NEW MOON IN ARIES (28 degrees) 4:37 am PST, Tuesday, April 17, 2007.

Modern, materialistic cultures value tangible products more than our connection with the spiritual realms and the unknown. New Moons however, encourage us to sit in the dark, to be in the unknown, and to touch the infinite realms of the void from which springs all possibilities. In our society, to say "I don't know" is viewed as a weakness rather than wisdom. The three days before the New Moon is a great time to allow ourselves to be in that place of not knowing, for then we can discover something truly new. The story of the Zen Master pouring a cup of tea for a new student illustrates this principle. The Master picks up the teapot and starts to pour. He continues pouring even though the cup is overflowing. The student cries: "Master, what are you doing?" The Master replies: "Your mind is like this cup. How can I teach you anything when it is already full?" New Moons are optimal times to empty our cups, to sit in the dark and wait to be filled. Mars, the ruling planet of this Moon, is in Pisces, amplifying the message to be receptive and attuned to our intuition before taking action.

The Sun and Moon's close trine to Pluto at 29° Sagittarius makes it easier for us to see through the illusion in our personal philosophy and beyond the manipulation of our cultural conditioning. What if we are not sinners in need of redemption, but rather unbounded spirits exploring and experimenting with density? What if we knew that we are indeed the creators of our reality, that our beliefs color all of our perceptions? Pluto is making his final and deepest excavations now in Sagittarius, exposing the shadow side of religion, stripping away the lies that keep us chained to fear and suffering, and eliminating what is not based on truth and love.

This focus on authenticity is intensified by Saturn's station direct on April 19, the same day that the Sun exactly trines Pluto. Saturn has been retrograde since December 5, 2006, pressuring us to align what we are doing with who we really are. For some, that has meant quitting their day job; for others, it's been the realization that there are no real victims. Edgar Cayce called Saturn the planet of change because Saturn transits correspond with the crumbling of whatever structures have outlived their usefulness. Like God rapping on our knuckles, a Saturn transit becomes more painful the longer we hold on. Saturn stationing direct says it's time to take a big step forward. How big that step can be depends on what we have done during the retrograde period. If we have eliminated the drains on our energy, if we have set healthy boundaries and are focusing on what's important to us, things really start to blossom after April 19. Saturn stationed retrograde at 25° Leo; he turns direct at 18° Leo and comes to 25° Leo again on July 25. Saturn (a.k.a. Father Time) in Leo provides a wake-up call for everyone. Those born between 1946 and 1955 have their natal Pluto in Leo, around the degrees covered by Saturn's retrograde, and these people are being pushed to reclaim their power and share their unique gifts.

This New Moon at 28° Aries reminds us of the importance of honing one's skills as well as recognizing one's limitations. Disappointment informs us that either we have not fully applied ourselves or we are on the wrong track altogether. Use the energy of this New Moon to reflect on where your creative passion lies now, and remember that you don't have to figure it all out. These words of the poet Rainer Maria Rilke beautifully express the challenge of Aries: "I want to beg you, as much as I can, to be patient toward all that is unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer."

PLAN YOUR OWN NEW MOON CEREMONY. Give yourself some quiet time in meditation to see where you need to seed new ways of becoming. List these areas within your life you want to change. What areas do you want to break free from the norm and become more productive and discerning? The NEW MOON is the time to manifest the personal attributes you want to cultivate as well as the tangible things you want to bring to you. Possible phrasing: I now manifest ____ into my life. I am now _______ . Remember, think, envision and feel with as much emotion as possible, as though you already have what you want. Thoughts are things and the brain manifests exactly what you show it in the form of thoughts, visuals and emotions. The Buddha said, and I am paraphrasing, "We are the sum total of our thoughts up to today. " If we want to be different than we must change our thoughts. "If you always do what you've always done then you'll always get what you've always got." CONSCIOUS CHANGE is the key.