The Aquarius New Moon falls on Thursday, February 15th at 1:06pm PST and at 4:06pm EST. This New Moon will also include a Partial Solar Eclipse to go along with the one we experienced a couple weeks ago on January 31st, in which the Full Moon in Leo opposed the Sun in Aquarius. Since eclipse cycles always occur over a period of a few years, this New Moon Eclipse will most especially hearken back to the Total Solar Eclipse that took place on August 21st of last year. What’s so remarkable about this New Moon Eclipse for those interested Cosmic geeks is that it is happening not even a couple degrees from the August 21st magic! In more technical terms, last year’s Total Solar Eclipse on the Leo New Moon happened at 28 degrees, 52 minutes Leo, or about 29 degrees Leo. This New Moon Eclipse is taking place at 27 degrees, 7 minutes Aquarius, or about 27 degrees Aquarius. Because the signs of Leo and Aquarius oppose each other, this axis of energy is yet again highlighted and brought to life in a way that may reveal what’s been brewing beneath the surface, waiting to come to life at just the right time. And now may just be that time, in a way that brings more light to a process that was unfolding last August.

Aquarius…when many people hear this word, they think of (or start singing), “This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, Age of Aquarius, etc.” You probably know the rest of the chorus, even if it was recorded before your time! The song brought this idea of the Age of Aquarius into the mainstream, giving it life in the public eye. In fact, the Age of Aquarius IS nigh, yet for more reasons than this New Moon Eclipse in the sign of the rebel, the truth-sayer, and the breaker of out-dated social norms. My teacher Steven Forrest wrote an article about this one, which you can find here (https://www.forrestastrology.com/blogs/astrology/age-of-aquarius), and I highly encourage the read. But speaking of the NM eclipse on February 15:: those of you with planets near this Leo-Aquarius axis, as well as the Taurus-Scorpio axis around the same degree, will certainly be feeling this New Moon, if you haven’t already been experiencing some (emotionally!) powerful times in your life.

Aquarian energy carries with it the archetype of the rule-breaker. This can be in not-so-helpful rebellious ways, and it can also be in ways that are quite healthy. In fact, a phrase that I often use with my clients who carry this energy with them is the importance of “resisting cultural coercion.” So often as humans we become identified with the culture we come from, thinking that we have to follow the social tendencies that we’ve been brought up with in order to be happy, or normal, or to simply not rock the boat. Yet for a person with an Aquarian Sun, Moon, or planets, this “following the herd,” so to speak, is quite possibly the most detrimental choice that could be made. It would lead to living a dissociated kind of life, one in which our well-intending Aquarius goes through the motions of her own life without even really wanting to be there. On a soul-level, in order to be deeply fulfilled and sane, she needs to be the one who steps outside of the social boundaries that she was born into, going the way that she is deeply inclined to, even if it proves a more challenging path than she thought upon originally setting out.

I’ve just started watching Call the Midwife, and wow, is it a fantastic and wholesome show — I cry almost every time I watch it! Definitely my kind of entertainment. In an early episode, one of the midwives Chummy, who’s fallen in love with a police officer, is asked to marry him. In her heart of hearts she knows that it is most definitely the right thing to do. Chummy is generally awkward, strange, quirky — actually quite Aquarian in many ways! Yet when she is with him, she feels safe, happy and loved. When she has her mother over to meet the fine gentleman, Mom — a very huffy sort of lady who is used to getting her way — completely disapproves, and our lovebird allows herself to be convinced not to marry her beloved beau. Chummy grapples with this for the entire episode, of course, until in the end, she stands up to her mother, has a wedding in the church where she lives as a midwife, and does the ceremony in exactly the way she wants, even refusing to wear white since she “spilled the beans” before the actual wedding day. This is the perfect idea of meeting the situation in an Aquarian way! Chummy didn’t make the rules that she must marry so-and-so in order for the family or neighbors to think highly of her, and she didn’t make the rules of not having an intimate encounter before the big day either. So rather than let herself be dominated by cultural expectations that make no sense to her and keep her unhappy, she chooses to do what she knows deep down is right. And that, to me, makes her a heroine, especially in the 1950s!

Aquarius asks us to look at these rules, these so-called societal “normalities”, and to do so with a questioning mind. Why? Partly because we weren’t the ones who made the norms that we were born into and expected to comply with. And Aquarius is here to seek and find the freedom that she needs to spread her wings and fly in the ways that only she knows in her heart of hearts. I liken this to the “internal guidance system,” or “IGS”. Everyone has one, yet Aquarian energy is all about knowing this IGS so clearly that even when the peanut gallery — in the form of family, friends, community, society — disagrees, Aquarius knows she must do what is right for her. She must cultivate and claim the freedom that is her birthright, choosing the path that is in her highest good, even when others don’t understand. This is made all the more challenging if and when she feels as though she’s letting others down. But she must follow through with her ability to be authentic to herself and her deep inner knowing no matter what, letting it guide her through the world regardless of the perceived ostracism from those who matter in her life. She is here to move through the world with the freedom to create what feels most resonant and alive for her. When she does this, she shines more brightly, and those who love her will understand that, even if they don’t understand what motivates her.

Evolutionary Astrology is quite Jungian in nature: it works with archetypes, the truth of synchronicity, and the importance of individuation, amongst other things. Dictionary.com defines individuation as, “the determination or contraction of a general nature to an individual mode of existence; development of the individual from the general.” This doesn’t mean that there is anything bad or wrong with culture, tradition, etc. Recognizing and honoring the beauty and intricacies of the cultures we come from is quite a powerful endeavor. Yet the moment we feel entrapped by them, something in our souls is stifled and blocked. Jung understood this and the need that each person has to live her life fully, truly allowing her being to thrive in the ways that it’s meant to. This Aquarian ideal is what gives us permission to choose both a life and a lifestyle that are inspiring in ways that our grandmothers may not understand, but that they would certainly be happy in knowing how deeply gratifying our lives are for us. And perhaps in a way, we’re living the freedom now that they couldn’t necessarily have 50 years ago. Learning how to be free of the unhealthy aspects of society is heroic, and it absolutely creates a change in the collective, in the greater matrix of reality we’re all a part of. When people realize they don’t have to be held captive by rules that don’t make intuitive sense to them, the collective does start to change, and people begin to live lives that are more fulfilling and moving to them, which in turn, makes our world a more interesting and inspiring place to live.

Aquarius is ruled by the planet Uranus, who’s also known as the ruling planet of astrology. Uranus is the god of thunderbolts, lightning and electrifying energy, and carries with him a power that shakes us to our core. When we go through Uranian transits, this energy of almost being awoken abruptly from a dream shakes us to our true selves, if we’re open to listening, reminding us of the importance of living what’s really resonant, especially if/when we haven’t been! I vividly remember Uranus moving over my Ascendant (how you dawn on people, come across to others, social style), and I felt called to leap into a life reflective of my inner authenticity, moving to Canada and covering myself in tattoos, even though the place I come from looks down upon inked skin in a big way. But Uranus is not bothered by social constraints, as you might imagine! The whole process felt freeing and deeply right; I have a feeling Uranus was pleased, and this shift has been the source of much growth, happiness, and integration.

After much pondering of who and how Uranus sits within the pantheon of yogic deities, I’ve come to understand that while Indra might be the most obvious outer connection as the god of thunderstorms, clouds, and lightning, the energetic representations of Uranus are a bit different than this god of the heavens. Here I see Shiva and Kali as more than fitting the bill, for aspects of the revolutionary typify them both. In her book Awakening Shakti, Sally Kempton even calls Kali the goddess of Revolution. Uranus, Kali, and Shiva all have energies that can be so powerful they break us out of outdated/inauthentic modes of being. Shiva, in fact, is known as the dread-locked yogi who doesn’t often get invited to parties because of how ‘weird’ he is! Take one look at Kali and you might understand why she’s not the one most people want to invite over for a sweet and soft conversation. My friends and I would always say, “Kali isn’t casual.” And this is just the point! None of these energies are casual when they need to welcome a person to a breakthrough. If they were, the breakthrough likely wouldn’t happen. I understand them as beautiful and necessary parts of the process of transformation that must be faced and integrated for each person to truly know and live from their innermost nature. For in truth, any idea that we have of ourselves is a falsehood, yet most humans walk around thinking that they’re defined by the idea of “Nancy” or the person they’ve created in their minds. Ultimately, living from this separately identified place is also living from a disconnected reality — you are not and have never been who you think you are. Uranus, Kali, and Shiva all carry with them the energy and power to break the trance of individual identification (different from individuation!), moving people into a space of their innermost nature, which has always been held deep within each and every moment of life. And that is revolutionary!

If Aquarius is about authenticity and living this fully, Leo is about creative self-expression and roaring it joyfully. Weaving these two sides of the axis together is an important piece of what this eclipse time is offering. Yet getting out of the way is certainly part of this equation too! When life is free to move through us in unhindered ways, the innermost nature that is naturally luminous can shine brightly, and we, as well as others, delight in the expression. And again, if there are naysayers that make themselves known during this process, the energies of Leo and Aquarius together get to continue their authentic expression with even more hutzpah, laughing in the face of it all. If going back to the Leo New Moon Total Solar Eclipse post helps with the integration of the Leo and Aquarius here, I invite you to that.

This is a time of Living your Truth out loud, singing it into being, honoring the way that the One grand weaver of Life works through you in the most meaningful and magical ways possible. When you’re in alignment with the force of aliveness that is in all things, you trust the ways that it moves through you, delighting in the expression of authenticity and unique beauty that only you can express. Now is the time for that…and really, it’s always the time for that. Enjoy!