THIS New Moon in Aries, 2011

Here's the chart for the New Moon in Aries. The Sun and Moon are exactly aligned on April 3rd, 2011 at 10:32 AM Eastern US time. Look at this Time and Date converter to get the local time for where you live.

Wide Awake

With so much and so many on edge, this New Moon in Aries looks like a push over that edge. This is the Aries experience, being in the moment, relying on your wits, instincts, and trusting life enough to let go. The Dark of the Moon finds us dying to who we've been, and preparing for a totally new cycle. At the New Moon, we surrender, and here it's the purifying fire of Aries.

Six major planets in fire sign Aries means high spirits and stimulation. And yet, something tells me, on the other side of this, many more of us will be living moment-to-moment. And rediscovering the truest, most alive version of who we are.

What's great about Aries is it burns off the inessential, the trivial, or what covers up your original radiance. You see through to the searing truth. It's about direct engagement with life. New Moons are fresh starts, making this one the Grand Opening to a new epoch and identity that holds the element of surprise.

In this stellium, we have the Sun and Moon meeting at 13 degrees, with Jupiter at 15, Mercury (in retrograde at 23 and Uranus-Mars conjunct at 1 degree Aries. It's a volatile New Moon, and I have to admit, the unstable situation in Japan, with these aspects, adds an explosive factor that makes it feel mighty dangerous. For a good read on this, see Lynda Hill's Aries New Moon commentary -- she calls it incendiary.

The global situation and doom-filled outlooks take me beyond what my heart can stand. So that's why I'm using this New Moon, to call on Aries superpowers, to find expansion and guidance within myself. To come back to what's possible for me,in this moment, and seek to recover my faith there. This is a New Moon to come back to the Self, to rediscover its full glory and potential. The revolution, which means "to turn around," begins with me.

Make Room for the Fool

At this New Moon, you can feel like You, only concentrated. And this gives you courage to find your chances to grow and expand in the now. The daunting task, in a fear-driven world, is to clear psychic space for the Fool's journey. The first card in the Tarot, the Fool, is a youth who has very little baggage, and is leaning into the future.

The New Moon is often a time to reflect, and go deep within. Give yourself time away from noise and the opinions of others. The most fearsome shadows of the psyche are rising to be purified in the flames.

There's a wide square from the luminaries (Sun-Moon) to Pluto in Capricorn. You might find yourself seeing what's ingrained, or from your ancestral/family line, and crack the code for your release from programming. I recommend this show on The Holographic Canvas, for "far out" ideas to claim sovereignty over your mind. This is a big part of the Uranus Aries transit, and the interruption of regular programming, in favor of thoughts that are alive, instead of a replay/remake/repeat from the external environment.

Find some freedom this New Moon. Much is rising to be healed, and believe me, I'm right there facing core fears, and attempting this New Moon to do something different with my own intensity. This special time can be a portal to move away from the complex and superficial, into the clear and true, the simple. To come out of hiding, or uncover your own light.

Saturn as Holder of Fire

There's an exact opposition between Saturn Libra and the Sun-Moon at 13 degrees, with Jupiter still opposite as well (at 15 degrees). I found insights on this in Norwegian astrologer Per Henrik Gullfoss' Complete Book of Spiritual Astrology. Saturn is holder of the fire in this opposition, seeing that it's neither stifled or blazes out of control.

On Uranus in fire signs, he writes of the danger, of not considering limits of the body and material world. "It can crave freedom so much that it loses it because of an unwillingness to accept the realities of life." This can lead, he says to exploding in "meaningless acts of stupid rebellion."

Saturn Libra is the moderator with a built-in instinct for setting the balance. If things feel out-of-control, you can follow the dictates of your conscience. Your own moral code, and sense of what's fair comes into play, to weigh against radical actions in the moment.

Some Themes:

• Your luck turns when you take a risk to express yourself in the moment.
• One inspired person makes a big impact, with a ripple effect.
• Mercury is Retrograde in Aries, so be alert to distortions that trigger action. Give yourself time to get places.
• Be alert to fire hazards.
• If you sense your spirited self, give it room to grow Big.
• Rekindle a dream from your youth that's still alive (if barely).
• Love yourself enough to allow for a fresh start.