The Turning of the Year, Mercury Direct, Planets in Aries

"Look for me at dawn at first light on the third day.." Words of Christ? No, of Gandalf.. as he becomes the beacon for the turning of the tide. Now despair is lifted out into victory. Victory! Also sounds like Easter, too. 2011 is a year of tremendous religious impact, as despair over industry, work, water, lands, money and spirit reach an abyss of biblical proportions. War, revolution, famine, storms and floods are all upon us; and that is just the morning news! So where do get our Gandalf for these times? What do we invest in for our future in this mess of global greed and power shifts?
Saturn is in Libra, so we must invest in each other.
Heroes are with us, because the sign of the Hero -Aries_- is so full of planets. There are warriors- Mars, and financiers- Jupiter, and revolutionaries- Uranus. All are bashing at the gates. There are also real leaders, like Presidents and Kings, but they are being distorted through the general chaos and haze of blinding anger.
The crisis of our decade is upon us, the Saturn-Jupiter opposition in Aries and Libra. What are our choices? They are winched to the breaking point between the individual and the community. No matter what the strain, we have to build in Libra which rules the world of trade, exchange, partnerships, marriage and alliances. These are the best and brightest of our opportunities right now. But they have to be guided by our own knowledge of rightness and truth which is Aries. The allowing of false friends, perpetually draining alliances, and most of all, the distorting propaganda of false enemies cannot last through this mighty time, for they will bring death. Not just little death, like of loved ones and tigers, but of the planet.
Three years ago, the best investment was in food, products for the land and care of the land. Saturn was in Virgo, building the infrastructure that will carry us for the next three decades. Some atrocities occurred in farming, farm chemistry and in all systems concerning health and nutrition. But in the microcosm, many people decided to take care of themselves. Individual farming and community projects are more ubiquitous than have been noticed. And is it best not to be noticed for doing wonderful personal acts of care taking here on earth?
It has been best to keep private, and yet today the openness of the world is showing all to all. A deep necessity is to create the alliances that will be the next level of sustenance. We all know who our friends are, and how lies are made and perpetuated. It is a unique time, giving us the right to know ourselves while we reach for who will join us in truth.
"The light in me honors the light in you."

Cherry blossoms, the call for the Warrior, planets in Aries

For the Japanese Samurai, the cherry was the symbol of the warrior's calling and of the fate for which he must prepare himself. Crushing the red flesh of the cherry to reach the hard stone is, in other words, to sacrifice flesh and blood to attain the corner-stone of the human personality. The Samurai took the cherry blossom turned toward the rising Sun as the emblem and symbol of the dedication of his life. Given that flowering cherries bear no fruit, its beauty is a symbol of purity, and purity of purpose is a traditional warrior code.
"If I were asked to define the spirit of Japan, I would call it the blossom of the mountain cherry scattering its sscent in the morning sun." Motoori Norinaga 1730-1801
Cherry blossom festivals are at the time of the Spring Equinox, the entrance of the sun into Aries, sign of new life and all the energy it takes to thrust it forward. This spring equinox of 2011 includes a five-fold emphasis on warrior spirit as the planets Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus, all major icons of the masculine aggressive force in our solar system, gather in Aries. The new moon in Aries on April 3-4 brings the Moon and the Sun into conjunction with each other in Aries, while Venus adds her spirit of value, money and love into the mix.
All this happens as Mercury in Aries courses retrograde through Aries. Mercury in this phase will layer and reverse and rearrange the obvious, lending messages from the past, the future, and the forgotten into our words and deeds. This is a mighty time on earth, as all of these planets in Fire exactly oppose great Saturn in Libra 180 degrees opposite. (Look to the eastern horizon all month and watch Saturn rise at sundown.) Libra is the sign of the Autumn equinox, the balance and relationships of life on earth. Note: Saturn in Libra, in this blog's archive.
As if this were not emphatic enough, the other brother god of the Greeks, distant Pluto in the early degrees of Capricorn (sign of order, time, and structure),
is a right angles to both the Aries group of Jupiter, Sun, Venus, Mars, Mercury,and Uranus; and at right angles to Libra-- containing Saturn. Right angles signify challenge. At the dynamic heart of the square angle we watch the conscious mind be enforced on the circle of life.
This month is the month of changes. Everything changes now, in a natural spring-like progression and in a violent individualized revolt-- the urgency of the "I." Take your place on the great Mandala, it is gaining speed, and urgently needs you. New life starts at spring, the new moon guarantees a complete cycle of growth, and all this thunder and lightening in fire is assurance that life is stronger than death.