“Albrecht Dürer – ‘The Large Turf’ {{PD}}

Something planted during Merc’s last retro period comes to light or fruition today, dear Aries–what will you gain? A further sense of independence, a position of leadership, confidence, the Will and energy to assert yourself–plus the ability to communicate throughout this coming Solar year, through to your next birthday, loud and clear–now the question is, What will you do with those abilities? You may feel more than a little distracted by an almost overwhelming itch to go directly for ambitions and goals–but these are changing even as you read this, and to pour your energy into those aims would be to waste it–as soon as you arrived, you would realize that what you want has changed irretrievably, and so you would need to begin again. No, it’s much smarter for you at this time to concentrate on healing wounds, exploring your mind, and really getting to know who you are–your new wants will grow naturally from the discoveries you are bound to make–and of course, a healed individual has a completely different wish list from a wounded one. Happy Birthday, Aries, and good luck!

Francois Boucher – ‘Study of a Young Woman’ c1740 {{PD}}

You may feel unusually constricted and constrained this coming year, through to your next birthday, dear Aries; this may be the fault of a combination of the influence of organized groups, the discovery of knowledge previously unknown to you, and internal, Higher Mind restrictions designed to keep you safe and on track. You’ll get the message soon enough as to why your progress is being slow-tracked, and there’s a very good reason for it: you are in the midst of serious, intense, deep-down personal change that will radically change your ambitions and wants, as well, so that to get what you currently want would, in the end, be a disappointment. Accept that there’s wisdom to the timing of the Universe, accept that it’s ultimately working for your own good, and by your next birthday you may have a whole new set of priorities and goals, and be very glad you didn’t get your wish now. Happy Birthday, Aries, and good luck!

OK, Aries, your life isn’t really THIS dramatic–but it sure may feel that way. Workshop of George Frederic Watts ‘Chaos’ c1875 {{PD}}

Life took a surprising turn or erratic tone for you recently, didn’t it, dear Aries? And now you may be wondering just what to do. Emotionally you seem still to be in turmoil, and there aren’t many signs on the horizon–so what’s next? You may have to undertake one of the biggest tasks you can imagine, that of consciously healing yourself so that you can get to those Chirotic gifts that keep trying to surface, but that keep getting pushed aside because of surface hurts, angers, and interplay. Going for you: your communication skills are at peak and your mind is exceptionally sharp and attuned to ‘the next thing’; against you: too much worry about what’s practical, or if a desired matter is wise. I say go for whatever will heal you, Aries. Happy Birthday and good luck!

Origami (折り紙?, from ori meaning “folding”, and kami meaning “paper” Helgi Halldórsson from Reykjavík, Iceland Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic

Doesn’t it sound like I’m calling you crass, dear Aries, if I say you’re all about realizing material ambitions this Solar year, through to your next birthday? I don’t mean to say that at all; it’s much more like you’re on a mission to fulfill your own potentials as a unique human being–and there’s nothing wrong with that. At your disposal: pure strength, the support of authorities, a facility for negotiation, willing partners, and Mother Nature herself. Working against you: your own stop-and-go mentality that may have a tough time measuring whether some action or choice is really right for you. The antidote is to be super-clear on what you actually value, and what you truly find sacred–this is no time for adopting an empty moral stance–and use your current, natural intensity for good (research, relating) not for ill (intimidating, scaring). Happy Birthday, Aries, and good luck!

‘Passion Flowers with Three Hummingbirds’ by Martin Johnson Heade, c1875 {{PD}}

You may be entering new emotional terrain this coming Solar year, dear Aries, and the impulse may be to clear-cut like you’re claiming part of the Amazon to farm–nothing may survive your impulse to get rid of anything that isn’t shiny pretty new. That can be really hard on relationships, unless you allow at least some room for instincts to operate–they’ll save you from the worst slash-and-burn, and give you at least some warning when your interactions or your finances won’t stand up to your extreme techniques. Are you wondering where I’m getting all this? You may be saying to yourself, This is nothing like me! Well, that’s the point: it’s a new you, Aries, and at least for a little while, you might not even recognize yourself. Hints for success: you may be strongly motivated to pursue ambitions and desires at this time, but need to keep an eye on both what’s ‘in’ right now and what the group thinks of your passion; remember that empowerment rests in real-world matters of control, access, and influence–aim to get a least a little of this for yourself. Happy Birthday, Aries, and good luck!

Your time in the shadows won’t last that long, Aries. By Pavel Petrovich Chistyakov – {{PD}}

With a Lunar eclipse in Libra dominating your Solar Return, dear Aries, you may have the feeling no one’s paying attention to you–and you would be right. This coming Solar year, through to your next birthday, you may find yourself and your interests overshadowed by the demands of others, as events seem to happen to them, and call on you to lend your support. This may be discouraging, until you realize that there are two things that can happen in this period, and both are good: 1) you can use this time when attention is elsewhere not only to plan but to implement efforts and then fine-tune them; it’s rare to be able to do so much under the radar, with the result that, once others are again looking your way, you can present your work, ideas, or the changes you’ve made as perfected faits accomplis–and 2) so much attention on others and their affairs will naturally allow you to truly observe them, to see who they are–and as a consequence, one or more important relationships could be altered due to what is revealed. That may not be the year you planned, but it’s the year you’ve got–and you can accomplish a lot, if you approach it correctly. Happy Birthday, Aries, and good luck!

“Kaleidoscopic-patterns” by Original uploader was Rnbc at en.wikipedia – Transfered from en.wikipedia. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kaleidoscopic-patterns.jpg#/media/File:Kaleidoscopic-patterns.jpg

You smell really big, permanent change coming for you, don’t you, Aries? And on its heels, you anticipate a renewed chance to address any number of ambitions and desires–and you’re right, all this is coming–so what could possibly get in the way? Every matter, especially those involving the practical, material side of things and their distribution/ sharing, that you have ignored or been in denial about; these things will prevent access to transforming your life, until you attend to them–but, if you do, resolving some of these issues will lead directly to that change you are looking toward–so be ready, once you face these problems, to see shifts like the material in a kaleidoscope, change that can be dizzying, disorienting, and beautiful. Happy Birthday, dear Aries, and good luck!

Just so you know: there are a couple of places on the internet claiming to have free or low-priced downloads of my books available; also a place that says I wrote something about Hades–I didn’t. These dealers/ libraries, as they so quaintly call themselves, are not only not authorized by me, I doubt that what you will get will be the book–it’s more likely a virus. At this time the only place my books are available for purchase is from Dog & Sunflower Press, virus-free! Thanks to all for your support!

Edgar Degas – ‘Les Courses’ 1904 {{PD}}

Opportunity for you this coming Solar year, dear Aries, through to your next birthday, depends almost entirely on you taking action–and events are aided if you’re well-informed, cognizant of the social sphere, and ready to deal with bigger (and hopefully better) conditions, challenges, and arenas. Problems arise from a stressed or confused sense of your own inner wisdom, and from a lack of personal authority and/ or difficulties with authority figures, and taking a too-analytical approach to things may just add to the tension. However, you will see more than your share of really positive avenues that are yours for the taking, and, if you’ll only stay in motion, positive chance and the luck of the industrious will figure in significantly to your progress forward. Happy Birthday, Aries, and good luck!

Birthday Bonus Aspect: Fire Grand Trine involving Mercury, Juno, and Saturn=a quick mind/ wit, steady and clear perceptual faculties, and a sense of empowerment that reads as confidence and competence will highlight your year, Aries, and be instrumental in not only bringing you those promised opportunities, but in helping you make the most of them.

‘Mukri bog in the October morning mist’ by Amadvr http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Amadvr Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Estonia

You may feel some dark matters trying to surface in the emotions this coming year, dear Aries; you may even feel that you are a troubled person, that the shadows you sense moving over your heart, darkening the corners of your mind, and bringing a sense of sadness or despair are harbingers of the direction you’re headed–but no, they are not. You are instead in the midst of developing an acutely perceptive intuition concerning the wounds of others–and in time you will grow a sense of exactly how to help them. This doesn’t mean you’ll actually go into a helping profession, but instead that your presence, and sometimes your actions and counsel, will inform others as to exactly how to handle their woundedness–and it’s up to you to make the example you set a positive one. This is epitomized by the birthday aspect of a Finger of God, base of Venus-Chiron, apex Zeus, which also opposes Uranus–that promises caring-healing in relationships will bring desires to reality and offer both a sense of uniqueness and a place within the group. Happy Birthday, Aries, and good luck!