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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