So many events unfolding at once, it’s hard to get a clear bead on where all of it is heading. We’re just now emerging from a period of closure and endings only to open yet another cycle under the auspices of the Aries New Moon taking place on Sunday night. The notion of new beginnings is further amplified by the fact that Mercury is stationary direct in the early degrees of Aries on the same day while Chiron enters Aries on Tuesday. Aries is an initiating fire sign, closely associated with self-identity, self-motivation and outwardly-directed energy (Mars is Aries’ analog) that acts like a heat-seeking missile. With all the activity currently taking place in this sign, the emphasis is now directed toward gaining traction, building momentum and making things happen in the short term and long. If you’ve been waiting for a time to proceed, that time now appears to be at hand.
Aries New Moon
The first solar-lunar cycle of the Zodiacal New Year commences Sunday at 9:57 pm (Eastern Time) with the New Moon pulling the trigger in the late degrees of Aries (26Ari02), indicating a very active period where much can be accomplished. Despite a tendency to rush forward in an impulsive or reactive way, the desire to bust a move can seem nearly overwhelming and will clearly need to be addressed over the course of the coming month. Focus is the key.
Looking at the chart for the Aries New Moon, we find it forming a close conjunction with Uranus which would indicate the specter of sudden, inexplicable change, revolution, innovation and release. With Uranus set to enter Taurus at the next New Moon on May 15, this will be the final Sun-Uranus cycle to open in Aries for another 84 years, pointing to an important development with long-term ramifications.
On a personal scale of expression, the coming month is given to setting new projects, plans and initiatives into motion which may have stalled-out since the beginning of the year. A new sense of excitement and possibility could also be in the making as long as we can focus single-minded attention on specific targets. Although this can be directed in a number of areas, the Aries-factor recommends we focus on our own stuff first and foremost with everyone else's needs coming in a close second. This might appear selfish, but the fact is that if we are incapable of meeting our own needs, we will do a haphazard job of taking care of others even as a sense of resentment and frustration builds. For individuals who have heaped their plate full of duties, responsibilities and commitments, it will take a different approach to take care of yourself, but the effort will be worth it.
For literal or symbolic new beginnings, the Cazimi Window opens 30 minutes before and after the exact time of the New Moon (9:27-10:27 pm, Eastern Time). If you miss this window, it would be best to wait until Tuesday, April 17 to commence.
Finally, we’re offered a clue as to how best to proceed when the New Moon opens this new cycle by looking to the Sabian Symbol for the lunation at 27 Aries: “THROUGH IMAGINATION A LOST OPPORTUNITY IS REGAINED...Revision of attitude and inner revaluation...the development of UNDAUNTED FAITH in pursuit of one’s ideals.”
Mercury Ends Retrograde
After having spent the past 24 days in apparent backward motion in Aries, Mercury comes to a standstill in the early degrees of this sign (04Ari46) on Sunday morning, coinciding with a blast of information that has been building over the past several days. For sure this has been one of the more challenging Mercury retrogrades in recent memory with nearly 50 separate events associated with news, communication, internet, retractions, revisions, overturns, delays, blockages and falsehoods masquerading as truth since Mercury began retrograde back on March 22. I’ll touch on some of these items next week once we get on the other side of Mercury’s direct station.
Although Mercury ending retrograde is seen as a green light for communication and transportation centered business, it would pay to take a cautious approach until Mercury regains strong forward momentum next week. Also bear in mind that with Mercury retracing its steps, back the way it came, we’re likely to be revisiting matters we think are settled, but aren’t until May 3; particularly words and ideas put forth while Mercury was retrograde.
Nevertheless, with Mercury stationary direct on the same day as the Aries New Moon, all indicators are pointing toward strong forward momentum with plans and initiatives that seem to have stalled or lacked any clear sense of direction over the course of the past month.
Chiron Enters Aries: Part One
One of the two standout planetary sign changes to take place this year involves the minor planet/cometary body, 95P/Chiron, the archetypal “Wounded Healer” as it transitions from Pisces, the last sign of the zodiac into Aries, the first sign this coming Tuesday. Chiron will briefly retrograde back into Pisces this September through February 2019 before reentering and remaining in Aries until 2026.
Chiron is considered an agent of healing on physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels as well as acting as a facilitator for growth and awareness; the bridge between the known and the unknown realms of consciousness. In Aries, Chiron brings its healing potential to bear on the rising tide of violence as a means to resolution as well as the deep wounds gun violence (Aries/Mars) has inflicted on American society. Considering the birth chart for the United States contains Chiron in Aries, this should come as no surprise.
Chiron’s chief form of healing is found through its tendency to reveal or expose existing wounds, problems and flaws; an uncomfortable process, but the only way in which to initiate the healing process instead of merely treating the symptoms. Over the course of the next nine years, we should expect major developments and reforms with regard to the current status of the “healthcare industry,” not only with regard to the insurance racket, but to the treatment of chronic, preventable disease. We’re already beginning to see a shift away from an over-reliance on an increasingly out-of-touch medical model that does little or nothing to treat underlying causes, preferring instead to offer expensive and often dangerous pharmaceuticals and treatments to control symptoms. This disease-management system has become another example of how we’ve monetized a growing problem and thereby only increasing the problem in order to insure future profits. There is no money to be made from keeping people healthy and Chiron is going to make this abundantly clear in the years to come.
As Aries is considered the sign of individual actions and reactions, Chiron’s transit through this sign will see the emergence of a growing amount of proactive health and healing information, largely disseminated through the Internet. People will begin to take greater responsibility for their own health by modifying their lifestyles in order to avoid preventable, inflammatory illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer and metabolic syndrome. While Chiron transits Aries, we’ll come to see the adage that “self care is health care.”
There are other associations involving Chiron in Aries with regard to the historical record, cultural and social-political developments and the impact on generational outlook that can’t be cover in this short report. Of course, with Chiron’s lengthy transit of Aries, we’ll have plenty of time to cover it in subsequent editions.
Lunar Garden Report
After waiting-out the darkened Moon as well as the unseasonably cold spring weather (snow!) in some areas of the country, the time for garden planting is finally at hand but we’ll still need to wait a couple days. The New Moon takes place in Aries late Sunday evening, opening a new cycle that will provide us with a green momentum when the Moon begins to take on light in the fertile earth sign of Taurus Monday and Tuesday. To be specific, Monday would be a better day for fertilizing and amending soil while Tuesday would be more fitting for actually putting stuff in the ground or working with starts. We then run into a sterile patch Wednesday through late morning Friday with the Moon in Gemini; better for cutting and clearing while leaving plants well enough alone. The very best planting conditions of the week arrive at Friday at 10:30 am through Sunday morning with the Moon in her natural home of Cancer. Sprouting, germinating, direct seeding, transplanting, repotting, fertilizing and pruning to encourage growth are all indicated as we step fully into the heart of spring and the commencement of the growing season.
Daily Forecast (For all signs)
(Times are Eastern Daylight/-0400UTC)
Sunday, April 15: After 24 days of hijinks, Mercury ends its retrograde in the predawn hours, stationing direct in the early degrees of Aries (04Ari46) while amping-up the data stream along with the potential for even more craziness than we’ve seen already. It may be another week before the communication and transportation sphere calms down enough to allow for some forward motion, but for now this will do. At the other end of the day we have the New Moon opening a new cycle in the late degrees of Aries (26Ari02) at 9:57 pm, pointing to the emergence of a more forceful and empowered sense of self. The Cazimi Window will be open during the 30 minutes before and after the exact time of the New Moon for setting powerful intentions. There’s so much stuff going down in Aries right now, it’s likely that individuals with strong Aries, Libra, Cancer and Capricorn signatures are experiencing some form of psychic whiplash.
Monday, April 16: I guess it should come as no surprise that with the New Moon now in the money sign of Taurus, today is the deadline for filing taxes. (Considering many last-minute filers did their computations while Mercury was retrograde, it might be worth double-checking those figures.) Aside from that, the Moon has yet to take on any light which is to say that this wouldn’t be a good day for starts or fresh beginnings. Save it for tomorrow, or Wednesday when things calm down a bit.
Tuesday, April 17: So much going on today, it’s hard to know where to start with nine separate contacts taking place, two of which point to long-term ramifications. The most immediate contacts suggest matters pertaining to money and finance with the Moon now taking-on a thin crescent of light in Taurus. Venus, also in Taurus is aspecting Jupiter and stationary Pluto, both of which are involved in the news regarding large sums of money coming or going. The two biggest items involve Saturn stationary retrograde in Capricorn (09Cap08) where the specter of duty, responsibility and accountability are already in a state of magnification. Of even more significance is Chiron, the Wounded Healer archetype crossing into Aries for the first time in 50 years. This will coincide with a more dynamic and ambitious orientation toward personal health. Because Chiron will remain in Aries until 2027, we’ll have plenty of time to discuss its potential manifestations although we might see some dramatic shifts as early as this week. If you have clear skies, look to the western horizon after sunset to spot the thin Crescent Moon posing with Venus against the twilight blue sky.
Wednesday, April 18: The reactive mind becomes more animated today once the waxing Moon enters Gemini at 8:00 am and Mercury begins to move off its station after ending retrograde on Sunday. Unexpected developments are on tap during the late morning hours with a growing sense of restlessness or discontent troubling the status quo, forcing the need for innovation and invention in some quarters, revolution and disruption in others. This would be a good day to put it in gear.
Thursday, April 19: Bicycle Day. Watch for misinformation dominating the morning hours with a tendency toward wishful thinking and ill-considered plans gumming up the works. Things begin to clarify as we move into the afternoon hours along with a strong urge to get something done that we may have been putting off for a while now. After spending the month in Aries, the Sun crosses the cusp of Taurus at 11:13 pm, the sign in which the vernal impulse becomes grounded and actualized with the true splendor of Spring exploding into view. The coming month is then given to practical approaches, prosperity and the sensual life for those who wish to take advantage of it. Happy Birthday, fellow Taureans!
Friday, April 20: The Gemini Moon is void-of-course (VOC) from 8:00 am until 10:30 am when the Moon enters Cancer, so watch what you agree to first thing this morning and then see what actually becomes of it. The Moon goes on to form a square aspect with Chiron, the first contact made to this body since its Aries ingress on Tuesday with wounding and healing stories being the most obvious indicators. Misunderstandings and crossed wires are possible just after dark tonight, but nothing to become overly concerned about. This would also be an appropriate night to share a bowl, if you follow my drift.
Saturday, April 21: Strong emotional responses are possible throughout the day as the Cancer Moon forms a series of alignments to Neptune, Mars, Jupiter and Pluto throughout the day. This could manifest as daydreams, anger, extravagance and power trips in various shapes and forms. With Pluto currently stationing ahead of turning retrograde tomorrow, there could be a major story developing over the use and abuse of power (as if this were actual news!) with far-reaching consequence.
Copyright 2018 Gary Paul Glynn
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