New Moon & Total Solar Eclipse in Aries

What does it mean to truly face yourself and the world around you?

Hey witchy kids,

I want to start by taking a deep breath. The world is buzzing, on edge, roaring like a wild animal, cornered and alone. The aches we feel are both personal and collective; the hinges of imperialism groan as the masses force open the door to let something new, more hopeful, come to pass.

The intensity of eclipse season has observed deadly power outages, earthquakes, outrage over U.S. tax dollars funding the collective punishment of over one million civilians on the brink of famine in Rafah, in the south of Gaza.

“Astrology isn’t political,” well…maybe yours isn’t. But astrology doesn’t exist in a vacuum. As the war drum of Aries beats louder and louder, the only thing more deafening is silence.

Our personal and collective liberation, heralded by Aries, reminds us there is no shining knight coming to save us; hop on the damn horse and do it yourself.

We must weave together the micro and macro as we call upon the cosmos for insight and relief. Aries season, joined by Mercury, demands to know: “What do you refuse to be silent about?” Your worth in relationships, the raise you deserve, the injustices happening from Sudan to Congo to Palestine.

Mars in Pisces doesn’t know how to carry it all. Saturn stands beside her like a splint on a broken bone, holding us upright. May we grow stronger in the face of collapse, he seems to say.

(My boyfriend just walked into my office and read the first paragraph. I selfishly said, “I’m worried people might unsubscribe if I say this.” He replied, “don’t let your fear of perception stop you from standing in your truth.” My Leo king!)

The symbolism of a solar eclipse

I want to highlight the wisdom of Navajo culture. Simply put, they believe the Sun is dying, and it is taboo to watch. “Jóhonaa’éí daaztsą́,” means "the sun is dead.” Then it is intimately renewed by the Moon. (Just like how you don’t gawk at someone who is ill, or knock on your parents door while they are otherwise occupied, they avert their gaze with similar logic.)

I’m enthralled by the overlap of all systems and beliefs. In western astrology, the Sun represents self and ego. Combining these would imply in the days & months following this solar eclipse, we will experience an ego death of some kind. 

The area of life you’re affected

The house of 19° Aries is where you are being karmically invited to initiate an ego death that serves your most empowered future self. (Click here for a tutorial to find the house.) This can be uncomfortable, but abundant breakthroughs are often preceded by “oh fuck” moments & white knuckling. Let’s observe what area of life this may be happening for you!

1st house: It’s OK if you don’t know who you are right now. When an ego death happens in the first house, your sense of identity is forced back to the drawing board. Trust that it’s the not knowing which makes room for answers, so stop putting pressure on yourself to figure it all out; by doing that, you make it hard for your new truth to breathe. 

Incantation: By claiming my uncertainty, I am making room for who I am becoming. 

2nd house: What are the most precious resources in your life? Are you valuing them accordingly? Old forms of sustenance may have lost their flavor or grown stale. A bank balance might not be worth more than the decisions you’ve made to get there. What new values and principles do you want to base this next version of yourself on?

Incantation: May I have the courage to define abundance in new ways. 

3rd house: speaking with intention and personal authority means knowing when to get quiet + comfortable in silence. As you step more into your own power, where is the silence really loud? You may be required to re-introduce yourself to the people around you. If you have siblings, conflict may arise that pops a bubble between you. Where could you say more, and where could you say less? 

Incantation: Every version of me, past and present, deserves a voice. 

4th house: An ego death here looks like turning into someone your family might not recognize. You might need your loved ones to play an expedited game of catch-up, or set boundaries to protect your personal identity around them. There is karmic exploration around what your role is in your family’s legacy, what your soul signed up to work on, and who you may trigger just by existing… 

Incantation: I cannot be everything to everyone; but how can I feel more peaceful with where I am now? 

5th house: Everything you put out in the world requires you to maintain an innate faith in its worthiness and potential. This eclipse brings you face-to-face with your own perceived limitations. You might think you need a designer to change your website or a producer to make your songs… The invitation is to be your own knight, creatively — to champion imposter syndrome by acquiring the tools that advance your gifts.

Incantation: What else is required for the dream, that is within my domain?

6th house: When an eclipse occurs around your daily routines, you may feel like you don’t recognize your life. You might be going through the motions right now. The cosmos are pulling out the defibrillator, shocking you awake. What relationship with yourself are you cultivating to jumpstart the passion that moves you daily? Where can you get revved up about life again? What has become habitual that no longer serves you? Deconstruct routines for the sake of consistency, if joy is not present.

Incantation: I am my own ride or die. I’m ready to show up for myself in ways that reflect that. 

7th house: The hardest thing to do when a relationship is on its final leg, is to simply observe. The ego either wants to escape, or cling. To make up its mind or be done with it. Stop over-intellectualizing your feelings! You don’t need to write a dissertation on your gut instinct; it’s your intuition because it is unspoken. There might be too many cooks in the kitchen right now! 

Incantation: Even in a crowded room, my truth is the voice I hear most clearly.  

8th house: You’ve been putting off taking a leap of faith. Embodiment of “the fool” reversed. It might feel like the universe is forcing your hand. There is no audience for what comes next, no choir of resounding yeses or validation… There is only you, and that thing you’ve been thinking about doing… The cliff awaits, but I trust you can build a parachute on your way down.

Incantation: Nothing and no one can keep me from my fullest potential. 

9th house: What do you do now that you’re king of the castle? I’m convinced endless seeking is driven by the realization that the moment you get what you want, you become engulfed in a canyon’s echo of “what ifs.” There is some mountain you have recently climbed, so enjoy your hard earned jewels. The next adventure will find you. It’s okay to savor and take inventory of the peaks you’ve summited right now.

Incantation: I love who I am and where I am when there is nothing to seek or chase. 

10th house: You’re either in a position to ask for help, or offer help. Take notice of what you’ve accomplished as a result of owning your voice and public identity. You’ve taken an active role in building the current chapter of your legacy, but some new idea or business is bursting from the seams, ready to break new ground soon. Before that happens, how can you pay it forward?

Incantation: I am a brilliant reverberating echo of all who came before me: I have permission to deviate into my own legacy now. 

11th house: Are you turning your back on them, or are you walking yourself home? You’ve reached a fork in the road; not everyone in your immediate circle can keep pace with your growth and evolution. This does bring up a catch 22; I heard someone say the other day, “everyone’s got perfect boundaries and no friends.“ Should you stop watering dead plants? Or maybe by shining your light, a photosynthesis can occur in your relationships that helps other people grow, too.

Incantation: Truth inspires truth. I choose me, so that you can choose you. 

12th house: There is a profound sense of isolation before a big shift that only people with this placement can truly grasp. It is a tale as old as time, when the hero of the story must journey off alone to lands of unseen riches and untold dangers. It can feel impossible to quantify or explain to anyone else, like a flower that blooms only at night. Seek communion with the empty room itself; guides, angels, divination tools… The real secret here is that you are not alone in this change. You never have been.

Incantation: May all my unseen support systems rally behind me as a new age of self is dawning. 

Onwards, witches!

To the moon and back (pun intended),
Ocean Pleasant