This e-news should arrive in your in-boxes under the Aries new moon on Tues 17 April – certainly a time to action things because Aries is all about initiative, passion & fresh starts. Yet Aries is also known for conflict, selfishness and war. With this energy in the air we might be hasty or rash, yet hopefully the full moon earlier in the month has brought hidden frustrations to our attention so that we’re not caught unawares by either our own or others’ fiery impulses. Every month around the time of a full moon we are challenged to see what we normally don’t see, and in April the full moon brought out Libra’s dark side.
The Libra full moon on 3 April was also the Easter moon. The Christian tradition is to schedule Easter Sunday on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Autumn Equinox (try saying that quickly!) and in 2007 that was 3 April. This might go some way to explaining why Easter often feels emotionally intense. Already there’s the collective theme of death and rebirth in the story of Christ, yet the first full moon after the Equinox adds to the intensity. Themes of balance figure strongly during the two equinoxes each year (autumn and spring) and balance is the key theme of full moons. The zodiac sign Libra, represented by the scales, also symbolises balance, yet ironically, all these astrological balancing energies initially tend to bring heightened imbalance.
Without imbalances becoming glaringly obvious we would be unlikely to put much effort into creating balance. We tend to think we have balance when things seem smooth on the surface, yet often smooth surfaces turn out to be superficial fronts – like the face of someone smiling without warmth in their eyes. There’s no better cosmic time to discover what’s beneath sugar-coated surfaces than at a Libra full moon when we get to see the side beneath Libran social pleasantries, charm and diplomacy, and that other side is Aries. Every zodiac sign has its opposite – for example, Gemini’s opposite is Sagittarius, and Taurus’s opposite is Scorpio – and this month we are concerned with the opposing signs of Aries and Libra.
The Aries new moon arrives on Tuesday 17 April to show the importance of standing up for our needs. Under Aries we are challenged to be self-focussed, but under Libra we are encouraged to be other-focussed. To balance this polarity we generally do best to stay in contact with our own needs while also considering and negotiating the needs of others. If we have been suppressing our needs, we might feel our blood boiling under an Aries new moon. If we have been dissociating from our needs, we might find ourselves resorting to addictive, escapist substances or becoming overwhelmed with confusion or tiredness. Sometimes we can be reduced to tears of disempowered helplessness under an Aries influence. It’s a case of cosmic PMT when all creatures on heaven and earth (i.e. not just women!) can become irritable, irrational and crazy for chocolate!
The second half of April is about reclaiming our power. No more tears, no more rage, no more escapism and no more weapons. Sure we might find ourselves in those states under this new moon, but the challenge is to transform them. Think win-win. Think negotiation, healthy conflict and empowerment for all. Sounds easier said than done? If so, imagine that whoever flares up under the Aries new moon (be it your boss, your best friend or your local grocer) is having an inner two-year-old tantrum and that they are testing the limits of your own inner-two-year-old. Before the ‘terrible twos’ get too bad, try using a good dose of willpower (an Aries keyword) to show who’s boss. Is it your inner two-year-old (or your friend’s etc?) or is it your compassionate mature self (i.e. your ‘higher self’)? Now’s the time to surrender to the wisdom of your higher self and see what insights, initiatives and inspirations (more Aries keywords) your higher self offers to help break through locked-horns. Then it’s time to courageously test out those new ideas and enjoy the thrill of exploring uncharted territory.
On a different topic, you might like to check out this link to Saturn’s polar hexagon structure http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2007-034. And yes you did read right – recent space pictures have revealed that Saturn’s north pole is surrounded by a hexagonal geometric pattern. Incredible!