Aries New Moon

Friday, April 1st:
Aries New Moon 11’31” 2:25 AM EDT
This is the first out of two New Moons occurring in April - the second is the Taurus Solar Eclipse happening on April 30th. This is the first New Moon of the Zodiacal Year, initiating the new growth of Spring. Whatever is sowed during this New Moon phase will be harvested come Libra Season - specifically at the Aries Full Moon on October 9th. This Moon phase is led by Mars, the planetary ruler of Aries, who is currently in the Fixed Air sign of Aquarius. Every New Moon is representative of a new beginning - a fresh cycle - and there is often a course of action that is initiated. When the Sun and Moon conjunct at the same degree of the same sign, we have a New Moon - the placements of the planets and the angles formed between them create archetypal dynamics that can be analyzed to form predictive interpretations for guidance and reflection throughout the Moon cycle. An Aries New Moon is the ultimate new beginning because Aries is the archetype of new beginnings and the energetics of Aries is similar to the conjunction aspect - we impulsively move forward, follow our instincts, and lead without fully knowing where we’re going. All we know is that we can’t go backwards - if we want to live, we must conquer our fears of the unknown and embark on a new frontier. During New Moons or conjunctions, there is a lot we don’t see, we’re instinctually responsive to our environments - we’re trying to see in the dark. It is only during the Full Moon that we shine our lights and become aware of all that we missed. The Full Moon provides the necessary checks and balances to our subjective growth and makes us aware of all that surrounds us. 
This Aries New Moon is a degree BEHIND Chiron in Aries and 2 degrees ahead of Mercury in Aries - this new cycle will be illuminating where you’re still fighting for yourself and right to be yourself - your unmet needs and feelings of not being accepted for who you are and what you need to survive will come into your awareness (Mars in Aquarius.) We’ve only had one other Aries New Moon conjunct Chiron, and that was on March 24, 2020, when the Moon cycle began a degree BEHIND Chiron. Mars, planetary ruler of the Aries archetype, was in Capricorn and conjunct Pluto. The 2020 Aries New Moon was also square the Cancer-Capricorn Nodal Axis - the future and the past triggered us - we were forced to adhere to rules that shocked our sense of self and our values. We may have clung tightly to what we had that was real and tangible. 
On April 8th of 2024, we’ll once again have an Aries New Moon conjunct Chiron, but this time, it will an EXACT conjunction, and Mars will be in Pisces. Like, seriously exact - to the very degree and minute - 19 degrees and 24 minutes of Aries. We’ll have one more Aries New Moon conjunct Chiron before Chiron leaves Aries and moves into Taurus in 2026 - on April 17, 2026, the Aries New Moon cycle will begin a degree AHEAD of Chiron, and Mars will be in its domicile, Aries. 

Are you following how this pattern is unfolding? 
Aries New Moon 2020: Chiron 1 degree behind, Mars in Capricorn (conjunct Pluto)
Aries New Moon 2022: Chiron 1 degree behind, Mars in Aquarius (close to a conjunction with Saturn, sextile the Aries New Moon of 2024 at 19’32”.) 
Aries New Moon 2024: Exactly conjunct Chiron, Mars in Pisces (conjunct Saturn)
Aries New Moon 2026: 1 degree ahead Chiron, Mars in Aries (conjunct Saturn, Mercury, and even close to Neptune in Aries!)

2020: The Chironic Wound - Death to the outdated and corrupt motivations for building wealth and achieving success. Fear and dread of powerful authority figures and traditions of purification. Harsh elimination of inherited traditions and positions of authority. 
2022: The Chironic Wound - Severance of connections that restrict and hold you back from expressing your authentic desires and your wishes for survival. Obstructed by out-of-touch authority who don’t see the value in taking a different and broad-minded approach. Denial of our own needs for community/cyclical structures. Disciplining our actions to plan for future success.
2024: The Chironic Wound - Burdened by surrendering our wills and desires for immediate gratification. Growing towards acceptance of the dissolution of our structures and institutions. Fighting the delusions and deceit that have delayed or held us back from embodying our true selves and hindered our ability to survive on our own. 
2026: The Chironic Wound - Concentration (restriction) of will to organize and plan out a new beginning and endeavor. Burdened by the new limitations being placed on our impulses and the responsibility to set new goals for success and achievement. Fear of initiating a new beginning. 

Aries is the sign of the pioneer, warrior, independent, fighter, adventurer - the archetype that is fueled by the need to survive and be alive that it starts something. All of these Chironic Wounds can be addressed by becoming aware of our impulses, our needs for survival, our competitive instincts…your own natal Mars, the planetary ruler of the sign it is in, the aspects it makes to other planets, as well as your Aries house(s) and any planets in Aries, can help you better understand where this transit through Chiron is triggering you specifically and where you perceive yourself to be fighting for your life. 

If you notice, every single Aries New Moon conjunct Chiron is associated with Saturn in some way - Mars is conjunct Saturn for the final 3 New Moons, but Mars was in Capricorn, the sign associated with Saturn during the first New Moon. The inherited expectations and our perceived “failures” to our legacies or organizations is holding us back the most from living the way we need and desire to live. We may be too heavily identified with the public image and external displays of success to fall into our deepest selves. Look at your natal placement of Saturn and your Capricorn house(s) for deeper insight into the conditioning you inherited, where you are committed to maintaining your status, and where you hold the highest expectations of yourself. 

Chiron is associated with what hurts us - the centaur planet has been given the name “the wounded healer” which I think is a bit misleading. I think of it as our “ouchie.” It is where we feel pain or a disability. It is the wound that requires constant redressing. When you think about dressing a wound, it can be difficult to do it to yourself, even if you do it over and over again, you’ll improve, of course, but it is still a bit awkward. Isn’t it better to have someone else dress your wounds? And if you’re constantly dressing your own wounds, you’ll end up with a lot of advice and know-how for dressing the wounds of others. This is where the “wounded healer” title originates, for in mythology, Chiron’s bottom half was wounded and could not heal, but he learned a lot about how to maintain it, and passed this knowledge onto others. 

Chiron was a centaur - half human, half animal - and often with our Chiron, we focus too heavily upon one half of ourselves. The civilized human or the wounded animal. I’ve been paying attention to this dynamic in my clients, within myself, and with those in my life. For myself, I was born when Chiron was in Gemini - communications/learning/immediate environments all have the tendency to hurt me in some way. Hurtful comments from those nearest to me can sometimes silence me or cause me to react with a mean spirit. I used to be obsessed with grammar and spelling and would look down upon those who wrote in an uneducated manner. I still focus a lot on my grammar, spelling and vocabulary! I consult the dictionary multiple times a day. Something I have become aware of since Chiron moved into Aries is how much I obsess over facts, as well as becoming fixated on presenting information in a logical and rational manner. This is great for people who wish to learn from me, or so I’ve been told, but linearity isn’t the best when you want your words to creatively flow, paint beautiful images and communicate with compassion (even with my natal Mercury Rx in Pisces!) You may disagree with me, but in my mind, I’m not the most creative writer. I notice how I can easily flip from the top half to the bottom half - presenting my words and ideas in a linear and rational manner (top half) to disregarding all grammatical rules and communicating in slang or nonsense (bottom half.) Eventually we do learn how to embrace, balance, and express both parts of ourselves - the human and the animal.   

This New Moon, I invite you to study your natal placements of Mars, Saturn, Chiron and Uranus. What sign are they in? What house? What aspects do they make to other planets? What planets rule the sign they are in? Look at the houses that this New Moon, Mars and Uranus are falling in - there you will find the new beginning (New Moon,) the motivation (Mars,) and the revolution (Uranus) it will spark.