Felina Lune Kavi's V.O.I.C.E.: New Moon in Aquarius: The Quickening of Imbolg

'Aquarius' by Josephine Wall

New Moon in Aquarius: The Quickening of Imbolg

Moon conjunct Sun – 1/31/22 @ 11:45pm CST

The Aquarius New Moon marks the beginning of the Quickening lunar cycle. And as the Quickening stirs the seeds…we can feel the movement in the belly of Gaia. If we are grounding with her, we become creators ourselves. The Quickening stirs us from our previous methods and advances us forward in our projects. We become, like the pregnant mother in her own Quickening phase, more aware of what we’re creating and that it’s not just a solo effort. Connection increases and accelerates the process.

The Goddess, Brighid

In the lands of my ancestors, this time of year is called Imbolc or Imbolg (both are pronounced with a soft ‘b’…similar to the silent ‘b’ in ‘limb’). Imbolc refers to the washing or ‘Spring Cleaning’ after Winter dormancy, while Imbolg means ‘in the belly’ and refers to the births that happen around this time of year if you conceived at Beltaine. This holiday is widely celebrated in the Northern Hemisphere at the beginning of February each year with fire festivals and feasts of purification, as the first stirrings of Spring. It is also known as Candlemas or Christianized as The Feast of St. Brigit (Brighid is the Celtic Goddess of fire, smithcraft, poetry, and healing that has been honored at this time since before Christianity). The United States and Canada have come to adopt Groundhog Day traditions (from the Pennsylvania Dutch) this time of year, but these traditions carry remnants of Gaelic lore as well. Specifically, the tradition of weather prediction is similar to Cailleach, the Gaelic Winter Witch known as ‘the veiled one’.

Imbolg is a cross-quarter holiday where we celebrate in the midpoint between Solstice and Equinox. And Astrologically, the midpoint between Sun’s Capricorn Ingress (December Solstice) and Sun’s Aries Ingress (March Equinox) is when Sun is in 15 degrees of Aquarius. This year, that happens on the evening of February 3^rd (or the 4^th , depending on time zone). So this New Moon is ushering in this time where we light up the hearth, purify the home, and prepare for seasonal change in our lives (quickening Spring during Winter in the North, and quickening Autumn during Summer in the South).

Snowdrop in February

However we each may celebrate (or not), this New Moon in Aquarius is conjunct the planet Saturn and the Asteroid Astraea…which may heighten a feeling of responsibility in all of us. While Saturn inclines feelings of responsibility that have to do with structure and sustainability, Astraea (the Star Maiden of Justice) inclines feelings of responsibility that have to do with fairness and providing hope for when hope seems lost (like the figure in the Star card of the Tarot). Together, they take measured steps to ensure both survival and advancement. Saturn, in particular, may incline a necessity to slow down some of this quickening Aquarius energy…as we may have been collectively going ‘too fast, too soon’ over the past year on an unsustainable track.

This Aquarius stellium is also at the apex of a T-Square pattern, feeling the necessity to take action on the tension between Taurus Uranus and Scorpio Hygeia. This opposition between Uranus (sudden and revolutionary change, shocks, innovations, rebellion, and unusual occurrences) directly challenges Hygiea (named after the Goddess of preventative health and hygiene). These days, we are seeing this pattern on the global scale with revolutionary energy inspiring protests that challenge the current narrative of Tech-Pharma-Government and its control over people. There is a clear demand for freedom, choice, and a focus on truly preventative physical health measures rather than industrial health protocols focused on financial incentives that have done more harm than good. And the dynamics of what is stirring and awakening the world has been rather polarizing and stressful. This lunation will no doubt bring necessary change, but Saturn’s influence at the apex will demand that we handle it all responsibly and with more careful orchestration.

Individually, these dynamics may bring awakenings to our own responsibilities. Whatever tasks that need to get done can no longer be procrastinated or avoided. This lunar cycle will quicken our efforts to tackle that mountain that may have seemed insurmountable in the past. This may invite us to start on some cleansing/purification efforts (that go along with the season of Imbolc)…either in the home, the body, or even our mental state to reinvigorate our lives in some way. It may also increase our response and engagement within our communities, bringing in Astraea’s Aquarian connection with helpful humanitarian efforts. Whatever it may be for you, the Aquarian nature of this time offers a glimmer of hope for the changes we are making now.

Moon and Sun in Aquarius 13

Sabian Symbol: ‘a barometer’

The symbol highlighted by our luminaries at this New Moon has much to do with planning for our future. As Dane Rudhyar wrote of this symbol, it refers to ‘the ability to discover basic natural facts that allow us to plan in advance for action’. Like with the Groundhog or the Cailleach, we are determining the weather of what is to come and preparing for it…but in a more scientific way (like checking the air pressure of the barometer). The science, here, refers to Natural Law and its causal relationships…not human-made, societal laws. In ‘checking the science’ of this symbolic barometer, we can better determine what is actually happening and what will come of it…so that we can make changes that incline better preparedness and prevention as we move forward.