New Year New You? It's elementary!

Happy Solstice 2006!
In the run up to Christmas I always like to remember the traditions of our more ancient ancestors, who celebrated the solstice, or "standstill of the sun", in centuries past. December 22nd 2006 this year will be the day of the Winter Solstice. The Solstice points happen on the longest (June) and shortest (December) days of the year, or: "the times when the Sun reaches its greatest declination north or south of the celestial equator each year" according to my Oxford Dictionary of Astronomy! In simple terms, the Winter Solstice occurs because of the tilt of the earth and the fact that our hemisphere is at its farthest distance from the sun, making the day the shortest in the year.

Many cultures the world over still perform solstice ceremonies. At their root is an ancient fear that the failing light would never return unless they made offerings to their gods and goddesses. Our ancient ancestors watched the movement of the sun as well as the moon and marked this with fertility rites, fire festivals, prayers and celebrations. Our impulse to hold onto certain traditions today - candles, evergreens, feasting and generosity - echoes a past that reaches back thousands of years.

New Year New You? It's elementary!
It will soon be that time of year again. You know the time I mean, the time just after the indulgence fest that is Christmas, when we've had so much peace and goodwill to all men that we're fit to burst … usually because it's been more of the latter than the former! As a new year looms we pause to take stock of our lives, look back over the last twelve months and reflect on what we've achieved. Or perhaps that's all that we wish we had achieved but just didn’t get round to. "This year will be different!" I hear you cry. "This year I will cross the Himalayas on a unicycle/learn to speak mandarin/raise a million for charity!" But in making that rash resolution, are you setting yourself up to fail before you've even started?

Most New Year's resolutions fall into the category of personal development or personal achievement. You resolve to do something that will in some way bring you more happiness, or make you feel proud of yourself. This is where we can get clever and use astrology to help us to set goals we can actually achieve. Here's how.

In astrology each of the planetary energies corresponds to a principle, for example Mercury is communication and learning, Venus is love and relationships, Mars is drive and determination, and so on. The planet that corresponds to the principle of personal development is the Sun. (Ok, so it's not a planet, it's a star, but you catch my drift!) So wouldn't it make sense to plan your path to the "new you" for this year based on the placement of your own personal Sun in the birth chart?

The advantage of this, of course, is that everyone knows what Sun sign they are; this is the zodiac sign the Sun was moving through on your birthday. Now the Sun in the birth chart is by no means the whole story, so if what follows doesn’t ring a bell for you it's probably because you have other planets strongly placed in signs of a different character from your Sun sign. Ideally you'd ask an astrologer to look at your unique birth chart in its entirety to clarify your goals and your needs during the coming year, but staying within the scope of this article, I'm proposing that we use a more simple method. Scoping your goals for the year doesn’t have to be difficult: in fact it’s elementary! The signs in astrology each belong to one of four elements: fire, earth, air and water. Each element represents a different mode of expression. Here are some suggestions about how you might go about things according to the element of your Sun sign.

Fire: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius
The fire signs are all about taking action and the assertion of will. If you fall into this category, your goal must embody challenge and centre around something which truly inspires you. It's unlikely you'll get very far if your goal involves being purely practical, so farm the ironing out to someone else rather than resolving to keep on top of the growing mountain of crumpled clothes during 2007! Be imaginative, play with "blue sky" concepts and tap into your natural exuberance and creativity. This way you'll be able to prove yourself by achieving what you set out to do and provide inspiration to others at the same time.

Earth: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn
Unlike the fire signs, earth people are all about being practical. You're enthused and motivated by what you can build and achieve in a concrete, physical sense. This means that the key to setting motivational goals for you is that you have something tangible to show for it once the goal is achieved. You're not afraid to get your hands dirty and you have the patience and sheer staying power to take on tasks which develop and mature over time. You also do well when you follow your gut instinct. So ask yourself, what do you want to build this year?

Air: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius
Air energy is all about thought and communication. It functions at head level, so motivational goals for you are about learning something new or communicating with people in some way. You'll enjoy the process of first making your plan and working out your strategy, then executing it. Mental stimulation is the key: if you focus on the "wild blue yonder" stuff that floats the fire signs' boat you’ll find it too whacky and irrational. But if you go too practical like the earth signs you'll get bored easily and give up. Keep it stimulating and challenging and engage your powers of alertness and perception. What do you want to learn this year?

Water: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces
The key motivating factor for water signs is emotional security. This means that it's no good setting yourself a goal that is way out of your comfort zone, as the temptation will be to give up as soon as you start to feel a little insecure. For you, the input and support of friends and family will be a great help: if you're able to tell someone close to you how you're progressing and the feelings the process of working towards your goal is bringing up, you're more likely to feel supported and nurtured. In fact make supporting and nurturing other people in some way a part of your goal and you're already half way there, as empathy and emotional connections to others are what you're all about. The nearer your goal is to your heart, the nearer you'll be to achieving it before you've even started.

Good luck to all in achieving your goals in 2007

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