Waking up . . .

From the spring equinox on 21 March, the Sun has been in Aries. This is the time of the year when individual thought, speech and action is highlighted - that is, we naturally consider what we ourselves want to do with the year ahead. Jupiter in Aries since January, followed by Mercury in early March, has brought this feeling in strongly, to individuals and globally, but the Sun adds the quality of ‘putting our hearts into’ whatever we have been considering.

This New Moon in Aries is exactly opposite Saturn in Libra, representing on the personal side the desire to be effective, to get where we hope we’re going fast, faced by an anxiety that we may not want it once we get the reality. We may experience doubt about outcomes we’ve already achieved, wondering if last year’s dreams are really what we want to have now. We may also find ourselves wondering if we are really connected to those we love or just kidding ourselves, asking to what degree are we free to be ourselves, and what does that mean anyway . . . All this inner angst could show up as hindrance from outside. We could find ourselves very frustrated from time to time - generally Aries likes to get there immediately, and the material plane doesn’t comply fast enough to please. If we are aligned with our true path, any holdup will be seen as natural timing that we can use to hone our strength and fortitude.

Aries - desire for action

This new moon chart shows Mars (ruler of Aries) boosting the qualities of Uranus (ruler of Aquarius) in the first degree of Aries, and we can only wonder what actions will happen, because Uranus is always unpredictable. It can bring situations, or remove them, and Mars with Uranus could bring sudden acts, or equally sudden loss of motivation and drive.

This month we continue to work on empathising with others (Venus just completing an accepting connection to Pluto), and opportunities to work on this include the state of people in the Middle East and Japan, and of course mirrored everywhere in our own lives, and those of people we are personally involved with.

The intense situations millions of people are having to deal with open a window of inspiration for individuals to make a difference in the turbulent aftermath of these recent sudden disasters, whether caused by human aggression or earth movement (Mars conjunct Uranus).

‘The future is upon us . . . !’

On 11/12 April, we may have a taste of what is to come during 2012 - 15 (Mars briefly squares Pluto): it is entirely possible that the kind of disasters we’ve been seeing will continue to happen during these coming years. Mars square Pluto in anyone’s birth chart suggests that transformation is perceived as too painful to choose willingly, the force increases until change is irresistible and ‘happens to us’. In earthly terms that shows in volcanoes erupting and tectonic plates moving. The reduction of carbon emissions could be one of the issues where humanity’s stubbornness contributes to apparent disaster situations, which we then have no power to avoid or even divert.

On the other hand, volcanoes will erupt and tectonic plates will move, so the coming years may bring unavoidable kicks that teach us to pull together in living on earth, rather than struggling with each other over earth’s resources - moving us into the Aquarian Age by the scruff of our necks! That means also, any group of us living together on our local piece of earth, learning to conserve and share its resources; and even personally, learning to adjust our food intake, exercise and sleep, to conserve our health and vitality as best we can, so we remain capable of looking after ourselves.

. . . thoughts about Uranus in Aries

It’s interesting to me that the war in Afghanistan, started 5 days after Uranus went into Pisces (the Age we’re moving out of); and now, Uranus moves into Aries at the same time as attacks on aspects of Libya – Aries is a bit more in the present than Pisces (which is hugely affected by unconscious drives) so hopefully Aries brings more of an Aquarian flavour (the Age we’re moving into and that Uranus rules).

It takes 7 years for Uranus to go through one sign, so let’s hope this Libyan thing doesn’t last that long. The Aquarian thing would be to let the Libyans complete what they’ve begun, so that self-respect is undamaged, and independence encouraged - the Aquarian style. The last war began in spite of peaceful demonstrations in many countries, asking for it not to happen, and the original disappointment and sadness from those countries when it did. The decision process this time was more open and group-oriented than the last, based in the United Nations humanitarian principles and global awareness.

All this is reflected in part by Uranus in Aries, and as always this shows up in our personal lives as well. It perhaps indicates that it’s not relevant to interfere with our personality traits, but to be, and do, the best we can while allowing for natural growth through awareness - so that we become deeply adult, but still ourselves. It means allowing for our uniqueness, and not criticising those characteristics that our spirit brought for this brief embodied time.

A lot on the surface - one life beneath

What all this inner turbulence can bring us is the sense that our moods and emotional reactions are just flowing past, like waves on the ocean, or sunlight and shadow flitting across the fields on a blowy spring day. We feel them strongly enough at the time, but they change, sometimes without regard to what’s going on. Seeing the transitory nature of feeling and thought can bring a realisation that we are partly the one who sees this. We can also become more aware of something deeper in us that doesn’t change like that. We are not alive here to fill our time and consciousness with earthly concerns: we are here to live awarely through our earthly concerns. The fact of life holding this intricate heap of dust into a moving body shape is the most amazing thing. One has only to see what a body is without life, to realise again what a miracle it is to continually breathe life through this body. Aries is the beginner: every breath is a new beginning.