When the going gets tough, the tough get going!

Saturday April 18th was a New Moon in  Aries. A New Moon is a seed time... whatever we plant now will have extra impetus to grow and bloom. As this event occured in late Aries, we might consider this a late start, but  a good start nonetheless. Whatever you have been working on will start to bear fruit now.

Being the first sign of the zodiac, Aries is a fiesty, asserive,  pioneering type of get and go energy. This is a time for self actualization as we move forward at mach speed. If you have planets or key angles  in the  late degrees of Aries,  on  in fact any of the cardinal signs (Cancer, Libra, Capricorn)  you are probably now  blasting  out of the starting gate after a month of endings and new beginnings. In fact, with two eclipses behind us, many will be finding themselves somewhere completely different from where they were standing just one month ago. We should have offloaded a lot of  excess baggage by now, and are well into your new adventure.

A New Moon in Aries is the perfect grand finalle to add to the plethora of fiery influences we have had recently. Have you felt all worked up or impatient or just plain jittery? Yet despite all that fire (i.e. action) , there's been a bit of a two-steps- forward, one-step- backward type of scenario, so you may welcome one more blast to propell us  beyond stalled  projects or rerouted journeys. Whatever you have been trying to get started or moving is surely moving now.

Risk, adventure, self expression are all favoured under Aries, set against a background of continuing intensity and pressure from Pluto and Uranus.  Although  the worst tension of that square is now past us, these powerful forces will contiue their battle for supremecy for quite some time, so we can expect more of the same upheaval, change and wake em up/ shake em up energy we have come to know and love.

As the saying goes... 'When the going gets tough, the tough get going!'

I love this time of year. So much life bursting at the seams.

Today I was hiking up a small canyon in the rocky mountains with my son and daughter. We live in the northern hemisphere and the long winter is finally over. It was a very warm day and while a small stream trickled down the rocks,  my son told us it would soon be pouring  through the canyon  as the snow higher up in the mountains begins to melt. A short while later he suddenly said ' listen!'  ... and when we did we could hear water rushing.   We looked up just in time to see a wide stream come splashing over the top of the rocks,  where  seconds before it had been just a trickle .   There was no threat ... and we were thrilled to be there at that exact moment it all kicked off. 

Thats exactly what I am talking about,  one minute everything seems quiet and the next minute it's all happening.

Then after all this fiery impulsive energy, we will be gradually moving earthward into a more sustained and grounded period ruled by Taurus, sign of the great mother/earth goddess. She has what it takes to give those seeds (plans, ideas, projects) the earthing and nurturing they need to germinate.  As the sap  starts to  flow  our senses begin to awaken and we renew our connection to the earth. 

Sun (self actualization)  moved into Taurus April 20th. Mercury (thinking, communicating) already in in Taurus from April 14th, and Mars (action, intention)  is  in Taurus until May 11th. Thats a lot of Taurus. The sign of the earth bull says easy does it: slow and steady wins the race.

That said,  Mars current tension with Jupiter can turn initiative into  push and shove. Mars in Taurus extreme stubborness can be at odds with Jupiter in Leo's pride, so be aware that any percieved slights or overstepped boundaries will appear much larger than in fact they are.  Let many thngs pass. Allow room to grown along side each other and remember to say please and thankyou!

Venus in Gemini wants everyone to get along.

In fact, she wants a party. When dealing with difficult people, kindness and good manners can go a long way toward  smoothing things over.   Venus in Gemini's excellent communication skills can help us negotaite the fallout from those angry outbursts or impatiant moments. The North Node (collective destiny point)  in Libra reminds us that we are all in this together. Aries is all about 'me', and Libra is all about 'we'. Finding the middle ground is the key to success.

 And despite all its craziness, it is still a beautiful world, and if we take care of her, mother earth will be there to nuruture and sustain us in our times of need.

 And if we dont, she wont.