Invitation

A Spring Equinox Poem

© 2021 by Joyce Mason

 

Photo via Pinterest

Every spring’s

An invitation to a new beginning

Even if you’re not up for it.

 

Winter cold and darkness slows us.

Slogging through quicksand snow,

Real or symbolic,

The heavy feeling of no end in sight,

That you’re going to “just die,”

A prayer to St. Roseanne Roseannadanna

Especially during our long Covid winters of forced confinement.

These months of hard scrabble introspection

beg us to reevaluate and escape to extroversion.

Too much of a good thing,

As winter insights roast on an open fire,

They are a slowdown,

A breath to review our merry-go-round

To see if we really want to jump back on.

 

 

Look at the sparkle in a loved one’s eyes,

That magical light that makes them who they are,

Firing on all cylinders.

 

Think your best possible thoughts for the future.

Look at your own spark in the mirror.

Look at the Aries Rambunctiousness in the curve

Of your eyebrows

Pushing you forward to explore Mars.

Imagine little green buds on your limbs

Like Brother and Sister Trees.

 

Don’t try. Just be.

Pause and let spring come to you

Packing hope and do-overs,

The only carousel worth riding.

Spring Chickens: A Vernal Equinox Poem

Poem © 2020 by Joyce Mason

Deep inside me

seeds are desperate to crack open

as the Sun warms the earth a bit longer

every day

inching to the Equinox.

The seedlings are chicks pecking at eggshells

from the inside out.

New hopes, dreams, goals, changes:

Resolutions to revolutions.

No one knows what work it takes

to mount or withstand this energetic build-up.

It’s dark, jabbing into the unknown.

It is disconnection and disorientation at their cruelest.

Yet one day like the Tortoise and the Hare,

the slow chicklets of resurrection 

crack the shell as we do the crust of our winter malaise.

Like the slow results of escape with inadequate tools,

We make our jailbreak.

All heaven breaks loose.

Holy Aries!

~~~

Photo Credit:© 1evgeniya1 | Dreamstime.com

Radical Reposts: The Planets – Sun

Let’s start our year of reposts by topic in the usual way we speak in astrological sentences—by planet, sign and house. (I’d normally say, for instance, that I have Sun in Virgo in the 5^th House or Moon in Capricorn in the 9th.) Given that natural order of astrological conversation, I’ll start this blog bibliography (blogography) with anything I’ve ever posted on the planets, signs and houses in that order. Later we’ll get fancier with aspects, aspect configurations and the multitude of other topics covered here over six years.

Numerous posts are about all 12 Sun signs, comparatively. I’ll put those in a separate recap when we get to signs, because they cover much ground about the entire zodiac. Many of those offerings are humorous. This first grouping will be more specific to exploring your Sun in particular—not emphasizing how it relates to the other Sun signs.

While some posts recapped are specific to a year or timeframe, I have listed those with at least some generic information about the Sun or Sun in a specific sign within the article, poem or post.

Generic Planets

What Planet Are You From? (30-Aug-09)

A tour of the planets to reassess your resonance and determine which planets influence you most.

Who Would Play Your Planets? (20-Jul-09)

A new way to envision your chart by assigning famous people the roles of Sun, Moon, Mercury, etc.

 Generic Sun

And the Sun Stood Still  (17-Dec-13)

A Winter Solstice poem about the power of the Sun’s “putting on the brakes” to herald the introspective time of year. What do we do when the Sun goes down?

Summer Solstice: “Let the Sunshine In”  (13-Jun-09)

The Sun and Summer Solstice. Summer is primarily a celebration of the signs Cancer and Leo. American schools may get out in Gemini and go back in Virgo (so appropriate as the Mercury-ruled mental signs), but most vacations and the bulk of summer occur when the Sun is in Mom and Dad. That’s right! Mom and Dad.

Sunny Side Up!

 These articles help you explore your Sun or explore the Sun in a particular sign.

Explore Your Sun

Planetary Fishing: The Sun  (1-May-13)

Welcome to our first planetary fishing expedition! Today we'll examine the Sun in the sky—and the Sun in your chart—more deeply.

Starstuck: Overcoming Performance Anxiety (15-Aug-11)

Leo, ruled by the Sun, tells us performing has something to do with fire—with being stoked. How the Sun and the 5^th House play into performance anxiety with practical suggestions for overcoming it.

Your Solar Return and Solar Return Meditation (7-Jun-09)

Once a year, the transiting Sun returns to the exact same position it held in the sky at the moment of your birth. This happens at a different moment each year, within a day or two of your birthday. This fun-omenon is known as your Solar Return. A guide for harnessing your Solar energy!

Sun in Specific Sun Signs or Sun Sign Archetypes

Aries

Aries Auntie: Learning Astrology through Children (31-Mar-14)

What I learned about astrology from observing my Aries niece and nephew—and how children often are the best teachers about astrological archetypes.

“God is Not an Aries” (26-Mar-09)

A tongue-in-cheek editorial on why God cannot possibly be an Aries. For starters, the answers to our prayers and most manifestations take much longer than an Aries would wait. Unfortunately, most of us are pretty “Aries,” Aries or not.

Cancer, Leo and Virgo

The Summer Signs (6-Jun-14)

Revisiting the trio of signs that make up any season helps understand the quarter of the year we’re entering and how to make the most of it. Welcome to the cusp of summer—winter’s complement and the extroverted time of year.

Virgo

Virgos of the World UNITE! Get Radical (21-Mar-09) The Radical Virgo blog launch post. The vision behind The Radical Virgo and why you don’t have to be a Virgo to play in this sandbox made of star-stuff.

The Radical Virgo (11-May-09)

A reprint of my article after which this blog was named, first published in The Mountain Astrologer in 1992. The response to my new vision of Virgo has been overwhelmingly positive and timeless. If you have any planet in Virgo, here’s the reason to get radical—or to the root (what “radical” means) of your Virgoness. Even if you have none, find out why the world needs the sign of Virgo more than ever—now!

The Radical Virgo Revisited (13-Sep-13)

An updated expansion of the original article, “The Radical Virgo,” with a focus on information synthesis and global service. When I speak of a Radical Virgo, I mean the word radical in these dictionary senses, the Virgo energy carried (1) to the utmost limit, extreme; or a Virgo known for (2) favoring or effecting evolutionary or revolutionary changes. I want to add to this definition, (3) A Virgo who expresses the very root of the Virgo archetype, because radical also means root.

The Virgin Myths (11-Sep-13)

Exploring the rich mythology of Virgo, “a nurturing mother to all the earth.” How the Virgo Maria and these archetypal maidens round out our understanding of the V-sign: Demeter/Ceres, Dike, Astrea and Erigone.

Wordgo: The Virgo Way with Words (25-Apr-09)

Why are Virgos in love with words? For years, I have used the Celestial Influences astrological calendars. There is a two-word affirmation for each sign every month. The I-statement for Virgo is “I Analyze.” That job would be really difficult to do without words—lots of them!

September: Old Home Month on The Radical Virgo (1-Sep-13)

Prelude to exploring the sign of Virgo and the cusp of autumn in some of the articles, above.

Libra

While this article isn’t about Libra per se, it’s about one of the major Libran concerns—relationship.

Finding Love in Later Live—or Whenever Venus is in the Neighborhood (15-Oct-13)

All the wisdom this Venus in Libra has accumulated in many years of a complex love life, written at the request of a reader, full of tools on how to manifest your relationship … even how to help romantic issues through the use of flower essences.

Scorpio

Scorpio for a Day (26-Oct-09)

This popular Halloween post is much more than a laugh-a-minute and a virtual costume party. You’ll learn more about Scorpio than you ever wanted to know by seeing how all the other signs dress up and act like one!

  

Sagittarius

Jumpin’ Jupiter! Happy Thanksgiving (23-Nov-09)

No holiday could be more “Jupiter” than the typical American Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving in the USA is perfectly placed when the Sun is in Sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter—the pre-game warm-up to the most Jupiterian of all holidays, Christmas. Holy Sag! It’s your time of year.

Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces

The Winter Signs (30-Dec-12)

A quiet contemplation of Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. Exploring the introverted time of year, as well as introverts and extroverts, the Myers-Briggs Personality inventory, and the gifts of being an “innie” and the inward time of year.

Stillness: Our Retrograde Winter 2014 (2-Jan-14)

Winter starts with Capricorn. Cap sways to rhythm of Saturn, the planet that rules time itself. Winter forces us to face: the sand keeps running in our hourglass. All those questions about fulfillment are more poignant, indeed more urgent, when there’s more sand on the bottom than the top. The gifts of winter and retrogrades revealed.

Aquarius

 

The Chart of HAIR ~ Why We Should Care (14-Oct-10) .

“This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius!” —From Hair by Gerome Ragni and James Rado. Have you noticed? The peace sign is back—and not just on The Radical Virgo logo. The peace sign celebrated its 50th anniversary and Chiron Return in 2008, the same year as the 40th anniversary of Woodstock. The psychedelic movement has weathered its midlife transits!

The Astrology of Independence (2-Jul-14)

Often cited as the archetypal independent sign, Aquarius is often too busy with issues of society to get too close to individuals. Not to mention, with Uranus as its ruler, Aquarius is about as predictable and constant in relationships as lightning in a summer storm. Changeability is deeply woven into the Aquarian nature, and like Sag, Aquarius does not like fences or “shoulds.” On the other hand, when Aquarius—or any of the more independent signs—is there because he or she wants to be and isn’t pressured to commit until ready, Aquarius can ultimately thrive in relationship and learn to relish interdependence.

Pisces

A Prescription for Planets in Pisces: SoulCollage® Your Natal Chart

(7-Mar-11)

Would you like to increase your understanding of how the astrological archetypes express themselves in your life? The abundance of planetary activity currently in Pisces suggests you might find your answer by creating a set of SoulCollage® cards based on your natal chart. This may appeal to people with natal planets in Pisces or other “artsy”Astro-signatures. It’s like a personal Astro-tarot deck.

Mercury Retrograde Stellium in Pisces, Void Moon (26-Feb-13)

A poem of a near-drowning experience in the Pisces archetype. It starts:  So quiet on the Western front. I hear the ear-splitting echoes of my own thinking.

Late Pisces

The Tail of the Fish (13-Mar-13)

Explore the late degrees of Pisces. In a previous article, The Winter Signs, I referred to the Sun's sojourn in Pisces as “the dark of the Sun,” parallel to the “dark of the Moon.” This refers especially to the last days before the Sun cycle starts over. It's a sacred threshold.

~~~

Photo Credit: © Jut - Fotolia.com

Radical Recommendation: Revisit The Top 10 Posts of All Time!

Spring Equinox: Come On, Baby, Light My Fire!

Article © 2013 by Joyce Mason
All Rights Reserved

Spring and the sign of Aries blast into our lives in a way that does justice to the expression “living out loud.” Buds burst, light sings, the sap rises in trees and we ditch our winter slump for a love affair with high energy.

If this sounds somewhat like overdoing the happy dance because you just got a Get Out of Jail Free card, there’s some mythical truth to the matter. From a symbolic standpoint, spring is more like a season’s pass from Hell. Here’s how the story goes.

Spring Mythology

Long ago in a place far away that may have never existed, but is none the less true for its core wisdom: Demeter, the goddess of crops and harvest (the asteroid Ceres in astrology), bore a daughter with Zeus, king of the gods. The daughter’s name was Persephone. One day Persephone was out gathering wild flowers when she was abducted by Hades—better known to us in his astrological persona as Pluto. Hades took Persephone to be his lover and queen in the Land of the Dead. (Not hard to see the parallels to an unevolved Scorpio and why Hades gets my nomination for patron sinner of stalkers.)

Demeter roams the land, trying to find her lost daughter.  Ultimately, she encounters Hecate, one of the original witchy women, who advises her to go to Helios, the Sun, to find out if he saw who snatched Persephone. All is revealed in the light of day, and Helios names Hades as the perpetrator.

Naturally, Demeter pleads with Zeus to do something. He is the chief god, and as incest-laden mythology would have it, Zeus is also Demeter and Hades’ brother. (Throw sibling rivalry into this soap opera.) Zeus refuses to intervene, and Demeter, righteously angry, refuses in turn to perform her duties as crop goddess. Famine threatens extinction of the human race.

The next bit of the story, typical of legends, has a couple of different versions. One is that Zeus finally intervenes and forces Hades to give up Persephone. In another, Demeter bargains for her daughter’s release. [1] (I like the latter because it empowers Demeter as the only person I know of in the myths who deals with that devil and at least cuts a compromise.)

Once reunited, Demeter asks if Persephone ate anything in the underworld. She admits to having consumed a pomegranate seed. This act links her permanently to the Land of the Dead, where she is destined to spend part of each year as Hades’ wife. During the time she’s gone, Demeter mourns and the crops go barren. Thus we have the cycle of growth, harvest, winter—and the joy of all nature welcoming Persephone back each spring.

Spring Fire

After revisiting this tale, it’s easy to understand why, in the perfection of nature, the cycle of the Sun through the zodiac begins with the first fire sign, Aries. It’s as though Persephone brings with her a little bit of hellfire without the damnation. (That comes later when she has to go back to the underworld.)

Carl Jung associated the astrological element fire with intuition. Fire is the life force rising up in us. It gives us warmth, comfort and literal fire cooks our food. [2] Man’s discovery of fire was one of the most important moments in human evolution. It changed the human course forever. Fire’s awesome power is recognized in another myth, that of Prometheus. He is punished horribly for stealing fire from the gods and is associated with the planet Uranus. As we evolve, we better harness our own inner warmth and fire to strengthen our own self-confidence and to share our ideas and creativity. It takes an initial act of rebellion to snatch some fire for ourselves and not let the jealous gods horde it --and lord it over us. After all, it’s the life force itself. It belongs to everyone, like the sun, stars and sky.

Celebrate!

It’s the Natural New Year, the first—and in some ways the most important—of the Cardinal Turning Points. Here are some past posts with poems, ceremonies and things to ponder to kick off your New Year with some firecrackers of inspiration and meaning:

It’s Spring! Let’s Get Seedy

Prayer on Spring Equinox

(Rituals to) Celebrate Spring Equinox

God is Not An Aries

In his book, The Inner Sky, astrologer Stephen Forrest talks about the Sign of the Spring Equinox and Aries’ psychological association with the development of courage. [3] Behind every Aries Warrior is someone working on getting up the guts to do something. If the Aries you know seem more courageous than most, it’s only because they’ve been working on it since Day 1.

This is the time of year for all of us to screw up our courage and become more Aries- like—to be Life Warriors, rushing headlong into new adventures, taking risks and starting the New Year off boldly. Burst out of your winter eggshell and fly into spring like a firecracker, tail afire!

Happy Rebirthday, All!

~~~

Photo Credit: © Jürgen Fälchle - Fotolia.com

NOTES

1. Myths and Legends: The Yearly Agricultural Cycle http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/grecoromanmyth1/a/mythslegends_2.htm
2. The Four Elements in Astrology by Bonnie Moss http://www.astrostar.com/Four-Elements.htm
3. Forrest, Steven, The Inner Sky, Seven Paws Press: 2007, p. 42.

It’s Spring! Let’s Get Seedy

© 2010 by Joyce Mason

Spring arrives in the Northern Hemisphere on March 20 this year. We call it Spring Equinox, because it’s a time of equal light and darkness. From here on out, we have longer hours of light until the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. Spring is the natural New Year, the time to plant both literal and figurative seeds for growth.

The parallels between the cycles of human and plant growth abound and can be seen clearly in the cycle of the 12 astrological signs. (See the series, High Signs: Living on the Upside of the Zodiac.) Spring begins with Aries, the sign that “goes for it” with abandon and wants to run out and do new things in a hurry. Nature simply bursts forth as winter turns spring. It’s almost like fireworks in buds and birds and streaming sunshine.


Best Time for Your New Year’s Resolutions

We write our New Year’s Resolutions at the wrong time of year—the beginning of the calendar year. Our Gregorian calendars are off-cycle with the natural world. Winter is for rest and recuperation, not for big ideas that require a lot of energy. Take it from the bears. In winter, we’re supposed to be hibernating. No wonder so many of our resolutions die on the vine. Have you ever tried to plant something in the cold of winter in a frosty climate?

Spring is the “natural” New Year. If you write your resolutions in spring instead, they have the full support of nature and the Aries oomph to bloom where they are planted. Each resolution is a seed of manifestation. Some plants will be ready to harvest by autumn; some will need more cycles to come to full fruition. But to harvest, you’ve got to plant. Take time to identify and plant your metaphorical seeds.


Seed Meditation

To help you craft your resolutions or seeds of manifestation, here’s a guided meditation to help you focus your inner gardening. Play some soothing music in the background. George Winston's Winter into Spring would be ideal! Stop between each bullet to reflect and write:


• Scan your life for what’s important to you. Don’t think too hard. Write what’s on the top of your head.

• Considering what matters to you, which areas of life could use improvement? Choose the three most important. Write them down.

• Now that you have the Top Three, start with #1. What do you want to change in this area of your life? What does it look like? Imagine you have already created it. What does it feel like? Now, write an affirmation as though you have already planted, grown, and harvested this seed in your life. Example: I have a happy, playful, and amiable relationship with my partner—one of shared responsibilities and joy. Or: I have more than enough money to meet my needs—plenty to cover most of my wants and to share my wealth.


• Continue your affirmations in Area 1. It’s OK to write a lot, but remember you may not harvest everything this year.

• Write your affirmations in Area 2.

• Write your affirmations in Area 3.

• Continue to write in additional areas, if wanted.


To take maximum advantage of the power of its threshold, I recommend doing this exercise and writing your resolution seeds as close to the actual equinox as possible. That’s 10:32 AM on March 20 from the perspective of my US Pacific time zone; adjust for yours, if different.


After the Meditation

Write your “seed” affirmations somewhere you can refer to them—and say them, either aloud or to yourself—often. Write a reminder in your calendar or computer to revisit your “seeds” at least once a month. Watch how they grow with the seasons through summer. Do you need to thin them out? Water or tend to them more? Keep only the ones that are rooting? At autumn, which ones are ready for harvest? Which ones have you manifested? You can “move” the seeds to next year’s Seed List for 2011 if it needs more time.


The Importance of Visualization, Affirmation

Seeds contain the complete DNA of the flower they bloom, just like an embryo is coded with the fullness of our unique humanity.


When we’re working with mental substance, we have to create the equivalent of DNA. We need to think, see, and feel the pattern from idea to manifestation in order to “code” it so it comes out the way we have in mind. That’s why visualization is so important. Affirmation is part of the process of growth. In the human body, the magnificence of Creator and creation is reflected in the amazing growth code in our bodies that works on autopilot. When we work with invisible substance, we have to create a growth mechanism, too. Returning to the vision and supporting it with booster shots of the same thought forms that created it—that provides the mechanism for growth.


This Spring, the Cardinal T-Square

Much will be written on these and other pages in the coming months and years about the Cardinal T-Square in the sky through 2012. It’s in orb this Spring Equinox, even if Uranus hasn’t quite made it to the 1 Aries Cardinal threshold: Uranus (26 Pisces), Pluto (5 Capricorn), and Saturn (1 Libra). In a two-word nutshell, the consensus, so far, is big changes. With Uranus just a few degrees from the Aries cusp, we’ll feel these energies beginning to build as a cultural and personal influence. Uranus is likely to bring upheavals and breakthroughs. We’re already seeing Pluto transform our global economy, and for many, the ride has been scary; others know resurrection is the light at the end of the dark tunnel. Saturn in its current sign offers us the opportunity to change how we relate, not just to each other, but to those Libran issues of equality, justice, and peace.

Use your spring meditation to let ideas bubble up from your subconscious about what you can do in your life to make the most out of this build-up of Cardinal energy. All seasons start with a Cardinal sign: Aries (Spring), Cancer (Summer), Libra (Autumn) and Capricorn (Winter). I’ve never heard the description of a Cardinal sign stated better and more simply on Ken Ward’s Astrology Pages: Cardinal comes from the French word “cardo,” meaning hinge on which something turns.

Every spring is a turning-point. This spring is a big one. Seed accordingly. The quality of your life hinges on it.

~~~

Photo credit: FINANCIAL PLANTING © Summerrobi... Dreamstime.com

A Note to My Soul:  This beautiful poem on one of my favorite blogs, Joy Frequencies, is a perfect prayer for the Spring Equinox--for going out and seeding good things for ourselves and others.  Thanks to author Susannah who shares her joyous take on life to our collective benefit.

CELEBRATE! Spring Equinox marks the 1st birthday of The Radical Virgo blog. The first full-length launch post and birth data of this blog: March 21, 2009 at 8:58:40 PDT, Rocklin, CA – USA. (See chart.) Thank you for your continuing, heartening support! The Radical Virgo regularly ranks in the top 20 (sometimes the top 10!) of the 100 astrology blogs followed on PostRank.

High Signs 1: Living on the Upside of the Zodiac

Aries through Cancer

© 2009 by Joyce Mason

One of my all-time favorite artists is Corita Kent, a former Catholic nun whose pop artwork was very “inspirational ‘60s.” She wove words and color together in a rainbow of good causes: the women’s movement, the peace movement, and the love and joy movement—the movement that’s timeless. (Here’s a short film clip that gives an animated tour in a minute and a half about the difference she made.) Corita literally made peace and love signs.

My closest connection to Corita was through her High Cards. They were some of her best poster-like art on colorful half-page postcards. I still treasure my High Cards, which are older than dirt and have accumulated their share of actual dirt from well-worn reading and display in my office for encouragement.

One of the High Cards I love best is black and white and says:

“Change your melodrama into a mellow drama.” – Corita Kent

Since The Radical Virgo advocates evolutionary astrology where each person becomes all he or she was meant to be in optimal self-expression, I thought I’d take page out of Corita’s book and offer some “high ideas” on how that would look on each of the signs of the zodiac. My article, The Radical Virgo, does that in detail for the Virgo, but how about the complete set of twelve? Each sign can choose mellow drama instead of melodrama, high sign or low sign.

Learning the potentials of the 12 prototypes is a life-long quest—a conversation we can never have too often or stop exploring in depth—because the zodiac signs are the foundation of the astrological alphabet and our sky-to-earth understanding.

Here are my thoughts on how the High Signs would look from A(ries) to P(isces). We are living organisms. It's no surprise that an inner growth cycle emerges from the zodiac that largely parallels plant growth. Most of us know the popular saying, paraphrased in several biblical passages and more recently made popular by artist Mary Engelbreit: “Bloom where you are planted.” The seeds of our personalities are indeed sown in the signs of the zodiac. We are responsible for tending them like good gardeners for the best yield and quality of crop.

To keep this meaty but to avoid overwhelm, we’ll take this tour around the zodiac in three posts. Today, #1: Aries through Cancer. In the next two weeks, #2 – Leo through Scorpio; and finally, #3 - Sagittarius through Pisces.

Aries Firestorm – Controlled Burn and Renewal

What boundless energy! This person’s creativity is on fire. (My friend, Pop Art Diva, has Aries Moon, and I swear that woman draws and doodles in her sleep! She is an artist whose productivity and non-stop creative flow boggle the imagination.)

Some of the most exciting qualities of this sign are self-starting, adventurous, and courageous. Aries is the spring seed energy, the Get Up and Go of Life. This Mars-ruled sign needs action! When qualities of impulsiveness, hotheadedness, need to win at all costs, and self-centeredness can be contained like a controlled burn or burned off to leave their tempered complement, Aries begins to evolve to its highest calling—conception. Aries is a think tank, not a bureaucrat. This soul does its most sacred work scattering the seeds of new life and belongs in places where he contributes to constant new beginnings. When Aries is being himself, his mantra is, be-gin. A starter more than a finisher, Aries is most at home in the exciting first stages of a business, project, or relationship. Projects that are short from conception to fruition are his forte.

Obviously, to succeed in certain areas of life, especially relationship; you can’t be just a starter. You need to be in it for the long haul. At her best, Aries finds a way to create constant renewal in all areas of life. Very appealing to Ram-mates who might dig the continuous honeymoon possibilities!

Taurus – Dirt Revels

What on earth do I mean by that? Taurus revels in the upside of the Earth element (dirt)—the beauty of nature, physicality, sensuousness, and all the resources money can buy. The Bull’s steady, persistent nature allows him or her to acquire a lot of goodies.

As a Taurus evolves, she lets go of materialistic tendencies, realizing that if you clutch dirt, you just get your hands dirty. Learning to let go of possessiveness also goes for people and relationships. I love that Earth Day occurs when the Sun is in Taurus. This holiday is a reminder to let go of concern about greenbacks and, instead, to let in the green all around us. Taurus “rising,” as in evolving, comes to terms with the psycho-spiritual aspects of abundance. He is in the constant flow of prosperity and does not need to be possessive or obsessive about security.

This Venus-ruled sign must be surrounded by beauty, especially nature. Often artistic with an eye for color, if the Aries conceives, Taurus takes root. Using steadfastness and her love of the good things in life, this sign sends out deep taproots of living abundance. Earthy, in deed!

Gemini—Making Friends with the Not So Evil Twin

How does a Gemini overcome talking too much, being scattered, distracted, restless or who has trouble following through? She takes her duality and makes it her friend. There are two Gemini Twins, Castor and Pollux, male and female. We often joke about Gemini’s split personality, but as Gemini evolves, she makes it a good thing. If her mental high energy causes her fuss or fidget, the other twin can put an arm around her shoulder, like a loving but firm mom, and say, “Sweetheart, you’ve got to knock it off.” This sign, more than most, has the capacity to get outside itself to observe itself. Gemini is an air sign ruled by Mercury. The trick is to make friends with both twins and a pact that they’re going to work together to channel all that airy, Mercurial energy before it blows them away like so much dandelion fluff.

I have a favorite image from an old childhood cartoon. It showed, arguing repeatedly, an angel and devil on the shoulder of the main character (who must have been a Gemini!). The angel was arguing for the high road; the devil, of course, voted for the self-serving pleasure of the moment. Gemini is facile with our greatest tool, the mind, which can be an angel of positive manifestation or the devil that takes us to hell in a hand basket, if not managed.

The Twins working as a team with Gemini’s Higher Self can take him and his mind to full expression of his charms: spontaneous, innovative, alert, energetic, and unbiased. With his intellectual and logical mind, he can grow not just in the ability to think, but also in the joy of true knowledge. He can become an authority, not just a dabbler.

Lastly, as a purveyor of possibilities, Gemini shows us all the ways the wind could blow. This is a critical next step in the psycho-spiritual growth process that parallels nature. In Aries, the creation is conceived; in Taurus, it takes root. In Gemini, we assess atmospheric growing conditions that influence how our plant will flourish.

Cancer: Feelers, Not Tentacles

The Moon-Ruled Cancer makes me think about how the much of the human body is made up of water—55-60 %. Think of the Moon’s gravitational pull on the tides. No wonder emergency rooms overflow with physical and mental crises at the Full Moon! By definition, Cancer is more sensitive—even hypersensitive—to the forces of nature around her. How does she go from clingy, moody, self-indulgent, hoarding, and gluttonous to the high ground of receptivity, devotion, protection, positive changeability, and imaginative intuition?

The key is how she chooses to create a safe container. Whether it’s her home/nest or a the vision of a crystal bowl that holds her psyche, Cancer’s bowl or cup must contain her considerable water without spillage and leave her reflective and receptive without undue fear.

Cancers find security in being held, both literally and figuratively. That can be in her home, her psychic container, or a relationship with someone she trusts. All these things keep Cancer’s nurturing from running all over the place. Leaking the waters of Self are what leads to the clutchy, smothering behavior for which some Cancers are infamous. She wants to be held to get a hold of her feelings.

When Cancer puts attention on this key issue, she has created an incubator or greenhouse for her Self. In the psycho-spiritual growth process, we have gone from conception in Aries, to rooting in Taurus, and attention to weather and growth conditions in Gemini. Now, in Cancer, we have the flowerbed, row or container garden for seedling protection.



Next: High Signs, Part 2: Leo through Scorpio

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Learn more about Sr. Corita’s work in this video by LA Curator Aaron Rose who calls her art “radical, political graffiti” and captures it in this clip from her Passion for the Possible exhibit.

Corita Kent's birth data: 20-Nov-1918 in Ft. Dodge, IA. Time unknown.

Photo credit: HAPPY CHILDREN GIVING VICTORY SIGN © Maszas Dreamstime.com

“God Is Not An Aries”

I coined this expression for a friend with five planets in Ram, whenever it’s obvious that she and God operate on different calendars. I told her once, “You need to practice the P-word.” She had no idea what word I was talking about.

Short on the P-word, Patience: Aries typically want everything yesterday. The Ram charges forward, horns first, bursting with exuberant, fiery energy.

God cannot be an Aries. The answers to our prayers and most manifestations take much longer than an Aries would wait. Unfortunately, most of us are pretty “Aries,” Aries or not. All America is on fast forward. Reminding my Aries friend to enjoy “getting there” has never been very effective. What may be better for us all, during impatience, is understanding why we “just can’t wait” and why we may want to learn, even cultivate this virtue.

Aries are visionaries. This goes for those who are literally an Aries and others, when they are acting like one. Aries begins at the Spring Equinox, the time for planting. Within each seed is contained the entire cycle of life. Aries sense the whole story. It must be murder to have to wait and see if it ends up like his or her considerable intuition is hinting.

So it is for all of us at the beginning of our creations, whether a new business, relationships, or project. Aries is ruled by Mars, the male, yang, or outgoing energy. Mars is “going for it.” We are all acting Aries or Martian when we initiate/create something, especially if it has never been done before. Aries are the pioneers of the zodiac; in their case, that’s often.

Americans move fast because of their affinity to the Ram. We expect Cup-a-Soup relationships, instant financial return, and spiritual enlightenment without the bother of meditation, prayer, affirmations, and study.

Speaking of Mars and Martians, I remember Robert Heinlein’s book, Stranger in a Strange Land. Stranger is about Valentine Michael Smith, the Man from Mars, who ends up a religious superstar in an obvious parallel to the story of Jesus. Smith was slow by Earth standards and often said, “Waiting is fullness.”

I’ll always find it amusing that Smith, the Man from Mars, preached patience. This shows that within all Mars-ruled Aries is the seed of their complementary or opposite sign, Libra.

Libra is ruled by Venus, the planet of love and relationship. Librans’ sense of values is crucial to them, and they are idealistic. So when we are most Aries, the prescription is to become more Libra-like and review our ideal.

In Edgar Cayce on Mysteries of the Mind, Henry Reed states that authentic will is approached not through willpower, but through a willingness to be influenced by an ideal. “Waiting is fullness” when we are willing not just to have something, but when we’re waiting for the outcome match our spiritual vision. Aries wants to be first, but the price may be settling for second best or something picked before it’s full bloom.

Next time you’re Rambunctious, waiting with Aries impatience, weigh these thoughts on your Libra Scales.

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This bit of astro-humor ran in the April 1995 edition of Chironicles in celebration of the Spring Equinox. It honors the sign that starts the natural New Year and the beginning of the zodiac. I am posting it on an Aries New Moon! This article has been evocative in the past—angered more than one Aries who disagreed that God didn’t share their sign! Made others ponder: If God had a sign, what would it be? Since bearers of each sign of the zodiac claim theirs is divine, some more than others, that could be quite a debate! Whatever your sign, this is the time to celebrate Aries. And, of course, The Radical Virgo welcomes your Comments.

(Dedicated to Jessica Lynn, the woman who inspired it, and one of my three long-time, close Aries friends.)