‘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.

Just think about it. ‘Portrait einer Venezianerin’ (Protrait of a Venetian woman, By Anselm Feuerbach 1855-56 {{PD}}

Change (or is it transformation?) is all around us today, and this either offers opportunities or knowledge–and then forces a hard choice. What benefits us? Clear thinking, and acknowledgment that it’s a fine balance between feeling empowered, in charge of your own life, and what’s wise, practical, just plain smart. Sometimes the wise thing is to ask for help, to turn down the opportunity, to choose not to exercise your power. Look at what (and in whom) you have real faith, before making a choice; though it may seem unconnected, please consider: the trust you put in the Universe may be commensurate with how much you can trust yourself.

(Pallas sesq Juno and semi-sq Ceres, Merc nov Venus, Sun sxt Pluto and sq Jupiter)

“The Archetype”, one of the sculptures in the Frank Bruce Sculpture Park, near Aviemore, Scotland. Photo By Nilfanion – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23148875

Today’s word image is this: pick an Archetype, any Archetype, whose qualities you believe would help get you through today, if you could access them–and then think of that Archetype as ‘backing you up’–hovering behind you, supporting, offering their own particular special strength. And then go through your day, extra confident, supported, feeling capable, no matter what. I get the feeling we’re all going to need this exercise, sooner rather than later.

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

For those born with the Sun at 23 Pisces (check your natal chart for your Sun degree!): It’s a year of difficult emotional choices presented by opportunity, by abundance, by educational or religion-related developments that say to you, ‘Okay, here’s the profit, knowledge, and chances you asked for–doesn’t feel so good, does it?’ The pain is rooted in the feeling nature and in the effect of such opportunities on relationships; you never anticipated that getting the chance to have or do what you wanted would be so hard on your interactions with others–but it is, and that may be mostly or even entirely because you changed when you got what you wanted. This is a year-long ‘lesson’, but if your responses are heartfelt and honest, you’ll reach your next birthday considerably richer in several ways that count.

Hey! Read a book! And if you’ve already read one, please offer a review at GoodReads. Thanks!

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.