Aries New Moon and Eclipse, 2025
Hi friends,
Early tomorrow morning, we will have a new moon and solar eclipse in the sign of Aries. This is our last eclipse in this sign for a while. The next time we have a solar eclipse in Aries, it will be 2033.
If you are sensitive to eclipses, this indicates that there will be a shift for you. Whatever has been developing for you as a result of this eclipse cycle will likely find a pause point after this. If you haven’t quite figured out what that story is about, you can get started by locating what house Aries is in your chart, and think about the last year and a half. The eclipse seasons have been Libra and Aries season, so consider what has made big impacts on your life during those seasons in 2024 and 2023. (As always, I am here to answer questions.)
This eclipse is part of a Saros series that began in 1664 and will continue until 2908. I won’t bog you down with what a Saros series is, except to say that it is a way that eclipses are linked together long-term, and for our purposes they retain some meaning from their original appearance. This is series 9 New North, last seen in 2007, and I will quote Bernadette Brady in her book Predictive Astrology to describe it;
This is a very physically expressive Saros Series. Accidents, great physical effort, violence or any sudden physical events. […] The approach to take when this Series is affecting a chart is not to hide away but to undertake some physical activity, with an ever-watchful eye to safety.
Honestly, ugh. I am really feeling that the kind of eclipse we need right now is one that gets everyone to calm down and speak rationally. But that’s not what we’re getting.
Instead, we are seeing this physically expressive eclipse happen within 24 hours of a major transition of an outer planet. On Sunday, Neptune will move into Aries for the first time since the 1870s. The last time Neptune crossed this boundary between Pisces and Aries was literally during the battle of Fort Sumter in 1861.
As I have said before, I don’t want to predict doom and gloom. But this stuff just doesn’t look good.
I am trying to hold on to the astrology of it in this way—when the temperature keeps rising, it’s easy to lose touch with what “should” be “normal”. We have to periodically check in, and say, hey, what’s real? What’s up and down anymore? And astrology is one way we can do that.
The astrology of the moment is confirming for us that what’s going on is intense, scary, and abnormal. It’s confirming for us that getting prepared for it to get worse isn’t the wrong instinct. Reaching out and reinforcing our communities is an appropriate response.
I quoted this in the last letter, but I still keep thinking about what Austin Coppock asked in the March forecast episode of The Astrology Podcast.
“Is Neptune in Aries heroic—or is it violent and stupid?”
The answer is that it is both. A lot of us are going to have to be heroic because there will be plenty unheroic shit. And heroism isn’t just being the boots in the revolution; there are roles for all of us to play, including those of us who are disabled or legally less secure. Now is a moment for each of us to really figure out how to best support the people around us, and how we best keep ourselves grounded.
So for this eclipse in the sign of Aries, the sign of One, the Beginning, the Individual—I’d love for you to ask yourself: what do you do that is heroic? What do you as an individual bring to the table of your community? Ask the moon to take that talent of yours and give you a boost. Ask her for a sign of how you can strengthen this skill and how it is going to be most useful in a difficult time to come.
These might be my shortest prompts yet. Try to follow the rabbit-hole of whatever your reaction to my question is. I’d love to hear about where you go with these. We’ve recently had two retrograde planets in Aries so these themes may already be bouncing around in your head anyway.
Aries - What about your perspective of the world can be a talent for good?
Taurus - What do you understand about having enemies?
Gemini - What do you know about banding together?
Cancer - What are you already known for? What were you meant to be known for?
Leo - What’s your calling? What do you believe in?
Virgo - What do other people give you?
Libra - How are you creating mutually nourishing relationships?
Scorpio - What work are you doing? What kind of literal strength do you need to build?
Sagittarius - What art are you making?
Capricorn - What kind of nest have you built?
Aquarius - What letters are you writing? What neighbors are you meeting?
Pisces - What values do you have to share?
As we enter the era of Neptune in Aries, we leave behind the era of Neptune in Pisces. It has been there since 2011, making the things signified by Pisces difficult to access clearly. I’ll get more into that topic in my next letter.
Recently, I started reading the second volume of Demetra George’s book, Ancient Astrology in Theory and Practice. This volume deals with the houses in depth, and I’m excited to share with you what she teaches as I know that the houses are a topic that confuse a lot of us. This passage is from her introduction chapter, and I want to share it with you because I thought it was such a great explanation of, I guess, the mechanism of astrology itself, and the spiritual beliefs that come along with it, as well as describing what the houses are in concrete terms.
The nativity places each person at the center of the cosmos relative to their time and place of birth. From this center, the native—the person who is born—looks outward at the arrangement of the planets that surround them. From this Earth-centered perspective, the divine energies emanating from a single undifferentiated creative intelligence flow down through the fixed stars whose images form the zodiacal signs. Those energies are then picked up by the planets and modified in accordance with the myriad variations of planetary condition. The planets […] then transmit those energies to the terrestrial realm. Teeming with organic life, the terrestrial realm is composed of the four elements: fire, earth, air, and water. The human body shares in the elemental composition of the Earth, and according to the ancient philosophers, humans are also infused with the spark of the divine fifth element or quintessence that is synonymous with the soul.
Astrological systems divide the space encircling the Earth into twelve sectors. […] These twelve divisions are designated by the intersections of the horizon, the meridian, and the ecliptic, the “great circles” that surround the Earth. The houses represent the places on Earth where the energies of the cosmos are anchored into the physical world of everyday life. As terrestrial locations, they specify the various places where humans engage in the activities of the human condition. The houses describe the major topics of life, such as parents, children, marriage, profession, wealth, friends, illness, suffering, and religion.
In the trinity of signs, planets, and houses, the houses represent the most concrete topics of the astrological system. They embody the complete range of worldly activities that humans encounter in their earthly life on their journey from birth to death.
So soon after reading this passage, I read something that struck me in Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom by John O’Donohue. It’s the same sentiment of humans being made from the Earth and also of something more.
“Fashioned from the earth, we are souls in clay form.”
I hope you find that as touching as I do. Maybe I’m being a little sentimental to help me through all that fear I discussed earlier.
Until next time. Sending you love.
Alanna