and powers are often revealed only through friction and conflict.

Mercury, also in Aries, stations direct at the New Moon — another affirmation that it’s time to move forward. Since March 22, Mercury retrograde has compelled us to slow down, reconnect with our deepest desires, and renew our vitality. As Mercury stations, it conjoins Chiron, now at the last degree of Pisces and about to move into Aries on April 17. This alignment encourages us to move forward with a new perspective on our wounds, rather than feeling victimized and held back by our pain.

Ideally, Chiron in Pisces has opened our hearts to greater compassion, and we want to maintain that tenderness as Chiron transitions into the Warrior sign: “The ideal of warriorship is that the warrior should be sad and tender, and because of that, the warrior can be very brave as well. Without that heartfelt sadness, bravery is brittle, like a china cup.” (Chögyam Trungpa, Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior)

Further empowering this New Moon, Mars, ruler of Aries, is in Capricorn, the sign of its exaltation. Mars in Capricorn brings the focus, discipline, and persistence to harness the Aries fire in a productive direction and translate our inspiration into form. The key is to own our authority as the creator of our own experience, while releasing the need to control. Mars sits between Saturnand Pluto, and this formidable Capricorn lineup — especially with Pluto in the mix — suggests that this New Moon is a time of not only powerful beginnings, but also completions.

The strong Saturnian influence at this New Moon advises sidestepping impatience and impulsivity in favor of strategy and long-term planning. At the same time, we don’t want to let our fears keep us from taking action. Successful integration of Aries and Capricorn entails taking a strategic risk, doing the work, and trusting the process. We have support from retrograde Jupiter in Scorpio, which sextiles the Mars–Pluto conjunction and is approaching its second trine to Neptune in Pisces (exact on May 25).

This article is from the Mountain Astrologer, written by Emily Trinkaus

PLAN YOUR OWN NEW MOON CEREMONY. Give yourself some quiet time in meditation to see where you need to seed new ways of becoming. List these areas within your life you want to change. What areas do you want to break free from the norm and become more productive and discerning? The NEW MOON is the time to manifest the personal attributes you want to cultivate as well as the tangible things you want to bring to you. Possible phrasing: I now manifest ____ into my life. I am now _______ . Remember, think, envision and feel with as much emotion as possible, as though you already have what you want. Thoughts are things and the brain manifests exactly what you show it in the form of thoughts, visuals and emotions. The Buddha said, and I am paraphrasing, “We are the sum total of our thoughts up to today. ” If we want to be different then we must change our thoughts. “If you always do what you’ve always done then you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” CONSCIOUS CHANGE is the key.