The Space Between Aries and Taurus
In high school calculus I learned a concept that would stick with me forever: if you travel from one point to another by dividing the distance between them exactly in half, over and over again, you will never reach the point opposite from starting. Calculus’ solution? Introduce the concept of infinity and, only by dividing the distance an infinite amount of times, can we even get a representation of the point we are trying to reach.* Close enough for horseshoes and hand grenades, eh?
True confessions: I signed up for a course on Vedic astrology on top of my serious Hellenistic astrology studies, because my little curious mind cannot help itself. My brain takes a sick pleasure in learning contradictory frameworks in tandem and so I’ve been spending time toggling between Sidereal (the zodiac used in Vedic astrology) and Tropical. Sidereal is almost a full zodiac sign behind Tropical– I’m a Gemini sun in Sidereal (believe me that I actually lost sleep over this revelation that I’m not considered a Cancerian in all places and times). There are convincing reasons to use both zodiacs and I doubt I’ll ever pick one (hard non-binary flex over here), but where does that leave me when I am actually trying to discern something concrete about the current state of things?
Well, maybe the lesson, like in calculus, is that there is never actually anything absolutely concrete about astrology, but that the revelations are in the attempts to infinitely zoom in on something. Maybe this is one piece of the spirituality of mathematics, that attempting to know the unknowable or name the unnameable is something we also practice with God, the language of the stars, and other forms of mysticism.
When switching from Sidereal to Tropical and then back again, because these zodiacs are about a sign apart, I started zooming in on the transitions between signs. On that interstitial space some call cusp. That imperceptible moment where one thing ends and another thing begins. The point exists conceptually, but is infinitesimally small. Could that clue us in to a spiritual practice of the zodiac? What if we looked at the fascia of the signs, the connective tissues, in addition to the easily identified, measured, and seen bones of the zodiacal skeleton?
For this season, we transition from Aries to Taurus. I think of when I go running and hit the mile marker on the track, or feel my body whisper that it’s time to cool down. There’s a transition from hot and fast and dry to cool and damp and slow. But how I pay attention to that transition matters. I walk a few laps, so that my muscles don’t freeze or cramp when I get in the car to drive home. I take little sips of water to ease my belly into softening for more. I intentionally slow my breathing to help my heart rate slow down. In this cool down phase, I’m neither running nor completely done with running. This is my image for the space between** Aries and Taurus, the movement from one to another. What’s your metaphor? There are untold images to use.
Here’s our moment for spiritual care: where in your life have things been hot, fast, and dry that need a little space to come down? What cool, damp, and slow practices are calling to you? What do you recognize will happen if you don’t tend properly to the middle space of these states? In ritual theory, rituals mark the transition of one state of being to another. So what ritual can you do to help mark the transitions of your life at this time?
If you spend time with these questions, congratulations, you are also doing some preparation for our first eclipse season of 2022! On April 30, we will have a solar eclipse in Taurus. On May 16, we have a lunar eclipse in Scorpio. I have created a little worksheet to support you in identifying emergent themes in your natal chart and help you in creating affirmations. It’s a useful little practice for any level of astrologer. On Sunday, April 24, I’ll be holding a little informal eclipse time, where I welcome you to drop in, ask questions, and learn a bit about eclipses. For brave souls, we can pull up your chart and take a look at what’s going on.
*not an actual mathematician
**cue Dave Matthews