Lunar Cycle, January 21 – February 20, 2023
This first New Moon of the New Year on January 21 in early Aquarius really gets this year going, focusing our sights on Pluto’s entry into Aquarius in late March. After the slow and deep review that began on New Year January 1, with retrogrades of both Mars and Mercury (and Uranus!), this January 21 lunation feels like the inauguration of the true New Year. And, indeed, this lunation announces Chinese New Year on the 22nd. A good week or more of celebration in many countries lingers on to the Full Moon of February 5. Retrograde planets have turned forward: Mars (1/12), Mercury (1/18) and now Uranus (1/22) are lighting up a series of green lights to move forward. We take it slow and then speed up to higher gears and a faster pace of new developments into February and on into the big change month of March.

New Moon @1Aquarius32
January 21 @ 3:53pm EST, 12:53pm PST, 8:53pm GMT
January 22, 7:53am AEDT

[Note: Moons & Mythos #6 about this lunar cycle is up on Davyd Farrell’s youtube channel]

The New Moon in Aquarius annually announces the Chinese New Year 2023, the Year of Rabbit— also known as the Year of the Cat in such places as Vietnam and Korea. Both symbolic animals are classy and refined, with high aesthetics. Generally, it is considered a fortunate year. We need a good one!
Read more about it here.

Cat lover or not, if you remember that classic Al Stewart song from 1976, you might want to pause for a musical interlude to enjoy this extended live version in front of an enthusiastic crowd. I’m there!

The Sabian Symbol image for the New Moon at 2 degrees Aquarius is one that echoes the turn-around of Uranus, a planet beyond expectations, as in ‘Expect the Unexpected”!

2 Aquarius— An Unexpected Thunderstorm
Out of the blue, Earth’s electro-magnetics produce a storm, taking us by surprise.
One of the things I like best about The Sabian Symbols as an Oracle by Sabian astro-priestess Lynda Hill, is the list evocative quotes she gives along with the symbols themselves. This is one of her suggestive quotes for this degree:

“The cosmos comes forth from The Eternal and moves in Him.
With His power it reverberates,
Like thunder crashing in the sky.
Those who Realize Him pass beyond the sway of death.”
— The Upanishads

This New Moon has awesome, subtle layers to its signature, that take us to “beyond the beyond” indeed. Ready for a bit of a deep dive? There is a potent, multi-dimensional interaction with the Moon/Sun, the two main lights in our sky producing a rhythm that moves our Earth experience in tidal waves, influencing our bio-luminescent, electro-magnetic experience and fostering growth and awareness.

Black Moon Lilith
At 1+ Aquarius this New Moon is opposite Black Moon Lilith— both mean and true positions are at 1+ Leo. Lilith is a complex factor, with several ways to track the movement of this vortex point related to the Earth-Moon dance. The Moon’s elliptical orbit gives it two mathematical focal points that define any ellipse. The Earth is one center of focus; the second focus is the Black Moon named Lilith—not actually a moon or physical body at all.  The Moon’s movement is influenced by many cosmic dynamics within the solar system. The Moon’s Nodes, marking eclipse points and the Line of Destiny, also have mean and true positions, but not as extreme as the Black Moon, which can be up to 30 degrees different. This duality evokes the mystery of Light. Is light a particle or a wave? It is both! In her affect and effect, Lilith surely is both ‘mean’ and ‘true’!

At least once a month, but sometimes 2 or even 3 times, the mean and true positions of Black Moon Lilith are, very briefly, in alignment, a particularly potent peak point in their cosmic dance. This New Moon features such a peak point, offering a rare flash of spiritual insight— if we tune in. In any case, Lilith impacts will likely be felt in our individual Selfhood in relation to the larger social context of our lives. This Lilith infusion could be a special influence on this whole new year, at least into October, when mean Black Moon enters Virgo. True Black Moon will belly dance back and forth, weaving light wave influences from both Cancer and Virgo into the ‘particle’ path of mean Black Moon in Leo. There will be several more of these peak alignment light beams from Lilith as we move through 2023.

After years of interested engagement with Lilith (writing two Lilith books), I have only very recently noted these alignments of true and mean Lilith more closely. This was basically a ‘live’ discovery during a discussion with Davyd Farrell of Quantum Plant Healing. Lilith is like that with her revelations. You never quite know when she will ‘show up’. With Black Moon highlighted on this New Moon, this is an instant ‘download’ for those of us who are listening for her whisperings deep in our divine hearts.

In my research and writings, I have associated Lilith with powerful, spiritual feminine energies, such as Tibetan Dakini, Black Madonna, Valley Spirit of the Tao, and Hindu Shakti. As a living experience Lilith is an evocation of  our untamed spiritual nature not bound by convention, as a feminine aspect of nature as unborn space, an all-pervasive, spacious wholeness. We are liberated by moving through her ever more subtle layers of illusion, duality and time.

The immense animating feminine power inherent in the Universe, Shakti is a multidimensional mystery…Shakti generates every aspects of life and plane of existence…her bottomless reservoir of dynamic and potential energy is inexhaustible.”

“Everything in life possesses a force to transform, to become, to be,
to expand its inherent nature and grow as it were from within, which is shakti.”
—Madhu Khanna, Yantra: The Tantric Symbol of Cosmic Unity

“The practical difficulty is that the essence of Shakti is terrifying
and surpasses human understanding.”
— Lizelle Reymond, Shakti: A Spiritual Experience.

In Buddhism, Prajna-Paramita is the “Enlightened Wisdom of the Other Shore,” that brings us ‘beyond the beyond,’ the shakti of spiritual enlightenment, the ultimate reality, the cause, maintainer and directing consciousness of the universe, indefinable, indescribable, inconceivable,

“not a void or an absence but is simply more real and more fulfilling
than any conceptual or perceptual capacity can convey.”
—Lex Hixon, Mother of the Buddhas: Meditation on the Prajnaparamita Sutra

“The Valley Spirit never dies.
It is named the Mysterious Female.
And the Doorway of the Mysterious Female
is the base from which Heaven and Earth sprang.”
—Lao Tzu

Taoist languaging is richly evocative on a deep, irrational-sounding level. Here is a ‘report’ from Sun Bu-er, a woman who mastered Taoist Alchemy, especially relevant on the New Moon.

“When you’ve cooked the marrow of the sun and moon,
The pearl is so bright you don’t worry about poverty.”
— quoted by Thomas Cleary in Immortal Sisters: Secret Teachings of Taoist Women

These are just a few hints of what Black Moon intimates—at her best and highest. First, she has to bust our identification with our egoic small-self. She can be quite scary on that front, as suggested above.

Though Black Moon Lilith does not like being bound into interpretations, I, reluctantly, gave (suggestive) interpretations about sign placements, as expected in an astrology book. Here is what I wrote in Black Moon Lilith:
Leo is the solar fire that glows in steady, magnetic waves, radiating love-wisdom from the heart of the life source.  Black Moon here takes on a dramatic flair, rather like the huge surges of solar nuclear energy that we see from this distance as sun spots. We experience the effects of these solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in our internal and external weather. The creative life force is embodied in a powerful urge for Self expression….from a deep, soulful core of our essentially divine Being…The inner nuclear power of the Self shines strongly on others with a challenge to the core self of others to express their fullness.

Quantum KBO Haumea, Hawai’ian Birthing Goddess
The Kuiper Belt holds a wide swath of Objects that have been discovered since the new millennium, reflecting a heightened level of quantum consciousness that is now available to us. We are entering an amazing new Era, with long lost creative potentials now being remembered as we imagine and change our world.

“We are in that wild stage of labor, the transition stage, when birth is imminent
though it feels like it will never happen. We cannot DO at this stage. We must let go.”
—Green Hope Farm catalog, The Sacred Feminine section. p.212

Pluto is on the front edge of this region, that extends further out into the solar system. KBOs have long-term orbits, even more than Pluto’s 248 years. Haumea, with a 283-year orbit, is making astrological news lately, having entered Scorpio on November 11, 2022, her first sign change since the early 1990s.

This Goddess of Childbirth from the Hawai’ian culture is an original creator deity, birthing and rebirthing our world and all life on it. In Scorpio, coming from the subterranean, inner volcanic depths of Scorpio, Haumea’s passion for renewal spurs on Pluto’s deconstruction of outmoded systems and structures, liberating our experience as we go beyond the imposed boundaries and limitations we don’t even perceive, just take for granted as real. Haumea, like all goddess archetypes, carry Shakti power, shaping and reshaping what we call ‘reality’.

On this New Moon Haumea is positioned at 1+ Scorpio, therefore in square to both the New Moon and Black Moon Lilith. This highly dynamic activation among these factors reflects multiple levels of our experience, from the personal lunar seeding from the solar life force to that deeply creative influx from the Shakti power of both the far-out Haumea in the quantum realm, and from Black Moon Lilith, intimately intertwined with our incarnation and deep desire to embody Heaven on Earth.

This is a potent invitation from Kosmos to welcome levels of consciousness that awaken true and essential Human Being that is ready to blaze a new trail forward, invested and inspired by our heart vision of how we want to live in a New Earth. We are then cosmically empowered co-create it, if we engage the quantum field and bring down the vision. To get a good start on this, ‘project’ is, in large part, the meaning of this lunar cycle, and New Year of the Cat/Rabbit.

Two Influential Allies
Two more fairly new components in our astrological roster guide and focus our New Moon agenda and will see us through the waxing and waning of this Lunar cycle.

Chariklo, companion to Teacher/Healer Chiron,
An astronomical Centaur, part comet/part asteroid, Chariklo spans the sky between Saturn and Neptune, connecting with the path of Uranus further out toward the vibrational frequencies. Now at 8 degrees Aquarius, she is close to the New Moon, holding space for healing energies and an emergence into whatever forms best serve Love. She followed Jupiter and Saturn into Aquarius in 2021. She opens resonance in Aquarian social gatherings as we seek to find like-hearted people who see and appreciate who we are as a soul-inspired individual and co-creator. Who is it in your life that you feel this way about and love to ‘play’ with?
The Moon and Sun both conjunct Chariklo on the way to the Full Moon.

Varuna, Ancient Vedic god who oversees Universal Law and Cosmic Order
Varuna stands by Black Moon Lilith at 6+ Leo. Love is the basic and true essence of law and order. Are you living from Love or living in fear, a basic choice. Fear darkens the our experience to a lower vibration that inhibits and constrains us. The chaos present in the world in these times can evoke fear. Can we rise above the darkness, standing in courage, honoring and following cosmic law and order? Black Moon will move into Varuna’s field during the next lunar cycle, heading into the Miracle month of March.

Recent research into our biological Heart— its bio-luminesence, its way of moving blood through the body, of creating space for the Divine to enter, light up and radiate through our multidimensional bodies— is a profound mystery. I’ve been starting to learn about this by listening to Dr. Tomas Cowen on youtube. A good intro here.

We are getting to know our bodies beyond their materiality, learning how to welcome in and radiate love.

An important note from Venus and Saturn
Not to ignore astrological basics, let’s consider the close pairing of Venus and Saturn at 23 and 24 degrees Aquarius on this New Moon. This conjunction promotes social responsibility based on emotional maturity and higher mind perspective. This brings to mind the iconic 60s song: “Come on, people, now smile on your brother, try to love one another right NOW.”

What does the situation call for? What is working and what is not? We can say no to situations that are not in harmony with our energy. We step back to see things more clearly and tune into social dynamics that resonate with our experience and can be productive— another indication that we surely will find ourselves in cooperative situations that match our frequency in a way that gels into satisfying situations and outcomes. These connections can sustain us through a good deal of this year.

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Full Moon @16 Leo/Aquarius 40
February 5 @1:29pm EST, 10:29am PST, 6:29pm GMT
February 6 @5:29am AEDT

The Full Moon realization from the New Moon seeding. The dynamics we have looked at above, with Black Moon Lilith, Haumea, Chariklo and Varuna, continue to develop as the Moon waxes and we reach the culmination of the Full Moon.

Full Moon in Leo, with Sun in Aquarius continues our exploration of that particular sign polarity. Simply put, what is your role and any group, community, social setting? Are you coming from your soul-centered authenticity, or do you find yourself surfacing to a more superficial persona?  Where do you feel your best Self is honored and appreciated? In what kind of situation do you get triggered and off-center? Where and how do you find yourself in alignment with others, and where not?

Let’s look at Sabian Symbols to give us more of a storyline.I’m going a bit off-tradition here, using the image for 16 Aquarius. Normally we would round up to 17. But 16 fits in so well as a follow-up to the New Moon image of the Thunder Storm, I feel it is appropriate.    16 Leo— Brilliant Sunshine Just After a Storm.
Sounds good! Some kind of stormy turmoil is resolved, for now.
Two quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson given by Lynda Hill:

“Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing in one’s own sunshine.”
&
“The wise man in the storm prays God,
not for safety from danger, but for deliverance from fear.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson

 The Sabian Symbol for 17 Leo is also relevant to the Leo/Aquarius Moon/Sun:
Volunteer Church Choir Makes Social Event of Rehearsal
This beautifully conveys co-creating artistry in song in an Aquarian social gathering.
Lynda Hill quotes Paul McCartney for this one:
“I love to hear a choir. I love the humanity to see the faces of real people
devoting themselves to a piece of music. I like the teamwork.
It makes me feel optimistic about the human race when I see them cooperating like that.”

Uranus in Taurus
In square to Sun and Moon, Uranus in Taurus become the main dynamic of this Full Moon.
The times, they are a’changing!

Radical, revolutionary, even mind-boggling world events are happening, which are likely surprising, even shocking, in some unexpected way that will ‘rock our world’. Uranus in Taurus is a prime harbinger of an awakened ‘New Earth.’ We will see surprising developments this month, perhaps another “Unexpected Thunderstorm.” Changes in our practical way of living are called for as we head into new territory. We are guided by the evolutionary arising of Gaia, Earth, herself, stimulated by the increasingly strong plasma waves of incoming higher light frequencies. Some who are keeping watch, from scientists to psychics, are talking of an immense solar flash that will affect the whole solar system, including Earth and all living beings. Will that happen in this Lunar cycle?

It is essential to be grounded in your body. Aquarius can be very detached from physical at times. Energize your physical strength, in touch with Nature, feeling the support and firmness of Earth. Our bodies are Earth.

Uranus in Taurus =
Grounding in Nature,
Embodying higher mind divine influence,
Life style changes,
Financial revolution,
and so many other practical matters
&
shifts in mental perception.

Venus, ruler of Taurus, has moved into Pisces for this Full Moon, a sweet, compassion sign. As another carrier of Shaki power, Venus is a strong ally. Feel the waves of Grace coming in, washing through, softening, beautifying, uplifting. Venus aligns with Neptune on February 15, a Beautiful Dreamer, then moves into Aries on the next New Moon, February 19/20, with more exciting fresh developments.

Let’s be excited and co-create the world we want to live in together.
If not now, when?
Life can be incredibly freeing— even thrilling!
Let’s make it so!

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