Aquarius New Moon

January 31, 2022February 1, 2022 / grayastrology / Leave a comment

Aquarius New Moon

The Aquarius New Moon on January 31 calls for deep contemplation during a turning of the tides and a primal change in seasons. The lunation will occur during the cross-quarter holidays in between the winter solstice and spring equinox in the northern hemisphere, in between the summer solstice and fall equinox in the southern hemisphere. Saturn in Aquarius is receiving the Aquarius New Moon within its airy domicile, as both luminaries will be applying closely toward a union with the star of Kronos. Saturn was named in connection with Kronos, called the “sinuous-minded” by Hesiod, and similarly throughout the astrological tradition the trials and tests brought by Saturn have been balanced by the thoughtfulness of Saturn, such as being given “the power of thought” in the 12th Century by Abraham Ibn Ezra and named “profound in Imagination” in the 17th Century by William Lily. The depth of contemplation experienced through Saturn is at full strength within Aquarius, as it is an airy, intellectual, and humanitarian zodiacal sign that can foster analysis of interpersonal dynamics as well as vast societal concerns impacting the wider world. Within the fertile darkness of the lunation, we may access the sinuous mindfulness of the Water Bearer who gathers insight from the flowing river of thoughts that bend and turn over again and again through the currents of life.

Saturn is known for constructing boundaries that can protect yet also constrain through becoming too hardened and set against change. Yet the deep contemplation of Saturn also allows for a testing of the limits of known boundaries that can bring about a reconstruction and renovation of the boundaries and structures we implement. Since the beginning of 2021 there has been a radical testing of personal and societal boundaries and structures brought about by the volatilizing square aspect between Saturn in Aquarius with Uranus in Taurus. The Aquarius New Moon is opportunely positioned to bring about reflection of the ways in which personal and societal dynamics have radically changed in the past year, as the Sun and Moon are separating from a square aspect with Uranus and applying toward a conjunction with Saturn.

As Saturn has long been viewed as the threshold guardian between the visible planets and the fixed stars, between time and timelessness, between the known and unknown, the profound influence of Saturn in Aquarius during the past year has stressed the importance of examining the ways in which our perception can become clouded, obscured by the mists of illusions about reality. In Aquarius, Saturn’s role of defining boundaries is applied to all matters of thought, highlighting the importance of how we utilize our perception to cultivate critical thinking skills in reception of information through external sources and internal rumination.

Crucially, the Aquarius New Moon is timed with the end of a Saturn cycle and the reseeding of a new Saturn cycle for the year to come. Saturn will be reanimated by the Sun on February 4 at 15°56’ Aquarius, bringing opportunities to more deeply examine the structures and boundaries of our life in order to make the changes needed to adapt to the changes taking place on personal and societal levels. This also means that Saturn is invisible in the underworld during the lunation, and will not emerge into visibility as a Morning Star until the week of February 20; as a result, while Saturn continues to operate in the darkness of its cycle in the weeks ahead we will need to take the time and construct the boundaried containers necessary to face the full reality of our circumstances and discern what requires shifting and restructuring. With Saturn passing through a phase of death and rebirth, we can similarly shed what needs emptied and released from the past cycle as we hone in on what can serve as the solid stone foundation to build upon in the year ahead.

As we reflect and gestate the new meaning and messages that will take shape through Saturn in the year ahead, the Aquarius New Moon is further timed with the recent stationing direct of both Uranus and Venus, as well as the stationing direct of Mercury a few days after the lunation. Saturn needs to take time to probe the complex depth of reality, time to make the necessary adjustments and come to terms with the inner insights that can help with building the forms that will endure as well as contain the authentic qualities we desire to embody and express. With so many planets stationing as Saturn is simultaneously regenerated, we may slow down and ground into deeper presence with whatever challenges and difficulties we have been contending with. We can engage with the side of Saturn open to the mystery of the unknown and willing to reflect upon the fullness of the moment, rather than being overly defensive, rigid, and righteously insisting on control or trying to force what we want to have happen.

*Iris Carrying the Water of the River Styx to Olympus for the Gods to Swear By*, Guy Head, (c. 1793)

The astrological atmosphere will be saturated with the archetypal presence of Venus and Mercury during the Aquarius New Moon, as both planets are in the process of stationing direct following extended retrograde phases. While Mercury will station direct on February 3 at 24°23’ Capricorn a few days after the lunation, Venus is only barely beginning to shift forward after having stationed direct on January 29 at 11°05’ Capricorn a couple days before the Aquarius New Moon. Mercury will now be joining Venus as a visible Morning Star before the sunrise, making their impact within our lives intensified as we begin to recover from their retrograde phases that began on December 19, 2021 for Venus and on January 14 for Mercury. As Venus and Mercury will be continuing to occupy their stationing degrees for an extended period, it will be beneficial to take the time needed for reflecting upon the experiences that aligned with their retrograde phases in order to distill the lessons and insights that will inform the new directions that will emerge in the coming weeks. While old patterns can be released, new patterns will be taking shape aligned with the desires emerging in awareness.

Pivotally, while the Aquarius New Moon is activating Uranus through a catalyzing aspect, there will also be a flowing trine aspect in place between Uranus with not only Venus in Capricorn, but also Mars and Vesta in Capricorn. Furthermore, Mars in Capricorn is also applying closely to an invigorating sextile aspect with Jupiter in Pisces it will complete on February 4. During the waxing half of the forthcoming lunar cycle, Mars in Capricorn will be getting closer and closer to Venus until eventually forming a conjunction with Venus on February 16, the same day as the upcoming Full Moon in Leo. The close proximity between Mars and Venus can enflame passions and conflicts in some cases, yet can also supply the heat needed to activate desires and create vital movement on goals and projects. With Mars joining Venus and Mercury in the sky each day before dawn, we can claim a more empowered presence in changing our lives in accordance with the inner shifts that has occurred during the recent period of both Mercury and Venus being retrograde.

It’s further significant that Vesta in Capricorn is applying toward a conjunction with Venus during the Aquarius New Moon, and in the waxing half of the forthcoming lunar cycle will be transiting in close alignment with Venus and Mars in Capricorn. In the Astronomica, a first century astrological text, Manilius connected Vesta as being the deity associated with Capricorn, writing that “Vesta tends your fires, Capricorn: and from her you derive your skills and callings. For whatever needs fire to function and demands a renewal of flame for its work must be counted as of your domain . . . That hot furnaces melt iron and bronze, and ovens give to the wheat its final form, will come as gifts from you.” The presence of Vesta with Venus and Mars can help in focalizing our attention on what we want to create with our life and what we need in relationship with others, strengthening our ability to take the space needed to make thing happened. Just like the sign of Aquarius holding the union between Saturn and the lunation can foster independence and acting from a place of inner reliance rather than external dependence, so will Vesta be able to bring the same quality of influence to the union of Venus and Mars.

Moreover, at the same time that Mars, Venus, and Vesta will be traveling together through Capricorn, Mercury will be spending and extended period of time in close proximity with Pluto in Capricorn. Pluto has now moved past the point it previously stationed retrograde on 27 April 2021, and so is journeying deeper into the terrain of Capricorn while stirring up deeper layers of conscious and unconscious content. Mercury will remain close with Pluto until leaving the sign of Capricorn on February 14, forming its third conjunction with Pluto on February 11 at 27°17’ Capricorn. The material that Mercury is connecting with through Pluto not only connects with its previous two conjunctions with Pluto on January 28 while retrograde and on December 30 while direct, but also with the fathomless depths of relational patterns and desires that Venus stirred up by being in close proximity with Pluto for the entire month of December 2021. As Mercury stations direct in the days following the Aquarius New Moon, pay attention to the signs and synchronicities emerging in your daily travels as well as nocturnal dreams.

The material brought up by Mercury with Pluto can feel painful and requires tender care and compassion. Yet rather than falling back into past patterns that need to be changed or shed,, there will be opportunities for changing relational and perceptual patterns to be in greater alignment with hour our internal sense of values and desires are beginning to emerge, revitalized by the bright presence of Venus along with Mercury and Mars at dawn.

Aquarius 2 Decan

The New Moon in Aquarius is in the second decan of Aquarius associated with the Six of Swords card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. The six swords in the image are anchored, suggesting firm resolve and grounded focus. Yet the swords are also staked into a boat journeying through watery, liminal space. There is a vision behind the image, a bold determination to follow foresight into foreign territory. The ferryman is in a role of guidance not unlike the psychopomp Mercury, which is fitting since Mercury is the ruler of the second face of Aquarius. The destination on the far shore is not capable of being reached by the passengers without the utility of the boat and the labor of the ferryman, and so there is also a need to surrender to being along for the ride. T Susan Chang in 36 Secrets wrote that the Six of Swords excels at “problem solving,” being “excellent for symbol manipulation and masterful at metaphor . . . good for writing your way out of a paper bag and thinking outside of the box.”

As the ferryman in the Six of Swords is creating a network in between shores, linking the known with the unknown, he is an apt symbol for Mercury being the ruler of the second face of Aquarius. Austin Coppock in his book 36 Faces ascribed the image of “Heaven and Earth” to this face, writing that it connects multiple territories with a sense of “principled but fierce wisdom,” as well as that the fixed nature of this face “stabilizes commerce between heaven and earth” while also establishing “independence between multiple worlds.” Coppock declared it to be a decan “of independence, of living and becoming according to one’s principles” so that one may “connect worlds without becoming beholden to them.” Like the ferryman and Hermes, those who occupy this face mediate a “steady commerce between heaven and earth” according to Coppock, allowing for “the connection of the orthodox and the unorthodox, the known and the unknown” as well as “the ideal and the practical.”

Furthermore, the Hellenistic text the 36 Airs ascribed Phobos to the second decan of Aquarius, the divine son of Ares and Aphrodite who is associated with the fear evoked in battle and war. Austin Coppock noted that as Phobos is connected with the etymology of “phobia,” its presence in this face also reveals “the fear that people have of what lies outside their small worlds.” It also brings to mind the double edged sword of fear, in that it can lead to poor choices rooted in paranoia as well as the kind of inspired action that erupts when we have our backs against the wall and the odds stacked against us.

As the Sun in the second decan of Aquarius unites with the Moon on January 31 followed by uniting with Saturn on February 4, we will be experiencing the cross-quarter holidays of Brigid and Candlemas. In the northern hemisphere, it’s the midpoint of Winter and the welcoming of increasing light when the goddess Brigid would be welcomed alongside her associations of poetry, protection, medicine, wisdom, crafts and blacksmithing. As Mercury stations direct and the New Moon conjoins Saturn, may the cunning arts of Brigid and the cunning presence of Mercury help guide us in using the scythe of Saturn to clear what needs releasing while preparing the ground for the harvest we desire to cultivate in the year ahead.

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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.

Hesiod. (2004). Theogony, Works and Days, Shield. Second edition. Translated by Apostolos N. Athanassakis. The John Hopkins University Press.

Ibn-Ezra, Avraham. (1998). The Beginning of Wisdom. Translated by Meira Epstein. ARHAT.

Lilly, William. (2004 edition). Christian Astrology. Astrology Classics

New Moon in Leo

August 8, 2021 / grayastrology / 1 Comment

Gold phiale (libation bowl), 4th – 3rd Century B.C. (Greek)

New Moon in Leo

The New Moon in Leo on August 8 will be brimming with the brilliant solar radiance that animates the Moon every year when she unites with the Sun in its fiery home of Leo, yet this year its inception will be strongly shaped by the potent force of Saturn and Jupiter occupying the opposite sign of Aquarius. Within the polarity between Leo and Aquarius, our urge to center upon the personal subjectivity of our passions must come into relationship with the plurality of multiplicities surrounding us internally and externally, including on the outskirts of our awareness. As the New Moon in Leo can facilitate connection with the creative desires we wish to pursue, its opposition with Saturn and Jupiter in Aquarius calls for us to find ways of bridging the blazing sovereignty of our purpose with the needs of wider networks and communities. The darkness of the New Moon in Leo will provide fertile soil for what has been gestating in your heart, readying itself to transmit its fiery eros through the presence and work you bring into the world.

As the Leo New Moon is separating from hard aspects with Saturn and Uranus while applying to an opposition with Jupiter, its zodiacal placement is strongly configured to the astrological movements which correlate with the uncertainty of being at a collective threshold while simultaneously experiencing our own personal process of metamorphosis. When feeling the tension of holding paradoxical perceptions while facing a crossroads or preparing to cross a threshold, it is natural for inner defenses to surface into awareness and lead us to question the direction forward. With the enlivening and steadying force of the Sun at the core of the lunation, we can utilize the Leo New Moon for investigating the nooks and crannies of our inner walls and exploring the ways we have built up layers of defense over time.

Within the dynamic strain between Saturn and Uranus, the propulsive force of Uranus may prod us to break free of old limitations or shatter forms of security in favor of whatever feels exciting and freeing, while the influence of Saturn may restrain us from making major changes due to fear of the unknown or feeling we are not ready. However, the profound contemplative capacity of Saturn in Aquarius can also help us reflect upon the ways in which we may feel blocked or inhibited from pursuing new directions, revealing insights regarding the past patterns sourcing our present. Now that Jupiter has returned to sharing the zodiacal terrain of Aquarius with Saturn, we can draw upon the growth oriented nature of Jupiter to find ways of integrating ideas of potential growth that may have felt too overwhelming in the past to expand into.

The fact that the Leo New Moon is applying to an opposition with Jupiter in Aquarius is additionally significant since the upcoming Full Moon in Aquarius on August 22 will be forming a conjunction with Jupiter. Allow yourself to sit with whatever issues may be arising regarding desires and plans, as the concentrated focus of Jupiter in Aquarius can assist in gaining a broader perspective that may reveal multiple sides of present circumstances that need to be considered. Whether patience or more urgent action is required, making space to reflect upon whatever challenges you have been contending with will help with grounding into the next steps to take. With Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Mercury, the Sun and the Moon all occupying fixed signs, you may find yourself more concerned than normal with ruminating over longterm plans and musings related to longterm visions. Between the Leo New Moon and when the Moon forms a conjunction with Jupiter while waxing into fullness on August 22, find ways to generate forward momentum on what you wish to create, gathering the courage to cross the threshold between how things have been and the unknown potential of what you are becoming.

Isadora Duncan at the Parthenon (1921) by Edward Steichen

In addition to the Leo Moon applying to an opposition with Jupiter, Mercury in Leo is also forming an opposition with Jupiter in Aquarius that will become exact on August 10 at 28°24′ of Leo and Aquarius. Mercury in Leo recently formed an opposition with Saturn on August 1 and a square with Uranus on August 3, and so the tension between Mercury with Jupiter during the Leo New Moon will make us more acutely aware of adjustments needed to be made within developing plans, aspects of ideas that need to be let go as well as new sources of inspiration that may open new potential directions. Mercury will then quickly move into its earthy home and exaltation of Virgo on August 11 and into a catalyzing square aspect with the transiting lunar nodes that it will complete on August 15. As Mercury is the ruler of the transiting north node in Gemini, the week following the lunation will place the star of Hermes in position to provide key insight into the issues surrounding the new directions we wish to pursue and however storylines are changing.

Meanwhile, Mars in Virgo is also applying to a tense square aspect with the transiting lunar nodes during the Leo New Moon, completing the aspect a few days after the lunation on August 11. The square between Mars and the lunar nodes comes less than two weeks behind the square formed by Venus with the lunar nodes on July 29 that brought awareness of important changes needing to be made within relational dynamics. It’s been less than a month since Venus and Mars formed a conjunction on July 13 and we are only at the beginning of a long process of coming to terms with the new creative and relational desires that will be taking shape in correlation as they will ultimately form two more conjunctions on February 16, 2022 and March 5, 2022 before fully initiating their new cycle. For now, with Mars forming a square to the lunar nodes we may feel frustration regarding what isn’t working or feeling like we haven’t made enough progress on what we desire to create. Allow the ingenuity of Mars in Virgo to create mutations in plans and actions to better fit the reality of changing circumstances.

As the Moon waxes toward the Full Moon in Aquarius that will occur on August 22, Mercury will form a conjunction with Mars in Virgo on August 18. The conjunction between Mercury and Mars in Virgo is unusually important due to the fact that Mercury will end up forming two more conjunctions with Mars in the next few months due to stationing retrograde at the end of September. Mercury will form a second conjunction with Mars in Libra on October 9 while Mercury is retrograde, with both Mercury and Mars additionally forming conjunctions with the Sun. After Mercury stations direct it will form its third conjunction with Mars in Scorpio on November 10 at the same time that Mercury and Mars will also be forming an opposition with Uranus and a square aspect with Saturn. As a result, the forthcoming lunar cycle will introduce a theme involving Mercury and Mars that will not only be playing out over the course of the next three months but will ultimately also serve as yet another catalyzing trigger to the immense changes in life structures taking place as Saturn and Uranus continue their change inducing, clashing relationship.

Vitally, the first conjunction between Mercury and Mars at 12°48′ Virgo on August 18 is notable due to it occurring at the same time that Uranus will be stationing retrograde at 14°48′ Taurus on August 19. Not only will the astrological atmosphere be saturated with the emancipatory impulses of Uranus at this time, but the conjunction between Mercury and Mars will be forming a flowing trine aspect with Uranus. Moreover, the conjunction between Mars and Mercury will be occurring around the same time that Mercury is rising into its first appearance as a visible Evening Star, intensifying the influence of the star of Hermes. As a result, as we approach the upcoming Full Moon in Aquarius there will be powerful support for breaking free from past restrictive patterns and choosing to pursue the uncertainty of change rather than remain in the normalcy of a comfort zone.

Venus is continuing to glow bright as an Evening Star following sunset and is applying to an opposition with Neptune in Pisces during the lunation. Venus will form an exact opposition with Neptune at 22°41′ of Virgo and Pisces on August 9, a day after the Leo New Moon. Moreover, Venus in Virgo is also applying to a flowing trine aspect with Pluto in Capricorn, forming an exact trine with Pluto on August 11 at 24°59′ of Virgo and Capricorn. The discerning analysis of Venus in Virgo can strip away illusory projections within relational dynamics so we may better orient to the actual needs and reality of our relationships. Yet there is also an ideal of love and devotion that Venus in Virgo can cultivate within her polarizing aspect with Neptune to express within our relationships, with the empowering trine between Venus and Pluto adding a depth of feeling that can connect with the inner soulfulness of each partner. If you have been experiencing difficult emotions or anxieties recently, let Venus direct you towards tangible sources of pleasure that can relax your mind and allow for greater ease in flowing with whatever changes have been taking shape in your life.

After moving through her opposition with Neptune and trine with Pluto, Venus will enter her airy domicile of Libra on August 15. Venus will remain in Libra until September 10 when she will enter Scorpio. After entering Libra, Venus will begin applying to a flowing trine aspect with Saturn in Aquarius that will become exact on August 23, a day after the upcoming Full Moon in Aquarius. Venus in Libra will be helpful for mediating any difficulties or tension within relationship as well as provide opportunities for meaningful and delightful social interactions. With Venus forming harmonious relationships with both Saturn and Jupiter in Aquarius during her time in Libra, it will be an opportune time for making significant progress on whatever new creative directions become generated by the New Moon in Leo. The presence of Venus in her airy home will also create a supportive astrological climate for having conversations within relationships about changing needs and figuring out however the relational dynamics between partners need to be altered accordingly.

Leo 2 Decan

The New Moon in Leo is in the second decan of Leo associated with the Six of Wands card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. An image of triumphant victory, we see the strident champion being honored by an adoring crowd as well as a wreath of laurel. As laurel is of the nature of the Sun just like the gold medals pursued by competitors in the recent Olympic games, there is potential within the second face of Leo for not only expression of soulful radiance, creativity, and power but also reception of honors for it. Fittingly, Jupiter rules the second face of Leo, revealing the potency found within this decan for expansive success.

Austin Coppock in his book 36 Faces ascribed the image of “A Crown of Laurels” to this face, proclaiming it “holds within it the magical power of authenticity- here defined as a harmonious connection between the external sphere in which one acts and the spirit fire within each individual.” Yet the pride and glory of victory in the Six of Wands image also reflects its shadow of hubris, as Coppock wrote that “great works do not guarantee any greatness of character.” Coppock further noted that the second face of Leo can guide us toward realizing what elements of our public persona are out of alignment with our inner integrity, or instead how we may need to embody more humility within experiences of recent praise or glory. Coppock made the point that “recognition of one’s virtues does not dispel the reality of one’s vices,” since many images of the decan in ancient text show it is “the temptations of selfishness and cruelty which stain the triumphal nature of this decan.” Coppock declared that the promise and power of victory is so strong in this decan we must guard against becoming blinded by the solar light of success.

Thus we can utilize the New Moon in the second decan of Leo for gaining insight into how to refine the way we are expressing the indomitable light of our inner soul into the world around us. Fascinatingly, it is none other than the great goddess Isis who resides in the second face of Leo according to the Hellenistic text the 36 Airs. Isis became syncretized as the goddess containing all goddesses in the Hellenistic era, and just as she weaves many traditions together in her history, so does she weave a web of love through times of trauma to bring about an eventual retrieval and integration of wholeness. Isis brings the courage needed to resiliently persist on inner journeys to reanimate whatever aspects of our essential self have become fragmented. Within the darkness of the New Moon in Leo, be willing to descend into inner depths so that you may retrieve desires that had become lost or suppressed, arising again full of purpose and meaning to share in the world.

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References

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

New Moon in Aquarius

January 24, 2020 / grayastrology / 2 Comments

Ark panel from Chartres Cathedral

New Moon in Aquarius

Following the flooding of last month’s Capricorn eclipse season, the Aquarius New Moon on January 24 bears light within its darkness to discover and utilize in illuminating the emerging path ahead. Eclipses bring dissolution externally and internally, and so whether recognized or unrecognized the past month of intense astrological alignments have deeply stirred and reshaped matters. There was a Solar Eclipse in Capricorn on December 25/26, a Lunar Eclipse in Cancer on January 10, and the conjunction of Saturn and Pluto on January 12 that also involved the Sun beginning new cycles with Mercury, Ceres, Saturn, and Pluto within a few days. The New Moon in Aquarius initiates us into the first lunation cycle of the 2020s, and further marks the Year of the Metal Rat beginning within Chinese astrology and culture.

Aquarius is the outwardly directed home of Saturn that utilizes the air element’s power of thought to diverge from the mainstream, gaining understanding that can only be found beyond the boundaries and barriers of the status quo. In the past month of Saturn commingling with Pluto, we have been invited to descend into inner depths far removed from the drama and contention impacting our surface engagement with the everyday. We have had the opportunity to confront our relationship with time, realize what truly matters, and commit toward engagement with whatever vitally moves our soul and inspires us to resiliently persevere in the preservation of life.

As the Aquarius New Moon is separating from a catalyzing square aspect with Uranus in Taurus as well as a harmonious sextile with Chiron in Aries, there is a gale behind the lunation to catch sail with on our journey through the tumultuous astrology of 2020. There is movement within the lunation to bridge inner visions of our unconscious with our conscious participation in daily life, as the New Moon is applying toward a conjunction with Mercury in Aquarius, while Mercury is applying toward an invigorating sextile with Mars in Sagittarius. Mercury is carrying a message from the Saturn and Pluto conjunction that requires more time for gestation, since Mercury is still invisible under the beams of the Aquarius Sun. After Mercury emerges into visibility as an Evening Star on January 31 (as the waxing Moon in Taurus unites with Uranus), we will be able to receive wider understanding regarding the shifts taking shape in the past month, and greater clarity regarding the direction to follow into the future.

In order to face the future from a centered position, however, we necessarily will have to embrace and draw from our past, not only our inspiring moments of success but also how we have learned from our wounding experiences. As we are collectively coming to an ending and beginning of a new era in 2020, we also need to acknowledge the complex and traumatic clashes of civilizations across time and how they are continuing to impact the discordant strife within current events. The objectifying nature of Mercury in the airy sign of Aquarius can facilitate listening to the underlying meaning within our interactions to discern where we need to focus for our own growth, and how we can be in service to others in need of support. For those who have felt weighed down during the past month, the Aquarius New Moon can ideally facilitate a healthy dose of detachment that can lead to innovative insights and a far ranging perspective that contextualizes present difficulties.

Aquarius panel from Chartres Cathedral

The Aquarius New Moon is ruled by Saturn in Capricorn, with Saturn being only one degree separated from its conjunction with Pluto. The Saturn and Pluto conjunction is in the twelfth place relative to the Aquarius New Moon, in position to facilitate deep contemplation of circumstances that can bring to light issues and matters that have previously been kept hidden in darkness. There will be enduring consequences stemming from the Saturn and Pluto conjunction, and although its impact will remain in effect within a fifteen degree orb into 2021, its most significant period of being within three degrees of separation will last until February 17, toward the end of the lunar cycle initiated by the Aquarius New Moon. Saturn governs slow, arduous processes necessitating determination and discipline, and so we will need to stick with any trouble we have been experiencing, patiently working our way through any challenges. There will be significant developments related to the Saturn and Pluto conjunction coming in the forthcoming lunar cycle, so make the space to give associated events the time and space they need for sorting through.

Even though we are only at the beginning of 2020, many astrologers and astrology enthusiasts have been looking forward to the end of 2020 when Jupiter and Saturn will finally conjoin in Aquarius on December 21, only four degrees away from the degree of the Aquarius New Moon. While there is reason for astrological excitement due to 2020 transitioning us from a two hundred year cycle of Jupiter and Saturn uniting in earth signs into a two hundred year cycle of Jupiter and Saturn uniting in air signs, we have a lot of ground to cover in 2020 between now and then. As Jupiter in Capricorn moves through its closing, balsamic phase with Saturn during the year while uniting three different times with Pluto, there will be collective eruptions that reflect old historical issues of oppression and injustice rooted in the old era we are bringing to a close. There will be a great death of old forms and structures to endure, leading to the question of how to best work with the processes of putrefaction while simultaneously receiving visions of new ideas over the distant horizon.

Marc Chagall stained glass from St. Stephan Cathedral in Mainz, Germany

As the Aquarius Sun sets into darkness, Venus will be shinning bright as an Evening Star in her exaltation of Pisces that gives her access to the full range of her sensuality and aesthetics. Venus is a key player within the dynamics of the lunation, as she is separating from a harmonizing sextile aspect with Jupiter in Capricorn and applying toward a heated square aspect with Mars in Sagittarius as well as an otherworldly conjunction with Neptune in Pisces. Venus will form her exact square with Mars on January 26 and her exact conjunction with Neptune on January 27. There is rich paradox within these aspects: on one side the unconditional, boundless love of Venus and Neptune that delights in merging, on the other side the fiery individualism and freedom seeking of Mars in harsh aspect that can create conflict and separation while maintaining independence.

Within the tension between Mars with Venus and Neptune, we need to strike a balance that draws upon their strengths and mediates their pitfalls. While we can summon the severing of Mars to shed the sort of illusions, projections, and over idealizations that Venus and Neptune can reveal together, we also need to discern when illusory projections are stoking desires for separation. Negatively, the crusading side of Mars in Sagittarius can become blinded by ideals to the extent of causing damage where destruction was unnecessary. Positively, although Venus and Neptune can become overly consumed by pleasure seeking and avoidant of mundane work, the catalyzing of Mars can light the fire of passions and inspire focused effort that utilizes the imaginative potency of Venus combined with Neptune. In the context of setting plans in motion with the beginning of a new lunar cycle, altogether it can be a powerful combination when focused on anything that enables integrating and bringing together the divergent elements of Mars, Venus, and Neptune.

Notably, Jupiter in Capricorn is ruling all three: Venus, Neptune, and Mars. While Jupiter is forming a sextile aspect with the Venus and Neptune conjunction in Pisces, it is also coming into range of a shadowy anti-scia with Mars in Sagittarius that will be potent between January 27 and 29. Jupiter is in position to help us learn from the challenging experiences of this period and buoyantly recover from setbacks, and is capable of coalescing growth or insight from any disillusionment, dissolution, or shedding taking place. With Jupiter co-present with Saturn in Capricorn, however, we need to guard against excess and instead focus on processes of creative contraction that take account of the constraints and limitations we are facing. Going to extremes or taking things too far with grandiose reactions can bring about a downfall that will force us to deal with difficult repercussions.

5 of Swords by Pamela Colman Smith

Aquarius 1 Decan

The New Moon in Aquarius arises in the first face of Aquarius associated with the Five of Swords card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. In the image of the Five of Swords we see a proud swordsman watching his conquered rivals flee, leaving him solitary in a newly cleared domain. Austin Coppock in his book on the decans 36 Faces ascribed the image of “The Mark of Exile” to the first decan of Aquarius, noting it “is a face of exclusion and intentional exile.” Coppock linked the meaning of this card to the independence, liberation, and “wider and deeper understanding of reality” to be found through breaking free from the orthodox and accepting “the mark of the heretic.” In this way, the image of the Five of Swords shows how we must sacrifice relationships when going into exile in frontiers beyond the known. Coppock stressed that the first face of Aquarius reveals that we often need to give up certain relationships as well as financial prosperity in order to gain the independence and spiritual understanding of the outsider.

The Hellenistic text the 36 Airs described the goddess of justice Dike as inhabiting the first face of Aquarius. Dike is the daughter of Zeus and Themis who is often seen wearing a laurel wreath and carrying a balancing scale so she may measure injustice. While her mother Themis is the goddess of divine justice, Dike rules over the moral justice of humanity. In one of her stories she lived on Earth during the Golden and Silver Ages when there was peace and prosperity. However, over time as humanity became increasingly corrupted and greedy, she became so full of contempt for humanity that she left the Earth forever to become a constellation in the sky. Fittingly, the two rulers of the first decan of Aquarius are Venus (descending order) and Saturn (triplicity order), signifying the boundaries of our relationships and the moral guidelines we use to determine who we form relationship with and who we separate ourselves from.

The rulerships of Venus and Saturn over the first face of Aquarius also makes me think of the individuation process of Carl Jung that demands descent into the frontiers of our inner psyche beyond our known boundaries of conventional psychology. Peter Kingsley in Catafalque goes to great length in describing passages dictated by Carl Jung that were omitted from publication in his memoir Memories, Dreams, and Reflections in which Jung used the central image of a knight in pursuit of the Grail to describe individuation. Kingsley noted that Jung stressed the crucial importance of the knight “adhering to the unwritten laws of chivalry” in order to gain the Grail, a moral code befitting of Venus and Saturn ruling the first face of Aquarius. Vitally, Kingsley’s summation of Jung’s words concluded that “the secret of individuation is that the one and only way to discover the Grail is by being it.”

Of course, the lore of the Grail demands asking “Whom does the Grail serve?” Similarly, the potent inner work that can be engaged with during the darkness of the Aquarius New Moon can also be most effectively utilized by asking yourself whom or what to serve with the regenerated light you discover within your inner darkness.

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References

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

Kingsley, Peter. (2018). Catafalque: Carl Jung and the End of Humanity. Catafalque Press.

Gray Crawford

ASTROLOGY

New Moon square Uranus

Aquarius New Moon