Aries 2019 — Choose Your Own Adventure

The Sun enters tropical Aries on March 20^th, marking the moment of the equinox. From the Latin for “equal night,” it is the time of year when day and night are most equal in length. Here the war between darkness and light ceases for just a moment, and the inner world is filled with the same momentary equilibrium apparent in the outer. It is the end of one season, and the beginning of another.

The Sun’s time in Aries contains some of the best skies of 2019. From March 26^th until the Sun’s exit from Aries on April 20^th, four of the seven visible planets will be in positions of great strength. The Sun exalted in bright Aries, Venus exalted in flowing Pisces, Jupiter at home in horizon-gazing Sagittarius and Saturn abiding in stony, patient Capricorn. Planets placed in their rulership and exaltation is astrology’s way of saying “things as they should be.”

This is an unusual span of good space weather, a particularly rare commodity in the 2019’s generally infected skies. Although it is tempting to merely luxuriate, it would be far wiser to take full advantage of the opportunities presented.

Catch up on what got delayed during the year’s difficult start. Begin, officially, ritually, and in earnest, the projects you’ve been hoping to get to. There is a generous pile of very favorable elections to begin things during this period. The Moon’s time Taurus from April 6^th-7^th and Leo, April 13^th-14^th, provide some particularly choice moments.

Flame On

Though the Sun’s time in Aries can boast some nice skies, they are not without context. 2019’s toughest configurations are still in play, and its roughest moments lie ahead.

This is a time to take back the ground you had to cede during the first quarter of the year, to catch up, and get ahead. More than anything, it is chance, or a series of chances, to reclaim authority over your story this year. 2019, on a personal level, is a struggle over the genre of the narrative. The potential plot waffles between merely enduring what befalls you, and succeeding at what you set out to do, despite the world, despite history. As I wrote before the year began, 2019 is part Walking Dead, part Hero’s Journey, an odd mixture of survival horror and epic adventure. The Sun’s time in Aries is the time to reclaim directorial control and steer it toward the epic.

The heroic reframe is, however, not as simple as turning right instead of left. The epic mode incorporates and includes all of the challenges of the survival horror narrative. It must, or it is just escapist fantasy. If a journey does not have monsters and ordeals, then it is neither heroic, nor interesting.

The key difference is the quest. The hero encounters horrors as a point between themselves and their goal. In the survival mode of being, there are only monsters and some longed-for place of safety. There is no victory, only not-losing. Remembering your intention, your quest, your best-possible-outcome gives you a reason to confront and triumph over horrors. The tension between intention and obstacle fires the spirit. This spark-producing friction is the quintessence of Aries, and one of the reasons that the Sun, whose golden flame represents spirit in lands far and wide, is exalted in combative Aries. Remember the fire that bore you, and use it as a forge, a crucible, to shape the story unfolding. Choose your adventure.

Monthly Overview

This overview of the month is divided into three equal sections, each of which encompasses the Sun’s movement through one of the three decans of Aries, each of which has a distinct flavor.

Aries I: The Axe: March 20^th– 29^th

Striding into Aries on the March 20^th, the Sun grabs an axe and cuts its way into a new season. During the Sun’s time in the first decan of Aries, things change for the better. The season begins with the Full Moon in Libra on the 20^th. Then, Venus enters her favorite sign, Pisces, on the 26^th, and Mercury calls an end to retrogradation on the 28^th.

The best days of this decan are while the Moon is in Sagittarius, from March 25^th-27^th. The most difficult is the Moon’s opposition with Mars on the 24^th, and conjunction with Saturn & Co. on the 28^th.

Silver Scales: The Full Moon in Libra

Shortly after the Sun’s ingress into Aries , the Moon rises fat and full in Libra. In the sign of the Scales, the Full Moon shines a silver spotlight on the importance of balance. This emphasis on equilibrium could not be any more appropriately timed, as this is one of the two days of the year when day and night are equal.

Sea-Borne: Venus Enters Pisces

Venus enters Pisces on Tuesday the 26^th. This ingress is a potent and favorable shift. With Jupiter at home in Sagittarius and Venus exalted in Pisces, both benefics are, until April 20^th, in places of strength.

Venus is exalted in the Fishes’ sign, for while within those deep waters, the morning star excels at facilitating harmony and providing pleasure. Venus’ in Pisces special capacity is to enjoy things as they arise and to let them go, without tears, as they fall away.

Dream-Speak: Mercury Direct and Conjunct Neptune

Mercury spends the entirety of this decan in close conjunction with Neptune. The retrograde Messenger conjoins the distant blue planet on March 24^th and then stations direct in the same degree on the 28^th. Furthermore, Mercury will be within a degree of Neptune for the week following the direct station. Neptune is notorious for fogging the vision and blurring focus, and so Mercury’s retrograde does not end with the sharp, pointed clarity it typically does. The solution, the point from which thinking and planning can move forward, will be abstract, large

in shape and meaning but not particularly easy to define. This is the dream, the story, which plays a subtle but pervasive structuring role in life’s events and experiences. This is the critical point for genre-shifting from survival to adventure.

Aries II: The Crown, March 30th- April 9^th

The Sun’s time in the royal second decan of Aries begins with Mercury and Neptune still dreaming stories together. Meanwhile, Mars enters Gemini, picking up the pace for the rest of the month. The middle of the decan hosts the New Moon in Aries. The New Moon, which takes place on the 5^th, resets the lunar cycle, with an eye toward the remembrance of potential.

Meanwhile, the last days of the decan are host to two very different configurations. Venus and Neptune make a fairy-tale conjunction in Pisces at the same time as the Sun approaches a gauntlet of oppressive aspects with the Saturn, Pluto, and the Dragon’s Tail. Heavy is the head that holds itself high. Strained are the eyes that refuse to be cast down

The best days of this decan are during the Moon’s time in Taurus, from April 6-7^th. The Moon’s conjunction with Mars on the evening of the 8^th is the least favorable, though it is by no means atrocious.

Twin Blades: Mars Enters Gemini

Mars in Gemini enters on March 30^th. Fast and clever, with a razored tongue in addition to a pair of swords, Mars is very different in the Twins’ sign than in that of the Bull. The red planet has dozed and bulldozed through Taurus since February, but now takes on a manic, gymnastic quality which stimulates the intellect and speeds endeavors along, but may provide problems with focus, gossip, anxiety. Mars will be in Gemini until May 15^th.

Daydream Decryption: Mercury Conjunct Neptune in Pisces

Mercury, at this point direct, makes its third and final conjunction with Neptune in Pisces on April 2^nd. This conjunction carries through the process of rethinking the storyline we’re enacting described above, and marks the final piece of input into that process. From here, the Mercury-Neptune effect will slowly fade, though the extended conjunctions themes will carry through the rest of the decan.

A Spark in the Dark: The New Moon in Aries

The New Moon in Aries arrives early on Wednesday the 5^th, for all intents and purposes in the Americas, during the night of Tuesday the 4^th. The Sun and Moon’s annual conjunction in Aries re-centers the lunar cycle on the spirit’s fiery seed. Yet, in accord with the month’s theme, it does so under duress, in plain sight of the very challenges which call the heroic into being.

On the same day as the New Moon, Pluto and the Tail of the Dragon (Mean) conjoin, opening a portal to the unresolved past. Unwell ancestors whisper their stories to the living. We must listen, but not re-enact them. Feed the dead your love, not your blood.

Narcotic Beauty: Venus Conjunct Neptune in Pisces

Venus conjoins Neptune in Pisces on March 9^th. Unlike the awkward combination of Mercury and Neptune, Venus and Neptune cohesively blend together the sensuous and the surreal, the passionate and the otherworldly. It is a fine combination for shirking obligations, appreciating works of fantasy, and indulging in the romantic. Additionally, the Venus-Neptune conjunction serves to blunt some of the hard edges of the impending Sun-Saturn square.

Aries III: A Rose Aflame, April 10^th-20^th

It is during the third decan of Aries that the spirit-flame, reignited earlier, is either doused or confirms its strength. It begins with Jupiter’s retrograde station, but the drama comes from the bright Sun in Aries’ series of squares with Saturn, the Dragon’s Tail, and Pluto from the 10^th-13^th, with the 12^th likely to be the most difficult. This rough set of days is, however, followed immediately by a glorious Grand Fire Trine between the Sun, Moon, and Jupiter on the 13^th and 14^th.

Mercury and Venus travel together for much of this decan, up until Mercury’s ingress into Aries on the 16^th. This mobile pairing helps soften communications and smooth relationships.

The Full Moon in Libra, the second in a row, arrives on the 18^th, just before the Sun leaves Aries. This second serving of silver doubles down on the importance of finding and maintaining our equilibrium upon our swiftly tilting planet.

Staying Within The Bounds of Wisdom: Jupiter Stations Retrograde

Jupiter stations retrograde on April 10^th. As I wrote in this month’s set of daily entries:

“Jupiter’s annual retrograde station advises a halt to further expansions, and instead counsels that we chew what we have bitten off, consolidate the ground we have taken, and reflect on what we have been taught. Jupiter’s retrogrades take approximately a third of each year, and so we will not see the star of Zeus turn direct until August 11th.

It is important to note that Jupiter’s retrogrades are not parallel in meaning to Mercury’s more frequent ones. They do not indicate a burst of chaos within that planetary sphere, or significant disruptions to its business. Retrogradation does not turn Jupiter from the Greater Benefic into a ravening distributor of pain.”

A Shadow Across The Sky: The Sun Squares Saturn, Pluto, and the Tail

The Sun has a rough time from the 10^th through the 12^th, as it must pass through a configuration with Saturn, the Dragon’s Tail, and then Pluto in Capricorn. Here the solar rays fall upon impediments both internal and external, illuminating limitations, obstacles, and fears. It is not a pleasant set of days, but it will pass quickly enough.

What follows the Sun’s brief tour of the graveyard is a celebratory trine to Jupiter which the Moon joins on the 14^th. The Grand Fire Trine between the Sun in Aries, Moon in Leo, and Jupiter in Sagittarius is a fine bit of sky.

Firebrand Thoughts: Mercury Enters Aries

Mercury finally finishes its time with the Fish on April 16^th. This ingress into the Ram’s sign sees Mercury move from murky and dark to bright and sharp. Mercury in Aries favors straightforward communication and quick fixes, though does not care much for tact. Mercury is especially cutting and swift in Aries this year, due to its mutual reception with Mars in Gemini. The Messenger will be in Aries until May 6^th.

For its first few days in Aries, Mercury will be conjunct the planetoid Chiron. During this time the mind may wander toward issues surrounding the use and abuse of power.

Right Relationship: A Second Full Moon in Libra

The Full Moon in Libra, the second in a row, arrives on April 19^th. As I wrote in my Aries dalies:

“Occurring as it does in the last degree of Libra, it is a strange mirror and bookend to the Full Moon in Libra on March 20th, which took place in the very first degree of the Scales.

The theme of balance is indeed salient, as this Moon is configurated to both the best and worst planets currently in the sky. Bright, inspiring Jupiter blesses this lunation, yet Saturn, Pluto, and the Dragon’s Tail look upon it with a less gentle set of eyes. This Full Moon places both the opportunities and challenges of the year in its pair of scales, and sets them a-wobbling.”

Ideally, this second Full Moon in Libra finishes the quest for equilibrium begun under the first one. It is, in a sense, a test of that balance, yet also a potential confirmation. The harmony between darkness and light to be found here tends toward the subtle and philosophical. The power of the harmonious mind is that it naturally re-orders the world around it, catalyzing right relationship as it intersects with the real.

This lunation is the last bit of action during the Sun’s time in Aries, as it will shuffle out of the Ram’s sign and into Taurus less than 24 hours later.