Tag Archives: Aries

The Day of the Iconoclast: Birthdays and Planet News

If Your Birthday is April 13
The Day of the Iconoclast | Order Your 2019-20 Aries Reading | All Other Signs

Be ready to lift your head above the parapet. Standing out takes courage, whether that’s being the first person to walk through previously untrodden territory; or perhaps the one who says what nobody else will. It cannot be done with the intention of simply making a noise. Yet if you have something that needs to be expressed, a point of view or a work of art uniquely your own, let the world see and hear.
— By Amy Elliott

Written in the Planets

How can you simultaneously take care of yourself (and the other people, animals and things close to you) and stay engaged in the tumultuous changes happening in the world at large? Who are you in the face of these changes, and in the midst of the many changes you yourself may feel called to make? These might be the sorts of questions pushing into consciousness today, as the Aries Sun moves into exact alignment with the Pluto-Eris square (with Saturn and other change-related points and objects nearby). You may find that the more you can answer those questions through direct, non-digital contact with others, the more you’ll relieve any sense of tension that’s been brewing — at least, on the personal level. With the Moon in Leo harmonizing with other fire-sign planets, you may sense (or seek) a little extra purpose to your socializing today. Who in your world is sparking joy?
— By Amanda Painter

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Planet Waves offers readings for all the signs and rising signs. These readings are must-haves among a core group of people who love them, though perhaps you have not heard what Eric is doing. We’ve taken many readings from 2018 and put them on a 24-hour audio stream, which anyone can tune into. Whatever your sign, you will find it interesting no matter when you tune in. If you’re up late and want something soothing and informative to listen to, or if you’re curious about astrology, tune in here. No login is required.

The Day of Societal Awareness: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is April 12
The Day of Societal Awareness | Order Your 2019-20 Aries Reading | All Other Signs

Follow the light of your enthusiasm and let it guide you to your vocation, or deeper into it. It’s likely you’ve already made significant and visible progress, such that it seems natural and necessary to continue; and just now you have a tailwind. Make use of that advantage as far as you can, as a champion cyclist might use a top-of-the-range set of wheels; hold your focus for as long as possible, and don’t look back.
— By Amy Elliott

Written in the Planets

Today is the first quarter Moon. We get this Moon phase — which is the Moon square the Sun one week after a New Moon — every month, and it’s a pretty dependable energy for leaning into a project that you need to move forward. All squares carry some tension that must be expressed through action.

This particular first quarter Moon, however, brings the Cancer Moon directly in line with a major aspect pattern: the Aries Sun conjunct Eris, square Pluto and Saturn. Speaking broadly, this makes a high-powered aspect that’s describing a lot of the chaos, pressure and overwhelming change of modern life personal. At the time of the exact Moon-Sun square, the Moon will be conjunct the lunar North Node.

You may feel yourself responding on some visceral, emotional or not-fully-conscious level to the astrology — which really means, to what’s going on around and within you — and to what you’re being called to do. So there’s a reminder here to listen to your needs to go with the flow and take care of yourself (physically, emotionally, energetically) while still maintaining contact with the reality of all that you’re dealing with. It is possible — and it might mean investing more into what’s energizing you, rather than less.

Offering some stability, opportunity and a soft place to express some energy is a sextile between Venus in Pisces and Saturn in Capricorn. On one level, this aspect offers the potential to enjoy a sense of gratification from being of service to your loved ones. What do they need that you can fulfill generously and with empathy? Can you make this a tangible, in-body, in-person gesture (rather than delivering via the internet)? The combination of sensitivity/inspiration and discipline / attention to details inherent here also makes this a great aspect for making art — another beautiful outlet for any tension you’re feeling from other quarters.
— By Amanda Painter

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The Day of the Policy Makers: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is April 11
The Day of the Policy Makers | Order Your 2019-20 Aries Reading | All Other Signs

Spend some time forging a manageable balance between work and play. The optimal arrangement is different for everyone, and generally depends on the nature of your vocation, as well as your various ambitions, desires and needs. It has less to do with social expectations, relationship escalators or what you think anyone else wants from you. Start with what you consider to be the ideal picture, and work out the details from there.
— By Amy Elliott

Written in the Planets

Keep checking everything from different viewpoints today. That may go double for things like beliefs, which have a habit of resting on emotion and inherited narratives more than on facts. The more flexible you can be in this, the more likely you are to catch any gaps in your understanding — or in an otherwise decent plan or business transaction. Mercury may be direct, but it’s still in its post-retrograde ‘shadow’ phase in impressionistic Pisces.

Today Mercury makes a conjunction to an object called Borasisi (named after a fictional god in Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle), and also squares Jupiter, which just stationed retrograde in Sagittarius. Mercury-Jupiter squares tend to offer useful optimism for ambitious goals and big-picture ideas, but details can be elusive. To guard against rash or poor judgments, it may be helpful to be very methodical — no matter how sure you are that everything happens for a reason, and that everything will be fine. After all, sometimes the ‘reason’ something goes awry is to bring our attention to what we overlooked and could have easily caught. Why not be proactive?
— By Amanda Painter

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What We Birth Amidst the Chaos

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By Amanda Painter

On Saturday, the Aries Sun slides right into the square between Pluto in Capricorn and Eris in Aries. As was written about at the beginning of the week, this is part of a long series of era-changing and defining aspects covering the last ten-plus years. Chances are you can see a substantial amount of the change, stress, growth and discovery in your own life in that span of time as a reflection of this astrology; this week’s rumblings may be stirring up some uncertainty and tension — possibly with deep roots, along with great creative potential.

“Mystic Mountain,” a detail from the much more extensive Carina Nebula, which astronomers are studying the complicated physical processes that form new stars. Photo by NASA, ESA, and M. Livio and the Hubble 20th Anniversary Team (STScI)

“Mystic Mountain,” a detail from the much more extensive Carina Nebula, via which astronomers are studying the complicated physical processes that form new stars. Photo by NASA, ESA, and M. Livio and the Hubble 20th Anniversary Team (STScI)

One thing that could feel tricky about it, though, is getting a handle on how this energy is coming through for you personally.

Eris and Pluto move slowly; they tend to describe generational (or longer) processes.

Pluto, in particular, drives social (and, in Capricorn, institutional) evolution by breaking down what’s no longer functioning constructively. Eris adds a destabilizing factor: an element of chaos, subversion and (in its recent association with Uranus) provocation via the ways we define identity itself.

Another thing that might be challenging right now — yet easier to grasp — is the lingering effects of Mercury, and now Venus, moving through the focus-dissolving, imagination-distracting, and enticingly escapist field of Neptune in Pisces. Mercury is also still working through its post-retrograde shadow phase (it exits for new astrological turf on April 16). I’m hearing from a number of people comments about how this is still feeling a bit hiccup-y. It’s okay to continue taking things as slowly and deliberately as you need to.

Looking at Saturday’s chart, I noticed an interesting complement of minor objects in close contact with the Sun-Pluto-Eris aspect. I think they paint a fairly clear thematic picture, whether applied personally as you see fit, or culturally. I’m going to list them briefly.

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The Day of Excess: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is April 9
The Day of Excess | Order Your 2019-20 Aries Reading | All Other Signs

Employ your powers of reason and strategy to the utmost. You already have the passion, drive and willingness to work toward your goal. Now you just need to figure out how to get there efficiently and without having to take too many backward steps. A solid plan will be well worth the time and energy spent on careful crafting and double-checking details. Let your enthusiasm serve as fuel, without letting it run away with the process.
— By Amy Elliott

Written in the Planets

Small moves appear to count for a lot right now, particularly in the realms of sex, healing, teaching, being seen for who you are, and holding space for unorthodox relationships, desires and identities. So if you’re feeling tension around any of those topics, how might you express and release that energy just a little? It’s not that you can’t go bigger; it’s that you can probably accomplish more with less effort than you’d expect. The aspect pattern in question is the centaur Pholus (small cause, big effect) in Capricorn making a square to a triple conjunction of Vesta (holding space), Chiron (raising awareness) and Salacia (sex, especially if ‘scandalous’) in Aries.

If you’ve been actively trying to repress and ignore any tension related to one of these topics, how is that working out for you? Is it starting to come out sideways, or to feel even more overwhelming and messier already? Note that with Aries involved (a sign ruled by Mars), it would be wise to consider your anger, too. Do you have a safe place in which to express your anger and frustration (including sexual frustration)? Can you create one — such as shouting out in the woods alone, or asking a very grounded friend (or counselor) with good emotional boundaries to hold non-judgmental space, and to witness you as you rage? (Just remember not to direct your fury at your witness; that’s asking them to process your feelings for you, which is solely your job.)

We don’t have a lot of practice with this in Western culture, especially for men; and ranting on Twitter or Facebook does not count. If anger is not part of the equation for you, creating art, writing, ritual or masturbation could just as easily be part of your process. The idea is to find or create a space in which you can get to the root of whatever’s itching to be let out of the proverbial bottle. It might not turn out to be what you think it is; and that discovery could itself open the way to actual healing.
— By Amanda Painter

The Day of Conscience: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is April 8
The Day of Conscience | Order Your 2019-20 Aries Reading | All Other Signs

Be yourself openly and without apology. We all have responsibilities toward others, and a duty to consider them with compassion and empathy. However, you need not allow this to stifle your self-expression. In fact, more than anything just now, the world could do with people who have the courage to be honest about themselves, regardless of how others respond. In any case, it is simply your right to live freely, make your decisions and keep on growing and evolving.
— By Amy Elliott

Written in the Planets

Although the conjunction of Venus and Neptune in Pisces is not exact until Wednesday, it has been building these last few days. Chances are it’s being reflected in subtly increasing ways through your general mood, your ability to focus, and your feelings toward those you care about most. At its best, you might notice this as a sense of selflessness toward, or soulful union with, someone you care about. But everything in astrology can also describe a less constructive dynamic, too; in this case, you may wish to check the expectations you have of loved ones. Setting them unrealistically high could lead to disappointment — since, after all, we are mere mortals. If you have the time and space to linger in daydreams, go for it; just stay aware that they are, in fact, fantasy and not reality. Using this energy for some inspired creativity could be ideal, since art tends to flourish where we suspend or soften our judgment. Things like finances and the nuts-and-bolts of relationships tend to require a little more discernment.
— By Amanda Painter

The Day of Consequence: Birthdays and Planet News

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If Your Birthday is April 5
The Day of Initiative | Pre-order Your 2019-20 Aries Reading | All Other Signs

Focus your energy actively on your higher ambitions and thoughts. Resolve that distractions will be kept to a minimum. This is a pivotal moment for you, and you have every support possible at your disposal to facilitate constant growth. Treat the matter as if no door is closed to you, because that will be pretty near the truth. Even if getting through some of them might take considerable effort, set no limit on your sights.
— By Amy Elliott

Written in the Planets

Today’s Aries New Moon — a conjunction of the Sun and Moon — takes place at the very midpoint of the sign. This means it’s also square the position of the Capricorn New Moon and partial solar eclipse that we experienced on Jan. 5. You might take a moment today to think back to that week (and the whole winter eclipse season). How does what you’re doing now relate to the clearing, intention-setting, constructing and initiating you were involved with three months ago? Can you see any continuation, development or sense of integration?

Also intriguing about this New Moon chart is that it features four separate conjunctions across Pisces and Aries: Venus conjunct the centaur planet Nessus in Pisces, Mercury-Neptune in Pisces, Vesta conjunct the centaur Chiron in Aries, and then the Aries Sun and Moon. Taking a broad view, this mix of spiritually sensitive and imaginative energy with the fiery get-up-and-go of Aries could be a potent combination for getting some things done. What might those things be? Healing of past hurts and growth processes is one possibility.

This chart also speaks of the process of bringing vision out of the clouds and into contact with vital life-force energy — whether that be through creativity, sex, or any other form of enacted agency. As in, the kind of thing that creates you as you are creating it. Any time we commit energy to tangible actions, we not only have an effect on our environment, but on our perception of who we are. That effect might be subtle; it might take a while to fully manifest, or for you to begin noticing the ways you’re growing into it. Why not plant some seeds of initiative and see what next step appears before you?
— By Amanda Painter

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Pairing Up with the Aries New Moon

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By Amanda Painter

Early on Friday the Sun and Moon conjoin in Aries for the Aries New Moon. This is occurring right at the midpoint of the sign, in a rather interesting chart. The sky right now features a strong mix of Aries and Pisces; and while that often occurs at the very beginning of this season, the mix is feeling especially striking to me this year.

Simplified chart section for Friday's Aries New Moon, showing the four pairs of conjunctions. From top: Nessus & Venus, Neptune & Mercury, Vesta & Chiron, Sun & Moon.

Simplified chart section for the Aries New Moon, showing four conjunctions in Pisces and Aries. From top: Nessus, Venus, Neptune, Mercury, Vesta, Chiron, Sun, Moon.

I chalk that up partly to the fact that the Mercury-Neptune conjunction is still going strong, its influence seemingly all the more potent due to its level of exactness when Mercury stationed direct a week ago.

Related to that, for the last week I’ve been repeatedly confronted by a mix of my intuition being right on some things, and other thoughts and feelings — sometimes related to the same topic — being completely wrong. Heightened awareness of energetic, emotional or spiritual boundaries, particularly when I’m starting to overstep them, has been another prominent theme for me.

What has your week been like? Your personal experience of the energy may vary considerably, yet Mercury-Neptune is the background against which tomorrow’s New Moon occurs, so it’s worth considering. I sometimes think of the Aries New Moon as kind of the ‘other shoe’ to the equinox. It’s a ‘restart button’ for a shorter-term cycle (lunar rather than seasonal) that invokes, concentrates and then releases into the same energy of newness, growth and initiative.

Yet what caught my eye about this New Moon chart is that the Sun-Moon and Mercury-Neptune conjunctions are only two of four conjunctions in effect right now across Pisces and Aries. There’s also Venus conjunct the centaur planet Nessus in Pisces, and Vesta conjunct the centaur Chiron in Aries.

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