It’s the Equinox too!

Shortly after the Pisces New Moon, we reach the Equinox—that pivotal moment in the year when daylight equals the dark.  Stand anywhere on Earth on this day and you’ll see the Sun rise exactly East and set exactly West. Here in the Northern Hemisphere, the Equinox is a sign that our (strange) winter is finally over (in my town, it just hasn’t been winter enough, this year).  Even so, it’s Spring—time to break out and break through. Across my garden I see the signs. Hyacinths and daffodils are poking their heads above ground. Branches that have looked dead for months now sprout with new life. The birds are getting busier. While the Pisces New Moon “closes the circle” by inviting us to reflect on the past year, the Sun entering Aries encourages us to look forward into the future.

Aries energy is Ram energy: assertive, enthusiastic, initiatory, and optimistic.  This is just the energy we need to spring forward! First in the Zodiac, Aries guides the other signs on yet another round of adventures into unexplored territory. Aries, in fact, is the hero of the individuation journey as it unfolds through all 12 signs. Shaking off the strictures of the past, we follow jaunty Aries’ example, inspired to take up challenges and bring cherished dreams to fruition.  Wherever Aries falls in your natal chart is that place where you can turn for renewal and rebirth.

If Aries is in your 1st house, you may experience renewal through re-connecting with your unique sense of self. In the 2nd, you may want to initiate a new financial plan, or touch base with your core values. In the 3rd, Aries may feel re-energized through putting thoughts into writing or speech. In the 4th, Aries is reborn through spring cleaning, redecorating, or even moving. Aries receives inspiration in the 5th house through creative expression, or through rediscovery of one’s inner child. In the sixth house, Aries gets a fresh start by taking up a new health regimen, or reorganizing the office. In the 7th, relationships are the medium of rebirth, as Aries faces “the other,” while in the 8th house Aries mines new energy from the depths of the unconscious. In the 9th house, Aries is reinvigorated by a book of spiritual teachings, or a philosophical truth that puts life into perspective. In the 10th house, Aries leaps headfirst into tackling new career objectives. In the 11th house, it is through commitment to a social cause that promises renewal. And,  finally, in the 12th house, Aries is reborn through dissolution into universal consciousness, diving deep into the ocean of bliss, then emerging reborn.

The old myths teach us an important lesson about moving forward: don’t look back. In the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in the underworld, for instance, Orpheus finally wins permission from Hades, lord of the dead, to rescue his new bride Eurydice from the arms of death. Yet if he should look back, he is told, Eurydice must return to the underworld for eternity. Tragically, Orpheus is unable to follow this advice, and, on the verge of emerging from the depths, he looks back and loses her forever. The lesson in this, I think, is that just when we have committed to moving forward in a new direction, we are tempted by doubt, looking backwards into the past with nostalgia and regret  – yet in the process undermining our faith in our newfound purpose.

To everything there is a season, as it says in the Bible.  Thus while there is a time to reflect upon and learn from the past, there comes another time when, prompted by the hand of fate at our backs, we must move forward with the evolving forces of life.  Now is the appointed time in the astrological year for embracing the future.

Join Enroll in my monthly Moon workshop, to get an even deeper connection to the Sun’s annual cycle!  Let the gifts of each sign energize your year.