the dark moon in Aries

First off, alongside the dark moon in Aries, today marks the solar quarter day of the Equinox: Spring Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, Fall Equinox in the Southern. The word equinox breaks down into the Latin equi — equal, and nox — night. Equal night and equal day, the Equinox holds the balance of daylight and the darkness of night in perfect equilibrium. A moment of steadiness, it’s a pause in the rhythmic breath of life before a new song and a new tempo picks up. 🎶

Let’s not forget that these Quarter Days are determined by the start of an entirely new astrological season. We welcome the moment of this Equinox with the start of Aries season — a whole new start to the astrological wheel. Aries is the Cardinal Fire sign, it is the big initiatory energy of the zodiac with rocket-like enthusiasm able to fuel the new growth that has been biding its time beneath the Earth’s surface, waiting for its springtime moment of reemergence.

Doubling down on this energy of renewal and rebirth, the Dark Moon in Aries graces the sky moments after the Equinox and Aries season begins. The stars seem to be trying awfully hard lately to make sure we listen in and have every chance possible to embody the wisdom and message of the astrological moment — the past few astro seasons we’ve seen the Dark Moon slip in so close to the start of each season, I’m starting to feel like someone “up there” is really trying to drive a point home.

But this is the last month this will happen for a while as we will close out Aries season with a second Dark Moon in Aries. What’s known as a “Black Moon” — when two Dark Moons occur within the same astrological month (basically the Dark Moon version of a “Blue Moon”).

An Aries Dark Moon speaks to initiations, to the newest of new beginnings, and to receive two of these in the season that marks such a shift in Solar energy (and increase in the North and a decrease in the South), this feels like a powerful moment to reckon with what we are choosing take big action and initiative with.

Two other big astro moments mark this potent week as well: Pluto shifts signs for the first time in 15ish years, and Mars finally gets a move on out of Gemini into Cancer.

Pluto will finally slide into the Aquarian airwaves on Thursday, March 23rd. It’s important to note though that this is a short stint for Pluto here, before he backtracks into Capricorn again in June. We won’t see Pluto post up here for the long haul until 2024, so these few months are a teaser, a taster, a little intro to the overarching energetic impact of what we’re in for.

Mars has spent a surprising amount of time in Gemini, landing here in August of 2022 and negotiating its full retrograde within the sign of the Twins. This transit has been putting whatever area of your life is ruled by Gemini through the ringer — it’s like Mars has been there playing the role of drill sergeant, making us count out our push-ups.

The shift into Cancer will likely be a welcomed relief in a lot of ways, but it comes with its own disclaimers. Mars in Cancer is not its strongest placement. Cancer craves connection and weaves threads of care meant to blanket and nurture all who learn how to make it past the hard outer shell.

Mars wants action and change and has little patience for slowly woven tapestries that decorate a well-made home, it’s more apt to cut to the quick and leave frayed hems. Mars in Cancer is two steps forward another back and to the side. There’s a passive-aggressive element that comes with this combination, not unlike my favorite don’t-piss-off-a-Cancer gif ⬇️

So with Mars here until late May, take note of the heat that bubbles under the surface, the actions that come out awkwardly, the confrontations that make you want to scuttle sideways. We each attend to our tendencies with different approaches, so there’s no one way to “deal” with Mars in its proverbial Fall — all we can do is have awareness of how it impacts us and bring that consciousness to as many moments as possible.

Alright my friends — I hope this Equinox shift proves nourishing and invigorating for you. May the Aries initiation open up new portals and potent possibilities for you! 🌱

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Journaling prompts for the dark moon in Aries:

🐏 Find Aries in your birthchart (the glyph looks like ♈️) — this Dark Moon holds the potent energy of initiation and some oomph to get you going. What are you hoping to kickstart in the area of your life ruled by Aries?

🏺 Find Aquarius in your birthchart (the glyph looks like ♒️) — With Pluto headed into this area of our charts for brief stint, what are you preparing to see a shift with when it comes to the part of your life ruled by Aquarius?

👯‍♀️ Find Gemini in your birthchart (the glyph looks like ♊️) — How has this area of your life been getting a “workout” since August? What big lessons are you taking from Mars’ extended stint in this sign?