The Astrological Seasons

All of Signs of the Zodiac are rooted in the Seasons of the Year. 

It's true. If you really want to understand the subtle flow of the wheel of the Zodiac signs all you have to do is watch the seasons change. This is true in any climate IF you're observant enough to notice it. 

In this drawing of the Astrological Seasons, Aries begins in the traditional location of the First House and the signs move around from there ending with Pisces in the 12th house location.

Aries is the survival of the coldest cold winter & the fire needed to spark the last bit of strength to sprout again. It is the spring green sprouts pushing out of the cold, dead soil. It is new babes being born; young, immature, impulsive & filled with endless energy! Notice how all the trees that were black during Aquarius season have turned bright red & mustard yellow now. The hibernating predators wake up & we hear the screeching of their prey as they lose that fight AND as they make it possible for another to win. The air is raw as it dries out from the returning heat.

Taurus is the calm breath of spring when we know we’re gonna survive because the plants are now sprouting & flowering. The frozen waters are trickling again & the Sun is warming our bones, calling us to look around for snacks. We hear many new sounds as the water flow is louder & some animals are starting to make their babies now. The energy is frisky. We can sow into the softening Earth & plant new seeds in the fertile ground that’s now thawed & ready to receive. The air is musty & damn as the Earth releases its frozen reserves back into the cycle. Spring rains are fat & juicy, bringing much needed nutrients to the sprouting beings. Everything turns pastel shades as the plants shoot out the first flowers & fruits.

Gemini is the brightest part of spring when we prepare for the first fruits to ripen. We notice new berries are all around. The birds & bees are buzzing, our ideas are pinging & our hands are busy making ready for Summer to arrive. Flowering plants explode & we see color pops, dots & flashes everywhere. The air is crisp & crackling with electricity. We’re learning new things & coming together to socialize in the warming weather & sparkly sunshine. We all wear our brightest blue, silver & neon colors. Stark patterns & funny slogans pop up everywhere, attracting others to communicate with us.

Cancer is the ingress of Summer’s luscious nutrients. We’ve harvested the first round of veggies and early seedlings. We’re able to make delicious soups & teas from our Spring farming efforts. We come together with family & the animal's migratory journeys to their feeding & birthing grounds begin. Those babes made in early Spring are born & we’re all focused on raising our young. The rain returns; deep blue, green & foamy- it surrounds us but is then slurped up quickly by the plants & animals as the warm sun returns to dry it up & send it back into the water cycle. We need the new water for drenching our seedlings which are now promising a big harvest very soon. The light is bright & we see the Sun more as daylight stretches out to be longer than the dark once again.

Leo is the height of Summer when we celebrate the Sun’s golden gifts. The planets have reached their glorious peak; their petals are bright & beautiful. Everything turns gold & shiny in the high Sunlight & long days. Animals are showing off, prancing & dancing. We’re starting to harvest more food so feasts & rituals focus on the glory of our kingdoms. The sunlight kisses skin & fur while we all enjoy the ease of being predators surrounded by abundance & food, glorious, food! The world is loud & gregarious as all the animals are rejoicing in the bounties. The air smells sweet, warm with the fragrance of berries, flowers & fruit.

Virgo blows in a subtle chill reminding us that we need to prepare for Winter. It sends a cool, dry scent across the air; cut grass & smoke of a (hopefully) distant forest fire. This energy is requiring we preserve the overabundance of food we’ve gathered. How do we count, analyze & take stock of what we have & what we need to stay healthy during the darker days ahead? The Sun begins to lower its arch, the berries & Summer plants are finishing their cycles; showing us that we are all mortal. Animals begin to store food & digest as much as they can to build up fat for the winter. The plants of Autumn are ready to harvest and we begin to store grains & seeds.

Libra asks us to come together to plan for our collective survival. It reminds us how much we need each other as the plants begin to die off & the animals we've hunted all Summer hideaway with their friends in dens & caves. The birds are frantically collecting food & materials to build nests for their families. We celebrate the disappearance of the light & we honor our traditions together. The light sparkles rose gold & copper as it fades away- the light & dark hours of the day are balanced again. Every being is called to reflect back on the joys of Spring & Summer while knowing that we must face Autumn & Winter now.

Scorpio brings us back to the Underworld as we see all the spent life dissolve away. It arrives to remind us that we need to compost the death all around us or we won't have that fertile soil when the Spring returns. We honor death as an important part of the cycle we all belong to. The veil gets thin & our Ancestors call to us to remember them. We look for the nutrients that might still be hidden as mushrooms pop up & gourds are ready to be harvested- gifts from the cycle. We collect & examine this last round of food items. We pickle, ferment & brew the medicines we need to get thru the dark times. Everything is still in a range of colors like eggplant, pumpkin & scarlet. When the rains come they are heavy & emotional; we are asked to embrace grief as Summer leaves completely & Autumn is fully here.

Sagittarius arrives to flash the last sparks of life's true meaning at us. Why do we exist? Why does the cycle have to have a dark side? We're reminded that our minds are why we’ve evolved but it also asks us to embrace the cycle without fear or resistance. The great adventure IS the cycle & we should celebrate that. We light the bonfires that breakdown the dead plants & the old traditions are lit up when the hearth fires are brought inside to keep us warm. We head inside & so do many of the animals. The world gets quiet & introspective as the plants shift all their energy to their roots. The world turns dark brown, deep red & purple as it breaks down but when it's dark more often that means we see the stars more, reminding us we are stardust & magic.

Capricorn shows up for work & we learn how tough we are as we enter Winter officially. The air turns harshly dry AND cold. Permafrost forms, lakes freeze over, & we must work harder to survive. Animals either hibernate or reduce their activities so much we hardly see them. We must come together to lean on each other so Capricorn creates strict rules about how much each person or animal can have in order to climb the proverbial mountain of this part of the cycle. The world is grey, dark brown & navy blue, punctuating the harshness of the season. Cap's gift is to bring back the light reminding us we CAN get thru these dark times. We gather with our peeps to celebrate the return of the light & sometimes we are harsh to others if they may threaten the survival of our own babes.

Aquarius brings in the opportunities to innovate the systems that Capricorn put in place. Aquarius energy invites us to problem-solve for what comes up when we just don’t have enough Sun or heat around us. It reminds us that we can’t get too attached to just our own peeps but that everyone in the entire collective matters. Aquarius brings hope & a renewed interest in what makes us different from animals; our weirdness AND our abilities to help each other. The sky turns stark white with bright blue breaks in the clouds. All the trees & plants are stark & black, making interesting patterns all around us. This is when we are called to make plans for how we can all making it thru this last gauntlet of Winter. Our food stores & supplies are dwindling but Aquarius loves a chance to use its creative mind to solve these problems.

Pisces brings back the rain. It's complex rain because it either washes away the last hope of survival or it feeds the hope that we will indeed survive again. Pisces knows that not everything will wake up. It brings the comfort & kindness we need to accept & surrender to whatever will be. It creates a path to the end of this cycle that's filled with sparkly Sunlight on mud puddles. Pisces brings in the misty clouds of the Ancestors & so many rainbows so we can embrace the process of life with unique joy in our hearts. We may not survive but Pisces reminds us that something else is waiting for us even if we don't. These rains wake up the dreaming energy & softens the ground for the return of Aries’ fire that will push up the sprouts & activate the buds anew.

And the cycle begins again.

The Seasons in the Natal Chart. The chart is divided into four quadrants or quarters. These correspond to the seasons too. This can be looked at from where Aries is in your chart thru to Pisces. It can also be divided by the houses alone. The house division shows that the first -third houses are a person's springtime. Their fourth-sixth is their summertime and so on. How you use this information is up to you but it's curious and helpful to see how these things relate to each other. 

The Wheel of the Year is connected to many of the Pagan traditions but we see how these Pagan holidays have become (or were stolen by) Christian traditions. Taking time to study these seasonal rituals quickly gives you insight into the Astrological seasons too. Many other cultures of seasonal traditions. Studying the ancient traditions of the different hemispheres as well as the different latitudes & longitudes is fascinating. Even though there are vastly different climates in different parts of Earth, much of the ecological responses & cycles are similar.

Where are your ancestors from and what seasonal traditions do they celebrate or honor? Are your family traditions rooted in the seasons or have you never considered the why's of those rituals before? Take some time to look at the celebrations & cycles in your life. Notice if they correspond to the Astrological Seasons or not. Perhaps you'll find some new traditions to incorporate into your Astrological and Magical Practices. Please feel free to share your experiences in the Activity Feed if you'd like.