You have a role to play in changing the world. Yes, you read that correctly. Now the good news is you don’t have understand how that happens. It won’t help to stay up nights plotting how to do this. In fact, any plot is likely to be upended before you get too far down the wrong path. No this is a different predicament altogether. Not to bring dark overtones, but Pluto, Lord of the Hell Realm is sitting right next to this New Moon and Sun. So the shadow factor matters. Which is why I frame it as a predicament. The good news is, when you face the shadow, you emerge the richer for it!
Mars and Mercury are in an odd standoff between a filter that still sees things through the old lens and actions that are not what you normally might choose. Which is where the shadow comes in to play. There are both dark and light actions available. One is definitely the old order of ‘power over’ or ‘might makes right’. This even applies to our thinking. I caught myself trying to muscle may way into doing something when my body wanted to sign off on effort for the day. My thoughts were pushy and tried to convince me that one more thing today meant less to do tomorrow. Except my body wasn’t interested. In fact as I tried to force the matter and do it anyway, my bad knee popped. Mission accomplished for my body. It got the last say on the matter.
What is much more appealing than force? Well, that would be joy… and why not add a side of enthusiasm. To tap into change without wading through a swamp of power dynamics, try doing what brings you joy. It really helps when you put your mind third in the line up to decide what to do. Our minds are best sifting through the details, noting the gaps between what is and what we want to be and then constructing bridges to help get there. It is NOT best deciding what to do. You need your heart for that. Except hearts have a bad reputation as unreliable, unpredictable and unstable.
Which is where the Aquarian New Moon shows us the way. Aquarius is an airy sign, very big picture and mind but it is the water bearer! As we move out of the old constructs, where top down structures rule, we need to bring our hearts front and center. When the mind is in service to the heart, truly remarkable things happen. We change. We mutate and create. Think of it as the oyster and the grain of sand. When you can’t get that irritating bit of debris out of your life, you can find your own way to make it softer and more beautiful. Yes it would be easier if the oyster could just spit that irritant out. Logic says do that. But because it can’t, it creates. So some of those obstacles and challenges are here to show you how to create your own pearl. That’s powerful.
Don’t dismay because there is a learning curve. Pluto is sitting in the Gate of Limitations until the end of 2025. There are several asteroids dancing with it this year to teach us the right use of power within ourselves first. The dysfunction you see in the world is a reflection of the imbalance with us. Like me trying to force my body to do something when it not only wasn’t necessary, it wasn’t good for me. We need to understand our own healthy limits. Not the limits we were taught as healthy, but rather your individualized blue print. That takes some trial and error to learn how to use your personal power wisely. That’s what is on deck starting this Moon cycle.
When you know that, really understand that what is happening is for you, then your creation power takes a quantum leap. This year is chock full of those moments. But go slowly. This New Moon reminds us that accidents happen when we rush. Especially when there was no need to rush. That’s a fear response to race to a result in order to bring down anxiety. Patience, kindness, compassion are good traveling companions. And guess what? Joy is almost always their travel companion! So feel your way into being one of the power people. It’s a lot more fun than you know and looks very different than what you’ve been taught. The Cards and Stars will help…
Thank you,
Lisa Greenfield
1/21/23 king of swords
Ah, the big picture view is in the cards this Moon cycle. We need it, too. Because you may not realize it by you’ve been programmed what to think. The first six or seven years is all about programming. Now add in however long you’ve been alive you’ve consumed information from the world around you. Some of these are facts, although increasingly few of them the last decade or so. Mostly they are stories. It’s what happens to other people.
Don’t mistake me, insight is helpful. When you see someone try to cross a stream only to have their car float off with them scrambling to get on top, it’s good information. Be careful crossing streams. But with Pluto in Capricorn, there is a dedication to the structure in place from the past. The New Moon and Sun are in Aquarius, but this is a fixed sign. It’s also a sign of mind, so with Mars still in Gemini, new possibilities keep cropping up. These are places where fixity is being broken up like the ice sheets in Greenland
That’s cause for joy! Not Greenland, rather the opportunities available to you. Because your responses can now come from a more authentic blend of what you picked up in programming over the years and who you are at present. You are not the same, the world is not the same. In this current picture there is more freedom to play with your thoughts and restructure your world. The challenge we have that the Moon cycle kicks in is to allow more information into your world. This King of Swords represents the experts and wise counselors in life. But the message is become an expert on YOU.
Notice what input you resist. Also pay attention to what you judge and the stories you tell about what you don’t like. Often we’ve been trained there has to be a reason to say you don’t like something. Sometimes, it just simply isn’t a match for you. No big story required. It’s either a fit or it isn’t. This keeps space for other people to be in your sphere without fitting in, which is the old tribal structure that requires individuality sacrificed in order to belong. Instead be on a joy hunt. Like the proverbial Easter Egg hunt, what delights you may be under or behind something. Pace yourself by letting the feelings of enjoyment wash over you when you do discover these places and spaces. Savor life these next two weeks and know that it savors you right back.
1/22 the world
Uranus goes direct today making all the planets in forward motion. The Aquarius Moon is squaring off with Uranus in Taurus, so picture old patterns dropping away like ice cliffs calving off and dropping into an ocean. But don’t worry, Venus meets up with Saturn to offer some stable foundation. What you love cannot be lost. It may just change form. We forget that when something ends. In fact our brain prefers to focus on how to protect us from the pain of loss instead of seeing how powerfully we created what we enjoyed so much.
Everything in you that went into that creation can go into what you do next. In fact you are the richer for your experience. So you can go on to do even more. The World card reminds us there is much we haven’t explored yet. Which is why it lovingly wants to move you out of one space and into fresh vistas. It’s healthy to grieve for what passes away. Grief loves a ritual to symbolism the movement of the emotion through our bodies. So if you feel the loss, honor that. Once you have you can move into what’s next. It can help make room for excitement and anticipation. Imagine that what is ahead can make you as happy as whatever you leave behind. Maybe even happier…
1/23 ace of pentacles
We need to do our expansion like we move food down our digestive system. Expand then contract, expand then contract. Today’s Ace is the symbol for mighty oaks that grow from tiny acorns. So small moves matter. Today the Moon meets up with Saturn and Venus before moving into Pisces. So we may feel the old power struggle within start before we are even awake. There is also a slightly tense Mercury Saturn aspect, as if to test our ability to see with fresh eyes. The past can offer us insight but not so guidance, unless you want to create more of the same.
With Mars, Eris and the Moon hitting a squabble just before midnight, you may want to do something in defiance of the past. There’s a certain self righteousness to watch out for this evening. That’s simply our ego trying to justify a desire that hasn’t fully matured yet. Sit with what you feel and what that feeling needs. Then you can work your way up to a more vulnerable request instead of a fight. When you practice this, you move out of the ‘power over’ space and into the ‘power with’ space. In that collaborative place, there is abundance beyond your wildest dreams, when you are patient with its growth. This Ace says see the tree that comes from the acorn. It’s there. It just requires tending and time.
1/24 the devil
There is a lot of celestial support for lighting a path of harmony and forgiveness today. Which is interesting to have the Devil pop up. The Devil is the place where we feel powerless. It’s also the hallmark of addictive behavior. Which, interestingly, does not occur in well-socialized individuals. Addiction has isolation as a key component. Which means you know the antidote. You have to risk disclosure in order to heal and be well. Remember you can be addicted to things that are not seen as necessarily negative. You can be a workaholic, adrenaline junky, television zoner just to name a few less obvious ones.
All of these keep you moving fast or shut down so that connection is not a risk because it’s barely possible. Spend time on what your distancers may be. Take advantage of the Pisces Moon to bring compassion to our coping skills that keep us in uncomfortable, yet familiar space. Being a power person means you know yourself as you are today. Not some carry over image from the past. Tune in to what you want and why you want it. If it’s just to right a past wrong, there may be an upgrade you can apply to improve the wish. That matters because with Sun Jupiter in easy harmony, we have ability to get more of what we wish for. So make your wish a good one; current, fully formed and aware of how many options are truly there.
1/25 empress
The Moon takes us on quite a ride today, first in easy aspect to Pluto to bring our fears out of the basement and into view. When we see them in daylight the shadow shrinks down to the space under our feet. It’s manageable. We forget that when there’s too little light on the matter the shadow looms larger than the object that casts it. The beauty of Pluto in sweet aspect to the Moon, means we are ready to stand in the sunshine and know that what we fear is not outsized. We can learn from it and refuse to let it color our current choices unnecessarily. The Empress is about abundance and the array of options in front of us is more than we could ever sample all.
Which is when fear comes in to limit those choices. It wants to make the right one. Fear wants to ensure we don’t hurt like we have in the past. Except that disconnecting from what we desire is just a different pain, not the absence of it. So life and growth hold risk. With a wealth of options to choose from our default can use fear to shut down as many as possible. Study your fear path and take command of it. We have the Moon meet up with Jupiter tonight, which expands either our fears or our magnetic ability to intuit our way forward in unknown space. Watch what you do and learn. By late night the Moon opposes Ceres. This can have us feeding our fears or deciding to nourish ourselves another way. Which will you choose?
1/26 two of wands
The Moon continues the adventurous path of yesterday as it squares off with Mercury and then meets up with Chiron. Watch your words today. This two is shared ideas that spread. So it can be easy to ‘catch fire’ with a few wrong words. How you interpret anything is your power! Are you able to be curious, ask questions and get underneath the surface? If you can’t with the person who’s words provoke a response, do it for yourself.
The Sun and Ceres sing a harmonious tune to encourage us to find a more beautiful way to see what happens. Your ability to take a heated impulse and turn it into an inspired response is one solid way to apply your stamp to what happens. It may surprise you how far those sparks of inspiration can reach if you just try. Venus moves into Pisces this evening to help lend some beauty to any solution. What will you do with your beautifying resources, hmmm?
1/27 ace of swords
This is the second Ace in the Moon cycle and two aces symbolize union. The aspects today have tension that requires a response. Whether you respond from muscle memory or are instead more aware and deliberate can make a big difference by day’s end. Old hurts, stories and reactions are part of the mix. What you do with them is your creative option. Are you willing to re-view them in light of what you can do with whatever happened? This is not happy horseshit to gloss over the pain or loss you’ve experienced. This is rather a fertilizer for growing an understanding of you as someone who lived it and can do something productive with it.
Whatever you want to do is yours to do. If you need to begin by venting, do it. I recommend putting ten minutes on the clock and letting the emotion have a place in your present so you can move it through. You take command by setting the timer. It offers you a beginning, a middle and and end. Take charge of the memory, witness what you feel both then and now, then shape it into something that informs but doesn’t decide what you want in the present. That is where you connect the past to your present while you are the sculptor. This is the most potent kind of union. Past pain can serve to inform your present without highjacking it.
Use this sword wisely. Mind the words that cut and that includes the thoughts you think about YOU. You don’t need to keep defending yourself from the past. Be present, centered and in command of healthy boundaries. This ensures you don’t repeat the same mistakes. You have all new ones to make, right. (Wicked grin) You can do this and do it well, when you are both loving and strong for yourself, here and now.
1/28 Queen of pentacles
Hmm, our ego likes to make things happen. We feel good about ourselves when we know we’ve gotten planned for results. Like passing a car or several cars on the freeway, you get a sense of momentum. Today’s Sun/Neptune aspect encourages us to hip check some ego impulses. Today is more about receiving insight, wisdom, intuitive guidance that may not make immediate sense. Can we be patient with things long enough to receive what is being offered? The Sun also squares the Nodes of the Moon, so once again we are nudged to trade ego for insight.
When you stay patient throughout the day, gather information instead of act or jump to conclusions, nightfall brings breakthroughs. The Moon trines Mercury then meets up with Uranus to give us some lightning bolts of insight. Now that you know that, let your day bless you all day long as you receive. This Queen is about the bounty of receiving tangible rewards you’ve worked to achieve. The flip side of making things happen, this is the harvest when things are finally ripe and ready. Enjoy!
1/29 prince of pentacles
This is the slowest moving of the four Princes. They represent our movement and this sturdy fellow is like the tortoise in any race. He may not look like a winner but unstoppable forward movement at a slow pace pays off. Keep that in mind today as the aspects start off with feelings of frustration or pessimism only to give way to fresh avenues to unspool as we steadily march down the path towards more life. All you need to do is put one foot in front of the other and take in the view. When you see one that really lights you up, go that way. Whether it’s an unfamiliar approach, an unlikely companion or an altogether unexplored road, feel your way. Our body can synthesize all the information our intuition, heart and mind offer and make one step more towards that win. Do it.
1/30 seven of pentacles
Patience is the theme yet again when this Seven makes an appearance. It’s also a reminder that like a gardener, you have your job to do while others have their part. The Sun shines, the earth nurtures and the plant grows. The Moon moves into Gemini and promptly squares off with Venus. So our fear may have us trying to take control of what isn’t ours to do. It’s also a reminder that we can’t plant a seed one day and expect to pull fruit off the tree the next. But a little optimism joins the mix only to get hip-checked later with a reminder to do it differently. In fact you may find yourself so excited by all the differing ways to get things done you have trouble settling down. Enjoy the enthusiasm and pace yourself. The garden will bloom in Spring!
1/31 four of swords
Rest is required today. Even if it is mental rest, it is non negotiable. There has been some real shifts taking place at a core level and you cannot keep pushing at this pace. For some people the mind is tired but the body is not. So find something that is muscle memory and do that. Let your mind go free. There is nothing to figure out or solve today that won’t be better served tomorrow. Gardening does it for me. But if your weather doesn’t allow that, find something you can do without thinking about it.
For others who have both a tired mind and body, get a good book, a nice Netflix queue or a music playlist and relax. Schedule it if you need to so that you make space for it. When this four shows up, it’s a sign that your mind has pushed your body to the limit. If you keep going you can get sick. For some people it is the only time they allow themselves to rest. If you make a conscious choice then your body doesn’t have to yell to get you to pay attention.
2/1 king of pentacles
Ah, now this manifesting King is the companion to the Queen of Pentacles just a few days ago. Like the two aces together, it symbolizes union. This union is a wonderful part of this New Moon cycle. We are at a new beginning that has your mind, body, heart and Spirit connecting for your benefit! The Moon trines Saturn which gives us a sense of sustainability in these steps we take. No matter how unfamiliar or unsure it feels, you stretch and grow with each risk you take off your beaten path.
Once you know you can do it, it gets easier to do it again. You can’t doubt yourself quite as effectively after you take the risk and survive, thank you very much. No matter if the fears crop up. They always will. The difference is you have tangible proof in your very bones to know you can do this. So don’t sweat a little mental chatter if it crops up. It’s practice to remind yourself that you’ve got this. One step at a time this King says, you’ve done and can do it again when you let all of you work together.
2/2 The Star
The Star card trumpets success when you stay open to life as you find it. There is support from a sweet combination of Moon and Venus, where what we love and what we long for come together to flesh out dreams for the future. Then Uranus gives the Moon a little push while Venus enjoys an uplift from the North Node. These aspects use your magnetic ability to attract resources, conversations and signs to tempt you to dream a little bit bigger. Don’t worry if doubts creep in to your head. That’s their job. This card is the promise that when you keep your feet on the ground and reach for big goals you reap the reward. Some of that reward is knowing you are worth your effort, your dreams have merit and the world needs you to follow that star.
2/3 Queen of swords
This second queen in the cycle is a mark of women friends who can lift each other up or tear each other down. This is a fork in the road day. This airy Queen symbolizes a need for caution. Keep the yellow traffic light in mind and be prepared to stop if old hurts grab the wheel. You can do better than rehashing old fights with new people. Words are weapons, so don’t draw blood with them.
Also be aware that our fear often shows up as advice that cautions others against expansion. We want to save them from the pitfalls we notice. No matter how well intentioned, it doesn’t help. Why not try asking questions to see if they are prepared for some of those pitfalls rather than shutting down their expansion? The people around you today offer untouched ground to build on for something better than what you’ve known. Even if it looks like the past, you’ve changed. So the outcome can already be different.
What will you choose, the path you know or the one that requires more trust. Take in all the information, whispers this Queen from her Airport Control Tower. Map it all out and then give your feedback. Once it’s been given, get out of the tower and pick a plane. Be vulnerable with people who’ve earned that right to here it. You can be stuck in an endless power struggle or you can break free with a few choices that open you up. Choose wisely.
2/4 Queen of wands
This fiery Queen serves two functions today. She reminds us to use our magnetic attraction to pull in opportunities and also serves up a caution not to burn others when expectations aren’t met fast enough. There is enough of both sides available. Which one will you spend more time shaping? Or maybe they equally offer good guidance. Three Queens is powerful feminine energy on tap. The downside is where you measure your self worth by comparison and despair.
Let the phrase ‘compare and dare’ be your motto, instead of ‘compare and despair’. One offers proof that what you see others accomplish can inspire your own version of their success. The other is afraid there isn’t enough to go around or that you don’t have something because you aren’t worth the success. Choose the version that opens you up to abundance instead of the option that reinforces scarcity mentality. What you long for, longs for you. Just not dressed as you may think it should look. Be open, be curious about your version and know that you can have your very own tailored success of whatever you see. If you only stop despairing long enough to go find it!
Wishing you well, always!
