2005 Planet Waves Annual for Ariesby Eric Francis
WHEN THE TIME ARRIVES to offer your whole being to the world, to give your gift to the community and to take up your place of leadership -- and that time is soon to arrive -- you need a solid foundation. You've spent recent years building that structure, deep within yourself, so deep that it's probably invisible. But you can depend on it; you have been in a stage of intense preparations, and you have as much worldly knowledge as you need. The work you've done rising above your insecurities, clearing out the influences of parents and other family members, and quite possibly settling into the new place you live, all count. And they count for a lot, because the past was weighing you down like a millstone. And now, for the most part, you are free. You live in the present, where your imagination has the power to live, breathe and create. It's true, the inner work may not be completed, but your acknowledgement of this is a sign of both maturity and strength. Aries is world-famous for its utter lack of patience, but you've been put through quite a bit in recent years that has compelled you to slow down and take notice of how you feel, what you need and who you are. You've had to sort out many voices in your mind -- most of which were not your own -- and find the true inner voice of the child you are. At the end of this process, I think you'll agree that any inner voice that feels or sounds authoritarian, parental, or even remotely bossy is not you and thus has no place in your life. If so, congratulations: you have waged the one and only revolution there is. There comes a time, not so far in the future, when you see that you are being asked to offer something to the world; then, you're likely to spend your time investigating whether or not you have that particular quality to offer. You may wonder whether anyone needs you, or worse, whether they want what you have to give. Please don't trouble yourself with these questions. Just do what you need to do. The world really is calling you. This is the most basic, clear and potent theme of Chiron transiting your 11th house -- Aquarius. In the role you now get to play -- and since the world is a stage, it's very much a role -- you have the challenge and privilege of relating to the people around you as peers. This is the most compelling form of leadership because all the old methods of cheating, such as intimidation, financial motivation and competition, are out with the recycling. Yet despite this, people will be looking to you for the wisdom and clarity you have to offer. And whatever your specific craft, art, or field of expertise, you will become the person who weaves together the community around you in some new and exciting way. Whether you make candles or program in Unix, your true job is that of a weaver. I say this knowing you're not likely to feel particularly comfortable with your role, at least not at first. This will prove to be positive; it will keep you awake all the time. On a deeply intuitive level, you know exactly what your place is and what's being asked of you; you have more practice than you think, and you have developed an excellent intuitive -- almost psychic -- sense of group dynamics. But now, as a focal point, as someone whose intelligence is going to be called upon regularly, that little edge of discomfort is essential, humbling and simply human. It won't last, but I suggest you learn from it, and relish every moment of insecurity for its excellence and for the added clarity it offers you. Get in the habit of seeking input on every decision. When asked, people come up with intelligent things quite often, and almost everyone appreciates having their input taken into account. From what I can see, you're going to be helping quite a few people deal with this issue of parents and authority. Though it deserves a weekly column of its own, I will say, simply, that our inability to deal honestly with authority, and to take authority over our own lives, is what is choking us as individuals and as a society. It's the basis for so many people projecting all their power onto a vengeful 'god', and it explains in a few words why we consent to government leaders who need psychiatric in-patient care more than they need the ability to incur limitless war debt. At the core of your process is what I will call creative self-mastery. You've come to a point in your life where you can hold your center and do your best work, no matter how you feel. The calling that's likely to take your life like a seizure is the need to actually do and offer that work where it's the most needed, which will reshape your relationships entirely. They will be based not on you needing to have your insecurities shored up, or to play therapist to others, but rather on what you have to offer and what you have to exchange with people on level ground. As you do this, the real gain of these four seasons involves sorting out what is important to you and what is not. The astrological key is Mars retrograde in Taurus, which happens later in the year, but which will be offering its messages constantly, particularly as the Sun crosses Taurus this spring. The core of who you are is a creative fire. You are an Aries, the first and arguably most powerful sign of the zodiac. Aries is the engine that initiates the activity of all the other signs. Aries is passion; it is the drive to be and become; to express yourself in all that you do; and to find that point of perfect faith within yourself. Try not to spend too much time convincing yourself of anything. Between certainty and doubt is a space of acknowledging what is so. In any given moment, with a moment's thought, this is never particularly difficult to see. And at any moment, you have the prerogative to look around you and ask: what am I called upon to do right now? The answer will be obvious. PW 
|
