New Moon in Aries x Equinox x Pluto in Aquarius. 3.22.23.
Happy New Moon in Aries, beautiful souls!
And happy spring Equinox, too.
I hope you’re all taking care good care of yourselves in the midst of quite the week of astrology, between the New Moon in Aries, the Equinox, and Pluto changing signs (something that hasn’t happened since 2008)—so let’s get into what it all means and how to work with the energy for intention-setting and radical self-care.
Marked by the Sun moving into Aries on March 20th, the spring Equinox heralds not just the official start of spring—it ushers in the energy of new beginnings. Fresh starts. Rebirth. It’s a seasonal shift that feels energetically like a turning point. Light comes into balance with and gradually begins to overtake darkness.
With the New Moon in Aries taking place right on the heels of the Equinox, on March 21st, this week opens up a supercharged portal for intention-setting as well as launching anything new we want to bring into the world—whether new ideas, new creative projects, or new routines or ways of being in the world we’re looking to embrace.
Adding to all this bold, initiatory energy, with the New Moon taking place near abundant Jupiter and wounded healer Chiron (who are both still hanging out in Aries)—the initiatory energy of this Aries New Moon may be especially helpful for boosting anything we begin now related to healing and expanding our consciousness. And with Chiron and Jupiter fresh off their conjunction in Aries, and thus at the beginning of a new cycle around the zodiac (Aries is the first of the 12 signs), this moment speaks to me as the beginning of a new chapter in how we show up as healers—of ourselves, others, and/or the collective.
And with a heavy dose of Plutonic energy in the mix, the healing this moment is inviting us to do is being shown to us through the shadow material that Pluto’s entry into Aquarius kicks up for us this week (read on for more. . .)
Pluto enters Aquarius.
This week’s New Moon/Equinox new beginnings/rebirth energy is colliding with the powerful energy of another major piece of astrology this week: Pluto entering Aquarius (on March 24th).
While Saturn changing signs and moving into Pisces earlier this month was itself a big deal, Pluto moving into Aquarius is a shift astrologers have been looking ahead to for decades. As the slowest moving planet in the solar system, Pluto sign changes are associated with major shifts for the collective (in addition to transformation within the individual life), so this is something we can all expect to feel. (For timing context on the collective cycle that’s coming to an end: Pluto entered Capricorn in 2008).
Pluto is associated with power, transformation, death and rebirth, and that which is unconscious or in shadow, among other things. At both the individual and collective level, as the alchemist of the zodiac, Pluto has a tendency to drawshadow material to the surface and make it visible so it can be acknowledged, purged, let go of, or otherwise worked with in some way to turn metaphorical lead into gold. At the collective level, Pluto in Capricorn has exposed the shadow sides of patriarchy, unchecked capitalism, extreme economic inequality, and America’s criminal justice system—to name just a few Capricornian structures about which collective awareness has grown and shifted rapidly over the past 15 years. Never one for shying away from the dramatic, Pluto’s entry into Capricorn in 2008 coincided with the collapse of several major U.S. banks and the start of the Great Recession—a moment we’ve been feeling echoes of in recent weeks as this Pluto-in-Capricorn chapter draws to a close.
Now, as Pluto prepares to transport its alchemical cauldron into Aquarius—a sign associated not only with innovation and futuristic thinking but also with the collective, and working for the good of the collective—”power to the people” emerges as perhaps the highest-vibration potential for this next chapter. Potentially really good “astroweather” conditions for social and political transformation that empowers groups, movements, and those working in community and for the benefit of the collective. Likely not so good for fans of power staying concentrated in the hands of the wealthy few.
However this astrology manifests, given that we’re years into in ongoing global paradigm shift—and given that zero degrees of Aquarius has turned out to be quite the hot spot (e.g. a Mars-Saturn conjunction at zero degrees of Aquarius marked the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020)—I suspect we will look back on March 2023 as a turning point month we remember with a before and after in ways that only in retrospect will we understand in the context of our own individual lives and the evolution of the collective as a whole.
Calendar check: Pluto will dip a toe into Aquarius for just a few months at first, staying in the sign of the water-bearer until June 11, when it will step back into Capricorn for one last, brief hurrah, and eventually re-enter Aquarius to stay until 2044—so we can look at this March 24-June 11 period as a preview of what the 20-year Pluto in Aquarius chapter will look like in the decades ahead. (I’ll be writing more about the themes we’re likely to be exploring with Pluto in Aquarius, and in particular the opportunities it signals for social justice and liberation movements, in the weeks to come, so I’ll leave this here for now.)
New Moon in Aries x Equinox x Pluto in Aquarius tarot spread.
At the individual level, the heavy dose of Plutonic energy many of us will be feeling this week (and beyond) as Pluto changes signs feels to me like an invitation to witness what’s coming to the surface in terms of shadow material we might have thought we confronted, wounds we thought we’d healed, and other deeply buried fears or trauma coming to light (or coming back around into awareness) right around now.
And with the Aries New Moon energy bolstering our courage to confront what we witness when light is brought to that which was in shadow, this week’s astrology invites us to call forth our inner alchemist and see the shadow material that comes up now as a series of alchemical symbols showing what’s ready to be healed or released. The shadow work we commit to now will pay dividends in the new season ahead.
Putting all of the astrology together, I read this week’s energy as a powerful portal that offers an extra boost to anything we begin or put out into the world now, and which invites us to set bold intentions when it comes to recognizing and owning the power of the alchemist within—and our personal power as agents of deep healing, regeneration, and transformation for ourselves, of each other, and of the collective.
To that end. . . here, with love (and the hope and optimism that comes with new beginnings), here are the prompts for the 8-card tarot spread I crafted to work with the highest vibrations of this week’s New Moon in Aries x Equinox x Pluto in Aquarius energy in case you feel called to see where they take you as well. (Why 8 cards? Pluto is associated with the 8th house in astrology; you can lay out the cards in two rows of 4 or however feels right to you.)
What new projects, ideas, routines, ways of being in the world, etc. do I want to start now or speak into the universe for an extra boost of initiatory energy?
What shadow material is coming into my awareness now? What am I witnessing in shadow that I’m ready to burn away in this week’s alchemical cauldron?
What intentions do I want to seed now for the next chapter of my personal healing and shadow work?
In what ways am I being initiated now? What portals of transformation and rebirth am I noticing in the life experiences showing up now?
What seeds do I want to plant now for my own leadership and pathbreaking as a healer of others and/or to support the healing, transformation, and regeneration of the collective in the chapter that lies ahead?
What self-care practices do I want to put in place or recommit to now so I can continue to show up as a healer for myself, others, and the collective?
What do I want to put out into the universe as I look ahead to Pluto’s chapter in Aquarius (2023-2044) when it comes to harnessing the power of my individual self to work in community with allies towards the larger good?
How has my relationship to power, career, and professional identity changed since Pluto entered Capricorn in 2008? How have I become a clearer conduit for the work I do in my public roles?
As always, feel free to use any/all of these as journal prompts and to skip the cards. As with all horoscopes, take what resonates and leave the rest!
