“I can’t lengthen my life, but I can deepen it.” Jane Fonda on Dear . . .
I hope you all absorbed the spiritual energy of Pisces. It’s still active. We have one more powerful opportunity coming up on April 12th when Jupiter joins Neptune just shy of 24 degrees. These two gas giants are co-CEO’s of Pisces. When they come together, a spiritual portal opens and we can take a quantum leap into a brighter reality.
That said, it’s important to remember that physical reality may not reflect this transformational moment immediately. We are still dealing with the sins of our past – war, slavery, genocide, social injustice, 5000 years of harsh patriarchal dominance. Outer reality still mirrors this stage of our evolution, but we are moving on. This month, and the years to come, can heal and transform our inhospitable world into the kinder, gentler future we long for. It all depends on the choices we make now and our commitment to evolve.
Aries is the first sign of the Zodiac and the beginning of a new astrological year. Dormant life quickens and catalyzes a spirit of rebirth. As light and life return, Jupiter joins Neptune in an explosion of spiritual energy, released for our use. Jupiter brings faith, hope, optimism and idealism to the planet of Oneness. Neptune dissolves boundaries. It is the flow of Spirit that unites us all because it is our divine source, our true identity.
Humanity has taken on an extraordinary challenge – to embody spirit and manifest it on Earth. The stumbling block is letting go. It’s so easy to place our faith in the manifested world and have our minds disillusioned, our hearts shattered over and over when reality doesn’t live up to our dreams. We have to do more than dream – we have to become our dreams, we have to embody the qualities of the future we desire. Who will we be in this paradise we envision? We have to become that now, because that is how it gets manifested – within the psyches of each one of us. As we change, as our values shift, as our minds perceive potentials and we come into our fullness, we can step into a new identity. We can lift into our Higher Selves.
The pandemic has shown us how susceptible we are to disease, how it can spread from one to another so quickly. Could it be that we could spread health, spread peace, spread respect just as quickly? We can start a chain reaction of kindness. Do the unexpected. We have come to expect bad behavior, rudeness, incompetence. We have been taught to distrust one another. We armor ourselves against a hostile world. What if we took off that armor? What if we opened up and let our love flow out? How fast would that spread?
Jupiter always arrives with a big question – how are you underestimating yourself? In Pisces, conjunct Neptune, Jupiter asks “How much Love can you embody? It’s more than you think.” It’s all there for the receiving. What do we do with it? Put it out into the world, through acts of healing kindness.
The exact conjunction occurs on April 12th, but Jupiter is already within 2 degrees of Neptune. The energy is building and we can bathe in its light just as we bathe in the Sun. Open and receive. Don’t think about it. Let go of concepts, goals, control. Receive and listen – where does it want to take you? Let yourself go with the flow. Listen to the still small voice within, which will probably get louder over the next few weeks. We don’t have to figure it all out. As we surrender to inner guidance, the answers come in surprising and delightful ways.
The Vernal Equinox
We call the ingress of the Sun into Aries the Spring, or Vernal Equinox in the northern hemisphere. In the South of course it’s the beginning of Autumn. The chart for this moment is like a birth chart for the year ahead. It can reveal the major themes that will play out from this March 20th to the next Spring.
Let’s look at a few of these themes:
The Moon is at the very last degree of Libra conjunct Haumea. If you recall, Haumea is the goddess of prolific creation and regeneration. The theme is rebirth. Haumea is moving back and forth over 30 degrees of Libra preparing us for her shift into Scorpio. It’s time for an honest look at our relationships. The Moon is gathering this creative energy and the spirit of regeneration will be our companion for the year ahead. We have suffered enough death and loss. The timing is right to shift into rebirth mode, release the past and let go.
Venus and Mars are within 3 degrees of one another in Aquarius. In the USA 2nd house, the focus is on values. In the coming year can we learn to value the Divine Feminine and bring our lives into more balance? These two planets are square Uranus in Taurus in the 5th House. There will be change. Will heads over-rule hearts or will we find a creative way to bring them into balance? The “battle of the sexes” is a waste of energy. It’s time to make peace.
Chiron is conjunct Pallas in Aries in the 4th house. Chiron brings up old wounds for the purpose of healing. Pallas is lending her wisdom and warrior spirit to this conjunction. We can take a big step this year toward healing our collective wounds and harvesting the wisdom from that healing. All of which leads to rebirth.
Mercury is conjunct Jupiter in Pisces. We will see more, learn more, have our eyes opened and hopefully wake up from our thrall. We are rebirthing our nation at the beginning of a new Pluto cycle. We are setting a course for the next 250-year journey. This is a mid-term election year and our votes will determine the outcome of our experiment in Democracy. Our nation, and literally the rest of the world, hangs in the balance. Ukraine is showing us how to fight for our precious freedoms. Will we wake up and do the same?
So the year ahead is about healing old wounds festering in the collective unconscious; waking up to the truth and dreaming bigger, better dreams; becoming more aware in our relationships, honoring self and other and finding a healthy balance between the dynamic and receptive modes of consciousness. It comes into focus with the New Moon.
New Moon in Aries
The pace is about to pick up. We have been in dreamy Pisces and now we jump into the fire of Aries and take off on a new adventure. What will we learn? Create? Become? The overall theme is self-discovery.
Aries is dynamic, ruled by Mars. It can be impulsive, immature, quick to anger or enter conflict, but the essence is like The Fool in Tarot. It’s about exploring life with open curiosity and discovering itself in the process.
This particular New Moon takes place just before midnight on March 31st; on April 1st for those east of the Rockies. It is sandwiched between Mercury at 9 degrees and Chiron at 12 Aries in the USA 4th House. This is where we address the conditioning of our past, focus on healing the wounds and building a strong foundation for our collective identity. Mercury will bring new awareness and new perspectives. We may have our eyes opened this month. Chiron will activate old wounds. It’s a perfect storm of healing!
Mars is rapidly approaching a conjunction with Saturn in Aquarius in our nation’s 2nd House of values and self-worth. This can manifest in several ways on a spectrum according to the quality of our consciousness. Need I say that it will be imperative this month to monitor our reactive defense mechanisms and cultivate heart/brain coherence?
Aries can enflame situations and set us off. Mars has a strong will and wants things to go his way, but when he runs into the wall of Saturn, he may find resistance, obstacles and a clash of wills. And Saturn is conjunct Juno, the planet of commitment in relationship. Perhaps commitment will be tested, challenged, shattered. There are many lessons to be learned in this House. Pluto, Vesta, Mars, Saturn and Juno all have something to reveal about our values.
If you saw the Oscars Sunday night, you witnessed a Martian moment when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock. I gasped, as I’m sure we all did. It was an appalling loss of control and bad behavior. I imagine that Will Smith was crying over this lapse and the loss of his image in front of millions of people. More importantly he let himself down and opened himself up to severe criticism. He let his anger get the best of him. But what a gift to the rest of us! The collective response was shock. That’s good! We value self-control and loving interactions with others. And we can remember, when our own Mars gets pricked, the image of regret and shame that Will unveiled before our eyes.
The stellium of Mercury, Sun, Moon and Chiron in Aries is square the USA Sun in the 7th. The awareness we garner about our foundational wounds and conditions can both challenge and heal our identity as a nation. What has happened to our national spirit in 246 years? How have we embodied the values upon which our country was founded? Who are we now and who do we want to be? Can we take the best of the past, heal the rest and evolve our national identity through a re-evaluation of ideals, with the blessings of Spirit?
Sounds like a job for a superhero, right? But all that is required is to do our part. What old beliefs keep us separated from one another? What biases have created imagined enemies? What are we afraid of? This too is a theme of Aries. We can rush headlong into the unknown, or we can resist and hang on to what we know because the unknown frightens us. The first option is foolish, the second is sabotaging. Change and evolution are inevitable. The middle way is to strengthen our integrity by living according to our thoroughly examined values and allowing ourselves to be guided by the wisdom of our hearts and souls.
The antidote to both fear and anger is love. We are held and surrounded by a force field of Love. There is no scarcity – it’s within us and all around us. Can we overcome our fear of Love?
This may be a challenging month, but we can draw upon the enthusiasm and spiritual promise of Jupiter and Neptune. We can reside in our hearts and refuse our lesser impulses when our egos are triggered. This is a chance to grow up a bit more and strengthen our commitment to the higher road.
The work we do to better understand ourselves and our enormous potential will give us the resilience we need as we enter the first eclipse season at the end of the month.
Here are key dates to help you take full advantage of the energies for the next two weeks:
April 2 Mercury conjunct the Sun – Superior conjunction and Full Moon phase in the Mercury/Sun cycle. How has your mind changed since the 23rd of January? What do you see now that you didn’t then?
4/4 Mars conjunct Saturn – avoid struggle; create something
4/5 Mars square the Nodal axis – what impact will your actions today have on the future? What from the past is holding you in place?
4/5 Venus moves into Pisces – even more Love
4/10 Mercury square Pluto – potential transformation
4/10 Mercury enters Taurus – let’s get practical
4/11 Saturn square the Nodal axis – what future can we create when we heal our past?
4/12 Jupiter conjunct Neptune – embrace the Love; open wide
4/12 Sun sextile Saturn – throwing light on our blockages
4/14 Mars enters Pisces – but wait, there’s more Love! Don’t waste this beautiful energy in resistance, escape, or zoning out. Stay awake!
4/16 Full Moon in Libra – see you then
One final note, a friend of mine and his colleagues spent the last few years compiling a directory of resources to support us on our spiritual paths. I was asked to write a piece on Astrology. I include the link here. You can read my paper, if you choose, but I suggest you explore other sections of this directory as well, acquaint yourself with the many services available and become a member. It’s free! Just imagine having one place to search for all your healing and spiritual growth needs! It’s amazing. You may discover something new.
Wishing you deep love . . .
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