New Moon in Aquarius: The Witnessing Mind

Today, we have a New Moon in Aquarius the Water Bearer. A cosmic, progressive and mental air sign, Aquarius pours a stream of fresh consciousness upon us, waking us up and inspiring our hearts.  Ruled by both traditional Saturn and revolutionary Uranus, the Water Bearer is both logical and intuitive.

We have two New Moons this year in the sign of the Water Bearer (the next is February 18), a rare occurrence. The future-planning seeds we plant in our minds now are especially potent. Where to begin? We examine the stirrings in our inner and outer lives for clues. Use the Aquarian gift of detachment.  Just as if you were a scientist, with an objective approach, ask: What naturally and logically happens next in my life?

 

Many clients and friends are experiencing tremendous challenges and life-and-death situations. Some are questioning their core relationships, wondering if they are in the right partnership, or if their marriage is healthy for them. Some people are losing relatives through death, and the rug feels pulled out from underneath. Others may be on the brink of a major scientific or creative discovery, pounding out long hours in the laboratory or at the keyboard, with a hunch it's going somewhere, but not sure.

All of those emotions that have been stirred up through the imminent Pluto-Uranus square have exposed any muck that needs to exit our lives – it’s all been brought to the surface. Now, we draw upon that natural drive of curiosity we have carried since childhood, and look more closely. Remember, we are not only being asked to change, we’re being pushed to downright evolve; therefore, we need embody a great deal of insight to overcome our innate conditioning, which carries an incredible amount of inertia. Once again, the keen insight and impartiality of Aquarius come in handy. You can see clearly now: Where are you chained by your inclinations, desires, proclivities?

The Witnessing Mind
 
This is the time of Aquarius, the scientist, the great observer.When we don our witnessing hat, we can handle whatever we are going through much more gracefully. We don’t have to judge it – it is, ultimately, neither good nor bad. It just IS. We can watch ourselves attempting to change the situation, and we can watch ourselves succeeding or failing at making desired changes. We may see ourselves at our most magnanimous, or our most childish. No judgment.

With the non-attached tool of the witnessing mind – pure, objective awareness – we can simultaneously experience whatever is happening and remain immune to a great deal of suffering. Spiritual practices (sadhana) can be very useful. Examples include meditation, hatha yoga (asana), selfless service (seva), studying sacred texts or words of wisdom (jnana), or simply striving to change your attitude to one of gratitude. Whatever helps you get a little perspective and see things in a non-judgmental fashion – that’s a good way to cultivate the witness.

Try this: 

Examine the events of your life – past or present – as if you were watching them happen to someone else, or in a movie. Be fearlessly, totally objective. If you remove all identification and judgment of the events and behaviors of yourself and others, how much would the story you are telling yourself change? Can you see how getting a little distance can be a powerful, freeing tool?

Achievable Vision

This New Moon is in a harmonious sextile with workhorse Saturn, newly in the fire sign of Sagittarius. This gives us the gift of long-term vision. What do you need in order to achieve that great dream of yours? Do you need to go back to school? Move towns, states, or even nations? Sign up for a year-long course with a spiritual guide or yoga training? If you’re really honest with yourself, what needs to happen in order to get from A to Z over the next two and a half years of your life? Now is the time to take a bird’s-eye, non-attached view. Your dreams are achievable, and this New Moon offers a jolt of mental fortitude.

Aquarius, being a fixed sign, is very good at finishing things that others sometimes leave by the wayside. One of the ways the Water Bearer creates freedom in the life is through freeing oneself up of responsibilities by meeting them in the first place. Free yourself by meeting your obligations, so you can move on and be done with it. This is one trick to a happy life.

It can be hard to get Aquarius' concentrated air energy moving –there’s a lot of resistance there – but when the activity starts, it’s like a steady wind steering a sailboat straight into harbor. Sail on.

Mercury Retrograde: January 21 to February 11

The day after this New Moon, Mercury stations and is retrograde from January 21 through February 11, adding another important flavor to this lunation: don’t be afraid of revisiting old material and situations that you feel you’ve already spent ample time addressing. Perhaps you NEED this second look in order to better understand, using your keen eye of detachment. Maybe you need to update a marketing plan, a class, a tax strategy.

In fact, why don’t we just get the bulk of our 2014 taxes done during Mercury Retrograde, waiting until later to file them (after Mercury’s direct!) but getting everything ready now? Won’t it feel good to have those taxes done early this year?

And, as per usual with Mercury in reverse – be sure to dot your i’s, cross your t’s, and carefully scrutinize any new contracts you might be entering into at this time. Back up your computer, and avoid buying major mechanical, electrical, or computer equipment until this time blows over where possible. It’s a super time for repairs, redux and redo.

Erin Reese is an author, spiritual guide, astrologer, and modern psychic reader based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She works with clients all over the world. For readings and spiritual counseling by Skype, phone or email, contact her directly. She can be reached at erin@erinreese.com.