What a fantastic new beginning ahead of us! Aries season is the start of the zodiac year, springtime is the season of new growth, and today’s New Moon Solar Eclipse in Aries is not only the start of a new lunation, but an opportunity for total spiritual rebirth. In many cultures it was believed that to be outside during an eclipse would bring bad luck. The sun was undergoing his own spiritual transformation, shedding old skins and facing his shadow in order to return to light again. It makes me giggle to think that we've become so voyeuristic, but I also see it as honing a new perspective. We're not trying to impede the process, only to witness it in order to understand.

 

As it is a rebirth, however, there is the necessity of death, of loss, of releasing. Sometimes there is a spring snowstorm, taking down whole trees and bending any new growth into twisted, arcing shapes. A violent cleansing of what has been hogging resources, the death and decomposition which will feed necessary nutrients back into the ecosystem, and a test of resiliency in that which has sprung forth into this new timeline. Hardship and challenge are not deaths, they are exercises in adaptability. And we mustn’t be naive to think that we can have lovely new blooms without there being room made for them.

 

Over the last two weeks since the Full Moon in Libra, we’ve experienced some significant energetic shifts, and the pressure mounting up to today’s New Moon Solar Eclipse has actually been building for the last six months since the Solar Eclipse in Libra. Remember back then (I know, waaay back then) we resolved karmic lessons with regard to how we identified with our relationships? We were given an opportunity to reconcile how we see ourselves and entered into a new perspective that balanced our individuated expression while remaining open to collaboration. We released deep, old patterns in relationships that, while once serving us and our direction, had become impediments to our development and maturation. 

 

 

Today’s New Moon Solar Eclipse in Aries offers us a wholly fresh start for our personhood. Aries is associated with the first house, and therefore the lenses through which we see the world and how the world sees us. Sometimes, our first house is thought of as a costume we wear or how we present ourselves to the world. It’s time for a costume change; time to take off the pieces that no longer fit and or are no longer representative of our purpose. Switch out the lenses. Upgrade your prescription. There’s so much more to see.

 

The fear or anxiety you may be feeling is only a response to the unknown. Even in the last six months, look at all that you have weathered! The first three months of this year were particularly challenging for most of us, bringing shocks (more on that below) that rocked our worlds individually and collectively. And how practiced you have become in regaining your center!

The eclipse will happen at 19°Aries, which in Sabian symbolism is the degree of the magic carpet. This is the energy of a visionary way of seeing things, of releasing the grasping part of the mind. Could you imagine what it would be like to step on a carpet that begins to float? A whole new world, First name / my darlin', a whole new world!

 

And because some force greater than you knows you got this, the sun and moon are also exactly conjunct the asteroid Chiron. Chiron is our wounded healer, and where he falls in our natal chart indicates where we have some deep soul healing to do in this lifetime. When we see him in transit, we can get a collective sense of healing in that area. The theme of Chiron conjunct a new moon eclipse is self-surrender, letting go of the false self. Chiron in Aries may not have the will for a competitive nature, and instead of bemoaning this perceived lack we would do better to shift our perspective to see that life is not a competition. Yes, chronic systemic issues make living difficult for many people, AND we have abundant resources. AND we are resilient creatures. AND we are stronger in unity for common goals. We’ve seen the damage that pervasive competition can do, most notably to create dynamics of subjugation and control. Individually, we exhaust ourselves trying to “keep up” with each other, when in reality no one is running on the same track. 

 

The new moon eclipse conjunct Chiron also offers us the opportunity to heal the part of you that has felt at war with the world; the places or arenas where you may have been pushing or feeling like you’ve had to fight to have a seat at the table. What would happen if you decided that perhaps it was never the right table FOR YOU all along. You may have been at war with an idea, an old narrative, or a projection that someone else placed on you. Recognizing that your experiences have undeniably changed who you are, this narrative, projection, or self-imposed idea can fall away, incinerated by the fire of your energy redirected. 

 

 

Beyond the eclipse, Mars will form a conjunction with Saturn that will be exact on April 10. This conjunction gives us the energy for work balanced with discipline. We may feel more productive, more organized, ready to apply our new self to the tasks of our lives. Be mindful that Mercury is still retrograde (or as we like to say in my house “in the microwave”), so there may still be some communication mishaps or confusing information. Allow yourself some time for integration after this major shift. 

 

During the peak of the New Moon Solar Eclipse in Aries, the Sun and Moon (and Chiron) will be in Gate 51- the Gate of Shock. This gate carries the ability to respond to disorder and shock through recognition and adaptation. Clearly we are not short of disorder in our world, but I do believe we are collectively learning how to find our way back to center even amidst the chaos, maybe because of the chaos. In navigating transitional seasons, I often talk about having a “soft seat”, an expression which means to keep your center of gravity while remaining flexible in your joints to allow the forces of impact to roll through your form without knocking you off-balance. 

An eclipse in this gate may show us where we are still resisting adaptation, but more likely will be an affirmation of our new mastery. Hexagram 51 in the IChing has a beautiful metaphor for the cosmic truth of Shock: Sock brings success. Shock comes—Oh, oh! Laughing words—ha, ha! The shock terrifies for a hundred miles, and he does not let fall the sacrificial spoon and chalice. 
Shock creates a pause, and can take us on a whole ride of emotions. But any shock, whether tripping over a root or a major traumatic event, is a reminding call back to one’s center. A cue to be aware of thought, intention and attitude.

 

I wish you courage over this eclipse, to face what is being shown to you.

 

I wish you rest over this eclipse, the space and time to integrate what you learn about yourself.

 

And I wish you peace in any measure you’d like.