The Sun enters Aquarius on 20 January.
Aquarius can be a time of sudden changes and contrasts, encompassing strident peaks of rebelliousness, revolution and inventiveness, as well as sheer simplicity, nudity, stillness and silence.
The Aquarian cycle of the year is superlative for releasing whatever keeps us unconscious and separated, promoting alert awareness and questioning anything we take for granted regarding what we see or do.
For example, if we now look at the objects or people in our room, and whatever or whoever seems known and familiar, do we truly see them, or are we just projecting past experiences and ideas on them?
What do we know about them apart from what we learned in the past?
Are they, then, truly familiar?
Do we really see and know them?
Acknowledging that this is not the case, far from being a put down, is the first giant stride on the way of healing and true forgiveness.
Now we can choose to lay aside our judgments, be still with our mind, genuinely opening our eyes and ears, learning to listen to and see. And when we are willing to do so, this is the gateway to miracles.
Our human perception is based on a past rooted in separation, a sense of isolation, deprivation and lack, which is projected upon everything and everyone.
This keeps us in a state of ongoing captivity, which rules as the only possible reality, until we decide to question it and work relentlessly, yet gladly, in order to regain our original freedom.
The first step in this process is purification, forgiveness, letting go of all tarnished conjectures that clutter our mind, yet without rushing to replace them with other ideas and then fill our consciousness with further muddle.
“Miracles are everyone’s right, but purification is necessary first.” (ACIM, T1.1:7)
The Aquarian challenge is to dwell in the stillness that comes after true forgiveness, the silent nakedness of the void, the glittery transparency of the soul, superbly depicted by the Star in the tarot cards (click here for our article of the Star).
It is about stripping off, undressing and standing entirely nude, in the Tepidarium of the soul, accepting to deeply cleanse all parts of our being.
Aquarius is the profound immobility that follows the fury of a devastating tempest in the night, when darkness is still all-pervading. Yet, although fright appears to reign supreme, an innocent silence emerges, furtively sliding the gateway of liberation and redemption. And, in this silence, all nightmares and terror vanish, giving way to the sole unreserved presence of the Beloved.
Aquarius is also the seasonal time of Carnival, which this year officially takes place from 8 to 13 February (Mardi Gras), although it is basically celebrated throughout the whole Aquarius month.
The Carnival was originally an initiatory celebration into the mystery of the multidimensional realms and parallel universes. Duplicate of ourselves or entities from other worlds or times could slide into our earth and human beings could also shapeshift and take on other identities. Despite the separation from other dimensions, which occurred in later times, this awareness is still preserved by the custom of wearing masks and costumes at Carnival.
Carnival is the longest non-ordinary holiday period of the year formally aimed at allowing expression of the multidimensional. During this time the consensus social order is exceptionally and provisionally suspended, giving legitimate space to elements belonging to alternative configurations.
Aquarius is indeed about alternative configurations, whatever provides freedom from the stagnation of consensus reality, often outrageously, yet with deep inner purity and authenticity.
French filmmaker, François Truffaut, with Sun and Moon in Aquarius (New Moon in Aquarius), in as exemplification of the Aquarian spirit. Click here for a clip from the movie Jules et Jim, starring Jean Moreau, also with Sun and Moon in Aquarius. Hence, if alternatives are not your cup of tea, stay away from Aquarius (click here from Truffaut’s The Man Who Loved Women).
Franco Santoro