Saturday, March 16, 2019

The Cosmic Story: The Wheel of the Year: Spring Equinox 2019


The Cosmic Story:
The Wheel of the Year: Spring Equinox 2019

The Courage to Stand up for Freedom



Onward we go round the spiral
Touching darkness, touching light
Twice each turn we rest in balance
Make choices on this night
Make choices on this night.
Pagan Equinox chant 


The Wheel of the Year: Spring Equinox 2019

The Wheel of the Year is turning once again and we’ve arrived back at Spring Equinox in the North and Autumn Equinox in the South. At this time of balance between the Light and the Dark, we are called to find that balance within ourselves, so that we might bring balance to our world in the coming year.

And for the first time in 19 years (since 2000) there is a Full Moon a few hours after the Equinox. This will be the first Full Moon in Aries/Libra and there will be a second one on April 19th – our true Blue Moon, when there are two full Moons in a zodiac sign rather than in a calendar month. With this second Aries/Libra Full Moon we switch back to a regular lunar cycle of New Moon/Full Moon. (for the past few years it’s been Full Moon/New Moon).

Spring Equinox occurs when the Sun rises above the equator, bringing longer days and warmer weather to the North, while in the South, the days grow shorter and darker. For us in the North, we welcome Spring and her bounty. We welcome the return of Light. And with it, we look forward to new beginnings. With Pluto joining the South Node in Capricorn later in the month, we have a chance to release past karma so we can get on with the future.


On this day when we experience the balance the Light and the Dark outside, we can find our internal balance as well. And we’ll need it this year. This is the year of preparation for the big cosmic events coming to us next year in 2020: the Saturn/Pluto conjunction in January with Jupiter joining them later in the year, and at the end of the year, the 20 year Saturn/Jupiter conjunction in Aquarius (the conjunction that deals with our social and financial conditions), which shifts this conjunction from the element of Earth to Air for the first time in 800 years.

We’re already feeling the upcoming conjunction of the two most serious planetary energies in our solar system – in the sign of Capricorn, which concerns our society and those institutions which focus our collective energies, such as government, financial systems and our patriarchal rules. Saturn, the planet of 3D reality, of responsibility and limitation, authority and structures meets Pluto, the planet that destroys what is outmoded and dead, first bringing them up to the surface so we all see the stagnation and corruption underneath. Ultimately, their union will bring about new structures, new authority and a new culture. With every ending, a new beginning.

But for a while, we’re just going to have to deal with the chaos of and resistance to patriarchy’s death. Right-wing white nationalism is rearing its ugly, and cowardly, head because we are at the end of that ruling system. Unfortunately, this old paradigm seems to want to take down the whole world rather than letting go and dying out so rebirth can happen.

This year prepare for transformation and stay committed to using your power to stand up for your values. Do we value the Earth and all her children (Nature is literally dying) including humanity or will we sleep our way through to the End? We’ll just keep getting deeper and deeper into transformative energies as humanity is offered the choice of conscious evolution – change or die.

And it is the youth of our world who will lead the way, since the future is theirs to deal with. Just as my generation did in the 60s, Millennials like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar are taking the bull by the horns and standing up to the tyranny of the patriarchy. The rest of us need to follow their lead and support them, since we have all contributed to the big mess we find ourselves in. Especially the baby-boomers, who have either made things worse or gone off to meditate. It’s time to change that. It’s time to stand up for the future.

Astrologers consider the Spring Equinox the beginning of the astrological year and look at its chart to see what the new year has in store, especially the next three months til the Summer Solstice. Let’s look at the Equinox chart as an indicated of what our Spring might look like energetically.

Spring/Autumn Equinox occurs on Wednesday, March 20th at 2:59pm PDT/ 5:59pm EDT/ 9:59pm GMT. 

Spring Equinox 2019

The Sun in Aries and Taurus
The Sun rises above the equator into the sign of Aries and joins the asteroid Chiron this year. The Sun in Aries is like a rambunctious Ram, ready to take on the world. And it comes face to face with Chiron, forcing us to face our woundedness and also our destiny, both individually and collectively.

Aries is the sign of our individual identity, the ‘I am’ of the zodiac. Aries is the divine fire of life which seeks existence here in 3D reality. Aries seeks an inner sense of aliveness, identity and initiative. Aries is the hero of the zodiac, stepping into the world with a pioneering attitude of adventure. Life is here now, so let’s live it!

Chiron the centaur was a philosopher, healer and the mentor of heroes, who was wounded by a poisoned arrow and could not heal himself. The asteroid Chiron confronts us with our woundedness and mentors us to our greatest gifts. If we were supposed to be perfect, we wouldn’t have to incarnate! So our task, if we accept it, is to acknowledge our woundedness with love and self-acceptence. Nobody promised that our lives would be easy, especially not if we’re on the path of consciousness.

Chiron, an asteroid that circles the Sun between Saturn and Uranus, is a gateway and bridge between the visible and invisible worlds, initiating us into expanded consciousness through our woundedness. (Synchronistically, at the moment I’m writing this, I’m listening to George Harrison sing ‘My guitar gently weeps’.) With all the hatred erupting around the world, this Equinox chart asks us to understand woundedness with compassion instead of fear. 
 
Uranus, the great Awakener, has just left Aries and moved into the sign of Taurus, where he’ll bring much needed changes to our financial system and hopefully, open us to saving our Mother Earth through invention and world-wide intervention for climate change. While in Aries for the past 7 years, Uranus has awakened us to a new sense of ourselves – to an archetypal sense of ourselves if you will. Have we acknowledged to ourselves that, despite our human flaws, we are agents of the archetypal forces of life? That besides our small ego identity, we are also called to our archetypal identity of healer, priestess, shaman, bard, warrior, pioneer, inventor, Earth steward, teacher, leader?

If we have done our work, then Chiron in Aries will help us mentor those who are still in the process of awakening to themselves. Chiron in Aries will push us to accept all the many facets of ourselves. In the movie ‘Dirty Dancing’ Baby tells her father, ‘There are a lot of things about me that aren’t what you thought. But if you love me, you have to love all the things about me.’ Self-acceptance comes first. That’s what Aries is all about.

Chiron in Aries is also poised to heal the wounded masculine, which has been trained to be a warrior for thousands of years. Haven’t we grown beyond the need for war, killing and cruelty? Doesn’t our world need healing and cooperation rather than more rugged individualism and domination? Does America really need almost a trillion dollar military budget? What about using that money for life instead of death?

Chiron in Aries will hopefully give rise to the new masculine, to a new sense of what it means to be a man of heart, as well as a new way of doing, which is what the masculine energies are all about. What the ‘new masculine’ will look like after Chiron gets through Aries is open to many possibilities, but my hope is that the men of our world will welcome back a newly awakened King Arthur and his knights, who protect the defenseless, create a new civilization and honor the Goddess of the land. The divine masculine in women will give us the heart courage to stand up to oppression and use love, wisdom and compassion as a force for change. 

 

During this next 6 weeks, the Sun, which symbolizes consciousness, will be challenged by Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn (April 10-13) to change our ways as we see more of the corruption of our western way of life. The Aries Sun will also square/ challenge the lunar nodes around April 12th, a check-in to see if we’re listening to our heart’s needs or still following the rules. The Sun will be supported by Jupiter in Sagittarius (April 14) to help us expand our vision of the possibilities available to us to meet our future. The Sun will stand opposite the Moon in Libra twice this season (March 20 & April 19), helping us find ways to get along with each other.

The Sun enters Taurus on April 20 (Passover/Easter) and on April 22, Earth Day, it conjuncts Uranus. If we don’t wake up this Earth Day, will we ever? Hopefully, the whole world will go on strike in support of Mother Earth that day.

The Moon
Libra Full Moon


The Moon at the time of the Equinox is in Virgo, approaching fullness as it moves into Libra a few hours after the Equinox. One of my sons is an Aries with a Virgo Moon, and he always plans (Virgo) his adventures (Aries)! And he does things his own way.

Virgo is the sign of the harvest, bringing a sense of wholeness and completion, for she is the Mother and Child, the source and fruit of our labor. Virgo is where we develop discernment and integration of body, mind and spirit. Virgo energy helps us make use of those gifts and talents we apply ourselves to with dedication and diligence.  This Equinox chart indicates that it's time to harvest what we've sown in the past year.  As we end the old astrological year, what have we learned from all those retrogrades last year?  What harvest can we bring into this year to develop even more?


Great Mother Goddess of Earth


With the Sun and Chiron opposite the Moon clothed in her ‘virginity’ – belonging to herself and owning her creativity – this chart suggests that if we hold true to ourselves and face our woundedness, we will overcome the old hatreds and fears that keep us separated. And with the Aries/Libra Full Moon to guide us, we’ll keep our balance and stay true to ourselves while being open to the Other in relationship.

The Virgo Moon is part of an Earth grand trine between Mars in Taurus and Saturn, Pluto and the South Node in Capricorn. This earthy trine represents a talent for manifestation, which can keep us grounded at the same time as we ascend to a higher state of consciousness. Spirituality needs to be grounded in our physical 3D forms. Mars in Taurus gives us the stamina we need to make changes in our lives. The Virgo Moon gives us the discernment we need to make the right choices. Saturn, Pluto and the SN can release us from old karma and rebirth a sense of dedication to the whole.

 
Grand Trine/Kite

This earth trine forms a kite figure with the North Node in Cancer. Often trines, since they represent an easy flow of energy, aren’t challenged enough to do the work, but when another planet or point opposes one of the points of the triangle, it pushes us to get going and develop the opportunity presented by the grand trine. The North Node in Cancer is pushing us to find out what we really need to make life worth-while, and when we look to our emotional body (Cancer) to see what we need, we will activate the power of the grand trine to help us manifest it. The waters of Cancer will moisten the earthy energies of this trine and make it flower.

Other Planetary Energies

The conjunction of Pluto with the South Node in Capricorn (peaking March 28 – April 2) gives us the chance to compost what is dead and dragging on us, especially old patriarchal beliefs around religion and the domination by the male of the species. Old karma needs to be faced and released now. Especially if we want real change in our lives. Not superficial change, but the deep transformative change that puts us on a new path. With Uranus still squaring the Nodes of the Moon, we have that extra charge of rebellion and awakening to shatter what no longer serves us, individually and collectively.

It’s time to step out of our individual patriarchal mindset, which means stepping back from wanting more than we need, stepping away from the colonization of our imaginations by the mass media and by acknowledging that rugged individualism is no longer the way to go. We need each other and we need community to flourish. This is the Aquarian ideal.

There is a mutable grand square in the chart between the Moon in Virgo, Jupiter in Sagittarius, Neptune, Vesta and Mercury retrograde in Pisces and Juno in Gemini. Mutable signs make this grand square easier to handle, since mutable signs are more flexible than the cardinal and fixed signs.

The mutable grand cross reflects the process of aligning with information (Gemini) that is founded in natural laws and truth (Sagittarius), and adjustment (Virgo) of outdated viewpoints and opinions that are not based on universal, timeless principles (Pisces). In other words, as we seek to understand the human journey in a holistic and universal sense, our viewpoints and perspectives naturally shift (mutable archetypes) to reflect this evolution within consciousness. It has been described as the process of moving from the microscope to the telescope. (https://www.llewellyn.com/journal/article/2538)

Juno is the energy of right relationship, the know-how to maintain a balance between self and other. If we approach all relationships with curiosity and open-mindedness – Jupiter in Sagittarius, we will be able to live out the universal truth that we are all one In Greek and Roman mythology, Juno and Jupiter/ Hera and Zeus are the divine couple, the sacred marriage of Heaven and Earth. While patriarchy turned Hera, the Queen of Heaven, into a jealous shrew, in reality, she was the Full Moon, called the Perfect One and Zeus, her consort, was meant to perfect her. Symbolically, this means that what our Moon nature shows us must be owned by our ego consciousness and worked on.

Jupiter in his own sign of Sagittarius reminds us of the cosmic order, of the expansive energies of life that allow us to grow and evolve. He wants us to incorporate an expansive vision, one that is inclusive rather than exclusive. This energy will help us move beyond the narrow-mindedness of our present religious beliefs and help us recognize that the god-force lives within all of us. One way is not better than another from this higher perspective. Especially concerning the Divine Feminine, which has been made irrelevant by the religions of the Book: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It’s time for the Divine Feminine to reclaim her place as the consort of the God and the foundation of Life.

Jupiter sextiles Venus in Aquarius, opening up our network of friends and giving us opportunities to explore new relationships. With Venus in Aquarius opening up new paradigms of feminine power, we have to remember that while warrior women are needed (Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel can lead the way there) we also have to recognize that women’s power can come from other feminine talents: being a medial woman – a woman who can see through the veils to other dimensions and bring back wisdom and knowledge for the good of the group, being a mother, being a healer and being an artist. These energies will be easier to access once Venus moves into Pisces (March 26) and conjuncts Neptune (April 10). There are many ways to find our feminine power. Being a warrior isn’t the only way.

All things come from the Goddess, the great Shakti who is the energy of creation. The God’s energy bestows consciousness and self-awareness. Perhaps we are growing conscious enough to work on our Shadow nature and allow the true union of Hera/Juno and Zeus/Jupiter to show us how to be whole.

Mars starts the season in Taurus, trining the Capricorn stellium and sextiling the Cancer North Node, giving us the stamina to release ourselves from those stuck places through the power of the Great Mother Goddess of Life. Mars moves into Gemini on March 30th - 31st, so watch that you don’t get too scattered during April and May since Mars in Gemini is interested in everything. Mars squares Neptune in Pisces on April 27th, a good day to stay focused.

The lineup of energies in Pisces – Neptune, Mercury retrograde and Vesta – get reflected by the discerning Virgo Moon. These three energies want to awaken us to our soul depths, to the memories of our ancient capacities. With Vesta, the priestess and keeper of the sacred fires of life, keeping us centered, we can work with Mercury and Neptune in the creative imagination to find our truth in the midst of the chaos and craziness of our times. Mercury conjuncts Neptune three times this Winter/Spring – February 19, March 24 & April 2 – due to its retrograde, which ends on March 28th.

We’ve had an unusual Winter season without any retrogrades until Mercury went retrograde on March 6 – 28. Mercury finally ends its 2 ½ month visit to Pisces and enters Aries on April 17th, raring to go with new ideas, imagination and ideals.

Once we hit April, 3 planets turn retrograde.

Jupiter turns retrograde at 25* Sagittarius to 15* Sagittarius on April 10th until August 11th.
Pluto turns retrograde at 24* Capricorn to 21* Capricorn on April 24th until October 2nd – 3rd.
Saturn turns retrograde at 21* Capricorn to 14* Capricorn on April 29th until September 18th.

Full Moon at 1* Aries/Libra on March 20, 2019.
New Moon at 16* Aries on April 5, 2019.
Full Moon at 30* Aries/Libra on April 19, 2019.

Beltane – May 1-5, 2019 – next newsletter 

 
The Goddess of Spring: Ostara

Ostara, the Goddess of Dawn (Saxon), who was responsible for bringing spring each year, was feeling guilty about arriving so late – Mercury was retrograde you see. To make matters worse, she arrived to find a pitiful little bird who lay dying, his wings frozen by the snow. Lovingly, Ostara cradled the shivering creature and saved his life.
Legend has it that she then made him her pet or, in the X-rated versions, her lover. Filled with compassion for him since he could no longer fly because of his frost-damaged wings, the goddess Ostara turned him into a rabbit, a snow hare, and gave hime the name Lepus.

She also gave him the gift of being able to run with astonishing speed so he could easily evade all the hunters. To honor his earlier form as a bird, she also gave him the ability to lay eggs (in all the colors of the rainbow, no less), but he was only allowed to lay eggs on one day out of each year. 
 
Eventually Ostara lost her temper with Lepus (some say the raunchy rabbit was involved with another woman), and she flung him into the skies where he would remain for eternity as the constellation Lepus (The Hare), forever positioned under the feet of the constellation Orion the Hunter. 
 
But later, remembering all the good times they had once enjoyed, Ostara softened a bit and allowed the hare to return to earth once each year, but only to give away his eggs to the children attending the Ostara festivals that were held each spring.


Ostara, Eástre is the divinity of the radiant dawn, of upspringing light, a spectacle that brings joy and blessing, whose meaning was easily adapted by the resurrection-day of the Christian’s God. Bonfires were lit at Easter to help welcome the Sun back on his journey north, and according to popular belief of long standing, the moment the sun rises on Easter Sunday morning, he gives three joyful leaps, dancing for joy.

With the return of Spring, new hope and life and light are born again in the world. While many of us have left behind our religions, we can’t leave behind the symbolic meaning of the seasons if we want to stay connected to life and its truth. So rejoice in the Springtime, and find meaning within and without. 


Ostara Blessing:

We hail the Goddess of Spring, of vibrancy, of stirring bounty, of the waking earth that readies Herself for the seed. We hail the Goddess of Sunshine, and cycles and changes, and all good and terrifying things. Bring fertility in our work of minds and hearts and hands. Bring blessings and the gift of hope’s manifestation. We hail the Goddess of Spring as Her bounty covers the land. Hail Ostara.

May the peace and the love of the Goddess be ever in your hearts. Merry meet, merry part and merry meet again.

May the Blessings of Spring give birth to your new life!
Cathy

I’m still available for astrology readings, dream work and spiritual coaching. Email me at cathy@imaginecoachingservices.com to set up an appointment.



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