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The start of a brand new year
The New Moon in Aries arrived Sunday -- April 15, 2018 at 7:57 PM (Mountain Time.) So what does that mean in real life?
The New Moon in Aries is a double dose of drive, assertiveness, ambition, enterprise, and the dynamic desire to start something new, do something bold, and take risks that might have been overwhelming or even foolish until now. This is, in many ways, the launching point of action and development for what will unfold over the next year, so plan your shots carefully and aim high.
Consider that perhaps it's better to fall short while reaching for something spectacular than to hold back because you're afraid to take a big enough chance. (At least that's the advice from here. But then I was born under the New Moon in Aries, and I will not spend my life wondering what would have happened if I'd only been a little braver. That's the spirit to use in approaching your own life this month.) Be wise. Have fun. Travel safely.
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And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
Four Quartets
With the arrival of Aries we have indeed arrived again at the place of our beginnings, having traveled another cycle on the spiral of the creative process ... from the initial thrust of new efforts and undertakings in dynamic, assertive Aries last year to the spiritual enlightenment, dissolution, acceptance, and release of Pisces last month. We are wiser at least for the experience of the journey.
In the natural sequence of events, as opposed to the one described by the traditional calendar, the real starting point begins here ... with the New Moon in Aries, by definition the first New Moon in the Spring. Whatever your sign and wherever Aries is placed in your Natal Chart, this moment of renewed alignment between your sense of personal direction and your sense of emotional commitment marks the place where action begins for you.
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The New Moon in Aries describes a time of rising ambitions, pioneering interests, personal assertion, competitive spirit, and self-promoting enthusiasm. Aries energy is adventurous, aggressive, direct, courageous, independent, initiating, vital, enterprising and passionate. It is built for moving forward and taking action now! Let's say it's a little bit pushy. People who embody joyous, exuberant Aries energy are also all these things. And, let's admit it, they, too, are "a little bit pushy."
However, it's been said that no progress happens until people are willing to kill each other if something isn't done. To civilized ears, that may sound a little extreme. But maybe it takes the pure Warrior energy of Aries to prod the world's inertia off Square One and start the process of life itself moving forward. No doubt about it, Aries can meet the challenge.
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The first and most emphatic of the Fire Signs, Aries is the pioneer ... ready to explore and conquer new frontiers, the adventurer ... deciding to scale the earth's tallest mountain "because it's there," the knight-errant of the Zodiac ... with, we hope, a little more sense and focus than Don Quixote. Aries is the spirit of Braveheart ... the warrior / lover, endowed with courage and passion that literally define the words.
The executive charisma and vibrant leadership that bloom eventually in Leo and the respect for solid, ethical foundations and the love affair with the far horizon that are intrinsic to Sagittarius' character have their origins here, in the roots of Fire Energy ... and the quintessential Aries proclamation, "I am."
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Yes, indeed, Aries is ... unmistakably itself. And the world will never be the same. But for that, perhaps, the world might not exist. In the audacity and courage of Aries is the impulse to try that which has never been done before, and the confidence that somehow it will succeed.
As the first step on the continuum of the creative process, Aries looks at raw potentials and possibilities, draws on the subconscious wisdom of its own foundations in mystical Pisces ... conceives the new vision of what could be and decides, "Let's go for it."
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Philosophers everywhere, from Goethe to Emerson to the unknown authors of The Bible, have recognized the primal power in such a declaration of purpose. At this point, literally, the cosmos moves to sustain this new intention ... this expression of life supporting itself.
- Knock and the door shall be opened.
- Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.
- If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.
- Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elemental truth -- the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, the Providence moves, too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred.
- Do the thing, and you shall have the power.
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When, truly, you realize the power behind genuine determination, you also realize the awesome responsibility it carries to choose your battles and your investments wisely. What you create should deserve to survive, and moments of appraisal and evaluation of what has been wrought so far, how it is developing, where it should go next, what functions it can fill, how it can be fortified, and what benefits it provides are built into the energies of the subsequent signs, all of whom will make their own additions and contributions as the nascent production progresses to completion.
For all its virtues, and they are considerable, Aries energy still contains shadings of the savage, the untutored energy of the Id --energetic, blunt, tactless, combative, persistent, and self-centered. When provoked it can resort quickly to angry, hostile response ... and seems to take to heart as a tenet of living the idea that the best defense is a good offense. It can (and often does) strike first and ask questions later.
If you've always known there was more to Astrology than Sun Sign material and the three line daily horoscope in the newspaper, climb aboard and follow this blog. You'll find a world of wisdom detailing how you were designed to work with life ... and why you are the way you are -- all in quick-to-read, easy-to-digest-and-remember, written-in-plain-English essays that offer plenty of food for thought.
Little by little, I'm doing a set of articles that talks about all the elements in your horoscope and what they have to say about you. If you "know something" about Astrology -- or know something about your chart placements, that will help you get more from this material.
If you don't ... well, this is one place you can learn. We all have to start somewhere ... because we aren't born knowing this stuff. Meanwhile, if you've never seen your horoscope ... and don't have a clue how to work with it, maybe it's time to find out. There are lots of "chart services" on the internet -- some of whom produce decent, readable charts "for free" and some are so awful and confusing that even I can't read them easily -- and I've worked with charts for decades.
One extremely user-friendly chart site is here: AstroLabe. I recommend them if you want a simple, easy-to-read chart. I think they even give a reasonable little interpretive reading of your horoscope as part of the package. You'll need to know your birth information -- day, month, year, time and geographical place. Without all that your chart will have limited accuracy.
Or, if you want to get serious and really talk about this, upvote this post and start a conversation in the comments section sometime in the next six days from the time of publication. We'll go from there depending on what you want to know.
Questions about any of this? -- Upvote this post and talk to me in comments. It's a terrific way to build value for yourself and the community ... and it will give me ideas of what to write about in future posts. Believe me there is lots to say about the way The Sun, The Moon -- and all the other elements in a horoscope, all the other components of Astrology -- work together to interpret you and your story -- and what it all means to the person you've become.
Although sometimes the background pictures in our visual essays support the topic and text, they don't always. Sometimes the connection is clear. Sometimes it's symbolic and subtle. Sometimes, there's no connection at all.
The scenes depict landscapes and natural features, buildings and wildlife. They were chosen because they show something lovely or interesting ... or simply because the photo appealed to me.
Our spectacular and remarkable planet is changing at astonishing speed. Rarely are these changes for the better. Few people seem to know ... or care ... or have the will and power to do anything about this. It may not be long before the world humans have known and lived in for centuries is forever lost. We certainly won't be able to make repairs as fast as we destroyed it.
So a few years ago I began collecting pictures of the way things were ... and still are for now, a record of the beauty we have while it is still ours to love and honor.
The photos here are part of that collection, with sincere thanks to the artists who saw these moments ... and with their cameras ... preserved them. All of us at Enchanted Spirit are profoundly grateful to them for their generosity and skill ... and for the added grace, depth and dimension their art brings to ours.
Original images used under this Creative Commons license or this Creative Commons license and modified by added text.
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