Aries New Moon Horoscopes for the Solar Eclipse of April 19, 2023

Musings from Maria's StarGarden

“Hybrid Solar Eclipse,” chalk pastel by Maria Theresa Maggi

The moon is new again at 29 degrees Aries of the tropical zodiac on April 19, 2023, Pacific Daylight Time.  In the previous lunation cycle we started at zero degrees Aries, the very beginning of the tropical zodiac. As you may recall, each sign has 30 degrees, numbered from 0 to 29. While it’s more common for each consecutive lunation cycle to begin in the sign that directly follows the previous one, this cycle we begin again in Aries, this time at the very end of it at the 29^th degree. In traditional astrology the 29^th degree is called a degree of expiation, or atonement. It is the degree at which the whole spectrum of energy possible within the sign is revisited, not unlike the whole of our lives passing before us in moments we think we are close to death. So we begin this cycle at a degree of review, with a chance to atone for any hastiness or anger or lack of thought we might have had when we began last month.

But that is not the only twist. This new moon is also a solar eclipse, an event that occurs when the path of the moon comes between the earth and the sun in a way that partially or totally blocks out the light of the sun for a number of hours. This particular eclipse will be visible in the southern hemisphere from the Cape of South Africa, the tip of Western Australia and parts of East Timor. It is a rare type of solar eclipse called a hybrid eclipse, meaning that it can appear to be partial or total, depending on where in its path the observer is standing. From an astrological perspective, an eclipse overturns a stone, so to speak, exposing what is underneath it. It can also indicate that the energy expressed is opposite of business as usual in that particular sign. So in this instance, this last degree of Aries review may also take on that Libra need we felt at the full moon to deliberate to find balance, rather than simply review what it takes to be a successful warrior, or what conditions best birth a new life. There may be an atypical Arian interest in how instinctual actions affect the other.