As the Sun moves through the constellations, once again we find our selves at the beginning: Aries. The zodiacal sign of Aries has over the years, earned my admiration. Full of vigor, can-do and the enthusiasm of perpetual springtime, Aries has the power to turn away from the past, the whole 11 signs that came before.  After swimming with the Fishes, Aries juts chin out and in an act born of defiance & Truth makes this moment, this life, this day, brand new. No other sign can claim that.

Sure, I have admiration and even love for this sign. But I don’t look forward to this season.Planets in the hot, dry, barren sign of Aries are often uncomfortable, and unlike say, Taurus, which offers plenty to look forward to, I rarely look forward to the hot, edgy, difficult, impatient season of Aries when people get fed up and pissed off. Individually, when planets transit the sign of Aries in our chart, the possibilities are many, but generally there is an impatience to get on with things that have been holding us back, frustrating, bothering us. Like a shot of adrenaline, the rush of this is what and who I AM infuses the blood stream, and just as the spring bud forces it’s way through a branch, whether (we think) we are ready or not, it is time to make new choices and decisions for our self. The opposite of indecisive, sensitive-to-others Libra, Aries is the sign of self-ish decisiveness.

Uranus in Aries offers this New Moon it’s dispassionate, awakening energy . It’s not about caring about what others think (Libra), feelings (Cancer), or your social status (Capricorn). Uranus is known for it’s jarring objectivity; as a planet it feels metallic, amped, edgy, emotionally detached or dissociated. It’s not a warm fuzzy planet, but there’s a place for that in life. You wouldn’t want, say, Neptune or the Moon as an EMT on the scene of your accident for example, because Uranus, who can shut down all emotions and efficiently get the job done, is a far better ally. As friend or lover, instead of hugging you through a difficult crisis, Uranus cuts to the chase by turning you onto their Buddhist teacher, or telling you that it’s time to look at your father issues, and consider their job done. You may look at them like they’ve just grown a second head, but there you have it.

Well, that’s all right. It’s not time to sing kumbayah and hold hands. It’s Aries time. Time to make new choices, and be a little more detached about it all. Uranus aspects this New Moon. If it aspects your chart, you may experience a shocking awareness. Maybe you suddenly know your job will end, your relationship is changing, or an old dream is fading away; you may see a pattern in your self, how you are holding your self back. It comes on like lightening, but lightening coming from within your self, lightening you need to integrate into your life — because once you’re given Uranian knowledge,  you can’t send it back. You can’t turn away from your true self. To experience this self-knowledge is to feel like a shaken up soda can with heat under it, from all the pressure to break free.

No, I don’t enjoy Aries season. I have Libra, Cancer, Aries planets. I just looove the agony of having to check my Aries (Moon & Mars) impulses against my hypersensitive and others-oriented Libra/Cancer side. Before I make any decisions, I have to diplomatically consult others, and not hurt their feelings -which goes on forever because, well, it takes that long for others to figure out how to make you happy, versus doing it yourself. But this Aries season is Uranus-in-Aries season, too, which has an odd new tilt to it: when you know you need a change, you gather courage & just do it.

This is how it happens: you’re graced with a shock of precious Uranian self-knowledge that you know can liberate you, and in that wild moment, your body on fire with the truth and self-love and the courage to do what will free you from what you have been longing to be freed from, you know what you need to do. You also know that sometimes you’ve got to do it without asking permission. No one’s asking Libra what she wants- not today, anyhow. There may be pain (there usually is), but once you know the truth…it’s better to rip that band-aid off all at once.