The new moon in Aries tomorrow is coming to us on the heels of some quite intense planetary alignments, that reflect the state of our collective experience with the world around us — as above, so below. Just a few days ago, on March 19th-20th we had the spring equinox, the beginning of the astrological new year, the Sun moving into Aries, a time that usually heralds in a wave of new energy. The day after the spring equinox, Mars and Jupiter aligned in the same sign, creating an explosion of tension and volatile energy. And then on March 22nd, Saturn moved into Aquarius after it’s two and a half years journey in Capricorn.

Let’s translate all this into meaningful information that we can use, let’s take a look at what the planets are saying to us about the energetic influences that we are under so that we can best align ourselves to it and use it constructively.

First I want to talk about Saturn. In astrology, Saturn is the principle of constraint, of restriction. He is often known as the Lord of Karma, because Saturn’s job is to make sure we pay the dues. Even though Saturn gets a bad rap because of the disciplinary archetype that this planet embodies, this very energy is quite important for us in our process of evolution. Without Saturn there would be no opposing principle for us to experience contractions. And without contractions we wouldn’t know the beauty of expansiveness.

The restrictions placed on us by Saturn are only difficult when we resist them. Since end of 2017, Saturn has been in the sign of Capricorn (which Saturn loves because it is the ruler of Capricorn). Both Capricorn and Saturn represent structure, tradition and tried and true ways of doing things. However, combining that with the karmic obligations that Saturn represents, it is not a surprise that the last two and a half years have brought to light what doesn’t work in these very structures that we rely upon. Political upheaval, Trump Presidency and everything that it has brought with it, along with the me too movement, have all exposed the shaky foundations of what we use to call ‘the tried and true way of doing things’.

And now we have corona virus. Another very Saturnian experience of restriction. In fact for many people corona virus is the most restrictive thing that they have experienced in their life times. We have been told that in order to survive, we not only need to be afraid of other human beings, but we need to be afraid of our own bodies, our basic instincts of touch, of using our hands and it’s interesting to note that in the seven chakra system of energy bodies, hands are part of the heart chakra. Corona virus is Saturnian constraints personified. And the resulting panic that has arisen in the collective consciousness is very much a shadow side of the sign of Capricorn, which is very much a selfish approach of ‘me first’, and what do ‘I’ need to do to to make sure ‘I survive’. Traditionally Saturn rules the root chakra, which is our connection to the material world, and our survival instincts.

It is not surprising then, that as Saturn changes signs into Aquarius, the very structures we rely on are falling apart. Aquarius is the sign of brotherhood, sisterhood. It is the sign of humanitarianism, of community. It is the sign in the zodiac that teaches us about being a part of the collective and for caring for our brothers and sisters. The current crisis is forcing us to wake up to the vulnerability that is felt by many on a daily basis. Every day there are children dying of hunger, of people dying in war, of species of innocent animals being wiped out as a result of human madness. Now on a global level we are forced to experience the fear of death, something a majority of us turn a blind eye to when we are just busy living our every day lives. Saturn in Aquarius is asking us to examine and if necessary tear down the structures that no longer work. And while it may feel like a painful thing in the beginning, it is a restructuring that is quite necessary.

This is an opportunity for us to open our hearts and think about what kind of society we can create if we consider ourselves as a collective rather than individuals. By the time we arrive at the end of the cycle of Saturn in Aquarius, a majority of us will have been confronted by the disease that plagues all of humanity, the disease of separation. As long as we continue to believe that we are separate from the very Earth whose resources we pillage, that we are separate from the intricate web of interdependence that is our very existence, our behavior will reflect this perception of separation. We are being asked by what is happening around us to wake up to this illusion, to wake up and help create a different world through embodying a new consciousness. Right here is a good place to bring in the Mars-Jupiter-Pluto conjunction in the sign of Capricorn.

Jupiter is the planet of expansion, of higher mind and the ability to see the grander picture. Mars is the planet of action, drive and aggression, and Pluto is the planet of transformation. These three planets in the same sign aligned very close to each other create quite a combustible energy. If channeled properly, this configuration gives us the opportunity to rise above our lower, animal instincts (Mars) and experience the transformation (Pluto) of a higher mind awakening (Jupiter). The interesting thing is that even this planetary configuration has a Saturnian quality to it, because it is happening in the sign of Capricorn. As a collective, the human race is being asked to pay some serious karmic dues.

These lines from the short story ‘The Bound Man’ by Ilse Aichinger, express quite eloquently the archetypal lesson that we have to learn from Saturn:

“The Bound Man awakens one morning to find himself bound from head to toe. He accepts his fate. He never questions the fact that he is bound while others are free. His limitations have been caused by some cosmic force he does not even try to understand. He is bound; that is a fact of his existence, and he must confront the new situation with cunning and skill. He adapts. He makes himself a free man by working within the confines of the restrictions. He gains his maximum freedom whenever he finds himself in harmony with the ropes, which, rather than limiting him, afford him a kind of freedom he’s never before enjoyed.”

Non resistance is the key to reaping the gifts that Saturn has to offer us. If we surrender ourselves to the disciplining of the Lord of Karma, we will discover a new kind of stability and endurance.

The New Moon in Aries tomorrow has the promise of helping us to do exactly that. This new moon has one major aspect, a conjunction with Chiron. In order to understand how these energies blend together, we need to look at what these planetary bodies represent. The Moon is our subconscious, our emotional self, our inner longings. Chiron is our deepest wounds, it represents our core healing potential. While Chiron shows us where we hurt the most, it also speaks about where once we have healed, we have the ability to share this healing with others. This is an opportunity for us to delve deep into our hearts and allow ourselves to feel and experience everything that surfaces. All the fear, all the uncertainty, the heart ache. And as one of my teacher says, this is the most beautiful opportunity for us to meet all of this with the purity of our spiritual hearts, with its innocence, so that we may die to the pain, the fire in our hearts and be reborn again from the ashes, awakened.

So in these times we have a choice. We can crumble and be afraid and be swept up in the hurricane that is swirling all around us. Or we can surrender to the deep self that is within us, we can surrender to the love that dwells in our hearts and we can then know what it means to be the eye of the hurricane, wherein lies the true power.