The Sun and Moon are exactly aligned on April 3rd, 2011 at 10:32 AM Eastern US time.

Wide Awake

With so much and so many on edge, this New Moon in Aries looks like a push over that edge. This is the Aries experience, being in the moment, relying on your wits, instincts, and trusting life enough to let go. The Dark of the Moon finds us dying to who we've been, and preparing for a totally new cycle. At the New Moon, we surrender, and here it's the purifying fire of Aries.

Six major planets in fire sign Aries means high spirits and stimulation. And yet, something tells me, on the other side of this, many more of us will be living moment-to-moment. And rediscovering the truest, most alive version of who we are.

What's great about Aries is it burns off the inessential, the trivial, or what covers up your original radiance. You see through to the searing truth. It's about direct engagement with life. New Moons are fresh starts, making this one the Grand Opening to a new epoch and identity that holds the element of surprise.

In this stellium, we have the Sun and Moon meeting at 13 degrees, with Jupiter at 15, Mercury (in retrograde at 23 and Uranus-Mars conjunct at 1 degree Aries. It's a volatile New Moon, and I have to admit, the unstable situation in Japan, with these aspects, adds an explosive factor that makes it feel mighty dangerous. For a good read on this, see Lynda Hill's Aries New Moon commentary -- she calls it incendiary.

This is a New Moon to come back to the Self, to rediscover its full glory and potential. The revolution, which means "to turn around," begins with me.

Make Room for the Fool

At this New Moon, you can feel like You, only concentrated. And this gives you courage to find your chances to grow and expand in the now. The daunting task, in a fear-driven world, is to clear psychic space for the Fool's journey. The first card in the Tarot, the Fool, is a youth who has very little baggage, and is leaning into the future.

The New Moon is often a time to reflect, and go deep within. Give yourself time away from noise and the opinions of others. The most fearsome shadows of the psyche are rising to be purified in the flames.

There's a wide square from the luminaries (Sun-Moon) to Pluto in Capricorn. You might find yourself seeing what's ingrained, or from your ancestral/family line, and crack the code for your release from programming. I recommend this show on The Holographic Canvas, for "far out" ideas to claim sovereignty over your mind. This is a big part of the Uranus Aries transit, and the interruption of regular programming, in favor of thoughts that are alive, instead of a replay/remake/repeat from the external environment.

Find some freedom this New Moon. Much is rising to be healed, and believe me, I'm right there facing core fears, and attempting this New Moon to do something different with my own intensity. This special time can be a portal to move away from the complex and superficial, into the clear and true, the simple. To come out of hiding, or uncover your own light.

This new moon is quite an explosive, passionate and deeply intense one with some very interesting themes that can ignite, inspire and feed our impulses while, at the same time, teach us some interesting things about our selves and our lives and what it means to be human. Occurring on April 3, it's one heck of a doozy of an Aries new Moon with Mars, Lilith, Uranus, the Sun, the Moon, Jupiter and Mercury all in Aries. Many would see this combination of planets all lining up in Aries as explosive. 



The Sabian Symbol for the new Moon is Aries 14: A Serpent Coiling Near A Man And A Woman.


This symbolizes the story of the “temptation” of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The ‘Serpent’ offered Adam and Eve the gift of self-knowledge. However, this “knowledge” also revealed to them that they were naked and that this was sinful. The ‘Serpent’ was said to have brought them both knowledge and guilt. The “snake” can be symbolic of anything that induces fear or negativity into a situation. On the other hand, what the “snake” symbolizes can bring a healing and a profound sense of, or need for, self-knowledge. This Symbol can show the celebration of the physical body and the enjoyment of another through all of the senses.


Something or someone may be coming between people. ‘A Serpent’ is shown ‘Coiling Near a Man and a Woman’; this can be a third person or some kind of threat. It can bring jealousy, resentment, distrust or separation. What comes between people may be an idea or a belief system, such as the fear of God. It may be some insight or knowledge that has come to light; it may be another person or a lover. Temptation, fear and passion can all too easily get in the way of any relationship, old or new. It can sometimes be difficult to tell exactly what’s coming between people; it could be an emotion, psychological condition or memory. The ‘Serpent’ in this situation is not necessarily in a threatening pose, yet it can still induce a sense of fear or tension because of assumptions and prejudice. Snakes by their very nature don’t have to do anything to be intimidating—they arouse fear, uneasiness and other, more extreme, reactions by their mere presence. Maybe one needs to let go of inhibitions in order to find new depths and ways of relating. If the fear of the “snake” were to disappear, would you then be able to return to your own “Garden of Eden”? Alone, or as a couple?


Keywords: Enticement. Allurement. Revealing archetypal knowledge that may not be “socially acceptable”. Temptations. The Adam and Eve story. Jealousy. Sexual instincts. Life and death issues. Relating based on control. Kundalini energy. Realizing polarity. Individuation. Eating the Apple. The “knowledge of good and evil”. Having one’s eyes opened. Marking one’s territory.


The Caution: Feeling guilty. Being afraid to express one’s feelings. Basic instincts and sexual energy. The fear of knowledge, secret or otherwise. Using sexuality as a control device. Disgust or distrust of the body. Sexually transmitted diseases. Hiding nudity or sexuality. Being thrown out of paradise.




Saturn as Holder of Fire

There's an exact opposition between Saturn Libra and the Sun-Moon at 13 degrees, with Jupiter still opposite as well (at 15 degrees). I found insights on this in Norwegian astrologer Per Henrik Gullfoss' Complete Book of Spiritual Astrology. Saturn is holder of the fire in this opposition, seeing that it's neither stifled or blazes out of control.

On Uranus in fire signs, he writes of the danger, of not considering limits of the body and material world. "It can crave freedom so much that it loses it because of an unwillingness to accept the realities of life." This can lead, he says to exploding in "meaningless acts of stupid rebellion."

Saturn Libra is the moderator with a built-in instinct for setting the balance. If things feel out-of-control, you can follow the dictates of your conscience. Your own moral code, and sense of what's fair comes into play, to weigh against radical actions in the moment.

Some Themes:

• Your luck turns when you take a risk to express yourself in the moment.
• One inspired person makes a big impact, with a ripple effect.
• Mercury is Retrograde in Aries, so be alert to distortions that trigger action. Give yourself time to get places.
• Be alert to fire hazards.
• If you sense your spirited self, give it room to grow Big.
• Rekindle a dream from your youth that's still alive (if barely).
• Love yourself enough to allow for a fresh start.