Spring Equinox 2016

March 19, 2016

Spring in Zion National Park - photo by Tom Morris

Spring in Zion National Park  Utah – photo by Tom Morris

Spring Equinox 2016 arrives March 19 at 9:31p PDT,  

on March 20 at 12:31a EDT and on March 20 at 4:31a UT (or GMT). 

This is the earliest Spring Equinox since 1896. EarthSky  tells you why and you can watch a live Equinox webcast at  Old Farmer’s Almanac .

Last year’s Equinox was a powerhouse day – the very day of a Total Solar Eclipse and on the heals of massive solar flares. This year’s Equinox is not as highly charged but it does arrive in the midst of an eclipse sandwich in-between the Total Solar Eclipse in Pisces on 3/8 and right before the Lunar Eclipse in Aries on 3/23. For more info on the effects of these eclipses see March’s Issue.

The Spring Equinox is when the Zodiac Wheel reset button is hit each year.  It is the moment when the Sun enters the first sign of the zodiac – Aries,  a fierce fire sign ruled by planet of action Mars. Aries’s symbol is the Ram ready to butt through any barrier in its way.  The archetype of Aries is the Pioneer – the one who fearlessly machetes down new paths so others can follow.  A fitting sign for the energies of Spring as new growth begins to come forth and passion for life is rekindled after Winter’s dark days.

The chart for the Equinox indicates trends we can expect for this new season.  I cast the Equinox chart for Washington, DC because this year’s US Presidential race is so (insane!) much in focus.

Spring Equinox 2016

 

The Equinox chart has plenty of Fire and Water and a good dose of Earth energies, but except for asteroid Pallas Athena in Aquarius, there are no air signs to lighten it up. Mars, doubly important as the ruler of Aries, is in vibrant fire sign Sagittarius in the important first house, or the ‘Face’ of the chart. Mars loves the fiery energy of Sagittarius and also reaches out to the Aries Sun creating a positive triangle ray. The Moon, representing the public’s mood, is in the 3rd fire sign of Leo and when all 3 fire signs are represented this usually bodes well, bringing a lot of excitement and enthusiasm.

However Mars is moving slowly now in preparation for his retrograde station stop 4 weeks later on 4/17.  This energy feels like standing on the platform waiting for the train to take you off on an exciting adventure. You see it coming around the bend and eagerly get ready to board. But instead of arriving when expected, the train slows down and in fact seems to back up leaving you wondering WTF just happened?

Part of this foggy head scratching comes from Venus in Pisces, a lovely place for her to be. In fact Venus is called exalted in Pisces, i.e. excellent energy for her expression. But in the Equinox chart Venus is up-close and personal with nebulous Neptune making her more spiritually attuned, but spaced out and confused too. On top of this Mars is in a challenging square to her, and when Venus and Mars square off it’s a big lover’s quarrel in the heavens! In addition Venus and Neptune reside in the Equinox’s 3rd house of communication, so we can expect more garbled and confused exchanges both at macro and personal levels. So if you find yourself perplexed trying to understand your usually coherent partner, now you know why.

Not far away from Mars is Lord of Karma Saturn also in Sagittarius stationed in the Equinox’s Face zone. This stern planet forms an exact square to mighty Jupiter in earthy, practical Virgo stationed in the 9th house of systems like government and law including courts. This challenging 90 degree angle becomes a T-Square with the addition of wounded healer Chiron in Pisces on the opposite end.

We need go no further than the US Supreme Court showdown between President Obama who just announced his candidate Merrick Garland for the position vacated by Justice Scalia’s sudden death and the Republican controlled Senate who outright refuse to consider any Obama nominee. This Saturn/Sagittarius – Jupiter/Virgo – Chiron/Pisces dust-up is also evident in the contrast between Bernie Sanders who has Sun in Virgo, Donald Trump who has Moon in Sagittarius and Hillary Clinton who has Moon in Pisces. (You just can’t make this stuff up folks.)

Speaking of this crazy election cycle,  people have been asking me lately if I plan on writing an astrological analysis of the election. The answer is yes, but I’ll weigh in closer to the actual election after the nominees have been chosen. Meanwhile here is a wonderful article by Matt Taibbi which appeared in March’s Rolling Stone issue. Obviously not astrology based, but brilliant and witty insight about about Trump and the whole American political process. Well worth a read How America Made Donald Trump Unstoppable

The 9th house where Jupiter is stationed is also the zone of travel, and along with the square Jupiter forms a nice trine to Pluto in fellow earth sign Capricorn who resides in the Equinox’s 2nd house of income and resources. This positive flow can readily be seen in the world-wide easing of gas prices in the last several months not just at the pumps but creating better air fare deals too, which has already made 2016 one of the busiest travel years since the Great Recession hit 8 years ago.

The other outer planet Uranus is now more than halfway through his Aries journey and adds to the fiery Equinox theme by creating a Grand Fire Trine to Saturn in Sagittarius and the Moon in Leo. Uranus is the structure-buster planet and resides in the Equinox 5th house of creativity and fun times which also includes animals like pets and those used for entertainment like in circuses and aquariums.  on 3/17 just 2 days before the Equinox, Sea World in conjunction with the Humane Society of the US announced it will end all orca whale breeding along with the controversial orca shows and introduce new “inspiring, natural orca encounters” with the remaining orcas.  This is a huge win for animal rights and a true sea change in the industry (pun very much intended). Read more at SeaWorld to Stop Breeding Killer Whales in Captivity.

Free and happy Orca

Free and happy Orca

When Neptune first entered Pisces in 2012 I wrote an article predicting these sort of shifts, and I am thrilled they are now coming to pass! Here it is if you like to read it Neptune in Pisces.  In fact in the Equinox chart the Venus-Neptune conjunction expresses this most wonderful collaboration with Venus, planet of peace and harmony with Neptune planet of higher values and uplifted vibration in the best possible sense! And Pisces is  the sign connected to the ocean and sea creatures. So in spite of the weird and wacky energy that continues in the Equinox chart and foretells more of the same for this new season,  here is this precious jewel of hope and promise too.

My wish for all of you in this new season is to discover the precious jewel within yourself and continue to raise your own vibration.  Yes, you have a front row seat to observe all the crazy antics and absurdity of these times, but you don’t have to let it affect your own personal equation. Let’s not forget Pallas Athena the asteroid who represents strategic wisdom. Pallas is in the lone air sign in the Equinox chart. That sign is Aquarius, sign of detachment with ability to reach the 10,000 foot perspective to see the full picture with a good sense of humor to laugh at it all too. So laugh a lot and enjoy the beautiful Spring everyone!