What a way to kick off the first day of February and the Chinese New Year in the year of the tiger. This new moon finds us in the zodiac sign of Aquarius on Tuesday, February 1st and it's a good one. Mercury is almost out of retrograde, things are looking up, and we're all moving forward.
As per usual, new moons are a time of new beginnings, a start to something new, or a door being opened for you-sometimes literally. Has anyone opened a door for you lately? Could be the new moon working its magic. Who said chivalry is dead? It still exists around the new moon.
This new moon takes place alongside the Chinese new year (which if you didn't know, always falls on the second new moon following the winter solstice) and will kick off the journey of self-growth, a heightened sense of community, and success.
The zodiac sign, Aquarius, typically coincides with community, friendships, relationships, and work environment. Aquarius has a strong sense of optimism and motivation to move towards something better albeit a little emotional while doing it. What this means as it tangles with the new moon is that if you were considering taking that Pilates class, or hosting a zoom happy hour for your coworkers, now is the time to do it. Most likely, any conversations and relationships you cultivate now will be fruitful later on.
The downside of this is that while you're getting excited about all of these new plans, ideas, and routines you want to put in place, your previous habits and relationships may fall to the wayside. You may be feeling a little guilty or ashamed that you're pursuing these other endeavors now rather than finishing what you've already started. A good way to figure out which habits, people, and activities should come with you this moon phase is this simple activity:
Write each new and old routine, habit, or relationship on a scrap of paper. Keep them separated by old or new status and have someone hold a scrap of each in their hand behind their back. You choose one and you'll know instantaneously whether or not you want to keep the habit, routine, or relationship in your life. If you pick the one you really wanted you'll most likely feel elated. If you pick the one you don't really want, you'll feel it in your gut that the other was the right choice. This is a great practice for tuning into that gut feeling and your intuition.
Side Tracked Anecdote: I actually did this the other day at a bookstore with my mom. I couldn't pick out which books I really wanted to get and so she took two of them, held them behind her back and made me pick. The one I picked I immediately was let down by and wanted the other one instead. Give it a try, it totally works. Can also be applied to choosing what to eat, what to wear, or what to watch.
I think it's important to put out there too that while setting out to create new hobbies, habits, and relationships will feel natural and exciting right now, think about the long term. If you have a wild streak showing up right now that's telling you, "Yes! Join that runner's group that runs 5 miles every morning at 6 am. You'll totally stick to it and get so fit!" ...Will you stick with it though? How sustainable is that new and exciting habit for your actual lifestyle? I don't know about you but I certainly wouldn't wake up more than once to do this and then feel guilty about not following through. Keep your dreams big and your goals realistic to reach them.
The takeaway here is that it's great to dream and you should be making your way towards those goals, habits, and relationships that will get you to the finish line. Just keep them realistic and be gracious with yourself when in a few weeks your motivation starts to wane slightly. If you made your new habits, relationships, and work goals practical and sustainable, you should be able to follow through and feel good about it.