Aries! A Love Letter to a Matchstick

Jupiter in Aries has stationed retrograde as of July 28th and the Leo new moon that happened that same day seems to have been the impetus to take stock of all that has gone down since Jupiter crossed over into this first sign of the zodiac on May 10th. A forced pause may be the only pause Aries will take.

The world’s chaos aside (not aside because it doesn’t matter, but because it’s a given), my own life has felt like like a hot carnival ride. For one, I’ve officially moved to Los Angeles! I’m still seeing clients for both astrology and therapy remotely, but will have an office for in-person sessions someday soon. :)
In the meantime, I’ve added open dates to August so if you’d like a reading book one here.

I also just got back from a night at Walter De Maria’s The Lightning Field just days ahead of the Uranus (planet that rules lightning)-Mars (heat)-North Node (karmic destiny/fate) conjunction in Taurus (sign most closely related to Earth itself) that happened July 31st/August 1st. I think I’m still marinating in its effects—it was much more magical than I expected— but it feels inevitable I’ll want to write more about it. It’s not so surprising that many artists who made land art have a predominance of earth signs in their charts, and several major ones even born during the last time Uranus was in Taurus in the 1930’s. So what does it mean to see it now??

But for now, Aries is my mission. The inception and the spark. The baby, ruthless in its charms and demands. It is the beginning of the astrological cycle and embodies enough energy and enthusiasm to get the whole engine started. Pisces is imminence and Aries is now. Jupiter, the planet of culture and philosophy - both personal and societal, entering into Aries is the vibe shift in action. Astrology, though, only describes the nature of a cultural shift and its ripple effects. People are the ones who moralize it as good or bad. In Aries, the patience for change is thin. It’s not a moment of reflection or calculation. Action over talk. Whatever is needed needs to happen right now.

I have loved lots of Aries in my life thus far, and been burned by some, but I know that 90% of the time I’ll probably be laughing. . .and maybe 10% engaged in “spirited debate” aka arguing. They can really gas up a room, brighten it, and sometimes dominate completely, but it’s really so damn entertaining. There’s the hilarious kind of Aries (Eddie Murphy, Martin Short, Martin Lawrence, Paul Rudd, Jackie Chan, Charlie Chaplin, Conan O’Brien, David Letterman, Seth Rogen, Vince Vaughn, Gary Oldman); the speedy kind (Roger Banister, the first person to run the 4-minute mile); the horny kind (the ones you know personally); the diva kind (Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, Lady Gaga, Chaka Kahn, Celine Dion, Elton John, Diana Ross); the bubbly goody two-shoes probably-secret-diva kind (Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jonathan Van Ness, Elle Fanning, Kate Hudson, Mandy Moore, Jennifer Garner, Zach Braff); the competitive kind; the old-school entertainer kind (Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Weber, George Benson, Wayne Newton) and every combination of those thereafter. I really can’t put it in simpler terms other than I’ve seen the tiniest Aries move the heaviest shit all on their own. They live with their whole bodies.

What’s more is that when Jupiter enters a sign, it tends to put the spotlight on people with strong placements in that same sign.

I had one of the more delightful movie theater experiences in years watching RRR at the megaplex in Union City, CA in an audience both young and old that cheered along for 3 hours straight. In all its fiery, violently satisfying revolt against the British colonialists, and slapstick brotherhood glory, it felt like a very Aries movie. To be fair it was released in the US during Aries season, but about a month before Jupiter entered Aries. The success of the movie grew so fast, though, that only a few days after Jupiter did enter Aries an uncut version was re-released.

Aries does not shy from conflict, and is sometimes even attracted to it. It is a sign, after all, ruled by Mars: the planet of war, sex, physicality, youth. But it is so much more concerned with bravery and the fight for basic necessity than it is with greed and power because the latter are not fights but bulldozers. Far too slippery and strategic for the Aries frame of mind. The end of the Vietnam War, the end of 3000 years of Monarchy in Ethiopia, Black Monday, and the US recession in the ‘70s happened when Jupiter was in Aries. So did the assassinations of JFK and Medgar Evers and the March on Washington. The first color TV broadcast, the first portable TV, the first Betamax; Beatlemania, SpongeBob Squarepants, Livin’ La Vida Loca, Faith, and That’s the Way of the World (Hearts of fire creates love, desire!) all came out under Jupiter in Aries, too.

At the truest core, humans just need to feel they have a purpose. Without purpose we’re depressed. In the era of Jupiter in Pisces since 2021 and Neptune in Pisces since about 2012 we’ve gone deep into the realm of self-care, cautious self-protection, and the spiritual/physical/emotional cleanse —so much so that we may have floated ourselves to the middle of the ocean only to be completely disoriented as to where we are. Dissociated and disillusioned. Neptune will enter Aries in 2025, but Jupiter here is the spark of what’s to come. In the Aries spirit there is an inflection point at the center of intense heat. It might be the reminder that sometimes purpose is derived from chaos; competition pushes you to surpass your limitations; engagement with the opponent (in whatever form) may help define who you really are. As Thomas Pynchon says (Moon and Venus in Aries) “Poetry is not communication with angels or with the "subconscious." It is communication with the guts, genitals, and five portals of sense. Nothing more.”