Renewal. The word we’ve been mouthing to the mirror each morning. The sound we have been pressing into ears of friends and lovers. Renewal, renaissance. The feeling that we have come so far, but are now seeking more. Renewal, renaissance, rebirth. The call to move from chrysalis to open air, wings red like petals of poppies, damp and delicate, but ready.
On April 15th, at 9:57 p.m., our Moon flushes new in cardinal fire sign Aries. It will sit conjunct Uranus, planet of invention, futurity, and surprise, encouraging us to become electric, to revamp our senses of self. Uranus is also preparing for its own newness, as it gets ready to leave the sign Aries and move into Taurus on May 15, marking the end of a seven year transit through Aries. Mercury, also in the sign Aries, will go direct on April 15th, thus ending its period of retrograde. We must direct our gaze ahead, now. We have been ruminating on the past long enough. Mercury retrograde always encourages us to learn from our past. You can now take what you uncovered in this most recent retrograde and burn it as fuel for your forward movement. This is the time to claim a new piece of existence for yourself, a new sacred awareness—a surefooted awakening.
Aries is the first sign of the zodiac. Solar Aries are the embodiment of the freshness of spirit, of bravery, of optimism at the beginning of a new life. They often rush headlong, like a charging ram, into the world around them. Because of this, they cultivate opportunities for themselves. They are fearless. It doesn’t really occur to them that they might be wrong, or moving too fast, or that there might be danger nearby. Once they have a vision, they chase it.
Rams live in high mountains, and confront their enemies by charging them, head-butting their way to victory. Our Aries friends and lovers comport themselves the same way, leading with their high ideals, their heads. They rush out into the world, and fear no enemy, regardless of the steepness of the cliffs below them. It is only fitting that in medical astrology, Aries rules the head. The ram’s horns are the perfect crown.
The symbol of the ram comes from the mythological Chrysomallus, the golden fleece, that Jason and his Argonauts sought on the island of Colchis. Scholars have a hard time agreeing just what the meaning of this golden fleece could have been to ancient peoples, and the list is as variegated as the potential of Aries. Anything from royalty, alchemy, golden wheat/harvest bounty, golden ink on paper as a new technological invention, a reflection of the Sun on the sea, or riches imported from the East are possible interpretations.
Thus we see that the ram’s horns are connected to themes of multiplicity. Think of depictions of feasts—the ram’s horn is often present in these tableaus, filled with fruit and cake and other items of bounty. Aries’s optimism can cultivate this abundance. This is the energy we must seek to embrace, this lunar cycle.
A series of exciting and powerful aspects will accompany the Moon’s new expression in Aries. I mentioned earlier that the Moon will be conjunct Uranus. This is a promising conjunction for those of us yearning for the courage to break free from tired personal dynamics and old, stagnant ways of being. Uranus is a powerful outer planet. It brings the energy of inspiration, like Mercury. It is a higher octave of that planet of communication. They are linked in the way they give people a jolt of insight. But, being an outer planet, Uranus isn’t really interested in your personal problems. It has a bigger agenda, and is more concerned with facilitating sweeping change than anything else. It is the planet of futurity, of invention, of technology and progress. Its influence is unpredictable, and strikes without warning.
With our Moon sitting conjunct Uranus, our emotional and unconscious lunar energy merges with this planet of inspiration. Open yourself up to the new, to what has previously seemed out of reach to you. Open your mind and your heart to new paths on which Uranus seeks to guide you. What does abundance look like to you? Where are your heart’s eyes dreamily gazing?
For the past seven years, Uranus has been on a journey through Aries. It will move into Taurus on May 15th, and then retrograde back to Aries from November 6th, 2018, through March 6th, 2019. As we near completion of this transit, tie up some loose ends. You have been on a journey of self-cultivation. Aries rules the first house, the house of the ego, the house of personal identity. If you have been approaching a newly cultivated sense of self, now is the time to embrace it, unabashedly. Ask yourself if you have done the work you most need to do to facilitate a positive reincarnation of the self. If you have been holding back, take heart, you can still be brave. If you need an explosive newness, it is here for you. The ram is optimistic, and you can be, too.
We will also see Venus make an opposition to Jupiter, and as the planets of love and aesthetics (Venus) and expansion and excess (Jupiter) face off in the heavens, we will be flooded with an affectionate vibe, a sense of carefree optimism. In other words, it can feel like a party. I see it as an infusion of fresh pink flowers, right to the solar plexus.
Jupiter will form a supportive, flowing, trine with Neptune, planet of fog and psychic dreams. We will be inspired to be creative again, to be playful, to have hope for ourselves and our fellow human beings. We will be called to remember the downtrodden. It is the perfect time to adjust practices around our senses of justice, and to start formulating plans for a utopian vision of the future.
These aspects are all flute and harp, all orchid and dewey bravery. While the revelry takes place, we will simultaneously be called to remember Pluto as he squares the Moon. This aspect brings the possibility of deep feelings being exposed to the open air. Pluto is a keeper of secrets, as lord of the underworld. The uncomfortable dynamic between Pluto and the Moon means that secrets will be revealed. Hidden trauma unearthed. In order to heal, we must express. We must purge. We must scrape out the insides of our hearts, gently, to make room for fresh blood. The Moon square Pluto empowers you to do so.
It is an opportunity for transformation, and if things start to feel scary for you, remember that there is power in the truth, and that you don’t need to perform wellness for anyone. Pluto governs cycles of death and rebirth. Sometimes healing requires examining those chthonic messages by the light of day.
Uranus entered Aries in March of 2011. Where were you then? Where was your head? Where was your heart? How have your ram’s horns grown since? In what ways have you bloomed, and what deserves to be plucked away from the stem of your life to facilitate growth? As Uranus prepares to leave Aries and enter Taurus, consider the ways in which you have grown your sense of your own identity. You are closer to arriving than you realize. Uranus wears the crown of cornucopia a few weeks longer. Be fearless, and put it to positive use. You can break through to a new understanding of yourself right now. Charge forward, horns strong and curling.
From the top of the mountain,
Your Celestial Hermit
-
Renewal. The word we’ve been mouthing to the mirror each morning. The sound we have been pressing into ears of friends and lovers. Renewal, renaissance. The feeling that we have come so far, but are now seeking more. Renewal, renaissance, rebirth. The call to move from chrysalis to open air, wings red like petals of […] -
Renewal. The word we’ve been mouthing to the mirror each morning. The sound we have been pressing into ears of friends and lovers. Renewal, renaissance. The feeling that we have come so far, but are now seeking more. Renewal, renaissance, rebirth. The call to move from chrysalis to open air, wings red like petals of […] -
Renewal. The word we’ve been mouthing to the mirror each morning. The sound we have been pressing into ears of friends and lovers. Renewal, renaissance. The feeling that we have come so far, but are now seeking more. Renewal, renaissance, rebirth. The call to move from chrysalis to open air, wings red like petals of […] -
Renewal. The word we’ve been mouthing to the mirror each morning. The sound we have been pressing into ears of friends and lovers. Renewal, renaissance. The feeling that we have come so far, but are now seeking more. Renewal, renaissance, rebirth. The call to move from chrysalis to open air, wings red like petals of […] -
Renewal. The word we’ve been mouthing to the mirror each morning. The sound we have been pressing into ears of friends and lovers. Renewal, renaissance. The feeling that we have come so far, but are now seeking more. Renewal, renaissance, rebirth. The call to move from chrysalis to open air, wings red like petals of […]
NO COMMENT