Happy new moon! Happy solar eclipse! We begin a new lunar month, one set in of Aquarius, the sign of community, social networks, friendship, and humanitarian themes. Aquarius teaches about belonging. It also zooms us out and connects us to life at the level of its systems. And since this is a solar eclipse, these Aquarian themes will saturate our experiences over the coming six months. That said, the new moon is exact on February 15, 2018 at 4:07 pm EST, 27 degrees Aquarius. That’s 1:07 pm in Los Angeles, 9:07 pm in London, and 8:07 am in Sydney on February 16.
The lunar cycle — meaning the ebb and flow of new and full moons — creates the story of life. The signs and planets color the characters as well as set the scene. Depending on the placement of the heavens at the time of the new moon, the tone of the story can be bright and open or dark and complex. Each month the page turns, the characters change, and the story progresses. It’s the solar eclipses, however, that set a new chapter.
And here we are; it’s a new chapter.
When we reach Aquarius Season, we’re coming to the end of the astrological year. As the eleventh sign, Aquarius bridges the worldly ambitions and responsibilities of Capricorn and the liminality of Pisces. Aquarius is consciousness. It’s thought made manifest. It’s the systems that form our world. It’s the social fabric as well as the sense of belonging to something larger. Aquarius is connection. So, over the coming six months, we’ll be living out a story framed around this theme of connection and, by its polarity, disconnection.
Do you struggle to feel like you’re a part of something? What does tribe mean to you? What role does friendship and community play in your life? What does social justice mean for you? How do you balance your own needs against the needs of the collective? And, because this is a South Node eclipse, we have to work through our past karma as well as our past choices around these Aquarian themes.
When we look at the chart of the solar eclipse, we see the energy pointing towards Saturn in Capricorn. There’s something blisteringly real about the coming six months, an ultimatum — Saturn doesn’t sugarcoat things — to clean up our act, set boundaries, and take our responsibilities seriously.
Another thing to keep in mind is that Aquarius is consciousness — consciousness that forms patterns and shapes. This consciousness can either support and inspire or imprison. (If you know someone who is caught in negative thought patterns, then you know what I mean by imprison.) Aquarius is also anti-consciousness in its negative polarity, the times when we willfully looked away from reality. So, with that in mind, we’re working with consciousness over the coming six months, the systems and patterns that we hook into, the times we’ve disconnected or looked away.
With Jupiter in Scorpio squaring the eclipse as well, this great force that has unleashed of all our hidden shame and secrets, we’ll be doing our shadow work. Scorpio teaches us that when we don’t acknowledge something within ourselves, it manifests outwardly in our relationships. Scorpio also teaches us the power of transformation, the power of recognizing the shadow within in order to change our external world. If all this shadow work feels intense, thankfully Venus and Neptune in divine Pisces can really save us from ourselves … if we let them.
Want to know what this eclipse will mean for you, check out my sign-by-sign write up from February 13.
PS — I’m giving a talk on “The Astrology of 2018” here in Manhattan on March 1. Details here as well as below. Space is limited. Cost is $20 USD.
Read More:
Chart of the Aquarius New Moon
Astro Daily: February 13, 2018
Saturn in Capricorn: Accountability
Jupiter in Scorpio: Sign by Sign
Event: The Astrology of 2018
Facebook Invite: The Astrology of 2018
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