Photo by Lieutenant Debora Barr, NOAA Corps via Wikimedia Commons
New Moon @ 04 degrees Aquarius 22'
January 24, 2020
1:43 PM Los Angeles
4:43 PM New York 9:43 PM London
January 25, 2020
5:43 AM Beijing
8:43 AM Sydney
This month's dark Moon is the first New Moon of 2020 and occurring in tropical Aquarius; there's an extra sense of newness. The Aquarian New Moon always coincides with the Chinese New Year, which gives it special significance as a marker of new beginnings. The last two lunations, both eclipses, carried heavier and more challenging energy.
With eclipse season behind us, this Aquarian New Moon can feel like an opportunity to start fresh, especially relating to the process of individuation. One reason for that is that eclipses are brief moments of accelerated change where we often feel pressured to adjust something about ourselves both internally and externally. Another reason is that the archetypal energy of Aquarius emphasizes freedom, independence, and innovation.
The negative side of Aquarius is exile and alienation, where an individual is no longer accepted or embraced by others either because of something innate or as a result of antisocial actions. However, the higher road of Aquarian energy is the ability to be oneself and live authentically. Uranus' square to this New Moon can put some pressure on the process of standing out and being unique.
Putting oneself fully and honestly into the world requires enormous risk and vulnerability. Also, while change can be needed, welcomed, and liberating, it doesn't always come easy, or voluntarily. This New Moon can feel like we're getting pushed into a situation or scenario where change is inevitable, maybe also unanticipated, but ultimately for the best.
Indeed, Uranus' square to this New Moon creates the potential for sudden and unplanned breaks with the past. However, if we're aware of what needs to change, and how we need to make it happen, we can engage with this new starting point to consciously break free of something that held us back from being true to ourselves. No, not everyone will accept us, but life is too fleeting to make everyone feel comfortable.