Spring Equinox

Spring Equinox - Courage and Confidence

"Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained."

— Marie Curie

The Sun arrives in Aries this week — the Spring Equinox — highlighting a push for courage and self-confidence. Last week's dark shadows' dissipate. However, Mercury's conjunction with the North Node and Chiron bring new questions to be resolved. Mercury comes to the 'shadow point' of the next retrograde phase (April 1 - April 24) by Monday as it makes a conjunction with the North Node, then conjuncts Chiron on Wednesday. The residual effects of late February's extended Chiron/North Node conjunction are activated, putting intellectual power behind an articulation of our unique, individual perspective. But there are challenges to putting this unique perspective into action. Our confidence is tested. We may struggle to fully understand how we 'fit in', bringing up significant insecurities. In fact, many of us — many of our ideas — may actually be a bit ahead of our time. The upcoming retrograde Mercury in Aries will help us to restructure our unique, individual message in a way that can better connect with those around us. But in the meantime, we may find ourselves feeling misunderstood or disconnected. The temptation to set our individuality aside may be quite strong. Trying fit in or blend in is wholly unsatisfying and will only produce more insecurities. The Sun's sextile to Pluto, following the Spring Equinox, signals that there is a great deal of power available to build and strengthen our confidence, overcome our sensitivities and insecurities, and actually find our 'right' place within a larger picture. But we mustn't lose sight of our inspiration. Mars arrives in Pisces on Friday, suggesting that there are hidden resources available — spiritual strength and courage. Mars in Pisces can help us to find the faith to believe that our inspiration and our unique vision will lead us to where we need to be. There are incredibly important opportunities to make preparations this week for next week's potent Midnight (Sunday night, Monday morning) Libra Full Moon (12:00 AM PDT 5° Libra/Aries Lunar Eclipse) when we can expect that challenges to our unique vision and inspiration will surface and further test our individual confidence and resolve. A Venus-Jupiter sextile at the end of the week can either lull us into a false sense of security or encourage us to set attainable goals and prepare to achieve them — no matter what challenges we may face.

Even though there may be some disillusion on Sunday, we can generally grasp that the 'dark shadows' may not be as serious as we had thought. We feel we can make a 'fresh start'. A surge of activity on Monday may encourage a rather competitive approach. We may also be a bit too concerned about following 'guidelines' and miss the opportunity for creative innovation. Ego-driven competition may seem to cloud the air on Tuesday. We may tend to make 'mountains out of molehills' based on feelings of insecurity. A cautious approach takes over on Wednesday. We may feel that we are misunderstood or not getting as much credit as we believe we should. Sensitivity undercuts our confidence on Thursday. However, there is powerful support to renew our confidence as well as our vitality as we move through the day. Friday's challenge is to stay organized enough to follow through on our goals and ideas. Nonetheless, there are important new 'spiritual strengths' beginning to develop that increase our faith to keep going. We may be lulled into a false sense of security and comfort on Saturday. It is important to try to stay focused and maintain steady effort.