Vernal Equinox 2012

“New You Can Use”

The new solar-seasonal cycle begins this year on March 20th, 2012.  Whether you are above the equator or below it, the sign Aries heralds this annual changing of the guards.  For a brief moment in time we experience the night and day as equal.  Yes, pause and contemplate that.  Equality.  Where in your life are you attempting to gain that quality of life?  Is it in your personal relationship with a lover, partner, or spouse?  Or is it in the arena of work and career where you seek greater balance of power?  Or is it in the broader social issues of which you are a part?  Do you have economic equality?  Political equality?

Aries signifies the individual, not the collective.  Aries must push forward with a great and mighty force to overcome the previous end-of cycle Piscean pull of not just the collective, but the veritable collective unconscious with all of its residues of unfinished business.  So at this time of year we all need to look at 0 degrees of Aries in our own charts to see where that pivotal point of individualism needs to be emphasized.  If it’s in your 1st house of selfhood, and self discovery you truly are at a new beginning in self-determination to BE.  If it falls in your 7th house it truly is about finding some kind of balance with others where both of you acknowledges the other’s right TO BE.  Wherever it is, take note and BE TRUE TO YOURSELF right there.  Own your right to be here now, alive, hopefully free, and independently individualized.  That’s Aries theme and message.

Looking at this Vernal Equinox chart and contrasting it with last year’s is both fun and intriguing.  Each of these charts sets the tone for the next year.  In the chart for 2011 we had Sun exactly conjoining Uranus at 0 degrees of Aries.  The revolutionary spirit of awakening, upheaval, rebellion, and change was catalyzed strongly.  The Cardinal Square with Pluto in Capricorn was the key aspect which also heralded the mighty shifts we either experienced or witnessed on the global scene with the ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings on to the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movements.  Last year’s chart had strong oppositions between a Saturn/Moon in Libra conjunction opposed to a Jupiter/Mercury conjunction in Aires.  We can equate this with the haves and the have nots, or the right and the left, or whatever polarity you wish to explore.  Saturn opposite Jupiter polarized the world and Moon opposite Mercury kept the masses involved and buzzing about it all.  The only earth element in this chart was Pluto in Capricorn, which further exacerbated the haves with the have nots.

This year’s chart, however, has shifted the emphasis strongly to a lot of Earth.  Take a look at that Grand Trine in Earth signs involving now Jupiter/Venus in Taurus and Mars in Virgo both flowing with Pluto in Capricorn.  That’s one mighty ‘trineful’ of potential abundance, coupled with tremendous power.  This configuration allows the invisible realm of Pluto to blend and harmonize with the archetypes of the warrior, the high priest, and the love goddess.  It brings success and enterprise down to earth in manifest forms. The real issue, then, is how can YOU tap into that powerful equation of energies that may boost you in an Earth-solid way?  Again, you will need to see where those energies are in your own chart.  This is actually the fun and mysterious part of astrology; to learn to work with the celestial energies.  So it doesn’t really matter who you are or where you are in terms of life’s circumstances.  Once you realize that celestial currents are for everyone, you can tap in to their field of energies and use them for yourself as well.  This is the field theory at work.  Get it?  So let’s not focus right now on all the ills of the world and the collective dilemmas.  Let’s just focus on YOU.  You are an individual who can connect with cosmic energies if you want to.  You can bring your consciousness into focus and work with this ever-changing field of energy that both surrounds you and flows through you.

In your own chart look at where you have planets in Earth and planets in Water.  These energies primarily gain from this configuration.  Earth types may gain in substantial ways that prove financially beneficial and improve all issues of substance and worth. People with a lot of Taurus energy are especially blessed this season to be enhanced with grace and abundance.  Water signs may benefit from opportunities to gain greater security or safety, as Earth creates a container for their emotional lives.  Pisces, of course, must deal with the Mars in Virgo opposition which engages them in relationships that are either forcing issues of victimization into awareness or deepening their sense of compassion and understanding towards uplifting relationships for both sides.  If the former is the theme then true boundaries are an issue, as well as shame and guilt.  These Piscean themes are getting played out to the hilt right now in collective wars, violence, and dark sado-masochistic sexual themes.  When people with major Pisces energy own their power to understand and have true compassion rather than maudlin sentimentality, which continues to cord them unconsciously in unhealthy co-dependency, then they become strong in their capacity to channel healing energies towards those who suffer from guilt and shame, and both are elevated through the higher octaves of love.  Certainly this Pisces/Virgo dynamic is either exacerbated into further deepening wounds, or heightened through transcendental awareness by Neptune and Chiron moving through Pisces.

Mars still retrograde in Virgo until April 14th, and then continuing on through the sign until July 3rd gives everyone an opportunity to focus on projects and get things done.  Mutable types, especially, can benefit from this kick in the pants to finish loose ends and complete things.  Mutables are Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces.

Coming back to the Sun entering Aries, conjoining Mercury retrograde in Aries, with Uranus at 4+ degrees of Aries, we have a configuration that speaks of high, inventive, creative sparks for both discovery and potential insight (with the Retrograde Mercury) that must push us forward into a future yet unknown, but hopefully beyond the inequality that now plagues the planetary scene, so long as the energy is used to inspire rather than further isolate.

The repeating theme of Pluto versus Uranus is here, once again.  Uranus must propel us forward into new realms beyond the control of Pluto; a mighty endeavor now given the fact that Pluto seems to have all the cards with its alliance with Mars, Jupiter, and Venus.  For each of us, then, it means using Pluto in its more positive aspects to transform old structures that are no longer valid or beneficial.  Capricorn means traditions.  Some traditions are time-honored and worthy of keeping.  Each of us must decide which ones protect and respect the rights of what Uranus in Aires represents; the individual.
Finally, we must not neglect the note of Saturn in Libra, no longer in opposition to Jupiter but completing its journey through the sign of equality and balance.  Saturn sits retrograde, as well, in this chart, and necessitates some reflection around the laws that govern us as well as the rules we choose to live by.  With Saturn now in an out-of-sign trine with Neptune and the Moon in Pisces it looks like feminine issues are favored.  Again, where can compassion and an open heart guide the structures of relationship?  Where does that open you in your life to more healing, equal relationships (Saturn in Libra)?  Neptune/Moon/Chiron in Pisces is so very different from Sun/Mercury/Uranus in Aires, but both configurations can change and transform us into more caring, loving, vibrant, and fully awake human beings.  So be it!