The New Moon conjunct Jupiter and opposing Saturn is a good month to expand upon your foundations and build something lasting for the future. It is also a good time to stop doing all the things that aren't working and find new avenues of productivity. Remember the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Jupiter is in just the position this month to help you find a new way of things, or to branch into different but related arenas. It is time to take stock of how closely your vision of your life matches the material reality and take the necessary steps or leaps of faith to bring the two into alignment.   

     The following planets are in Aries in the New Moon chart: Mars, Uranus, Sun, Moon, Jupiter & Mercury. That is over half of the planets.  Mars in Aries is the final dispositor of the New Moon chart. So the Aries energy of impulsivity, assertion, aggression, passion, willfulness, and autonomy is exceptionally strong.  Things should be moving at a rapid fire pace and unfortunately often without regard for others or things that stand in the wake of "me first" attitudes abound and an abundance of tumultuous energy. Saturn in Libra is a great position to put the breaks on the potential to run amuck, to remind us that we need to build relations with others along the way, to consider how we are going to sustain our conquest once we obtain it, and remind us that all of our actions have karmic implications for good or ill. To the extent that your motives are selfish or lack regard of others, the more apt you are to encounter obstacles. To the extent that your motives include diplomacy and the consideration of others, the more apt you are to receive the rewards you deserve.

     The symbolism of the Jupiter-Saturn opposition in this New Moon chart becomes even stronger when we consider the Nakshatra of the New Moon (and I'll get there in just a minute, but first...). Nakshatras are the lunar mansions of Vedic Astrology. Each is 13 degrees and 20 minutes in length as that is the amount of sky the moon covers in one day. Corresponding to observations rather than the seasons, the Nakshatras are based on the fixed star constellations of the sidereal zodiac. The New Moon is in the 27^th Nakshatra "Revati". Revati symbolizes the cosmic womb of pure potentiality between the cycles of death and rebirth in evolution. It heralds new beginnings, a new realization of Truth, and can indicate a fresh start for a meaningful life.  The main goal of Revati is moksha.  Ultimately moksha is the liberation from the wheel of incarnation, for the individual soul to merge back into the universal soul. For most of us, it is going to be more along the lines of liberating our self from our attachments to material things, and liberating our mind of its self-defeating programs. This is not to say we cannot enjoy our material things or that we have to disown them. It is rather to say that we should not attach our identity and sense of security or self-worth to material things because all suffering is based on our attachment to things that come and go.

     Mercury, the planet of the intellectual discriminatory mind, rules this Nakshatra to indicate the pure awareness of the mind. Mercury as ruler of Revati is the silent observer behind the chatter the mind: the observer who does not attach to thoughts, but watches them rise and fall as they change shapes like passing clouds. In fact watching clouds is a good way to begin to get in touch with this observer of your mind and train yourself in nonattachment to thought. As you watch the clouds ebb and flow in and out of mergence as they change shape, try not to attaching it to the image of a duck, horse, rabbit, or whatever. Just observe the phenomenon of the shape shifting without fixing them into any particular shape.

     Lastly, the Nakshatras have padas which mean feet. There are four of them that indicate the Moon rising, culminating, setting, and ant-culminating while transiting through a particular 13 degree and 20 minute portion of the sky each day. To tie in with the chart of the New Moon in Revati that contains a Jupiter-Saturn opposition, these padas of Revati are ruled by Jupiter and Saturn. The first and fourth padas are ruled by Jupiter. The second and third padas are ruled by Saturn.  The first pada ruled by Jupiter is about the need for spirituality and unity, to not only step into the flow of the universe, but to become it.  The second and third padas ruled by Saturn indicate our spiritual suffering we have due to our attachments to material things, where we seek redemption from suffering by ridding ourselves of material cravings. Then Jupiter comes in again to rule to the fourth pada to indicate a rebirth of new spiritual awareness after going through the Saturn process. Being that this too is inherent in this new moon. It is a good time to rid yourself of addictions. At the end of this newsletter I will provide you with a mantra to help with that. Mantras are spoken and associated with Mercury who rules this entire Nakshatra.