Archive for February, 2014

New Moon in Aquarius — January 30, 2014, 21:39 UT

Monday, February 3rd, 2014

The New Moon in Aquarius was the second New Moon in January, and it took place while Venus in Capricorn was stationary in order to turn direct the next day.

The Aquarius New Moon is strongly tied to the longtime aspect of the era, the Uranus-Pluto square. The New Moon, which always is a conjunction of the Sun and the Moon, was sextile to Uranus, the awakener. Uranus is the ruler of the Aquarius sign. The stationary Venus is in conjunction with the transforming Pluto and opposite the magnifying Jupiter.

Pluto transforms by breaking up the old and creating something new. Pluto’s impact is not rapid. Nevertheless, Uranus in sextile to the New Moon can bring a sudden change.

A stationary planet, like Venus in this case, is focused and has more impact than usual. Planets don’t really stand still or change direction, but occasionally they seem to do so when looking from the Earth.

Values and money are attributes of Venus. Pluto was the god of the underworld, the kingdom of the dead, as well as the god of the riches buried under the earth. The hidden treasure can symbolize our undeveloped skills and potentialities, or our suppressed curiosity.

The Sun and the Moon are participants in two yod patterns in the chart. In the first one the luminaries form the apex of the yod by a quincunx aspect to Jupiter in Cancer and another to asteroid Pallas in Virgo. In the other yod, Pallas is the apex point, forming the quincunx to the luminaries in Aquarius and to Uranus in Aries.

Asteroid Pallas in Virgo is an analytical strategist. The aspects suggest that there can be a conflict between reason and feelings, or between planning and spontaneous acts.

The quincunx aspect of 150 degrees is an irritating aspect, which calls for adjustment. The signs involved in the quincunx are one sign apart from the opposition. They don’t confront each other face to face. This has something in common with the asteroid in conjunction with the Sun and the Moon in Aquarius.

The asteroid in conjunction with the New Moon was 55 Pandora. “Pandora initiates a whole new ball game; it throws you a curve ball,” has Martha Lang-Wescott described. Pandora has astrological affinities to Uranus. A sudden circumstance “out of Pandora’s box” can force one to use one’s latent talents. New possibilities may open up.

This New Moon prompts us to search for means to adjust our instinctive reactions with our carefully considered plans. Unexpected developments may thwart our strategy. Be prepared for a surprise factor to change your plans.

The New Moon occurred in the midpoint of Pluto and Chiron. The midpoints can be seen as the releasing points of the planets involved. The meaning of those planets is merged in the midpoint. The healing and transformative properties of Pluto and Chiron offer the solution in overcoming the fear of one’s power.

***

Candlemas, one of the Christian holidays, is celebrated on 2 February. The name refers to candles that are blessed on this day for use throughout the year. Originally in the ancient Rome this festival was feasted in honour of Pluto and Ceres. The Romans walked through the city with lighted candles, because Ceres sought her daughter Proserpine in the night in the light of the candles, after Pluto had abducted Proserpine to the underworld.