New Moon and Eclipse in Aquarius: Empty Your Mind

This Thursday afternoon, February 15, the New Moon in Aquarius arrives. This is a partial solar eclipse, visible only in the southern half of South America.

At first glance, this might seem to be a smaller kind of eclipse, not visible in northern skies, and not all supersized like the last ones. Let that idea go.

This New Moon eclipse is powerful, both on its own and as part of the current Leo-Aquarius eclipse season. We’re at a pivot point, a time of release and transition.

Here are some things to know:

Aquarius is the sign of fixed Air. Here we have Big Ideas. We create concepts, constructs, theories. We build castles in the air. We dream things that never were and ask, why not?

Since Aquarius, like all other signs, has its Shadow, this is also the place of conspiracy theories and fanaticism. This is where we can’t let go of that one idea, whether it’s political, spiritual, or a personal story about why our life is the way it is. Fixed signs are stubborn and Aquarius likes to be right.

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Aquarius rules networks of all kinds, the organizational, the social, the technological. This is also a place where we’re pushed to be who we truly are. Here we search for the tribe who accepts the real me. So, Aquarius can be an organization man or a recluse, the most connected person you know or the one who can’t seem to relate well to others.

Just looking at this as a New Moon in Aquarius, then, just that much, we are looking at new beginnings in how we bring our authentic selves into the world and the stories we tell ourselves about that.

This New Moon is aligned with the Moon’s South Node. The alignment is loose–the New Moon is at 27 Aquarius and the South Node is at 15–but still significant.

The South Node is a place of release, a place where we can finally let go of what is done. Have you been feeling this happening lately?

Maybe you’re in conversation with someone (or possibly with yourself) and suddenly realize, “I’m done with this, it’s finished.” This shift will feel mental, intellectual. Not only are we in Aquarius, but Mercury is closely conjunct the New Moon, bringing his focus on thought and speech. One story ends. Another begins. Just like that.

How this shows up for you will depend on your relationship with Aquarius and how this New Moon falls in your chart. Since I have Leo Rising, Aquarius opens my 7th House, the relationship house.

In the last weeks, I have found myself reorienting in a variety of relationships. Some recent endings feel final now; no going back. Others are being clarified.

Several times, I found myself expressing thoughts, setting boundaries, in ways I hadn’t exactly planned. Suddenly, I said what needed to be said. Looking back, I see the Aquarius influence.

I also happen to have a Mercury–Neptune conjunction in late Libra that is directly aspected by this New Moon, which is intensifying my natural tendency toward “How do I know what I think, until I see what I say?”

These moments of clarity are good as long as I stay on top of them. I admit, I’ve also found myself being a little more direct, in an Aquarian “let me explain the world to you” kind of way, than I needed to be. I’m also reminding myself not to make decisions solely on the basis of whatever brilliant new idea happens to appear.

This, for me, is the value of astrology. Checking patterns in the sky and seeing how they touch my own chart gives me a useful, meaningful way to view my impulses, actions, and reactions in a wider context. It also gives me ways to work with current patterns to reach my goals.

What are the stories I know I want to let go of? Where am I harboring ideas about my past that are out of date and keeping me locked in old cycles? Where are those stubborn pockets of negative self talk, the statements of what I am not, of what I can never do or have? Where am I being ungenerous to others in ways that don’t serve me or them?

At this New Moon, I can set intentions to let go of all of that and know the cosmos will work with me to make it happen.

As we set intentions, we also need to pay attention. Eclipses are big energies, a time when the New Moon (in this case) lines up with older, bigger patterns. For example, tomorrow’s eclipse echoes the Great American Eclipse from late August.

That August New Moon and full solar eclipse happened at 28 Leo. Tomorrow’s New Moon in Aquarius and partial solar eclipse happen a 27 Aquarius. These two are mirror images of each other.

Something revealed at the August eclipse might be resolved at this one. Something new that showed up then, might be clarified now.

This Aquarian eclipse is also part of a very long Saros cycle. These cycles track eclipses that happen at roughly the same time of year, at the same distance from Earth, every 18+ years. Each Saros cycle itself lasts twelve to thirteen centuries and will include about 70 eclipses (http://www.eclipsewise.com).

Looking back to those previous eclipses and reflecting on what happened for us then, can help clarify current themes and events. This eclipse falls in Saros 150, which is a fairly young cycle that began in 1729 and continues through 2991. Previous eclipses in this cycle happened on February 5, 2000; January 25, 1982; January 14, 1964; and January 3, 1946.

Astrologer Bernadette Brady offers another perspective. Her work with eclipses suggested each Saros cycle had a theme set by its first eclipse. Because the first eclipse in this cycle included Mercury conjunct the South Node, she says:

“This family of eclipses is concerned with ideas and their enthusiastic expression. If this eclipse affects your chart, you will be flooded with ideas or opinions. There may seem to be an element of haste, but if you can go with the new ideas, they will have positive outcomes.”

The fact that this New Moon eclipse is also conjunct Mercury and the South Node will only emphasize this pattern.

Eclipses can also bring hidden things to light. During an eclipse, the normal glow of the Sun or Moon is blocked. In the shadowy light that remains, we catch a glimpse of things we normally miss.

This is accented for this New Moon eclipse by a square from Jupiter in Scorpio, who is all about making secrets so big we can’t ignore them any more. We are continuing to see this in world events and may experience it in our personal lives as well. Chiron the wounded healer is trining Jupiter and semisextile the New Moon, reminding us these revelations come to support healing and wholeness.

The Chinese, who use a lunar calendar, begin a new year now. This year of the Earth Dog officially begins Friday, February 16. Another marker of transition, this shift in energies is consistent with Western astrology: We move from the wild flamboyance of the Fire Rooster into the steady, grounded energy of the Earth Dog.

Not only has Saturn moved into his home sign of Capricorn, a stronghold of Earth energy, but in May, unpredictable Uranus moves from fiery, impetuous Aries into calm and loyal Taurus. This will be a year of slow, steady work.

Although the emphasis for this New Moon eclipse is letting go, the reason is to make space for the new. Perhaps those innovative ideas teasing around the edges of our consciousness will help provide the energy to clear out all the old stuff we trip over.

There is an old story of the monk welcoming a new student by offering tea. As the monk pours the tea, the student, anxious to impress, talks and talks, expounding on all he knows.

The monk pours until the tea spills out, finally catching the student’s attention.

The lesson, of course, is that a mind already full cannot take in new ideas.

At this New Moon eclipse in Aquarius, let’s do more than simply listen. Let’s break the cup. Hey, maybe we don’t even like that tea any more. Only when we really, deeply let go of the stuff we’re done with, will the wonderful new have enough space to come in.

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I use Unsplash for almost all my photo illustrations. All astrological charts are my own. The images in this post include the title, created from the photo of the bird in the sky by Shreyas Malavalli, the photo of the young woman by Joshua Rawson-Harris, the dreamcatcher by Andreas Wagner, and the photo of the water droplet by zhang kaiyv.