“], “filter”: { “nextExceptions”: “img, blockquote, div”, “nextContainsExceptions”: “img, blockquote, a.btn, a.o-button”} }”>
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members!
>”,”name”:”in-content-cta”,”type”:”link”}}”>Download the app.
This week, it’s all about you. Whereas last month’s lunar eclipse pointed toward release, the solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, ushers in beginnings. When we release what is not ours, what is for us always reveals itself. When we close a door, another one opens.
Solar Eclipse and New Moon in Aries
The days ahead bring our second eclipse of the year, following March’s lunar eclipse in libra. There is an undeniable force etched into the fabric of eclipses. They can be felt as a turning point, a time of change related to your purpose, a time when there is something opening, catalyzing, shifting beneath the surface.
Also upon us the day of the eclipse is a new Moon in Aries. The first sign of the zodiac, Aries is all about the self, individuality, purpose, and courage. It is the unique spark of life and creativity that each of us possess.
The energies of both the solar eclipse and new Moon in Aries invite us to begin again. At the same time, Mercury is nearby in Aries as is Chiron, our wounded healer. As these celestial bodies partner in the cosmos, Mercury gathers insights through its seemingly backward spin that are required for our inner healing. The healing of self. The healing that is so foundational that it permeates all aspects of life.
Mars Conjunct Saturn
Following the new beginning of the solar eclipse and new Moon, Mars and Saturn come together in the sacred waters of Pisces on April 10, 2024.
In astrology, Mars rules Aries. In mythology, there are two very different perspectives of Mars. In Greek mythology, Mars was impulsive, reckless, aggressive, and destructive. In Roman mythology, Mars was wise, virtuous, and a protector seeking to secure peace. Two archetypes—one who knew how to intentionally its wield fire and another controlled by its own fire.
We all have Mars within us. We all have passion, fire, boundaries, and strength. We all have drive, will, and courage. While the north node is in Aries for the next year and Mercury is also in Aries until April 25, 2024, we are all learning how to work with our own Aries and Mars selves. We are exploring how we honor ourselves, our boundaries, our needs, wants, and desires. We are exploring how we express our passions and exert our strengths.
As Saturn and Mars come together in partnership, Saturn supports this exploration so that we may evolve into our own Roman version of Mars, intentionally directing our drive into what calls our name. We are invited to express our willpower with focus and patience toward longterm building. We are learning how to channel the immense force of creation that we all hold, that propels us toward our dreams and desires in a way that serves us and serves all.
Mercury Retrograde Cazimi in Aries
April 11, 2024, brings Mercury cazimi. The translation of cazimi from Arabic means when a planet comes together so closely with the Sun that it is said to be “in the heart of the Sun.” It stands for the energy of rebirth, realignment, and renewal.
In mythology, Mercury was the only god who willingly traveled in between realms. He journeyed throughout the upper kingdoms and the underworld, gathering and relaying information in between them. Ancient astrologers had the belief that Mercury in retrograde was traveling through the underworld, exploring the riches founds in the shadows.
The underworld is often likened to our own unconscious. As Mercury comes into the light of the Sun, it relays the insights from the darkness to the upper kingdoms as if it is our own unconscious coming into consciousness.
Mercury cazimi is when insights seem to appear, perspectives shift, things finally make more sense, and something changes from within our awareness. If ever there is a time for aha moments, it’s today.
Your Invitation
The eclipse portal of destiny, change, and soul growth is upon us. Each celestial movement of this week contributes to the new beginning that you are moving through.
There is an underlying strength present in the swirling energy this week. A strength that propels you to wholly claim yourself. To claim your unique spark of energy. To claim your beauty. To claim your existence. To claim the right to be needed and loved. To claim your desires, dreams, and needs as sacred and on purpose.
Let this week be about you. Offer yourself what you need. Celebrate who you are. Honor the immense growth that you have moved through to be standing here right now. Honor the experience of what it means to be you. And honor your understanding of what it means to be you even as it begins to change through the untangling, rewriting, and healing taking place this week.
Where in your life is something awakening, activating, alchemizing from within, ready to come alive, ready to transform the path of your life that calls you forward? It’s time to claim your courage to live the life that calls your name. To claim the way you channel and direct your fire, passion, and creative energy. To claim your belonging in the world. To claim your happiness, creativity, drive, excitement, life force, and individuality. And to claim your healing.
Solar eclipses continue to reveal their medicine for six to 18 months. As Mars and Saturn come together in the cosmos, it is your opportunity to create the conditions for your healing so that it can continue in a sustained, lasting, and intentional fashion. And as Mercury cazimi introduces you to more revelations from your mind, it brings the insights that will continue to sustain you.
RELATED: Mercury Retrograde Begins on April 1. (No Joke!) Here’s What That Means for You.
Learn more about the effects of the Moon on you, what your opposite sign means, and how astrology intersects with your everyday life with our astrology email newsletter.
