At this time of increasing darkness, life retreats in the face of cold days and returning frost. The autumnal colour falls away to reveal the monochrome silhouettes of the trees and fallen leaves impact underfoot to form a deep carpet on the quiet land, now resting after its summer long outpouring of abundant growth. This transition brings the cycle of fertility to a close. This is the end of the ancient year, marked by the Celtic festival of Samhain, where the Dark Goddess, the Great Crone, holds sway. Here, as a counterpoint to the growing darkness, the fire and light of the orange flames of the bonfire and the pungent scent of its wood-smoke fill the cold night air in a celebration of the passing of the year. Yet darker nights are still to come. This is the time of release and letting go of old forms, of cutting away the vestiges of what has flourished and whose time is over, releasing its elements back into the eternal cycle of birth, death and rebirth. This is a time for waiting in quiet contemplation, seeking insight and inner illumination, until the dark has reached its zenith and light must return. At that time the seeds of our hopes and wishes for the year to come can then be engendered, with the first rays of the return of the light, at the Winter Solstice.

Cycles of the Heavens

March - Pisces

As the Sun enters Pisces, the last sign of the zodiac, on 18th February, the mythic tone of the year shifts from the intellectual heights of the celestial Water Bearer into the oceanic waters of bliss. Here the mutable waters of the great Fish enfold us, dissolving all boundaries, releasing all forms. Here we lose rational definition and begin to experience with the sensual and feeling function. In this place of fluidity, our sensitivity extends beyond our tangible awareness to that which lies outside us, flowing beyond the separating membrane between self and world. In this sign we attune to the imaginal world which lies behind the world of forms and explore this intangible world with our imagination. Here in this vast realm of dream and imagination we are the recipients of insight, inspiration and healing. Released from the limitations of the illusion of separateness, we can feel the depths of humanity's suffering and our compassionate response to pain, and we can delight in the transcendent joy of the spiritual source. Ruled by Jupiter, Lord of meaning, here we have the opportunity to enter more deeply into life, to go beyond the mundane and material and unite with a reality that is greater than ourselves. Here we can surrender into the flow, trusting to the process of life, and allowing the current to carry us on to the next adventure.