John the Evangelist touches his mouth with the right hand – this is the symbol of the silence; the left hand of the apostle points to the text of the Gospel of John. The angel – the symbol of the Holy Spirit and the wisdom coming from God – is depicted on the right, above the shoulder of John. By Nectarius Kulyuksin – Varvar.Ru: Main page (in Russian), Pic, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26612656

Today Mars conjoins Sedna, and all else is noise. We’re still under the auspices of that Merc-Neptune meeting, but our experiences over the past two or three days inform today’s ‘Don’t Speak!’ policy–too many misjudgements led us down too many dead ends, and we don’t want to make that mistake again. So, don’t let the mind, messages, or communications of any kind dictate behavior–instead let actions be guided by instincts, by acknowledging what you ‘know but don’t know’, and by reflexes attuned to the primal Self–all else must be silenced.

‘Breton Girl Looking After Plants in the Hothouse’ By Anna Petersen 1884 {{PD}}

Today’s word image is washing the spring moss and pollen from a greenhouse. This suggests a periodic maintenance chore that’s vital to the functioning of something. Are you putting off something that needs doing? And really, who isn’t? This image implies a needed clearing away, one specifically to ‘let the light in’. See where you could let the light in, and remove all obstacles.

For those born with the Sun at 05 Aries (check your natal chart for your Sun degree!) What have you been ignoring or denying, what anger have you buried, what injustice have you had to live with? This is the year when you’ll right all this, relieve yourself of anger, attend to what you’ve neglected, see justice done–and that’s a good thing, opening the way for you to adjust the life direction and so make yourself available to opportunities you’d never have anticipated. That, plus the emotional harmony you’ll enjoy, will make this a year brimming with potential, and also holding the possibility of true, root-deep, freedom.

‘The Singer in Pink’ By Jean-Louis Forain {{PD}}

There are many vibrations, particular to the individual, that promote healing. We’ll be swimming in those today, with the many trines perfecting, and the Sun conjoining Chiron leading the way. Some things it would be smart for us to do: look into what you’ve been denying or ignoring; that’s where you find wisdom–and this is especially true in relationship and financial matters. Attune efforts to your highest values and commitments, because these shape the future. Act and choose only with a clear memory of the past and what you’ve learned from it; to sentimentalize or minimize negatives is an invitation to repeat a bad experience. The best thing is, it all fosters healing, even when we aren’t trying, and even when it hurts.

(Pallas trine Black Moon Lilith, the latter conjoined Venus, Vesta trine NN, Mars trine SN)

By Photo by CEphoto, Uwe Aranas or alternatively © CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33820078

Today’s word image is a butterfly, newly unfolded from its cocoon, letting its brilliant wings dry in the Sun. There’s something amazing about you, a talent, an ability, something to which you’re dedicated, a destiny, and it doesn’t need to be hurried. Pause, listen, become airborne when the moment’s right.

For those born with the Sun at 02 Aries (check your natal chart for your Sun degree!) The toughest part of your year ahead, Aries, may be the conflicted nature of it. Man-woman, stop-go, yes-no, with a hovering question: who to listen to? who to see as in charge? The best thing is that you have a fresh, or at least renewed, emotional perspective, and that can early in the Solar year (right after your birthday) inform partnerships, couplings, and help you find a circle where you can be yourself. Then, you get to the nitty-gritty, which brings, if nothing else, a ton of surprises. And that’s your cue to swing loose, see where things go, try something new, experiment, and be brave, all without demanding concrete answers, just yet.

By Yas Cherkaoui – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64657164

There’s a kind of magic in the air today, where the smart thing happens, the fortuitous thing, the thing that makes us better in some way for the future. That’s everything and nothing, isn’t it? Ideas are original (write them down; you’ll want or need them later), we find unexpected ways to work with or get along with others (and derive power from it), and our ambitions pay off, even if our goals aren’t reached. The one thing we can do to undo the sparkles? Speaking or otherwise communicating rashly–for every genius idea we spout, we’ll also spill the uncomplimentary beans, so keep it all to yourself (Juno nov NN, Pallas parallel Hygeia, Pluto nov Ceres, Venus trine Zeus, Mercury nov Uranus, Sun parallel Mercury)

Today’s word image is jealousy. I know, I’m surprised, too! Maybe we first need to be clear about what this is, as it’s often confused with envy. Envy is wanting to be what someone else is, to have what they have, while jealousy is the fear of losing something or someone’s attention to a third person. Is there something you’re afraid of losing, and if so, have you identified the third party you think is threatening the situation? Often jealousy triggers focus on that third person, but I’m thinking that it’s almost always much more about the health of the situation or relationship itself, as it stands. That is, if you fear you’re losing something you want to keep, focus not on the individual who came along and showed you the system’s weaknesses, but on what within the system/ relationship that needs to be revived.

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

For those born with the Sun at 28 Pisces (check your natal chart for your Sun degree!) You might not understand your own emotions, for a time; they might feel a little alien, focused as they’ll be on yourself and how well you ‘shine’ in relationships–but once that dark age of feeling passes, your year will ‘open up’, as you present essentially a ‘New You’ to the world. This mini-re-birth involves adjusting thinking to better serve ambitions, learning (and accepting) what really pays, and what doesn’t, and responding accordingly (this is something up to now you’ve been somewhat reluctant to do), and doing some (mostly unexpected) healing and re-connecting in relationships.

‘Open Door on a Garden’ By Konstantin Somov 1934 {{PD}}

Why does it feel like our instincts, our own most intimate impulses, are steering us in the ‘wrong’ direction? It’s because we’re reacting from the way we think we’ll profit by embracing our own hurt, or by denying something we really should recognize; we know the mind is taking us down a path we don’t want to travel, and yet we need to see that our sense of ‘wrongness’ is based in the way, small or large, the impulse is violating what matters most to us. It’s the perception of abandoning our priorities that’s tempting us with what amounts to illicit reward, as it will only dig at the wound or cause more denial, and so more pain. Right now the mind is exaggerating and hyping, when it’s not rejecting the facts and fighting over beliefs, and that means our way out is singular, but not hard to do if we narrow our focus: put everything on the future, how things will read in hindsight, once we get there–thinking of that can guide our best choices now.

(Vesta contra-parallel Sedna, Venus semi-sq Chiron and parallel Black Moon Lilith, Mercury sq Jupiter, Sun trine NN)

Today’s word image is a half-packed box. Did you immediately think the box was partially unpacked, or was on its way to being filled? In this mini-personality test, if you thought someone needed to finish unloading the box, you have something that needs ‘unpacking’, literally or mentally, a real-life scenario it’s important you dissect and understand; if you see the box as on the way to being loaded and ‘put away’, you have too many things on your plate, or on your mind, and could stand to put the less important stuff away for awhile, to give yourself a little breathing room.

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

For those born with the Sun at 25 Pisces (check your natal chart for your Sun degree!) You’re looking at a year ahead, through to your next birthday, where the instincts and inner knowing will be an unerring and invaluable guide to Self-development that results in smart moves and the acquisition of practical skills. Be careful not to mistake wishful thinking or willful ignorance for that inner knowledge–that’s the big potential pitfall this year. Look to partners for support and validation (they can offer wise counsel, and if they don’t offer support, well, maybe it’s not a good relationship, after all) and give the intuition and feeling nature a workout–it can reinforce positive relationships, bringing you closer, and make for a lot more enjoyment of life.