What Type of Sonnet is Spring?
What Type of Sonnet is Spring?
Spring Equinox, Aries Season + New Moon, Pluto in Aquarius
3/20 SPRING EQUINOX
Spring rings official on Monday March 20, and though many places are experiencing back and forth cold fronts, Nature has been blossoming in its sunshine-kiss, the flowering trees determined to burst forth in ecstasy. Spring themes of re-birth and fertility are abundant in ancient lore, notably as Goddesses waking from slumber, reviving the Earth or lavishing in acts of sacred sensuality. A myriad of agricultural legends tied the lushness of the land to sexuality/fertility-focused tales, placing Maiden-phase figures on vine-covered princess pedestals.
Scientific evidence surrounds the Spring Equinox: an egg supposedly can stand on its own due to the planet’s polarity; millions in the Northern Hemisphere experience Spring fever and “feel more energized, upbeat and sexually active, if somewhat distracted"; the estrous cycle of the mammalian therian’s time to be “in heat” results in baby animals.
The egg is a fertility symbol everywhere, any time, any place.
Additionally, the Spring Equinox aligns with the Iranian New Year Nowruz, deep with Zoroastrian roots, in which *surprise* decorated eggs are traditional, trickling into various similar traditions. The neo-pagan Ostara leans towards egg symbolism, too, though the actual existence of a Germanic Eostre is highly debated, some claiming Christian Easter is a “borrowed” Pagan celebration. Regardless of origins, the egg and Mother Nature’s fertile abundance have directly influenced the marketing of baskets, bunnies, flowers and pastel colors in March and April’s market aisles. But the reason of the Season remains: the Sun has returned, longer days are ahead, the trees green and crops grow, and Earth is alive with pleasure divine.
On Thursday March 16, Venus moved into Taurus, an Earth Sign ruled by the Planet of Love. This upcoming time frame is especially celebratory, a vibe shift of significant gratitude for experiences involving the senses. If this past Winter has had a particularly negative effect on one’s mental and physical health, Spring has all the great Astro aspects to treat this timeframe as another New Chapter, ready for renewed vitality and immersing in Earthly delights.
We focus on a few ancient Love Goddesses, Venus Magick, symbolism and related alignments in our upcoming annual 2023 publication, The Sensual World. Automatic pre-order available for April Patreon sign-ups.
3/21 NEW MOON IN ARIES
Aries Season aligns with the Northern Hemisphere Spring Equinox, as the Sun moves into the Sign of the Ram on March 20. This meet-cute with the Aries New Moon on March 21 concocts a natural New Year while the world warms up, alive with vivacity, much like Aries’ creative, lively personality. Aries energy is most welcome after the very contemplative, cerebral, cosmic cluster of Aquarius and Pisces Seasons… but most of all, the doldrums of WINTER! We are ready to shed literal layers and frolic with the Spring flora and fauna once again.
Aries is an origin story, the fire which sparked humanity, yet could dangerously teeter into destruction, often characterized as a fast-moving, if not impulsive, “warrior”. Ares, Olympian God of War and Courage, is in no doubt connected with the Astro Sign. Ruled by Mars, the Planet of Energy and Action (if not aggression and anger) shares its name with Ares’ Roman counterpart. And, as Cardinal Fire, Aries carries the torch as the First Sign of the Zodiac, ruling the First House of Self and Ego. Due to Aries’ unfiltered beginnings, an Aries New or Full Moon is an auspicious invitation to defiantly accept ourselves and our past narratives while integrating truthful changes towards an authentic alignment.
This Aries New Moon ushers our core selves into inner child healing. It’s a “WAKEUP AND SMELL THE SHAME GAME”, a slice of the sword into the limbs of “cringe”. The Aries Moon motivates us to see beyond lack of self-worth and self-respect and to truly MOVE ON, even if it feels like a battle. That’s the key - the actual PRACTICE of identifying one’s own negative self-talk and consciously CHOOSING to act against cyclical “pick me” or self-depreciating behaviors. Self-awareness is VITAL; HEALING means PROACTIVELY PURSUING HOW WE TREAT AND THINK ABOUT OURSELVES. We can’t control the outside world and its treatment and perception of us, but we do have the ability to stop giving evil people and systems permission to make us dislike or even hate ourselves.
As long as we aren’t ignoring any harm we are causing others, this is an ideal time to stop giving weight to the naysay. Accountability is also accessible with the Aries Moon; Aries is honest, almost brutally so, which has its merits as well. This is not an invitation to defend harmful behaviors, but rather reconcile with ways in which we can act from understanding and respect. When we know and respect ourselves, it is far easier to respect others.
The façade of social depravation that not only holds us back from being confident and actually ENJOYING being in this world, as ourselves, is one to rebelliously reject. We do not need to reject parts of ourselves to be “good enough”. We are all works-in-progress and the joy of learning to love ourselves every day is such a delightful pursuit, even in its growing pains. We no longer need to be so obsessed with systems of appraise that are as spiritually corrupt as the oppressive class warfare, climate destruction and policing that the ironclad government + corporation entities push upon us… it’s just a matter of uncovering their hoard of resources to see the beyond not just the greed, but the façade of the system itself. PERFECTION IS A LIE. You are the authority on you; it is also your responsibility to explore how you will represent yourself and what you will do with your time and energy.
3/23 PLUTO IN AQUARIUS
While we usually focus on Moon Magick and Astro Seasons, it’s worth noting that Pluto is about to make a big shift into Aquarius on March 23. As an outer slow-moving planet, the Sign it takes on for its period usually tends to affect and shape a generation. Because Pluto is elliptical in orbit, some signs receive a stay in the Ruler of Rebirth for 11 years and others get 32 years! It takes about 246 years for Pluto to move through the entire Zodiac.
Pluto is seen as the Underworld, the Unseen, the transformational life/death/rebirth cycle and can thus have a negative reputation. However, it also can help define how power shifts with cause and compassion in a generational fight for equality and justice. As Aquarius is a future-forward and revolutionary sign, this may be a very important time frame for change after a long decade in Capricorn’s patriarchal governance. HOWEVER, even though many people will tend to look back at the past, what was happening in Pluto the last time in said Sign, it’s smart to note that there has ALWAYS been struggle, revolution, war, conversation around change. The last Pluto in Aquarius was the French Revolution; this has little to no bearing on what will happen upcoming.
Watch this great discussion by Sarah Vrba to learn more on the historical Pluto perspective:
Having both Pluto move into Aquarius and Saturn move into Pisces, as discussed in the last Muse, March 2023 has been a major Astro Month! Hope you make the most of it and are able to flow with the changes, friends.
MARCH PATREON
All March Patreon sign-ups will receive our exclusive PURE MOODSWINGS stickers with our Prismatic Paper Co. collaboration. This is a great way to support us and receive cute snail mail and digi-content :)