Since the moon rules over your emotions and inner world, the new moon in Aries of March 2023 will take you along for a wild and unforgettable ride. How you start this adventure is entirely up to you, and the decisions you make now could have ramifications that ripple over the next few months.

Although the new moon is nowhere to be seen, it’s doing a lot of work behind the scenes. It’s during this phase of the 28-day lunar cycle that the moon disappears from the sky and retreats beneath the curtain of night, where it can renew itself before embarking on the next journey.

Taking place on March 21 at 1:23 p.m. ET, this new moon takes place just one day after the sun enters Aries and launches the beginning of spring. Not only does this mean flowers are blooming and the days are lengthening, but it also means we’re all turning the page and embracing a new astrological calendar. That’s right—the real “New Year” doesn’t take place until March 20, because astrology follows the lunar calendar, not the 365-day Gregorian calendar that we’ve all come to know and follow.

That makes this particular new moon incredibly special. Not only are there several numerological coincidences surrounding this new moon and adding to its fatefulness, but this also represents a galvanizing and rejuvenating shift in our social and spiritual energy. If you’ve been feeling extra sleepy as the sun wraps up its tour through dreamy and divine Pisces, now’s the time to wake up and smell the coffee. The new moon in Aries has arrived and it’s rebooting your system and kickstarting a new chapter in your life. Here’s what you need to know:

The New Moon in Aries of March 2023, Explained

This new moon takes place in courageous, competitive and compassionate Aries, landing at exactly 0 degrees and emphasizing just now much of a new beginning this really is. Forget what happened yesterday, because the future is yours to create! In astrology, degree 0 indicates the most pure and distilled expression of the zodiac sign in question. And because this new moon rises in Aries—the first sign in the zodiac—you can expect this new moon to reveal clues as to what the future might hold. After all, whatever you start now will manifest over the course of the next six months, reaching a conclusion by the full moon in Aries, which takes place on September 29. This new moon also rises at 1:23, which is a very good sign in numerology and indicates that we are embracing an upward climb.

Because this new moon takes place in Aries, the planet ruling over this new moon is Mars in Gemini. In astrology, Mars is the planet of power, motivation, ambition sexuality, passion, aggression and of course, conflict. Because this new moon is also squaring off with Mars, this lunation is jam-packed with potent energy that’s ready to burst. Sometimes, things begin soft and subtle, gradually introducing you to this new era. Sometimes, things begin with a bang, shocking you out of your stupor and forcing you to get with the program immediately. And although things will start to move *very* fast, this new moon will remind you that you are more than capable of not just keeping up with the pace, but facilitating it.

Related: How the New Moon in Aries Will Affect Each Zodiac