Pisces New Moon – Feb 20, 2023
The New Moon on February 20, 2023, is at 1 degree of Pisces. Pisces is the sign associated with compassion, empathy, and self-sacrifice. Pisces is where we lack boundaries, have addictions, or areas that we want to escape. It’s also spirituality, dreams, ideals and unconditional love. Pisces rules water, chemicals, liquids, and shipping. It also rules all places of confinement; jails, quarantine zones, hideouts, and monasteries.
The new moon is a time of new beginnings and new moons also illuminate whatever is nearby. What is nearby? Saturn! Saturn is getting ready to leave Aquarius. While Saturn has been in Aquarius it has brought restrictions and responsibility in groups, humanitarian efforts, friendships, and our hopes and dreams. That Saturn transit was strongly shaped by the pandemic. Restrictions on seeing our friends, responsibilities to society, and authoritarian actions by the government to enforce all of this were the main themes. Freedom became a bad word!
Next month Saturn will move into Pisces and this New Moon illuminates a sneak preview of what Saturn in Pisces will be like for the next 2.5 years. The lessons will be around all things Pisces! Set intentions for the New Moon, but also set intentions for the next 2.5 years. Embrace the Saturn energy in Pisces by setting intentions for building structures them; Commit to limitations around your addictions. Set intentions for cleaning up your cleaning supplies and chemicals, getting rid of the ones that are outdated and adequately labelling the rest. Create a discipline around your spirituality; a meditation practice, sacrifice having meat or make time for church. Commit to your own confinement; schedule a silent retreat or pilgrimage. Those commitments may sound like hard punishments or penance, but they prepare us for a larger mission.
The New Moon is making an out-of-sign conjunction with Saturn currently at 28 degrees of Aquarius. Saturn is also with the asteroids Crantor and Damocles.
Damocles brings in a situation in which we feel in over our heads. In mythology, Damocles was a courtier of King Dionysius II. He envied the King’s life, seeing it only as pomp and riches. He then had the opportunity to do a “prince and the popper” switch with the king. Once there he found that along with the pomp and riches, was danger. This he didn’t expect or prepare for! Damocles warns us to be careful of what we wish for. And if we still want it, to prepare for the unexpected.
The second asteroid in our New Moon story is Crantor. Cantor is a character in the story of Theseus. The Centaur Demoleon, a brutal warrior who has no moral code and who only cared about war, throws an arrow at Theseus. Theseus jumps out of the way and Cantor, an innocent bi-standard, takes the arrow and dies. To make matters worse, there is rage, because Cantor had been given as a peace offering. This energy makes us feel like we are an unnecessary sacrifice. It makes us feel angry. We question why we or others are still fighting. And why there is unnecessary harm? It also cautions us to be aware of our surroundings. This is further supported by the Sabian symbol for the New Moon; A squirrel hiding from hunters. The Sabian symbol reminds us of the need to protect ourselves, to be aware of our surroundings and to be fast and nimble.
Happy New Moon in Pisces!