Sun enters Aries

When the Sun moves into Aries on March 20^th, it’s like a total rebirth for mind, body and spirit. It’s the Spring Equinox, that pivotal moment in the year when daylight equals the dark. It’s time to break out and break through. Aries is the first sign of the zodiac and signifies all-things new. We have completed one whole zodiac cycle and we are ready to start all over again. This is always a much welcome transit after the dark, murky last days of the Pisces. Aries is ruled by Mars, and is the most physical sign of the zodiac. Now is the time for those New Year’s resolutions, not the dormant winter which is better for meditation and contemplation.  This is the time of year when we crave physical release, excitement and new challenges more than ever. This always brings a serious surge of new fire into our lives, welcome heat and inspiration.

Spring asks of us these questions - Who are we? What are we here to do?  Asking questions awaken our creativity, while judgments shut us down. In the days ahead, let yourself wonder about the coming year and perhaps beyond.  Begin to lay the foundation for new accomplishments, new focus or a new direction. Another good strategy as you enter this season is to keep your focus off of what you don’t want. Spring is the season for beginnings. Your future is being created by your attention now.

Sun enters Pisces

 From February 18th until March 20th the Sun will be in Pisces. In Pisces we find one of the deepest and most emotional of signs. From the constellation we get the Fishes, one pointing up into the heavens and the divine and the other down to the mundane planes of human life. The Fishes play an integral part in almost every religion, from pagan times and forward to Christianity. Therefore, it is the sign that rules religious and spiritual themes. It is the sign that rules our “souls” or “spirit”. The sea as the primary source, signifies the boundless essence of soulful creativity and the elemental life force from which everything emerges and eventually returns. Fishes, as intrinsic parts of this fertile yet deeply mysterious realm, were regarded as sacred representations of the soul and the spiritual connection that animates society. By the time the Sun reaches the constellation of Pisces, the days are already starting to get longer and as the temperature starts to rise, so does hope and optimism. Underground, the frozen earth begins to thaw and the dormant planet life begins to stir. As a mutable sign, it’s a time of change and of the changes of season, this is the one that is most pronounced. As the last sign in the zodiac, it embodies the essence of all the signs that went before it, as it must assimilate the energy of the whole year, in order to begin the New Year. To venture into the Piscean realm is to lose track of which way is up, down, forward or back. It is to abandon our cherished root assumptions and shatter the fragile omnipotence of reality. To those of us who cling to the world of form, it can be a disorienting, confusing experience. Its ruler, Neptune bids us surrender our entire grounding and sense of what is real. One has no control over the Neptune experience because there is nothing to control. However, the Neptune experience is a chance to go back to the godhead, back to our spiritual source. It is a time to reorient our alignment with the Universe, to stretch beyond our physical existence and embrace our meta-physical nature. Pisces is significant, because it brings us to the wellspring of our being. It brings us back to the source; to the root of all that we are and all that we can be. Pisces renders us empty that we may be galvanized once more by the thrust of Life. Closure is rarely easy, however, the unresolved issues of the past have a way of coming back to haunt us. Only by participating in this closure process can we mindfully and openly distill that which is real and transferable into the next cycle, from that which is not. That distillation is the essence of the Piscean role in the cyclical drama. Pisces impels us to dissolve the attachments that bind us to the apparitions in our lives and surrender to Spirit which forms the raw material that will seed the next cycle. In this sense, Pisces may be the most important part of the zodiacal progression. Archetypally, Pisces ends one cycle and brings us to the brink of a new one that starts again in Aries. In order to embrace something new, we must empty ourselves of all that forms a barrier between us and that “something new.” This means letting go of the old way of doing and perceiving things. It means sacrificing our security and attachment to what has become familiar and comfortable, so that we may prepare the way for new growth. And we must surrender to this process or risk carrying over attachments from the old cycle that will contaminate the new one. If we resist the closure process of Pisces, we may not retain the rewards we have harvested.

Sun Enters Aquarius

January 20th to February 18th

In modern astrology, the fixed sign of Aquarius rules the 11th House, which is said to be that of “Hopes and Wishes” and also “Ideals and Aspirations”. The glyph for Aquarius is the Egyptian sign for “water above and below”. Therefore, Aquarius is said to symbolize the realm where the invisible waters of heaven pour down onto mankind, in the same way that a soul is poured into a human body. Aquarius has always been linked with Ganymede, who according to the Greek myth was the first mortal to become immortal. He was taken to Mount Olympus to become a “Cup Bearer” for the gods. When we see a symbol for the sign of Aquarius, we see a “water bearer”, which is Ganymede, pouring nectar for the Gods. He was the first man to understand the waters above and bring them down to others, the modern notion of “ideals”.

What is “above” is immortal and what comes from “below” is mortal and the waters of Aquarius are said to transcend both. When we tap into this flow our ideas, thoughts and requests flow up into the heavens where the Gods can look on them favorably. When the Sun moved through Aquarius, it was the coldest time of the year. However, as the earth reaches its darkest point, it holds the promise of future life. Underneath the ground, the roots are starting to prepare for new life. Everything in nature has to be self sufficient. Aquarius, as a sign, is infamous for non conformity. Uranus, its ruling planet shows the same traits. While most of the planets spin on an axis that is almost perpendicular, Uranus’ axis is almost parallel to the ecliptic. Aquarius is a sign of individuality and of looking to the future. The past has gone in exactly the same way as the old year has gone and Aquarian energy can only look to what is happening now and what will come in the future. Nothing practical can be done, but it is a time to give birth to ideas. It was a time when innovations and inventions were devised. During the darkest part of winter, the light comes from within. Anything that doesn’t serve will show itself and be corrected in spring. One of the greatest qualities of Aquarian energy is independence and it’s during the middle month of the winter that life itself is developing independently.

In Aquarius we find an energy that is “above” all the other signs. This is air energy, but unlike Gemini and Libra, this is energy that goes beyond the individual, to encompass humanity itself. Aquarian energy lifts above the mortal realm and the drudgery of daily life and taps into something higher. Therefore, Aquarius energy is always on the cutting edge, able to see further into the future and to greater heights than the other zodiac signs. It is a sign that is forward thinking; it is non conformist, balks at tradition and celebrates originality and individuality. It will rebel against repression of the human spirit. Thus Aquarius, as an air sign, is more exulted. Aquarian energy is often concerned about the plight of humanity. When people stage protests or speak out against oppression, they are using Aquarian energy. Where other signs may see what “is”, Aquarian energy sees what “can be”.

Sun Enters Scorpio

The world of Scorpio is where we'll encounter power struggles, intense emotions and cathartic transformation, but we'll also find deep acceptance of ourselves and the door to unconditional love. In Libra, we're challenged to acquire the fundamental skills of relating to others on a one to one basis. We learn how to interact, how to compromise and how to balance who we are with what we perceive in the other person. While Libra focuses on the surface topography of relationships, ensuring that we dance together in symmetry and grace. Scorpio, on the other hand, delves into the deeper, messier issues that inevitably arise. In Scorpio, we deal with power struggles, deep psychological dynamics, control urges, and the aspects of ourselves and others we'd rather not know about. Scorpio navigates the undercurrents, the hidden and unspoken.

  The water sign of Scorpio is fixed and by modern Astrology, ruled by Pluto. Pluto, the moving emissary of Scorpio energy, is associated with power issues, elimination, death, rebirth and deep transformation. It transforms by forcing us to peer far below the surface, with eyes open, to behold what lurks there. But this can be difficult for the average person. Most people don't exercise their Pluto energy on a fully conscious level and some avoid it at all costs. It is not a journey for the weak, although it can ultimately strengthen those who undertake it. Transformation, the utmost Plutonian agenda, is essentially the process of evolutionary change based on new information and experiences. Repeated, continual change and adaptation gradually produces a fundamental shift in who we are because the process forces us to frame ourselves and the world differently. This can be an upsetting, frightening or painful experience, since it tends to shine light into dark corners that have remained happily hidden for some time. It can force us to acknowledge and deal with aspects of ourselves, others and life that we'd rather not know about.  Pluto demands that we learn to look upon these secret parts of ourselves without flinching, but also with compassion and understanding. One is never the same after taking the pilgrimage. One emerges scathed but renewed, with a fresh picture of the complexity and the simplicity, the fragility and the resiliency of the human soul. We often have a new appreciation of ourselves as neither flawless nor defective, but as simply human.   It is this deceptively simple realization that opens the door to a more compassionate realism and unconditional acceptance of oneself and others. This does not mean we must condone malicious or maladjusted behavior; rather, we have a more grounded awareness that we all do the worst things for the most poignant of reasons. Scorpio and Pluto challenge us to bring light to the depths of who we are, so that we can know our true inner reality, the truth of what forms the bedrock of our human experience.

Sun Enters Scorpio

 

The world of Scorpio is where we'll encounter power struggles, intense emotions and cathartic transformation, but we'll also find deep acceptance of ourselves and the door to unconditional love. In Libra, we're challenged to acquire the fundamental skills of relating to others on a one to one basis. We learn how to interact, how to compromise and how to balance who we are with what we perceive in the other person. While Libra focuses on the surface topography of relationships, ensuring that we dance together in symmetry and grace. Scorpio, on the other hand, delves into the deeper, messier issues that inevitably arise. In Scorpio, we deal with power struggles, deep psychological dynamics, control urges, and the aspects of ourselves and others we'd rather not know about. Scorpio navigates the undercurrents, the hidden and unspoken.

The water sign of Scorpio is fixed and by modern Astrology, ruled by Pluto. Pluto, the moving emissary of Scorpio energy, is associated with power issues, elimination, death, rebirth and deep transformation. It transforms by forcing us to peer far below the surface, with eyes open, to behold what lurks there. But this can be difficult for the average person. Most people don't exercise their Pluto energy on a fully conscious level and some avoid it at all costs. It is not a journey for the weak, although it can ultimately strengthen those who undertake it. Transformation, the utmost Plutonian agenda, is essentially the process of evolutionary change based on new information and experiences. Repeated, continual change and adaptation gradually produces a fundamental shift in who we are because the process forces us to frame ourselves and the world differently. This can be an upsetting, frightening or painful experience, since it tends to shine light into dark corners that have remained happily hidden for some time. It can force us to acknowledge and deal with aspects of ourselves, others and life that we'd rather not know about.  Pluto demands that we learn to look upon these secret parts of ourselves without flinching, but also with compassion and understanding. One is never the same after taking the pilgrimage. One emerges scathed but renewed, with a fresh picture of the complexity and the simplicity, the fragility and the resiliency of the human soul. We often have a new appreciation of ourselves as neither flawless nor defective, but as simply human.   It is this deceptively simple realization that opens the door to a more compassionate realism and unconditional acceptance of oneself and others. This does not mean we must condone malicious or maladjusted behavior; rather, we have a more grounded awareness that we all do the worst things for the most poignant of reasons. Scorpio and Pluto challenge us to bring light to the depths of who we are, so that we can know our true inner reality, the truth of what forms the bedrock of our human experience.