Aries Season! Happy Equinox & New Moon!!
Date: March 20, 2023
It’s Aries season! The Equinox comes in at 3:24 PM MDT on Monday the 20th, and the New Moon less than 24 hours later at 11:23 AM on the 21st of March. We’ve had a rush of planetary change in a few short days. Just a week before this New Moon we had Venus in Aries, and the Sun, Mercury, Neptune and Saturn in Pisces…that is a recipe for intense emotions and passion. As the New Moon perfects, we have Venus in earthy Taurus, Mercury in Aries with the Sun and Moon- getting rid of the overrepresentation of Pisces. Woo Hoo!
I wouldn’t normally get excited about Mercury in Aries- this is a feisty Mercury leading to sharp tongues, confrontational interactions and lack of patients which can result in miscommunications. However, with Mars is in Mercury’s sign and Mercury is in Mars’ sign, so we have ourselves a mutual reception. Maybe, with some extra dignity, Mars can help us be more effective in our actions. The planet moves into Cancer, its sign of detriment, on Saturday the 25th. It loses all of that dignity, but it’s in a Cardinal sign, so I guess we’ll see whether dignity or mode are more helpful when it comes to Mars action.
The Red Planet has spent a very long time in Gemini- it’s been there since August 20th of last year. Mars takes 2 years to get through the whole zodiac – that’s 2 months in each sign- but with a retrograde it can stay in a sign for upwards of 7 months. This particular trip will have lasted 7 months and 5 days. Mars in Gemini has been a lot like a Mercury retrograde at times. My tech has been a bitch, there have been miscommunications, misplaced paperwork and so on. Not to mention the indecision about which direction to pick. Mars in Gemini is notorious for difficulty choosing a path or course of action. It can’t seem to gather enough information to move forward– so for all of us, moving forward has not been smooth. It has been frustrating to say the least. Right now Mars is out of bounds, which adds an element of unpredictability to the outcomes of the actions we take. Some people may be more willing to break the rules to get moving forward.
We’ve had Saturn in Pisces for over a week now and we’re all still here. The ground didn’t melt away beneath us, so that’s cool. I didn’t think it would, but some predictions I read about the shift were a bit dire. For me, I’ve been able to breathe a bit easier. Saturn is that nagging, criticizing, pessimistic voice in our heads telling us all the reasons we can’t. When it’s in its own sign, that voice is loud and powerful. What I’ve noticed over this past week is that voice is barely a whisper, and is much easier to ignore (or reason with), and the imposter syndrome is not overwhelming at the moment. Of course, this will be different once it’s making aspects to my natal chart, but for now I’ll enjoy the silence.
So, what a great way to start this new year! What we have missing are air signs. Mars is the only thing in an air sign, and it’s not really helpful on the communication or social front. We do have this week to enjoy Mars and Mercury working together. If you have creative projects to work on, use this week to get things rolling. Once Mars moves into water, we’ll have to depend on Pluto in Aquarius for air. Without air, fire isn’t being fed- energy will burn out faster, inspiration and creativity may not linger long enough to manifest beyond the warming of the solar plexus. The fire we do have is Aries fire, which has a short burn anyway- take advantage of the sort bursts when they come along.
Venus is in her sign of Taurus, which is a languishing vibe. It’s beautiful energy- but it ain’t ambitious! Unless your ambition is to eat delicious food and/or take a nap after strolling through a forest or garden. This is the vibe that could curtail any bursts of fire we experience. I hadn’t noticed that I booked to get my hands and feet done during the New Moon- which is kinda perfect. I’m doing something for myself (New Moon in Aries) and it’s a very Venus thing to do. To top it off- the reason I pay to have them done by a professional is my lack of patients in doing it myself (Aries Moon)- I take too damn long!
As for this New Moon and New Year- Set intentions for the coming year. It’s Aries energy so what do you want for yourself? In which ways can you be braver, take initiative, or invite more play into your life? Maybe you need to strike out on your own or take more time for yourself. Make some promises to yourself you’re willing to work on and you know, with some effort, you can keep- and as always, be kind to yourself. xo
If you want to hear more about the upcoming astrology, Lillian Bennett, my lovely astrologer friend from Durham North Carolina and I talk about what’s coming up! (My sound was sometimes screwy, but it was our first time…lol We’ll get better! Hopefully once Mars leaves Gemini!)