ZODIAC SIGNS:
Tropical astrology views the zodiac signs as a cycle related to the cycles between the Sun and Earth in the Western Hemisphere.
The cycle begins with the Spring Equinox and Aries, the sign of self. As the Sun warms the Earth, it is now time to forge ahead with new beginnings. It’s time to take charge, pioneer into new territory, act on impulse, follow instincts. Aries leads. It takes action to move forward, a courageous warrior, shaking off the sleepy remnants of winter. It is the newborn of the zodiac, fresh and new. Beginning again. And like a newborn, Aries wants what it wants when it wants it. It will go after the desires of self without any qualms. It has no idea that it might not get what it wants. That hasn’t even crossed Aries’ mind. Aries is driven. There is no going back, no standing still. Aries’ energy must lead into something new, decisively following the flame of personal desire. Here is where the action begins with the tropical zodiac. Aries has the drive and the courage to start again, pushing forward, come hell or high water, with no worries about what is yet to come.
From the fresh and raw energy of Aries, the cycle moves to the simplicity and steadiness of Taurus. Here, some of the fire is gone, and it’s time to get down to work. Taurus understands that there has to be a method to the madness. There has to be a good reason for expending the energy to go after what we want. Here, we develop discrimination in determining what it is we truly value, what it is we will commit our limited time and energy to gaining. Taurus develops the determination and tenacity to work towards those things we value, earning them with every step. After the impulsive new beginning of Aries, the self wants physical security, comfort and the good life, a stable foundation in the material world. Here, there is a slow and deliberate manner. Taurus is fixed on gaining the resources, money and possessions it needs - all on its own, no help from anyone else. In Taurus, our personal boundaries and values are defined, including our self-value. Part of self-value for Taurus is to be financially independent. It is only then that Taurus can relax and do what it really wants to do - enjoy the sensual pleasures life has to offer. Taurus understands that there is a time to relax and a time to work, and it must do one in order to enjoy the other.
When all that work and methodical preparation grow tiring, we move on to Gemini. Here we leave the practicality and determination of Taurus and move to airier and lighter pursuits. Gemini is the messenger, the communicator. It seeks stimulation, information, conversation, connections. It moves through society, interacting with others, simultaneously learning and teaching. In through the ears, out through the mouth, Gemini passes information as it goes along. An intuitive communicator, Gemini makes perceptions and somehow knows just the word, phrase or bit of information necessary. It provides what it can, filling in the blanks and keeping the communication channels buzzing. Gemini can juggle many ideas, many situations and is still constantly on the lookout for more. Gemini is curious about almost everything but doesn’t want to stop on any one thing for too long. There is too much to explore for that! Gemini is aware of the duality of life, the yin and yang, and that makes it even more fascinating. For every positive, there is a negative, for every light, a dark. Gemini wishes to identify every last bit of it and then share its findings with everyone else.
When all that stimulation and verbal interaction finally overloads our circuits, we retire to the sensitivity and emotion of Cancer. This is the sign of the home, nurturing and inner reflection, where we take leave of the hustle and bustle of the world and find refuge inside ourselves. Cancer loves feeling at home, surrounded by the things that make it feel safe and cozy. It is the sign related to family, roots and the past. Being connected to those things makes Cancer feel safe, and Cancer‘s energy often takes the outward expression of nurturing those around it. But on regular intervals, Cancer needs to retreat inside itself into complete isolation in order to connect with its inner self. Cancer seeks emotional security, and it often fears its security being taken away. It can become too dependent on the circumstances and people around it. What Cancer is learning is that true security comes from its own inner connection, that it can rely on the connection to its soul-level guidance to find the emotional anchor it seeks from within. Cancer is learning to trust its own feelings to guide it through life. It knows all too well how dangerous it can be to expose its sensitivity to the harshness of the world, but Cancer is learning to use that sensitivity, keeping close contact with its emotions to gauge situations and protect itself from harm.
The Summer Solstice ends the quiet introspection of Cancer. When the Sun is closest to the Earth and the days are longest, it is time to move the focus from inner connection to outer expression. At this point, we move to the sign ruled by the Sun - creative and self-expressive Leo. Leo is tired of all the Cancerian reflection. Now it wants to have some fun and revel in the joy of being alive. It wants to move past self-protection and take some risks, expressing everything it learned about itself during its time in Cancer in the outer world. Leo is the sign of childlike wonder. To a child, there is no past or future. There is only the gift of the present moment, and we must enjoy living and loving in the here and now. We must create from the heart, taking delight in our self-expression, and Leo does just that. It wants to sing and dance and play, to take part in the drama of human life. It is the actor, the artist, the rock star. To Leo, all the world’s a stage, and it is the star of the show, basking in the glow of the spotlight. Leo wants romance, fun, and most of all, it wants to be recognized for the grand being that it is - and to share that grandeur with others. It wants to entertain its audience, to make them experience the same gloriousness of life that it experiences. The sign of royalty, Leo is a leader, not a follower, and hopefully a benevolent one at that. It strives to shine its big, big light in the world.
When we come to Virgo, all the Leonine drama and self-expression have begun to be a little tiresome. Virgo cuts away the excesses of Leo. In Virgo, all that dramatic energy needs to be harnessed. It needs a purpose, and the purpose for Virgo is in service to others through daily work and refinement of health. In Virgo, the expression of the ego is sanded down, and true humility is learned. To Virgo, it’s not enough to be grand and self-expressive. That grandness needs to find expression in the material world. It needs to be refined into a skill, a duty, a service. It needs to be making the world a better place, improving things, perfecting them. Virgo pays attention to the details, using logic and analysis to solve problems and creating order where others would see only chaos. Virgo understands process. Processes within processes. It toils at an impossible task, striving to bring the perfection of the spiritual world to Earth. It is the impossibility of the task that keeps Virgo humble. Virgo has a quality of selflessness, often helping others for very little recognition. If it is looking for applause from an outward source, Virgo will be sorely disappointed. Appreciating itself for a job well done is the lesson here. It must learn to serve for the sake of serving, to serve simply because it can and must. But at the same time, holistic health is another of its challenges, and Virgo must learn to serve the self first in order to maintain its own health. Virgo has a sensitive system, and every part of the whole must be attended to in order for it to function properly.
When the service and work of Virgo start to become drudgery, we move to Libra at the Autumn Equinox. The relationship between day and night is perfectly balanced at this time of year, and this reflects Libra’s lifelong quest to keep its scales equally balanced. Libra moves out of Virgoan service to others, forming relationships with others as an equal. As the harmonizer, Libra is learning to make the constant adjustments necessary within its relationships and social environments. Libra takes very diverse elements and people and somehow, almost miraculously, makes them blend and work together. Libra has an easy social grace and charm, and following the refinement of Virgo, Libra has learned to enjoy beauty and aesthetics. It has an appreciation of the finer things in life, including the beauty of a loving and peaceful relationship. The work Libra does is primarily social and somewhat invisible, bringing people together in relationship and then putting forth the necessary effort to make those relationships function. Libra needs a harmonious environment to keep inner equilibrium, so it is in its best interest to maintain the relationships with which it comes into contact. Libra is the peacemaker, the diplomat, constantly searching for the compromise that will keep everyone happy, never wanting to tip the scales.
The next sign, Scorpio, has learned that keeping the peace is secondary to living in core truth and integrity. Scorpio has had it with keeping everything harmonious. It refuses to put on a happy face. It wants something deeper and more honest than the light sociability of Libra. Scorpio sees inequalities and power dynamics within relationships that many others refuse to see and works to expose the issues right from the root to transform them. It knows the emotional games people play and won’t tolerate them. It understands the magnetic pull into old patterns and works to eliminate it. Scorpio uses its intuition, trusting its gut to go beneath the easy social façade, penetrating to the reality of what is really going on. It sees to the core and demands integrity and honesty on every level, personally and with others. Scorpio knows the hidden motivations and power plays of others because it has examined those things in itself. Scorpio sees the root cause of behaviours because it has examined the roots of its own behaviours. Scorpio knows others only as well as it knows itself. To know itself is to no longer be caught up in karmic patterns and relationship betrayals. For Scorpio, anything dishonest must be eliminated, internally and externally. In the end, Scorpio wants to take the relationship between two people started in Libra and merge it into one energy, to know another on the same deep level that it knows itself.
Following all the relentlessness and heaviness of Scorpio, we find a renewed optimism and faith in Sagittarius. Scorpio found core inner integrity, and now Sagittarius is ready to apply it to life, thirsting for direct experience in the world to throw off the darkness of inward-looking Scorpio. Sagittarius needs the freedom to pursue its own interests and to follow its own personal truth. It craves movement, travel, inspiration and the finer things in life. Sagittarius takes on experiences in the world in order to expand its own personal awareness and truth, connecting it to a higher cosmic truth. It studies other cultures, religions, other ways of thinking and doing things, all in an effort to develop the personal philosophy that carries it through life. Sagittarius is looking for absolutes - in morality, law, philosophy, truth. It is looking for the answers that will span all cultures. Sagittarius learns directly from the school of life and then lives by its own wisdom, it‘s own personal faith. And as much as Sagittarius is a student of life, it is a teacher for others. Sagittarius can be blunt, brutally honest, at times dogmatic in its espousal of Truth. But Sagittarius’ faith is a steady, undaunted light shining through the darkness for all those who come into contact with it. Those who have lost faith in themselves or in the universe can renew themselves in the strength and optimism of Sagittarius, coming away with an expanded sense of their own personal faith.
At the time of the Winter Solstice, when the sun is the farthest from Earth, we come to the serious and pragmatic sign of Capricorn. The Suns rays are weak. The Earth is cold in the Western Hemisphere, and Capricorn knows its time to get down to business. There is no more time for living on Sagittarian faith. Life is now serious. Its time to set some concrete goals and work step-by-step towards them. Capricorn is tired of adventure and freedom. It wants a career, a public role, recognition and respect. It wants a structure to live within. And it wants the RIGHT structure and public role - the ones that fit it exactly. Capricorn does have a creative side, but it needs parameters, limitations, rules, regulations - not to mention status and prestige. It wants to get to the top of the mountain and stay there, and it will do whatever it takes to make that happen. Capricorn knows it’s a leader. It was meant to get to the top - of whatever mountain it chooses, and it will work very diligently to climb its way, step-by-step, to success. Capricorn will also take others along for the trip, if they are willing to work for it. Capricorn is the sign of group progress, so it won’t hog all the benefits for itself. But Capricorn demands that everyone recognizes it is the one on top. Capricorn is the master of the public realm, and all others need to respect that fact.
From the rules and structure of Capricorn, we move to individualistic and future-minded Aquarius. Aquarius is sick of hearing that this is just the way things are. It knows how things could be, and its goal is to make its future vision a reality. In Capricorn, we learned to play by the rules. Now, Aquarius wants to rewrite the rulebook. To Aquarius, the rules are only good as long as they serve the evolution of the planet. If they don’t, they should be scrapped. Aquarius is the sign of lightning-fast change and revolution, after all. Aquarius strives for universality, systems of living that work for everyone on the planet, and it has the ideas and concepts to get us there. If only the rest of the signs could see the same vision! Because of its future-oriented bent, Aquarius is often ahead of its time, coming off as a little too eccentric to more conservative or traditional signs. This doesn’t bother Aquarius. It’s used to being seen as a little out there. The right to be an individual within the group is one of it’s most cherished concepts. To Aquarius, all humans are unique and equal. Aquarius believes in helping your fellow human, but it also believes that we have to take responsibility for solving our own problems. Aquarius is an emotionally detached humanitarian, never getting bogged down in others’ quagmires, but it is more than willing to help where it can. Aquarius strives to create win-win situations.
From the future-oriented drive of Aquarius, we come to complete spiritual understanding and acceptance of all that is with s. Pisces is the sign where we dissolve all that came before it into the spiritual abyss. Pisces develops compassion and love for every living thing because it sees how everything is actually one energy. Plants, animals, people, locations, even inanimate objects - Pisces loves it all. Pisces knows that everything is interconnected - a slight against one is a slight against the whole, so it is very attuned to the underdog and aware of the meanness that exists on the planet. It is very sensitive to energy currents and has the psychic awareness to prove it. Pisces is the mystic, the dreamer, the all-compassionate Jesus figure. In this sign, we begin to understand that life is but a dream. Here, the veil between spiritual and material thins, becomes transparent. Pisces can find an outlet for its spirituality thorough art, nature or through simply being. It surrenders to the spiritual flow simply because there is nothing left to do but that. This is where the cycle of the tropical zodiac ends.
Until it all begins again…