Japan, late 19th-early 20th century – Embroidered and Resist-Dyed Fabric – 1916.1325 – Cleveland Museum of Art CC0

Why is it today that the only way we feel empowered is to resist what those we see as holding some authority tell us to do? Is it a kind of jealousy, born out of the secret fear that we are, in reality, helpless? Or is it that we resist because there is a hurt that disfigures our identity, one that we have yet to drag out into the light? If we find ourselves responding to others or circumstances this way, resentfully, even petulantly, we need to take a step back, and listen to the unadulterated inner voice, the one that speaks to us as instinct, the one that delivers to us what we ‘know but don’t know’ in times of stress. We need to understand that our discomfort is within us, it’s our own, not the fault of any external entity–and that means that in order to maneuver successfully, we must resolve to act, rather than respond, to be proactive, rather than carried along by the currents of the unconscious. Don’t resist, choose.

(Juno opp Ceres, Mercury sxt Sedna, Sun contra-parallel Chiron)

‘Camp Fire’ By Winslow Homer -1880 {{PD}}

Today’s word image is: you are alone, at night, camping out under the stars. I really like being out at night because, looking up at the sky, you can almost feel the Earth turning beneath your feet. Do you ever go out and look up? Do you ever sleep outside? Have you ever spent the night alone in the wilds? What’s your relationship to the night sky? Do you respond differently to being outside at night, and outside in the daytime? If you avoid being out alone at night, is there a reason? Indifference? Fear? Do you have strong feelings, either positive or negative, around camping or being out in nature over night? How do you think you’d feel, if you lived that way all the time?

Setting the table for your year ahead. Art by Peter Ilsted {{PD}}

For those born with the Sun at 22 Pisces (check your natal chart for your Sun degree!): Your song for this year: ‘Changes’ by Bowie. What seems like a hard knock, a bad break, a loss, will end up being for the better–you’ll just have to give it some time. Expect change, change, and a little more change–but if you want to take circumstances in hand, want to shape things as you’d like, you need to accept your own power to transform, and then meet each event, whether it takes you forward or sets you back, as something you have orchestrated–which automatically makes it something you can change, should you want to. So, it’s really about taking a mindset that sees no limits to your influence, while at the same time not overreacting to more temporary situations, demands, or setbacks that crop up along the path. The opportunities that will come may take some time getting here, or taking shape, but they’ll be worth the wait.