Finding Freedom in Aries

The New Moon of Aries arrives in the nick of time!

Aries marks the first month of the lunisolar calendar of Kabbalah. It’s a dynamic point in the yearly cycle that gives us an opportunity to slam our fist on a reset button, connect even more deeply with our Source, shape our destiny, and take control of our blessings. I wrote about the process for utilizing the fiery attributes inherent to Aries last March, and I encourage you to go back to that entry as a refresher and guide because I believe there are important lessons in there for us all.

Aries: What Do You Want to Grow This Year?

But obviously, so much has changed since March 2020, and I want to talk to you about something very specific. Maybe it’s not affecting you. Maybe it is, and you don’t realize it. Perhaps this post is only written for one of you. If that person is you, I hope you find comfort and discover your own surprising courage.

During the month of Aries, we commemorate the Israelite exile from Egypt, the first step on a long, hard path from slavery to salvation. A generation of people emerged from bondage, afraid of what the lands across the sea held in store for them. Some had grown complacent in the rigid confines of the same walls, sights, and sounds day after day because there was a specific kind of luxury to a decidedly non-luxurious routine. Does that sound familiar to you?

With vaccine rollouts, loosening social restrictions, and the impending return to some semblance of “normal” life, this month brings with it an indescribable joy for many, but don’t discount any apprehension you might be feeling, and certainly don’t punish yourself for acknowledging it. The Anxiety & Depression Association of America has solid advice on battling “Re-Entry Anxiety” from a psychological perspective [ADAA], but don’t forget Aries can be a powerful secret weapon in your arsenal.

We are soon to re-enter a unique, altered version of our world after so much time spent in isolation. Remember how those Israelites centuries ago fought against the idea of independence, even begging Moses to return them to life under Pharaoh’s command? How could they not whole-heartedly embrace the gift of freedom? Because the world outside our doors is big and occasionally brutal and it’s easy to feel small and weak. But Kabbalah teaches that Aries imbues us all with a cosmic strength to break free from our own forms of bondage, internal and external.

Aries is a fantastic opportunity to redesign your year and bring order out of chaos. I have felt the inherent power and have taken its gifts as a balm in my own past when anxieties and fears threatened to overwhelm me; when I was more comfortable remaining in the bondage of the me I knew and had not yet embraced the freedom of constant, joyful change. There was a time, before I chose me and believed in what I had to offer, that I gave a lot of thought, time, and energy to the what-ifs.

“What if I fail?”

“What if I’m a fraud?”

And on and on. I know I am not alone here. In fact, psychologists have a name for this. It’s known as imposter syndrome. When I finally grew tired of making myself small, I broke free from this self-imposed prison and discovered a freedom I never knew existed.

There is a palpable energy to this New Moon that bolsters us in not merely asking for blessings with our hands outstretched but putting those hands to work manifesting the life we want for the next 12 months. This is the time for setting intentions, making goals, and planting seeds that we will spend the next year nurturing. This is the time to set yourself free.

So if you’re the person I wrote this for, if you’re worn down from a year of stress, animosity, or loss, take solace in the idea that The Creator somehow, with the clockwork of the Universe wound millions of years ago, managed to give us the New Moon of Aries at the perfect time.

RETHINK MOMENT: If you could bring the fiery power of this New Moon, coupled with the warrior force of its ruling planet Mars, to bear on the thing that is keeping you in bondage, how could you not be free? And remember: no one walked out of Egypt alone.