One-way Only

Lo and behold! After years of waiting, the new order is being born during this first lunation of the year. Like all newborns, it arrived demanding attention … and space! Space currently occupied by the old order. A birth in astrology is represented by Aries, the first sign of the zodiac, whose ruler, Mars, is currently in its sign. Mars in Aries symbolizes the purity of action often required for the most transcendental endeavors. Recently, it pierced the armor of disinformation that kept alive a victim mentality used by the decaying old order. For years, such mindset was exploited by populists posing as saviors while enacting their politics of extraction. Furthermore, in a few days ago, Mars demolished the foundations that could be used to rebuild the old order. Bridges we just crossed fell and forward is the only direction of travel.

In our philosophy, every cycle happens for a reason, a desired outcome already present at the beginning of the cycle in a seed of potentiality. A few days ago, we had one of the most dramatic new moons in recent memory, when the inevitability of the new order was exposed in plain sight. During the waxing phases of action, and just after today’s half-moon crisis, Uranus will enter Gemini definitively and the old order will be left to die of inanition, as it will be revealed by the full moon.

Important Recap

I began to prepare this article before the full moon in Libra but I needed to spend the last two weeks tending to a personal situation. However, even though the new moon in Aries has already past, we need to look at recent events through the astrological lens of the waning phases discussed in the last article.

On April 1 or 2, depending on your location, we had a full moon in Libra whose Sabian symbols gave a perfect representation of what transpired in the Iran war. While Trump was making a televised statement, simultaneously claiming victory and the need to continue the hostilities, his rhetoric was falling in deaf ears, bringing to mind the impetuousness and adolescent frustration of Sun’s symbol (“An unsuccessful bomb explosion”). Meanwhile, the rest of the world engaged in the imaginative play suggested by Moon’s symbol (“Children blowing soap bubbles”).

Frustrated, Trump threatened with the complete annihilation of Iran but the symbols became even more poignant at the half moon in Capricorn, when a ceasefire was announced as we collectively tried to make sense of such a nonsensical display of bravado. We mentioned that although Sun’s symbol, “A pugilist enters the ring”, would normally speak of overwhelming power, its presence after the unexploded bomb stressed the fact that the boxer was just entering the ring. On the other hand, Moon’s symbol, “A relay race”, spoke of baton passing.

Indeed, if we have learned anything from the recent events in the Iranian and Ukrainian wars, is that asymmetric warfare has changed the dynamics of power. Undoubtedly China and Taiwan are taking notes of how the US and Russia have been stymied by the efforts of Iran and Ukraine.

Disinformation was Wounded

In the preview for 2026, we discussed the activation role of Mars as it forms conjunctions with every other planet this year. Mars entered its sign, Aries, on April 9 and it soon formed a conjunction with Neptune, the planet whose processes include the dissolution of hard facts. This was significant as it occurred when Viktor Orbán was voted out of power in Hungary after serving 16 years as Prime Minister. Orbán had coined the phrase “illiberal democracy” to refer to his particular form of dictatorship, in which rigged elections were held a few times during his tenure. The following chart shows the Mars–Neptune conjunction:

The Sabian symbol for Aries 3, where the conjunction took place (2°39′), has the image: “A cameo profile of a man in the outline of his country”. Diana Roche gives it the theme: The Icon and makes references to Chief Sitting Bull, Queen Elizabeth and Lucky Luciano as representatives of the American Indian, the British and the Mafia. One could say that, indeed, Orbán became the symbol of Hungary and, more broadly, of a fascism able to blossom under the cloak of a populist savior. On the other hand, Dane Rudhyar further explains the symbol as the sustaining power of the Whole, as the individual identifies himself with Its life. He talks about the avatar ideal, through which an individual can truly represent the Whole of his natal environment, be it local, planetary or even cosmic in nature, ensuring his Participation in a Greater Life. In this sense, the symbol could refer to Péter Magyar, the opposition leader who will be Hungary’s next Prime Minister.

The other aspect worth mentioning was the square formed between Moon (Aquarius 28°08′), which in mundane astrology represents the people of a nation, and the fascist tendencies of Uranus in the anaretic degree of Taurus (29°20′). Even though Orbán was trailing in the polls, nobody expected Magyar to obtain the two-thirds supermajority with which he will be able to undo many of the constitutional changes that had undermined the rule of law for so many years.

The Fog Finally Lifted

In mundane astrology, Neptune represents the collective mentality; for example, the tendencies we normally associate with fashion. Pisces, the sign it rules, is often characterized as a “catchall” phase, where all of what was accomplished during the ending cycle is mixed into an amorphous goo. Neptune transited through Pisces from February 3, 2012 to January 26, 2026 and engulfed humanity in a collective fog that gave us faux saviors and fake news for fourteen years. Moreover, Pisces will remain free from social or transpersonal planets until 2033, when Jupiter will enter the sign.¹

However, even after Neptune left Pisces, other planets were left transiting through that sign until Mercury entered Aries a couple of days before the new moon, quickly followed by Moon. As a result, we had seven planets in Aries, counting Chiron, since April 15. Such an enormous amount of energy in the first sign of the zodiac meant one thing: the time for action had arrived. Astrologers have talked about this new moon for years, for it was the first new moon in Aries without a single planet in Pisces since 2012, so there is no energy for looking back. The new moon arrived on April 17, at 4:52 a.m. in California, 5:52 a.m. in Mexico City, or 1:52 p.m. in Central Europe. The Sun–Moon conjunction occurred at Aries 27°29′, as shown in the following chart:

This chart presents a powerful seed for the entire lunation. The planets in Aries are actually organized as a four-planet stellium in the early degrees and a triple conjunction in the final ones. The stellium consists of Neptune (2°48′), Mercury (3°24′), Mars (5°58′) and Saturn (7°34′) working hand in hand. Incidentally, the conjunction of Neptune and Mercury was exact ten hours earlier, at the same Aries 2°48′ where Neptune is shown.

Many Processes Begin

When a planet enters Aries, it begins its own functional process, consisting of an orbit around the zodiac. Regarding the stellium, Neptune began a new 165-year-long orbit on January 26; later, on February 14, Saturn began its cycle, which will last 29½ years; and Mars started its own on April 9, to be completed on March 19, 2028. I will keep Mercury out of this discussion because its cycle is closely tied to Sun’s apparent orbit, given that they will never be more than 28° apart from each other, or about one sign.

Generally speaking, a stellium includes a number of conjunctions, each one starting a relationship process between the two planets involved. Such is the case of every new moon, when the relationship process between Sun and Moon, the lunation, begins about once a month. Looking at the new-moon chart, in addition to the Mars–Neptune process that began on April 12, Mars also started another one with Saturn on April 19, as we will see shortly. Whereas both of those processes will last approximately two years, let us not forget the 36-year-long process between Saturn and Neptune that began on February 20 and was discussed in a previous article.

Energies for Action

At Aries 5°51′, the midpoint of the stellium’s outermost planets, Saturn and Neptune, was exactly conjunct Mars which therefore became the focal point for the stellium energies; and it did so from its own sign! Furthermore, the exact sextile between Mars and Pluto (Aquarius 5°25′) injected truth-power to the configuration. Mars will urge the other planets to act and no longer dwell on the pointless ruminations of Pisces. Even Saturn, who had only been in Pisces since March 2023, will be able to build structures, although it is not totally comfortable with Aries’s inherent recklessness.

Neptune is arguably the planet most affected by a Pisces to Aries transition and this entrance into Aries was especially significant, a truly momentous birth for a planet that is simply too comfortable in Pisces. However, it is being called to usher humanity reach a higher level of consciousness. Of course, the task requires the three transpersonal planets to act in unison, which is why the sextiles with Uranus and Pluto are providing the needed support, but Neptune has to lead the way because this transformation must be rooted in compassion, not in power as when Pluto led a similar Minor Grand Trine during the Second World War.

Neptune prepared Saturn during a year-long dance that culminated with their February 20 conjunction, and now it is paving the road ahead. Mars received instructions for the next two years and its actions will be made in accordance to the higher plan but, at the same time, Neptune had to leave behind the baggage it had collected since 1861, when humanity was beginning to act under the earth-centric paradigms. Any transition causes nostalgia for what must be left behind and the last fourteen years have seen a nostalgic attempt to return to the “good old days”, as evidenced by the “Make America Great Again” slogan of Trump’s dystopian movement.

Goodbye to Victimhood

And last, but definitely not least, Mercury in Aries will not mince words. It will become obvious that the emperor has no clothes and that the old ways, rooted in evasion and subterfuge, will no longer work. The time has come to confront our daemons, both personal and collective, and move on. The victim mentality that prevails in today’s populism, and which has infiltrated our lives through social media, will no longer have power. People will be looking for leaders who do not blame others and instead act decisively. At a personal level, it is time to face our fears and move past them, perhaps awkwardly at first, but always in one direction: forward.

Healing the Hero Within

Chiron (Aries 26°41′) has an orbital period of about 50½ years but, due to its eccentricity (0.37), it doesn’t spend the same amount of time in each sign. In fact, it has been in Aries since February 2019, slowly moving through the farther portion of its orbit and reaching its aphelion (farthest point from the sun) in May 2021. Throughout this transit, Sun and Chiron have formed an annual conjunction but this one was special. At 26°38′, it was the final one in Aries because Chiron will have moved on to Taurus next year.

We have said numerous times that Chiron represents a deep psychological hurt that makes us feel very insecure. Overcoming the Chiron hurt is not only possible but highly desirable since it then becomes a source of strength, even though the hurt never quite goes away. In a natal chart, Chiron in Aries causes insecurities related to the sense of self, often to the point of being unsure if one deserves to exist. In a world chart, Chiron in Aries will resonate with our personal Chiron, regardless of sign, because it makes the hurt personal and related to our self-sovereignty. The new moon conjunction was essentially a triple conjunction with Chiron and it will give us energy to work on healing our own self-identity during the lunation.

Sabian Symbol

The Sabian symbol for Aries 28, where Sun and Moon were located, has the image: “A large disappointed audience”, which Rudhyar rephrased as: “A large audience confronts the performer who disappointed its expectations”. He expanded it to the necessity for mature preparation and self-criticism, with the keyword of Responsibility. Given what has transpired, especially with respect to the war in Iran, the symbol deserves some scrutiny since it may serve as a coherent link through the remaining lunation charts.

This is one of the images Marc Edmund Jones tagged as having a “reverse symbolism”, or carrying a negative connotation, and commented on the danger of an individual becoming disillusioned as a result of “making the momentary mood of the masses any proper guide for the values he should pursue”. In other words, the degree emphasizes being true to self. Diana Roche says the symbol “speaks to the disillusionment that can occur when too great a dependence is placed on things external to oneself”.

Rudhyar reminds us that this is the third symbol in the final quintuplet of Aries, normally a symbol of synthesis from what the first two propose as thesis and antithesis, respectively. Aries 26: “A man possessed of more gifts than he can hold”, represents an obsession by potentiality, a Warning against undertaking more than it is safe and sound to attempt. Aries 27, where Chiron was located, has: “Lost opportunity regained in the imagination”, a revision of attitude and inner reevaluation, through creative imagination, after attempting too much, and failing in some of those attempts. In Aries 28, the performer is made aware of the entire situation raised by the two symbols and what matters is to handle the disappointment responsibly.

Containing the Action?

Unfortunately, the Mars-led stellium had so much energy for action that handling disappointments responsibly was simply not going to happen in the Iran war. On Friday, the day of the new moon, Iran opened the Straight of Hormuz when Israel agreed to stop bombing Lebanon, only to close it again a few hours later when the US didn’t lift its own blockade of the same straight. On Saturday, an Indian oil tanker was prevented from sailing through by two gunboats of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard after it had apparently received permission earlier. And on Sunday, a US destroyer opened fire and disabled an Iranian cargo ship in the North Arabian Sea.

Astrologically speaking, on the same Sunday, two days after the new moon, Mars formed a conjunction with Saturn at Aries 7°52′. In fact, it was a triple conjunction with Mercury in the same Aries 8 degree, at 7°06′, as shown in the following chart:

Normally, when Mars and Saturn get together, the latter functions as a sobering influence in the pursuit of wants and the desire for action of Mars. However, in Aries, the most Saturn can do is try to organize the release of Martian energy. As we have said, however, Saturn is simply not happy in Aries, for it is asked to structure the action quickly. Once again, this was evidenced by the haphazard approach to the ceasefire and the subsequent end-of-hostilities talks in Pakistan.

Let’s go back to the story we have been weaving since Neptune and Saturn entered Aries, the solar eclipse activated the keys, and their conjunction moved a boulder which opened the passageway to a world of air-centric paradigms. We ventured into the passage and this conjunction of Mars and Saturn has widened an internal chasm with the original entrance such that the bridge we just crossed collapsed and is now laying in pieces at the bottom of a deep canyon. The image is clear: this is a one-way passageway, there is no going back to the earth-centric world, even if we wished.

At a personal level, we should take the new-moon symbols at heart and act responsibly. The entire lunation is one of action, there is no doubt about it, but Saturn in the stellium can provide “adult supervision” so our actions are not reckless. Listen to the lessons told by Chiron and work on regaining lost opportunities through action rooted in creative imagination.

Everything is Known

The Mercury­–Mars conjunction occurred a day later at Aries 8°36′. It was the fifth conjunction between those two planets in the last six months, which is highly unusual; they will not form another conjunction until 2028. Since October 20, when we had the first one in Scorpio, Mercury and Mars have made sure that humanity knows the shenanigans of politicians and other individuals, and this was no exception. On Monday, three different opinion editorials were published with the same theme: Trump has mental problems impossible to ignore; as the story goes, the emperor is walking around nude. Since Saturn was only 0°37′ away, the triple conjunction was exact and, sure enough, a continuation of the ceasefire was announced, this time for an indefinite period. However, yesterday (Wednesday), with the triple conjunction still operational, Iran attacked a couple of tankers.

Another example of how everything is being known happened on the same Tuesday of this week, when Sir Olly Robbins, a civil servant in the UK, was deposed by a parliament committee on his role in the appointment of Peter Mandelson, a close friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as ambassador to the US. The details are not important but he was fired by the Primer Minister last week, when The Guardian published that Mandelson had failed a vetting process but was appointed ambassador anyway. Robbins testified that he had been pressured to bless the already-announced appointment and even presented an environment where people in “#10” (the designation used for the Primer Minister’s residence, similar to the “White House”) routinely requested cushy jobs in foreign embassies for people with no experience and, worse yet, dubious morality.

A Dramatic Financial Situation?

The issue we face this month, about being self-critical and true to self, will face tonight what will seem like an external test, when the First Quarter phase begins just half an hour after the powerful conjunction of Venus and Uranus, both with Moon in Leo 4, whose Sabian symbol has the key phrase: Dramatize One’s Achievements. The chart for the half moon in Leo is:

Taurus is the prototypical sign of accumulation, it is said to behave almost like a black hole in which everything is assimilated and kept. Therefore, it is the sign of wealth, ruled by Venus, the planet of relationships, including financial ones. Since technology is one of the archetypes of the Uranian process, Uranus in Taurus has come to symbolize digital finances and, more recently, cryptocurrencies. It would be logical to assume that a conjunction of Venus and Uranus, in the last degree of Taurus (the anaretic degree), will have an impact in the cryptocurrency market, especially when it will occur two days before Uranus will leave Taurus. The Sabian symbol for the last degree of Taurus (“A peacock parading on an ancient lawn”) has been associated with aloofness and pride although it also represents poise and a gift for dramatizing the best in society. Rudhyar gives it the keyword: Consummation.

Sun (Taurus 3°56′) will be at the vertex of a T-square configuration with Moon (Leo 3°56′) and Pluto (Aquarius 5°26′), giving strength to the Moon–Pluto opposition that often empowers emotional decisions. The image of Sun’s degree (Taurus 4) is: “The rainbow’s pot of gold”. This is a curious wording that places the emphasis on the rainbow and not on the gold at the end of it. Indeed, Rudhyar talks about riches that come from linking the celestial and the earthly nature, pointing out that, in Genesis, the rainbow is the symbol of the Covenant of God with Noah. We should remember that all wealth is the result of “commerce”, that is, the result of a commingling of minds and of contracts and thus based on faith and the validity of a promise. In the current cryptocurrency bubble, there is an almost overwhelming faith on what the technology can achieve which, unlike any riches coming from a celestial source, has inflated the pockets of many oligarchs, including the Trump family who has its own cryptocurrency.

Arrival of the Last Elder

This coming weekend, the long awaited transition of Uranus from Taurus into Gemini will finally take place. Uranus is the last transpersonal planet to exit its Yin sign, a powerful event with the following chart:

Uranus will immediately complete a Minor Grand Trine in Yang signs with Neptune (Aries 3°06′) and Pluto (Aquarius 5°29′) to help humanity raise its collective level of consciousness during the next two to four years. Even though the Uranus–Pluto trine will be wide at first, the configuration will be strong because the midpoint of Uranus and Pluto, at Aries 2°45′, will be right next to Neptune. It is worth noting that Uranus will still be conjunct to Venus (Gemini 2°16′) and form a square with Moon (Leo 29°52′) that will be exact fifteen minutes later when Moon enters Virgo. Speaking of squares, let me call your attention to the exact one that Sun (Taurus 5°49′) will form with Pluto.

Uranus tends to enter a sign with a big splash and, even though it is many times more comfortable in Gemini, who can forget that the day it entered Aries and began a new 84-year-long functional process, March 11, 2011, there was a nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan? The two entrances into Taurus were similarly dramatic. First, on May 15, 2018, the Kilauea volcano eruption reached a “red alert” in Hawaii and the Northeast U.S. was hit with severe thunderstorms and straight-line winds that cut power to 600,000 customers and left 5 people dead. Uranus entered Taurus for the last time on March 6, 2019, just before two back-to-back fatal plane crashes: a DC3 in Colombia on March 9, and the Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 next day, which killed all 157 people on board and grounded the Boing 737 MAX fleet worldwide. Let’s hope for nothing of the sort this time.

We will be talking a lot about Uranus in Gemini, a phase in its process where it tends to innovate in the area of communication. For the first few years, it will form a trine with Pluto in Aquarius, the sign it rules, impulsing a relentless search for truth that will change the world dynamics.

It’s Time to Move On

On May 1, we will have this lunation’s full moon. It will occur at 10:23 a.m. in California, 11:23 a.m. in Mexico City, or 7:23 p.m. in Central Europe. Sun will be at Tauro 11°21′ and Moon at Scorpio 11°21′, as shown in the following chart:

In Buddhism, the Theravada tradition holds that the Buddha was born, attained enlightenment and passed away (Parinirvana) on a full moon with Sun in Taurus and Moon in Scorpio, and Vesak, or the “thrice-sacred day”, is celebrated in May for this reason.² In tropical astrology, it symbolizes the polarity of assimilation, accumulation and, more importantly, attachment, against exchange, excretion and detachment. Taurus is the sign of solid forms, notably the planet, while Scorpio is the sign of change and in some cases metamorphosis. Most people are incredibly uncomfortable with the Scorpio energies and tend to gravitate to the solidity and safety of Taurus, and this happens to people with planets in Scorpio as well.

Before we look at the Sabian symbols of Sun and Moon, let us look at two important aspects: the conjunction of Mercury (Aries 27°20′) and Chiron (Aries 27°32′), and the square between Mars (Aries 16°56′) and Jupiter (Cancer 19°01′). Mercury and Chiron share the new-moon degree with its symbol of a disappointed audience that emphasizes being true to self. With surgical precision, Mercury and Chiron symbolize the realization that the hurt produced by the old order, the disappointed audience, can only be mended with the energies of the new paradigms of Uranus in Gemini.

The square of Mars and Jupiter, which will be operational for over a week, is the prototypical aspect of bravado, an obvious problem for the situation surrounding the war. At a personal level, it can serve as energy to act courageously when managed properly.

Sabian Symbols

The symbol for Taurus 12 (Sun) has the image: “Window shoppers”, further explained as the fascination of the youthful ego with the products of its culture. The symbol makes a reference to Socialization of Desires, its key phrase. Taking the symbol more literally, it can symbolize visualization, looking at options and spotting potential.

Meanwhile the image for Scorpio 12 (Moon) is: “An embassy ball”, which Rudhyar expanded to group-consciousness, as it flowers at the highest level in cultural interchanges between representatives of the elite of the ruling class. The emphasis, both he and Roche write, is in the Display of power, prestige and wealth.

In the context of what we are talking, it is important to note that the store is closed and there is no opportunity to acquire whatever the shoppers are desiring, even if that is the old world, for the store may not open again. The West cannot buy the hegemony it can still see in the shop. However, at the embassy ball the new world is being organized, that is where decisions are being made, where the action is. That said, it is an invitation-only affair and those clinging to the old-world paradigms did not get one; all they can do now is window-shop.

Faith Brings Peace

The full-moon symbols make it clear that we will see a contrast between people still trying to obtain something from the old world, the “window shoppers”, and those who will be engaged in co-creating the new world. A week or so later, when we will try to make sense of it all, the half moon in Aquarius will arrive with the following chart:

The Sabian symbol for Moon (Aquarius 19°15′) has the image: “A large white dove bearing a message”, expanded as the answer of spiritual agencies to thorough, sustained and victorious individual efforts. It tells us that someone who has been true to self, as the new moon requested, will receive, as it were, a deep spiritual blessing: “Mission accomplished. Peace be with you.” What the “message” is depends on the particular situation, but the white dove always signifies peace. It symbolizes the result of what transpired at the embassy ball at the full moon. Furthermore, Moon and Venus (Gemini 19°01′) will form a same-degree trine which will ensure thoughtfulness and harmony in whatever the message says.

A seemingly minor but important point is that Pluto (Aquarius 5°30′) will have just started its retrograde motion, moving at barely 9% of its average speed. As it moves backwards while Neptune and Uranus are still moving forward, the Minor Grand Trine will begin to tighten in preparation for it being exact in July. The new-world energies will begin to flow as we get deeper into May and early June and we will soon talk some more about it.

Wrapping Up…

As we ventured into the “passageway”, it was dark and cataclysmic, but the result was not a wasteland. Instead, we are seeing a world where the “white dove” of Gemini-and-Aquarius intelligence (the Uranus–Pluto trine) is the new currency. The US hegemony is being replaced not by another tyrant, but by a decentralized message of peace that requires active compassion (Neptune in Aries) to speak the new language.

Remember that the lunation is not about avoiding disappointments but discovering how to handle them responsibly, after constructive self-criticism and, above all, being true to self.

Enjoy the full moon on May Day.

Always Love. 🌹🙏💖

Notes

1. Last year, on March 30, Neptune entered Aries for a few months and Saturn did the same on May 25, which meant that there were no planets in Pisces, except for Moon once a month, until September 1, when Saturn returned to the sign. However, since both planets began to move retrograde back to Pisces in July, we only got a brief respite from the Piscean fog. ↩︎
2. It is worth noting that scholars disagree on whether all three events happened on the same full moon. Furthermore, other traditions, such as Tibetan Buddhism, celebrate these events on different days. ↩︎