Welcome to the Equinox, the Super Moon Eclipse and the First Day of the Rest of your Life!

What interesting times we’re having. How are you feeling?

On edge? Or excited? At the precipice of letting something big go, or starting something fabulous and new? You’re not alone!

Today the earth is moving through an astrological change of seasons, the moon is refreshing itself in a new cycle and also sneaking in front of the sun to steal the daylight show and create a solar eclipse today!

So what’s all this astrological stuff about, why should you care and how can you use this transition period for maximum positive power in your life? Read on!

A change of season begins today!

Annually there are four seasons… right? Well that kind of depends on where in the world you live but for the purposes of this article we’ll say that’s true. When do seasons start and end? Well that depends too! If you’re a student of the weather - a - meteorologist - you start seasons on defined days that split the year up into equal parts of 3 months each, the meteorological seasons. In this system Autumn starts on March 1.

If you’re a student of the stars - an astronomer or astrologer - you would consider the four seasons delineated by the two equinoxes and two solstices we experience per year, known as the astronomical seasons. In this system Autumn begins on the March equinox in the southern hemisphere, and in the north this signals the beginning of Spring.

These seasons are not so equal and exact and are defined by the timing and angles of the movement of earth in relation to the Sun. The dates of the solstices and equinoxes are within a general range but vary year to year.

The solstices are days with the shortest daylight hours and the longest nights in winter and the longest day and shortest night in Summer. They occur in late June and December.

What’s an equinox all about?

The equinoxes are the days in which the day and the night are of almost equal length. The word equinox is derived for the Latin words aequus, meaning equal and nox, meaning night. The equinoxes occur between March 19-23 and September 19-23 each year.

On the equinoxes every year the sun shines directly over the equator and the day and night are of almost equal length, but not exactly. The length of the day and night depends on where in the world you live. The equinox happens at a specific time everywhere in the world. Today, March 20, 2015 (or 21 depending on what time zone you’re in), is the Autumn equinox in the Southern Hemisphere, and the Spring equinox in the North.

Celebrate new beginnings.

Along with ringing in a new season, the March equinox has been traditionally been a time of celebrating of new beginnings for many cultures around the world. In the northern hemisphere in particular, many holidays like Easter and Passover are celebrated in or around the March equinox. In the southern hemisphere things are starting to turn inward in preparation for winter and so you may be feeling a call to slow down, rehash plans or recuperate before your next big push. Wherever you are in the world, today is a great day to invite in and welcome something new and positive to your life, whether symbolically or literally.

New moon manifesting.

The energy of this equinox ties in well with the energy of today’s New Moon! Energetically the phase of the new moon is also a time symbolic of new beginnings. It’s a fabulous time for setting new intentions, and turning your creative energy towards the vision of what you’d like to develop, cultivate or manifest in your life.

Just as the equinox is traditionally celebrated through with cultural rituals, you can create your own personal new moon ritual to symbolically connect with the energy and intention of creating a life you’re proud to live.

From taking some time out to meditate on your vision, or burning some sage, incense or lighting a candle to cleanse and honour your new ideas, to drawing a mandala, or creating a vision board to represent your dreams, get creative and connect with a ritual or gesture that’s meaningful to you! Rituals are an opportunity to focus your intention and devote yourself to this rich manifesting energy that’s currently available.

Bright side of the super moon eclipse.

The final aspect adding to our auspicious new beginning energy is the solar eclipse today (or tomorrow depending on where in the world you are)! Solar eclipses only happen on the new moon when the moon moves between the sun and the earth, partially blocking the sun form sight from certain places in the world. On this particular orbit, the moon is actually at it’s closest point to the earth so that it appears larger than it normally does!

Some people (mostly northern hemisphere-ites) will be lucky enough to see the solar eclipse. The rest of us will just get to bask in its astrological energy!

Solar eclipses have held ceremonial and superstitious power across diverse cultures for centuries, and in astrology signify - you guessed it - new beginnings and change in our lives.

Out with the old, in with the new…for good!

In this very special instance, today’s eclipse happens at the end of the zodiac and before moving to the beginning again. This transition from Aires to Pisces strongly indicates a permanent ending so times in your life might be rather intense at the moment!

The effects of an eclipse may be felt for weeks and even moths after the event so be observant of the themes or incidents that arise this week and track how they unfold over time. The flipside of an ending of course, is a new beginning! So trust that what ever may be leaving your life at the moment either with joy, or pain, is making space for something new to enter in the future.

As Pisces is a water sign in astrology, you could view this time as a kind of baptism. An opportunity to rinse out any negative patterns, thoughts, habits or behaviours and allow them to be washed away! Other planetary influences will assist with this cleansing aspect so that through this cleansing you uncover your most authentic truth and step into the power you need to actually live it.

Wishing you a seasonal, super-moon-shiny, and totally eclipsed new start to what ever you’re ready to bring into the world! You most likely won’t get a better time for this anytime in the near future so leap into it and have fun!

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