Shortly before 6:30 am EDT (10:28:34 UTC) Monday, the Sun will enter Aries. At the same time the Sun will be directly overhead at the equator. On the same day, everyone on Earth will receive the same amount of daylight. Likewise, the Sun will rise precisely east and set exactly west everywhere. It will be the vernal equinox (first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere), perhaps the most important solar ingress of the year.

This year, however, the Aries equinox is clearly not just the Sun’s show alone. In the chart for the Sun’s 2017 ingress to Aries, the Moon will be exhibiting amazing timing while also making an implicit case for equal time.

In effect, the Sun will be obliged to share the spotlight to an extraordinary extent during what astrologers consider their own version of New Year’s Day 2017. Any parallels to that phenomenon in your life will depend largely on what the Moon means to you. To help you achieve a better personal connection with this year’s Aries equinox, let’s start with an impersonal look at the facts.

At the exact moment the Sun enters Aries on Monday, the Moon will be sharing the same degree of Sagittarius with both Saturn and the Galactic Core. When you consider that the Moon moves around the zodiac at about a degree every two hours, the timing of that one triple conjunction alone is enough to at least make you pause. But wait, that’s not all.

While the Sun is poised overhead at the equator, three astrologically important points in the Moon’s orbit will be in an unusually precise alignment. Two of those points (the lunar nodes) are perpetually in opposition at any given moment all year long. It is not every day that the third calculated point (the mean lunar apogee) is exactly 90 degrees away from both of the nodes. Yet, that will be the precisely the case on Monday.

When any point or object on the zodiac circle is located halfway between the lunar nodes, it is said by astrologers to be “at the bending.” It is implicitly a prominent position to be in, essentially receiving a co-writer’s credit for the story being told by the whole chart in question. When you consider the name astrologers use to identify the point of the lunar orbit farthest from Earth (what astronomers call the apogee), you get a hint of that story’s theme.

The mean lunar apogee is referred to as “Black Moon Lilith” by astrologers. How you interpret that calculated (and, not incidentally, fluctuating) point reveals a lot about how you feel about the feminine. That’s because your perception of mythological Lilith’s character likewise depends on your point of view regarding a woman’s place.

To put it briefly, the Lilith of legend was not a good fit in the ancient male-dominated workplace some call the Garden of Eden. What happened as result depends on whose story you are convinced by: the employer or the employee. Up until recently, some of the most dominant paradigms of western civilization have contended that Lilith was essentially fired, going on to a second career as a baby-eating demon. Lately, another (more realistic) version of Lilith has gained some traction.

Concurrent with the comparatively recent erosion of a male supremacy doctrine at the workaday level of society, a more plausible portrayal of Lilith has emerged. It is the picture of a responsible and mature adult, not a threatening abomination.

The premise of Lilith as a positive example for all begins with the perception that she left paradise of her own volition rather than accept a subordinate role based on gender. In this version, the only harm Lilith does is to the inherently fraudulent image of those she left behind. Too bad for them. Good for her.

The featured role of Black Moon Lilith in the chart for Monday’s equinox can fairly be interpreted to be even wider. It is not generally good astrological policy to interpret any point or object on the zodiac as exclusively feminine or masculine. Much as with all human beings, there are undeniably some of both qualities in every planet. Even so, it flies in the face of reality to deny a nearly pan-cultural connection between the Moon and women.

Therefore, on the first day of 2017 when daylight is equally distributed worldwide, you can reasonably expect issues of gender equality to be part of the corresponding experience for you and everybody on Earth. The same theme will implicitly apply for the year to follow.

You can also anticipate how such equality can be furthered in practice. Much as with the recent emergence of a more realistic interpretation of Lilith’s legend, being responsible and mature may sometimes lead to your being demonized, but not rightly — and not forever.

With a context provided by the cyclical nature of the cosmos, the truth will ultimately come out. And, as always, it is the truth that will set you free. Good for you. Too bad for those who place themselves at odds with veracity.

Offered In Service

The Moon moved on to Libra yesterday. Hours later, Mercury followed suit by leaving Pisces behind to enter Aries. So it is that the celestial field of activity has already started to shift since Sunday’s Full Moon in Virgo. Even so, some of the context in which the Virgo Full Moon took place still remains. By a week from today, however, a lot of new themes should begin to become apparent.

Yesterday, Eric pointed out how two conjunctions impending with Sunday’s Full Moon will become exact this week. Taking into account what’s in store for next week, it’s almost as if the Pisces Sun’s conjunction with Pallas and Chiron later today will be offering closure on the season about to end.

Expanding the temporal reach of the Sun’s Pisces conjunctions will be Uranus and Eris. On Friday, the final meeting of Uranus and Eris in Aries will indicate that closure on an entire era, perhaps spanning generations, is being made available. This week is thus an implicitly liminal period, between states of being. What you might want to consider in response is whether and how to participate in the flow.

As you know from your own life experiences, offers are options to be accepted or declined. You have to be conscious of the world and its events to recognize previously unavailable choices when they present themselves. It also takes self-awareness to make a decision appropriate for you. If you do anything this week, focus on those two essentials.

To begin with, inform yourself as best you can regarding your external environment. Start with the fundamentals, such as how the proportion of daylight relative to nighttime is changing. Notice how other beings are responding to that change. Then, evaluate what (if anything) you are doing in comparison.

You might be surprised by what is revealed about your own state of being in the world when you simply get current with what the Sun is doing. The same principle could very well apply if you observe, and compare notes with, other people.

Once you have oriented yourself relative to the external world, taking the next step will require you to set aside some time to be alone. Since your life is yours alone to live, it’s always important to know what you can live with, and what you can’t. Given how you are not immutable, it’s even more vital to stay in touch with how your desires and values might be changing — especially when you consider the current state of Venus and Mars.

Only weeks ago, Venus and Mars were very close to sharing the same degree of the same sign. Just as the Pisces Sun is now doing with Pallas and Chiron (and just as Uranus is in the process of doing with Eris in Aries), it seemed as if Venus and Mars were about to merge their energies and birth a new cycle. Then, Venus slowed down and stationed retrograde in Aries (a sign ruled by Mars) before it could catch Mars from behind.

For its own part, Mars kept moving forward, ultimately leaving Aries behind to enter Taurus (a sign ruled by Venus) only last week. As result, Venus (which, among other things, corresponds to values) and Mars (which has correlations that include desire) are now in a very different state relative to each other than they were only a short time ago.

First off, Venus and Mars are now in what astrologers call “mutual reception” because they currently occupy each other’s dominion. As a result, you can expect Venus (especially as it manifests inside you), to be more like Mars. Your inner Mars, in turn, will probably begin to resemble Venus. The result could be confusion regarding just who and what you are.

Fortunately, there is good news. Confusion is not inevitable. Much of of the implicit potential for inner disorientation in the near future can be headed off if you conduct an intentional survey of how your desires and values align with each other now. The key is to be honest with yourself about what you find. After that, you will almost certainly have some choices to make.

You may elect to accept something about yourself. You could opt to decline something being offered by others. So long as you consider whether most (if not all) of the possible consequences of such decisions are something you can live with, you will be equipped to know what’s right for you.

Based on what the sky is doing, it is almost as if you are now between lives. If you go through the rest of this week keeping that probable perspective in mind, what you find could just as probably be that you are anything but lost.

Offered In Service

Now that Mars is in Taurus, we are waiting on the Moon. After the waxing Moon moves from Leo to Virgo later today, the celestial chemistry will be pretty much set for the Full Moon on Sunday. How this upcoming opposition of the Sun and Moon manifests for you will depend upon your personal astrology. However, there is one complex yet dominant motif implicit in the symphonic score.

As noted by Amanda’s feature article in the Planet Waves subscribers weekly edition yesterday, one alignment stands out in the Full Moon chart. The featured aspect is called a quincunx. It’s a separation of 150 degrees on the zodiac wheel (or, as Amanda put it: “one sign off from an opposition”).

The prominent quincunx for Sunday’s Full Moon consists of the Virgo Moon in precise aspect to the era-defining conjunction of Uranus and Eris in Aries. But wait, there’s more; wherever you find a quincunx aspect, there is the distinct possibility that another, more complex ‘combined aspect’ is lurking in the cosmic woodpile: a yod.

An ordinary yod consists of three points. First, there must be a sextile (a separation of 60 degrees between two planets). Then, on the other side of the sky, precisely in quincunx aspect to both constituents of the sextile, there must be third object. If you connect the three objects by lines through the middle of the zodiac circle, the yod looks like the letter “Y” in upper case.

Occasionally, an even more complicated yod shows up with a fourth object precisely between the planets in sextile (which is therefore in precise opposition to the planet on the other side). The result is sometimes called a “boomerang yod,” and the connecting lines look like a peace symbol. Sure enough, the upcoming Full Moon will be distinguished by a four-point yod, which will be precise to the degree.

The sextile in question consists of Uranus and Eris sharing the same degree of Aries, and an asteroid called 5143 Heracles, 60 degrees away in Aquarius. Splitting the difference will be the Pisces Sun in exact opposition to the Virgo Full Moon.

You might say the luminaries (Sun and Moon) are the alpha pair of astrology. For its own part, the most straightforward correlation for the astrological Sun is the sort of conscious awareness necessary to make your way about in the external world. The Moon’s interpretation, in turn, includes the less-than-conscious awareness you employ when making your way through your inner world (such as when asleep and dreaming).

Hence, every Full Moon features an implicitly intense relationship between your two most prominent states of consciousness (as symbolized by the luminaries facing off against each other from opposite sides of the sky, with you in between). That’s a big part of the reason Full Moons feel like they do.

Astrology’s role for asteroids is often to fill in the detail sketched out by the luminaries and sign-ruling planets. The astrological interpretation of asteroids is thus highly contextual. Part of that context tends to include a serendipitous correspondence to the asteroid’s name.

Asteroid 5143 is named after one of the most famous characters in ancient mythology: Heracles (or Hercules if your are more of the Roman, rather than Greek, persuasion). By all accounts, he had a complex, compelling and sometimes troubling personality. Nonetheless, you must give Heracles credit for his legendary labors, for which he was often stiffed when it came to receiving his promised compensation.

Implicit as a big part of the big picture for Sunday’s Full Moon is thus a complicated (but nonetheless graspable) scenario. The most salient defining elements of our era are part of the motif, as are the complementary sides of your consciousness.

Filling in the detail are your labors, your motivation for performing them, and what you actually receive in exchange. Keep all of that in mind as you make your way through the weekend, and you could very well find yourself to be a more important detail than you ever gave yourself credit for.

Offered In Service

When the Sun, Moon or a planet moves through a sign in direct motion, the traversal tends to proceed in stages. When an object first enters a new sign, its expression in the world often exhibits in a new way — much as you would after a makeover. With the newness, however, there is usually a bit of uncertainty that can only be resolved with experience.

By the time the Sun, Moon or a planet reaches the middle of a sign, the quotient of uncertainty has usually been reduced. Finally, when an object in direct motion approaches the latter degrees of a sign, one could very well observe that something akin to aging has taken place as regards to how the object’s nature evinces for you.

Sometimes (with red wine as a common example, up to a point) aging is often considered a good thing. Other times (as with salad greens), the fresher the better. In many cases (for clothing and automobiles, among other things) a middle ground between new and old will combine the familiar with what is comfortable. This week will provide you with some good — and probably discernible — examples of how luminary (Sun and Moon) and planetary journeys manifest.

Today will be the last full day of the waxing Moon in Cancer. Tomorrow, the Moon moves on to Leo, where it will remain all day Thursday and most of Friday. During the weekend, the Moon will be in Virgo up to (and in the hours immediately following) the Full Moon on Sunday. Consistent with the nature of how the Moon expresses, take note of how you feel this week, and you will have introduced yourself to a potentially valuable understanding of your inner workings.

Interestingly, while the Moon is moving towards its full phase, the Sun will be completing its tour of the middle third of Pisces. Congruent with the Sun’s customary connection to conscious awareness, it would probably be a useful exercise to compare your point of view on external events now to your perceptions during the last week of February.

Finally, there is Mars. The red planet has been moving through Aries (one of its two astrological dominions, along with Scorpio) since Jan. 28. Late Thursday (or early Friday, depending on your time zone), Mars will finally leave Aries behind and enter Taurus. When you consider how Mars corresponds to energy (especially that related to desire and any perceived imperatives), this week will provide you with an excellent opportunity to see how Mars ages for you.

The end of January is not all that long ago. With a little effort, you should be able to recall something of how your desires and priorities have evolved over the weeks since. With the benefit of reflecting on your experience up to this week, it should also be possible to assess your energetic inclinations during the next several days. In doing so, you can learn a little something of your relationship with Mars.

Once Mars does move on to Taurus, the process will implicitly start over. Therefore, in addition to observing how Mars has aged in its home sign this time around, you will also get a chance to see how it refreshes in a very different environmental signature under the light of what looks to be a discerning Full Moon.

Of course, it is yourself (rather than some far-away celestial object) that motions of the Moon, Sun and Mars will be allowing you to explore this week. Astrology simply uses the planets as devices to help you remember the manifold nature of both your existence within, and your connections to the universe. May you find your life to be enhanced as result.

Offered In Service

All men want, not something to do with, but something to do, or rather something to be.
— Henry David Thoreau

Today is the last full day of the Moon in Taurus. Early tomorrow (less than an hour after Venus stations retrograde) the Moon moves to Gemini. Typically, a Gemini Moon means a lot of conversation. Add Mercury and Mars also making several meaningful aspects before the Moon enters its Cancer domain on Monday, and this weekend looks to be busy, one way or another.

For this reason, at the very least, give yourself something specific and constructive to do your best with over the next few days. It would be even better if you find a way to physically show up among others with an intent to be something specific as well.

The alternative to a self-directed and intentional weekend looks to be the energetic equivalent of being all dressed up with nowhere to go. In other words, there is nothing to fear. There is nothing intrinsically harmful about wearing an evening gown or tuxedo while remaining at home to binge-watch your favorite television series, for example. The prospect of doing so, however, seems like it would be a bit uncomfortable.

With Mercury moving through Pisces to catch up with the Sun early next week, an unoccupied mind at this time would likely be a restless one. Similarly, Mars laboring through the final degrees of its Aries domain over the next six days (and in the context of the rest of the zodiac) implies a distinct potential to be unsettled in an idle body.

It need not be complicated for you to enjoy the comfort you can make for yourself over the coming week. Everybody has something coming up that would benefit from a bit of planning and preparation. If your residence would benefit from some spring cleaning, for example, now would be a good time to occupy your mind by planning and scheduling whatever that would entail.

Occupying your body so as to find physical relaxation can be simple as well. If you are a parent of young children, being present just to play with them could do wonders for both of you. Even calling up a friend and arranging to go for a long walk would go a long way towards covering all the bases being implied by the sky.

Should your ambition be greater than simply finding comfort through doing and/or being, you could look to break some personal precedents. Take the captioned quotation from Thoreau as one instance.

Both the world and the English vernacular have changed a lot since Thoreau’s time. Were he alive and writing today, there is little doubt that he would have made the same observation regarding “all people” rather than “all men.” The gist of the quote, however, still rings true. The same broad principle applies to you.

Even as much as the world has changed in your lifetime, the fact that you are still here is a strong indication you belong here. You have something to do, if only to think through and schedule future actions. You have something to be, if only somebody a little different. Just as the language and earthly realities have changed with time, so can the ways you make yourself comfortable. Recognize only that, and you will make this next week a lot easier.

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“Strange days have found us.”
— Jim Morrison

If you do not yet feel emerged from the period between eclipses that concluded on Sunday, the Moon’s move into Aries last night should help. This does not mean a sense of total normalcy is in the cards. If you simply contemplate the tableau of President Trump making his first address to the U.S. Congress tonight (Fat Tuesday!), it’s unavoidably strange.

Of course, we have all seen strange days before. We have heard of them too. The Doors recorded a song about the experience in 1967, just as Uranus was separating from three Virgo conjunctions with Pluto over the previous two years. Indeed, ever since then, it’s been legitimate to ask whether “normal” was an obsolete term.

Our current astrology could also be interpreted to account for how events in Washington D.C. tonight might seem even weirder than anything you could see during Mardi Gras in New Orleans. As Eric pointed out in his column on Sunday, the eclipses concluding were paradoxically just the beginning. Just hours before the closure of a solar eclipse, exacting Mercury slipped into sensitive Pisces. Hours after, energetic Mars (uncharacteristically moving faster than Venus) came together with revolutionary Uranus in fiery Aries.

As if all that were not enough, the Pisces Sun is even now closing in on its more-or-less annual merger with foggy Neptune.

Yet, there might well be one planet to tie all the strangeness together: Jupiter, currently retrograde in Libra. Consider that Jupiter is the traditional ruler of Pisces and Sagittarius. Implicitly, then, any activity in Pisces (where the Sun, Mercury, Neptune and Chiron are currently gathered) or Sagittarius (where Saturn now is) must inherently be resonating with Jupiter at this time.

In addition, Libra (where Jupiter currently is) opposes all the activity taking place on the other side of the zodiac with Venus, Mars, Uranus and Eris in Aries. Throw in the cardinal-sign relationship between Libra and Capricorn (where Pluto is currently trucking), and every sign-ruling planet is somehow being significantly influenced by Jupiter right now.

Being easily seen by the unaided eye, Jupiter is one of the “classical” planets human beings have always been aware of. For that reason, its being named after the top dog in an influential ancient hierarchy of deities must be taken into account as well.

Among other things, Jupiter (as ruler of the Olympian pantheon) was known for spreading his genes around. According to Hesiod’s Theogony and other sources, at least some of the reputed progeny of Jupiter were rather strange themselves. Eris, to cite just one example, was not exactly a popular choice on guest lists for social occasions.

One astrological corollary for the personified Jupiter’s promiscuity is Robert Hand’s description of it as “a planet of growth and enlargement.” It is therefore significant that Jupiter’s current retrograde is in the process of repeating many of the aspects it has made made since entering Libra on Sept. 9. Perhaps foremost among those iterations is Jupiter’s second opposition to Uranus (in Aries) coming up on Thursday (or Friday, depending on your time zone).

If there were one time prior to 1967 when normalcy might be said to have left the building, 1781 would be a good candidate. The American Revolution had just concluded, the French Revolution was on its way and Uranus was discovered in 1781. Just imagine the old political order and our understanding of the universe all going off the map together in just a few years’ time, and you can readily grasp that our times are not without precedent (or is that “president”?) no matter how strange things may seem.

If anything, Jupiter is now simply enlarging on strange times seen at least a few times before. In order to better comprehend the situation, you might want to look back at what was going on for you the last time Jupiter opposed Uranus — during late August and early September of 2003. It could be that you can gather a clue or two from that time to surmise that is also a period when Jupiter is implicitly supporting your personal growth.

As with some of mythical Jupiter’s children, you may currently be feeling a bit strange (or estranged) yourself. Don’t worry; by all indications you are in very good company. Besides, as we have seen since Jupiter entered Libra in September, what’s strange now can become both mainstream and influential in a very short period of time.

So, when in doubt, make like the revelers in New Orleans. Be a bit strange, and enjoy it while you can before boring Lenten normality sets in. Sure beats being like some members of Congress who must surely wish they could be wearing a Mardi Gras mask tonight.

Offered In Service

Depending on who you are, Feb. 10 probably seems like an impossibly long time ago, or only yesterday. Either way, there is no reason to worry. The Full Moon in Leo which took place on Feb. 10 was not just any opposition from what was then an Aquarius Sun. It was a lunar eclipse.

More specifically, it was the first of two eclipses. The next one (a solar eclipse with both the Sun and Moon merging in Pisces) will take place Sunday.

Eclipses happen when the Sun is near one of the calculated points in the sky (and on the zodiac) called lunar nodes. Eclipses also tend to take place in pairs. That’s because the Sun nearly always remains in the requisite proximity range of a lunar node to precipitate a solar eclipse at the New Moon, two weeks after a lunar eclipse at the Full Moon (or vice-versa).

The two weeks between a typical pair of eclipses do not often feel so typical, however. For many of us, the period from one eclipse to the next is marked by either a flurry of events in your outer life, or a lot of change within you — possibly both. After the second, and concluding, eclipse it is therefore not unusual to to look around and find yourself in some way far from where you were only a fortnight before.

If you put your mind to it, you can look ahead to eclipses, and plan for them. You can put the usual perception of time distortion to use. Even if you have not prepared in advance for the pair of eclipses now drawing to a close, you can still do more than simply let things happen to you.

You can start by planning ahead. The upcoming solar eclipse will not be visible to most Planet Waves readers, but you can time it. Basically, by 10 am EST (15:00 UTC) on Sunday, you will have initiated emergence from the eclipse zone. Upon doing so, act as if you have just arrived at the end of a long journey. Look around. Reorient yourself. If the nature of your new environment is not already apparent to you, proceed to gather and collate information.

A large part of physical travel to a different climate from the one you are accustomed has to do with clothing and shelter. For example, if you live in a northern temperate zone at this time, an overcoat or warm hat might still come in handy. If you flew to Tahiti, however, you would probably want to leave those formerly essential items behind. The same practice (but often more metaphorical than literal) applies to when you arrive on the far side of a pair of eclipses.

Therefore, before Sunday is too far gone, begin looking around — both inside and outside yourself. Observe with a purpose: that of evaluating what you are exposed to, and how that’s changed since before Feb. 10. Take note of what challenges no longer exist, and vest yourself from any practice or devices you previously employed which are no longer needed to protect yourself. Then, take stock of any new sources of exposure (physical or otherwise) and initiate actions to enhance your sense of comfort and safety.

Most of all, assume nothing. Behave as if you are a stranger in a strange land. Listen, learn and adjust to everybody you encounter, no matter how familiar. Everybody on Earth is going through this together, after all. Then, as you become consciously aware of it, give some thought to appropriately expressing what has changed for you.

It’s a fair bet that a significant portion of your world is no longer the same as it was before Feb. 10. The same is almost certainly true inside of a significant number of people. In addition, many of those who do not employ astrology as a tool are less likely than you to be fully aware of what has happened (and may still happen), because they do not have the same frame of reference. All of which leads to you.

As somebody who does use astrology, you have a role to play after Sunday. It may seem like a passive role, but only if you think of patience and alertness as forms of inaction. The period immediately after a pair of eclipses is, first of all, a time to take in what you can, then to inquire as necessary, and finally to act.

One way or another, we will all get our bearings eventually. If you do manage to get yourself reoriented sooner rather than later, please remember to be kind to the rest of us who may not have traveled so well.

Offered In Service