Manifesting Your Dreams With the Black Moon in Aquarius

The New Moon is a time to look within to see what you truly desire 

   There is a new moon tomorrow, January 30th 2014 at 1:38 PM in Aquarius. This is an exciting and important new moon, for it is the second one this month! The second time a new moon appears in a month, it is called a black moon. Black moons are closer to the earth and therefore affect people more intensely. The first new moon this month was on New Year's day, and the black moon falls on the day before Chinese New Year, which is another reason why this new moon is so exciting! This is such a powerful way to start our year off and it's an important month to think about what we'd like to manifest this year. 

  
 A new moon happens when the moon is directly between the earth and the sun, aligning all three planetary bodies. This makes it a great time to align and manifest your desires. During a new moon it is a great idea to write down what you'd like to manifest. There are a few ways you could go about this; you could make a "new moon jar" writing what you desire on slips of paper and putting them inside, you could light a candle and write your intentions on a piece of paper that you put underneath, you could write a list of what you desire ( particularly New Year's resolutions this time, if you haven't already!), or you could simply meditate/reflect on what it is you truly desire. 

   
The new moon will affect everyone differently, depending on what house in your chart it is transiting through, and whether or not it makes aspects to your chart. However there is a general energy to this new moon in Aquarius that will affect everyone for the most part. To start off with, this is a great time to join groups and connect with people. Venus has been retrograde, so I know that this may not sound appealing right now, but it is going direct friday. I promise you'll be feeling more social once Venus goes direct and then you can put yourself out there! This is an important time to be yourself and to independently go after your dreams. There will most likely be a detached air to emotions, so you will have a clear mind to reflect upon your desires. Aquarius is greatly concerned with how things are going on a global scale, so this is a good time to envision what improvements you would like to see made this year to society, earth or earth's creatures.

  
 I hope you all take advantage of this wonderful and powerful energy to manifest your dreams! Much love and light and Happy Manifesting!

Aquarius: The Water Bearer

     
 The sun went into Aquarius today and will stay there for one month, so Happy Birthday to all you Aquarians! In honor of our sun's descent into Aquarius I want to talk a bit about the sign, and certain qualities that most people with their sun in Aquarius have. 

     
Aquarians are community oriented people who are most often quite friendly and personable. Relating to a group is usually important to them and they can sometimes be seen as "fad followers". They usually gain their identity through group consciousness and therefore usually do well when they are part of clubs, sports teams, social reform groups or any other kind of organization or social function. Interestingly enough, despite all the group orientation, Aquarians usually have pretty unique personalities and are most often seen as inventive, original and quirky people. Aquarians are ruled by the element of air, which is a mental quality, because of this they are usually quite intellectual people who can sometimes be seen as a bit detached emotionally, unless there are contradicting factors in the chart. They are also usually interested in technology because of the planetary ruler, Uranus and will most likely always have or at least desire, the latest and greatest in gadgets. Aquarius is the 11th stage of evolution through the zodiac signs which means that at this stage in the zodiac Aquarius examines  the existing rules and structures that have been put in place by Capricorn. They ask these questions about them, Do they protect personal freedom? and, Do they promote the integrity of the group? If the answer is no to these questions, Aquarius decides to rebel and tear down what doesn't work. Because of this energy Aquarians can be quite humanitarian and revolutionary. They have the potential to promote positive social change and to change our world for the better. They also can have a lot of compassion for the world on a global scale, understanding the unity of humankind, earth, and all her creatures. Aquarians are exactly what we need today to make the world a better place!

A Bit About Astrology and Natal Charts

©Josephine Wall

"Astrology is a language. If you understand this language, the sky speaks to you"- Dane Rudhyar

     Astrology has been around since ancient times helping people better understand themselves and their life purpose. The placement of the planets at our time of birth creates a map called a natal chart. This map shows us the personality traits, interests, circumstances, and life lessons that we were born into in this lifetime. However, we all have freewill, so not everyone will follow the path their natal chart shows them. The natal chart does show things you need to do to fulfill your life purpose though, so it would be a good idea to act upon most of the information you get from it. Some aspects in the natal chart though (such as a negative personality trait) you can exercise your freewill upon to better yourself.

             A natal chart is comprised of the Sun, Moon, the 8 planets of the solar system and the moon's nodes. Some of the asteroids can also sometimes be included in a natal chart, particularly the "planetoid" Chiron. Each of these bodies are in a specific zodiac sign at the time of a person's birth. Some planets though, such as the outer planets can be in one zodiac sign for an entire generation and therefore won't have as personal a meaning. Where the planets were located in the sky at the moment of a person's birth will decide which "houses" in the natal chart the planets will end up in. The houses each represent a different area of life where the "drama" of the planets is acted out. There are also four angles in the chart that are important, the ascendant, the descendant, the MC and the IC. These are also all colored with a zodiac sign and each can describe certain parts of life. The relationships between the planets in a chart are called aspects, they show what planets work together and what planets don't "get along" amongst other things. Another component of a chart worth mentioning, is the elemental and modality balance. Each zodiac sign is ruled by a certain element (earth,air,fire,water) and modality(cardinal,mutable, fixed). Every person has a certain dominant element and modality in their chart which can show basic personality traits and general energy flow of the chart.