Time to celebrate New Beginnings
Our second New Moon of 2022 peaks at 5:46am on the 1st of February here in the UK in the sign of Aquarius. This one heralds in a chance to finally get moving on the changes we planned back in January. Or, if you didn’t make any plans then to consider what changes you want to make this year so that you move your life, relationships and career in the direction you’d like. Not content with having awesome New Moon energies to work with every year the February New Moon also brings the Chinese Lunar New Year and Imbolc with it, two gorgeous celebrations that you can use ritualistically to move forward.
As we’re in Aquarius season and both the Sun and Moon are placed here lets look at what Aquarius stands for. Aquarius is a fixed Air sign ruled by Saturn. Astrologically Aquarians are the humanitarians, free thinking and intellectual, they can be quite cool and detached at times, appearing a little bit unemotional, but they are gifted at bringing through new ideas and new ways of being, at looking at solutions which are outside of the box, thinking about things in an unconventional way. There’s usually something unconventional that stands out about an Aquarian, it might be in their looks/dress or their thoughts and manners. When it comes to Aquarius season if you’ve found it difficult getting this year off to a fresh start now is a good time to re-commit to any goals you made back at the new moon in January.
New Moon Energies
Having the sun and the moon in Aquarius, with Uranus squaring them can mean that you might see some possible tension in work or personal relationships. This tension will be more about where you fit, where you feel you belong. You might find that you suddenly feel you no longer fit in groups that you’ve felt at home in up to now, it could be that you've just simply outgrown them, it could be that the group's developed in a way or is moving in a different direction to how you've developed and it's time to recognise where and how you've changed.
Aquarius season is a great time to let go of things, people, habits etc. as that cool detached side of Aquarius helps to cut ties to things that no longer serve us. Especially if you’re working through what steps you're going to take next for your personal, business or spiritual growth.
Remember, part of that letting go is giving gratitude for what went before. Being grateful for the connections, for what it's brought you, for what you've given back, what lessons and learnings you've gained from it, and being thankful also, for the new spaces opening up. When a new space opens up, it allows new people or new relationships or habits to step into it. Being grateful for those new relationships that will be coming into your life is an important part of your growth. It's just part of the cycle of life isn't it, learning to let go of the past. Embracing our future can mean letting go of friends or colleagues or places that have held us and supported us throughout our growth.
I mentioned in my previous blogs that this year requires us to look at what our values are, and make sure that we're aligned with them both in business and personally. The relationships that you start to build now will be important in the future in some way. If you’re not sure what work to do with this particular new moon look at where you fit, where you belong, and where you don't fit or belong, and what changes you can make so that you are in a place where you now fit.
Aquarius is also about freedom and having the freedom to grow. You might feel that with these new moon energies you suddenly feel the urge to break free from whatever or whoever has been restricting you. And remember that there's always a flip side to the coin. You might be feeling the urge to break free. But you might also be feeling even more restricted. And that's where you need to look at where those restrictions lie and how you can move forward and break free of those.
Another thing to consider is that Aquarius season is innovative, ideas flow easily, some of those ideas may be ahead of their time right now but could help us in the future. If you feel that your ideas are too huge just ensure that you stay grounded in reality, make your action plan and dare to go for it if now is the time to do so. Don't be surprised if you find sudden sparks of ideas, or you recall your dreams more. Meditations could bring you new ways of looking at life or unexpected answers to questions that you've got. Connecting to spirit now can bring through ideas and answers that will help on a deeply connective level for humanity and the planet rather than just individually, though of course that can happen too if needed.
Planetary Aspects.
This is the bit where I like to look at what we’ve got impacting over the next few weeks astrologically. Of course, there are planetary aspects daily so these are really just the highlights, or areas that I think might be interesting. I’m still very much a beginner when it comes to astrology, but I hope you find it of use too.
Mercury is still Retrograde in Capricorn until the end of the week (4th) offering us a chance to rethink or have a redo over anything regarding business or commerce. Why do you do what you do? Is it secure? Is it sustainable? Is it fulfilling you? Use Mercury Retrograde to look back at what's working and what isn't working and rethink about what you need to shift and what you need to change.
Another aspect to consider happens from the 6th to the 9th when Mars squares Chiron. Chiron is the wounded healer so you may well find that some of your wounds are being triggered at this time. If it does affect you make some time for soul care, avoid social media as this can further trigger or incite and try focus on yourself and healing.
On the 12th of February, we have Venus and Mars linking up in Capricorn. Which means looking at aspects such as our finances, how best to invest any savings that we've got, or how to financially plan so that we've got some security for the future. But also again, looking at our business relationships, especially with regard to business partnerships, and questions around our growth and development in business as well as personally.
Then we have the next full moon on the 16th rising in Leo.
February Festivals
The 1st of February also heralds the Chinese Lunar New Year, the Chinese calendar consists of 12 zodiac animals and 5 elements creating a 60-year cycle. 2022 is the year of the Water Tiger. The Lunar New Year is one of the most important festivals in the calendar for Chinese and the focus is primarily on home and family. One of the wonderful traditions is to clean their homes physically and spiritually. Honouring the ancestors through ritual offerings such as food and paper icons is another important part of the celebrations and personally, I find this really appealing.
Chinese Lunar New Year
If we look back at the last few years 2020 was the year of the Metal Rat, which when you look back on Chinese astrology, you can see was about survival. 2021 was the Metal Ox, which was more about getting used to and settled into a new an altered reality. And 2022 is the Water Tiger, which indicates big changes, tigers are male, yang energy, they don't like being told what to do. They are more about adventure, risk taking and motion. In a Tiger year change can happen out of the blue. Water as an element is emotion, as is the moon. Water Tiger emotions are around building family and personal relationships, and whilst they have the ambitious side of the tiger energy it’s more on a collective rather than individual basis. This is the year to look at where you want to make changes your life before we herald in the Water Rabbit in 2023.
Imbolc
We also welcome in Imbolc on the 1st too. I’ve mentioned previously about the New Moon being a time for rest and reflection. It's a slow period where you set intentions, plant seeds, and make new plans, but it's not a time of action. Save that for the full moon coming up in a couple of weeks. So, it's also quite apt that this is the time for Imbolc, which is spring. Traditionally Imbolc is the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, which this year falls on the first of February. Imbolc is about the goddess Brigid, the patron of healing, art, fertility, poetry and music, but also prophecy and agriculture. What else would you expect from a Goddess of spring? Her day marks the first day of spring and the start of the lambing season here in the Northern Hemisphere. A promise of renewal, hope, life and the light returning, unearthing hidden potential. At this time of year there's a lot going on under the earth that we don't see, bulbs starting to put up sprouts, plants coming back to life, the trees are starting to bud again. So, in nature too the hidden potential is coming to life. Choosing to work with The Goddess Brigid means letting go of the past and welcoming in the future, making space for new beginnings. Again, one of the traditions for Imbolc is spring cleaning your house, much as they do in the Chinese New Year. It's also a time for wish making and dedicating, aligning perfectly with working with New Moon intention setting. Not only is it a great time to plant new seeds personally, but also to physically plant new seeds. Sow those seeds with intention and nurture them along with the Goddess Brigid until they’re ready for planting out in late Spring. When I was considering what Imbolc is all about, and what it means I found this lovely tradition which is to bake a seed cake to mark and celebrate the new beginnings that are happening. I’ve shared the recipe at the bottom of this blog if you want to have a go at making and sharing a cake with your family and friends to mark the start of spring and celebrate any new beginnings coming in.
Crystal Grid for Aquarius New Moon work.
When I looked at which crystals I wanted to use to work with this New Moon I felt that the aspect I wanted to work with was the eccentric, eclectic humanitarian side. My work has been about helping whoever I can for over 20 years, and it feels more important now to not only continue that but to deepen the offerings, to make changes and shifts to how I work to fulfil my soul purpose. And being an Aquarius rising I too like to look at ways of doing things differently.
So, working with that energy of looking at where we fit in, where we no longer fit in, what we want to let go off, and reaffirming any intentions that we set back in January, refocusing our energy back on what we want this year to be about I decided that rather than go with my traditional Moonstone I’m going to use Black Moonstone.
Black Moonstone is absolutely stunning. Said to help us connect to the energies of the Divine Feminine, more grounding than the creamy white moonstone they work well with New Moon energies when the sky is dark and connect us to creativity, to new ideas and thoughts. Use them when working with your spiritual guides on planning a way forward or accessing information on your soul purpose.
Lapis Lazuli a stone used by the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans for manifestation and power. It’s the universal symbol of wisdom and truth but it also brings harmony to relationships and helps with intellectual thought and speaking your truth. Ideal when you need to access higher wisdom and spiritual guidance.
Azurite is a stunning blue in colour, a sacred stone worn by high priestesses and priests of Ancient Egypt. Used by the Native Americans to access the spirit realms and communicate with sacred spiritual elders, by other ancient civilisations to work with soul energy its known as a very spiritual stone. I’m using it not only for its connection to spiritual guides but also because it’s great to use to remove any blockages that might be present and may be preventing me from carrying out my soul work on the level agreed to.
Shungite, matt black/grey in appearance I keep a Shungite pyramid in my treatment room and a smaller one at home in my office. Not only is it said to protect from EMF’s but it’s also a very grounding and protective stone spiritually.
Moldavite formed from a meteorite falling to Earth it looks almost glass-like in appearance but is the most gorgeous green in colour. It’s a stone of connectivity which in some can activate the heart chakra bringing about emotional releases. I’ve seen people resonate very quickly with it, and others who have to work with it slowly whilst they attune to its high vibrations. I use it to facilitate spiritual as well as personal growth and to connect to my heart and soul.
Chrysocolla, this peaceful, calming stone also helps with communication enabling us to access wisdom and speak with compassion, humility and truth. It’s known as a Goddess stone and promotes working with goddess energies to help us share our wisdom for the benefit of all. Worn and used by wise women throughout the ages if you’re struggling to express yourself creatively this is the stone for you.
All of these are chosen to facilitate the work that I'm doing with setting intentions, finding my place and where I can best serve humanity and best serve those people around me that are looking for guidance or looking for help with their spiritual growth and development. So, think about what the energy of this New Moon means to you, and how you can best work with it. Consider what crystals will support you in that work. And remembering that when working with New Moon energy there are different ways of doing it, you can set your intentions by:
writing them out as a wish list,
creating a vision board, either physically or digitally such as with Pinterest.
have a new moon bath, embrace the water cleansing you, the shedding off the old and embracing the new again.
create a crystal grid with relevant crystals for the intentions you’re setting.
Remembering always that it's all about setting your intentions, working on your growth and development, moving forward and what you can offer, but this one is also about where you fit and belong.
Imbolc Seed Cake
Here’s the recipe for the seed cake via goddessandgreenman.co.uk. If you do have a go, I'd love to see what you create, I'm certainly going to have a go it feels like a lovely tradition to bring in. And in addition to my usual Lunar Rituals this year I’m creating space to plant our seeds for all the vegetables that we're planning on growing this year, as well as some of the new plants that we want to put in the garden. Don’t forget to share your photos if you are celebrating the Chinese New Year or you're working with The Goddess Brigid and celebrating Imbolc.
Seeds are full of possibilities. Tie it with silver, or white, or green, or any combination of ribbon.
Simple Seed Cake
You need:
Flour 300gms/10oz
A pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
Butter 125gms/4oz
Caraway Seeds 25gms/1oz
Sugar 175gms/6oz
Two eggs, beaten
Four tablespoons of water
Set the oven to 400F/200C and grease and line a 6 inch cake tin.
Sieve the flour, salt and baking powder into your cauldron or a large bowl and then rub in the butter.
As you do this think of family and friends, think of the small personal things that you would have them benefit from as Spring flows into their lives.
Visualise light flowing into the mixture, fire of truth and illumination, if you wish, use a rhyme.
Stir in the seeds and sugar and then the eggs, mix with just enough water to give a mix that softly drops off your spoon.
Stir in patience for the coming Spring, this is still a time of waiting.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for one hour, then reduce the temperature to 375F/175C and cook for a further half to one hour until the cake is golden brown and well risen. Leave to cool in its tin.
May you enjoy.
Happy New Moon x