Aries New Moon Solar Eclipse

April 8th, 2024

April 8, 2024

BRIEF OVERVIEW

Welcome to the New Moon Solar Eclipse in Aries. A New Moon in Aries is all about fresh starts, exciting new ventures, identity shifts, initiations, independent experiences, etc. But an Eclipse is about letting go and allowing the natural intensification of energy to release in whatever the universe decides. A bit of a paradox, but not entirely. Afterall, the old must clear out to make room for the new.

ECLIPSE CONJUNCTIONS

This New Moon Solar Eclipse in Aries is exactly, and I mean EXACTLY (to the minute) conjunct Chiron and within a four-degree orb of the North Node.

A North Node in Aries is an exploration of our divine I AM presence on the planet. It invites us to feel into the essence that breathed our first breath. It was pure, courageous, and determined, and entirely without narrative. Eckhart Tolle often asks people to feel who they are without referencing their history, their profession, their name, their life situation, or their relationships. In other words, who are you without thought?

Chiron, the wounded healer, is offering a chance to shed all that contextual baggage that has distorted Aries energy for so long. It has turned Aries from a divine spark into a competitive, egoic, insecure, aggressive energy. We can see how this has played out collectively.

A FLAME IN THE OCEAN

The ruler of the Sun, Moon, Mercury, North Node, and Chiron is Mars in Pisces. Mars is typically an impulsive, direct, action-oriented planet. But in the watery realm of Pisces, it is operating from its own twelfth house: the formless, subconscious, mystical space that defies left-brained contemplation. If we aren’t entirely present with this energy, we can feel like a tiny flame struggling for survival and differentiation within a vast ocean.

HSP (HIGHLY SENSITIVE PERSON) IN A YOGA CLASS

This aspect (eclipse ruler Mars in Pisces) reminds me of my experience of yoga class a few years back.

I love yoga. I love that it anchors me in my body and invites spirit to join me there. So much of my energy has focused on prying open my crown chakra and ascending to some higher, more peaceful realm (through meditation, fasting, deep study, isolation, etc.). Staying grounded on Earth is a beautiful practice, and through a radical commitment to presence, I have come to experience my body as its own portal to peace.

But staying in my body has had its challenges. I used to attend this one very popular yoga class. I was enthused when I arrived. But as the class began filling with others—other bodies, other spirits, other sounds—enthusiasm waned. Soon, my sympathetic nervous system was in full fight or flight, and intrusive thoughts flooded my head. Some complaining, some competitive, some self-conscious, and some harshly judging all previous thoughts. I felt as though I were drowning in the energy of the other; drowning in unity consciousness and struggling for my own survival. Another person’s breath felt invasive. A mat too close felt threatening. An accidental touch, and I recoiled as though from a box jellyfish. I moved through the poses and listened to instruction, but my eye was always on the exit. Isn’t it over yet?

MY OLD SENSEI

Luckily Mars has a life-raft in this Piscean ocean: Saturn. For me, Saturn in Pisces represents an old, long-departed teacher of spiritual wisdom: Ram Dass. In one of his talks, he said that after years as a psychologist, years meditating, years following his guru, years experimenting with psychedelics, he still hadn’t cured a single one of his neuroses. What he had done was dissolve his aversion to them. He had reached such an elevated perspective that he could see all the unspeakable horror and all the unspeakable beauty with soft eyes. He expanded his consciousness so much that it could comfortably include everything. No aversion, no suffering. Just a compassionate witness to the ebb and flow of life.

THE ECLIPSE LESSON

To approach our Aries wounds (identity, survival, strength, courage, instinct, independence) differently, impulsive and reactive Mars is in the school of Pisces being taught by Saturn. The lesson is in expanding so large that we can hold the messy contents of our life (and everyone else’s lives) with equanimity and radical compassion. No experience can truly threaten our divine Aries I AM presence because we are the container of it all. Taking Aries initiatory action from this broader perspective rather than from knee-jerk impulsiveness will always yield better results.

The World card from The Oriens Tarot Deck by Ambi Sun

THE TAROT

This eclipse can only be depicted by a major arcana card. So, pulling The World card is just perfect. It underscores the end of one cycle and the beginning of another. It also speaks to Aries energy in Spring as so much newness and fresh life-force is about to emerge.

This Oriens Tarot Deck version by Ambi Sun, shows two Koi swimming in a circle, symbolizing this death-rebirth-cycle and the strong Piscean influence over this eclipse. The fish are swimming in the cosmic ocean where anything and everything is possible. Earth is held within the flow, within the Tao, within this expanded cosmic container. Again, we needn’t be fearful of the natural tides of our lives because we are large enough to see the eternal movement. What goes out will always come back in, in one form or another.

This Piscean vibe also underscores the necessity of dissolving old labels, old identities, old definitions and really leaning into our creative capacities to reimagine ourselves for a new Earth.

Happy Fresh Start in Aries!

For additional content, enter the Aries New Moon portal!

With Love and Moonlight,

Ann