Practicing with the Planets — Fire, Desire, and the Aries Eclipse
On April 8th, at 2 PM EST, the Solar Eclipse in Aries will be fully visible in the sky. This month’s Aries new moon is a time to focus on your strength and independence as we embrace the astrological new year and prepare for the rebirth of the Scorpio Full Moon at the end of the month. With Chiron, Mercury, and Venus also in Aries, this is an excellent time to set intentions around expressing your feelings with courage. You can also experience great healing in conflict resolution, standing up for yourself, and pursuing your desires in life and love.
Although eclipse season is usually more tentative, the Aries new moon is a great time to take action and initiative toward your goals, whether they are personal or professional. Aries energy is all about embracing your will, so don’t be afraid to be assertive and confident in your decisions. This is a beautiful time to shake things up, try new experiences, and have fun. If you’ve been feeling stuck or stagnant, now is the time to break out of your routine and explore new avenues of creativity and self-expression.
Another critical theme during this period is expressing your passions and desires with determination and forward momentum. Aries season is about being bold and fearless when pursuing your dreams and desires, and I have found myself drawn to all of the themes of fires and desire at this time. With Mercury in Retrograde, this is also an energy of returning, and because Aries energy can be quick to move, this is a great time to go back and check your old work or finish up old projects.
Finally, Aries energy can help you expand your self-worth and values. This is a great time to reflect on what matters to you and to focus on building a solid foundation of self-esteem and confidence. Use this time to connect with your inner strength and cultivate deep self-respect and self-love.
Chiron’s Call to Venus in Aries: Embracing Radical Self-Acceptance
When Venus is in Aries, two opposing forces come together in harmony. Mars, the planet of passion, is at home in Aries, and Venus, the planet of love and beauty, is the opposite or complementary energy to Mars. This means that during this time, Venus’ soft and feminine energy is pushed into super drive, resulting in a surge of creativity and sexual desire. Venus in Aries can stoke the fire of high-risk romance and love/hate relationships, so there may be a compulsion to act on your feelings instead of letting them simmer.
As an Aries 7th House, I am working on my interpersonal skills by meeting with a relationship coach. Interestingly, most of the advice I received was very Venus in Aries flavored, which makes sense for the season. Although my Venus in Capricorn tends to be more logical and analytical regarding love and romance, I learned there are occasionally benefits to a more intuitive and impulsive approach to dating. Specifically, letting your desires surprise you instead of stifling them by going on adventures, leaning into feelings, and discovering what (or who) sparks your interest.
Moreover, with Chiron also in Aries, this period presents an excellent opportunity for emotional healing. This is especially true regarding balancing your relationship with yourself and others. The combination of Venus, Sun, and Chiron in Aries embodies a deep desire for connection, signifying the courage to heal, learn, and grow how to be assertive without dominating others. In reflecting on the relationship between Libra and Chiron in Aries, I have also been thinking a lot about the energy of the rapper Eminem, a Libra sun currently experiencing his Chiron return in Aries.
In the song “The Way I Am, Eminem discusses the unique challenges that come with his life as a father and celebrity, focusing on how difficult it is to manage his personal life and relationship with the public. And many of the issues that he faces are directly related to his communication style, which tends to rub people the wrong way. Similar to the themes expressed in the song “The Way I Am,” Aries is the sign of the “I AM,” because Aries is intuitive and self-assured. However, the sign’s overconfidence and impulsive energy can sometimes make relating to others difficult.
This song is a reminder that emotions can be high during eclipse season, and Chiron is the wounded healer, so people are more sensitive to triggers. Consequently, these years with Chiron in Aries focus on healing our relationship with ourselves and how others perceive us. It is an ideal time to work towards embracing self-acceptance by recognizing the parts of ourselves that define us, our “I AM” energy, regardless of what others think or say about us. We can develop self-awareness and self-acceptance by embracing our “I AM” energy and pushing past any blocks that stifle that expression.
Courage in Communication: Reviewing and Writing through Mercury Retrograde
It’s also Mercury in Aries season and Mercury retrograde, so be more understanding if your communication is a little more fiery than usual. At this time, communication may feel more impulsive, and you might ruffle some feathers with those around you. When speaking to others, this is an important time to remember Aries’s complimentary sign, Libra. By being aware of etiquette and decorum in conversation with others, you can temper the fiery dominance of communication under Aries with the more levelheaded and diplomatic social graces found in Libra.
With Mercury in Retrograde, you could also see old conflicts come back around, so this could be a time to come to an agreement or make peace. This is also a great time to speak out loud to yourself or voice some of your internal conflicts or complaints in a journal or letter. You can even reflect on the last eclipse season and how you can learn from that time. I am also bringing in the eclipse by christening a brand new journal called “Burn After Writing,” by Sharon Jones, full of prompts meant to encourage radical honesty.
Specifically, the journal states that “As adults, we learn to focus on representing ourselves in a manner pleasing to others [Libra energy],” but this journal is “the place where you speak your own truth freely, beyond any concern for how it might be viewed by others. The only space in your life where you can take off all the masks” [Aries Energy]. So, I look forward to diving into this “radical thought experiment” for the rest of the month.
But, if you don’t have a special Aries eclipse-themed journal, I have created some questions that you can reflect on during this new moon as follows:
- Where do you hold yourself back from expressing yourself, and how can you be bolder and more passionate in your communication?
- In what areas of your life do you need to take more initiative or become more independent?
- How can you use the solar eclipse energy to envision a new beginning for yourself?
- Do you embrace your inner child and more youthful energies daily?
- What have you left unfinished or unsaid in the past, or how can you tie up loose ends in the present?
I hope you use the new moon solar eclipse to stoke the fires of your most authentic self. This is a great opportunity for growth and reflection and an excellent time to express your opinions — especially if you feel passionate or strongly convicted about what needs to be said. As we navigate Mercury retrograde season, let this new energy ignite your freedom and independence in expressing yourself to others!
