Little Ship Of Dreams: Spring Equinox

Week of March 16-22

We are nearly at the end of the Pisces season. Once Sun leaves the Pisces sector (on Friday) it will mark an ending of sorts: the end of the solar year, perhaps the end of a cherished dream, perhaps something that needs to be released from your life. Pisces is associated with sacrifice, and so this may be a difficult time for some. This is nothing, if not a bittersweet week. Once the Sun ingresses into Aries, it heralds a new beginning, a solar (soul-ar) journey, and the arrival of Spring in the northern hemisphere. Just as Spring is a tender time when new shoots are ready to launch themselves from underneath the cold ground, feelings may be tender now, too. Not all seeds will sprout, metaphorically speaking, and this can create a sense of loss, which is so Piscean.

Astrology and alchemy speak of “the divine moment” or kairos. There is a divinely appointed time for everything. As humans, we don’t necessarily see the big picture, or have an understanding of when that blessed divine moment will arrive – or indeed, if it ever will. As creatures with specific agendas, it can cause grief to realize that all of the strategic planning in the world may not amount to anything, if our agenda is out of sync with the Cosmos. The next step is to either carry on in faith that a larger unseen order is at work, or to get mad. Both are very human responses. We’ll come back to the idea of surrendering into faith (which is the ultimate experience of Pisces) but first, let’s look at the anger response.

It must be said that anger can be a cathartic and mobilizing emotion. Good things can come from getting mad. Staying in that state, now that’s another story. So, for the sake of clarity, I’m discussing the kind of anger that erupts and then dissipates before causing harm or calcifying into bitterness and ennui. Mars, ruler of fiery Aries, is traditionally associated with the heat of anger. Aries, by association, gets some of that reputation. So, it’s interesting to note that Venus, planet of love and cherished values, is in the sign of Aries. And she’s traveling backwards (retrograde), at that. Look to the Aries portion of your chart. This is the area of life in which you want what you want – and now, please! Patience is not a virtue in the rapidly burning fires of Aries. So, when Venus travels through this sign she can feel petulant (for Aries symbolizes the child) when she doesn’t draw into experience the things she wants. Venus retrograde currently sextiles Jupiter in humanitarian Aquarius. This presents you with an opportunity to use your anger as a catalyst to promote a better outcome - if not for you, then for the next guy. In this sense, something good can come from letting your anger fuel a much-needed change for the collective, down the road.

Of course, anger masks sadness and vulnerability. If we are to make peace with our sorrows and disappointments at the end of Sol’s/Soul’s journey through the zodiac, we must be willing to submerge ourselves in the emotional waters of Pisces and mourn the reality, if our ship of dreams has sailed without us. Sometimes a temporary burst of anger dissolves into sadness. This is so poignantly illustrated by Mars in Pisces. Yet, in this compassionate sign, warrior Mars learns about becoming a mature spiritual warrior. It’s a fight of a different kind: no weapons of mass destruction, no sarcastic comebacks, no retribution sought. This is about letting go of the outcome, and effecting change on a spiritual or universal level. Mars in Pisces has to plummet deep waters in search of the strength (Mars) to submit to faith (Pisces). There’s a sextile between Mars and Pluto, which helps you tap into the profundity of Nature, and the wisdom of her timing. And so we come back to the idea of the divine moment. All things being cyclical, your ship of dreams may very well come into harbour. It may not arrive when you want it to, but it will arrive in its appointed time. The Cosmos isn’t concerned with our human-made schedules. The larger (and benevolent, I believe) order dictates that everything has its own time. Kairos.

Sun, Mercury, Mars and Uranus are congregated in Pisces, attuning us to the need for transcendence – to overcome the sense of loss that can accompany this transitioning time of year. It’s time to surrender those aspects of yourself or your life that have played their vital parts, yet which now threaten to undermine your continued journey or evolution, should you hang onto them. Spiritual awakening, so prevalent in the Piscean seas, must merge with practical application in your daily life, if it is to be of any particular value (Sun, Mercury and Uranus opposite Saturn retrograde). In this respect, there’s help from a quintile between Mercury in Pisces and Pluto in Capricorn. You can connect the Piscean dreamscape to Capricorn’s material realm in a flash of genius, and mold something out of it. With Mercury in Pisces, words cannot easily convey what the mind’s eye sees. But the capacity to express yourself through music, dance, chant, images, symbols, poetry, or any other forms of creative writing or journaling is enhanced. At the same time, we are still called upon to present the facts, or to speak within the limits and confines of what we know (Mercury opposite Saturn retrograde).

Jupiter, Chiron, Neptune and North Node are the remaining Aquarian influences for another year (with the exception of each monthly lunation in Aquarius). Teachers and leaders will continue to emerge, in order to revolutionize our collective agreement about the way the world/universe works. We can expect new spiritual revelations and scientific breakthroughs and, indeed, the continued melding of science with mysticism. These are two vast systems (within systems) that attempt to answer the same questions, albeit from differing perspectives. Saturn in Virgo and Pluto in Capricorn warn that old models of infrastructure and thought will have to adapt and embrace the new, or risk becoming obsolete. This may not be an easy fit (Jupiter quincunx Saturn retrograde) for those who have boxed themselves into one rigid school of thought. An adjustment in each individual mind-set or worldview is needed in order to continue growing (Jupiter), and in order to survive (Saturn).

Saturn retrograde is the handle of the long-range celestial Fan pattern. We continue to apply ourselves seriously to re-categorizing information, especially as it pertains to the environment and our health, and to lessons that we have inherited from our families and cultures at large. Because Saturn is at the apex (or release point) of a configuration known as a yod (or Finger of God), there’s a great deal of internal pressure mounting, to see the picture that is your life, as it really is. Venus retrograde in Aries and Jupiter in Aquarius assist in this on-going process, by virtue of their in-your-face quincunxes to Saturn retrograde. It’s pretty hard to bury your head in the sand, even with all the current escapist Pisces energy. Yet the helpful sextile between Venus retrograde and Jupiter offer the opportunity to begin the process of resolution.

For a few more days Sun conjunct Uranus in Pisces awakens you to how your individual being can merge with others, to form a collective of people attuned to the same principles and values as your own. Venus retrograde in Aries and Mars in Pisces are teaching us how to integrate our individual values while acting for the betterment of the collective. Venus retrograde coincides with reflecting on your values, your relationship to self, to Source, to others, and to wealth. How will your current value system and web of relations assist or hinder you in the next leg of your journey, once the soul begins its new hero’s journey at Spring Equinox? What needs to be incorporated (Saturn in Virgo) and what needs to be relinquished (Uranus in Pisces)?

May you be prepared to set sail anew, intact and in faith that there is a divine moment for your dreams to flourish. This is the promise of Spring, after all.