New Moon in Aquarius
Hi Everyone
We have a new moon in Aquarius today (29th Jan: 12.36pm, UK time) with the Sun and Moon aligning at 9˚ of the Water-Bearer, the progressive, idealistic and forward-thinking sign, whose role is to carry the waters of life for the benefit of humanity, and to help shape their course. As we approach the season of Imbolc, we experience the first stirrings of new life, as we start to feel the light returning in the northern hemisphere, and enthusiastic communities of snowdrops begins to grace our gardens; pure, white, ahead of their time, torch bearers, heralds of the coming Spring. And we have an hopeful Jupiter aspect in today’s chart to encourage the growth of the light.
Carrier of the Current
Although the symbol of Aquarius is the symbol for water, it is very far from being a water sign! Being an air sign, Aquarius is involved more with thought than with feeling. It is not a sign imbued with the temperament of water, rather it is a container for that which flows, be it water, electricity or other forms of energy. Aquarius is the carrier of a current of energy as it moves through the world, and it is very much associated with what sustains life. It is Aquarius that facilitates the circulation of energy to all parts of a system to revive and rejuvenate its life force. It is a sign imbued with hope, and the promise of a better world.
Sun & Moon Trine Jupiter
The Aquarian Sun and Moon in today’s chart are blessed with an applying trine aspect to Jupiter in Gemini (2˚ orb), which is typically indicative of growth and good fortune. And being that there are no hard aspects connected to the Sun or Moon in the new moon chart, there appears to be an unusual ease and flow to it. Such an aspect can be good for self confidence and tends to engender a more optimistic outlook, and this may be a particularly good time to initiate those higher visionary ideas, especially those that are pitched toward some form of ‘greater good’. There are some more intense conjunctions elsewhere in today’s chart, involving Pluto and Neptune, which I will say more about below.
Awakening our Perception, Lightening Our Load
Aquarius is, in many ways, the most radical sign of the zodiac, the one who awakens us to a different view of ourselves and the world. It is the Aquarian who calls the whole group together into a colourful gathering of diverse perspectives and invites each to speak their own truth. Aquarius celebrates our eccentricity, our uniqueness, our difference. That is the gift of this sign, and the hope for the future.
One of the roles of Aquarius in the Zodiac is to lighten the burden of guilt; it follows Capricorn in the zodiac, the sign that bears the weight of our earthly duties and responsibilities. Aquarius can pierce the veil of reality, see through the material manifestation to the energetic patterns of networks of connection that make up the implicit order of reality. Aquarius opens up a broader conversation, invites a clearer perception of who we are as a collective, through the recognition of our shared humanity, beyond differences of outlook and opinion.
Hapi: Aquarian Nile God of Overflowing Abundance
Every year when we have an Aquarian new moon, the energy is ripe for the seeding of ideas that are oriented toward creating a more inclusive, equitable society. On the astronomical ceiling of the Pronaos hypostyle hall of the Temple of Hathor at Dendera in Upper Egypt, the sign of Aquarius is represented as Hapi, the androgenous god of the Nile, an apparently male figure, but with female breasts, and lotus stalks growing out of his head. He holds two pitchers of water, which overflow like the banks of the Nile every summer in the historic annual inundation (heralded by the heliacal rising of Sothis / Sirius), with the constellation of Aquarius rising as the Sun set. This allowed life to flourish along the Nile’s banks for the benefit of the whole society, and so it is with Aquarius, the overflowing water pot. Aquarius is about ‘giving back’, allowing the abundance that is inherent in the cycles of nature to recirculate through the community; replenishing, reviving and sustaining life.
The Aquarian Shadow of Abstract Idealism
This all sounds wonderful, doesn’t it, and the very idea of Aquarius and the coming of the Aquarian Age tends to lift our spirits and inspire our hope for a better world. However, that dream of Aquarian togetherness can only be achieved when each individual is awake to their own uniqueness. It cannot be sustained through enforcing or co-ercing conformity by attempting to artificially (and prematurely) eradicate that which naturally and culturally differentiates us. There is a Mercury-Pluto conjunction in today’s chart that (almost exact over this new moon) won’t let us forget the shadow dimension to this sign. Mercury-Pluto darkens the mind, and compels us to look beneath the surface manifestation to the oft corrupted power stuctures that lie behind it.
Aquarius holds the ‘high ground’ of thinking in the zodiac, taking the overview of a situation, like an architect surveying things from above, designing a plan of the future, based on an ideal of what should be possible. By adopting this higher perspective, often in the name of inclusion and the philosophically attractive proposition of open, free access for all, the contingencies of everyday lived experiences are often overlooked. Such an approach runs the risk of ignoring, or blanketing over, the necessary stages of initiation that are necessary in the assumption of knowledge and wisdom (the sign of Scorpio is charged with preserving this - within the mystery schools, for example).
If we become fixated upon a system of intelligence that must at all costs preserve the appearance of inclusion, diversity and social justice, then we distance ourselves from the truth that lies within the shadows of such idealism. It becomes a pretence that is completely unworkable in practice, and breeds resentment and, ironically, an even deeper level of exclusion. By brushing over our inevitable differences of perspective, knowledge and experience, what we end up with is bland conformity to an idea of progress, that becomes its own prison, walled up behind abstract technological reasoning, which creates a false reality, divorced from embodied sense perception. The consequences of this were laid bare especially during the Saturn in Aquarius years (2021-23), and their darker shadow side is now being felt even more deeply with Pluto in Aquarius, which threatens to destroy the naive utopias that have characterised the period of anticipation that has generally accompanied the beckoning Aquarian Age.
Venus-Neptune Conjunction in Pisces
We also see in today’s chart an applying conjunction of Venus and Neptune in Pisces (within a 2˚ orb), which feels very dreamy and romantic. Venus is exalted in Pisces, because it is here that she can experience a transcendent beauty and enter into mystical states of union. And when she is conjunct the mystical planet, Neptune, who dissolves form and limitation, she can surrender to the most sublime experience of love and connection. It is a beautiful aspect for the poet, the artist, the musician and the lover, who can draw on profound inspiration under such an aspect. Venus-Neptune energy does not allow us to get attached though, and if we get carried away with it, we are potentially deluded, especially if we start to believe that is enough in itself for relationships to flourish or for our enterprise to thrive.
New Moon Blessings!
In summary, I think we can say that this new moon offers a beautiful oopportunity for growth and inspiration, a time that we can perhaps glimpse the possibilities of the future, even in the midst of the dark and confusing times that we are facing.
My Aquarian mantra runs:
“I enable the waters of life to flow, in service of humanity’s highest vision.”
New Moon blessings to all, and a happy Chinese New Year of the Snake!
John
