Heavy Hitters in the Skies...New Moon in Aries by Isis Ward The New Moon in Aries every year heralds a time of rising sap, bursting blooms and other sexual excesses. This year is no exception, however we have much more to contend with than floral libidos. As we sit contemplating the dark moon and its accompanying urges, Mars in Taurus square Uranus starts poking us in the ash kettle. Besides being strangely erotic, it is also infinitely annoying. We feel restless, irritable, full of ideas and desires that are slow to manifest. It is after all, only the begining of baseball season and the starting lineup promises quite a spring. The Sun and Moon conjoin (as in every New Moon) and trine a retrograde Pluto in Sagitarius. We feel this as an urge to move ahead with our plans and personal development, which is stymied by a need to uncover and heal the past...especially the deep places that built our current personal philosophies. We must examine what is true rather than what is convenient or habitual, a practice which seems most detrimental to accomplishing goals in our usual manner. It is hard to move forward when you are dragging a 300 lb. weight made of outmoded belief systems. Venus in its own sensual sign, Taurus, aids in the healing process as it is trine Chiron, the wounded healer where he dwells in Capricorn. The message she is trying to convey (between bon-bons and foot massages) is a soothing message of deep contentedness. Like Ferdinand the flower sniffing bull, she wants us to all just get along, enjoy life while Chiron makes sweet promises of spiritual and worldly success if we just move a little closer to the highest truth. We feel the echoes of the planetary placements at a new moon through until the full. Until that time, we will feel the pull of Venus seeking personal healing and comfort against Neptune seeking an improved state of healing and comfort for the planet, as well as the Martian desire for accomplishment on the material plane. The trick of balancing these energies lies in awareness. If we examine our teams, we see that Saturn, normally a loner, goal oriented type, has joined up with his previous arch nemesis, Neptune. This was not Saturn's choice; he was traded into an air sign, Gemini, where he is forced to work with Neptune in Aquarius. Saturn has changed his style to a lighter one, bunting where he would normally go for a grand slam. Examining the good of the whole versus his own good. Neptune encourages him to lighten up and see the wider picture, seek out win-win situations. This will be especially important in May when Saturn opposes Pluto once more (the first time this happened was Sept. 11--fortunately repeated transits usually signify intensive transformation rather than the same old thing). Jupiter in Cancer comes up against Chiron in Capricorn--an opposition which often signifies intense opening of psychic awareness. Because Jupiter is inconjunct Neptune, we experience this more as strengthened intuition rather than outright clairevoyance. This heightened intuition tends to be fairly self-focused. We seem to automatically fall into situations that benefit us personally. And we get a repeat of the desire to build an empire without leaving the comfy chair--except that by valuing our surroundings, we do change the world around us. If we clear the Plutonian air and come into balance, we begin to value equally our emotional lives and our "productive lives." We can begin to place as much emphasis on developing peaceful internal and relationship lives as we do on building profitable worldy lives. If we root for the Saturn Neptune lineup, we see that quality of life for others benefits us as much as quality of life for ourselves. Sharing information, sharing encouragement uplifts everybody. Listening to Jupiter, who has been sent to the bench for speaking his mind, we listen to our gut, even when it seems to lead us away from the crowd. Trusting that intuition takes us more deeply to honest expression. Although this is desireable, it is important to remember that with Mercury and the Sun in Aries and Mars in Taurus, we should be aware that knowing something to be true does not mean it has to be said or acted on. Often awareness itself can change a situation...and just as often, forcing change before the proper moment can be disasterous. The skies invite us to listen deeply before acting, to place ambition well behind truth in our batting order.