New Moon in Aquarius

The first new moon of the year occupies the sign of the rebel along with planets Mercury and Pluto

Fiona Smallwood via Unsplash

The new moon in Aquarius arrives Wednesday Jan 29th, 2025 making it the first new moon of the year. This new moon has an Aquarius stellium, highenting the energy and lessons of the water bearer at this time and setting us up for the energy of not just the year, but the next two decades. This is because Pluto in Aquarius is making a conjunction to this new moon, reminding us that it will be in the background of all things that take place from now until it changes signs in 2043. The new moon also is making a harmonious and positive trine with Jupiter at a tight orb which is filling this moon with optimism and adding an essence of blessings and benevolence to the things that take place during this lunation. 

New Moon in Aquarius 

This new moon is conjunct Mercury Pluto and the sun all in the sign of Aquarius. Aquarius is the rebel, the revolutionary, the innovator, the humanitarian, the mad scientist, the outlaw, the outcast – the outsider. Aquarius, like its sister sign Leo, is concerned with the question of the Self within the context of the collective, and vice versa. It represents the figure eight of infinity that holds on one side the individual on the other the collective, a never ending loop feeding itself with no end or beginning, a symbol representing the illusion of separation between the two sides, or circles. Impact one and the other responds. This is the knowledge that Aquarius holds, the true meaning of existence here as a human on earth – that we exist within and without. That we belong here inherently and yet we must still also carve out, and fight for, our own place of belonging here, and for others. 

This new moon marks the Lunar New Year and we have moved into the year of the snake. The snake is a symbol of rebirth in most cultures, and it speaks to our ability to change ourselves from the inside out. Removing layer upon layer of what is not real, truthful or us to reveal the true nature of who we are. Each layer could represent a conditioning or an untruth that we live with, something that we have hid behind, something that we have outgrown and yet it remains a part of us. Its worth noting, that for the snake the shedding of his skin is actually quite painful. And for us, of course, it is as well. Letting go of the things we have come to know, the things that have provided meaning, certainty and identity for us is a scary and vulnerable process. We tend to know the layers, the things that are not actually us, better than we know our true selves, oftentimes. Getting to know who we are, as individuals or as a society, without these things – these identities, beliefs and values – is a awaited and uncomfortable experience. Tempting is it to crawl back into the old, dead skin. Are we courageous enough to let go of what is known and comfortable – albeit terrible – in exchange for a journey of discovering what is authentic and truthful? This parallels the numerology year of 2025 which is a 9 year. 9’s are all about cycles –  endings and the emergence of a new beginning. 

Jupiter in Gemini Trine New Moon in Aquarius 

Jupiter, the Great Benefic, is a planet of optimism, blessings, enlightenment and expansion. When it makes an aspect to the new moon it brings a sense of purpose and flow to the situations and events that take place. However, though Jupiter is a planet that often brings us things that we want or things that benefit us it can also be a place of over-indulgence and excess. Too much of a good thing is in fact, always a bad thing and that is one of the lessons Jupiter teaches. Since Jupiter is making a trine aspect to the moon we don't have to worry too much about the shadow side of him as long as we remain aware of this possibility and are mindful of keeping balance. With that said, this new moon is a good time to indulge in pleasure (for pleasure's sake) or work to expand your mind in some way. Whatever you do, be curious and ready to pivot if needed – that’s Jupiter in Gemini for you, it's adaptable, mutable, endlessly seeking and questioning. These are some of our main lessons and guidance for the next 5 months until Jupiter changes signs into Cancer. 

Jupiter is reminding us that even in the face of many obstacles, power struggles and events outside of our control what we do have control over is our mind and our perspective. That is the direction the arrow is pointing to answer our questions of, what do we do?; what can we do? Knowledge is power, but as far as Jupiter is concerned he may instead say that wisdom is freedom. The emphasis right now is on freeing our minds and finding our strength from broadening our perspective and allowing ourselves to grow – quickly, rapidly yet in real time. 

Pluto in Aquarius 

You don’t need astrology to tell you that human rights issues are going to be in the backdrop of everything going on now for quite some time. But, astrology confirms this as well. Pluto in Aquarius is bringing these violations – that have gone on for generations, centuries and more – into our field of vision, into the field of vision for everybody to the point where it cannot be ignored or covered up any longer. This is going to be our challenge and our task in the years to come. To work to make this world a place fit for humans, where humans are allowed to thrive, to live their lives as they are meant to, with beauty, fulfillment and love, where basic needs are not just met but valued as inherent and unarguable rights. If that sounds idealistic, is that not pretty messed up? And that's exactly Aquarius’ point. We often look at our hopes and dreams of a better future as something that could never be, yet why? Human kind continues to progress in unpredictable and unprecedented ways. How could we ever judge what is possible in the future by what has happened in the past, or by what’s happening today? Aquarius’ ruler, Uranus, is the planet of shock and this is because it brings insights, technology and innovations that benefit society from seemingly out of the blue, leading us into brand new, and unexpected territories. The power of innovation can certainly be used for evil, but Pluto in Aquarius is attempting to remind the people that they have a say in how this goes, in the direction we take as a species. That the real power lies not in institutions and structures – lest we forget that an institution is simply made up of individuals and not its own entity – but that the power lies in people joining together (like the existence of the institution). 

Recap 

This Aquarius heavy Aquarius new moon invites us into introspection and curiosity while we reside in the dark for this time. Jupiter guides us towards a path of enlightenment, expansion of our beliefs and perspectives and urges us to use our minds as a tool for empowerment, freedom and liberation. There is a push from the stars to gather or organize with community and to ponder each of our roles within the collective; how we contribute to the world and our communities in positive and negative ways, to consider deeply our impact on the world as individuals with real seriousness and the understanding that change will be required from us. To recognize that each and every system and structure that seems impenetrable, immovable and constant was simply conjured up by humans to occupy what was before, an empty space. Aquarius is a sign that has spent its life as an outsider, but this is where its power lies. Because it was never taken in and accepted as one of the group it can see the flaws in the narratives, the lies in the propaganda. We may have forgotten that it hasn't always been this way but Aquarius remembers a time in which all human needs were generously provided by the Earth. Of course we can’t go back, but Aquarius isn't about going back, it's about moving forward in a brand new way.