Today is Monday, March 20, 2017
Hebrew date is 22 Adar 5777
Islamic date is 21 Jumada-II 1438
Mayan Tzolk’in Day is 7 Ok
Mayan Long Count is 13.0.4.5.10
Julian Day is 2457833
Today’s Birthdays: Ovid (43-17 BCE), Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906), Edward Poynter (1836-1919),
Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915-1973), Vera Lynn (1917), Carl Reiner (1922), James P. Gordon (1928-2013), Fred Rogers (1928-2003), Bettye Washington Greene (1935-1995), Lee “Scratch” Perry (1936), Lois Lowry (1937), John de Lancie (1948), William Hurt (1950), Spike Lee (1957), Holly Hunter (1958), Mary Roach (1959), Stephen Sommers (1962), David Thewlis (1963), Ultra Nate (1968), A. J. Jacobs (1968), Freema Agyeman (1979), Bianca Lawson (1979), Dean Geyer (1986).
“It is convenient that there be gods; and, as it is convenient, let us believe that there are.”
— Ovid
Welcome to the Vernal Freaquinox!
Dear Friend and Reader:
We’re now at the Vernal Point: the Sun is about to enter the first sign of the zodiac, Aries; that’s at 6:29 am EDT (10:29 UTC). The change of seasons comes with a surge of energy, enough that every critter, flower and tree experiences it.
The newborn Aries Sun gleams from this chart, center left. It’s the yellow circle toward the left with all the zeros next to it.
Humans of all creatures are the most oblivious to seasonal changes, though we do seem to like them. The habit of living indoors staring into illuminated rectangles tends to mute the effect. We will experience this one way or another.
Our esteemed and beloved government servants seem to be brewing up another week of antics, particularly an attempt to reverse the United States’ first nascent step toward a nationalized health care system. I could go on and on about this, but I’ll give it a paragraph.
There is nothing with which to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This thing that became known as Obamacare is the replacement. The thing it replaced was the very centralized or socialist health care system that people attack it for being. Yes, Obama was president when a Democratic-controlled Congress put it through. But the ACA is a creature of the pro-corporate, pro-profit, greed-and-religion-driven Heritage Foundation. We covered this back in 2012. Yes, the Republicans are crying foul and trying to repeal their own proposal, which is really a tax cut for the very wealthiest among us. There’s your paragraph! That’s all yer gettin’, cus that’s all there is!
Equinox means the Sun crosses over the Aries Point, that great village square where personal, collective, private and public all intersect. The Aries Point is the location where the tropical zodiac is reckoned against the sidereal (star-based) zodiac. And the Sun’s arrival here resets ‘sidereal time’, a way of measuring the year using a 24-hour clock, to midnight.
Night and day are of equal length, implying balance. They’re also of equal length when the Sun is at the autumnal equinox, in Libra, the sign of balance. So the kind of equilibrium we get on the Aries side is an assertive, even aggressive, compensation for things having gone too far one way or the other.
Moon Phase: Moon is in Disseminating (waning gibbous) phase and enters Last Quarter phase today at 8:58 am PDT / 11:58 am EDT (15:58:09 UTC).
Next New Moon is in Aries on March 27-28 at 7:57 pm PDT / 10:57 pm EDT (02:57:09 UTC).
Corresponding Full Moon in Libra is on April 10-11 at 11:08 pm PDT / 2:08 am EDT (06:08:02 UTC).
Moon Sign: Moon is in Sagittarius and enters Capricorn today at 8:31 am PDT / 11:31 am EDT (15:30:49 UTC).
Sun Degree: 30 Pisces-1 Aries.
Planetary Stations and Sign Changes
Sun enters Aries at 3:28 am PDT / 6:28 am EDT (10:28:34 UTC).
Moon enters Capricorn at 8:31 am PDT / 11:31 am EDT (15:30:49 UTC).
Interesting Selected Aspects | Data by Serennu
— Venus square Hylonome at 9:16 am PDT / 12:16 pm EDT (16:16:28 UTC).
— Eros square Sila-Nunam at 9:56 am PDT / 12:56 pm EDT (16:56:36 UTC).
— Mercury square Chariklo at 3:02 pm PDT / 6:02 pm EDT (22:02:25 UTC).
— Sun conjunct Salacia at 3:48 pm PDT / 6:48 pm EDT (22:48:19 UTC).
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If Your Birthday is March 20
(The Day of the Labyrinth) | Birthday Readings: Pisces | Aries | Others
Do you remember your New Year’s resolutions? The phrase has become something of a byword for outlandish promises we don’t intend to keep. Yet here, at the start of the new astrological year, is an opportunity for you to lay down some earnest, rational intentions with which you can follow through. Make yourself a promise that you truly wish to honor.
Written in the Planets
Today, both Sun and Moon enter cardinal signs: you may find this to be a moment of unusual change, as if life shifts up a gear all at once. The cardinal signs are the great initiators of the zodiac. What could you begin to do or create? This might also be a matter of perception: by seeing the world afresh, you can start to understand what you no longer need and can let go; and conversely what is most important to you. Focus on the latter.
Sign up for Eric’s brand new class: Karma, Reincarnation and Astrology. This class will take place by live teleconference on Saturday, April 1.