Monthly Astro-Forecast; New Moon in Aries

It's a strange time for a new moon in Aries, a seed point for action when we are all in retreat. The new moon, exact at 9.28am on Tuesday 24th March here in the UK, is conjunct Chiron the wounded healer and there is so much to heal right now. Not just a physical virus which affects and will affect so many of us. But also the effects of social isolation - on our mental health, on society as a whole, on the economy, on the way the world works. Right now the world isn't working, on so many levels - society is literally shutting down and we are seeing what that means. Who the real keyworkers are. Money is not much use in solving this crisis and there's so much to learn from that. So this new moon needs to be a seed point for some deep healing, on a collective as well as a personal level. We need to use the fires of Aries season to burn away all those assumptions about what's important, about what's necessary, about what we can't live without. Perhaps the action of Aries right now is about inner action, doing the work of shifting our perspectives, letting go of assumptions, burning away all the things we do and think just because we believe that's how they've always been done. This is a time of purification, of removing all the outer trappings of life so that we can see what's really important. Looking after the people we love. Looking after our wider communities. Looking after ourselves. Suddenly caring and supporting are our top priorities, or should be. The new moon also makes a close connection with Uranus, the great awakener. Breaking us out of old habits, established ways of being, a dull acceptance that this is how things are and we just have to put up with it. Now everything is different, everything is changing. And along with all the negatives, there's an opportunity here. To burn away all the dross, to go back to basics, to figure out what's really important and then build on that when the time comes. We can use the spark of Aries energy to find new ways, to sow the seeds of future change in the deep earth of our retreat. We can use the time to get back to the things that really matter to us, the neglected creative projects, the hobbies we never had enough time for. Physical practice is important in Aries season to stop energy building up in the body and becoming stagnant, so make use of all the brilliant yoga teachers and personal trainers who've moved their work online and help keep them in business while you're at it. Aries season asks us to focus on what we can do, not scatter our energy on what ifs and if onlys.

The coming lunation brings opportunities to ground this spark, this new energy, in reality, even some harsh reality (it feels like that might be the only kind right now). Mars, the ruler of Aries, moves into Aquarius on March 30th, energising us to fight for the collective and stand up for what we believe in. It meets Saturn in Aquarius the following day and demands that we connect with our inner authority, that we find the courage to do what is right, not what is easy. In the coming months, Saturn will move back and forth between Aquarius and Capricorn, moving into Aquarius for good in December. We'll be working out where our boundaries are, what true authority really means and how we can honour it, how we can move away from outdated social expectations or norms but make sure that what we establish in their place is real and true, not just a knee jerk reaction or a rebellion for the sake of rebelling. Capricorn energy is still strong as well, with Jupiter meeting Pluto on April 5th. This is likely to be a key date with some intense energies playing out as Jupiter, despite being traditionally considered the planet of good fortune, tends to exaggerate whatever it touches. There may be a confrontation with our collective shadow, a chance to purge some stagnant energy and find a little meaning in all this.

Some light relief arrives on April 3rd when Venus moves into Gemini, allowing us to connect and find common ground. The flipside of Venus in Gemini might be glib platitudes or words which lack substance and I'm sure we're all thoroughly sick of those already. Mercury moves into Aries for a short visit from April 11th, energising us to speak out and use our words as weapons but also bringing the risk of speaking without thinking or lapsing into arguments instead of channelling our energy into action. Mercury meets Chiron in Aries on April 15th so watch out for words that can heal but may also wound around that time. We might be beginning to articulate a process of inner and collective healing by then. On April 19th the Sun moves into Taurus, encouraging us all to slow down, be patient, ground ourselves in the reality that we have.