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AQUARIUS NEW MOON - 24 January 2020

1/21/2020

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Picture
Exact at 9.42pm GMT!
 
This New Moon has a slightly lighter, liberating feeling to it in contrast to the heavy nature of the past couple of moons with their preponderance of Capricorn energy. It is also the beginning of the year of the Yang Metal Rat on 25 Jan, which feels very much like a new start as the Rat is the first animal in the Chinese zodiac. This could be a year to use the force of Yang Metal and really get things done! There is a certain cunning ruthlessness to this combination but also a feeling of no nonsense and “enough is enough”! This might help us to draw a line in the sand with our “swords”, creating better boundaries, and to strategise a better way forward for ourselves. The Rat is quite a clever and resourceful creature who managed to be the first in the zodiac by sitting on the hard working Ox’s back on the way to see Buddha and then jumping off at the last minute, thereby pipping the Ox to the post. We might need to keep our wits about us this year and be clever with whatever resources we have at our disposal. A little can go a long way, as the Rat clearly shows us! We are invited to work with what comes naturally to us to create the new beginning that this year promises.
 
And now we have a creative, visionary Aquarius New Moon to start us off!  Aquarius energy is a reaction to the dutiful, responsible, authoritarian energy of Capricorn, as this is the sign of the rule breaker, the rebel, the revolutionary! During this New Moon, which is a time of new beginnings, we have the Sun, Moon and Mercury all residing in Aquarius, which gives us the chance to take a step back and see everything a bit more objectively. Aquarius helps us to see outside of the box and liberate ourselves from the heavy conditioning that we have been subjected to in our lifetime.  We are invited to break out of the mould. Aquarius can help us to be objective and envision another way of doing things, releasing ourselves from the weight of the past and writing a new story for ourselves. Aquarius is a bright, visionary, humanitarian sign that can help us to come up with some left field, ingenious solutions to problems that are too old and heavy to carry anymore.
 
We still have Jupiter, Saturn, Pluto, Ceres and the South Node in Capricorn, so the Capricorn party certainly isn’t over yet, as the slower moving planets spend a long time in each sign. Pluto will finally leave Capricorn in 2024, having been there since 2008, during which time we will have been exposed to the dark underbelly of all things Capricorn, such as our governments, political structures, the patriarchy, corporations and “the system”. The Saturn Pluto conjunction, which peaked on 12 January, is still very prevalent, albeit the energy is gradually starting to wane. This has brought a very heavy dose of reality to whatever area of life that the conjunction is found in our charts, and has certainly highlighted issues around power, control, corruption, as well as showing us just how destructive and divisive fear can be.
 
The Nodes of the Moon have another four months left in the Cancer Capricorn axis, which emphasises issues around our conditioning patterns, where home is, our work/life balance, patriarchal versus matriarchal values, control versus vulnerability, and government versus grassroots movements and community. This energy has been prevalent since November 2018 and will end in June this year. As such, we only have a little more time to work on the issues brought up by Capricorn and Cancer, the Father and the Mother. And this is important work! One of the big lessons of this Nodal combination is recognising when we are reacting from fear. Capricorn is that part of us that tends to withdraw or put up the walls when we are upset, fearful or overwhelmed. The Capricorn part of ourselves may tend to suppress emotions, keeping it all tightly under control and reacting with old, outworn patterns that come from the conditioning we received from the authority figures in our lives.
 
However, Cancer invites us to let down our walls and dare to admit that we are scared and need help. It takes a certain amount of bravery to actually share our fears and allow ourselves to be vulnerable. It takes great strength to relinquish control, let down the walls and admit that we don’t have all the answers. We have been taught to believe that vulnerability is somehow negative or weak, when really it actually requires great inner strength and can greatly help our relationships and lives. Showing how we really feel gives us a far greater chance for resolution of conflict than holding it all in and pushing each other away.  
 
This Moon can help us undo some of that conditioning, loosening the knot and liberating ourselves from some of the more entrenched patterns that tend to sabotage us. We have the opportunity to harness the energy of Aquarius in order to step back and see ourselves more objectively so that we can choose another way. It is so easy to remain stuck in old, familiar patterns that don’t actually serve us anymore, but the energy of this Moon can help bust us out, helping us to write a new story altogether. We have just come out of Eclipse season, which signifies a new chapter starting, and now we have this hopeful, visionary, pattern busting energy of an Aquarian New Moon to help us to break out of our bondage and start fresh. This sign stands for Liberty, Equality and Brother/Sisterhood. It is time to break the rules and to somehow find ways to navigate the system.
 
Uranus, the ruler of this Aquarius New Moon, is also forming a dynamic square aspect to the Sun and Moon. The challenging energy of the square can create sudden upheavals, unexpected curveballs and events or situations that seem to force change upon us. However, as unpredictable and potentially unsettling is this energy may be, it can also be incredibly liberating, causing us to somehow “wake up” and see the way out of our comfortable ruts, recognising where and how we may be stuck or stagnating. Uranus helps us to break the rules and find who we really are versus the version or ourselves that we have been taught to present to the world in order to somehow “fit in” and not rock the boat. Uranus helps us to stand up to authority, to question any rules that quite simply don’t make sense to us and to recognise exactly what need to change and why. This is the Great Awakener, so whatever happens during this time could help us to wake up liberate ourselves from the chains that bind us, both personally and collectively. Anyone who has personal planets or angles between 0 and 4 degrees of a sign, especially Taurus, Leo, Aquarius and Scorpio, will be feeling this energy most acutely.
 
During this Moon the cosmic lovers, Venus and Mars will be squaring off against each other, potentially causing some friction in our relationships. Passions could run high and any problems that might have been simmering could now come to the foreground to be dealt with. However, ultimately this could help to clear the air and get things out into the open so that we can see the truth of the matter, and combined with the Uranus and Aquarius energy we have the chance to liberate ourselves from old ways of relating that might actually be doing us harm and/or sabotaging our relationships. It is time to write a new story and throw out the rulebook. The old way doesn’t exist anymore.
 
The good news is that Venus is currently in Pisces and is also joining forces with Pisces’ ruler Neptune, so we have the potential for relating to one another in an empathetic, compassionate, kind and loving way that leaves our egos out of the picture. This combination is a recipe for unconditional love, whereby we put the wellbeing of the relationship itself first, over and above our own needs and wishes. However, Neptune can also cause us to be somewhat vague, elusive and even deceitful about our feelings, leading to confusion, mixed messages and even disillusionment. This energy peaks on Monday 27 Jan, so it will be building during the New Moon and the weekend. Anybody with personal planets or angles between 14 and 18 degrees of a sign, especially Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces, will feel this energy the most.
 
The Sabian symbol for this New Moon, at 5° Aquarius, is: “A council of ancestors is seen implementing the efforts of a young leader”, which Dane Rudyar describes as: “Every individual is far more dependent upon the strength of his ancestors’ achievements – or oppressed by their failures and lack of vision – than he usually believes. This can mean a hidden foundation of individual strength, or the inertia of a tradition unable to transcend its limited origins.” This symbol speaks for itself, really, as we are both helped and hindered by the past. On the one hand, history and the elders can aid us with the wisdom of the tried and tested, not to mention learning from history. On the other hand the old way, with all its conservatism and stuckness can hold us back as we walk towards the new order. However, this symbol gives the sense that the ancestors are on our side, helping the young leader to move forward and make the changes that we so desperately need at this time. The key is to learn from the past and tap into the wisdom of our roots but to ultimately forge our own path, unique to us alone.
 
Change is in the air during this Moon, that’s for sure! This is an ideal opportunity to focus on breaking out of any stuck, limiting patterns, learning from the past while striding towards a new way of being. We have a chance to liberate ourselves from oppression and suppression, whether internally in the form of our old conditioned patterns or externally in the form of situations or relationships. Or more likely both! We may experience a bit of a shock as we “wake up” to what needs to change, but ultimately this Moon holds the promise of a breath of fresh air to blow away some cobwebs.  Things may feel a bit uncertain, unsettled and even unstable, but at least we know we’re alive! This Moon can certainly help us to find new solutions to old problems and to envision a better way to move forward. Aquarius invites us to take a step back and look at things with new eyes. There is always a way forward that we might not have been able to see previously. It all depends on our perspective!
 
Much Love
 
Amy
xoxo
 
Picture: Set Me Free by  Mahyat Tehrany
 


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CANCER FULL MOON / LUNAR ECLIPSE - 10 January 2020

1/7/2020

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Picture
Exact at 7.21pm GMT
 
This is an especially potent and powerful Full Moon which is occurring at an extraordinary moment in time. This Moon peaks only 2 days before the much anticipated Saturn/Pluto conjunction is at its strongest on Sunday 12 January. The energy of the conjunction has been building over the past month and will continue after the 12th, although its strength will recede with each day afterwards. It is also Eclipse season, which has the potential to bring a new chapter and a significant shift of some kind. This is the second of the two Eclipses in the signs of Cancer and Capricorn, the parental axis.  Cancer is the mother, the Matriarchy, while Capricorn is the father, the Patriarchy. The Moon is very much at home in her own sign of Cancer, so this Moon could have a particularly strong emotional, nurturing quality, helping us to access our emotions and truly express what we are feeling. However, it is very important to note that there is a HUGE emphasis on Capricorn at the moment, with 6 astrological bodies sitting in this ambitious, reserved and authoritative sign. As such, we are staring Capricorn squarely in the face at the moment, which enables us to see and experience both its darkness and light.
 
With the North Node currently in Cancer we are being encouraged to develop our Cancerian qualities and focus more on taking care of one another and nurturing community spirit and grass root endeavours. Cancer encourages us to allow ourselves to be more vulnerable, finding the courage to ask for help, revealing our real emotions and sharing our fears and insecurities rather than any Capricornian fear-based tendency towards emotional coldness, putting up walls, stiff upper lip, emotional withdrawal, shutting one another out and acting like we have everything under control. Capricorn is the part of us that has been taught to suppress and keep our emotions under control, stuffing them down so we don’t feel, while Cancer helps us to access and honour them and recognise the needs of our “inner child” and what it is telling us. It is very important, at this time, to actively and consciously work on this, keeping our hearts open to one another and recognising when our old Capricornian conditioning is running the show. It takes considerable courage, trust and effort to remain open instead of closing down, but it makes all the difference in the world if we can do so.
 
With Saturn and Pluto joining forces in Capricorn we are currently being shown the dark side of Capricorn, in no uncertain terms, both in our personal lives and on the world stage. We are at tipping point. Issues around hard control, patriarchal dominance, suppression, repression, oppression, governmental structures, dictatorship, power, status, greed, intolerance, borders and boundaries, judgement, extreme conservatism, divide and rule, fear-based control, exclusivity, tyranny, prejudice and nepotism are rife at the moment. While the light side of Capricorn has very strict morals and seeks to obey the rules, the shadow side of Capricorn and the patriarchal system will do anything in order to gain and maintain control, status and power. We are seeing evidence of this wherever we turn at the moment. Fear is rife and can easily be used to control. It is very important for us to recognise when we are feeling fearful, as it is a very destructive force.
 
Pluto exposes the rot, while Saturn gives us a very harsh reality check, and so the darker side of Capricorn is being shown to us, without any kind of softening filter. Historically, when these two powerful planets come together there has been some kind of war or threat of war. Pluto is a powerfully transforming planet which has the potential to bring the dark side of the system and power structures to light and detoxify them so that something new can rise up in their place. However, Saturn’s energy may resist this process and cling on for dear life. An old order is passing away so that something new can be born, but it won’t go down without a fight! This applies both personally and collectively. It is better to allow whatever structures, patterns or habits in our lives that or old and outworn to pass away rather than holding onto something that simply isn’t working anymore.
 
Both personally and collectively we are no longer able to live in denial of the reality of what we are facing. Possibly nothing has actually changed, rather we are facing the stark reality and being forced to see things as they really are.  This is extremely helpful, for then we are better able to take responsibility for and become more accountable for whatever we find. Pluto can help us to empower ourselves and really get to the bottom of whatever it is that we are confronted with, leaving no stone unturned! Saturn in Capricorn helps us to slowly and steadily climb to the top of whatever mountain we are facing, helping us to harness the necessary discipline, patience, integrity and resilience and to keep our sights on whatever goal we have set ourselves. The key is to take responsibility for ourselves, to recognise where and how we can empower ourselves and each other, to act with maturity and to knuckle down and do whatever work is necessary, both internally and externally, in order to move past whatever obstacles arise. We may be asked to make a deeper commitment in whatever area of life that the conjunction is found.
 
At the moment when the Saturn Pluto conjunction is exact on the 12th we also have the Sun, Mercury and Ceres sitting right next to these two powerful planets, giving us a five planet stellium in Capricorn. The Sun, Ceres, Saturn and Pluto are sitting at 22° Capricorn, while Mercury is one degree ahead at 23° Capricorn. This is incredibly powerful! With the Sun involved this powerful stellium has the potential to bring into question our very purpose in life and how we express ourselves in the world.
 
Mercury’s involvement means that it is important to be careful what we say during this time and mindful in terms of what we hear or listen to, as it could be extreme. Mercury in Capricorn can be quite hard-nosed and deliver some harsh blows, not to mention forcing us to confront reality and potentially making us a bit rigid in our thinking. Mercury is the planet of communication, and combined  with Saturn and Pluto and opposing the Moon we could either give or receive some messages that are psychologically hard to stomach but which may hit the nail on the head somehow. Indeed, we could have some profound psychological realisations about how things really are! It is important to watch out for power games, mind control, manipulation and conflicts of opinion. During the Full Moon and leading up to the conjunction, some very big decisions may need to be made that could have a far-reaching impact on our lives, both personally and collectively. It is very important to be mindful in thought and deed, and to take a step back if we feel upset or over-heated. The Cancer Moon and North Node remind us to remain open to one another rather than withdrawing communication or putting the walls up. 
 
Ceres, sometimes known as Mother Earth, is the goddess of food and agriculture and represents the way we give and receive nurturing. Ceres (otherwise known as Demeter) was mother to Persephone, who Pluto took a fancy to and took her away from her Mother to live with him in the underworld. It seems that Ceres could be quite a controlling, smothering, somewhat narcissistic mother, so on some level it may have been quite a relief for Persephone to have some time away from her to become her own person. Ceres’ grief was so severe at the separation from her daughter that in her agony and mourning she stopped the crops growing, so much so that after a year the human race was in dire straits and in danger of extinction. The humans started to lose faith in the Gods, so Jupiter intervened and decreed that Persephone would spend half the year in the underworld with Pluto and the other half in the company of Ceres. This is how Summer and Winter were created, for when Persephone went underground Ceres went into mourning.
 
With Ceres being so closely tied in with the Saturn Pluto conjunction, we are receiving a heavy dose of reality in the areas of life that she represents. Ceres represents the mother daughter bond and/or lack of it, highlighting issues around control and the need to break free.  She also represents the ancestral inheritance and genes we receive through the maternal line. She represents agriculture, food supplies and lack of it. Ceres has a correlation with the overall well-being of ordinary people, and is a very important symbol of the spirit and practice of democracy. She represents deep loss, grief, separation, death of a loved one and bereavement. She also represents the natural cycles of life, both in the seasons and in the cycle of birth, life and death, the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone. Her story points out that Persephone actually didn’t mind being with Pluto in the underworld, which could help us to see our own shadows and “underworld” in a different light. These are all issues that are being highlighted and brought to our attention at the moment, especially as Pluto himself is involved with this conjunction!
 
We are currently being asked to really step up to the plate and become accountable for whatever we are facing in our lives. And some of this is not easy material to face. We could be faced with some very big decisions, as we are asked somehow to make a deeper commitment as a new chapter begins. It is Eclipse season, which is a profound time of endings and beginnings and signifies a big shift in consciousness. The Moon/Eclipse could definitely bring things to a head for us emotionally and within our relationships, which ultimately could be exactly what we need, as challenging as it may seem at the time. Saturn and Pluto are forcing us to recognise things as they really are, not as we would like them to be. There is the potential for darkness here, but it is important to remember that there is no shadow without equal amounts of light. In fact, the brighter the light shines the darker the shadow seems in comparison. It is very important to be mindful, conscious and aware of our actions and reactions during this period of time, especially in the face of adversity.
 
It does indeed feel like we are at tipping point, on many levels; a karmic time of reckoning, when we reap what we have sown. It’s Judgement day! Old, entrenched patterns and our “armour” are being broken down and the process could be painful. How we respond to it all, however, is the most important thing. The Cancer North Node and Moon asks us to keep our hearts open and to honour our emotions rather than stuffing them down and shutting each other out. And if we can take anything from Capricorn, it is to always act from a place of maturity and integrity. Choose love, not fear.
 
Much Love
 
Amy
xoxo
 
Image: Inner Child sculpture from Burning Man
 

 
 
 

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    Amy Bird

    I love writing about the Moon and the effect it has on us all, both collectively and personally. We all look at the same Moon and feel her energy, albeit in different ways. It reminds us that we are not alone and there is something very comforting about that!

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