New Moon in Aquarius

11 February 2021, 19h06 GMT

Sign

MOON IN AQUARIUS THEMES

• Celebrating diversity and your/others’ uniqueness  – individual differences mean we all have something to contribute to the collective or big picture. Over the next two weeks, you could discover more about your unique gifts and individual soul purpose, possibly via a ‘download,’ or an observation that a friend, group member or even a stranger, makes about you.
• Revolution in our day-to-day lives – e.g. disruptive technologies like electric vehicles, universal acceptance of cryptocurrencies that stand to change the way we live, bank, eat, shop or get from A to B etc. Anything that affects our everyday habits/routines, or pushes out of our comfort zones is favoured under this combination.
• Finding your tribe/individual niche – As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. This could be a time when you find your tribe and no longer feel like a misfit/outsider. Much of this depends on how willing you are to embrace your quirks and be authentic, especially when it comes to your gut instincts and feelings.
• Importance of community/collaboration – Many hands make lighter work. From an evolutionary perspective, social cooperation is one of reasons for the human success story as a species. At this critical time in our history, there is a real opportunity to come together with likeminded people, or those whose skills dovetail with yours, to create something of use or value eg opensource coding, crowdfunding etc Becoming conscious of the emotional satisfaction that can arise from team efforts may be another benefit of this particular waxing moon cycle.

Image: Sabian Symbol

The Sabian symbol is a series of messages channelled by the medium, Elsie Wheeler, and interpreted by the astrologer, Marc Edmund Jones, during the course of one day in 1925. They give a set of symbols, word associations and images for each of the 360 degrees of the tropical zodiac. The duo believed that they had managed to tap into what Jones called ‘ancient mind matrix’ of the Sabian Brotherhood of ancient Mesopotamia – an occult sect from the city of Harran that was keen to preserve the original Chaldean traditions, centered around moon worship (the name Chaldean literally means ‘moon worshippers’), which underpinned the very earliest beginnings of astrology. This included talismanic or sympathetic magic, which Michael Baigent describes as “the magic whereby a deity’s power is attracted or coerced down to be concentrated into a physical object” using resonant symbols, metals, colours and numbers. We see this continued in texts such as the Picatrix – and later in the natural magic of Marsilio Ficino.

The Thinker

The Sabian symbol for this two week period conjures up the archetype of the mature thinker, wise judge or scientist – a King Solomon-type figure who relies on cool detachment and the reasoning powers of the rational mind, in order to cut through complicated problems and find the best solution. This is all about internal emotional discipline – being able to detach from one’s emotions in order to assess a situation from multiple perspectives – and arrive at a fair and impartial decision based on the facts.

A good example of such an impartial but wise adjudicator is the King of Swords in the tarot. His sword, which represents the element of air – as well as truthful communication and mastery of the emotions via the rational mind. He uses the sword of intellect to cut through to the nub of the matter and solves problems from a neutral, but compassionate perspective; as opposed to someone who is very emotionally involved, or personally invested, in a particular situation.

I think this symbol is asking us to exercise emotional self-control and develop a healthy sense of perspective, which often means detaching from our personality and its desires or drives. As many of us have earned (usually the hard way), sometimes it’s important to take a bit of a step back emotionally in order to engage our higher mind. From this perspective, we are less at the mercy of the rollercoaster ride of the emotions, and more able to see things from a centred, calm and less reactive place, and to recover more quickly from setbacks.

“Self-control is one mark of a mature person; it applies to control of language, physical treatment of others, and the appetites of the body.”

– Joseph B. Wirthlin

Think about situations that make us angry, for example. Buddhism teaches us that in order to be happy, and to feel less at the mercy of our ego-driven impulses, we need to cultivate more self-awareness via meditation. From here, we develop the techniques to cope more effectively with life, which includes emotional mastery – learning to train your mind to rise above the onslaught of emotional turmoil and the chaos that it usually ensues when we act from an unbalanced or ‘over-heated’ place (which is of course, very Martian).

In this way, we are more easily able to identify potential pitfalls and resolve longstanding problems and not get too caught up in the often messy details, but also to maintain a perspective – and have a plan – so that we can course correct if things don’t go exactly as expected.

Given the mixed set of aspects associated with this particular lunar phase, I think this skill is going to be important. Not only will it keep us on track psychologically during the often chaotic and confusing periods that characterise Mercury retrogrades, but it will also prevent us from tipping into blind optimism – a distinct possibility, given the positive Venus-Jupiter contacts happening at this new moon.

Overriding Theme: Zodiacal Face

Rather than use the decans, which divide each zodiac sign into three sub-groups, I want to get more specific. So I will be zooming in 2X to look at what Alan Leo – known as the father of modern horoscopic astrology – called a‘ demi-decan’. As an analogy, think of it as being like the five-minute intervals we have on the face of a clock. Together with the Sabian symbol, which uses a channelled image to describe the nature of each individual zodiacal degree, I think that that this offers us a great way to get more and more specific about the ‘quality of time’ – the specific energies and themes of each two week moon phase. I think it’s far more useful and accurate than just looking at a generic zodiac sign overview that repeats almost every year.

Key Aspects

Other Aspects

Venus conjunct Jupiter in Aquarius

Much like the Leo Full Moon on 29 January 2021, there will be an jubilant and buoyant mood surrounding in the days surrounding this particular lunar phase. This will in large part be due to the highly favourable Venus-Jupiter conjunction, also in Aquarius, that takes place on the same day as the February new moon.

Venus, of course, is the planet of love and creativity, while Jupiter is all about expansion, travel and meaning. So the two combining their energies in the friendly and idealistic sign of Aquarius could mean fresh opportunities to relate to others in a more open hearted and open-minded way – no mean feat right now when there is so much fear and socio-economic uncertainty around.

This is likely to result in a burst of optimism, possibly extravagance, over the next week or so as people seize on this rare bit of good news and run with it. We can already see this being reflected in cryptocurrency and stock market prices – Bitcoin has reached a new all-time high and there’s a mood of increased market confidence, especially in the wake of the COVID vaccine rollout ( = end of lockdowns) and Joe Biden’s financial stimulus package.

And given everything that’s happened over the last year or so, who can blame people, frankly!? We’re all in need of some good cheer and reasons to be hopeful right now, and with Mercury set to conjunct Venus (13th) and Jupiter (14th), that may be exactly what we get this week. Indeed, Valentine’s Day looks especially romantic, thanks to generous Jupiter, sexy Mars and poetic Neptune!

However, given that both benefics will also be making a square to Mars and Black Moon Lilith, I think it may be wise to exercise a little caution/prudence, and have a Plan B in place. Otherwise, there is the possibility that we may become blind to unforeseen (BML) dangers/accidents (Mars) that may be lurking just out of sight, or perhaps find ourselves succumbing to the temptations of baser emotions such as greed or over-indulgence – which could in turn, sew the seeds of self-sabotage.

Venus and Jupiter will also be travelling close to Mercury, still retrograde until 21 February, which could coincide with the return of an old friend or flame. Although this may be good news, it’s good to avoid being overly nostalgic at the expense of the facts, especially if there was a toxic/abusive element to the relationship (here I am thinking about that Mars-BML contact). Here, we are reminded of the message of the Sabian symbol to remain rooted in truth, facts and fairness and use our heads over our hearts. (Not fun, but heeding this advice may just save your bacon!)

Contacts with the Luminaries

Sun & Moon square Mars & Black Moon Lilith

When it comes to lunar phases, the aspects most likely to colour the two weeks of any waxing/waning lunar cycle are those involving the luminaries. At the Aquarius New Moon, the Sun and Moon will make another fixed T-square, this time to rowdy and impulsive Mars.

Mars is the planet of bravery and initiative, as well as physical passion and vitality. This is strong yang-based life force energy. However, when it is paired with Black Moon Lilith = dark side of the Moon, and in a square to the Sun and Moon, it doesn’t always act in its own – or other people’s best interests. This could suggest giving in to selfish desires or impulses of our lower natures, or being a tad emotionally naive or reckless. With Mercury also retrograde and fresh from a square to Mars (10th), it’s likely that our decision-making faculties will be impaired.

We can now see why the cosmos is drawing our attention to the need for clear-headedness and sensible thinking via the sabian Symbol; as well as the wisdom of learning from past experience (zodiacal face) what happens when we give in to temptation against our better judgement.

Although this might not matter so much under normal circumstances, given that we are heading towards the first of a series of challenging squares between Saturn and Uranus, the first pass of which happens during this waxing moon cycle (17 Feb), it’s better to err on the side of caution right now. Disregarding the rules or accepted social norms under this transit is likely to have graver than usual repercussions.