Monthly Astro Forecast: New Moon in Aries

The new moon in Aries on 16th April is a powerful and active new moon, an extra potent new beginning. It's conjunct Uranus, the planet of awakening, and brings an energy that is clear, conscious and direct, allowing us to emerge fully formed from the sometimes confusing cosmic soup of Pisces. Aries is the sign most strongly associated with the ego, the structure we give to our self which allows us to function fully in the world. Whilst boundaries are necessary, the ego can be an instrument of separation, a way of keeping ourselves in a box and putting those around us in boxes too. Luckily the cosmic balance gives us Uranus, to break us out of those boxes. This is a perfect new moon to set intentions around integrity and honesty, bringing as it does a powerful burst of energy for breaking through layers of projection and conditioning. Its an opening up, a chance to get back to a purer version of ourselves. A chance to break down the sometimes excessive defences that the ego often insists on. This new moon asks us to check in with our self as ego, as an individual, as our authentic self. Where are we out of integrity with our true self? So much in this world is out of integrity, and our first step towards changing that is to come back into alignment with our truest selves. By taking responsibility for what is ours, we can relate to others and to the world around us. This is the Aries Libra dynamic, the dance of self and other. Inner truths reach a clearer illumination on April 18th, and we can burn bright and strong.

A few hours before the new moon, Mercury goes stationary direct in the early degrees of Aries. This may have felt like an especially frustrating Mercury retrograde period, as the force of Aries has been turned inwards. But if we have used the time to process buried anger or hidden conflicts, now we can begin to put the energy released to good use. We can release our inner warrior and power our way forwards. Our inner warriors may also be awakened on from April 17th as Chiron moves into Aries, (on which more to follow).

On April 20th, the Sun moves into Taurus, the builder of the zodiac, followed a few weeks later by Mercury on May 13th. In Taurus, we take possession of that which we conquered in Aries, and we begin to build it up, to tend it and help it to grow. Whatever intent we defined and declared in Aries, now we begin to give it form. On May 1st, when many of us celebrate Beltane, the Sun squares the nodal axis, currently moving through Aquarius and Leo. What are we manifesting for ourselves and for the collective? Where are we hiding in our comfort zone and where are we stretching ourselves? On April 24th, Venus leaves her comfortable journey through Taurus, moving into sociable Gemini and the realm of ideas. We can begin to articulate our growth and share the solid foundation we are building.

Capricorn energy is highlighted this lunation, keeping the focus on the cardinal signs, with both Saturn (on April 18th) and Pluto (on April 22nd) going stationary and then retrograde in that sign. We may find ourselves pushing against our inner boundaries, the structures we impose on ourselves, the ways that we harness or suppress our power. On April 26th, Mars meets Pluto in Capricorn, forcing a confrontation with the shadow and the ways that we assert our power. We can already see the beginnings of this happening globally, and the warmongering that has already started looks set to continue as the established powers dig their heels in. Aries is about action and having the courage of our convictions, but sometimes these can be rather a blunt instrument.