In the Void of Pisces, there is an energy that stirs. It says out loud, “I’ll go!” and it jumps into the Void, springs up into the world of form, shouting “I Am!” This is Aries, and today at 11:20am PDT, the Aries Moon will Conjunct the Sun in Aries, creating a Total Solar Eclipse, that is of course also a New Moon in this fiery, cardinal sign that gets all consciousness started up in the first place. As the first sign, we consider the Aries mansion to also be the start of the astrological new year, and it is not really until the New Moon in Aries that we enjoy the forward thrust that this time of year has to offer us. In Aries, we set intentions around all the things we want to get started and accomplish in the year ahead.
Aries is the energy of beginnings, and is ruled by Mars, the planet of action. The principle in this sign that is interesting to me right now is Aries’ capacity to move without fear, and to act without a plan. And while this sign has a shadow of impulsivity that can get us in trouble, for the sake of this eclipse, and the power that is built into it, we are grabbing every bit of that Aries fire, and finding the fire in our own bellies to move in powerful new directions. Without fear, or with fear along for the ride, and without a plan, though truly, we all need a plan, but we don’t talk about the “plan” when Aries is the host of the party.
So, the outward thrust of this eclipse is accomplishment, goals and ambitions, and the movement out into the world that we want to marshal, and point in the direction we want to go. But this is also a profoundly healing eclipse, and the lunar cycle ahead is going to take all of our personal healing journeys to a transformative place. All eclipses can be fated and transformational, and this one is deeply healing, because the Moon and the Sun are exactly Conjunct Chiron, the Great Healer, at the moment this eclipse is exact.
If you have been following me for a while, you know that I believe that precision counts, and when the geometry is exact, the wave of energy generated is much greater. This stelium of Moon, Sun and Chiron is gathering exactly at 19-degrees of Aries, and this alignment says that Mars may rule this New Moon, Chiron is actually telling us what is really going on behind the scenes. Whatever healing journey you are on, this eclipse marks an acceleration of that process, and the entire lunar cycle ahead may bring some powerful shifts that come from material that Chiron helps bring us through over the next four weeks.
Mercury is retrograde in Aries right now, and the only triple transit Mercury is making in this cycle is – wait for it – a Conjunction to Chiron. Mercury is about our perceptions, and interestingly Chiron is also in the perception game. Chiron was immortal, as a Centaur, he was half God. But suffering a mortal wound caused him to wander eternity in agonizing pain, through which he discovered the capacity to heal any and all wounds. But he doesn’t accomplish this by making them go away, he changes his perception of the wound, and turns it into the blessing. Transformed in this way, we are able to lead lives less driven by our wounded spaces below the surface of our conscious awareness.
Mercury retrograde is designed to alter thought patterns and structures of perception that live in our unconscious. In Aries, it’s all about movement in the world of form, where what we are attempting to accomplish is key. A Total Solar Eclipse Conjunct Chiron tells us the healing potential is great in the eclipse itself (personally, I can vouch for this in my own personal work out the last week). But it also means the retrograde is all about this level of healing as well, and so as Mercury does his thing going backward in April, and wrapping up through mid-May, we will continue to be delivered powerful healing messages from below the surface of our consciousness, as Mercury comes out of his retrograde, and we integrate what we were exploring in the below over the next two months.
On one side of the eclipse, Mars and Saturn are inching together, so how we walk our walk is under the scrutiny of the Great Teacher right now. What we do and how we choose counts, and if we make a misstep, our karmic contract will make sure we are made aware. Remember that Mars rules this eclipse so it’s all about the embodied choices we make, and the goals we are aligning with. Mars and Saturn together puts us on notice to come remember the lessons of the recent past, and the fact they this gathering hits the South Node in the Great Eliminator angle, part of what the lessons are for many of us is leaving some element of the past behind, hopefully dropping wounded behaviors, so that you can come from a more healed place as you create your life.
On the other side of the eclipse over in Taurus, Jupiter and Uranus are gathering in a Conjunction that will peak mid-April. Jupiter is all about expansion, and Uranus brings the sudden and unexpected, and this thread of abundant possibility is also built right into this New Moon moment. These two energies – abundant possibility (Jupiter and Uranus) and walking in a more grounded and wise manner (Mars and Saturn) are working together really well in a Sextile with this eclipse, like an engine of creation and manifestation.
So, CERN fires up today, and we will be fine. The rockets that launch in a manner that is directly connected to the eclipse is beautiful science, not nefarious end of days nonsense. I point this out because it comes from fear. I get this; the world is terrifying right now, filled with war and all sorts of rumbles that threaten to explode. And while it seems silly to say we have nothing to fear, we certainly cannot thrive when we allow fear to inform our day-to-day experience.
Coming from fear is a wound that probably has some origin in a person’s family of origin, Chiron’s domain. The world is heating up, and that requires us all to be out there in the world, activated and ready to participate in whatever manner suits your individual embodiment. Use this New Moon eclipse moment to set yourself on a powerful trajectory forward using your own ambitions, gifts and talents. When more of us are out there living our best lives, the great chance we have of unifying, and creating a world where Peace for Humanity is possible at long last. Have at it!
