Return to Your Light

We passed the halfway point of winter when the Sun crossed 15 degrees of Aquarius on February 3rd. The returning of the light was marked in ancient times by cross-quarter holidays, celebrations tied to the points in-between the equinoxes and solstices. In this case Imbolc, or Candlemas, celebrated the first hints of spring. The Aquarius New Moon occurs at this time of increasing light and warmth, this year on February 15th at 27 degrees Aquarius.

Depicted as the water-bearer, the ‘water’ Aquarius carries is the wisdom he has earned over the course of the first ten signs of the Zodiac wheel of life. The glyph for Aquarius represents a pair of snakes, associated with wisdom. Aquarius is the innovator, the genius, and the rebel, the one who pushes the edges of, and for, society. As an Air sign, the Aquarian realm is that of the mind, in this case the higher mind. As a fixed sign it has the effect of stabilization, for example of our connection to our soul’s path.

Now is the time for seeing and holding a higher vision for our future.

Ruled by teacher and authority figure Saturn in traditional times, the modern ruler of Aquarius is the lovely, blue Uranus, ever since its ‘discovery’ in 1781. Uranus, the rebel, innovator and genius acts as a catalyst on our quest for personal freedom. The archetypes inherent in these two planets push us to internalize authority, and be completely true to our own unique selves. This is our gift to the world.

In Aquarius season, we are tasked with being exactly ourselves, honoring our special combination of experience and knowledge combined to create our wise offerings, whether as artists or mechanics or accountants.

This 2018 New Moon in Aquarius is also a Solar Eclipse, occurring close to the South Node of the Moon, the point at which the Moon’s orbit crosses that of the Earth’s around the Sun and along the ecliptic (the zodiac wheel). Eclipses happen in twos and threes every six months or so, when the New or Full Moons occur close to the Lunar Nodes. An eclipse also marks the end and beginning of a new nineteen year cycle, the time period it takes the Nodes to move through the zodiac. At this eclipse, we can look back both to August of 2017, and to February of 1999 for themes we may be revisiting in our lives.

Eclipses are often experienced as powerful times of death and rebirth, or transformation. February 15th’s New Moon/Solar Eclipse in Aquarius points to the stories we have about ourselves, or overly idealistic expectations we hold that might need to die in order for us to move forward on our soul’s path. When we release the past, including past expectations, we can get serious about our vision for our future. Another shadow of Aquarius to release is being too concerned about what others think of us, especially when we are letting our inner rebel out.

The lesson of Aquarius is that there is no greater gift we can give the world than the full expression of our own unique being. We don’t need to make ourselves smaller, or larger, than we are. There will never be another just like us, and we are here because the world needs us now.

At this New Moon and Solar Eclipse:

Let go of the old stories designed to keep you in line;

Just for a day, see yourself through your own eyes and no others’;

Take out pen and paper and write down a list of things you love and/or are good at and notice how your list is unique to you;

See your greatest future.