TIPS TO EXPANDED WAYS OF READING THE ZODIAC SIGNS

Your Sun sign represents the sign of the zodiac that the Sun passed through at the time of your birth. As the Sun rules your essential personality it represents your core potential and your distinctiveness as an individual and yes, describes the overall picture of who you are and what you are currently all about. In larger terms however it is indeed the sum personality you have chosen to be born into, towards certain life experiences and soul growth! Your time of birth is like a doorway that you choose, so that you may indeed 'enter' into just that combination of strengths and weaknesses, which you require in any current life-towards expanding self, and disempowering its outworn and limiting aspects.

Thus it is best to read your sun sign, not merely as a description of who you ‘are’ but as an exploration of the self you can optimally be! Become aware of what potential strengths you are using, ignoring or misusing? What weaknesses are your aware of and thus ready to move away from? How can you indeed balance out all the qualities of your sun sign into an optimal whole required for your unique purposes to be? Different people sharing your sun sign will arrive at different combinations of qualities at your disposal-as best required for their individual roles and purposes to be!

And are you aware that you are more than just the sign you were "born under"? Did you know that you have all twelve zodiac signs in your astrology chart? Everyone …everyone has a unique combination of all the twelve-zodiac signs (this is why you are a unique individual in spite of sharing a sun sign with others) and thus you may use input from all the zodiacs in exploring self! Just become aware that whenever you identify with any of the described qualities, it is within you and thus you may now more consciously seek to use it, or move away from it- even if it is not your ‘sun’ sign!

I invite you to a game before you next read any zodiac columns or books! Write out your strengths and weaknesses, and find parts of yourself in every sign! When you are jumping rampantly into an adventure, it is the Aries in you that aids! When you pamper yourself with pretty clothes and shopping…it is the Taurus in you that is emerging.

Also spell out those qualities you seek to incorporate anew, and begin a zodiac treasure hunt- know that you may draw upon any zodiac sign that inspires you in the now! Are you feeling drawn to exploring your higher mind? Tap into your Sagittarius! Do your accounts look like they need refining? Draw upon your Virgo!

With a deeper understanding of the zodiacs they can even be used as powerful symbols- just like you would use a photograph, mantra or prayer to Goddess Lakshmi to draw abundance and joy your way; or Goddess Saraswati towards your font of wisdom- you could draw upon any zodiac for its very essence as and when required in your life! Fearful of the responsibilities ahead? Think Capricorn! Need nurturing? Utilize cancer! Do you wish to live life king size? Then bring into play Leo’s energies.

Indeed every system of ancient wisdom (astrology, numerology, tarot, kabala, runes I-ching etc) is a unique language of symbols, which you may use to communicate with the universe to either ‘know thyself’ better, or towards harnessing their potent energies! You could indeed create your very own affirmation board: purely by collecting the symbols of the qualities you seek. Cut and paste pictures of the zodiac signs (and corresponding numbers or tarot cards) you are seeking to incorporate! This is Magic- not hocus pocus- but consciously focusing on what you ‘will’ to manifest!

It also helps to view the zodiac as a cycle experienced in its entirety by all of us, with the signs forming a progression of archetypal concepts and experiences, from Aries to Pisces. Each of us undergoes the gamut of experiences and qualities in our exploration to be a composite whole! And we take several rounds on this Ferris wheel, learning about our multi faceted nature -with each cycle taking us to a higher octave. If you are Aries you have started a whole new cycle; if you are Pisces you are ending one! We have literally been around the block several times (zodiacally speaking) in our exploration of self! This is what is called evolution! You are ‘evolving’ whether you know it or not! I will take you on this Ferris wheel quarterly-by exploring each sign’s role in this zodiacally viewed cosmic journey-but for today lets take an over all peek!

Aries (I AM) is the will to incarnate and initiates the cycle of manifestation. As the first impulse ‘To Be’ is awakened in Aries, it is the not only the birthplace of ideas and impulse- but also the force to set them into motion! Archetypal of the Big Bang- innovative possibilities burst through Arians, who not only have the initiative but the will to actualize them! Aries' function thus is to be initiator and get things started which other signs then carry forward. Consequently they make natural leaders and won't shy away from new ground, either.

In Taurus (I VALUE) we become the pragmatists who seek to stabilize this life energy (before it burns out) and secure its sure and steady growth into a world of form. We are thus born with natural patience, resourcefulness and feet on the ground attitude, which doesn’t allow us to give in to flights of fancy! Archetypally Taurus is our first encounter with the physical world and thus as Taurus do we place a valuable premium on its tangibles!

It is in the Gemini (I THINK) phase of the journey that we ready to explore our increasing awareness as sentient beings and thus adventures of the mind is what the Gemini phase is all about. This awareness brings up a new factor and an avid curiosity to explore it: our environment and its people! Conseqently both intellect and (more importantly) its communication become of vital importance to us as Gemini, and thus are we born with the gift of the gab when we choose Gemini!

In Cancer (I BELONG) we move from this rational awareness of self and our environment, to discover our emotional being and the need to bond with those others! We move into the world of feelings and learn (for the first time on this journey) how to nurture and be nurtured, how to bond and how to be part of a larger whole. Thus archetypally cancer governs family, home, mother and child- and while it helps us establish an inner foundation from which to further proceed, as cancerians we often show a marked reluctance to leave the realm of these comfort zones.

Which task we then undertake in Leo (I EXPRESS). It is at this point in the larger zodiac journey that we ‘leave home’ towards becoming an individual in our own right! Archetypally this is where we encounter the crystallization of our personal identity- and thus revel in playfully and creatively expressing it! It is the Leo is us that instinctively seeks to shine the light of our individuality-and bask in its (brighter it the better) glory!

Virgo (I SERVE) that follows this self-oriented Leo does a humble double take! We now become more concerned with practical matters, labor…even nutrition! We switch our focus from flamboyant creative expression to its practical (and very precise) application. We turn our focus beyond just self to the service of others! We now seek perfection- in self yes, but also in our work and most importantly for our world!

In this switch of focus from ‘within’ to ‘outwards’ do we reach the halfway point at Libra (I RELATE)! All along we have been missing the unity that we experienced at source- and find it here on the ‘outside’ through ‘another’! Archetypally Libra is the hall of mirrors- where we view and experience self though our relationships and learn to understand and accept ‘others’ and thus self. Hence the famous Libran scales - our attempts to master the fine balance between our inner self and its objective outer reflection!

And thus prepared are we to reach Scorpio (I EMPOWER), and passionately dive into the world of deep intimacy with others, and traverse the hidden undercurrents of this sojourn. We encounter power and its psychological dynamics, struggles and intense emotions- and learn (remember: through several such cycles) to transform them all into a source of true empowerment. By diving deep do we break through to the surface as truly empowered beings ready to claim complete responsibility for our outer sojourn of life and its people, events and things.

And in this do we progress to Sagittarius (I SEEK) as seeker. Having plumbed the depths we now aspire to reach our highest potentials and soar beyond limits- to rediscover our joy and faith and vision! Thus Sagittarius is that part of us that is the Seeker — forever after information, after dissemination of knowledge, after experience, after Truth! As Sagittarius we do not relentlessly ask “why… why… why?” out of mere curiosity (or to gather information) but with the lofty purpose to transcend.
Thus in Capricorn (I MASTER) its time to get serious. Now it’s now all about fulfilling our responsibilities to manifest something concrete from all the abstract knowledge we’ve accumulated. As Capricorn we are thereby inherently bestowed with ambition and discipline, plus prepared are we to accept limitations and make sacrifices. And while this may seem dour -as the Capricorn in us is often viewed- this zodiac (and its ruling planet Saturn) is a great teacher- where we learn how less can be more and how we can indeed do without much of what we think we need, or are. We choose Capricorn when we require this pruning and maturation process.
So that we can then straddle Aquarius (I UNDERSTAND): and be truly autonomous individuals. It is as Aquarius that that we explore our selves in groups and understand that our individuality and the larger whole are not mutually exclusive; that oneness is not sameness, and that each unique individual makes up the larger whole. In this understanding do we bridge the chasm between the others and self…(even go out on a limb to oppose the group if not for its the larger good) and the microcosm and the macrocosm begin to become difficult to tell apart …

And what could possibly be left as we come to the closure of Pisces (I REDEEM)… but The Unknown! The last frontier we need to embrace, beyond all that we have known; indeed beyond consciousness itself. Thus as Pisces do we get in touch with the unconscious and non-physical aspects of existence: dreams, fantasies, mysticism; and its non-rational feelings (drugs, alcohol, escapism, addiction being the flip side) of unconditional love, vulnerability and surrender -enabling us to disintegrate and merge back with source…no boundaries, oneness only.

Pisces thus ends one cycle and brings us to the higher octave of a new one that starts again in Aries- this time with what we have harvested as our starting point! It’s like a spiral: we've passed through this sign before, but it's never exactly the same again. The maturation of personality and soul continues as we explore our multi faceted nature…and this is evolution! It is inherent! It is sprit! And its urge to Be All That Is! And in you in me it is the same urge, same sprit, evolution indeed that compels us forward to explore our unlimited potentials infinitely! Eliot sums this up beautifully:
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.

4- Last but not least each of us traverses this cosmic journey annually! The moon is a planetary body that affects every individual and it travels through a different zodiac sign every 21/2 days! As we all have every zodiac sign (albeit in different houses –areas- of life) each zodiac is thereby activated and ‘doing’ its work in our life relevant to the house it is in your natal chart! We are undergoing evolution-annually! In this awareness may you optimize this!