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Get your Viking on--Aries New Moon 2013

Aries New Moon 2013

By Tracy Cook

Many years ago I studied lunar phases with Robert Buz Myers. It is my hope that he would be proud of my work today. Blessings to you, Buz!

What is a New Moon?

A new moon is the beginning of a 28 day cycle. Technically, when you look up in the sky you only see a thin section of the moon illuminated.

And the not so technical point of view?

Well, similar to farmers and indigenous people, who have used the eight phases of the moon for eons, astrologers also utilize the different phases of the Moon. Certainly on the New we know it is time to plant seeds. But the other seven phases are equally important.

Where should my focus be during this next 28-day cycle?

When we draft a chart for the new moon we can get a sense of the energy that will be up for processing for the next 28 days.

Okay what is this cycle about? Are you energized? Are you ready for big changes? If not, are you just pissed? Did it occur to you that being pissed is the first sign that you are ready for big changes?

ARIES NEW MOON

NEW MOON

April 10 5:35am EDT

20 Aries 41

Sabian Symbol: A Pugilist Enters The Ring

Sabian Symbol: http://www.amazon.com/Sabian-Symbols-Astrology-Symbol-Explained/dp/094335840X

http://www.cafeastrology.com/sabiansymbols_degreemeanings.html

Aries New Moon

This is a super duper, action-packed Aries New Moon. The Sun, Moon, Mars & Venus are on top of each other. And a few degrees off to the left is Uranus (also in Aries). I don’t know if there are other words to describe this energy beyond--- “On your mark—go!”

TREASURE MAP

As most of you know on the Aries New Moon we build our treasure maps. Seventeen years ago I made my first Treasure Map based on the work of astrologer Buzz Myers. In 1996 on the Aries New Moon following Buzz’s direction, two friends and I got together and built our maps. Since that time treasure maps have grown in popularity thanks to the www. I only wish Buzz had lived long enough to see what he inspired. In a nutshell we build a collage of images, drawings, quotes and words that reflect those things we want to accomplish in the new year. Once we have built it we put the treasure map up where we can see it and where it will coax us along. And yes, the new year did not begin in January it starts April 10^th with Aries New Moon . Build your treasure map you will be shocked by what you accomplish in the next twelve months. For more on treasure maps go here--- http://tracyastrosalon.blogspot.com/2013/04/it-is-treasure-map-time-2013.html

Mars

Mars is the warrior. And he is not a sleek, cool warrior who comes in with his pistol and gets a clean shot. No. You need to visualize another warrior. Think of a sweaty, messy haired brute with a club in one hand and a sword in the other and he is running at full speed. Think Viking. That is our warrior this cycle. The reason why Mars is extra feisty in Aries is because it is his home sign. Having Mars on the moon, sun and venus is going to give us the power and bravery to put it out there what we want this year and not hide in the crowd like a broken down character in a Dickens novel whimpering, “More, please.” Good lord no. Mars would torch down the dump before he would beg for food. This is a fighting New Moon and a case could be made that it will a fighting year. Perhaps getting the life that we want will take a little fight? Dig in and find your inner Viking.

Pluto, Uranus and the power of Mars

As we have discussed in previous new moons, Uranus is squaring Pluto several times between now and 2015. The last round we had was in the fall of 2012. We know that Uranus is the planet of change. Not small changes, it is the planet of big revolutionary changes. Pluto is also the planet of change but it is evolution versus Uranus revolution. What is the difference? Globally speaking, a perfect example is in front of all us.

In December of 2010, Uranus turned direct in Pisces and began his journey toward Aries. Shortly after it turned direct a young man in Tunisia set himself on fire as a protest against the injustice of the government. This act set off the Arab Spring. Now here we are three years later with new leaders in North Africa but it is a mess. Egypt, Tunisia, Libya are hardly stable and perhaps on the verge of collapse since they can’t seem to take care of their people any better than the old guard. Thus we are back to square one. What is the answer? Well, I certainly can’t tell you how to make electricity more available in Tunis but what I can tell you is if people neglect the work of Pluto and do not change from within you can have a jillion Uranus revolutions and nothing will evolve. Meaning the hard work of evolution must go hand and hand with revolution.

Where do you need to evolve? For some of us we have an idea but fear it to a certain extent. This is why we need to use the square from Uranus and Pluto to our advantage.

Yes, I know squares are hard and they hurt and we may have a lot of grunts and tears. If you have got crap in your life that you no longer want let Uranus and Pluto help you get rid of it. Next month on May 20^th and then again on November 1^st, Uranus and Pluto will have exact squares. Which means right now pressure is building to the May square. Some of us feel like we are in between a rock and a hard place. And right now as the tension is building we have got this gloriously dramatic warrior Viking Mars infused with the Aries New Moon. He is fighting for us. He is telling us what we want this year. It is loud. It clear and it might be scary. But he is not shy, Mars is churning up a lot for us to see. Remember Aries rules sight. And maybe he shakes us up so we can REALLY see stuff. Even new sides to the crappy stuff.

We want all kinds of things. The moon and sun in Aries will certainly put a light on it. But don’t forget Pluto. How the hell can we want and keep stuff that is magnificent if we have beliefs, habits, patterns, friends, spouses, relationships, jobs etc that keep us small? This is where evolution is important.

If you have some lame idea deep in your psyche that goes something like, “My mom treated me like shit when I was a kid and so I only know hard times, and no one is ever going to be there for me because my dad was a flake and my mom was pathetic and selfish and so I learned early on that I have to do everything myself and when I do finally get what I think I want it turns out to be crap.”

That is a yucky belief.

And even if I have not laid out the exact yucky belief that is in your head, it doesn’t matter—you KNOW the yucky thing that is in there. And remember what Einstein said, “No two things can occupy the same space.” So, how on god’s earth are you going to get the things that really empower you like a beautiful home, loving relationships, abundance, good pay, creativity, joy, love… you get the gist. How can you have all that empowering good if you insist on those crappy beliefs?

Now do you understand why we need Pluto? Uranus who says, “I want a revolution, I want a new man, woman, house, I want a new love, I want joy, I want change!” And Pluto is saying, “Sure but what about that negative belief at your core? Are you ready to eliminate it? Are you willing to let go? Are you willing to jettison your habits, your patterns, your old way? If not, then stay stuck between a rock and a hard place until I drain it out of you drip by drip. “ Yes, Pluto is just that tough.

So, that is the overall environment we are experiencing and in the middle of that tension we get this warrior Mars on our New Moon. Clearly Mars is fighting for us. It may be harsh and hard during this 28 days cycle but let us assume Mars is working FOR us and NOT against us. He may be pushing us hard but he is doing it so that we can have the energy and the power to do something new. If you have crappy people in your life and they are holding you back from the good you want this year then perhaps you will take this Mars Infused New Moon and not enable them. How are you doing the same thing over and over again and it keeps crippled or controlling people in your life? Or how are you a martyr and not asking for help? Or how are you insisting something must be perfect and only you can do it? Or how are you off-putting and people just don’t want to help you? Or how are you being a hero so no one else can be a hero? How do you resent everything that is on your watch? Or perhaps more salient than all, how are you going to stop hiding and instead be brave warrior and acknowledge the changes and new experiences you want in your life?

Of course, there are some people so numb and so indifferent to what they want that they insist they ‘don’t know’ what they want. I am going to say it right now, there is NO way anyone on this Aries cycle does not know what they want. No way, no how. And if they insist they don’t know then they are being deliberately obtuse. Perhaps it will take the Uranus and Pluto square to push them into real movement. The rest of us of course will take these 28 days and as fiery as it gets, we will not let it deter us and consider it a real gift of energy.

Pluto

I know I spent a lot of time talking about the Uranus Pluto square which probably feels premature since the square does not happen until May but part of the reason why it is important now is that Pluto is turning retrograde on April 12^th which will be on the new phase of the Aries Moon therefore influencing this twenty eight day cycle and to a certain extent the year. Pluto spends half of every year going backwards. It is interesting that Pluto arguably the most powerful planet in astrology spends a lot of his time going bass-akwards but perhaps most of us need him to slow down and backtrack for us to find our power. He will be retrograde between 8 and 12 degrees of Capricorn so of course anyone who has planets in cardinal signs (Cancer, Libra, Cap, Aries) at those degrees is going to feel Pluto more than the rest of us.

When Pluto goes backwards he finds all the weak parts, he finds the problems. In the sign Capricorn he is finding a lot of executive problems in our life. He is like a CEO looking at every employee and assessing whether they are team players or not. What is going on in our lives that is not serving our greater good? Pluto will find it during the retrograde. And then when he turns direct we may (if we are lucky) come up with some solutions for those problems we observed or at the very least come out stronger having survived the problem.

Remember Pluto understands at its core, “Adapt or die” or if you prefer, “Survival of the fittest.” It will be nearly impossible to ignore during the next 28 days (Aries) and in the next six months (Pluto retrograde) about what is fit in our life and what is not.

Neptune Semi Square Sun/Moon

I don’t know if I would normally mention this aspect but given all the warrior energy of Mars I didn’t want to neglect the spiritual hand of Neptune. Neptune is an intuitive planet, he is the psychic planet, he is the planet that speaks to our higher side of love. Not the love we have for our significant others or even our family, he speaks to the love of humanity. The part of us that loves people we don’t even know. When we see those families in Newtown Connecticut speak about their children, do we not want to hold them, hug them, cry with them? Why? That is not Venus who loves OUR husband/wife children/friends. That is personal. It is Neptune that looks in our heart and sees our capacity to love is greater than loving just the people around us.

A semi square brings out friction and with Neptune we will see public examples where something is out of synch. A person falls through the system. A person is in the wrong place at the wrong time. But out of it comes something new that will help others. Personally, don’t be surprised if you end up in some weird place with some weird people and you just wonder, “How did I end up here?” And my suggestion would be to go with it. It might seem strange and weird and it could cause some friction but never lose sight that spirit is talking to us.

I had a funny experience this weekend when I watched the first episode of the new season of Madmen. After the two hours concluded I was left scratching my head thinking what was that person about? Or, why did we see that scene? Who were those people? Why did we have to experience that weird moment? Who was that d-bag brownnoser buying the catered food Roger’s mother’s funeral? Just weird.

But what I know about the show is that nothing is ever wasted and we will probably see some of these people again during the season and some of the weird moments in that first episode will have significant meaning later in the year. That is very much like Neptune in Pisces semi square Sun/Moon in Aries. We are on this weird journey but it is all important. Watch the weirdness that comes up we don’t really know now but it may prove significant later.

In conclusion:

Aries New Moon is either kicking our ass or we are kicking its ass. But in either case there is A LOT going on these 28 days. We will not be sitting back drinking margaritas waiting for life to find us. Nope. Every day we will be looking at the landscape and seeing where the road is opening up for us. And if it is not opening up we will hack through the brush until we find that road. I’ve got my machete packed, I suggest you do the same. Don’t believe me, ask Thor you inner Viking.

The 8 phases

New Moon Phase

April 10 5:35am EDT

New moon: Plant seeds, make calls, activate, start projects. Activate something that will ideally lead you to more. This is the phase where INTENT is critical. Even if the results are not immediate, the intent is there. You may not have all the answers or road map but you should put out your Intent.

Focus: What do you want? What changes do you need to make to have the life you want? How are you taking care of you? Not someone else, but you? No excuses, start it now. Get on with getting the life you want.

Special Focus:

4/12: Pluto turns retrograde 3:34pm EDT 12 Cap

4/13: Mercury enters Aries http://www.cafeastrology.com/articles/mercuryinsigns.html

Crescent Moon Phase

April 14

5:28am EDT

Crescent: We will receive information, we will research a bit more, perhaps get feedback on stuff that we planted on new. Perhaps get some information that will help down the road on a seed we planted a while ago. We can collect some data now. Even if you think you are not getting information, stop, and re-look at everything. Who called you? Even the silliest things, when they come up during Crescent are note worthy. A parking ticket? An argument with a spouse? A refund check from the phone company? All of it needs to be considered a message from the universe. How can this information help you?

Focus on: What are you hearing that speaks to your way of communicating? Are people listening to you? Do people want to be heard? How are you breaking new ground in the way you assimilate with others? What are you hearing that speaks to your dexterity? How are you being clever?

Special Focus:

4/15: Venus enters Taurus http://astrology.about.com/od/venus/p/VenusTaurus.htm

4/17: Sun/Mars –Highly energetic, tense, high charged, accent on movement & explosive

First Quarter Moon

April 18 8:30am EDT

First quarter: We do more actions based on the information that we just received. Or we feel our instincts guide us on something. We pursue again. We make another call or we see someone. We mail something. We stir the pot again. This can be a time when we realize that the goals we planted on New need more action from us, perhaps actions that involve breaking away. Are there people who say they have our best interest in heart but fear us growing away from them? Maybe we need to get help from others not the usual suspects. Some independence may need to be exerted.

Focus on: What actions are you taking that speaks to your family? How are you moving on your roots? What were you born from and how have you broken free and created your own life? How can you use your emotions to take you to the next step?

Special focus

4/19: Sun in Taurus. Set aside a whole day and pamper your Taurus friend for their birthday.

4/20: Mars enters Taurus http://www.cafeastrology.com/print/mars_in_taurus.html

4/21: Mercury/Pluto: Rigid thoughts, rough language, harsh or redemptive connections

4/22: Venus/Saturn. Resources feel limited. Love feels cold. Focus on work and projects will be beneficial.

Gibbous Moon

April 22 23 5:03a EDT

Gibbous:

We refine our information. We pick and choose, we discriminate, we organize to be ‘Virgo’ like. We sort through details. Have we missed something? How are we sifting through the information? Go back and make sure something hasn’t been neglected. Refine our actions.

Focus on:

What is going on with the details? You planted seeds on new moon for the changes you want this year how are you doing little things that support those visions? If you want to lose weight this year, right now what are you eating? Do the details of your life support the big goals? Start now.

Special Focus:

4/23 Mercury/Jupiter: optimistic thinking, big thoughts are highlighted. Big visions and communications. Reaching new people new styles, new worlds.

4/24: Sun/Neptune: Inspired, creative

4/24: Venus/Pluto: access power and resources, breakthroughs in love and money

Full Moon Phase

April 25 3:57pm EDT

5 Scorpio 46

Full Moon: We make the needed adjustments on the things we planted. Usually emotions are up and running and for those people who perhaps did not utilize the new moon and the rest of the waxing moon, this is when emotions can get the better of us. There can often be a big emotional break, for no other reason than to get back on track. Some partnership will offer up some balance. The moon is bright and full and there is no room for shadows, what is reflecting on you?

Focus on: When you made your treasure map or set your goals on new moon where you ready to jump in full throttle? What goals need all of your energy? Not half ass but all of you? How do you shy away from your power? How do you sell yourself short? What are the resources available to you that you have missed? This is an eclipse so this full moon has a mighty punch.

See my blog for more on full moon. http://tracyastrosalon.blogspot.com/

Special focus:

4/26: Mars/Neptune: Actions inspired by spirit. Putting our faith in our actions. Putting action in our faith.

4/28: Sun/Saturn: Responsibility and energy. Stepping up even it takes great effort but knowing it is worth it.

April 28 10:26pm EDT

Disseminating Moon Phase

Disseminating: Share information; find a teacher or someone who has more knowledge. Perhaps there was a big ol’ blow out on the full and one feels in need of support and help, this is the phase to reach out to one who knows more. This is when we find a rabbi or a minister or therapist who gives us more insight. And of course, you too may be ready to teach and share your own information.

Focus on: How are you sharing your knowledge? How are you sharing your inspiration? How are you sharing your vision? How are you sharing your spirit and spirituality? How are you helping build bridges to ‘foreign’ matters?

Special focus:

5/1: Mercury in Taurus http://www.cafeastrology.com/print/mercury_in_taurus.html

5/1: Sun/Pluto: Finding power and putting it into practical use thus birthing something beautiful.

Last Quarter Moon Phase

May 2 7:14 EDT

Last Quarter moon: Now we do the final adjustments to the seeds we planted on new. The final call, the final letters to send, we follow all the trails that came up that still make sense. And we let the other parts lay fallow. It is a time of action but wise action. It is a time for living “The serenity prayer”

God, grant me the Serenity
to accept the things
I cannot change Courage to change the
things I can, and the
Wisdom to know the difference.

Focus on: What actions can you take that speak to your visions you planted on new moon and how can you surround yourself with like minded people? How are your friends supporting your dreams? What are the visions for your friends and are they in alignment for your own dreams and wishes?

Special focus:

5/4: Mercury/Neptune: Thoughts of humanity, kindness and communication love of others.

5/5: Mercury/Saturn: Cold thoughts. Cold conversation. Thoughts that aren’t warm and cozy but instead practical.

5/5: Mars/Pluto: power meets force and works together. Energy is redemptive

Balsamic Moon Phase

May 5 10:25pm EDT

Balsamic: We let go. By releasing we can prepare for the new.

Focus on We release our need to be a warrior. We release our need to start fires in every area of our life. We need to release “I”. We need to release the need to rush.

Special focus:

5/7: Mercury Pluto. Redemptive thoughts, communication that is healing on a deep level.

5/7: Mercury/Mars: Actions must match words. Words must meet actions. Watch the rehetoric.

TAURUS NEW MOON MAY 9, 8:28PM SOLAR ECLIPSE

ATTENTION!

It has been brought to our attention that Margaret is being portrayed as a psychic on $1.99 sites. These sites are doing so without Margaret's permission. Margaret has not claimed she is a psychic. - MW