Vernal Equinox 2015 & Two Eclipses

Let’s say you’ve been running a marathon. Let’s say that the whole time you’ve been running this marathon, a giant, slobbery monster with big, nasty, jaggedy teeth and long, horrible, razor-sharp claws has been chasing you, forcing you to run faster than you were prepared for. Just as your legs feel unable to hold or move your body any further, your lungs won’t hold much air anymore, and you think this is the end, the monster gets distracted by one of their friends. The two of them go off to a bar together. You really don’t care about the marathon anymore, and as you’re about to collapse on the spot you see the finish line. Something snaps in you, and now there’s nothing that will keep you from reaching that finish line. You continue on with renewed vigor.

Just then, nine trillion tons of mud fall from the sky, directly between where you are and the finish line. You’re in knee deep mud, and now you’re ready to give up again. But then you hear that monster and their buddy come stumbling out of the bar. When you turn to look, you see they’re pointing at you. They start off in your direction. You look back at the finish line, and notice that it is no ordinary finish line. A sign indicates it is also the gateway to a monster-free zone. You run as fast as you can through that knee deep mud, hoping that the drunk monsters won’t be able to keep up with you. This month, although you may feel you’re being pushed at both from behind and from in front, keep moving ahead.

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Saturn Stations Retrograde: 3/14/15

Feeling hung up? Saturn, the planet that slows things down even when he’s moving at normal speed, is currently standing still in Sagittarius.

What is in a state of suspension in your life right now?

What is this teaching you about your relationship with surrender?

Are your philosophies in alignment or clashing with the philosophies of your culture?

Are you compromising your beliefs too much to work within society’s constructs?

How can you work within the constructs of society in a way that upholds your beliefs?

Uranus Square Pluto, Exact: 3/16/15

For more information on this transit, please follow this link to last month’s report.

Full super solar eclipse in Pisces & vernal equinox: 3/20/15

A full solar eclipse is one of the bigger to-do’s in the realm of astrological events. This one also happens to occur while the moon is at perigee - the moment when its monthly orbit brings it closest to earth. When the moon is both at perigee and syzygee, as it is on this day, the moon and sun pull extremely on the waters of this planet. On the days around this major astronomical and astrological event, you may find it helpful to think to yourself, “Over half of my body and the body of every other person on this earth is being jerked around by some humongous objects up in space. Over two thirds of the earth itself is being jerked around right now too.”

What is the dream I am meant to embody?

Is there anything I need to surrender or surrender to in order to realize my truest and most whole self?

How can I accept the inherent imperfections of reality in contrast to that most perfect dream?

A few hours later, the Sun enters Aries, thus marking the vernal equinox. Equinoxes are both shifting points and brief moments of balance between light and dark.

What do you perceive to be your light? What are its characteristics?

What do you perceive to be your darkness? What are its characteristics?

What happens when you love and accept both your light and your darkness?

Sun in Aries: 3/20/15 - 4/20/15

Why does a baby bird bother to hatch? It’s perfectly protected inside that egg, kept warm by its parents’ body heat. Scary as it is to be out in the world without armor, that baby bird would die if it didn’t tear its way out of that shell. By the time a chick breaks out into the world, it has no room to grow, and no more nourishment to sustain it within that egg. The chick hatches because it chooses to live - only to find its tiny, feeble self utterly vulnerable and at the mercy of nature. The elements, timing and luck interact in their capricious ways to either make or break our little fledgling friend. This is the essence of Aries. From the dream-state of Pisces, we emerge into the struggle of existence, and we tap into the excellence and courage that is required that we may continue to exist.

Are you here, now? Why?

In what do you wish to excel? What is required of you to do so?

Is there any way that you hold yourself back out of timidity? (Hint: This is the shell you’ve outgrown)

Courage means to act from the heart - What does it feel like to act, speak, and decide from your heart?

Total lunar eclipse in Libra: 4/4/15

There are times when the cosmos turns up the volume, and this is one of those times. The Sun (consciousness) is conjoined with Mercury (intelligence, perception), Uranus (insight) and the dragon’s tail (sign in need of sprucing up) in Aries (courage), all opposed by the Moon (emotions & heart-tugs) and dragon’s head (sign in need of accentuation) in Libra (balance). Meanwhile, Pluto (rebirth that can only occur after death) squares both ends of that opposition from Capricorn (appropriate goals). There’s the equation. Here are some questions to help you make sense of it all:

What is out of balance in your life, your relationships, your work, etc?

What would bring you more into balance?

What do you need to let die so that there is room for new life?

What is inspiring your heart these days? How can you effectively act on that inspiration?

Jupiter stations direct: 4/8/15

After all that, here’s some encouraging news to conclude this month’s report. Jupiter, the bolsterer of faith and bringer of opportunities, will be switching back into the great cosmic forwards gear. It’ll be a few weeks before he’s back up to speed, but in the meantime, pay attention to what events and shifts occur in your life around the days of his station.

What have you been re-visioning since early December 2014?

How have your beliefs around those projects/experiences shifted since then?

How is your belief in yourself, your vision, and your own creativity these days?

How can you develop more charisma around what matters most to you?

In the meantime, here’s some wisdom from Winston Churchill: “When you’re going through hell, keep going.” Keep pushing, friends. Breakthrough is imminent.

Thanks for reading,

Rae Diamond

Spring 2014, Sun in Aries

Yes, you will need to move fast to keep up with the energetic imperatives of Spring 2014, but things aren’t likely to move much farther ahead quite yet. Yes, there is big change happening, but things will feel full of sameness. Yes, you are a special individual person, but you are also a part of something greater - a species, a living planet, various relationships, various projects, etc. Yes, you must work hard right now, but you must also rest and make sure you are nourished physically, mentally, emotionally, socially and spiritually. The theme of Spring 2014 is: Yes, but...

Aries solar month: 3/20/14 - 4/19/14

When the Sun transits through Aries, it’s time to shake off the winter slumber, wake up, be fully alive, & most importantly, realize that you are alive. Stop for at least one little moment during this solar month, & think to yourself, “Wow, I exist! I am!” It’s time to shake off that dreamy Pisces oneness, & be a unique individual with desires and drives. Take those comfy Pisces dreams, & courageously put them into Aries action. Yes, that’s what we do during the Aries solar month, but this year, things are a little different.

What have you been daydreaming about, envisioning, exploring in your imagination?

Does any of that seem worth bringing into material reality?

If so, what are some initial steps you can take to manifest those dreams?

Is there anything you would like to do that scares you?

Is that fear keeping you alive (the useful purpose of fear), or is that fear holding you back from living?

Spring 2014

A chart cast for the Vernal Equinox indicates the energies we’ll be feeling throughout the Spring season. Yes, there are challenges this season, but there are meditations and herbs that can help support you through these challenges in my quarterly mp3, Aligning Heaven & Earth, Spring 2014, available at the bottom of this page for a mere $5.

The Season of Conflicting Elements:

Spring is a time of arising energy - sprouts popping up out of the ground, slumbering animals waking up, etc. It’s fiery by western elemental standards, but in this spring’s chart, half of the main “planets” used in astrology are in water signs. Water has a descending character to it, & is a tangible, material element. Fire, on the other hand, is more mystical in nature, and functions as a liaison between this realm and the beyonds. Yes, our spirits are awake this season, but they also continue to dream. Yes, we act with faith, courage & determination, but this season, we are tender warriors & tentative pioneers.

How can you act effectively while acknowledging your emotions, even in tender situations?

If courage is acting from the heart, while being aware of what you fear, how can you be courageous this season?

The Season of Mysterious Time:

Time always moves mysteriously, and this Spring, we’ll be able to feel that mystery. Practically speaking, with both Mars & Saturn retrograde, & the Moon & Saturn mutually applying to a conjunction, patience is key this season. Saturn & Mars are the two great material realm “accomplishers” of the solar system. With them both in the realignment & revision stage, we will still be working hard, but things may not amount to much. Some lessons can only be learned through trial and error, and this will be a season of a lot of lessons learned. By summer, you’ll know what works and what doesn’t, & you’ll know it well, and once and for all.

Yes, you’ll work hard out in the world, but the real “progress” will happen within. Sure, be frustrated. Be annoyed. Be sad that your dreams will take that much longer to come into manifestation. But after you’ve had your tantrum or weeping fit, roll up your sleeves, get to work, and be glad that once the season’s passed, you’ll know more clearly where you need to be directing your energies. You’ll know who’s on your team, and who’s not. You’ll know what paths not to take again because for you they’re just dead ends, and that will free up a lot of energy that is otherwise wasted on the various “what-if’s” that float about in your mind.

With pragmatic Mars retrograding in idealistic Libra, expect your visions & ideas to go through practical applications and tests. It’s a time of bursting bubbles in all things Libran - who you’re friends are & are not, whether your politics are plum, level & square or not, whether things are balanced in your life & in your relationships, & for artists, whether your artistic goals are appropriate to you & feasible.

What tools do you have for tapping into patience (e.g. deep breaths, a mantra, etc)?

In what areas of your life are you experiencing a sense of time moving quickly? How about slowly?

Have there been times when those areas of your life seemed to move at a different pace?

What does that teach you about your experience of time?

The Season of Tension & Growth:

Also apparent in the Vernal Equinox chart is a tense & wobbly T-square configuration between Pluto in Capricorn, Uranus in Aries & Jupiter in Cancer. This configuration will grow increasingly exact over the next five or six weeks, and will culminate in a Grand Cardinal Cross once Mars in Libra enters the configuration in mid-late April. This T-square is less hectic than the Cross, but gives a sense of “something missing” that makes it difficult to maintain balance. Here’s the big question with this configuration:

Are you attending to your needs for nourishment, tenderness and safety, even as you strive & evolve?

Total Lunar Eclipse in Libra: 4/15/14

By the time this lunar eclipse occurs, the T-square mentioned above is nearly exact, Pluto has just stationed retrograde, and the Grand Cardinal Cross is beginning to form. The combination of these three events & other elements in this chart suggest it’s time to surrender to being torn asunder. We live in a culture that fears, avoids, and resists death, so we tend to fight even metaphorical deaths. This lunar eclipse chart suggests we surrender to some such “death,” & allow ourselves to be torn apart so we can reassemble ourselves and our lives in a truer way.

The Moon is closely aligned with the Dragon’s Head in Libra. The quick interpretation here is let your heart lead. With the Moon in a Neptune-infused Libra, your heart is not likely to speak in clear, succinct sentences. Yes, the world will be clamoring for your attention, but quiet your mind, & allow some inner sense of things to direct you. There are many ways to do this, from following the breath, to engaging in some creative endeavor, to taking a silent walk in the woods, to running with total focus on the alignment of & signals from your body, etc. Yes, you will be busy, but take time out in mid-late April to find your own personal stillpoint, & the wisdom that arises from that state of quiet.

What will bring you into truer balance - in your life, - in your relationships, - in your work, - in your family & home, - & in your mind?

How are you a part of the interconnected web of humanity & beyond?

Who supports you, & whom do you support? Is that in balance?

In what ways does your work feed you? If it doesn’t feed you at all, why do you do it?

How can you bring more reciprocity & win/win situations into your life?

Octave Alignment:

The personal/mundane and communal/spiritual octaves of the mind - Mercury & Uranus, respectively, are closely conjoined in this chart in the sign of Aries, ruled by retrograding Mars. This suggests we have access to profound insight at this time. Keep your mind open to new inspirations, and new ways of looking at things.

What does this situation look like from the perspective of the other people involved?

What does this situation look like from the perspective of an outsider?

What does this situation look like from the perspective of the Earth itself?

How can this situation be perceived in a way that benefits all, & does the most good?

How can I communicate that perspective effectively?

The personal/mundane and communal/spiritual octaves of grace - Venus & Neptune, respectively, are also conjoined in this chart, in the sign of Pisces, ruled by Neptune. Venus is the depositor of both retrograding Mars (depositor of the Sun), & the eclipsed Libra Moon, & she is also trine Jupiter, and sextile Pluto. Here’s where we get that surrender from. Surrender to this time of being torn apart. Although our society tells us to hold on tight, to keep ourselves, our relationships, our work, our homes - everything - under control, the planets are telling us to let go of the illusion of control. In truth, the only thing we have the ability to control is the flow of our own minds - i.e, our consciousness. The rule of thumb is let go of anything that impedes your control of your own mind.

How can you practice surrender while maintaining compassion for yourself & others?

Are you trying to control something that is not yours -  e.g. another person, a large situation, etc?

If you let go of those situations, what does that do for your ability to control the flow of your own mind?

Are there any balls in your juggling roster that you can drop, either temporarily or entirely?

Coming Soon:

Next month’s posting will cover the next exact square between Uranus & Pluto, the Annular Solar Eclipse in Taurus - the second to last eclipse we’ll have in this axis for nearly a decade, & the completion of the Mars retrograde. As for this month, consider how you may release what holds you back in an honoring & sacred way - this is the true meaning of sacrifice. Such sacred release leads ultimately to sacred embrace.

Please click here for the Aligning Heaven & Earth, Spring 2014 mp3.

For more personalized insight, you may schedule a private astrological consult, healing session, or healing intensive in person, over the phone, or via Skype. Feel free to like, forward this page on & repost it as you see fit. Until next time, wishing you insight & heartsight.  Thanks for reading,

Rae Diamond