New Moon in Aries
NEW MOON IN ARIES ~ 7.24 PM NZT ~ 1 APRIL 2022
Lets firstly look at the defining signifiers of this new moon before heading into the exciting realms of themes and configurations. The Sun is exalted in Aries and therefore dominant, no else other planet in the chart is exalted. The Sun expresses his true intention very well in Aries, but the hot, fiery, impetuous energy of Mars rules this sign and he is Lord of this new moon.
This is also the first lunation since the equinox, considered the astrological new year because it is spring in the Northern Hemisphere. In the southern Hemisphere where I am, it is also a powerful inception moon because it is a new moon and the beginning of a new lunar cycle and there are some intense alignments coming up within it. This is the starting gun. Ready, set, go!
- Venus ingress into Pisces 6 April NZT — Venus finally breaks free from Saturns chains and moves into her exaltation in Pisces.
- Mercury Cazimi on April 3 NZT at 13 Aries — there is no time to plan or organise, and we may be tripped up by our lack of consideration and impatience.
- Mars conjunct Saturn on April 5 — focused, disciplined action, hard work, duty and responsibility.
- Mercury ingress into Taurus April 11 — Slow down, practical solutions are available.
- Jupiter and Neptune conjunction is exact from 9 April to about 17 April — read more about this in my article Jupiter in Pisces.
- Sun sextile Saturn on April 13 — opportunities to build something that will last. Make a commitment.
- Mars ingress in Pisces on April 15 — in Venus’s terms and ruled by Jupiter, not Saturn. This is a game changer.
- Just after the full Moon on 17 April, the Sun will sextile Pluto and and Mercury will conjoin Uranus.
The key words for Aries give us some idea what we can expect; Fast, creative, dynamic, extrovert, confident, independent, adventurous, impatient, bold, daring, heroic, courageous. These qualities epitomise Mars the Lord of Aries, yet the sign of Aries has many subtle layers that go beyond Mars stereotypes and key words, if we look at the ancient origins of the classical mythology of Mars.
This very ancient Greek myth tells the story of the golden, winged ram.
Athamas was a powerful king who ruled over the city of Orchomenus. He took the goddess Nephele as his wife. They had two children, a boy named Phrixus, whose name means curly like the texture of the ram’s fleece, and a girl named Helle.
One day Athamas fell in love with Ino, the daughter of Cadmus, and so he married her. Nephele, his first wife, left in anger. Soon a terrible drought came upon the land, destroying everything and the people starved. Ino was jealous of her stepchildren and plotted their deaths. She persuaded Athamas that sacrificing Phrixus and Helle was the only way to end the drought. However, Nephele, appeared to the children in the form of an angel, and she gave to them a magical, winged ram whose fleece was made of gold.
Nephele’s children climbed onto the golden, winged ram and escaped. They flew over the sea, but Helle fell off and drowned in the strait, now named after her, the Hellespont. The ram spoke to Phrixus, encouraging him, eventually taking the boy safely all the way to Colchis.
There, Phrixus sacrificed the golden ram to Poseidon (later called Neptune), god of the Sea. Poseidon was the father of the golden ram and its mother was the Nymph Theophane. By sacrificing the golden ram, Phrixus returns it to the god who created it. Poseidon then immortalised it as the constellation Aries.
Phrixus hung the Golden Fleece, which he preserved from the sacrifice of the ram, on an oak tree in a grove sacred to Ares, who was the god of war and one of the Twelve Olympians. The Golden Fleece was said to be guarded by bulls with hooves of brass and breath of fire and protected by a never sleeping dragon with teeth which could grow into soldiers when planted in the ground.
These are all mythological archetypes who are immortalised in the Constellations and the stories they tell. The constellation of Aries is just below the constellation Andromeda. Although they are not part of this particular story, the mythology of Andromeda, the chained lady, seems strangely relevant to this new moon.
Aries, the sign of the Ram has courage and a sort of magical luck that elevates and empowers, like a Golden Fleece that bestows kingship. They are natural leaders, often by example, by doing rather than managing or organising, they are not followers like the sheep that are part of the flock. As they are naturally heroic, they like to show what is possible; in bold creative projects or other physical achievements. And as the myth suggests they are sensitive to injustice and inequality. They will support the underdog, the vulnerable and victimised, and will make a stand against what they see as wrong.
Why is the Sun exalted in Aries? This is part of the ancient patterns of the seasons, the Spring equinox in the northern hemisphere for example, but the Sun also represents the hero’s journey. This is an archetypal journey which is so much a part of our literature, language and culture. So the Sun-hero, in the house of Mars seems especially heroic, strong and courageous. He is ready to accomplish the Herculean task he is destined for, impossible or not. It has seemed lately that we have faced months of impossible tasks.
MERCURY
Mercury is within a few degrees of the Sun and Moon. Mercury is fun-loving and fast talking, but more so in this sign. However he is under the beams of the Sun, so there is unlikely to be any careful, patient or practical planning during this lunation and at least until Mercury has moved into Taurus. This is great for bold and daring statements, but if you win it will be more down to luck than good decisions.
MARS
Mars, Lord of Aries, who is receiving the Sun, Moon and Mercury conjunction, is within a few degrees of Saturn. He is not in a happy place in Saturn’s house and conjoining Saturn, who is requiring him to be disciplined, restrained and responsible. Mars and Saturn together usually represents sustained focus and disciplined action, but because Saturn is so strong in this airy, idealistic domicile it looks like Mars must now submit and do as he is told. He is not in control like he was when exalted in Saturn’s other sign, and must abide by the laws, restrictions and boundaries laid down by Saturn, especially as he emerges from the conjunction, looking submissive and defeated.
So although this New Moon wants us to get moving and start that thing we have been procrastinating on, it looks like there are still too many other demands and requirements in the way.
We seem to be limited by our commitments, what we promised we would do, rather than what our passion or inspiration is telling us we can, or must do. We cannot put down our burdens without facing some kind of reprimand. Do your dreams and aspirations look Herculean? An impossible task with no practical purpose?
We are reaching for freedom and joy, but duty and responsibility are the chains that bind us.
Saturn and Mars are square to the nodes on 5 April, just as the Moon transits Uranus and the North Node. This is an uneasy and complex configuration and is considered a bad omen in ancient astrology. Many astrologers have also noted that there is an especially malefic pattern here, the Kaal Sarpa in Vedic astrology.
Additionally Jupiter and Neptune are sextile/trine to the nodes. It seems like Jupiter and Neptune exist in some other-worldly parallel universe, where fluffy white swans swim gracefully on a mirror lake and the ballet Swan Lake by the Russian composer Tchaikovsky (who had Jupiter and Neptune square) can be faintly heard. Is it an illusion? What is real and what is illusion is not as obvious as it used to be.
I have written more about the Jupiter and Neptune conjunction. Venus enters Pisces and will soon join this configuration bringing joy, beauty, love, pleasure and abundance. While Saturn, Mars and the Nodes can make life difficult and unpleasant, to say the least, there are other options on offer now.
Saturn and Mars energy may seem more real to us than Neptune and Jupiter, however Astrology shows us that we can participate in creating reality; by doing what the ancients did, creating stories, myths and sacred ritual to manifest the power of the gods, or by being conscious and aware of the energy that flows through us. Now more than ever it seems we can chose the path we take.
Both Jupiter in Pisces and Saturn in Aquarius are asking us to be more conscious of what we believe and how our beliefs shape our reality, our personal reality and our collective reality.
It is our choices, both personal and collective that tie us to the eternal cycles of karma, our day-to-day decisions and the actions we take that lead us into patterns of karma, and our beliefs that tie us to them. Saturn in Aquarius says we must abide by our duty to the greater good, to the ideology set down by tradition, Jupiter says we must have morality, ethics and principles that guide to us to righteousness and goodness.
Maybe the chains that bind us are not as real as we think they are?
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