Astrology: the wyrdest New Moon

22-28 February 2020

For those of us who embrace personal evolution and thought work of any kind, this week and next week could not be more perfect for tapping into the juice of life!

The sequence goes like this:

1. Now – Dark Moon in Aquarius
2. Next – New Moon in magical Pisces, dancing with Mercury Retrograde
3. Later – Full Moon in practical Virgo, followed closely by
4. The end of Mercury Retrograde

Let’s unpack some of that.

As we know, the New Moon is an ideal time to begin the planning for something brand-new, something which will find its first fruition in a couple of weeks time at the next Full Moon. (You can read about the sequence in this post from last month’s New Moon – scroll to the end)

But before that, we recharge and set ourselves up for success with the Dark Moon.

Right now, as I write, we are in that preparation phase of the Aquarius Dark Moon, perfect for resting, recharging, decluttering and sweeping away old outworn ways of being and doing. 

This Dark Moon gives us a Mars-Uranus double whammy, since the ruler of Aquarius – Uranus – is himself being lit up by action-hero Mars, in a dance with the Sun which carries that Uranus-Mars dynamic all the way through into the New Moon event.

So even when the New Moon occurs in Pisces, it will carry some of that anything-is-possible, unexpected-change, break-down-the-fences dynamic.

In addition, the New Moon and the Mercury Retrograde both activate the North Lunar Node, that point in the sky which is all about the pull forward into the future.

It’s possible that ideas may rise to the surface which scared the pants off you.

New identities, new versions of who-you-are which is so much bigger than who-you-have-been-in-the-past. 

New concepts of YOU that might be wonderfully exhilarating and exciting, while also feeling absolutely terrifying.

Your brain might well give you some brain drama about “oh I couldn’t possibly do that“ or “I don’t have the qualifications“ or “I don’t know how to begin“.

Don’t let that scare you off!

With New Moon and Mercury Retrograde both in the swirling watery energy of Pisces, you can relax.

The pull to a wider and deeper future is strong; but during the New Moon it’s less to do with setting out all the focused, committed step-by-step planning, and more to do with wide-eyed, open-minded exploration. 

You do not have to make a commitment to anything right now, unless that brings you joy (a nod to the strongly Virgo folks in the room for whom a detailed plan is itself a joy!).

For New Moon, simply commit to be willing to consider and enjoy a range of infinite possibilities, without letting any brain drama put you off.

The moment you allow yourself to become someone who is at least open to the crazy and the impossible – that’s the moment your brain begins to open the door to excitement and innovation, rather than keeping it firmly shut due to fear.

That’s all you have to do this week.

Yes, there are a lot of planets still in Capricorn pushing to make things real.

But a) you don’t need to do all the things this week; and B) you can focus that practical energy on finding ways to ground your door-opening work.

You can also tap into the energy of asteroid Pallas Athena, which is being lit up by the New Moon via one of my favourite aspects – the septile.

The septile represents one seventh of a circle, and it only takes a moment with a calculator to see that if you divide 360° by 7, you get 51.4285714…. etc etc.

Mathematically, the septile is an irrational number, which gives us a clue to its astrological significance.

In an irrational number the decimal point goes on forever, not repeating or recurring, but simply continuing forever in a completely random fashion and never terminating.

In astrological terms, the septile is associated with weirdly infinite possibilities; a sense that there are possibilities even beyond the ones that we can think of, and possibility beyond that, stretching into infinity, into the truly WYRD and – well – irrational.

Never-ending, unpredictable, not fitting neatly into any pre-prescribed box. Not available via the intellect, arising out of sudden insights.

So here we have the strategic, military wisdom of asteroid Pallas Athena lighting up the New Moon via this mind-boggling concept of infinite possibilities. 

Say what??

For me, this is all about maximising the potential of this wildly magical period by pointing our own strategic thinking at how we use and interact with the New Moon and Mercury Retrograde energy.

And since Pallas Athena herself sprang into existence fully adult and fully armoured, it also suggest the potential for ideas and insights which spring into awareness fully formed rather than something which emerges one tiny piece at a time.

At this time, rather than leave the Piscean magic to random chance, hoping to make the most of all its possibilities for growth and alignment and new opportunities and epiphanies – we get strategic about how we tap into it.

And then we stand back and allow for wyrd ideas and insights and possibilities to simply arrive.

Here are some simple options to consider (check the exact times below):

• For the Dark Moon – rest, rest, and rest, as much as you can manage. Even if it’s just a half-hour or ten minutes, make it a devoted period to simply rest and dream, letting old stuff drift away while practising the art of going beyond the known. You can also use whatever cleansing rituals you like – a cleansing bath, smudging yourself and your spaces, etc.
• For Dark Moon – tap into the double Mars-Uranus whammy for some flashes of crazy-out-there insight you might not have seen before. Do a card spread (for some superb cartomancy support check out the brilliant Jodi Cleghorn), work with your pendulum, check your own chart. Don’t be surprised to see things you never noticed before. 
• Also, note that the Moon is now Void Of Course (meaning she makes no significant aspects from now until she moves into Pisces about nine hours before the New Moon). During a VOC, it is said anything we do won’t have lasting results. That makes it a perfect time for prayer, meditation, sleep, and endings (e.g. close the door on something you don’t love in your business; ditch a toleration you’ve been putting up with; end a relationship that’s not working for you).
• Mark the New Moon in your diary and plan a ritual to celebrate it. This is Pisces, so anything with water or salt-water is good. Light a floating candle in a bowl of salt water. Take a salt bath or swim in the ocean, while setting intentions for a delightful month ahead.
• Whatever it is you want to focus this Mercury Retrograde on, make a plan for how you’ll approach it. In what order do things need to happen? What resources might you need in order to undertake the planning and implementation of your Mercury Retrograde work?

For example, my Mercury Rx Magical Reset of Everything looks like this.

1. Right now (after this is published!) I rest up big time. I also make a time for a date with my favourite deck of cards, as well as revisiting a recent card spread created by a friend.
2. At the New Moon, I begin a major re-examining all of my magical and spiritual practices to ask “is this practice REALLY my own, and if not how do I make it so?”; and then I move the questioning and reassessing outwards through my business to ask “is this REALLY the most aligned and potent way for me to do my work and serve my people?”.  The questioning and research – both internal and external – will be done by the next Full Moon in Virgo (perfect to begin making things real), and then…
3. as Mercury Direct starts to build momentum forwards (starting ten hours after that Full Moon), I begin to implement all the things uncovered during that questioning and research period, with a view to…
4. completing that implementation by the next Dark Moon.

See how there is a strategic, flexible yet structured plan (Pallas Athena) behind how I’m making the most of this whole Pisces New Moon / Mercury Retrograde party?

This is the invitation for you to do the same. 

And if you want more precision on the plan, check in to where the New Moon lands in your own chart – especially to see what house (area of life) it is in. 

You can draw up your own chart for free at astro.com then look for 4º of Pisces (New Moon) and 12º Pisces back to 28º Aquarius (Mercury Retrograde). Check to see what house (area of life) it lands in for you.

Here’s a quick guide to the houses:

• 1st house – appearance, attitude to life, first impressions, how you show up – links to Aries and Mars
• 2nd house – resources, money, movable possessions, talents, core values – links to Taurus and Venus
• 3rd house – teaching, learning, writing, talking, connecting, curiosity – links to Gemini and Mercury
• 4th house – home, family, ancestors, emotional ground, nurturing – links to Cancer and Moon
• 5th house – creative expression, books, kids, art, romance, lyricism – links to Leo and Sun
• 6th house – daily routines of all kinds, health, pets, ritual magic – links to Virgo and Mercury
• 7th house – one-to-one relationships, partnerships, contracts – links to Libra and Venus
• 8th house – sex, death, taxes, shared resources, trust – links to Scorpio and Pluto
• 9th house – new horizons, travel, the internet, higher learning – links to Sagittarius and Jupiter
• 10th house – career, life mission, business, public legacy – links to Capricorn and Saturn
• 11th house – friends, goals for the future, groups, collective, humanitarianism – links to Aquarius and Uranus
• 12th house – unconscious, dreams & imagination, serves those without a voice – links to Pisces and Neptune

Exact times (US Eastern timezone):

• 23 February, 1:37 am – Moon into Pisces (VOC until then)
• 23 February, 10:32 am – New Moon at 4° Pisces
• 9 March, 1:48 pm – Full Moon at 19º Virgo
• 9 March, 11:49 pm – Mercury Direct at 28º Aquarius

Janette Dalgliesh has a simple mission in life – to wreak more joy in the world. A keen student of astrology, brain science and Law of Attraction, she serves her people through her unique strategic astrology consults, coaching, teaching and writing. To get Janette’s highly useful perspective on your own chart, visit her website or track her down on Facebook.