Aries, the Equinox and a Solar Eclipse

New Moon and Solar Eclipse in Aries, 29th March 2006, 11.15am
Although you might not believe it judging by the weather, it’s officially Spring! The Sun has moved into the sign of Aries, and as it did so we experienced the Spring Equinox on March 20th. The equinoxes occur twice a year, in spring and in autumn, and they are the two dates on which the day and the night is of equal length, hence the name (equi = equal, nox = night). This marks the point in the year when we move away from the darkness of winter towards the warmth and light of summer (no, really!). In ancient pagan traditions this was a time of year when communities celebrated the passing of the long cold winter and the rebirth of life as mother nature started to come into bud and the days began to draw out. These traditions also used symbols of life such as eggs, which also figure in the Christian celebration of Easter. Nowadays, a familiar tradition for greeting spring is to get down to some spring cleaning. This takes the form of housekeeping, an annual clearing out of the clutter and dust that’s accumulated during the darker season when we’re less inclined to be active. But spring is an opportunity to clear out not just in our homes, but also in our emotional lives and relationships. In this edition of the newsletter I’d like to look first at the energy of Aries and how it can help us to get things done in our lives. But this new moon is no ordinary one: it’s one of the twice-yearly solar eclipses, so I’ll also be looking at how this could bring a little more excitement into the picture!

The Energy of Aries
As the first sign and starting point of the zodiac, Aries represents energy bursting forth. It’s a cardinal fire sign, so it believes in taking action to solve problems rather than sitting back on its heels and waiting to see what happens – know any patient Aries? Thought not! But if you do, they’ve probably got some huge mitigating or character-repressing factors in their birth charts because Aries is not a sign that likes to sit still, or admit defeat … Aries is the sign of the warrior. Using a tribal analogy, Aries is the warrior brave in the tribe, the one who goes out to prove his/her worth by facing scary wild animals and staring death in the face. The reward for this bravery, proved by bringing back food to feed the tribe, is being recognised and praised for their prowess. This same mechanism is at work for the modern day Aries: a strong drive to prove their bravery, in whatever walk of life that may be, and to be recognised as a winner. Aries don’t like to lose – but that harks back to the ancient instinct that if you don’t bring home the bacon the tribe risks starvation and you become defunct or outcast. So whilst Aries people can sometimes come across as a little brash, impulsive and maybe just a teensy bit egocentric, remember that you can’t kill a wild boar by asking it politely if it wouldn’t mind terribly! Here’s a quick look at some famous Aries who made sure they were top of their game.

Jeffrey Archer, most notorious for his political downfall resulting from perjury and a scandal with a prostitute, admirably exemplifies the Aries characteristic of being determined to come out on top no matter what. Known for his need to win at any cost as early as his college days, the ambition and sheer bare faced cheek of this man have sometimes led him into taking risks the rest of us would shudder at, but no one can deny his finely honed survival instinct. Actress Shannen Doherty also embodies the fighting spirit of the sign, perhaps in a more literal way. She has the Sun in Aries in the 8th house of crisis and the occult (amongst other things) and is regularly to be seen fighting her way through a terrifying array of demons and monsters in the cult TV series Charmed. Whilst we’re on actors and cult TV series, space explorers and Star Trek pioneers William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy are both Aries Suns. Their final frontiers pushed the limits of the known world as they boldly went where no man had gone before - very Aries! William Shatner has carried on in the highly individual “let the consequences be damned” Aries tradition as the gun-toting and irrepressible Denny Crane in TV series Boston Legal. Another star determined to win recognition and status is footballer’s wife Victoria Beckham. This determined Aries lady first hit the big time with pop group The Spice Girls (whose feisty mantra was, appropriately, “Girl Power!”) and then secured her fifteen minutes of fame by marrying footballer David Beckham. Despite her solo career as a singer being a non-starter, this hasn’t deterred Victoria from staying firmly in the spotlight with her own fashion range and a career as a catwalk model. Oh, and by being the subject of many a gossip column too!

So how does this energy of self-advancement and the urge to win apply to those who aren’t so keen to thrust themselves forward? During the transit of the Sun through this ambitious sign, ask yourself what it is you would like to achieve and gain recognition for. What are your goals? Where is new growth needed in your life? Are you taking your own needs into account amidst the mad daily round of work, family and the responsibilities they bring – and if not, isn’t it time you did? Remember, no excuses, bring a taste of Aries energy into your life and just do it!

Solar Eclipse in Aries
Onto the “wild card” energy of the solar eclipse which occurs with this new moon on March 29th. Eclipses are the Universe’s way of demanding that we pay attention to whichever area of our life is symbolised by the part of the birth chart the eclipse occurs in. The ancient Chinese believed that when a total solar eclipse occurred and the sky went dark (which happens because the Moon, between the Earth and the Sun, is casing a shadow on the Sun and blocking its light from our view) there was a dragon in the sky eating the Sun. It was doing this was because it needed fire for food to enable it to grow and transform. Thus we too are being asked to grow and transform in the area of our charts the eclipse hits.

Timing of eclipses and their effects in our life is a subject which has many varied theories amongst astrologers. The effect of an eclipse could be felt during the “eclipse season” or the thirty or so days after the eclipse, but it’s likely that if the eclipse hits a major part of our chart, such as our natal Sun, the effects could be more long term. As with most things in astrology, eclipses don’t necessarily work in isolation: to have a major impact they are more likely to be part of a series of events happening simultaneously in the birth chart. As we are being asked to learn and grow as part of the energy of eclipses, they sometimes get the reputation of being bad news. This is rather a negative view: the events they bring could seem trying at the time they occur, but they often prove to be invaluable tools for growth and are by no means always negative. Here’s an extreme example of the sort of energy eclipses can trigger:

Astrologer Dennis Elwell made a notable prediction based on an eclipse in 1987. The solar eclipse on March 29th of that year made a very close and prominent contact within the chart for the UK. Here’s how Denis explains the situation: “In February [1987] I sent registered letters to two shipping carriers about the likely effects on their operations of the March eclipse. At the very least they were promised disrupted schedules, and at the worst a Titanic-like disaster. The tragic capsize of the Herald of Free Enterprise came [on March 6th] just nine days after P&O wrote to say their procedures could cope with the unexpected … Technically the eclipse was raising the temperature of a square of Jupiter and Neptune, planets which together suggest (among many other things) both sea travel and big ships. Eclipses bring the matters signified into high profile and – perhaps because our attention is more surely grabbed when things are going wrong – they do tend to be associated with misfortunes, although positive outcomes are also possible.

Don’t fret, dear reader – this example is an extreme, and as Dennis assures us, good things do happen on eclipses too. To see positive eclipse energy in action, have a look at New Moon Messenger October 2005, which tells how Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes found love and romance in abundance as a result of an eclipse hitting both of their charts at key points.

For a full listing of my articles and previous editions of New Moon Messenger go to www.star-maps.co.uk and click on the articles page.

Learn the art of astrology and explore your own chart!
I will be running a one-day course at Uppingham Summer School this year, on Wednesday 9th August. During the day we’ll be looking at what astrology really is and how it can be used in the context of your life. If you’d like further information you can contact me, or visit www.uppinghamsummershool.co.uk Anyone who’d be interested in attending a similar workshop in the comfort of my home, please let me know!

Star-Maps Astrology on BBC Radio Leicester!
It’s official, I am now a regular on local radio! Anyone living in the Leicester area can tune in to 104.9FM at 3.15pm on Fridays, and hear me walking the astro-talk on the John Florance show. Listeners who’d like me to give them a taster of the main features of their birth chart live on air are invited to write in to John with their date, time and place of birth and their telephone number. John can be contacted at john.florance@bbc.co.uk

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