This is when the new year starts in earnest. We’ve just about now managed to wrap up and close the last chapter. The new chapter 2023 is beginning with the new moon in Aquarius. The new moon of 2023 is happening on 21 January, at 20:53 GMT, and it is taking place at 01 degrees and 32 minutes of Aquarius. With Sun and Moon in Aquarius, Saturn in Aquarius, Jupiter in Aries and Mars in Gemini, there is a lot of masculine energy fortifying this initiating cycle. Even lovely Venus expresses masculine extravert qualities in Aquarius. Air and Fire dominates. Planets are moving forward. All systems are go. We are initiating with inspiration and smart reasoning.

With the 3 of Pentacles we are action through tools. The Hermit shows us isolation to contemplate how far we’ve come and where we are heading to. And the Page of Pentacles is youthful materialism. The energy to drive the project in its early stages. The energies are actually action driven and manifestation focused, but the momentum hasn’t picked up yet. The small cards show us that we are still stuck, hindered or slow. Work has started to bring about something beautiful and solid. The potential is there. We are upright, in our own power, using tools and transforming resources from the crude to the refined. This is a card about initiating something concrete, about moving on with ideas to planning realisation, about putting to action our expertise and utilising what we have available in our immediate environment. But even though we are heading in the right direction, the pace certainly hasn’t picked up yet. It is still early days.

We are moving from the shadows to the light on our own powers. We can be feeling isolation or distance, cold and dry. We are at a remote place, still looking for knowledge in the darkness, where we need to come to terms with following our own light. We are at a stage where our individuality meets the group dynamic. This is the Aquarius-Leo axis new moon. We are moving into Leo energies of pride and joy for the full moon next month. But first and foremost, immediately now, it’s about hard work, internally and externally. The outside action meets the inside steeliness of a Saturn ruled Aquarius with a strong Saturn in it. Saturn rules time. We can not fast forward. Things will need to take their time to materialise, slowly, methodically and with discipline.

The groups supporting us will be found through our own sense of identity. It can not be created or imposed by others. The Hermit indicates taking time off to go within. It is a central solitary condition to our experience at the moment. It is working on our own, in a lonely place to rest or think up solutions to real problems, to hone in our skills to create something bigger than ourselves. The solutions and what we need to do to achieve our goals are not clear yet. The Hermit is half in light and half in darkness. So we are at a stage of planting seeds. We are at a future focused moment. Looking to the future, Aquarius as a social sign, often confronts our uniqueness to the consensus, our special identity to that of the whole. It is an intellectual energy dealing with practical issues in the context of others. We can bring light to others. Belonging will come about once we are secure in our own wisdom. Our expertise is guiding us to the path of accomplishment. But for now we are holding on to that power, utilising it for the greater good.

Indeed, there is still a lot to learn as the Page of Pentacles. It shows that we are not mature yet, but that we have the potential to move on to the next stage. We are still finding out what needs to be done and what our contribution might be through trial and error. We have completed incredible tasks and have reached pinnacles of success, but the next project, the one around the corner, hasn’t happened yet. We are still at a planning stage. But we have the tools and we have what it takes.

The Page of Pentacles is youthful, full of energy, optimism, muscle and forward driven. He is positive and earthy, interested in practical matters. So are we, with this masculine new moon in Aquarius. Even if we do not know it yet. But it’s a mental energy, and the feeling of confidence and achievement in the real world, will take a bit of time to sink in. Tangible change will start to show when planets move into Pisces. For all its dissolving indecisiveness, change will be palpable. It will take few more weeks, and few more planetary movements, before we reach Pisces. For now we need to follow our own light and think about guiding others. It’s about work and commitment. Taking our time and doing one thing at a time. The architecture is being built brick by brick, and in action we show our knowledge. It is a slow motion driven, but certainly forward looking new moon. Events will soon pick up speed. So enjoy the silence. Prepare for change.

Flavia