by Robert Wilkinson
New experiences of course, since it's the beginning of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and the days will be longer than the nights for 6 months to come. The Sun is now entering Aries, promising renewal of energy and activity, even as we find opportunity and protection in bringing other things to their natural end.
Here we celebrate that it’s also the Autumnal Equinox down under!! The Northern Hemisphere Vernal Equinox and Southern Hemisphere Autumnal Equinox occurs 2:25 pm PDT, 9:25 pm GMT on March 20. It is said that a chart done for this point in time offers a snapshot of the cosmic and literal weather for the next 3 months.
There is an old tradition that offers us two times when "the year begins," one at the Vernal Equinox, the other at the Autumnal. Perhaps that tradition came from explorers who saw the seasons flip between the Northern and Southern, going from the beginning of warm to the beginning of cold as they moved up and down the latitudes.
So today is the last day of Winter in the Northern Hemisphere, the last day of Summer in the Southern. If you’re wondering how I reconcile the seemingly opposing energies between the hemispheres, when you’re done here please take a look at The Mirroring of the Northern and Southern Hemisphere Year Cycles in Astrology. It may help readers “down under” see how the important points of seasonal change, though opposite in physical manifestation, actually have similar challenges at each point of shift.
This is an excellent time for looking at what has ended, what is emerging, and step out of the ocean on to dry land. Just keep following through on the future you have dreamed of while the Sun has been in Pisces, since every day is good for making a better future real. We up North have done our Winter preparation, and are beginning to plant the seeds that will grow over the next 180 days. In the Southern latitudes, they’re beginning to reap the harvest of what they've done and not done.
Whether North or South, keep following through on the new roles, new initiatives, new feelings, new flow, and new ways of relating to others on more refined levels you’ve already begun to experience in the recent past, since the season to come is the time to transfigure our future into more perfect forms. Regardless of where we live, what follows explores elements we all can expect to experience over the next 13 weeks.
The nights will now begin to be longer than the days for 6 months to come in the Southern Hemisphere, with lengthening days in the Northern. The Sun is now entering Aries, promising new ways of acting on our own initiative, as well as new ways of relating to others. Both Aries and Libra represent new ways of acting on ideals, new ways of overcoming inertia to find new rhythms of action and new perspectives.
The charts for the Solstices and Equinoxes provide guideposts for what we can expect the following 90 days in the way of weather, both actual and symbolic. The Vernal Equinox chart shows a perfect balance of planets in the decans of the signs, with 4 in the first, 3 in the second, and 3 in the third decan in their respective signs. This indicates a three month period of activity involving slightly more actional-physical focus, and a balance between a healthy dose of emotional, social and cultural focus and experiences in the individual, mental, and spiritual levels of life.
An Overview of the Equinox
We now pass out of the dream time of the Sun at 30 Pisces, and power up a new season which puts the focus directly on Aries. With the Moon at 19 Pisces in its Balsamic phase about to conjunct the Sun, the next 90 days will feature completions, “walking with our Wisdom,” and visions of the future. There will be many releases from pressures we don’t need to bear, but only after we accept the power of using divine energy in precise and organized ways. And with the Moon conjunct Neptune, it’s definitely going to be a journey through the fogs of oceanic consciousness as “things fall apart” at the end of a long cycle.
This is a complex time, since so many planets occupy a fairly narrow span of degrees. This is the end of the end of old unresolved things, and a time when we can lay down the burdens we no longer need to carry. Don’t fear letting go, go deep within and reconnect with Source, and blow out old tensions with humor. Share generously, and let your heart shine when offered ways to sacrifice what you no longer need.
With Mercury occupying the degree of the Mars/Jupiter conjunction of May 2022, we’ll be getting signs, signals, messages, and ideas related to that larger cycle we’re within. It’s all about enjoying ourselves and finding techniques to express who we are in natural ways, freed from a sense of duty or obligation as we explore a new identity. Without doubt this will be a powerfully Piscean and Aries season, given we have 6 planets plus Chiron in those signs at this Equinox.
With Moon conjunct Neptune, we’ll all get flashes of memories from the distant past, whether this life or another. Don’t get freaked out, as it’s just your subconscious mind letting go of ancient memories you don’t need to carry. Again, the Lunar Sabian symbol shows we’ll be “swimming in the Wisdom,” and some may even be in contact with a Master of the Wisdom, whether in a body or out of one.<>/p>
Venus is a primary player this season, as it’s exactly 5 Taurus conjunct the North Node. If called upon to bury the past, do so. If called upon to exhume something from the past you buried a long time ago, make sure that what needed to be buried was actually buried. This helps us leave old stuck relationships behind, whether in the present or left over from the past. If you want to know more about your Venusian power to shape fulfilling relationships in the future, please get a copy of The Magic of Venus: Friendships, Soul Mates, and Twin Flames. It is the most comprehensive book on Venus ever written, and offers specific ways to improve all your life relationships from now on.
As Neptune leads the Sun, be compassionate with an eye to universal connectedness when “entering the Light” as things fall apart at the end of cycles. Listen to the inner Voice of Wisdom, and bless the passages with as much forgiveness as you are able to generate. Saying hello and goodbye within the larger collective context will lead to strength and resilience.
The next 3 months introduces us to a new threshold in collective spiritual realizations, as this is the last year where all 4 points of seasonal change have Pluto in Capricorn. With Pluto leading the entire occupied span, there are positions of power to be accepted at the right way and time. So while there may be a constant sense of “ghosts from the past all around,” bless the passage of what needs to flow down the time stream, and remember to pay attention to signals helping you enjoy life more fully. Summer will be radically different than Spring, as Jupiter will be in Taurus and Saturn will be stationary retrograde on a degree of hearing a call to a life renewal.
Jones Pattern
We are now in a period of shifting Jones patterns, depending on where the Moon is. This chart maintains the “Bowl” that’s active when the Moon is between Sagittarius and Cancer. You can find out more about this Jones pattern in the New Moon article which will post tomorrow, so please consult that if you want to know more about what it means and how it works.
What Rules the Sun, and What Are the Main Aspects in Play?
On this Equinox, worldly ruler of the Sun in Aries is Mars, which is finishing its 7 month stay in Gemini, while its spiritual ruler, Pluto, is at the last degree of Capricorn. With Mars in an Air sign and Pluto in an Earth sign, it should make for a very active 90 days, with lots of interactions and communications which will move our Gemini efforts of the past 7 months into new forms once we get free of old burdens and blockages.
With Pluto as the spiritual ruler, keep it organized, efficient, responsible, and expansive. Be economical in your precise use of spiritual energy, and remember that no one should be able to pull you out of your spiritual center. There are interactive gifts and blessings for those who use spiritual force to overcome material density.
Forming aspects show what is coming, and closely partile forming and separating aspects indicate things going on in the now. In this chart, most of the aspects are the same as the New Moon occurring on March 21. The main change is in the Moon, which is still an “old Moon” in its Balsamic phase, as we discussed earlier. Please refer to part 2 in the coming New Moon series to know more about various aspects and evolutionary configurations in play.
The Moon, The Elements, and more
As noted earlier, the Equinox the Moon is at 19 Pisces in a Balsamic phase, showing this season will give visions of the future, as well as a strong sense of how the past has led us to this “end of the end” of things in our Pisces, Taurus, and Gemini sectors. Find your wisdom, feel your connection with “All-That-Is,” don’t get freaked out by the fogs and ghostly shapes you may sense from time to time, and trust that your way is the best way for you to respond to any given thing, as long as it leads to compassion, closure, and a sense of freedom to move into the future unencumbered by the past.
This Spring chart shows 3 planets in Fire signs, 3 in Earth, 1 in Air, and 3 in Water, which gives a pretty good balance even if there’s a shortage of ideas and situations where there really isn’t much to be discussed. All in all, it should be a season of vast feelings and immediate movement, and with all the water in Pisces, when you’re confronted with feelings, whether your own or another’s, it may be more an expression of the collective atmosphere than individual emotions. This is going to be a visionary season with a) deep connections with others, and b) saying goodbye to many things and people. The restructuring of core material is in the air, so remember to stand for what you believe in, and take disappointments as opportunities to find new ways to enjoy yourself!
Fire and Water are “hot” elements, while Earth and Air are “cool” elements. This spread shows a slight emphasis on hot, but with Neptune leading the Sun, allow yourself to flow out of the old and into the new.
Looking Forward
We now have moved past the major waves of conjunctions in 2021 and 2022 with Saturn square Uranus prominent, forcing us to see what mattered and what didn’t, and find a way to grow in our ability to express our genius. This is a season of openings and new beginnings and initiatives, and with Mars, worldly ruler of the Equinox in Gemini, the backdrop to the new beginnings will have a strong element of communication on the mental and spiritual levels of life. Just remember to hang out when it’s time to hang out, and act quickly when it’s time to leap. All in all, this season accelerates our evolutionary process.
See what has ended and what’s beginning. Use your feelings about the emerging vision to bring you to deeper ideas and discoveries to get a deeper experience of life, and see how your decisions and actions are leading you to a new enjoyment of life. Then take the time to feel what you’ve just done, and don’t look back!
This will be a visionary and intuitive season, furthering the emergent Aries patterns while blessings, forgiving, and releasing the old Piscean patterns. Go forward or retreat, but remember to preserve your dignity as you use spiritual energy in economical and precise ways.
This will be a season of our empathic and intuitive connection leading us to the Light as we move through deep waters of Life and relationships and then new activities grounded in that feeling. We will all be looking at what we’re leaving behind, and while the longing for what was will be strong, it’s extremely important to keep in mind there is work to be done. Feel all you need to, but remember time is a one way street, and there’s no way to go back to anything. We can only move forward into a new understanding, a new role, and a new way to enjoy the here and now.
The coming 13 weeks will help us heal into our Higher Self by showing us a vision of fulfillment as we wait to experience our Soul. Our greatest growth is in burying the past in as classy way as possible, with elegance, grace, and firmness in burying what needs burying. This is a season of moving forward, shedding old people, old ideas, old feelings, and old memories. Now that the old year and parts of our old life have ended, we have the ability to become the enduring power of our “Is-Be-ness.”
These energies will be in play through the Northern Hemisphere Summer Solstice on 7:58 am PDT, 3:58 pm BST on June 20. That Solstice chart will be VERY important due to the Moon conjunct Mars in Leo trine Chiron in Aries and Mercury being in sextile to both. I’ll write more about that in mid-June.
The next 13 weeks can bring a vaster compassion, understanding, and connection with our inner wisdom, so accept the new inspiration as you contemplate the fact you have the ability to read the trends and signs pointing the way to using power effectively in the future. This renews our ability to take the initiative to become more authentic, mentoring and being mentored so we may heal into our Higher Self. Look at the life structures you’ve built that are absolutely dependable, and quicken the pace of your Aquarian embrace!
Open to expressing your individual Light in your own way, and allow yourself to feel a more universal wisdom and compassion. Embrace the universal dance of Spirit and matter. And if memories of old sorrows come up, bless and release the hurt or misunderstanding of the past to find more power in understanding you are not that now.
So we now enter a time of turning toward new directions, and will find stability as we learn to enjoy ourselves and the pace of the process. Take responsibility, and take note of how to use power in the most responsible way. When you can, get away from the world to receive a new inspiration, knowing you’ve actually made it through the rapids and now can give and receive the holistic knowledge and vision you have cultivated.
This is a season to set some presumptions aside, as many old things are falling away over the next 13 weeks. You’ll feel a lot; understand that much of what you’re feeling is a timeless experience you share with others, and maybe by blessing and forgiving whatever it is you’re picking up on, you can find forgiveness and release yourself.
This season compels us to do our own thing in our own way, embracing the new and letting go of the past. Mobilize, use spiritual force with precision and good humor, don’t feel obligated to carry things from the past one more step, and go deeper into your relationship with self, others, and Source. We’re all in this together, and each of us who has walked the walk now has wisdom at our disposal which constitutes our mandate for the future.
Aum and blessings as we stand on the threshold of a new season of life!
© Copyright 2023 Robert Wilkinson
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