New Moon in Aquarius

A new moon marks the beginning of the lunar cycle. During this phase, the sun and moon are in conjunction and are aligned on the same side of the earth. This new moon – the second after winter solstice – also marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year. In terms of the Chinese zodiac, this sees an energetic shift from the Yin Water Rabbit to a period marked by a strong sense of yang qi, which brings vitality, rapid growth and transformation, in the form of the Yang Wood Dragon. This is an ideal time to begin new projects and to dream audaciously.

“The dragon stands for connection, transformation, liberation, and the natural flow of life. It pushes us towards making wise decisions for our future and comes with the potential for significant choices.

The wood element is all about getting things done, physical exercise, embracing change, and following your passions. But it’s also important to keep an eye on your emotional well-being and look after your liver and gallbladder health.

This isn’t just a prediction; it’s a call to action. A prosperous year lies ahead, offering you countless opportunities for growth. Your inherent leadership qualities, akin to those born in the Dragon year, will shine, propelling you to captivate and inspire those around you.

Safety in this context is about understanding that growth often requires taking calculated risks. The Wood Dragon encourages you to be bold and step out of your comfort zone while remaining grounded in wisdom. Harness this year’s potential for success, trusting in the abundance it promises. Pursue your dreams with creativity and passion.”

For many people, the lunar new year may feel more significant – more real and right somehow – than the Gregorian, solar calendar new year. The lunar new year comes at a time when we are just beginning to see a way out of our dormant winter stasis, towards the promise of the year to come. And it makes sense that people who are drawn to working with the phases of the moon feel more aligned to this beginning than to move from December to January.

This new moon takes place in the sign of Aquarius: a fixed air sign and the penultimate sign of the zodiac. Aquarius energy is not straightforward. It can feel complex and possibly contradictory. Ruled by Saturn in ancient astrology, and Uranus in modern astrology, Aquarius energy is broadly about structure: creating it, maintaining it and upsetting it. It is simultaneously the collective and the unique, eccentric, authentic self. Saturn is form, authority and the long-term, whereas Uranus is the disruptor of form – in sudden and unexpected short-term ways – and rules freedom, eccentricity and originality.

This relationship to form manifests both in the Aquarian ability to collectively mobilise - to draw us together to form societal structures - and its propensity to break the structure of society through rebellious and revolutionary acts, ideas and people. To reconcile these seemingly opposing energies we need to understand this sign as a continuous cycle of evolution. Movement never ceases. Life always flows. Evolution is about a process – an unceasing process – of creation, sustentation and destruction. Our societies grow and transform, as do we on an individual level. Without change, and without people who demand change, there is stagnation. Pluto has also just reentered Aquarius. Pluto is a transformer. It is the planet of power, secrets and mystery; it too teaches us that life is an unstoppable force.

Father of Humanistic Psychology, Carl Rogers, put i like this: “I realise if I were stable and steady and static, I would be living death. So I accept confusion and uncertainty and fear and emotional highs and lows because they are the price I willingly pay for a flowing perplexing, exciting life.” Aquarius is represented by the figure of the Water Bearer. The one who pours water onto the land to facilitate growth. The one who is part of the unending nature of transformation. Through this visionary creativity of Aquarius, the new moon is inviting us to wake up and see ourselves anew. With these fresh eyes, and this altered perspective, we can envision – re-envision – what it is that this next cycle of our lives will look like.

There is a powerful ‘behind the scenes’ energy here. One that allows us to see anew, and how our own established structures need to be disrupted to foster longer-term change. There is also a limitless quality to the sign of the Water Bearer; a quality that enables us to see into and beyond our own self-construction and outdated patterning.

Feel into the systems and structures you have built into the fabric of your life. What supports growth and what feels outdated or unhelpful? This can include the structure of relationships, work and routines. It also includes the internal structures we have created: ideas, thought patterns, the way we speak to ourselves and ways of seeing. This is a powerful moment where we can become free of things that are an obstacle to growth. If this feels intimidating, focus on just one thing.

Uranus in Taurus is squaring this new moon in Aquarius. Uranus, as discussed, represents rebellion, upheaval, but also breakthroughs. Uranus is innovative and Taurus is traditional. Uranus is metaphysical, whereas Taurus is very physical; of the physical realm. This aspect wants us to look at the relationship between our spirituality and our material world in the context of our own evolution. This relationship can be surprising. Sometimes, a solid foundation gives us more freedom to be spiritual, for example. Again, this is all in the context of this highly progressive, visionary and innovative Aquarian moon.

How to work with the energy of this new moon in Aquarius? Align with what really lights you up and turns you on. Sabrina Lynn, founder of ReWilding for Women, talks about the meditative practice of of asking ourselves “What is it that genuinely turns me on?” and then extending that out from the purely sexual to all parts of our life. What gives me pleasure? What is it that gives me purpose? She identifies that, if we start with the sexual, if can offer a truth gateway into everything else because it holds such energetic power. It’s like the energy transmitted by a wave. Waves transmit energy, not water, across the ocean and, if unobstructed, they have the potential to travel across an entire ocean. The question of “what turns me on” is the energy that has the energetic potential to travel across all areas of your life. If this isn’t for you (and Sabrina herself acknowledges that it’s not for everyone), approach the question non-sexually but with the same big, lit up energy. It’s about feeling into our heightened authenticity because this new moon is about radical self-expression.

Image credit: NASA on Unsplash

Full Yang Wood Dragon article here

For the full ReWilding with Sabirna Lynn video click here

Lynsey Allett7 February 2024