First day of Spring... Really?

Just before midnight on the 19th of March, the sun enters Aries, the first sign of the zodiac, and ushers in the first day of Spring and the vernal equinox in the northern hemisphere.

Day and night become equal in length, offering us a chance to strike a balance between daily activity and nightly rest.

The sun represents the daily effort and activities required to exist in the outer world; for example, working, eating, playing and procreating. In the active sign of Aries, we want to feel free, healthy, and physically capable.

Conversely, the moon represents the rest and relaxation required to sustain the daily activities of the sun; for example, getting adequate sleep, reflection, meditation, solitude, taking breaks, and being vulnerable.

Especially as the moon approaches to obscure the light of the sun early on Tuesday the 24th, it may behoove you to get quiet and ask yourself the very deep and meaningful question, "who am I?"

For Aries teaches us that we must first know what we stand for before we can share our passions with others. Think in terms of an idea of “me” not riddled by the stories of your parents, society, or your significant other.

Think in terms of a newborn baby— without all the labels and fault-finding. Like a flame, who would you be if you could just burn away all of the “fluff”? What does he/ she look like? What would he/ she be willing to go to war for?

These questions will help us get grounded in who we are, especially as we move further into an unprecedented time of change and uncertainty, and Saturn, the planet of restriction, moves into the sign of the collective, Aquarius on Saturday, March 21.

Saturn is the planet of work, karma, and the negative effects of these. Its essence is limiting and contractive, and teaches us where we need to “clean up” or “back up” so that we can move forward again with the best probability of success.

Meanwhile, Aquarius represents the individual and unique role each of us plays in the greater health and wellbeing of humanity. It recognizes that we are all members of a family unit... that ultimately, if one of us is thirsty, we are all thirsty.

Furthermore, Aquarius is an air sign. COVID-19 is a respiratory virus, and Saturn can be restricting. I am not here to make grandiose predictions, but I would not be surprised to see a spike in confirmed cases, deaths or greater quarantine measures in the collective over the weekend due to COVID-19.

That said, Saturn also works his magic on us as pressure works on a diamond… we emerge stronger and harder than ever before. Saturn’s lessons can open us up to the truth that we as a human species have an innate capacity to overcome adversity.

It is time for us to ask both individually and collectively what has worked in the past and what hasn’t. We are moving toward the visionary and creative way of doing things, and away from tradition simply for the sake of it. We will see this shift highlighted especially toward the end of December 2020.

It may be helpful to think back to December 2017, which was when Saturn entered the sign it is in currently. What work have you accomplished since then? What are you proud of yourself for? And how has this hard work better equipped to handle the change and uncertainty of this time?

Aquarius knows that it takes logic and reason to be able to tackle difficult problems. It is swift, forward-thinking, and new. It warns the “old way” of doing things that it must be open to adaptation or be at the risk being left behind for good.

May you remain positive and healthy at this time, and respond to adversity from a place of intellect rather than pride or fear. As separate as we may feel, our loving, intellectual, individual actions today will pave the way for the greater health of the collective tomorrow.