The zodiac - the cycle of life
- and how it is all connected
Theory
It didn’t take me long to realize that the easiest way to teach astrology to my students – and also how I learned it myself – was to understand the bigger picture. To get a feel for it. Interpreting a chart is an incredibly intuitive task. It is not about studying meanings and empty words out of a book for a specific sign, it is about understanding the meaning behind it. Learning about its origin. The origin of its symbol, its ruler planet and so on and so on. There is an endless lore on every single sign of the zodiac and the best part is that they are all connected. They are connected with each other and with us, that’s what makes it easy to get a feel for it, because if we pay attention we are able to sense its energy and its importance in everyday life.
This is what this series is meant for. I want to highlight all the areas in our life that we take for granted, that just seem so normal to us and how they all circle back to the same few rules and patterns. Today I want to start off with the circle of the zodiac itself. A comment we often get to hear about astrology is that it cannot possibly be real because of an astronomical phenomenon called “the precession of the Earth”. Although that is obviously very much a thing, it has nothing to do with the tropical zodiac that most western astrologers (me included) work with today. Since that was never based on an imaginary circle in the sky. It is called the ‘tropical’ zodiac because of the Greek word ‘trópoi’, which means as much as “turning point”, which once again refers to the turning points of the sun, which is described with the zodiac. The summer and winter solstice as well as the equinoxes mark the beginning of a new quarter in the zodiac, therefore also the first day a new cardinal sign begins. (Aries as the beginning of Spring, now the days get longer again, Cancer as the longest day of the year, Libra as the indicator of the second equinox and lastly Capricorn as the mark for the longest night of the year.) Those are the pillars of the zodiac, the turning points for our yearly cycle. Everything else follows these patterns.
Examples
The seasons
The zodiac starts with Aries, it is a strong surge of energy, an egoistic and premature type of action. It is a small seed in the earth, fighting selfishly and with all its might to burst out, looking for light and for life, it is the blossoming bud of the new year, the literal “head through the wall” or in this case, stem through the earth. One can hardly imagine the strength something so small can bring up simply for the sake of surviving. It is the sign of a new beginning, of being reborn and the excitement and thrill to be alive, to start anew.
Taurus is the sign that makes our little sprout develop its roots; digging them deep into the soil to make sure it gets all the nutrients that it needs to grow strong and tall and for it to have a solid ground to stand on. It claims the earth it stands on, making room for itself and its needs in the world. It is the time of year that we get to appreciate all the beautiful sides of nature again, fresh flowers, beautiful colors and scents wherever one might find themselves. The scarcity of winter has finally ended and allowed us and the animals around us to find food, as well as joy in existing again. Instead of surviving for the first time in a while it’s starting to feel like living again, like we can relax and lay back.
Gemini is the time where our little seedling starts to branch out, make connections, trying to explore the world around it. It is often a busy time for us as well, feeling energized from the beginning of the year, knowing that one has to move quickly, as the hotter seasons are about to slow us down again. It is a time to be outdoors a lot, meet with friends and be active.
Whereas the beginning of Cancer harbors the longest day of the year. It is the sign of fertility and for our little plant it is now already time to take on the role of a mother itself, being home to its own fruits, nurturing us and providing seed for the time ahead. We are packing and planning for our summer vacation, although it is not unlikely to feel the summer-blues during this time, as school years come to a close and after all that hectic in the beginning of the year it is time to start reflecting on the last couple of months.
Leo is the fixed Fire sign, therefore we won’t be surprised that this period is usually the hottest. It forces us to slow down and take time to think about ourselves, our pleasure and how to relax to the fullest. Now that everything is in full bloom, ripening but not ready to be picked yet, it is truly time to enjoy the break between the laborious seasons and be proud of what we have achieved.
Virgo is the only sign of the zodiac that actually thinks further than the present, it is the time when the harvest is made, therefore food for the winter is being secured and precautions for a period are being held that the sign Virgo itself will never experience. It also is the sign of everyday life, so we all have to return to our routines and get back on track. Life is starting to normalize itself again and with Virgo being a mutable sign, we know that a change of season is ahead.
Libra - being situated opposite to Aries - is the second equinox, and the beginning of fall. It seems like Libra season starting with the day in the year that day and night are equal lengths cannot possibly just be by chance, when we think of the symbolism of this Air sign being all about scales and compromises. Libra wants to balance and intellectualize. Just like the days, also temperatures are starting to regulate themselves again and we have time to collect our thoughts. It won’t be long until the cold seasons are back so it is time to finish up things and literally - bring them in a balance and peace.
Scorpio is the sign of death, or how I prefer to call it: compost. The leaves of our little plant die and fall in order to create a fertile earth for next year's crops and a safe blanket for all the smaller animals and plants beneath it. All of us might start to feel a little more down and this season fully embraces this, the reflection and introspection. It is time to mourn the summer, as it has now officially come to an end and prepare ourselves for the life inside again; a more slowed down, reserved and resilient way of living.
Sagittarius might feel really misplaced at this time of the year - in the middle of December - I too once really struggled to understand the connection to its season in our calendars. But it became really clear to me once I understood that Sagittarius is the sign of hope, of high spirits; to some it might even come off as overly positive and naive sometimes - therefore basically the personification of Christmas. Hanukkah also falls into that time frame. It doesn’t really matter whether you celebrate it or not, it is quite hard to get around it during those days. Sagittarius is the sign of belief and therefore also religion, making it the peak for those types of up cheering celebrations, with all the abundance and the many lights, trying to give us hope and happiness in one of the darkest periods of the year.
Capricorn on the other hand is not even trying to sugarcoat the ruthlessness of the winter that it brings. It is a cardinal sign, therefore giving us an internal push of strength to push through. In a way it also brings new beginnings, with the new year it welcomes. It is the time we set goals for ourselves. In typical earth-sign manner we plan ahead and the proud and ambitious Capricorn can make our resolutions often stray far from the possible. As long as it keeps us going and makes us anticipate this new chapter.
Aquarius as a fixed air sign is completely unwilling to loosen its grip on the cold and lonesome season, it more so leans into it with its bizarre and unique character. Not only is it usually welcoming our urges to reimagine ourselves with the new ideas we got from our New-Year's resolutions just a month prior and an urge for a change after months of fairly depressing weather and often unpleasant family gatherings, but usually also the month carnival is celebrated. People get dressed up, dance and are not afraid to make a fool of themselves - in true Aquarius manner.
Pisces being the last mutable sign of the zodiac, it makes us excited for the new beginning ahead. The astrological year ends, but there wouldn't be a new beginning without it. In a sense it is really similar to a rebirth, but in contrast to Scorpio, this is purely on the spiritual level. We shed our winter coats and any cold-induced brain fog and weight still hanging in our bones seem to disappear when we hear the first birds chirp outside our window and the green little tips of early-awoken flowers peek from underneath the blanket of glistening snow. Things suddenly become beautiful again and maybe now is the time that we are truly letting go of the past and are ready to take on the year that had already begun a quarter of the year ago.
The stages of life
As always the zodiac starts with Aries, and so does our life: we get born. A painful act for both us and our mother. The biggest act of independence that we will probably ever experience. It’s a fight, to free ourselves out into the world, this - just like for the plant - takes a lot of energy and will to survive, to live and to take part in life.
Taurus makes us get nourished, cradled. During this time we sleep a lot and often gain our essential baby fat during this time, which will later be a good basis to overcome obstacles and challenges. Taurus is a sign that stands for comfort, settling down, often a lot of passiveness and simply being interested in surviving and nourishing the body, as well as developing a feeling for our body and our needs.
Gemini makes us first reach out and interact with the world around us. Maybe we start talking, walking and exploring. It is probably one of the most active times of our lives since we are very curious and start to explore and understand things more.
Cancer helps us to get to know feelings and our family. We start to understand what love feels like, to belong, to be sad, angry, scared and happy. We find out that we are a person and that our parents are too. We start to like things and figure out what makes us comfortable and uncomfortable.
Leo is the sign of self-expression. Now comes a time where it is crucial for us to figure out what makes us us. It is essential to have hobbies during this time and we discover special interests. We want to be a part of adult life, want to be big and this is probably going to be one of the most confident times of our lives, which will later be crucial for our self-esteem.
Virgo reminds us that these dreams and wishes will soon get crushed by us learning what everyday life is. During this time we often start to face responsibilities, a routine. We have to figure out what to do, eat or say to keep us safe and healthy. A first understanding of illness, the body and life as systems start to dawn on us. This is where we start planting and planning seeds for our future.
Libra let’s us know that trying to live our life and reaching our goals also usually comes with interactions. We get in contact with new people, we meet teachers, bullies and best friends and a lot of times this is also when we develop our first crush. The 7. House is all about partners. We develop social skills, have pleasant as well as unpleasant conversations and have to figure out what and who we are to others, often leading into…
Scorpio. Often also referred to as the emo phase. A lot of different things happen during this time. The rewiring of our hormones usually also makes us want to rewire everything about ourselves and the life around us. We feel really discouraged, maybe due to our social status, our looks or our outlook on life. This is the phase where we get to explore boundaries and break such. We get into contact with taboos and sexuality. But also loss and death - if not of others, at least of our younger selves. Scorpio is all about transformation and rebirth.
Sagittarius helps us start to find a meaning in things. The Sagittarius Archetype stands for a lot of things, all fields that are popular experiences during this time of life: we travel, we go to university, we broaden our horizon and start to build our own reality. We question things and find our own reality and purpose. We find a sense in life again and ideally what we want to do with it.
Capricorn continues on this route and makes us want to focus on career and status. Suddenly these become some of the most important things in our lives. We want to provide, do something with our life and therefore work a lot. We want to have success and gain money - which makes us come into contact with a lot of other things. We finally have to actually grow up. Think about responsibilities, goals and our own family one day.
One day Aquarius makes us realize that the old structures and routines might not work anymore. Therefore we strive to revolutionize our workplace or ourselves. The focus during this time is progression, change and often also friendships. We might get more active in groups, join organizations or simply meet our friends more often to gain life-quality back and feel a sense of belonging.
Pisces is as always the last stretch before the zodiac repeats itself, therefore naturally the end. We start to look inwards and slow down. This archetype also often describes the dependent one, the weak one and the prisoner. Pisces is rumored for its wish to be freed from material life, a phenomenon many old people can probably relate to after long periods of suffering and illness (Pisces Archetype). We come to a conclusion and reflect on the life we have lived, are grateful to have even gotten this far and are often content that it is finally time to move on.
As we saw now, the zodiac cycle is not just a heart- and meaningless circle in the sky, but embedded into our everyday lives and the environment around us. Practically everything follows this cycle: The seasons; the day (we wake up, we eat and get comfy, we get into our car, talk with others etc…); the hormonal cycle (many people these days talk about parallels between the female cycle and the seasons, which only let’s us cycle back to the zodiac again); the circle of life and even our stages as humanity (how we have gone from hunting, to agriculture, to connecting cities and developing languages, having the concept of a families, houses and later dynasties, rulerships etc…).
The more you think about it the more examples come to mind that follow this scheme. This blogpost was therefore merely targeted to make you think about it for a bit and maybe let it guide and support you in your journey through astrology and the zodiac itself. It is always important to remember that astrology is of course something you can study, but more importantly so learn from observing and experiencing it. So I hope that after reading this you go out into the world with an open mind and instead of feeling exhausted thinking about all the things you have to learn by heart, you get to let your imagination and intuition guide you through the world and your astrological journey.