"Lightning Strikes the System": The NEW MOON at 09°51' Aquarius, Wednesday, January 29, 2025, 12:36 UTC

New Moons always mark that shaky threshold between endings and beginnings, yet this one, armed with Aquarian detachment, demands a deeper leap of faith into the unknown.

Jan 28, 2025

Greetings, fellow travellers,

Tarrying into the Sun’s second week through the chill-blasting futuristic horizons of Aquarius, we find ourselves irrevocably possessed by the colossal undertow of Pluto’s formal foray into this fixed-air domain—a transgenerational wave that seems hell-bent on warping the very gravity of our cosmobiological existence.

Not only does Pluto’s presence here recast the Sun’s annual pilgrimage (observe the obsession to detach and reform since their conjunction on 21 January), but it likewise imprints his profound metamorphic seal upon any celestial body daring to slip into Aquarius’ icy realm. We’ll see this writ large when Mercury follows suit (entering Aquarius on Tuesday, 28 January), its quicksilver mind seized by the potent, obsessive undercurrents of Pluto’s call to overhaul both personal and collective mental patterns.

Meanwhile, our Moon, currently cloaked in the shadows of Capricorn, readies herself for a potent new beginning as she will soon enter Aquarius to form a most unorthodox New Moon. Luna’s prior alignment with Pluto’s uncompromising mission to strip away outworn paradigms brings a harrowing sense of anticipation that great revolutionary change is afoot, since her dark lunar phase foreshadows like the lull before the thunder—a liminal moment when an entire sign’s revolutionary psyche is set to crackle with transformative lightning storms, heralding a lunation steeped in the electrified promise of Pluto’s transfigurement of everything we’ve come to know about society and the way it helps individuals intermingle, socially and economically.

THE STRANGEST OF NEW MOONS

In many ways, this Wednesday's New Moon at 09°♒51' (29 January, 12:36 UTC) hits like a thunderbolt in the midst of an ongoing Saturn–Pluto campaign—a gruelling three-part semisquare that has been simmering since late May, flared up again in September (with a then-retrograde Pluto still clinging to Capricorn’s final degree), and now reaches a dramatic crescendo. If you recall, the current Saturn–Pluto cycle was rebooted back in January 2020, in the mid-late degrees of Capricorn, a time when the world was being essentially disrobed of its naive assumptions and forced to confront the death and regeneration of established hierarchies and traditional patriarchal roles by the very corrupt scoundrels themselves. In some way, we were all complicit, but that's another more shadowy story. At this most pivotal crisis point in that authoritarian narrative, Saturn trudges through Pisces, locking horns with Pluto one last time before their squares re-emerge in 2028. Newly crowned in Aquarius, Pluto presides over years of socioeconomic unrest and transformation. True to form, this ferocious standoff between two malefics isn't going to come knocking on doors politely—it kicks them clean off their hinges, demanding total reform of outdated systems that can’t withstand the collective’s mounting outrage.

Pluto’s unrelenting push through Aquarius to eliminate both outdated structures and our sentimental attachments is most unhuman-like, brutally grinding alongside Saturn’s otherwise ego-dissolving passage in Pisces, a stark reminder that the one horror we should fear above all else is our sense of absolute certainty. Such self-adhered rigidity destroys both unity and tolerance. Even Christ, in his most agonising hour, weak and unsure, cried out from the cross: “Dio mio, Dio mio, perché me abbandonato? (Father, why have you abandoned me?)”, voicing his own doubt. Our faith, by its nature, flourishes not in the absence of doubt but in its very presence—because faith derives its power from mystery and the great unknown. If we knew everything, if not a shred of uncertainty remained, faith would be superfluous. Thus, Saturn’s mission through Pisces—bolstered too by Venus’ tilt toward Neptune and the North Node—aims to resurrect that primal heart-space of spiritual unknowing where faith can be reborn, free from the constraints of dogma.

Against this fractious cosmic backdrop, the New Moon in Aquarius will feel like a jolting bolt of neon lightning. Both luminaries (Sun & Moon) fuse in a realm of fixed-air detachment, refusing to pander to our craving for cosy certainty or sentimental illusions. The Sun is far from his Leonine regal sovereignty here—Aquarius scatters his confidence and conviction across a multitude of radical ideas and unpredictable thought experiments, leaving little time for story-time around that gilded throne. Meanwhile, the Moon, generally swayed by watery moods, finds scant emotional nourishment in the icily impersonal ideologies of Aquarius. And yet, this uneasy alignment generates raw potential for breakthroughs precisely because it strips away the usual melodrama that can muddle a lunation’s clarity.

Think of this New Moon as a cosmic reset button, an electrical resistor that trips our psychic wiring and forces us to look at new pathways before familiar ruts reclaim us. Whether you’re on the cusp of launching some offbeat invention, pitching yourself heart and soul into a social revolution, or simply ripping the bandage off personal truths long avoided, this sudden blast of nascent energy pushes you to declare intentions that match your brazen, untethered reality. New Moons always mark that shaky threshold between endings and beginnings, yet this one, armed with Aquarian detachment, demands a deeper leap of faith into the unknown.

The synergy of Saturn’s final tense aspect with Pluto underscores how mere “fresh starts” won’t cut it: old illusions or safe routines are part of the rubble now, and you must rebuild from scratch. It requires dispassion, bold experimentation, letting outdated attachments die, and daring to see beyond frameworks once considered immutable. Aquarius, typically dismissed as cold or cerebral, is precisely the vantage point needed to stoke genuine curiosity about how we’ve constructed our world—for better or worse. With that curiosity comes the itch to map unseen terrain—be it rebellious new relationships, far-flung communities, or the arcane corners of your own psyche.

SPECIAL FORCES

Meanwhile, an undignified Jupiter in Gemini, now stationing to turn direct (Feb 4), grows weary of its own scattered thinking and the shallow ethics it has unwittingly endorsed. With both the Sun and Jupiter in detriment, the ease of this air trine can feel underpowered—like a grand idea that might never see the light of day if we don’t ground ourselves in substance and clarity. Add to this the Mercury–Saturn semisquare, intensifying cynicism and intolerant attitudes wherever we perceive limitation. Mercury craves the open skies of Aquarius; Saturn, entrenched in Pisces, demands compassionate realism. The friction can spark abrupt criticisms or deep scepticism that verges on self-defeat. Even so, a carefully harnessed sceptical streak can lead to more incisive truths if we’re willing to examine our assumptions thoroughly rather than dismissing them out of jaded habits.

Then there’s Uranus, the modern ruler of this lunation, stationed to turn direct in Taurus, receiving the Venus–Mars midpoint (in a harmonious aspect to Venus but not so harmonious for Mars). This injects an unpredictable charge into our creative and relational endeavours. Sudden jolts of inspiration in matters of love, desire, and personal values will see us out—whether you’re forging a new partnership, reinventing your aesthetic look, or challenging your own comfort zones. The synergy could breed thrilling flashes of self-discovery or brilliant collaborations, but must be handled cautiously: the same disruptive spark can unleash an impulsive, destructive chain of events if you let raw passion overpower common sense.

FLYING WITH INTENTION

This lunation, replete with its harsh, iconoclastic potential, beckons you to chase the weird, the undone, the marvellous heresies that rattle what's left of consensus reality. Such irreverence casts a cindering shadow, of course: drifting into isolation or obsessing over impossible ideals until all tether to the practical world is severed. Yet if you channel this eccentric fervour with some measure of self-awareness, you stand to remake your life from a vantage point that neither clings blindly to tradition nor jettisons genuine emotional needs.

So as the final tolls of the Saturn–Pluto semisquare ring out—knelling the corrupted demise of outmoded systems—this Aquarius New Moon goads us to harness that destructive–creative tension for personal and collective reinvention. Embrace your quirks rather than hide them. Letting your freak-flag fly, despite the upsets and the shaming, will let you move into a space where you (and folks just like you) can collaborate in that airy, forward-thinking realm. In short, welcome the crackle of something truly original. No, this is no time for half-measures in a world already quaking under the footfall of Pluto’s arrival in Aquarius. There is no question and no fear—if there is a question, it isn’t whether change is coming—it’s whether you’ll dare to ride this electric wave or stand powerless as it knocks you from your moorings.

And finally, a word on doubt and empathy: let your uncertainty transform into a healthy scepticism, one that compels you to pause and truly listen—heart, mind, and soul—to those around you. Tolerance and openness in dialogue are the real seeds of the new Age of Aquarius: there’s no grand social revolution without genuine concern for how others live and feel. If we can stand humble in the face of the unknown and bring a sincere willingness to connect, this lunation becomes not just an upheaval of stale structures but the birth of a truly humanitarian consciousness—one where faith and doubt coexist, and our capacity for radical change coalesces into something meaningful for all.

Where does this lunation activate your chart? Which cosmic jolts are zapping up your psyche as the New Moon in Aquarius electrifies the atmosphere? My latest horoscopes are tailored to help you navigate these unruly currents, blending the personal nuances of your sign with the larger cosmic picture. They offer a piercing yet practical roadmap—one that urges you to drop whatever’s outlived its purpose while boldly stepping into the emerging realities on the horizon. Let these insights light your way. Here lies your chance to break free from stagnant norms and launch into 2025 with clear-eyed aspiration and unshakeable resolve.