Mars in Aries & Sun/Saturn Conjunction

K Danko [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]

As we say farewell to 2018, the warrior planet Mars enters its home sign, Aries, just as the Sun conjoins Saturn in Capricorn. While the Gregorian calendar is somewhat arbitrary and disconnected from the natural world, the Gregorian New Year is a thing we westerners all celebrate (even if it begins in the dead cold of winter for the northern hemisphere). So, Happy New Year!

As 2019 begins, Mars in Aries seems like a good start. And combined with the Sun's conjunction with Saturn, we get an influx of high motivation and ambition. 2019 begins in the waning Moon phase heading into an eclipse. So hold off on your significant initiations, launches, and promotions until the second week of January (at least). The waning Moon, especially in the eclipse zone, favors release, not acquisition.

But, while the Sun/Saturn connection could make for more oppressive than usual New Years hangovers, it is a prime aspect for prioritization. Saturn is currently not visible in the sky. It's conjunction with the Sun, actually, diminishes its strength and power. But, the Sun's cyclic alignment with Saturn is an opportunity to renew your long-term goals, strategies, and desired achievements. That fits well with New Year resolution making.

Negative consequences won't hit so hard under the Sun/Saturn conjunction, but Saturn's rule of karma promises they WILL hit eventually, like three to six months from now. So stick to your good behavior. Mars will be in Aries until Feb. 14. Mars in Aries is extra bold, passionate, and assertive, but also more volatile and potentially bombastic. Be wary of triggering anyone or anything on the edge of an outburst, or else you'll likely meet fury.

However, on the positive side, Mars in Aries is full of firey, cardinal energy, which combined with Jupiter in Sagittarius, can provide extraneous enthusiasm for setting off on an adventure. If you plan your journey post-eclipse (after Jan. 5), you'll be on less shaky ground. This month, featuring Mars in Aries and two eclipses, is incredibly conducive to rapid-fire changes and transitions, especially changes we catalyze ourselves. Mars in Aries can empower willfulness and help us all tackle our New Years' objectives.

For the next month and a half, anticipate extra courageousness, bravery, and sexual robustness. Mars in Aries dares us to seek new challenges, healthy stressors, and to face fears head-on. In the midst of eclipse season, our initiations have more impact and profundity. But consider if you'll be able to maintain this momentum for the long-haul. Mars can quickly get us up the mountain, but not always back down. This acceleration of change helps us to confidently head into the New Year while leaving 2018 in the stardust.

Fresh Perspectives: New Moon in Aquarius 2017

Image by Chad Woodward

New Moon @ 8 degrees Aquarius 15'

January 27, 2017

4:07 PM Pacific

7:07 PM Eastern

While this New Moon occurs in Aquarius, and you may certainly be feeling those Aquarian winds of change blowing toward you, the highly prominent cluster of planets in Pisces still carries a lot of weight at the moment. An interest in mysticism, altered states, or mysteries surrounding current events has likely captivated you, and with it perhaps an uncertainty about what it all means. However, Mars will move into Aries, its home sign, several hours after the New Moon occurs. The first inner planet to dip into Aries this year, Mars can help you turn ambiguity into action. It can change abstract conceptualization into concrete actualization. With it, a renewed desire, interest, passion, and enthusiasm to take some initial steps in the direction of your choosing. 

Aquarius is often associated with visions and intimations of what is to come. With Mars hitting the Aries point (where the Sun initiates the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere) and coinciding with the New Moon, this a potent brew for new beginnings. The Aquarian vibrations invite us to see upward and outward into realities that have yet to manifest. It stimulates foresight and the improvement of current circumstances. It’s modern ruler, Uranus, is a planet of revolution and liberation from paradigmatic prisons which bind thought and action. Uranus seeks to free the individual from blind obedience and acquiescence to authority. Currently, the planet Uranus is in opposition to Jupiter, collectively inflaming the inner rebel and igniting creative and innovative genius.

With this New Moon, you may feel a surge of rebelliousness and inspiration within yourself. The wave of civil unrest, creative explosion, and the innovation of the established order will continue through to the latter half of 2018. At the moment, check in with your inner radical, heretic, and outlaw. The constellation of Aquarius (which is not the same as the tropical sign), that the zodiacal sign Aquarius derives from, is often depicted as a human figure carrying a pitcher, pouring celestial water from the heavens upon the mundane world below. It’s believed that the symbolism of falling water fits nicely with the Aquarian season in the northern hemisphere when the late winter rains help to fertilize the soil for new life to emerge. 

You may find some meaning for yourself in this symbolism and some deeper connection to the natural processes that surround you. With this New Moon, you may notice a fertilization of potential in your own life and a renewed excitement about what may eventually birth from it. This lunation is a moment of innovation and a reactivation of willpower--a thrust of much needed momentum after a lengthy period of gestation and existential hibernation. A separating square of Venus conjunct Chiron to Saturn, can help you make some adjustments in your relationships. You might find that certain ideological differences can be dealt with through a change in perspective. Resolutions are likely to emerge as the New Moon develops, giving you a greater ability to deal with flaws or perceived deformities in other people. 

Saturn is the traditional ruler of Aquarius, and so this square speaks to the inner tension that equally accompanies the sense of expansion, liberation, and creative birth inherent within this current New Moon. It invites you to resist the temptation to fix problems perceived in other people and to focus more on how to shift your own life which will help generate healing and growth in your partnerships. The best medicine may be to focus on future objectives, step back from presents dramas, and reflect on your reactions.

Maintaining distance from certain situations can help you gain the necessary clarity and trust in the current process. Remember that very often, our wounds are reflected in the wounds we see in others. Accepting that and taking steps to address our own issues generates more growth and maturity within ourselves which then helps us deal more soberly with those we’ve chosen to love. With this New Moon, embrace the fresh air. Take a deep breath. The winds of change are inevitable. Choose to flow with it or struggle against the current. These flowing waters will carry you towards new life and experience. 

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