New Moon in Aquarius

The Aquarius New Moon on 9 February 2024 not only heralds the Year of the Wood Dragon, but also fittingly possesses a jolting burst of invigorating astrological aspects that will support courageous action, innovative reinvention, inspiring ideas, and moving at greater speed in pursuit of goals. While 2024 is the Year of the Wood Dragon in Chinese astrology, in tropical astrology the union of Jupiter and Uranus in Taurus in April will possess a similar quality of breakthroughs and exciting opportunities. The New Moon in Aquarius will jumpstart the inventive and liberating meaning of Jupiter and Uranus, as the Aquarius Moon will be moving in between Jupiter and Uranus in Taurus, the exaltation of the Moon. The Aquarius Moon will be separating from a stimulating square with Jupiter and applying to a galvanizing square aspect with Uranus, creating an electrifying atmosphere for the lunation that will require making space for the lightning strikes of Zeus and his grandfather Ouranos. Listen closely to your dreams and the omens of your daily journeys, opening with reception to the sudden messages that can spark important new ideas to develop or changes in direction that need to be considered.

Making the lunation even more potent is the presence of Pluto in Aquarius. The Aquarius New Moon is the first lunation to share the same sign as Pluto in Aquarius since 1798, and combined with Mercury in Aquarius having recently formed a conjunction with Pluto in Aquarius on 4 February, the Aquarius New Moon will initiate important new storylines and relationships that will be part of the long story arc of Pluto in Aquarius that will be playing out during the next twenty years. Pluto in Aquarius has consistently brought radical changes in leadership, power dynamics, and worldviews within global events, possessing a decentering force that has at times overturned longstanding conceptions of consensus reality. There have been numerous storylines in current events and technological invention foreshadowing some of the larger changes that will take shape, but we are obviously at too early of a stage to know where Pluto in Aquarius is clearly leading. For now take note of what you sense is beginning to change with a willingness for experimentation, leaning into the aspects that bring inspiring sources of new life, interest, and invention.

The major reason to focus on the forward momentum of exciting goals is that all of the planets are moving direct. Since Uranus stationed direct soon after the recent Full Moon in Leo, all of the planets will continue to maintain forward momentum until the beginning of April when Mercury will station retrograde. Fittingly, paying attention to the swift motion of Mercury during the darkness of the Aquarius New Moon will be key. Mercury is presently moving at its fastest speed having disappeared into its invisible solar phase en route to its superior conjunction with the Sun that will take place on 28 February. As the lunar cycle waxes into the Full Moon in Mercury’s domicile of Virgo on 24 February, Mercury will thread a needle in between Jupiter and Uranus. Mercury will form a catalytic square aspect with Jupiter on 10 February followed by another square with Uranus on 16 February. The week of Mercury bridging Jupiter and Uranus will be a source of mental seeds that can eventually grow into towering works of imagination.

Since Mercury is simultaneously bringing its Morning Star phase to a close, pay attention to the mental material in need of being released and burned away by the noetic flames of the Sun. With Mercury simultaneously activating the meaning of the upcoming Jupiter and Uranus conjunction, listen for the breakthrough ideas and hunches that can help propel you into invigorating and innovative directions. You may also realize old mental frameworks and perceptions that feel increasingly constrictive or misaligned with your experience and sense of inner purpose. Furthermore, Saturn in Pisces is the lord of the lunation, and Saturn is also coming to the end of its cycle with the Sun en route to its superior conjunction that will also take place on 28 February, the same day that Mercury will also be regenerated by the Sun. Altogether the combination of Mercury and Saturn ending cycles will emphasize the release of what needs to be shed so you have more space to fully embrace the inventive ideas constellating between Jupiter and Uranus.

While Mercury is adding a lot of mental excitement to the mix of the Aquarius New Moon, Mars and Venus in Capricorn are both engaging the imaginal dreamscape of Neptune. Mars completed a sextile aspect with Neptune on 7 February during the waning Moon, while Venus will form an exact sextile with Neptune a week later on 13 February. The growing tension between Mars and Venus is one of the most important underlying influences of the lunation, and as they move through harmonious aspects with Neptune you may notice important themes manifesting in the music, film, and other forms of media you are drawn toward that can be revealing about your present relationship with Venus and Mars. Neptune exposes the illusions of reality we move within, but can also open our awareness to the deep yearnings and inner dreams that become important sources of inspiration and drive. With Venus and Mars coming to the end of a cycle, their engagement with Neptune can bring realizations of what aspects of your desires are in dissolution, washing away as part of a new cycle of drive and desire that will be taking shape as Mars and Venus initiate a new cycle in the month ahead.

The month of February 2024 has the relatively unique quality of being a “leap year” in which there will be twenty-nine days rather than the usual twenty-eight. There is fitting symbolism to the “leap,” as the astrology of the month is bridging numerous conceptions of time and planetary cycles at once. While we are grounded in our daily focus, we may also be able to leap far ahead with visions of where we want to move in the years ahead. The reason has to do with the great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn on 21 December 2020 at 00°29′ Aquarius. The Jupiter and Saturn conjunction initiated a twenty year cycle between them as well as a more epochal cycle of two hundred years in which Jupiter and Saturn will form conjunction in air signs. Contacts to zero degrees of Aquarius will continue to bring signs, events and experiences that will be important aspects of the story arc between Jupiter and Saturn, relating not only to their twenty year cycle but also the much longer age of air heralded by their 2020 union.

During the two weeks following the Aquarius New Moon, as the Moon continues to increase in light, there will be a sequence of pivotal alignments corresponding with momentous developments in storylines. First, Mars will enter Aquarius on 13 February and form a conjunction with Pluto, followed by Venus entering Aquarius on 16 February and forming a conjunction with Pluto on 17 February. Mars and Venus activating Pluto within days of one another, at zero degrees of Aquarius where the Jupiter and Saturn conjunction took place, will open awareness to the new desires emerging from the depths unleashed by Pluto in Aquarius. Since Mars and Venus are the closest planets to our Earth in orbit, they connect us with primal feelings and passions which we discover within our inner darkness, away from the rationalism and judgment of daylight. There is immense significance to the fact that as Mars and Venus each enter Aquarius and form a conjunction with Pluto, they will be simultaneously at the end of their cycle that began on 5 March 2022 at 00°01′ Aquarius.

The heat between Mars and Venus, combined with the volcanic force of Pluto, can volatilize change in desires, initiating us into a process of rediscovering what we want and how we wish to creatively express ourselves. Changes felt regarding alliances, friendships, competition, and ambition may connect with much larger storylines that we are only at the beginning of understanding. You also may not feel like any major changes need to be made in relationship, but nonetheless there is most likely something about your inner creative drive and purpose that is simmering in process of being reshaped and reforged. Venus and Mars will conjoin at 6°57′ Aquarius on 22 February in most time zones, as the Moon waxes toward the Virgo Full Moon that will take place on 24 February.

While Venus relates to what we find beautiful, pleasurable, valuable, and distasteful, Mars represents our ability to pursue our desires, fight for our values, and separate ourselves from whatever we find intolerable or displeasing. Their conjunction in the airy fixed sign of Aquarius is important due to their proximity with Pluto in Aquarius, as well as the invigorating square aspect they will form with Jupiter in Taurus. The coming together of Venus and Mars can create conflicts in relationship, yet underneath the tension will be important realizations of what needs to be more fully worked out in the relational dynamic to be more aligned with what you want and need. The influence of Jupiter in Taurus may increase drives for going after more in life, but the disorientation brought by Pluto having recently entered Aquarius also needs to be kept in mind. The confusion that could be brought by Pluto’s entrance into a new sign may make this more of a time to experiment with new directions rather than fully committing to radical changes. In any event the movement of Venus and Mars in between Pluto and Jupiter will bring to the surface important insights about the creative directions you will be most inspired to pursue in the year ahead.

After Venus separates from her conjunction with Mars on 22 February she will quickly complete her square aspect with Jupiter on 24 February, under the illumination of the Full Moon in Virgo. With Venus receiving Jupiter into her home of Taurus, the tension between Venus, Jupiter, and Mars can ultimately lead toward some productive growth, but the critical eye of the Virgo Full Moon may first pinpoint areas that need to be modified. Venus previously formed a square aspect with Jupiter when stationing direct at the end of her retrograde cycle last September, and so it may be helpful to reflect upon all of the changes that have happened since the Venus retrograde period last year and how that has informed the present. Venus formed a square aspect with Jupiter when retrograde on 22 August 2023 and then another once moving direct on 16 September 2023; after Venus later entered Scorpio, she formed an opposition with Jupiter on 9 December 2023. There may be important storylines of developments across these hard aspects between Venus and Jupiter that are feeding into the new cycle beginning between Mars and Venus.

The next conjunction between Venus and Mars will be a very significant union on 7 January 2026 at 18°09′ Capricorn that will also involve the Sun beginning a new cycle with Venus on 6 January and the Sun beginning a new cycle with Mars on 9 January 2026. What begins between Venus and Mars in the lunar cycle ahead will be playing out until then.

Aquarius 3 Decan

The New Moon in Aquarius is in the third decan of Aquarius associated with the Seven of Swords card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. An image of subterfuge, strategy, and deception, the figure sneaking away on tip-toes is leaving the known of one realm for the unknown of another. T. Susan Chang in 36 Secrets described the Seven of Swords as “the exceptionally resourceful card of Odysseus,” representing the many arts of deception utilized by the complicated Odysseus on his epic journey and “the many turnings of his wily mind.” Like the cunning wisdom of Odysseus, the resourcefulness found in the third decan of Aquarius can facilitate the problem solving necessary to move from the known to the unknown.

Austin Coppock in 36 Faces ascribed the image of “The Knot” to the third face of Aquarius, utilizing the symbol of a knot to reveal the karmic binds that keep us stuck in the known and familiar rather than liberating ourselves to enter the unknown. Coppock described the stealthy figure in the image of the Seven of Swords card as not only having decided to leave a frustrating situation, but also having already contemplated what is worth taking and saving versus what is better left behind. The third face of Aquarius involves the risk that comes from exile and the uncertainty of no longer having the stability of the structures being left behind, but the figure in the Seven of Swords card has determinedly chosen the unknown over the known. 

Many ancient texts describe human figures for this face, which fits well with Aquarius being a human sign, but they are often portrayed as angry. Coppock linked the fact that many old images for this decan are wrathful to the third decan of Aquarius involving the “slowly growing disgust and frustration with the state of things” that ultimately leads to change. Yet while Coppock described this face as being about the forsaking of the known, he also emphasized the simultaneous complexity and difficulty of embracing the unknown and leaving what has been secure and familiar behind. Coppock wrote that it is a face of frustration, anger, resentment and critiques, but also “illuminates karmic entanglements and oversees liberation from them.”

The third decan of Aquarius is the face of the Moon, and so the meaning of this decan will be brought to life with the Moon beginning a new cycle here. Austin Coppock wrote that the Moon in the third decan of Aquarius “has the power to make the exile comfortable, the alien feel at home,” and that people born with the Moon in this face “are emotionally independent, capable of finding comforts where none seem to exist.” During a time of numerous refugee crises erupting around the world, the square aspect between the Moon in the third decan of Aquarius with Uranus in Taurus will likely bring an even greater influx of stories concerning refugees and their survival needs into current events. In our personal lives, it also will bring revelations concerning whatever threshold of transition we are facing with the recent ingress of Pluto into Aquarius, the approaching conjunction between Jupiter and Uranus, and Saturn being at the end of its cycle with Neptune. We may realize what aspects of the familiar need to be shed as we enter an accelerated period of change.

Fittingly for a face favoring the unknown over the known, the Hellenistic text the 36 Airs ascribed Osiris, Egyptian lord of the dead and the otherworld, to the third face of Aquarius. The presence of Osiris with the lunation brings themes of fertility and regeneration, mystery and becoming to the forefront. Osiris calls us to find resources and enrichment within the depth of our unconscious so we may nurture our own metamorphosis, rather than seeking external forms of validation that could condition the change underway. Osiris possess a sacred quality of surrender to the process of regeneration, surrendering to all of the suffering that must be endured in order to fully nurture and realize our own creative potential. Rather than pulling back from change out of fear, allow the eternally wise presence of Osiris to guide you through whatever transition you are experiencing so you may become who you are meant to be on the other side. May you receive the insight you need to adapt to the great changes underway within the darkness of the New Moon in Aquarius.

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References

Chang, T. Susan. (2021). 36 Secrets: A Decanic Journey through the Minor Arcana of the Tarot. Anima Mundi Press.

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: The History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans. Three Hands Press.