The New Moon in Aquarius hits today at 12:52pm PST, and in some ways, we truly get to start our new year with this lunation. This is the mansion ruled by Uranus, where absolutely anything can happen, and surprises, pivots, and reversals lead the way. We are at our most innovative and rebellious, ready to try new things, and this exciting air sign inspires us to take risks. Intuition is an invention of the Aquarius mansion, and we can expect the very highest inner guidance we have access to as we set our intentions for this lunar cycle, and the year ahead. But remember that this is also the mansion where service to humanity was invented, so while you want to set intentions right now that are exciting to you personally, remember that in Aquarius, the needs of the community must come first.

We usually consider January 1st and the Capricorn mansion as the beginning of the new year, but this time around, we haven’t been able to take off quite as fast as usual. Too much has been happening with Mercury and Mars; both retrograde at the same time, both going direct within a few days of each other, and both of them still not moving from their stationed degree at the moment of this lunation. The backward drag from this double retrograde that colored the first three weeks of 2023 is in our rear-view mirror. With Mars and Mercury now direct, we can focus on what we want to create next, and have the energetic support to do so. But more importantly than that is our perceptions of what we desire may have changed greatly over the last five months, courtesy of Mars and his retrograde in Gemini.

During all of November, December, and the first half of this month, Mars went backward in Gemini, and the net result is that how we perceive our world has changed. Mars rules things like projects, goals and ambitions, the physical body itself, our relationship to our sexuality, and how we process decision making, and the way anger lives in us. Gemini is all about how we use our minds to perceive the world we are creating. Mars moving backward for the past three months has left us dramatically changed, but those changes are mostly about how we are perceiving the goals and projects we want to focus on. Today, Mercury and Mars are holding the angle that forces a new choice and marks a fork in the road. With this New Moon, we can now truly begin our march through 2023, with a much clearer sense of not just what we want to focus on, but why we want what we want. And do not be surprised if you find yourself wanting something different than what you were focusing on as last year came to a close, as this double retrograde was designed to change our minds, and with this New Moon, potentially change the direction we are moving in.

On the side of this electrifying lunation is Saturn and Venus, also in Aquarius, hanging out in a Conjunction at 24-degrees. Saturn is very comfortable in Aquarius, as he ruled this mansion before Uranus was discovered, and Venus is a bit emotionally detached in this air sign. Venus and Saturn together in any sign has a right-sizing effect, so I encourage you to think big with your intentions, and allow the natural way Saturn has to keep us focused on the tasks at hand. Remember that we must be responsible for anything we declare we want to create for ourselves.

This lunation has so much power to bring the unexpected manifestation of your desires, so I will encourage to be outrageously optimistic and hopeful about what you want to create. But I also must remind you that the magician cannot pull a rabbit out of the hat unless there is a rabbit already in the hat, so trust Venus and Saturn in Aquarius to help keep you excited on the one hand, but operating realistically on the other. You know I always talk a lot about how the sense of deserving is key to all manifestation. Our mind may want the world, but if in our hearts we don’t feel deserving of what we desire, how could we possible bring it into form? This lunation has this very consideration built into it.

This is an electrifying New Moon, and the energy associated with it is very exciting. There is an emotional detachment with both the Moon, and especially Venus in Aquarius, which will help us send our emotional body in the direction of what we intend, but not get as emotionally attached to the outcome. This is also a lunation of downloads and receiving of wisdom from our very highest sources, as Uranus connects us to the higher octave of the Mind, so do not be surprised if your inner intuitive antennae is very active over these couple of days. Tomorrow, the power of this New Moon will hit Venus directly, so include some intentions that hit your desires for love and intimacy, and understand that this is not a moment to consider traditional forms of relationship, but a willingness to try some new approach to how love fits into your life. Uranus, who rules this New Moon, is still close enough to the North Node to help take the intentions we set now and thrust us forward like a slingshot, and after some palpable energetic delays, we will finally get moving at a faster pace. Have at it!