Astrology of Now: Fresh Starts

Winter aconite
photo: Martin Olsson Wikimedia Commons

On a crisp winter day, when the frost-rimed grass beneath your hooves crunches and the sunlight lies palely on green branches, and the air is still, think of the life waiting to burst out of the earth, think of the sap in the tree, think of the crocus bulbs sending up white shoots through the cold ground.

It's the middle of winter here in the north, cold and dark, but yesterday, I saw winter aconites, tiny yellow star-flowers, blooming under the skeletal protection of a beech tree, and on the freezing air I caught the scent of wintersweet.

There are two important new beginnings this week.



The Sun moves into Aquarius later today. We can get rather blase about the Sun's year-long progress through the signs, but each move to a new sign represents  a change of energy. We move from stolid earth to sociable air. Aquarius is fixed, air, and like Capricorn, ruled by wintry Saturn, but also ruled by the planet of innovation and invention, Uranus.

The solar shift signifies a moment of refocusing for all of us. Wherever Aquarius is in your chart, that is where you will find more activity, especially because the Sun will join Mars, the planet of dynamic action, already in the sign of the water-bearer.

Right now the Sun is receiving a friendly vibe from his old friend the planet of fun, Jupiter, in late Pisces. Jupiter is going to move into Aries in the next few days, starting a whole new 12-month tour of the zodiac. This is arguably one of the most important sign changes of all every decade. This is the planet of expansion moving into the sign of beginning.

Look at where Aries is in your chart. You are about to get opportunities there, maybe even a bit of luck. But this is only available if you pay attention.