The Last Few Moments Before…

Have you noticed how the final few moments before an event contain that poignant feeling of anticipation and tension?

• You are five and your parents are tucking you in on Christmas Eve.
• You are primping in front of the mirror before your handsome prom date arrives.
• You are packing the car with your son’s belonging before driving him to his first year of college.
• You are retying, one last time, the bow tie of your tux before your daughter gets married.

The moment before is a moment we don’t easily forget. It feels like time stops…for just a few seconds…before it speeds up significantly.

To me, that is what the Ascendant feels like. It represents the eastern horizon when someone is born or something occurs. It is likened to the first ray of sunshine that sneaks over the horizon.

One thing about Astrology I haven’t quite figured out is the apparent reversal at the Ascendant. The 12^th house is above the horizon while the 1^st house is below it. It intuitively feels like it should be the other way around. The 12^th house is all things unseen. It feels like the time before dawn, not just after it.

But then again, transits move counter-clockwise, so they creep through the 12^th house and than “rise” into the first. So that part is just as one would expect.

All of this is on my mind because I have been researching a set of charts for a client reading. The young person I am reading for has “activity” approaching the horizon. I can feel the weight of it.

Then, just this morning, it occurs to me that we collectively are in that same spot. As I write this we are on the verge of the final degree of the zodiac. Today is the last full day of Pisces. Four minutes before noon (CDT) tomorrow, we’ll start Spring in the Northern Hemisphere. This marks the beginning of the Zodiacal year.

Tension…and anticipation. I feel it strongly this year…mostly because of my own life situation.

This past week, I’ve really noticed the movement of the sun along the horizon sunrise to sunrise. The light is much further north and moving at its fastest clip. The transition from winter light to summer light happens so quickly each year.

Moments when time slows down are significant. They are meant to catch our attention. Maybe if we didn’t live such fast lives, the contrast wouldn’t be so great. But for now, they are.

Enjoy this final moment before the new Astrological year begins.

For my Austin friends, if you’re up for something a little different to start Spring, you might want to check out Author and Astrologer:

Gahl Sasson

(His website is called Cosmic Navigator.) He’ll be giving presentations Friday through Sunday, March 21^st-23^rd at Nature’s Treasures. [They might still have a copy or two of my book…hint, hint!] He’s also offering private Astrology readings from March 21^st-25^th. You can find details on The Austin Alchemist here.

I have not experienced a reading from Gahl first hand, but I get a good feeling from him intuitively.

Happy Spring (or Happy Autumn if you’re down under) and best wishes!