Aquarius New Moon: January 21
We’re encouraged to draft our agreements and make our happy ending when the Sun enters Aquarius at 3:29AM ET on January 20, 2023. Aquarius is the sign of the individual. The iconoclast who doesn’t believe in being held by the bounds of society. Air signs harness the power of the mind. Aquarius utilizes its mental prowess to transgress the limitations of life. It doesn’t believe what it's told. It steps back, observes critically, finds a loophole, and puts its theories to the test. Aquarius is happy to be the experimental subject and then share its findings with the world. The water bearer's gift to humanity is the wisdom it pours down from the heavens.
The divine architect offers the blueprint, once it's confident the bones are good, and invites people to live out the new reality. For the past three years, Saturn has been transiting Aquarius, giving this area of life a renovation. This Aquarius season is itself a threshold because it is the conclusion of Saturn’s journey through its fixed air sign. Saturn will depart for Pisces on March 7, 2023, not to return to Aquarius until January, 21, 2050.
Saturn puts pressure on us because it wants the structures of our life to withstand the test of time. We confused the impact of Saturn with the weight of karma. But Saturn is just the demonstration of cause and effect. The choices, were we to take them and consciously make them, have always been ours. What began 3 years ago is an evaluation of what can last over the next 30 years. Are you set up for success in the Aquarius area of life?
The wildcard of this transit has been Uranus in Taurus because our existence is not mere responsibility and duty. What we’re actually here to do on Earth is awaken to the truth of our essential nature. Uranus brings these awakening moments, when we glimpse that there is something beyond everything we’ve taken for granted. At the moment of death everything falls away and we perceive creation in its totality. Uranus reminds us that we can access the awesome possibility that exists in every moment while we’re still alive. If we live as our most radically and authentically true selves, we will cease to fear death. This is a scary prospect and tt's hard for humans to contain the awakening energy of a Uranus. Even a little jolt can destabilize us for a long time. Uranus stations direct at 14°57 Taurus on January 22, just after the Aquarius New Moon. Although this lunation is blessedly before the orb of Uranus, those with planets or points in the middle of the fixed signs (Scorpio, Leo, Taurus, Aquarius) will feel the inspiring and unsettling activation.
Saturn ushered in quarantine when it first transited Aquarius from March 17-July 1, 2020. This was a time of deep isolation and estrangement, but it was also an opportunity to look at the systems of our life and evaluate what wasn’t working in the stark light of day. 2020 penned us in and made us feel trapped. It cut us off from community and connection to reveal how we do on our own. It asked us harsh questions: Do you like who you live with? Do you love your family? Is this the way you want to die?
Saturn entered Aquarius on December 17, 2020, and Jupiter followed on December 19. They meet in the sky every 20 years. These Great Conjunctions are watershed moments that define the zeitgeist and change the course of history. Their Great Conjunction at 00° Aquarius on the Winter Solstice, December 21, 2020, was an evolutionary moment moving out of earth signs. The Grand Mutation began a new 200 year cycle in the air trigon that puts great importance on: ideas, ideals, infrastructure, communication, technology, cyber security, and humanitarian concerns. How we prioritize and respond to these issues over the next 20 years will determine the course of history for the next 200. Although many of us would rather forget December 2020, its useful over the next month think back on that time. What intentions did you set at the Winter Solstice of 2020? What has manifested since then? It might be just the barest scaffolding, but you’ve made an important start.
Saturn works through restriction and limitation, and its transit through Aquarius has felt like a global downsizing. The management company that rules our life got sold, and the quality control agent came in and set up shop. Saturn informed us of redundancies and where we needed to trim. For many, this was not just unwelcomed input, it was disruptive and depressing. We’re at the end of a stressful and strenuous time. Air signs are connected with mental health, and everyone has been looking for a therapist for the last 3 years.
This is the last Aquarius season with Saturn present until 2050. And although we’re happy to see Old Kronos go, it's important to recognize what has changed for the better. Saturn grants wisdom and Aquarius is its favorite sign. Take the next month to evaluate what has structurally come undone and been put back together since March 2020. Is there anything outstanding that you can wrap up before Saturn departs for Pisces on March 7, 2023?
The New Moon at 01°33 Aquarius at 3:53PM ET on January 21, 2023, is an opportunity to plant powerful seeds of intention. This lunation is both a conclusion and an initiation. We’re wrapping up Saturn’s stay and preparing for Pluto’s arrival in Aquarius on March 23. If we thought Saturn was a lot, wait till the God of the Underworld comes to call. Pluto will dip in and out of Aquarius for the next several years, moving across the first couple of degrees, before returning for good in November 2024. Saturn wasn’t just helping us get our ship seaworthy for the next 30 years, it was preparing us for an even deeper exploration. Pluto will remain in Aquarius until 2043.
Aquarius New Moon 2023
The Aquarius New Moon is the perfect time to assess what you’ve been called towards and where you can transcend. A sextile from Jupiter in Aries is providing a boost of confidence. We’re no longer stuck in the holding pattern of Capricorn season. Both Mars and Mercury have stationed direct. Let the new year finally begin! Mars is sending a trine from Gemini, encouraging us to think differently about what’s possible.
The power of this moment may be revealed far in the future. The next Aquarius New Moon with Saturn present will take place on January 22, 2050, with Saturn within 1° of this lunation. Astrology doesn’t always mirror so magnificently, so it's best to pay attention when it does. Consider yourself a weaver of intentions for a tapestry that will continue to envelop and unfold for decades.
Aquarius New Moon January 22, 2050
Venus is moving towards a conjunction with Saturn at 24°47 Aquarius that will peak at 5:13PM ET on January 22, 2023. This benefits the tone of the lunation, adding sweetness to Father Time’s grumpy disposition, but Saturn’s cold touch can invoke feelings of loneliness and isolation. It’s proximity to the planet of relationships can bring endings or separate us from loved ones. Last March, Venus was besieged in Aquarius, post-retrograde and caught between the two malefics. It was a real low point of Winter 2022. Let this annual visit of Venus with Saturn grant you perspective on whats improved with relationships since then.
Blessedly, Venus departs for Pisces on January 26, giving Aquarius season a fun boost. Love and romance will be on the agenda. At last, the possibilities of pleasure aren’t just in the future, they’re arriving at the end of the month.