Aries New Moon: Going Viral

A new season is upon us and all of nature is coming back to life. The March 19 Equinox marks a fresh start. Yet here we are in the midst of a pandemic, trapped in our homes, insecure about our physical and financial well-being.  It’s a strange state of affairs, triggered by a “perfect storm” of influences such as the recent retrograde of Mercury in foggy Pisces, reactivated now that it’s back in direct motion on its way to join Neptune early next month.

Astrologers had been wondering what the fearsome specter of January’s Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn might bring. But as it turned out, it wasn’t until Mars and Jupiter joined those heavy-hitters that the answer revealed itself. Although the coronavirus first appeared in China in late December, it took Mars-Jupiter-Pluto to ram it home, at least in the West. This powerful  crew in earthy Capricorn exposes what is real. And as a society, with all our frenetic, outer-directed activity and lack of regard for the Earth and her creatures, we’ve gotten far away from reality.

So here comes a scary virus, providing the course-correction we desperately need. Slowing us down, turning us inward. This time of containment and shutdown, in spite of fear and difficulties, can redirect our attention from consumerism and selfishness to being there for each other. As we work to keep ourselves – and everyone else – safe from a common enemy, we see how interconnected we really are. And many of us, like the young woman pictured above (in addition, of course, to our hardworking doctors and nurses), are rising to the challenge of getting through this together.

Though much progress has already been made, it may take a while to achieve containment. On March 21 Saturn enters Aquarius for the first time in 30 years, spotlighting long-standing social and environmental injustices. Saturn’s trek through progressive, revolutionary Aquarius over the next two-and-a-half years will be a decisive time for humanity. Mars joins Saturn on March 31, marking a turning point in our current collective experience. Mars-Saturn is like a surgeon’s knife, cutting away disease so that health can return. But it’s also associated with law enforcement, so that’s apt to be when restrictions intensify. Hopefully the virus will be arrested by April, perhaps after Mercury enters Aries on the 10^th, and mandatory social distancing will become a thing of the past. Even if the crisis isn’t resolved until May, as some astrologers speculate, we need to use this time wisely.

Adding to the activity of this eventful month, on March 24 we have the Aries New Moon (2:28 a.m. PDT) conjunct Chiron, the wounded healer. Discovered in 1977, just as the ‘new age’ was starting to explode, Chiron has been in warrior Aries since 2018, and will remain there until 2026. During this time, we are called to heal the wounded masculine both within ourselves and the world at large. Rugged individualism no longer works, if it ever did. Truly, we’re all in this together. So at this New Moon, focus on healing yourself, especially the part of you  that wants to tough it out alone. Reach out to others for support, or step up to help elders and community members who are struggling. Chiron transits can feel like jet lag, which explains this strange time warp we’re currently in.  So, turn within and get some extra rest. And remember, love can go viral just as quickly as fear.

Enjoy this poem, by Richard Hendrick (Brother Richard) of Ireland:

They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise

You can hear the birds again.

They say that after just a few weeks of quiet

The sky is no longer thick with fumes

But blue and grey and clear.

They say that in the streets of Assisi

People are singing to each other

across the empty squares, keeping their windows open

so that those who are alone may hear the sounds of family around them.

They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland

Is offering free meals to the housebound.

Today a young woman I know is busy spreading fliers with her number
through the neighbourhood

So that the elders may have someone to call on.

Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples are preparing to welcome and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary.

Today, all over the world people are waking up to a new reality. To what really matters. To Love. Open the windows of your soul. And though you may not be able to touch across the empty square, sing.