Astrology & Healing

(Access the signs below by clicking on eitherLeo or Sagittarius.)

Impatient, impetuous and perhaps, revving its engine waiting for the green light!? ARIES is the first sign of the zodiac, the beginning of the astrological year. The sun moves into Aries at the Spring Equinox in this part of the world.

Tracy Marks quotes Lewis Caroll in her section on moon in Aries in 'The Astrology of Self-Discovery':-

'Now! Now!' cried the queen. 'Faster! Faster!'

In the myths and stories, Aries energy is often hot-headed and fighting for a cause in which the father-figure or authority-figure is 'the bad guy':

In the story of Moses (where he's brought up by the Egyptians who have enslaved his people) he kills somebody and has to flee into exile, but comes back ultimately, to save the Israelites; in Jason and the Argonauts it's the uncle who has usurped his title and stolen the 'fleece' which he battles to return to its rightful place; and in Star Wars, Luke ends up literally fighting his father...

Guttman and Johnson in 'Mythic Astrology' talk about Aries as, "...the power of the individual ego emerging from the collective ocean... must fight against the pull of that collective past in order to assert its individuality."

Aries' ruler, Mars, is the planet that represents our energy, drive, ambition, sexuality. Try listening to Holst's 'Mars' or John Williams' 'Star Wars' theme to get a flavour of this energy.

Alice Howell, in her book 'Jungian Sychronicity in Astrological Signs and Ages' talks about a little boy in Sunday School listening to the story of the Crucifixion of Christ, which provokes his anger until he can hold it in no longer and bursts out with, "Hell, where were the Marines?" If you see Pisces as the sign representing the 'collective past' we talked about above (with Christ being born at the beginning of the astrological Age of Pisces)... and the marines...? Well, I hope that speaks for itself!

Thanks again to Free Digital Photos for the use of these images.  You can link to Jennifer Ellison's work by clicking directly on the photo to your left.

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LEO  (sun moves into Leo in late August) as a sign is known for its creativity, but as Liz Greene points out in her book, 'Saturn: A New Look at an Old Devil',

 "An act of creativity can... lead to greater self-awareness..."    

Elsewhere she suggests that,

"Leo's great creation is meant to be himself!"

In this sign we're seeking our own centre, the point of integration of all the different aspects of ourselves.  I'm reminded of a song from the musical, 'La Cage aux Folles' where one of the lead characters sings, 

"Life's not worth a damn till you can say, 'Hey, world, I am what I am!"

 (If you click on the photo above you will be taken to Maggie Smith's work on Free Digital Photos' website.)

I remember somewhere seeing this sign connected with the peacock and musing on the significance of this:-

The peacock certainly makes a bold statement when he's trying to attract a mate!

(These photos also take you to Free Digital Photos - Tom Curtis' work on the right and Marcus74id below.)

 Leo is the king or the queen of the zodiac, and, with this sign, there's often a need to differentiate between egotistical self-identity and what Errol Weiner (in 'Transpersonal Astrology) calls, "... the true individuality... (of)... the soul..."

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SAGITTARIUS is the sign that's connected with broadening our horizons, which includes both inner and outer travel. It's not an energy that likes to be pinned down. The following are some words from the chorus of Elton John's, 'Live Like Horses' which speak to the expansiveness and love of freedom that goes with this sign:-

"Someday/We'll live like horses/Free rein/From your old iron fences... Break out the stalls/And we'll live like horses."

One of the symbolic creatures associated with this sign is the centaur - half man, half horse.
(Click on the photo above to link to Free Digital Photos.)
 

At this time of year (around 22nd November through to the Winter Solstice) we are looking forward to Christmas. There's an atmosphere of hope and anticipation. The feast of St. Nicholas falls on 6th December and is traditionally associated with the exchange of gifts. Hope, optimism, generosity are all connected with the sign of Sagittarius.

(This photo links you to Filomena Sealise's work on Free Digital Photos.)

Tracy Marks uses a quotation from Voltaire for this sign in her book entitled, 'The Astrology of Self-Discovery':-

"I am a little deaf, a little blind, a little impotent, and on top of this are two or three abominable infirmities, but nothing destroys my hope."

In Martin Schulman's Allegory from his book, 'Karmic Astrology' he focuses on the humour of Sagittarius:-

"... I ask you to make men laugh... to give men hope... You will touch many lives if but only for a moment..."

(You can link to this lovely galloping horse (bk images at Free Digital Photos) by clicking on the picture!)

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