Now Is Not The Time To Rest: The Aries New Moon and the Battle for Middle-earth
Or how The Lord of the Rings is the only astrology that makes sense to me right now.
I hear a lot of astrologers looking at this new moon and talking of overwhelm, frustration, fatigue—even I have said that this burnout is real.
But what if that’s the point? What if we’re being prodded into action because things have gotten so bad, so out of control, so destructive that our very lives are at stake?
This isn’t an alarm; it’s a warning bell. The calls for help won’t stop sounding, no matter how many times we press snooze.
The Battle for Middle-earth
I just watched the Lord of the Rings (LOTR) trilogy for the first time, and it changed the way I will forever conceptualize the sign of Aries.
Before you protest—Do we really need more war analogies?—I hear you.
I hate how tech monsters like Peter Thiel and Palmer Luckey have tried to ruin Tolkien for everyone else. They’ve co-opted these beloved fantasies, naming their dystopian businesses—Palantir Technologies, Mithril Capital, and Anduril Industries—and perverting the idea of “fighting for the West.” What they’re doing, essentially, is using Tolkien as an excuse to exploit the world and make a few white men rich.
Do they not get that the Ring is a symbol for unchecked power that turns men into soulless zombies? Clearly, they lack the critical thinking skills needed to understand metaphor.
Anyway, hear me out.
The Aries Journey
The sign of Aries is divided into three ten-degree portions, or decans. While Aries is ruled by Mars, each of these smaller territories has its own ruler.
Today’s new moon is happening in the last decan of Aries. Hold onto that. It will make sense by the end of this.
Aries 1: The Thrust
Approximately 60% of the LOTR movies are people engaging in battle. Each of these struggles starts with a lot of nervousness and commences with one person shooting the first arrow before it’s GAME ON.
This is the Mars decan of Aries. You see the battle ahead, wondering if there’s still time to retreat back to your cutie hobbit hole, but before you have time to think about it, you’re thrust into action.
It’s too late. The fight starts as soon as we step into the battlefield of Aries.
Aries 2: Flowstate
This is the endless series of battle montages.
The Sun decan of Aries is where we see past the reality of oliphaunts and orcs coming at us from all directions to remember why we are fighting in the first place.
If the Mars decan is about mustering the courage to step into battle, the Sun’s decan is all about finding the energy to sustain your lifeforce—to make it through one more battle because Frodo and the future of Middle-earth are depending on you.
Aries 3: Bittersweet Victory
This is the bittersweet moment where you’ve won the battle but have to contend with the casualties on the battlefield—the fallen King Théoden of Rohan and the grief of the shield-maiden Éowyn.
In this decan ruled by Venus, one’s heart is simultaneously contending with victory and the loss of everything that’s been sacrificed for the win.
New Moon Moment
Here we are in the third decan of Aries. This new moon finds many of us tired, depleted. If you’re reading this, you’re still standing. Maybe you’ve won the battle, but there’s a whole war ahead.
Now, I realize the dangers of using war metaphors: there are many people in the middle of a literal battlefield right now, and I don’t want to make light of their situation. And again, I don’t want to create more fodder for loser tech bros to fetishize war.
At the same time, we’re all in the middle of a war: for the planet, for our humanity, and in a million other ways that are personal to you and your life.
This new moon isn’t bringing up anything new. The fight’s been happening whether or not we choose to take action.
And this quiet part of the new moon—this is the bittersweet moment where we’re forced to contend with the reality of everything we’re up against, and the losses of everything we’ve sacrificed.
Join The Astro Community
If you’re looking for a container to support this process of reflection and reset, Club Astro is where we do this work together.
We meet twice each month to explore the sky in real time and make sense of what is unfolding in our lives and in the collective.
Our next gathering is Thursday, April 23rd, at 7pm EDT / 4pm PDT.
If you are craving a rhythm of study, reflection, and conversation during this cycle, I would love to see you there.