Astrology Highlights (printable)

New Moon 'Scope: Aries
by Dana Gerhardt

What’s in the sky this cycle?

This New Moon brings a Solar Eclipse. If you want to see it, wear those special protective glasses, or make a pinhole in a cup, and set your coordinates for New Zealand, part of Antarctica, southern United States, Central America, the Caribbean, and the north and western parts of South America. Whether or not you can see the eclipse, you will feel it. Perhaps you’ve already been feeling it. Eclipses start their vibration sometimes three to four weeks in advance. Eclipses bring a dramatic acceleration or sudden turn of events. Often there’s a major story dominating the news. With the Grim Reaper Saturn squaring the eclipse degree, this year we’ve had two stories bringing the end of life into sharp focus—the sufferings of Terri Schiavo and the Pope. Strong opinions and emotions have been evoked, and at the least, we’re reminded of our own mortality. May these stories inspire us to make the most of our life. A frequent eclipse lesson is that suffering is part of life; but so is change… and change is good. Eclipses force much needed changes to the surface. Their shakedown makes it easier to release worn-out behaviors, attitudes and relationships. Their turbulence impels us to grow.

The apple tree in my backyard, the stand of lilacs bordering WalMart’s parking lot, the explosion of tulips, hyacinths and daffodils in my neighbor’s front yard—all testimony to the exuberant beauty of spring. The Aries New Moon arrives with a Solar Eclipse. If you’re old enough, you can reflect on the time this eclipse occurred before—April 1986—and ponder the similarities. Perhaps you face a similar challenge, disappointment, or new opportunity. Through cycles, astrology often returns us to the same fork in the road. With each return, we’re older and wiser. What will you choose this year?

Another way astrologers divine the meaning of eclipses is through Saros Cycles. Eclipses are grouped into "eclipse families" going back for hundreds of years. This particular cycle began in October 1103 and will end in November 2347. The Australian diva of eclipses—astrologer Bernadette Brady—says this one belongs to "a very sensual family of eclipses, ranging from sudden sexual passions and lust to birth and procreative drives. This series 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." Now that’s something to think about!

That may explain the signatures in this New Moon chart. Sensual Venus is conjunct the Sun and Moon; all three are in trine to passionate Pluto. The Aries cycle always invites us to honor desire, but this year that’s especially true. Be open to the feelings stirring within you. Jupiter opposing the Sun and Moon says "Don’t ignore it. Make it bigger!" Let yourself fall in love with someone or something. True, Mercury is still retrograde (until April 12). Communication isn’t smooth yet and the Trickster will keep toying with the mechanics of life. There may be times when you feel caught in a balancing act just beyond your abilities. But soon enough, the Sun will enter Taurus (a week after Mercury goes direct, on April 19). Taurus brings a stabilizing energy. It holds out a promise of endurance, balance and grounding. So run recklessly and passionately now; then, just as you might start careening out of control, regain your balance. Just keep your heart tuned to joy’s frequency. And continue to move, like swift Artemis, in the direction of your desires.

A good resolve to make this New Moon is to keep your focus off of what you don’t want—and on to what you do. Aries is the optimum cycle for beginnings. Your future will be created by your attention now. If you’re focused on irritations or lack, you will get more of the same. If you fill your heart with joyful feelings and your mind with delightful images, your momentum towards a brighter future will build. Negative energy only brings more negativity. The tulip shooting up from the ground doesn’t think, "I’m tired of winter." It thinks, "I want to be a luscious bloom." When you do likewise this cycle, a resplendent future will be speeding your way.

* Bernadette Brady, The Eagle and the Lark (Weiser, 1992)

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