Third face of Aries

Solar Eclipse in Aries

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Multitudes by Norman Lewis
Audio recording of Aries Solar Eclipse article

Solar Eclipse in Aries

“You, darkness, of whom I am born– / I love you more than the flame / that limits the world / to the circle it illuminates / and excludes all the rest.

But the dark embraces everything: / shapes and shadows, creatures and me, / people, nations–just as they are.

It lets me imagine / a great presence stirring beside me.

I believe in the night.

The Night by Rainer Maria Rilke

Anyone who has been in the presence of a total solar eclipse knows the strange, otherworldly experience of the bright light of day becoming consumed by the darkness of night. In an instant everything changes. The blackness of night suddenly overcoming the light of day evokes an eerie threshold, with a palpable sense of liminality felt in the moment. In astrology, eclipses involve the symbolism of thresholds in which endings occur in some storylines while new beginnings burst forth from others. The Aries Solar Eclipse on April 19 or 20, depending upon your time zone, will coincide with a swiftly shifting, accelerated pace of change that could feel overwhelming. Yet by creating space for slowing down when possible and mindfully attuning to the interplay between internal and external change, we may align our trajectory with the propulsive currents so that we may discover new sources of inspiration and creative directions to develop in the weeks following the eclipse. As the Aries Solar Eclipse will be followed by a Scorpio Lunar Eclipse on 5 May, in order to fully embrace a new direction we will need to come to terms with what needs to be shed and released from the past.

The lunar nodes demarcate eclipses whenever a new moon or full moon conjoins them, as the nodes are the intersection between the apparent path of the Sun with the orbital arc of the Moon. As the word node comes from the Latin nodus or “knot,” there is a symbolism of unravelling that comes with eclipses. Within current events we can witness how knots that bind together aspects of society unravel while we also can feel how the knots binding together our inner multiplicity into different forms of identity also become loosened to enable a reweaving of presence. The unraveling of associated feelings can be difficult, yet the process can help dislodge us from places we have been stuck while making us aware of vital feelings that have been repressed or ignored. We may also realize how we have been projecting our fears in ways that have kept us tied up in a limiting pattern from the past, while gaining clarified awareness of vibrant new directions to pursue.

There are multiple ways in which the Aries Solar Eclipse can usher in a potent season of new beginnings. Since the eclipse is aligned with the North Node of the Moon it signifies new forms and desires gestating within us that can feel simultaneously inspiring and confusing. The Aries Solar Eclipse is also at the final degree of Aries, emphasizing the importance of new directions and intentions that coincided with the previous New Moon on 21 March that took place at the first degree of Aries. The emphasis on the full range of the fiery, cardinal sign of Aries is the reason we can expect a rush of quickly changing events to coincide with the eclipse. As the Solar Eclipse is also the first eclipse in a series of eclipses that will be taking place in Aries and Libra in the next two years, we have additional symbolism re-emphasizing the likelihood of important new directions emerging within the rush of events. A balance will need to be struck between making sure we are not rushing too quickly ahead while also making sure we are not overly cautious to the point that we refuse the call of an important path. It will be important to discern what you are consuming and make the necessary time and space to digest and integrate the elements that will bring nourishment and foster the growth you wish to pursue.

Due to the solar eclipse taking place at the final degree of Aries, the Moon will be separating from a conjunction with Jupiter in Aries while applying toward a close square aspect with Pluto in Aquarius. The Sun will be eclipsed within its exaltation of Aries, at the same time the Sun will be preparing to exit from its exalted status to enter Taurus, a zodiacal sign that offers no special status to the Sun. As a result, we can expect stories of people with exalted status within society having a fall from the heights of fortune, fame, authority, or power. More importantly, we can also consider how certain dreams, visions, or ideals that we have exalted in the past no longer carry the same luster for us. The catalyzing square between the eclipse with Pluto means we will need to pay attention to places where we are holding on too tightly to past attachments, ideals, or identities that need to be laid to rest. Rather than resisting the regeneration of Pluto, be curious about however you are feeling you need to shed past identities or goals or make significant alterations to previous plans and ambitions. Pluto has only been in Aquarius since 23 March and is only at the beginning of a twenty year journey through the sign of the Water Pourer. The Aries Solar Eclipse will bring crucial lessons in how we have been adjusting to the tectonic restructuring brought by Pluto entering a new sign.

The eclipse forming a square with Pluto has a strong connection with the origin eclipse in the Saros cycle family that the Aries Solar Eclipse belongs to. Eclipses come in families known as the Saros cycle, with the origin eclipse of each family beginning at either the south or north pole and then tracing a serpentine path around our world every eighteen or so years, moving ahead eleven degrees of celestial longitude each time. The origin eclipse of the Aries Solar Eclipse’s family took place on 3 October 1103 and formed an opposition with Pluto. Due to the opposition with Pluto as well as that the origin eclipse was at the midpoint of Venus and Mars, Bernadette Brady in Predictive Astrology: The Eagle and the Lark described this series as “a very sensual family of eclipses, ranging from sudden sexual passions and lust to birth and procreative drives.” Fitting for an eclipse series connected with Pluto, Brady wrote that this eclipse family “is not subtle, and can catch people off guard and confront them with their own very deep passion which may have been hidden for many years.” Brady’s analysis of the eclipse family themes that stem from the origin eclipse resonates with the ways in which the clash between the Aries Solar Eclipse and Pluto can uproot buried desires.

Eye of the Storm by Norman Lewis

Although the Solar Eclipse is the first to take place in the signs of Aries and Libra, the transiting lunar nodes are in Taurus and Scorpio where they will remain for another three moths. As a result, during 2023 we will have a transitional year in which we will experience the first two solar eclipses occurring in Aries and Libra while we also experience the final two lunar eclipses occurring in Scorpio and Taurus. Thus while new stories associated with Aries and Libra will be beginning this year, we will simultaneously need to be resolving storylines associated with the eclipses in Taurus and Scorpio that began toward the end of 2021 when there was a Lunar Eclipse in Taurus on 19 November 2021. In between the Aries Solar Eclipse on 20 April and the Scorpio Lunar Eclipse on 5 May we will need to address emerging issues with the realization that some elements will need to be resolved or released as part of a larger process that will also be bringing us into closer relationship with inspiring new directions.

Overseeing this transitional year of eclipses will be the volcanic intensity of Pluto, as Pluto will be in range of a square aspect with the transiting lunar nodes during all four eclipses whether they take place in Aries, Taurus, Libra, or Scorpio. Ever since Pluto entered Aquarius on 23 March the tension of Pluto forming a square aspect with the lunar nodes has been in effect. However, the Sun becoming eclipsed while forming a square aspect with Pluto will pull us more deeply into the dynamic. Pluto is at the southern bending of the lunar nodes, a place of unconscious depth befitting the nature of Pluto. Though the eclipse will amplify desires for growth and new directions we can associate with the North Node of the Moon, Pluto will nonetheless demand engagement with the solutio dissolution of the South Node of the Moon in Scorpio. There may be a need to grieve what has to be released and let go in order to move more fully into the pathway opening up ahead. We may notice as old attachments and identities dissolve within the dark waters of Scorpio, a more authentic presence will begin to coagulate into clearer form as we experience a disintegration of the places where we had become fixated or stuck. Whatever the case, Pluto will be calling us to attend to our emotions and whatever emotional process we need to traverse before rushing ahead too quickly.

Pluto will continue to be a major influence over the forthcoming eclipse season due to stationing retrograde on 1 May while being in close orb of a square aspect with the lunar nodes. After Pluto stations retrograde, both Pluto and the lunar nodes will continue to move slowly retrograde together so that they will continue to remain in range of a square aspect for the rest of 2023. Pluto will not form an exact square to the “mean” calculation of the lunar nodes until 3 August 2023 and an exact square to the “true” calculation of the lunar nodes until 22 July 2023, and so whatever process we can notice is brewing between Pluto and the nodes will continue to develop with increasing intensity in the months ahead. As Pluto will be stationing retrograde in the first degree of Aquarius where the grand conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn took place at the end of 2020, Pluto will be drawing our attention to the places where we have been giving away too much of our power and the places we need to take our power back. Pluto can ultimately guide us through a process of developing a more secure sense of empowerment in navigating through the various collective crises that will continue to morph and mutate in the months ahead.

It’s further worth noting that the Solar Eclipse at 29º50’ Aries is opposite the degree where Venus formed her superior conjunction with the Sun last 22 October 2022 at 29º26’ Libra. The Libra conjunction between Venus and the Sun was groundbreaking, as it was the first to occur in Libra since 1879 and initiated a new era of solar conjunctions for Venus in Libra that will occur over the course of the next century. Consider the seeds of new desires and creative directions that were planted at that time, and how the current phase of Venus shining bright as an Evening Star is illuminating your present relationship and manifestation of those desires. Even if you must deal with difficult events associated with the Aries Solar Eclipse, pay attention to how your experiences are bringing you into deeper contact with what needs to be changed or altered within your relationships and creative expression to make your essential creative desires a reality.

Rhythmical (1930) by Paul Klee

The Aries Solar Eclipse is ruled by Mars in Cancer, placing the red planet in the watery home of the Moon at the same time the Moon is eclipsing the Sun. Mars in Cancer possesses extremes of creative expression yet the extremity of its emotional expression can become particularly unbalanced when under the influence of a potent eclipse. Fortunately, Mars in Cancer is not engaged in any difficult aspects during the eclipse and instead is in the middle of harmonious and dynamically creative aspects with Uranus and Mercury in Taurus. The creative sextile aspect between Mars with Uranus can fuel and motivate our drive for pursuing the inspiring creative directions that emerge from the blackness of the eclipse.

As previously mentioned, since North Node eclipses as well as eclipses taking place in the cardinal, fire sign of Aries indicate a surge of activity accelerating in speed, we can expect to have to navigate fast moving events in the wake of the eclipse. Yet Mercury will be bringing key messages, omens, and signs indicating ways in which we will need to slow down and apply focused mindfulness to our experience. Mercury will station retrograde at 15º37’ Taurus a day after the eclipse on 21 April while also remaining in orb of a harmonious sextile aspect with Mars in Cancer that will become exact on 23 April. The three weeks of Mercury’s retrograde that begin on 21 April can be utilised for breaking habits that are inefficient or holding you back from moving to a new level of development. Notice where you have blindly followed structures and rules that are no longer in your best interest, and find ways to reorganise and implement more effective routines. Since Mercury will station retrograde in close proximity with Uranus in Taurus at the same time that the Taurus Moon will be moving in between them, we may receive visions and messages of liberated paths to pursue at the same time we deepen awareness for what needs to be changed in order to gain greater freedom in pursuing our most essential creative desires.

Greater clarity may be gained when Mercury forms a conjunction with the sun on 1 May, while Pluto in Aquarius intensifies by stationing retrograde. Listen for messages in dreams and synchronicities that Mercury will be providing, which can help in seeding ideas to develop in the months ahead. In the three weeks following the Aries Solar Eclipse, Mercury will move backwards through Taurus in retrograde motion until stationing direct at 5º50’ Taurus on 14 May 2023. Mercury will ultimately station direct at the same time that Jupiter in Aries will activate the eclipse by reaching 29º50’ Aries on 15 May 2023. Events connected with the eclipse that will be continuing to develop will have a close affinity and relationship with the forthcoming period of Mercury retrograde in Taurus, and there will likely be significant developments occurring once Mercury stations direct at the same time Jupiter activates the eclipse degree. The more we deepen into relationship with the process Mercury retrograde wants to guide us through, the more effectively we will be able to take advantage of the opportunities that can come in mid May once Mercury stations direct and Jupiter activates the eclipse degree.

4 of Wands by Pamela Colman Smith

Aries 3 Decan

The Sun will be eclipsed by the Moon in the final degree of the third decan of Aries, associated with the Four of Wands tarot arcanum illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. It’s not clear who the figures in the center of the image are, if they are performers being celebrated or celebrants participating in communal festivities. What is clear is the lovingly decorated garland filled with vivacious blossoms and the combined symbolism of a bridge and large castle in the background: the figures are in a centering and protective place from which to express their creativity and charisma. T Susan Chang in her book 36 Secrets described the Four of Wands as a “temporary refuge” and “safe haven” similar to Rivendell in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, a moment to take comfort and refuge from whatever ordeals you have been enduring. Although Aries is the domicile of contentious and combative Mars, the third decan of Aries is ruled by Venus and Jupiter, the two traditional planets most associated with fertile growth, sources of abundant pleasure, and creative vision. 

While Venus is not naturally comfortable in Aries, she is capable of manifesting success and achievement in the third face of Aries despite it being an environment suited for the fiery assertiveness of Mars and the radiant grandeur of the Sun. Austin Coppock in his book 36 Faces ascribed the image of “The Burning Rose” to the third face of Aries, attributing to it “the power of art to overcome hostility,” and “the power of the spirit to unify and seduce, to motivate and to bond those of confluent passions.” Coppock further noted this decan requires “the martial heat of the battlefield,” as it is the battle-ready ferocity of Aries turned toward artistic performance and charismatic presentation that gives this decan its power “to create a commonality of spirit even in the most hostile conditions.” Yet Coppock also pointed out that the bonds formed within this face require its burning intensity to endure, whereas less intense passions are needed within longterm relationships. Thus it’s a face of “peak experiences” and “inspiring unions amidst life’s greatest struggles,” a place where “bonds are forged and spirits raised,” a decan which “grants the charisma to motivate and attract.”

With a potent eclipse extinguishing the light of the Sun in the third decan of Aries, we may need to explore the dark underbelly of our ambitious dreams of creative success and achievement. Henrich Cornelius Agrippa in Three Books of Occult Philosophy wrote that within the third face of Aries “rises the figure of a white man, pale, red hair, and dressed in red, with one hand wearing a gold bracelet and holding forth a staff. His likeness is as if [he is] restless and angry, because he cannot perform the good he wishes. This image confers talent, tameness, joy, and beauty.” When having to contend with overwhelming events associated with the eclipse, we may feel our own version of the restless anger of the figure not being able to enact his wishes. Though the eclipse may inspire grand visions of future opportunity, we will need to remain patient and accepting of our current circumstances as part of working toward our desired outcome.

In contrast, the image for the third decan of Aries found in the Hellenistic text Liber Hermetis wears a gold crown with glistening emeralds decorating her belly. She is full of magic and her staff has the heads of four serpents facing a polarity of directions. Her garments of dark rose are lined with golden strings and she seems to possess grace rather than the fury over constraints described by Agrippa. Her image suggests a figure of inner knowing who is in contact with the Eros of desires gestating within her, while remaining centered and grounded within the present state of her circumstances. The mythic figure of Eros is resonant with the third decan of Aries, as the Hellenistic text 36 Airs ascribed Eros to this decan. Indeed, the capacity of Eros to arouse passions into creations that inspire collective forces lies at the heart of the decan’s meaning.

While some spiritual lineages place Eros as a primordial, hermaphroditic deity at the dawn of Creation, later traditions made Eros into the cunning son of Aphrodite who constantly stirred up the troubles brought forth by lust in both mortals and gods with his bow and arrows. Whether you must contend with the troublesome shadow side of Eros or the more productively generative side, the darkness of the Aries Solar Eclipse will invite deeper relationship and intimacy with the many sides and colors of the deep Eros found within your inner psyche. May you be delighted by what you discover.

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References

Agrippa, Heinrich Cornelius. (2021). Three Occult Books of Philosophy. Translated by Eric Purdue. Inner Traditions.

Brady, Bernadette. (1998). Predictive Astrology: The Eagle and the Lark. Weiser Books.

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.

Full Moon in Aries

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Wave Weave 1 by Sarah Wertzberger

Full Moon in Aries

The polarity between Aries and Libra centers around change of the most primordial sort. In the northern hemisphere the entrance of the Sun into Aries brings the propulsive eruption of Spring from the darkness of Winter, its entrance into Libra the turn from the light and enlivening heat of Summer into the decomposition and reseeding of Fall. While the reverse is true in the southern hemisphere, the axis of Aries and Libra still holds the tension of shifting dynamics ready to give birth to new storylines, motion arising out of stasis, revelation from incubation, breaking through out of breaking down, and vice versa. The Full Moon in Aries on October 20 will be especially catalytic and volatile, as the brilliant Aries Moon will form an opposition with Mars in Libra and a square aspect with Pluto in Capricorn. Yet as the Aries Moon will also pass through a harmonizing sextile aspect with Jupiter in Aquarius as it waxes into fullness, there can be new opportunities for expansive growth to extract from whatever chthonic, internal process of change you have been engaging.

The Full Moon is in the fiery home of Mars and the exaltation of the Sun, forming an opposition with both the Sun and Mars. Mars in Libra is still within his invisible, underworld phase of being at the beginning of a new solar cycle which began on October 7 when Mars was reanimated by the Sun a day after the New Moon in Libra on October 6. The present lunar cycle is all about Mars, as the Moon began her cycle conjoining Mars and will reach peak illumination in opposition with Mars. While new visions and desires related to Mars may be taking root, we are still in the midst of gestating and coming to terms with whatever the new cycle of Mars may propel us toward. Mars is known for being off balance and off kilter, creating strife and separation within relationships in ways that pull you back toward a sense of your own autonomy outside of the dynamic. The opposition aspect in astrology has long been known as having the nature of Saturn, and with Mars occupying the sign opposite its domicile of Aries while forming an opposition with the Aries Full Moon, there will be a need to hold the tension of whatever relational questions or conflicts you may be facing, slowly but surely coming into deeper awareness of the underlying dynamics at play.

Mars also instills courage, the kind of courage necessary to face the unknown and cross thresholds of radical change. In the airy sign of Libra, however, there can be increased levels of mental anxiety regarding change and associated frustrations. As a result it will be helpful to find ways to release energy, calm nerves, and utilize available outlets of creative expression in the days surrounding the Aries Full Moon. Due to Mars and the Aries Full Moon both forming catalyzing square aspects with Pluto in Capricorn, the lunation will coincide with a deep stirring of unconscious desires and memories that may become activated within present relational dynamics. While the hard aspects between Mars and the Aries Full Moon with Pluto may dredge up difficult feelings, it can also provide important illumination regarding your relational patterns and attractors presently operating within your relationships.

Moreover, the Full Moon in the element of fire can help distinguish and separate insight that has accumulated from the recent retrograde phase of Mercury, as Mercury will have stationed direct two days before the Aries Full Moon. With the presence of Mercury saturating the astrological atmosphere, we can draw upon the gifts of Hermes for calibrating opposites, finding the threads that connect disparate elements, and weaving together meaning from whatever processes have been undergoing decomposition and transmutation over the course of the Mercury retrograde period that began on September 26 when Mercury stationed retrograde. In fact the Full Moon at 27°26’ Aries is close to an exact opposition with the degree of 25°28’ Libra where Mercury originally stationed retrograde on September 26.

Ikat Wave by Sarah Wertzberger

Mars in Libra rules the Full Moon and is separating from a flowing trine aspect with Jupiter in Aquarius while applying toward an intensifying square aspect with Pluto in Capricorn, similar to how the Aries Moon is separating from both a sextile aspect with Jupiter and a square aspect with Pluto. While Jupiter is making the more harmonious aspect with Mars due to them both occupying air signs, Jupiter has the most intensified presence due to having stationed direct on October 17 a few days before the lunation. As a result, the new desires that Mars is incubating and the future quests he is beginning to develop are being injected with the enlivening vision of Jupiter which can instill hope for breaking free from past limitations and barriers to growth. Yet the simultaneous square aspect between Mars and Pluto may necessitate confronting deeply held internal blocks to becoming more fully actualized creatively. Mars will continue to harbor in darkness during the rest of the present lunar cycle, and so when possible it will be better to wait, contemplate, and continue to develop plans as you continue to deepen your relationship with whatever new pursuits, goals, and desires emerge as Mars gets closer to emerging again in visibility next month. It’s a good time to gather courage away from the glare of the public eye, as you continue to hone and develop plans with daily work and practice.

In addition to Jupiter having an intensified presence due to stationing direct a few days before the Aries Full Moon, Mercury will be embodying an extremely potent presence due to not only stationing direct on October 18, but also having recently risen again into visibility in his Morning Star phase. It will be wise to pay special attention to dreams, symbols, signs, and synchronicities in the days surrounding the Arie Full Moon, listening closely to whatever meaningful messages Mercury will be delivering. Mercury is in range of a flowing trine aspect with Saturn in Aquarius, and so with Saturn, Jupiter, and Mercury all recently having stationed direct, Mercury can help with coalescing insight and gaining greater clarity for the path opening up ahead and the next steps to take.

As the Moon begins to wane within its present cycle, Mercury will be generating forward momentum and will reach maximum elongation as a Morning Star on October 25, the point of its synodic cycle in which he begins to increase in speed and can more easily set in motion whatever changes and new ideas were gathered and generated during his previous retrograde cycle. Before the Scorpio New Moon on November 4, Mercury will completes his third and final trine aspect with Jupiter on October 31, followed by completing his third and final square aspect with Pluto in Capricorn on November 2, the same day that he also will move beyond the degree of the zodiac where he previously stationed retrograde on September 26. Mercury formed his first trine with Jupiter on September 20 and his second on October 3, so you may trace the development of innovative ideas and opportunities for growth across these dates until now. In contrast, Mercury formed his first square aspect with Pluto on September 22 followed by his second square aspect on October 1, and so the process stretching across these dates until now may have been bringing deepening awareness of how inner relational patterns and issues from your past intersect with the present as well as a sense of how to become more empowered in creating and cultivating the work, relationships, and life you desire to experience.

Heat Weave by Sarah Wertzberger

The Sun and Mars are both in the airy home of Venus, and so it is significant that Venus is not only traversing the fiery sign of Sagittarius, but is also out of bounds in declination. Venus will not only be out of bounds in southern declination during the Aries Full Moon but will be continuing to descend even further out of bounds during the waning half of the present lunar cycle into extreme declination for Venus. With Venus out of bounds in southern declination, within the fiery and visionary sign of Sagittarius, the leaps of desire for greater freedom of expression, creativity, and desire may be felt more internally within private places at times.

As Venus approaches a square aspect with Neptune she will complete on October 26 at 20°45’ of Sagittarius and Pisces, there will be great potential for imaginative use of creativity and artistry that can break new ground of expression and form. Yet the boundlessness of Neptune combined with the free spiritedness of Venus out of bounds in Sagittarius also means there will be greater potential than normal for becoming swept up into exciting desires that ultimately prove to be illusory or less than the ideal imagined. Whether within internal or external realms of relationship, however, Venus out of bounds will incite desires for breaking free from past restrictions or barriers. While in some cases there may be a need to take a breath, ground, and contemplate options before rushing heedlessly ahead in new directions, positively Venus out of bounds in Sagittarius can stoke movement and creative expression in places we have felt stagnated or stuck.

4 of Wands by Pamela Colman Smith

Aries 3 Decan

The Full Moon will illuminate the third decan of Aries associated with the Four of Wands card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. It’s not clear who the figures in the center of the image are, if they are performers being celebrated or celebrants participating in communal festivities. What is clear is the lovingly decorated garland filled with vivacious blossoms and the combined symbolism of a bridge and large castle in the background: the figures are in a centering and protective place from which to express their creativity and charisma. T Susan Chang in her book 36 Secrets described the Four of Wands as a “temporary refuge” and “safe haven” similar to Rivendell in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, a moment to take comfort and refuge from whatever ordeals you have been enduring. Although Aries is the domicile of contentious and combative Mars, the third decan of Aries is ruled by Venus and Jupiter, the two traditional planets most associated with fertile growth, sources of abundant pleasure, and creative vision. 

While Venus is not naturally comfortable in Aries, she is capable of manifesting success and achievement in the third face of Aries despite it being an environment suited for the fiery assertiveness of Mars and the radiant grandeur of the Sun. Austin Coppock in his book 36 Faces ascribed the image of “The Burning Rose” to the third face of Aries, attributing to it “the power of art to overcome hostility,” and “the power of the spirit to unify and seduce, to motivate and to bond those of confluent passions.” Coppock further noted this decan requires “the martial heat of the battlefield,” as it is the battle-ready ferocity of Aries turned toward artistic performance and charismatic presentation that gives this decan its power “to create a commonality of spirit even in the most hostile conditions.” Yet Coppock also pointed out that the bonds formed within this face require its burning intensity to endure, whereas less intense passions are needed within longterm relationships. Thus it’s a face of “peak experiences” and “inspiring unions amidst life’s greatest struggles,” a place where “bonds are forged and spirits raised,” a decan which “grants the charisma to motivate and attract.”

Third decan of Aries image from Allegory of March: Triumph of Minerva (1476) by Francesco del Cossa

The image above by Francesco del Cossa of a figure who resides within the third face of Aries encapsulates aspects of numerous images found in ancient text. The trinity of Three Books of Occult Philosophy, Picatrix, and Liber Hermetis all reveal figures dressed in red and holding a staff or sword. This passionate figure is wearing either a golden or wooden bracelet depending on whether you consult Three Books of Occult Philosophy or the Picatrix, but both texts indicate the figure embodies the unrest of not being able to do desired good. The reason for not being able to manifest these good wishes is not stated, but Three Books proclaims there is “talent, tameness, joy, and beauty” to be found. The figure in the Picatrix is an iron worker and so has a medium through which to transfigure frustrated anger into works of vivifying creation.

In contrast, the figure in Liber Hermetis wears a gold crown with glistening emeralds decorating her belly. She is full of magic and her staff has the heads of four serpents facing a polarity of directions. Her garments of dark rose are lined with golden strings and she seems to possess the grace of the figure painted by Francesco del Cossa rather than the fury over constraints described by other texts. The focused countenance in del Cossa’s figure suggests they have an inner knowing of being able to make a targeted impact, as they seem to be summoning an inner force to project through the golden bracelet held delicately with their fingers. Francesco del Cossa placed an arrow in the other hand, evoking the mythic Eros or Cupid.

Eros is in fact resonant, as the Hellenistic text 36 Airs ascribed the figure of Eros to the third face of Aries. Indeed, the capacity of Eros to arouse passions into creations that inspire collective forces lies at the heart of the decan’s meaning. While some spiritual lineages place Eros as a primordial, hermaphroditic deity at the dawn of Creation, later traditions made Eros into the cunning son of Aphrodite who constantly stirred up the troubles brought forth by lust in both mortals and gods with his bow and arrows. Austin Coppock in 36 Faces stated it is more likely that the 36 Airs had the son of Venus in mind with the third face of Aries as “Eros’ escapades make clear that the desire for unification is inflamed by separation, love by war, lust by forbiddance.”

Another version of Eros is found in Plato’s Symposium, where Eros is portrayed as a great daimon and described by Socrates as the child born from the union of the divine forms of Poverty and Resource. To Socrates, Eros is always poor, always in a state of need, but is also always resourceful in being able to gain what it needs. Within the polarity between Poverty and Resource, the daimonic force of Eros weaves together awareness of the wisdom to be found through our earthly desires that lead us to experience Beauty and Love. The opposing extremes of Poverty and Resource giving birth to Eros is further resonant with the meaning Austin Coppock gave to the third decan of Libra where the Sun and Moon will form an opposition with the Aries Full Moon. Indeed, Coppock described the third decan of Libra as facilitating a process of finding the center within wildly oscillating extremes, inhabiting “the eye of the storm, calm and clear as the chaos of desire and fear whirl all about.” With the Full Moon in the third face of Aries, may the enlivening passion of Eros create the movement needed to flow with the changes circulating around you, finding ways to center within the integrity of your purpose and values while remaining open to flexibly adjusting plans as needed.

If you enjoy my writing please consider supporting my work through a monthly subscription on my Patreon page. Take a look to see the benefits you will receive as a patron!

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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.

 

New Moon in Aries

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Winged Goddess figurine, possibly Artemis Orthia (late 7th to 6th Century BC)

New Moon in Aries

Like the primordial Eros who emerges from dark-winged Night in Orphic cosmology, the potent light of celestial fire that erupts out of the abyss of darkness, the New Moon in Aries on April 11 is bursting with propulsive force. The New Moon in Aries is loaded: it is applying closely to creatively activating sextile aspects with Mars in Gemini and Jupiter in Aquarius as well as intensifying aspects with Venus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn.  Whether you are experiencing the excitement of new beginnings or the grief of having to let go through loss, the sweep of the New Moon can penetrate into the passion that has been laying dormant within, awaiting revival and vivification. Just like the absolute boldness of Artemis and the directness of her aim, there is an enlivening spirit within the New Moon that can guide the way forward like the purity of a flame piercing through mists of obsfucation. 

The New Moon in Aries is the second lunation in a row to amplify the new cycle of Venus that began on March 25, as the recent Full Moon in Libra formed an opposition with Venus. Since the New Moon is applying to a conjunction with Venus at the same time that Venus is applying to an exact square aspect with Pluto, it will be necessary to express and relate with whatever emotional material has been stirred up in the past month. Venus combined with the New Moon is catalyzing growth out of the fecund soil and dark depths of Pluto, the place of so much decomposition in the past couple of years when Pluto was joined by Saturn, Jupiter, and the transiting South Node of the Moon in Capricorn. Part of the strife and shattering of what has been stable in the past couple of years has also been associated with the square aspect between the dwarf planet Eris in Aries with Pluto; whatever influence Eris has been wielding will also be energized as the New Moon is applying closely to a conjunction with Eris, further amplifying the activating thrust of the lunation to make change and break out of old patterns. 

Venus is galloping like a wild horse across the final decan of Aries where she has greater agency to influence and make an impact (due to being the decanic ruler of the final ten degrees of Aries), yet she is still not at full strength due to being invisible under the beams of the exalted Sun in Aries. Venus is full of the enlivening spirt and life force she has received from her recent embrace with the Sun, excitedly rushing toward her stable, fertile home of Taurus which she will reach on April 14. Once Venus is home again in Taurus she will be able to better ground and harmonize with the inner promptings of passion, new desires and creative inspiration she has received during her recent time of racing across the fiery sign of Aries. Yet there is a strangely eccentric, inventive guest full of revolutionary ideas awaiting Venus in her domicile: Uranus.

Once Venus reaches Taurus it also means she will begin applying toward a conjunction with Uranus and a square aspect with Saturn in Aquarius, bringing her into the heart of the square between Uranus and Saturn that has been impelling breakthroughs, breakdowns, and a release of the way things have been. Unlike in February when Venus was on the side of Saturn, her upcoming union with Uranus will be more animating and electrifying with regards to the new directions and desires Venus is presently incubating. Venus will form a conjunction with Uranus in Taurus on April 22, followed by forming a tense square aspect with Saturn in Aquarius on April 24 only two days before the upcoming Full Moon in Scorpio on April 26. The Scorpio Full Moon promises to be an especially emotional and cathartic lunation, and so we will be well served by coming to terms with how our emotions and underlying values become reshaped by Venus entering into the volatility of the square between Uranus and Saturn. 

As the Moon waxes toward fullness, it will be important to remember the sequence of aspects Venus will make: Venus will first be incited by the emancipatory influence of Uranus to create change sourced from the burgeoning new desires of Venus, followed by immediately meeting the boundaries, restrictions, and harsh reality of Saturn which will limit the full extent of what may be felt within. Compromises will be necessary so that the inspiration emanating from Venus and Uranus can be grounded and integrated into the reality of one’s present circumstances. Through relating with Saturn and taking responsibility for wherever we need to claim our authority and be accountable, we will be more effective in creating the change we wish to have happen as well as facilitate shedding, molting,  and growth within the systems and structures governed by Saturn. 

Artemis holding a cornucopia and phiale (3rd Century BC)

Mars in Gemini is receiving the New Moon into its fiery home through a harmonizing sextile aspect while also applying to a flowing trine aspect with Jupiter in Aquarius.  Mars has spent recent weeks engaging in aspects bringing about confusion at the same time they have opened new avenues for desires and drive: first Mars passed through a conjunction with the North Node of the Moon at the end of March around the Full Moon in Libra, followed by Mars applying toward a disorienting square aspect with Neptune that it finally completed on April 9. Considering that Mars has also been out of bounds during this period, there may have been new sources of inspiration to pursue entering your awareness making you ready to leap before having a place to land. With Jupiter overcoming Mars through a trine aspect, we will have opportunities for greater coherence and meaning-making with whatever new passions and creative stimulation has been felt within.

Mars will complete its exact trine aspect with Jupiter on April 16 and will remain under the beneficial influence of the star of Zeus until Mars enters Cancer on April 23. Mars in Gemini can shoot off in many directions at once, getting numerous projects and relationships in motion simultaneously. While Mars in Gemini is mentally active, intellectually curious, and capable of discovering and pioneering inventive pathways that have been overlooked by others, it’s driving force can become dissipated and dispersed by having its attention spread too thin across too many interests. The stabilizing trine aspect from Jupiter in Aquarius can be a great aid in bringing a centered focus to projects while remaining open to being flexible and experimental. It can be an opportune period for conducting thought provoking and groundbreaking research that can be deftly integrated into any medium of communication or creative expression.

Venus Wounded in the Hand Conducted by Iris to Mars (1805) engraved by Tommaso Piroli after John Flaxman

Providing a searing boost to the interplay between Mars and Jupiter will be the blazing motion of Mercury in Aries. Mercury is moving at its fastest speed heading toward a conjunction with the Sun it will complete on April 18 at 29º14′ Aries; while it has swift motion capable of making myriad connections and gathering many ideas, Mercury is also in a solar phase in which it is burning off dross and excess to get to the heart of the matter. As Mercury ends and begins a new cycle with the Sun on April 18, there will be opportunities to gain clarity and glean insight from anything we have been researching, developing, or experimenting with. 

In the week following the New Moon there will be a potent mutual reception taking place between Mercury in Aries with Mars in Gemini that will become exact on April 17 through a harmonizing sextile aspect. In addition, Mercury will be forming a collaborative sextile aspect with Jupiter in Aquarius that will become exact on the same day. Altogether these aspects are ideal for writing projects but can also be effective in any realm of work involving design, craftwork, and vision. Due to Mercury moving fast under the beams of the Sun, however, it may be necessary to find ways to ground so that your mind does not become excessively heated and stimulated. 

While Venus is presently moving fast, Mercury is moving even faster. Mercury will catch up to Venus as the Moon is waxing toward fullness, entering Taurus on April 19 and forming a conjunction with Venus on April 25 a day before the Full Moon in Scorpio on April 26. This also means that Mercury will be moving through its aspects with Mars, Jupiter, and the Sun into the catalytic cacophony of the square aspect between Uranus and Saturn. Mercury will form a conjunction with Uranus on April 23 followed by a square aspect with Saturn on April 25, the same day that Mercury will later form a conjunction with Venus.

Mercury uniting with Venus and Uranus may increase the volatility occurring from the tension with Saturn, yet at the same time can create the impetus needed to set the next stage of storylines in motion. It can also be a creatively fertile time within personal projects, collaborations with others, and stimulating conversations that lead to important new ideas. If you have been feeling disoriented by recent shifts in circumstances and old forms of security slipping away, this can also be a good time to get a better sense for how Uranus is disrupting previously stable aspects of your life so that you can access more authentic passion and creative expression.  

4 of Wands

4 of Wands by Pamela Colman Smith

Aries 3 Decan

The New Moon in Aries is in the third decan of Aries associated with the Four of Wands card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. It’s not clear who the figures in the center of the image are, if they are performers being celebrated or celebrants participating in communal festivities. What is clear is the lovingly decorated garland filled with vivacious blossoms and the combined symbolism of a bridge and large castle in the background: the figures are in a centering and protective place from which to express their creativity and charisma. T Susan Chang in her book 36 Secrets on tarot and the decans described the Four of Wands as a “temporary refuge” and “safe haven” similar to Rivendell in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, a moment to take comfort and refuge from whatever ordeals you have been enduring. Although Aries is the domicile of malefic Mars, the third decan of Aries is ruled by the two benefics, Venus and Jupiter. With Venus transiting through the third face of Aries and the New Moon applying to Venus, the meaning of the third decan of Aries will be amplified.

While Venus is not naturally comfortable in Aries, she is capable of manifesting success and achievement in the third face of Aries despite it being an environment suited for the fiery assertiveness of Mars and the radiant grandeur of the Sun. Austin Coppock in his book 36 Faces ascribed the image of “The Burning Rose” to the third face of Aries, attributing to it “the power of art to overcome hostility,” and “the power of the spirit to unify and seduce, to motivate and to bond those of confluent passions.” Coppock further noted this decan requires “the martial heat of the battlefield,” as it is the battle-ready ferocity of Aries turned toward artistic performance and charismatic presentation that gives this decan its power “to create a commonality of spirit even in the most hostile conditions.” Yet Coppock also pointed out that the bonds formed within this face require its burning intensity to endure, whereas less intense passions are needed within longterm relationships. Thus it’s a face of “peak experiences” and “inspiring unions amidst life’s greatest struggles,” a place where “bonds are forged and spirits raised,” a decan which “grants the charisma to motivate and attract.”

Aries 3 Decan by Francesco Del Cossa

Third decan of Aries image from Allegory of March: Triumph of Minerva (1476) by Francesco del Cossa

The image above by Francesco del Cossa of a figure who resides within the third face of Aries encapsulates aspects of numerous images found in ancient text. The trinity of Three Books of Occult Philosophy, Picatrix, and Liber Hermetis all reveal figures dressed in red and holding a staff or sword. This passionate figure is wearing either a golden or wooden bracelet depending on whether you consult Three Books of Occult Philosophy or the Picatrix, but both texts indicate the figure embodies the unrest of not being able to do desired good. The reason for not being able to manifest these good wishes is not stated, but Three Books proclaims there is “talent, tameness, joy, and beauty” to be found. The figure in the Picatrix is an iron worker and so has a medium through which to transfigure frustrated anger into works of vivifying creation.

In contrast, the figure in Liber Hermetis wears a gold crown with glistening emeralds decorating her belly. She is full of magic and her staff has the heads of four serpents facing a polarity of directions. Her garments of dark rose are lined with golden strings and she seems to possess the grace of the figure painted by Francesco del Cossa rather than the fury over constraints described by other texts. The focused countenance in del Cossa’s figure suggests they have an inner knowing of being able to make a targeted impact, as they seem to be summoning an inner force to project through the golden bracelet held delicately with their fingers. Francesco del Cossa placed an arrow in the other hand, evoking the mythic Eros or Cupid.

Eros is in fact resonant, as the Hellenistic text 36 Airs ascribed the figure of Eros to the third face of Aries. Indeed, the capacity of Eros to arouse passions into creations that inspire collective forces lies at the heart of the decan’s meaning. While some spiritual lineages place Eros as a primordial, hermaphroditic deity at the dawn of Creation, later traditions made Eros into the cunning son of Aphrodite who constantly stirred up the troubles brought forth by lust in both mortals and gods with his bow and arrows. Austin Coppock in 36 Faces stated it is more likely that the 36 Airs had the son of Venus in mind with the third face of Aries as “Eros’ escapades make clear that the desire for unification is inflamed by separation, love by war, lust by forbiddance.”

Another version of Eros is found in Plato’s Symposium, where Eros is portrayed as a great daimon and described by Socrates as the child born from the union of the divine forms of Poverty and Resource. To Socrates, Eros is always poor, always in a state of need, but is also always resourceful in being able to gain what it needs. Within the polarity between Poverty and Resource, the daimonic force of Eros weaves together awareness of the wisdom to be found through our earthly desires that lead us to experience Beauty and Love. If you have been experiencing loss or lack recently, allow the necessity of your circumstances to guide you into relationship with the eros and passionate purpose harbored by Venus and the New Moon uniting within darkness. 

“And yet life is transformation: all that is good is transformation and all that is bad as well. For this reason he is in the right who encounters everything as something that will not return. It does not matter whether he then forgets or remembers, as long as he had been fully present only for its duration and been the site, the atmosphere, the world for what happened, as long as it happened within him, in his center, whatever is good and what is bad – then he really has nothing else to fear because something else of renewed significance is always about to happen next. The possibility of intensifying things so that they reveal their essence depends so much on our participation. When things sense our avid interest, they pull themselves together without delay and are all that they can be, and in everything new the old is then whole, only different and vastly heightened.

— Rainer Maria Rilke from Letters on Life (p. 21-22)

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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.

Rilke, Rainer Maria. (2006). Letters on Life: New Prose Translations. Edited and translated by Ulrich Baer. The Modern Library Classics. 

 

Full Moon in Aries

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Hilma af Klint (1915) Group X, No. 2, Altarpiece

Full Moon in Aries

The Full Moon in Aries on October 13  amplifies the polarity between Eros and Necessity, our most passionate desires for what we wish to manifest versus the constraints of our circumstances. Whether you are facing difficulty surviving materially or simply frustrated over past effort not manifesting what you had hoped, on a deeper level the vast inequities embedded in the present forms of culture and civilization will be amplified and highlighted. While the propulsive force of the Aries Full Moon can incite anger and anguish over witnessing injustice inflicted on others or ourselves,  it also will illuminate what needs our persistent attention and focus to address and remedy.  There are no easy answers to be found in the light of the Aries Full Moon, but there is a resilient and inspirational quality within its aspects that can help in bringing the unifying force of Eros into relationship with the demands of Necessity.

The Aries Full Moon weaves together the dominant astrological themes of 2019, namely the uplifting striving brought by Jupiter in Sagittarius and the intensification of shedding and honing brought by the combination of Saturn, Pluto, and the South Node of the Moon in Capricorn. As the Aries Moon waxes toward fullness it forms a square aspect with its own nodes as well as Saturn in Capricorn, and will be tightly applying toward a square aspect with Pluto during its moment of peak illumination. This means that the Aries Full Moon is also forming a square aspect to the sequence of eclipses in the past year in the signs of Cancer and Capricorn (Capricorn Solar Eclipse on January 5; Cancer Solar Eclipse on July 2; Capricorn Lunar Eclipse on July 16), and so will force awareness to contend with the events and stories stirred by the eclipses this past July and how they have mutated in form in the past few months.

Yet the Aries Full Moon is not only illuminating the trajectory of past events, but also bringing premonition with regard to the waves of change coming in 2020. On January 12, 2020 a new cycle between Saturn and Pluto will begin as they conjoin at 22º46′ Capricorn while also within a degree of conjunction with Mercury, Ceres, and the Sun in Capricorn. Though there will be many unexpected developments between now and then, take time to reflect upon the current status of whatever you have been cultivating with an eye toward how you want things to develop in 2020. The Full Moon in Aries is intrinsically action-oriented and can be helpful in making a rapid response to however you may need to make personal adjustments as well as how others may be in need of your assistance.

Due to the exact square forming between the Aries Full Moon and Pluto, there is an opportunity to penetrate under the surface of whatever you have been fixated upon achieving in order to come to terms with the underlying issues behind your motivations.  The friction between the Full Moon and Pluto will be most overwhelming for those engaged in power struggles or feeling a need to control a particular scenario, placing importance on making sure you are not acting out of alignment with your inner integrity when aggravated or threatened. The influence of Pluto on the Full Moon can be an aid in cutting through mental static to realize the essential purpose that is most important to focus time and attention on in the months ahead, as well as what has been getting in the way and needs to be eliminated.  There is an empowering side to the Aries Full Moon that can rekindle enthusiasm for making the most out of your present situation.

Beneficially, the flowing trine aspect formed between the Aries Full Moon and Jupiter in Sagittarius can help in coalescing a larger vision that takes account of present difficulties while also noting how to fertilize new growth. Aries is a place of pioneering initiative, described by William Lilly as signifying “Lands newly taken in, or newly ploughed.” The combination of the Full Moon being in harmony with Jupiter while in tension with Saturn and Pluto can ideally be utilized to envision how to expand in growth while also realistically taking account of the resources you will need to be successful. While the sign of Aries is not known for encouraging tact and sensible estimation, the impulsive nature of the Aries Full Moon in trine with Jupiter can help lift vision up from stuck places and invigorate passion where things have become stagnant.

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Hilma af Klint (1915) Group IX/SUW, The Swan, No. 7

Mars in Libra rules the Full Moon, further inflaming the polarity between the Sun in Libra opposing the Moon in Aries. Both Mars and the Sun are known as hot and fiery archetypal forces that can find it challenging to express their full force in Libra, the airy, aesthetically and intellectually oriented home of Venus. Mars in Libra wields weapons of charisma and charm, strategy and diplomacy in order to manipulate power dynamics and achieve outcomes.  Positively, the influence of Mars in Libra on the lunation can promote interest in collaborative enterprises and discovering ways for your actions to benefit others and serve the needs of your broader community. Yet Mars is more likely to vacillate between options in Libra than in any other sign, and so it will be imperative to focus on responding promptly and decisively when necessary.

The Aries Full Moon marks an important threshold for Mars to cross as it will finally become visible again as a Morning Star in the days following the lunation.  Mars has been in its invisible, underworld phase in the past three months and so will bring awareness to fresh desires as it likewise returns to sharing its light again in morning skies. Take the time to consider and come into relationship with whatever shifts you notice taking shape from within. Whatever new desires corresponding with Mars that you notice will have to contend with the tests and limitations of Saturn, as Mars in Libra will simultaneously be heading toward a catalytic square aspect with Saturn in Capricorn, the lunar nodes, and Pluto. Mars will form a square aspect with the lunar nodes on October 21 and a square aspect with Saturn on October 27, the same day as the New Moon in Scorpio.

As a result, during the waning half of the lunar cycle there will be increased conflict and contention within collective events as Mars volatilizes the lunar nodes followed by Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn.  There may be numerous personal dramas to deal with as well as having to change course due to barriers or restrictions in the way. There is nothing pleasant about Mars forming a harsh aspect with Saturn, but their tension can be utilized in working hard with resilience and tenacity.  Since Mars in Libra is acutely sensitized to issues of social justice, a productive outlet for energy can be found through  activist work on behalf of others in need. Mars in Libra also has strong propensity for exploring new desires in relationship, and so it will be more effective reaching out for help and support from others, or initiating greater personal involvement in community, rather than trying to take on all of the challenges coming from Mars and Saturn in the coming weeks on your own.

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Hilma af Klint (1915) Group IX/SUW, The Swan, No. 9

The final major aspect involved in the Aries Full Moon is the opposition between Venus in Scorpio and Uranus in Taurus which culminates on the day before the lunation. The back and forth tension between Uranus and Venus can feel like a wildly oscillating see saw out of control for those unaccustomed to reconciling the dissimilar natures of Venus and Uranus. Whereas Venus has an essential purpose to harmonize, please, and bring things together, Uranus does not care about whether others like what you are doing or not, only that you are doing what makes you feel the most authentically vital. The unpredictable nature of Uranus can also bring sudden changes that feel discordant to attempts by Venus to stabilize and carefully arrange the aesthetics of presentation. Easing the harsh aspect between Uranus and Venus is the fact that Venus is receiving Uranus due to Uranus inhabiting the inwardly directed, earthy home of Venus.

Uranus electrifies, vivifies, and fully awakens the sensuality of Taurus, volatilizing its fixed yet fertile earth with the stimulus needed to break free from past limitations and generate new growth.  Venus receiving Uranus while occupying Scorpio brings to my mind the description given by William Lilly in Christian Astrology of Scorpio being a place of not only “muddy, Moorish Grounds” and “ruinous houses near Waters,” but also the fecundity of gardens, orchards, and vineyards.  Venus in Scorpio will require placing old desires into the compost, putrefying and decaying old matters of relationship in order to bring forth the fruit of new growth.

Deep hunger for new desires within relationships, creative expression, and all things related to Venus will be felt strongly not only due to Uranus exciting and invigorating Venus but also due to Venus re-emerging into visible light as an Evening Star. While Venus was in the invisible, underworld phase of her superior conjunction with the Sun in recent months (since the time of the Cancer Solstice on June 21),  she was as far away from us in orbit as possible within her cycle. Now that Venus is visible again as well as beginning to move closer to our Earth in orbit, the power and virtue of Venus will likewise become more apparent within our material realm. Fascinatingly, Venus will be shining her light again in the darkly alluring attire of Scorpio where she may conceal feelings until gaining a sense of being in a secure dynamic she can trust.

During the journey of Venus through the quagmires of Scorpio she will also be mutually exchanging signs with Mars, since Mars is occupying the outwardly directed home of Venus and Venus is inhabiting the inwardly directed home of Mars.  Although both Venus in Scorpio as well as Mars in Libra are considered to be in detriment, the fact that they are occupying one another’s signs still means they will be able to support one another and so will cultivate greater congruence in pursuit of desires. While Mars in Libra will seek out new connections, Venus in Scorpio will focus on exposing hidden dynamics and penetrating into the underlying emotions of our relations. It’s certainly possible for Mars in Libra and Venus in Scorpio to lead us into messy situations or into obsession with a new attraction, but they can also be utilized to cultivate increased honesty and expression of emotional needs within relationship.

Meanwhile, Venus is not alone in the bogs of Scorpio, for leading her way through the watery terrain is Mercury who is also in its Evening Star phase and becoming more powerful in mundane matters.  In fact, Mercury will be waiting for Venus at the end of Scorpio, as Mercury will station retrograde at the end of October, sustaining stillness in order to unite with Venus in Scorpio on October 30 a few days after the New Moon in Scorpio.  Pay attention to whatever is signified by Scorpio in your natal chart, as this will be an area of life that will undergo intense reconstruction in the next couple of months as Mercury will move back and forth through Scorpio in its retrograde phase during November. During the waning half of the current lunar cycle, Venus and Mercury in Scorpio will be guiding us directly into the material that will be part of this regenerative process.

4 wands

4 of Wands by Pamela Colman Smith

Aries 3 Decan

The full light of the Aries Moon will peak in the third face of Aries associated with the Four of Wands card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. A card that has been associated with completion, the perfection of work, and rituals celebrating the crossing of a new threshold, in the image we can observe two figures being honored on stage.  This card and image fits well with the place the Aries Full Moon occupies in the trajectory of 2019’s astrology, for the lunation is at the bending of the lunar nodes, the axis forming a cross with the places of the year’s eclipses and the intensified destruction and restructuring brought forth by Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn. Looking back on how far you have come this year and considering whatever you have had to overcome in pursuit of your desires, it is a fitting time to hold your own ritual celebrating the terrain you have crossed this year.

Venus rules the third face of Aries, which is interesting since Venus is considered to be in detriment in Aries due to Venus being placed in the home of Mars. This means that the third decan of Aries gives Venus the capacity to manifest success despite being in a sign  of the fiery, assertive ambition of Mars. Austin Coppock in his book 36 Faces ascribed the image of “The Burning Rose” to the third face of Aries, attributing to it “the power of art to overcome hostility,” and “the power of the spirit to unify and seduce, to motivate and to bond those of confluent passions,” while also requiring “the martial heat of the battlefield.” Coppock noted that it is the battle-ready ferocity of Aries turned toward artistic performance and charismatic presentation that gives this decan its power “to create a commonality of spirit even in the most hostile conditions.”

Aries 3 Decan by Francesco Del Cossa

Third decan of Aries image from Allegory of March: Triumph of Minerva (1476) by Francesco del Cossa

The image above by Francesco del Cossa of a figure who resides within the third face of Aries encapsulates aspects of numerous images found in ancient text. The trinity of Three Books of Occult Philosophy, Picatrix, and Liber Hermetis all reveal figures dressed in red and holding a staff or sword. This passionate figure is wearing either a golden or wooden bracelet depending on whether you consult Three Books of Occult Philosophy or the Picatrix, but both texts indicate the figure embodies the unrest of not being able to do desired good. The reason for not being able to manifest these good wishes is not stated, but Three Books proclaims there is “talent, tameness, joy, and beauty” to be found here. The figure in the Picatrix is an iron worker and so has a medium through which to transfigure frustrated anger into works of vivifying creation.

In contrast, the figure in Liber Hermetis wears a gold crown with glistening emeralds decorating her belly. She is full of magic and her staff has the heads of four serpents facing a polarity of directions. Her garments of dark rose are lined with golden strings and she seems to possess the grace of the figure painted by Francesco del Cossa rather than the fury over constraints described by other texts. The focused countenance in del Cossa’s figure suggests they have an inner knowing of being able to make a targeted impact, as they seem to be summoning an inner force to project through the golden bracelet held delicately with their fingers. Francesco del Cossa placed an arrow in the other hand, evoking the mythic Eros or Cupid.

Eros is in fact resonant, as the Hellenistic text 36 Airs of the Zodiac ascribed the figure of Eros to the third face of Aries: the capacity of Eros to arouse passions into creations that inspire collective forces lies at the heart of the decan’s meaning. While some spiritual lineages place Eros as a primordial, hermaphroditic deity at the dawn of Creation, later traditions made Eros into the cunning son of Aphrodite who constantly stirred up the troubles brought forth by lust in both mortals and gods with his bow and arrows. Austin Coppock in 36 Faces stated it is more likely that the 36 Airs had the son of Venus in mind with the third face of Aries as “Eros’ escapades make clear that the desire for unification is inflamed by separation, love by war, lust by forbiddance.”

Another version of Eros is found in Plato’s Symposium, where Eros is described by Socrates as the child born from the sexual union of the divine forms of Poverty and Resource. To Socrates, Eros or Love is always poor, always in a state of need, but is also always resourceful in being able to gain what it needs. Within the polarity between Poverty and Resource, the daimonic force of Eros weaves together awareness of the wisdom to be found through our earthly desires. As the light of the Aries Full Moon begins to decrease in the waning half of the lunar cycle, create protected space from whatever difficulties you have been experiencing in order to envision what you truly wish to create and contribute for the greater good in the year ahead. Let the restrictions of the established power structure and status quo serve as the stone that kindles the inner fire that will sustain your determination in the journey ahead.

If you enjoy my writing or have been helped in some way by my articles on astrology, please consider supporting my work through a monthly subscription on my Patreon page.  My intention with Patreon is to receive enough support to not only help me continue to offer the articles I have been doing for free, but to also expand the scope of what I am offering. Take a look at my Patreon page for more details.

References

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: the history, astrology, and magic of the decans. Three Hands Press.

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