Aries New Moon: Hold Your Power

Recently, a friend and I visited Old Town here in San Diego to seek Zoltar’s counsel. He had disappeared from his former location, so a manhunt was required. But at last we found him, in the foyer of the Alamo restaurant. Jumping up and down like kids, we fed our dollar bills into the machine and received our fortunes.  You may wonder why any self-respecting astrologer would seek input from a cheesy tourist attraction. But I’m a firm believer that the Universe is always speaking to us, and it’s our job to listen closely.

So, did Zoltar promise me fame and fortune? Or a tall, handsome stranger? Not exactly. He told me to quit procrastinating and do what I’ve been saying I will do, right away.

I wasn’t entirely clear on what he was referring to, but it sounded kinda scary. What true Cancerian wants to crawl out of her safe, comfy home and venture forth into new territory? But I’m aware that sometimes it is necessary, in order for growth to occur.

During the recent retrograde of Mercury, I had revisited the awesome book You Are a Badass, in which author Jen Sincero describes the perils of staying stuck in your ego, or what she calls “The Big Snooze” (BS). This would be the lower self, the part of us that runs on auto-pilot, is driven by fear and seeks validation from the outside world – in contrast to our higher self, who is love-based, self-directed and always connected to Source Energy. Could it be possible that Zoltar was telling me I was stuck in my BS?

“The Big Snooze,” Sincero explains, “will do everything it can to stop you from changing and growing, especially since you’re attempting to obliterate the very identity that you and everyone else have come to know as ‘you.’” She says it can even create seemingly insurmountable obstacles to keep you from achieving your dreams. Sincero gives the example of a record producer client who decided to build her own recording studio. She put all her money and effort into it, only to have the whole thing burn to the ground just after it was completed. But instead of taking this as a sign that her project was doomed, the producer got to work and raised enough money to build an even better studio. She now is able to to hand pick the musicians she works with and live out her fantasy life.

In other words, she held her power and took action. This is what we’re all asked to do at the upcoming Aries New Moon (Friday, April 5, 1:50 a.m. PDT). The first New Moon after the Equinox, it’s a natural time to sally forth with courage and bravado. Yet as the Sun and Moon join, the closest aspect they make is a square to Saturn. We could run into an obstacle, right off the bat. Or, we might need to decisively close one door so another can open. Saturn insists that we have a plan, rather than dashing headlong into something just to get it done. There’s also a chance of error or self-delusion, since Mercury is still in its shadow phase, barely moving and bound up tightly with impenetrable Neptune in Pisces. Yet Aries is the sign of the warrior, who finds a way forward. If obstacles appear, he picks up his sword and cuts them down to size. If the studio burns down, he rebuilds.

On April 4, Pluto joins the South Node in Capricorn. This is strong medicine. Pluto stirs up buried emotions as he purges the past, especially while embracing the karmic South Node. Intense events are apt to explode on the world stage or in your personal life in the first week of April, especially for those with planets or angles from 20 – 23 degrees of cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn). Saturn is also very close to the South Node (exact at the end of April), telling us there’s no going back to the way things were.

Under these hard-hitting aspects, the Big Snooze is apt to go on a rampage. Some will act and react from their lowest selves as they struggle desperately to maintain control. Others will hide under the covers, afraid to shut the door on the unfulfilling past so something new can begin. Still others will pick up up the Aries sword and cut through obstacles to achieve a goal. Which will you choose?  Let’s tap into our inner Zoltar as we seek for answers at this New Moon. You never know what message you might get!