When the Sun leaves Pisces and hits 0 degrees of Aries, we begin a new Solar Year. The cosmic energies activated at this time are predictive clues to the potentials and pitfalls that lie ahead. Our social distress is covered by the news, but the spiritual potential never makes the headlines.
0 degrees of Aries is called the World Point, the beginning of the World Axis that forms a square, or the Cross of Matter. At Equinoxes and Solstices, the 0 degree points of all Cardinal signs: Cancer, Libra and Capricorn, are activated as well. When the Sun lights up the Cross, it affects the entire planet and all of humanity. In the Spring, it’s a signal to awaken.
Because this is a Leap Year, the Spring Equinox hits earlier in our calendar month on the evening of March 19th. By the time you read this, the precise moment will have passed, but the messages from the chart illuminate our path through the next 12 months.
As I poured over the Equinox chart, I was amazed at the strong presence of the Divine Feminine. While the Sun may be kicking off a new year in Aries, ruled by Mars – the energy of initiative, boldness, impulsive self-expression, exploration and self-discovery – the Moon is activating the nodal axis in preparation for the partial Lunar Eclipse on March 25th, and the dramatic Solar Eclipse on April 8th.
The Sun
Let’s begin the Equinox chart with the Sun, which is conjunct Neptune and Hygeia, both at 27+ Pisces. Neptune in the final degrees of Pisces in the USA 3rd House, is helping us surrender some of our erroneous beliefs.
We have lived within a scientific/religious/economic paradigm of hierarchy, scarcity, competition and cold isolation in a clockwork universe. Science and spirituality have moved on, but pundits still cling to what they think they knew. Education trails far behind the cutting edge of progress. We have already entered a quantum era, whether we’re aware of it or not. This is part of the paradigm shift of the Aquarian Age. Computer scientists predict that by the end of this decade, we will have quantum computers. The days of our binary technology are ending as we move into a wholistic paradigm based on quantum mechanics which has revealed the interconnectedness of all things and the significance of human consciousness in the process of manifesting reality.
The 3rd House addresses our perception of the world from the information we gather at an ever-increasing rate. Mercury rules this house, activating our minds – what we think about, the information we gather to form opinions that evolve into beliefs and dogma. A major theme of this year will be rethinking our reality. I guess we had to plough through a field of alternative facts before remembering the value of truth.
When we remember that our reality is created out of our collective thoughts, beliefs, desires, and energy frequency, we see how important it is to get it right. At the moment, our country is weighed down with fear, angst and rancor; with obstructionism and prejudice; worst of all, blame and hatred. We’re groping through fog, struggling. We are gripped by the need to control, but it’s time for us to slip into the flow of cosmic intent and turn it over to the Divine.
This doesn’t mean we flop down on the couch and just trust everything will turn out okay. It means that we focus on finding that flow within us and allowing it take us exactly where we need to be, to the core of our essential selves and the eternal connection we have to the Divine. It requires our rapt attention to every detail, every instinct and intuition, every signal from our bodies. And it requires our willingness to open our minds and consider new possibilities. Most of all, it requires our commitment to love.
Neptune conjunct Hygeia refers to our health. Neptune has been associated with plagues, pandemics and ill health. Ancient wisdom tells us that poor health is the result of imbalance in our lives. This conjunction asks us to monitor and support the health of our bodies. In Pisces, it includes the health of our souls, which determines our vitality and wellbeing.
There is a natural tendency when faced with uncertainty to want to grab control of the reins. We worry, as if that ever worked. We torture our minds and bodies with fear. Our news is saturated with the struggle to control, and the fear that underlies it. To manifest the benevolent future we long for, we must choose Love and say “No!” to fear.
On the Equinox, Venus is conjunct Saturn in Pisces, inviting us to trust Love, and to practice it. Venus is also conjunct the dwarf planet Ceres, the only dwarf in our neighborhood. Ceres is the goddess of abundant Mother Love, symbolized by her bounty. She is the grieving mother, seeking for her daughter who has been abducted into darkness. She is the foundation of spiritual mysteries and rituals that nourish our symbiosis with the Earth and her mystical powers.
Pisces is the vast enigmatic realm of the Unknown – multiple dimensions of the total, infinite reality we cannot apprehend with our senses. Love on a cosmic scale! Saturn is relaxing its boundaries in Pisces. Barriers are dissolving. Portals opening. Oneness is beckoning.
The Moon and Nodal Axis
The Spring Equinox chart reveals both potentials and pitfalls through the transiting Nodal Axis. To refresh our minds, the North Node points to the future, the direction in which we evolve. We have come to a crossroad, with markers pointing in different directions. Which path will we choose? The most important 3D portion of our reality is the choice we make in November. The most important decision we make for ourselves is between love and fear.
Pitfalls reside in the South Node. This is the tail end of the dragon where the past, having been digested, is ready to be released. It’s the storehouse of karma, all the unresolved psychic/emotional issues of multiple lifetimes. Collectively we have stored much grievance there.
Let’s begin with the North Node at 15 Aries, which is conjunct Mercury and Chiron less than a degree apart, all of which is prelude to the USA Chiron return on April 20th, the same day that Jupiter conjuncts Uranus. There is real potential for “lift off” here. Jupiter provides the fuel, Uranus the ignition and Chiron the release.
Many of us have had a Chiron return. It’s an initiation into spiritual adulthood. The past rises up to be confronted and released. Old issues surface. We’re invited to do a Spring cleaning, to clear out the cobwebs, get rid of the junk, say goodbye to the past. Taking responsibility for the past is the first task of the Spiritual Adult. Dedication to this task pays big dividends – releasing what burdens us, growing through recognition and acceptance, liberating ourselves from pain. This is Saturn work. When we do it, we mature. When we don’t do it, we carry that baggage to our graves.
Guess where the South Node is. Surprise! It’s on our natal Saturn in Libra in the 10th House associated with our contribution to, and impact on, the collective. The excesses of Capitalism have taken a toll and must be addressed. The workforce is shifting. We can no longer tolerate the enormous gap between rich, who hold all the power, and poor who supply the labor. We’re just one step away from the Dark Ages. Libra demands balancing the scales and we are on tilt. Justice resolves a lot of grievance.
Also in the vicinity is the dwarf planet Makemake, the higher octave of Uranus, who brings us gestalts of new information that enlighten our minds. The South Node and Makemake will come together on July 22nd. When we see a bigger picture, our reality shifts. The meaning we have assigned to our experience shifts as well. Human consciousness is headed for a peak experience and this is part of the build-up.
In case we didn’t get the message, our nation’s nodal axis is also being activated. At the Equinox, the balance point between light and dark hours of the day, the Moon is conjunct our North Node in Leo, shining a spotlight on courage and heartfelt self-expression. The Moon is the feminine function in our psyche, receptive, inclusive, intuitive and deeply connected to the emotional body. The Moon asks us to feel our way into the future, trust our instincts and our intuition, heed the messages of our emotions and respond to the call.
The dwarf planet Varuna is exactly on our North Node, pointing the way to sovereignty, the very opposite of control. No force or threat is necessary. The Spiritual Adult is sovereign because it is in harmony with Divine Law. It has gained wisdom from its experience, has an innate instinct for moral justice, and values peace.
Our natal South Node is conjunct our natal Pholus in the 2nd House. Pholus is a complicated centaur. His myth doesn’t seem to justify his reputation as bringer of wisdom, but conjunct our South Node, the message is clear – there are lessons to be learned and wisdom to be gained by examining the atrocities of our past. We cannot bury our past by burning books or eliminating uncomfortable truths from our curriculum. The children of today are here to heal and unite our population. They must know the truth, or they, too, could become another lost generation.
The Second House is about our values. Pluto has been churning up the hardpan soil of our history so we can take a good look at what needs healing, and avoid these same injustices in the future.
Eclipse Season
Eclipse season kicks off with our next Full Moon, a partial lunar eclipse. We have taken a good look at the Moon’s nodes. The nodes are power points in the chart where Spirit (the ecliptic path of the Sun), intersects Soul (the Moon), and body (the Earth.) When the three come into close alignment, we get a total eclipse like the one on April 8th, with the New Moon in Aries conjunct our natal Chiron.
Eclipses intensify everything. I know you’re thinking, what? More intensity? Yes. Think of childbirth – the last few hours are the most intense. Lots of pressure is needed to bring a new baby into the world, or create a diamond out of coal.
Rather than overload you with more information, I will send out a second post on the Lunar Eclipse. In the meantime, think about that nodal axis and the flow in your own life from past to future. What bumps still chatter your teeth? Remember the times when it felt magical – you were in the flow and doors were opening? Tap into that magic. It can lead you back to the flow.
Leave a Reply