ATMann’s Spring Equinox Astrology Newsletter  

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The Spring Equinox occurred on Monday, 20 March 2017 at 6:29 AM EDT as the Sun entered Aries for the beginning of the solar and astrological year. Of interest is that the Sun makes very few aspects to other planets, showing that, although it was just about to edge above the Eastern horizon, our coming focus is likely to lack connectedness with other energies and shows us standing alone at the center of things. This is exaggerated because the individualistic, independent, excitable and rebellious Uranus has been milling around in Aries for a few years, which activates and extends the revolutionary changes that are already taking place, and so we are seeing a new dawn, like it or not, complicated by the fact that retrograde Venus and Mercury are in the same sign.

The only major aspects the Sun makes are its squares to the inconstant, moody and idealistic Moon and the moralizing, but separate, constricting and conservative Saturn, both in the sign of belief systems and foreign influences Sagittarius, and they are both in the tenth house of careers, pragmatism, and control. These aspects create pressure points that stress those in control, father figures and the patriarchy in general, and might also signal a collective depression due to the differentiation between what is expected and what is real, that is if we can agree on what reality is in the present climate. The squares show that we must change directions quite intelligently, otherwise, we will be forced to make shifts against our will, this being in the nature of squares. That this conjunction is also trine to the unstable and changeable Uranus in Aries and the first house doubles up on the sense of making radical changes without necessarily giving the repercussions adequate thought and foresight. We must be creative in moving ahead how, and especially so as the Moon will be moving toward a trine to the momentarily stable Mars in Taurus as a grounding principle, so there will be emotional intensity involved in all decisions made soon, and they will trigger opposition without even thinking about it.

As the Sun moves away from its recent conjunction with the storyteller of woundedness Chiron, this shows us that our boundaries might easily have been breached and that our reactions to this will leave wounds that won’t heal easily, if at all, as its sign Pisces shows that our attachment to sacrificial acts is deep and not so easily left behind. We must change the narrative that has created this wounding and in a sense, edit our stories in such a way it allows healing and a more positive response to our core. The wounds that have been incurred are deep and probably hidden, but they are there. The Sun is also inconjunct to the Moon’s North Node, which shows that disconnections are likely to be important in the days to come, and shows an increasing frustration with certain individuals we know, and many associations might well come unglued and lead to splits. Similarly, we might need to reframe how we see the US, as its values are turned upside down before our eyes.

As the Sun charges ahead into Aries, it immediately runs down and overcomes Venus, which is moving retrograde back into its rays, a phenomenon called the inferior conjunction. The bi-gendered Venus is now the masculine Evening Star Hesperos, who essentially vanishes into (and in front of) the Sun, an event which the Maya and Aztecs celebrated as the central mystery of their sophisticated calendar. (Reference the Phenomenon Books of Calendars that I created with Giugi Sesti, Painton Cowen and Mary Flanagan throughout the 1970s.) During this eight-day period, the master of taste and values Venus gives way to a spiritual darkness in which we encounter our psychological shadow nature, the darker feelings that we must acknowledge but usually hide from the light of day. This requires soul-searching introspection and represents a great opportunity to look within and attempt to see our true values, and how we are or are not respecting and living them. Of course, because Venus is the goddess of love as she moves past the Sun and becomes Phosphorus, the Morning Star, it questions our ability to love ourselves and others despite the human flaws we all possess.

As part of this process, Venus is also in a weak relationship to the desirous and energetic Mars, which is in a stabilizing position in the earthy Taurus, bringing a down to earth quality to both planets. So, any romantic or artistic urges must be tinged by a sense of reality at least, and yet the entire formula is of interest because the Spring Equinox is a very good time to initiate creative projects. Let them percolate through the fake news and understand the subliminal messages that are worth following up.

Now, Venus is also close to conjunction with Mercury and this interesting connection has profound effects upon us as our Mercurial ideas, which are often abstract and create idealism, are temporarily integrated into our value system, exemplified by Venus, and since they both reside in Aries, it evokes loving ourselves as a foundation for creative action and germinates potential self-expressive feelings. This dynamic is emotionally-accented intellect in operation as we express ourselves in ways that show or betray our inner worth for others to see. So, it is important to write or express what we feel now so that it can become a seed, which when planted will grow into something significant.

Slightly confusing these issues is the semi-sextile Mercury makes with the visionary but potentially deluded Neptune in her own sign Pisces, in the natural twelfth house and conjunct the Pisces Ascendant, all of which leads to a tendency to be and feel much more sensitive to outer influences, while inwardly directed and subject to stimulants and dreams in often odd ways. These influences can either cloud our thinking or we can move into sublime and profound moods that give us insight into our motives as we try to differentiate truth from its consequences. Can’t you feel it?

The next set of planets have been locked into a triad T-square for quite a while as the explosive, rash and individualistic Uranus in Aries is opposite the retrograde and expansive, religious and philosophical Jupiter in the balancing sign Libra, which works with making disparate and oppositional things collide, and yet they are mutually square the powerful, collective and very public planet Pluto, which governs world affairs as well as the immune system in us. This might explain why many people are feeling like there were attacked physically due to certain political events of the last months, around the world and also within. It was like being punched in the solar plexus, and I can still feel it. Jupiter and Uranus jockey with an exaggerated optimism versus a recognition that changes that stem from very individual ideas forcibly pressed onto people unwilling to relent or understand, while Pluto is opposite the sun-sign Cancer of the United States, showing that the current changes are fundamentally cut deep to the bone. In just now reading the current NYTimes Book Review, I noticed a mention of a book that characterizes America as a nation of con men and hustlers, which seems evident in this aspect. That Jupiter is retrograding indicates that reason, balance, and justice are all taking major “hits” in these times and moving backward inexorably into the past, and we are all affected either now or later by them.

I apologize for the long-windedness of this newsletter, but the time requires it. I am currently working on creating a Blog that will add periodic “riffs” and thoughts on inner and outer happenings to the usual flow of newsletters. Probably in the next newsletter, and certainly on my website, I will give you a chance to subscribe to the blog, so if this intrigues you, be in touch. This is a slow time of the year for my astrology, but I am available for readings, consultations, study sessions and whatever you need, so be in touch with me. And enjoy the spring, if it ever comes.  And, although it isn’t yet confirmed, I believe I will be giving a full day workshop on “Astrology and Healing “at the Golden Drum in Greenpoint, Brooklyn on 15 April, but will mention it in due course.

All the best,
Tad 

atmann@atmann.net        www.atmann.net        (917) 596-2108

Skype: atmann4
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