A New Moon of Transformation, Focus, and Stepping Up

The Aquarius New Moon of Friday, February 9th , taking place at about 3 PM PT, later afternoon/evening for points east, is an extremely potent lunation, with lots of energy running in some very different directions. There is the usual emphasis on Trickster planet Uranus in Taurus – common to recent lunations – and we will see over the next thirty days of this Aquarius cycle how many more jokes he has up his sleeve for us. Judging from the local political headlines here in this country and around the world as well, the answer may be: quite a lot. In the current New Moon, the Sun and Moon are almost exactly square to Uranus, while, as a bonus aspect, Venus is in trine. In this current configuration also, we find Venus exactly parallel to Mars, emphasizing relationship, while Mars is conjunct Pluto and sextile Neptune. That is quite a lot of Mars, and we will find within ourselves a passion for action operating on a productive basis, or simply a passionate one. This is something to be aware of in its positive and also its potentially destructive mode. The prescription is, lest we regret the unintended impact of our words, that we take a deep breath and count to ten before speaking out. We also find Saturn and Jupiter emphasized in this dynamic New Moon, along with Mercury in aspect to them both, so that political/social concepts and agendas are likely on our minds in this thoughtful and stressful time of attempting to get our bearings amidst a fraught global society that is in serious fluctuation.

The position of Pluto in the beginning degree of Aquarius underlies all of the above. This is a new deal for the transformative planetary archetype of Death and Rebirth, one in which our common humanity is the ground it operates on. We are already seeing the rapid growth of technology and AI, along with the world-wide web of instant communication, now augmented by a rash of satellites gracing our earthly skies, replacing concepts of a Christianized Heaven with a more purely local perspective. Speaking of alternative cosmologies, with this February New Moon we enter the Chinese sign of the Wood Dragon, also promising a year of dramatic and productive change that we seem to be in need of.

Because this February 9th New Moon features an Aquarius line-up of 5 planets, counting Mars hovering on the edge of Aquarius, there is support for not only this recently Aquarian Pluto phase but also the Aquarian Age that we seem to be stumbling into, like it or not, in this 2024 year of our fractured decade.

That Mars is conjunct Pluto, and exactly parallel to Venus, within 3 minutes of a degree, while Venus trines a prominent Uranus, might remind us of the turbulent 1960s, when Uranus was conjunct Pluto, and when the culture was going through tremendous and unexpected shocks and growth spurts, not unlike these current times of ours. As with all births, that of the Age of Aquarius might not come so easily.

In the patterning of this New Moon as well, we will need to pay close attention to new planets beyond Pluto that have only been discovered and named in this 21st century, namely Eris, Haumea and Makemake. All three are prominent, in different ways, in this Aquarius New Moon configuration. Eris, at 24 Aries, is square to Mars, widely to Pluto, and the Sun and Moon precisely sextile the Chiron/ Eris midpoint of 20 Aries. The archetype of the Feminine Warrior thus figures prominently in this New Moon and February month, as part of our response to the pain of the world. More on that below.

As far as Haumea and Makemake, representing profound connection to Nature and to natural law, to right action, right relationship, and truth-telling, with Makemake the more activist, Haumea remains in close square to Pluto as it has for a year now, since at least last February, a year ago, and the New Moon Sun is in an extremely close contra-parallel with Haumea. Jupiter and Saturn in sextile also are in forming yod to Makemake, just a couple of degrees off, an aspect pattern that perfects in the upcoming February 24th Full Moon, when Jupiter is precisely inconjunct, to the minute of a degree, to the Makemake position at 10 Libra. This is a very significant aspect pattern that presages an activist agenda on the part of the public in reaction to global events.

Lately, as we contemplate the circumstances of the various peoples of the world we inevitably come away with a despairing feeling. We might wish that things were different and yet it is increasingly hard to know what to do, or even what to be able to advocate for. This Aquarius New Moon urges us not to be satisfied with this state of affairs and rather go out and make a difference, no matter how small, in the direction to which we feel – in our heart of hearts – to be committed. Whatever it is that we most deeply believe, Eris enjoins us to act upon, just as Makemake simultaneously sets the field for activism as opposed to passivity. This is not just an idea of how to be in the world we currently inhabit, it is close to becoming a vital necessity.