Planetary Energies Spring Equinox 2008 March 19, 2008
Posted by Lara in Spring Equinox.2 comments
THE OPENING OF THE HEART
“No kind action ever stops with itself. One kind action leads to another. Good example is followed. A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees. The greatest work that kindness does to others is that it makes them kind themselves.”
Amelia Earhart
——————————————————————————-
In this issue:
Springtime and the Renewal of the Heart
The Equinox this year: details for the Full Moon, Easter, & Passover.
Equinox symbolism: Rebirth & Resurrection
Planting Seeds
The Planets March 21—May 1
Libra Full Moon and the McCartney Mills divorce
Notes on Pluto in Capricorn: finances and fibrillations
(last four sections for paid subscribers only)
——————————————————————————
SPRINGTIME AND THE RENEWAL OF THE HEART
The other day I was driving slowly down a country lane here in SW France, and noticed the fallow field to my right was absolutely full of white egrets. While I was looking at them, a great big hare bounded up out of a tussock and bounced off towards some unseen delight, long ears flapping, strong haunches powering him along. The image of his bounding fullness stayed with me for days, evoking the very spirit of springtime. This is the time of the year for enthusiasm to overcome doubt, for passion to conquer restraint, and for hope to challenge experience.
The Equinox occurs when the Sun enters the first degree of the zodiacal constellation of Aries in the tropical calendar. Aries is the first sign of the zodiac, and signifies birth, beginnings, zest, enthusiasm, passion, unequivocal desire, and action unfettered by inhibition or experience. It is the zero point, the place of all potential, with no baggage, no past, to weigh it down or tamper with its purity of intent. Thus Aries is associated with innocence and foolhardiness: the courage born of not knowing what can go wrong. It is symbolically related to the Fool card in the Tarot: full of potency and potential, but vulnerable to being tripped up by its own naivety.
Falling in love – with a person, place, endeavor, idea – is an essential part of being human. It often defies rationality and even wisdom. We may, as we grow older, imagine ourselves to be immune to folly and to being taken over by enthusiasm, but we lock ourselves down into certainty at our peril. Fully lived enthusiasm could be defined as the willingness to commit to what enchants us, to be drawn towards that which has energy for us. Sometimes this may lead us down false paths, but sometimes it leads us to our own grail. The willingness to be transformed in the moment by the joy of living keeps us young and vital.
The Spring Equinox, our collective zero moment, is the best time in the year to connect with your own purity of enthusiasm, to transcend middle-aged caution, common sense, and fear of change. With this zest the heart is renewed, and we naturally access a bright and fresh impetus for living fully.
THE EQUINOX THIS YEAR
This year, the Spring Equinox falls on March 19 at 10:48 pm Pacific and on March 20 at 1:48 am Eastern, 5:48 am in London, 6:48 am in mainland Europe.
The Equinox is immediately followed this year by the Full Moon at 2 degrees Libra, exact March 21 at 8:45 am Pacific, 11:45 am Eastern, 3:45 pm in London, 4:45 pm in Europe.
The Full Moon, symbolic of ripe fullness and fertility, following almost on top of the Equinox, makes these few days very potent.
In the Western Christian Church, Easter is calculated as the first Sunday after the Full Moon that occurs after the Spring Equinox, and thus is pretty much the earliest it can ever be this year, and will be celebrated on March 23. Due to the vagaries of the calendars, the Jewish and Orthodox celebrations that are symbolically equivalent to Western Christian Easter are almost a month later this year, with Passover beginning at sundown on April 20, and Easter in the Orthodox Church on April 28.
EQUINOX SYMBOLISM: REBIRTH & RESURRECTION
In the ancient world, the Spring Equinox was a major juncture in the ritual year, and a joyous solar festival of resurrection and renewal after the trials of the winter. In Northern Europe this time was known as “The Month of the Greening of the Earth”. This is a time of fertility–of land, birds, animals, and humans–and thus its related symbols include eggs, and the rampant, super-fertile rabbit or Mad March (lunar) hare.
The correct title is the Vernal Equinox, from the Latin for “equal night of spring”. The Great Sphinx is aligned to meet the rising Sun on the vernal equinox, and the Kukulcan pyramid at Chichen Itza is aligned with the equinoctal sunset. The vernal equinox, often also referred to as the first day of spring, marks the beginning of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, a celebration rooted in Zoroastrianism and lasting for 13 days. In the Southern Hemisphere, this date marks the Autumn Equinox rather than the Spring, and signals the onset of cooler weather.
Celebration of the Spring Equinox, the moment of magical equality of day and night, was replaced in the Christian tradition by Easter, which has the same magnitude in the ritual year, being the most important festival in the Christian liturgical calendar. Traditionally Easter was, and in some places still is, a deeply moving ritual of rebirth and resurrection, beginning on Holy Saturday in darkness with the Easter vigil, and continuing through the night and into the dawn of Easter Sunday with a ritualized acknowledgement of Christ’s sacrifice and the concomitant themes of death and resurrection, followed by mass baptisms and recommitment of faith, and concluding with a celebration of rich food replete with fertility symbols of new life. The Easter egg we eat today is a perfect symbolic food of this time, combining the fertility symbolism of the egg with the richness of chocolate, given as a reward after the Lenten fast.
———————————————————————
So enjoy the opening moment of the Equinox, and the passion of the Full Moon immediately following. It’s a strong beginning to full spring, and may it bring you joy.
With love,
Lara
March 19 2008
Notes on Pluto in Capricorn March 18, 2008
Posted by Lara in Cuba, Pluto in Capricorn.add a comment
So Pluto is slowing right down for its station and shift retrograde in early April, and as it does so the Bear Stearns bank collapses, the markets tumble, and we see major jitters in the financial world. Welcome to the revolution of capitalism represented by Pluto in Capricorn.
But on a more frivolous note, here are some thoughts from the last newsletter on Pluto in Cap and fashion and food. Followed by some musings on the world role of Cuba over the coming decade.
Here’s an I-told-you-so moment. Remember a while back I said Pluto in Capricorn was going to mean a shift in fashion from anything-goes, boho-chic towards more adult, structured, practical, and smart clothing. Here’s a recent quote from the Guardian: “There’s a new mood on the high street, says Imogen Fox. And it heralds a welcome return to sophisticated, sensibly priced clothes for grown-ups.” Perfect Pluto in Cap!
The key here is to remember that Saturn rules Cap, and Pluto rules Scorpio, so try combining all these flavors (as if cooking with astrological symbols) and see what kind of dish you get. Certainly sensible and nourishing, but nonetheless slightly prestigious food. This is grown-up British nursery food with rich, deep tastes: curried parsnip soup, home-cooked steak and vegetable pie, apple and blackcurrant tart, Stilton and grapes.
And then if the dish became a mood, we find we’re talking businesslike, perceptive, and thinking for the long-term. It’s not necessarily flashy, but it is meaningful and intelligent, paring down the unnecessary and getting things done. Everyone I’ve known with a strong Cap/Scorpio combination in their chart is successful in their chosen career, and usually well off. They’re not always easy to deal with, but they know what matters. Pluto is going to shake up the places Cap gets stuck, especially when it gets caught in materialism, but it is also going to flavor this era with the Capricorn strengths of practicality, common sense, and good management.
Along these lines, I think we’re going to see Cuba become an inspiration to the rest of the world in terms of sustainability and low-impact living. Over the coming decade I think our collective attitude is going to radically change towards this country. Not surprisingly, Cuba’s 1902 national chart (Independence 20 May 1902) shows a Scorpio Moon and Saturn dignified in Capricorn (interestingly, conjunct the US Pluto). The other chart we can use for Cuba, the 1898 Treaty of Paris chart, also has a Scorpio Moon, and Mercury in Capricorn.
