The New Moon on March 26 at 6°08′ Aries is the first lunation of the astrological new year. With a stellium in Aries consisting of the Sun, Moon, Mercury, and Venus, we definitely get a sense that it’s time to get off our collective duffs and go for it!

The most important aspect to the luminaries is a square from Pluto in Capricorn. The square, or 90° aspect, is often regarded in a negative light, but it often presents us with opportunities to discern what is really happening. Bernadette Brady, in her book “Predictive Astrology, The Eagle and the Lark,” describes a square as forcing action in new areas and making it impossible to blame anybody effectively, so results stimulate actions rather than decisions.

In the case of the square between Aries and Capricorn – both cardinal signs with very different styles for taking action – Aries may have to acknowledge that it’s better to think before acting, while Capricorn must see the value in taking a risk now and then. We are at the very beginning of Pluto’s journey through Capricorn, and this New Moon is not only the beginning of the astrological new year but the first one activating Pluto. The issues brought to the surface now, both collectively and personally, are those we will be asked to work on for quite some time.

With both Mercury and Venus conjoining the New Moon, it would appear we will be called on account for snap decisions regarding values. In fact, the process of learning what is truly valuable in our lives and letting go of the rest is very consistent with Pluto in Capricorn. Learning how to live better with less is going to be an ongoing theme, so we might as well start now!

Mars, who rules Aries, is in gentle, slippery Pisces and semi-sextile retrograde Venus in Aries. Aggressive behaviors will not be very effective now. Choosing tact, patience and an indirect approach will be rewarded. In other words, instead of yelling at someone who doesn’t agree with you, try responding by first acknowledging their right to feel the way they do. This is a common technique taught to front-desk people everywhere to defuse angry patrons and clients. After Mars moves into Aries on April 23, joining a direct Venus in Aries, asserting ourselves will get a lot simpler.

An interesting relationship in this chart is the inconjunct between Jupiter in Aquarius and Saturn in Virgo. An inconjunct is an aspect always seeking balance but never quite finding it. Say Jupiter is promoting a wonderful clean energy program, guaranteed to benefit many people. That sounds like it would appeal to Virgo’s eco-friendly side, but because Saturn is representing Virgo, it responds with, “How are we going to pay for this?” This type of discussion is taking place from the boardroom to the family room under the influence of this aspect.

Neptune and Chiron continue to travel closely together, in a waxing semi-sextile with Uranus in Pisces. It’s as if there is a bell tolling in the background reminding us of what is truly important: We live on a small, lovely planet and we need to work on respecting that fact instead of ignoring it. The time has come to set aside our differences and celebrate unity and life.

The Sabian symbol for the New Moon at 7 Aries is, “a man successfully expressing himself in two worlds at once”, with the keyword PROFICIENCY. The question here is what compromises have been made to achieve this level of success and at whose expense? If we are in a position of authority (Pluto in Capricorn), are we sharing the benefits of our success beyond our immediate family (New Moon)? A good, decent person I used to work for failed badly in this regard and is now suffering the consequences.

Whenever Pluto aspects a New or Full Moon, it’s a good time to take stock of our obsessions and unreasonable expectations. This hasn’t happened since the New Moon in Capricorn in late December, so we may need a reminder to peel our fingers off of whomever or whatever we’ve become overly attached to. In this time of new beginnings, it is more important than ever to give each other room to breathe and grow.

posted by Neith . . .

**Please read Pat’s weekly forecast for this week, March 23, for her thoughts about this curious week.

Of course, today is the day to write your New Moon abundance checks! Here’s how.