On April 26, the Moon will be new in Aries, at 8:16am (EST, please adjust for your time zone.) Here in the fiery home of Mars, where the Sun is exalted, we have a time of new beginnings and high energy. This is a time to listen to our gut, gather our courage and go for it! Exciting and rash, the action of Aries can get a lot done, or make a mess, or both. Mars is interested in removing obstacles that stand in the way of high principles. The key to accomplishment in the coming month (rather than a huge mess) is to focus on our highest principles.
The Moon will be new in the sign of Aries, and in the Nakshatra (lunar mansion) of Ashwini. Ashwini means “the horsewomen” or “she who rides horses.” The horses mentioned here are the children of the Sun and his wife, Sanjna, which means “intellect.” So here in Ashwini our task is to get our horses, our energies, to run together in the same direction. One horse is our True Self, our highest principles and energy, and the other is our Intellect, which will help steer us when we become too heated and rash.
Ashwini is ruled by Ketu, the southern node (eclipse point) of the Moon. Ketu is highly critical, making us feel that our exciting new ideas aren’t good enough, or won’t achieve anything valuable. As we marshal our energies and great new ideas, Ketu whispers “why bother?” or “wait until it’s perfect.” Share your new ideas with trustworthy friends or collaborators if you feel overwhelmed by doubts. Make sure you work to get your horses running in the same direction—don’t leave them languishing in the stables where they have no chance of bringing something beautiful into your life and the world.
Ashwini is a place of great healing and our world needs healing desperately. Shakti practices in Ashwini reduce the level of disease on planet Earth. Offer practices on Wednesday if you can and courageously commit to implementing your highest ideas in the month ahead.