On January 19th, the Sun will move out of Capricorn and move into it’s month long transit through Aquarius. While this is happening, the Sun and Pluto will be conjunct to one another. Believe it or not, that’s a big deal since Pluto started its own 20-year transit through Aquarius. On one hand, Pluto will be showing us the underbelly of social issues and innovations while the Sun asks us to complete a cycle of finding our own inner rebel and innovator. Read more about the Pluto transit here: Pluto in Aquarius…The Next 20 Year Trend.
This Aquarius season also has a little more flavor to it this time around due to the Mars Retrograde in Cancer. The universe is asking for a lot right now. On one hand, we are to see our light and dark aspects not only of ourselves but society as a whole. We all have a choice as to whether we are ready to take responsibility for our part in things while holding others accountable for their actions. However, through all of this the Universe is asking us to remain emotionally intelligent while Mars comes through to battle test our lives. If we aren’t standing on strong foundations, we may find what we’ve built will come down.
Let’s look to the cards to better understand this month long transit…
The Sun Tarot card as our teacher: What the Sun will teach us during this transit
In Tarot, the celestial Sun is associated with non-other than The Sun tarot card. Surprisingly, this is actually a pretty controversial card. Half of the Tarot community that uses numerology interprets this based off traditional numerology. For those, they would see this as being a 1 in numerology (19 = 1 + 9 = 10 = 1 + 0 = 1). The other half uses what we call Tarot Numerology, making this card a 10 (19 = 1 + 9 = 10). This is important, because traditional numerology sees this as new beginnings. However, Tarot numerology sees this as not only a new cycle but one where the person or situation has changed.
Personally, I belong to the second group. When The Sun card appears in a reading, it means that there is a new beginning or cycle taking place, but also that the person is different from when they completed the last cycle. The energy has changed, so they are learning something new while having their own new and different perspective. During this transit, The Sun is asking us to start and complete this new cycle.
This is a great time to talk about free will and fate. Fate doesn’t dictate that your life is completely written out in detail with no room for decisions to be made out of your own free will. What fate means is that there are certain situations or experiences that are written in the stars to happen. For instance, if you are on a trip where you are fated to come to a fork in the road, it wouldn’t matter which route you take on your trip. You are still going to find yourself coming to a fork in the road. Where free will comes in is that you have a choice as to how you will handle the fork in the road. It’s like one of those story books where you are given choices and your choice dictates the next page you go to so the story can continue. Our lives are not written in stone and we are each responsible for the story we write.
The Star as our lesson: What lesson Aquarius will teach us during this transit
Astrologically, Aquarius is the sign of innovation and social awareness. It makes complete sense that Aquarius would be associated with The Star. The Star is about dissolution of the old so something new can be created. This card also reminds us that we are all connected in the universe, so whatever we create won’t just affect us…but it will affect everyone. We are asked to remember to think not only of ourselves but also of others when the new innovations are created.
With Pluto also in the early degrees of Aquarius, we are in the process of seeing both the underbelly of society as whole…as well as individual selves. Pluto represents the Underworld and acknowledging both our shadow and light aspects of ourselves. When Pluto is in Aquarius, social issues are front and center. Remember, not everyone will come out of these transits for the better. Free will gives everyone the choice as to how they want to handle what is being shown to them. Will they deny their shadow sides because their fragile egos can’t handle having to admit their pitfalls? Will they embark on a journey where they accept their light and shadow aspects so they can integrate their shadow selves back into themselves and help create a society better for all?
There is a reason why it may seem like some people are destined to relive the same situations or life experiences over and over again. The Sun transiting Aquarius only happens once a year. When we refuse to answer the call of the Universe, we may find ourselves tumbling down a path that takes forever to get off again. The world may seem like a scary place for a bit, but be brave and embark on the journeys you are being called to take. The work we put in now will pay of in spades as time goes on…whether it feels like it or not right now.
This will make more sense as we get into the themes for the Sun in Aquarius transit.
The themes for the Sun in Aquarius transit…aka the Five of Swords, Six of Swords, and Seven of Swords
Not only does each sign have their own overarching themes, but there are sub-themes. Each sign has 30 degrees, and every 10 degrees has its own Lord or ruler. These sub-themes tie in with the overall theme, but focus on the energies and journeys we are experiencing. Each set of 10 degrees is called a decan. For Aquarius, the 1st decan (January 19th – January 28th) is ruled by the Five of Swords. The 2nd decan (January 29th – February 7th) is ruled by the Six of Swords. The final 3rd decan (February 8th – February 17th) is ruled by the Seven of Swords.
First decan of Aquarius…aka the Five of Swords
Before we delve into this card’s meaning, I have to note that I really went back and forth on whether or not to include the card’s image in this post. However, Tarot is Tarot and I decided to include the image as it really nails the theme for this first part of the transit.
Back in the late 1880’s, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (who is originally credited with astrologically assigning theme names) called this card the Lord of Defeat. However, I’ve come to know this card as the Lord of Destabilization & Revolution. When this card appears, it means that there is a loss mentally of knowing who we are. What we thought we knew about ourselves didn’t even scratch the surface and there is an event in life that brings that facade crashing down. We are then left with this internal revolution where we must rebuild ourselves in the image of how we want the world to see us. With the current Mars Retrograde, it’s important to be brutally honest about the image and work we put into the rebuilding of ourselves. If we don’t have strong foundations, all the work will come tumbling down before this transit is done.
Second decan of Aquarius…aka the Six of Swords
In the world of spirituality, there is a saying that seems to have been forgotten, “Something given for something gained”. That is the epitome of this card. Originally named the Lord of Earned Success by Golden Dawn, I’ve renamed this card to the Lord of Willing Sacrifice & Earned Success. The Six of Swords is about an exchange of energy, where we willingly give something so that we can in return earn something else.
When the Sun enters the 2nd decan of Aquarius, we will find ourselves in situations where we must choose what we are willing to sacrifice in order to gain success somewhere else. Whatever we give, we will receive something equally back. Or in laymen’s terms – you’re only going to earn what you put in. You want to put in the work, stay dedicated, and push past any barriers? You’ll be rewarded with the same amount of energy you gave.
Third decan of Aquarius…aka the Seven of Swords
Here is another one of those controversial cards. Half the Tarot community would say this card represents a spy or deceitful person. The other half would say this is a warning to remember you are walking through treacherous shadows, if you stay alert you’ll be fine. Originally named as the Lord of Unstable Effort by the Golden Dawn, I’ve renamed this card as the Lord of Shadows & Risks.
During the time that the Sun enters the 3rd decan of Aquarius, we will be emerging as our freshly new images that we are building to show the world. Since we are in such a new phase of building this image – we’re still working in the shadows. We can still be our own worst enemies, find our own ways to self-sabotage ourselves. It’s risky to work in the shadows – who knows what monster we can find lurking in the back of our mind we don’t want to acknowledge. By building the image of who you want the world to know you as, now is your chance to make sure you are building this image on a strong foundation to come out of the shadows.
As we work through the different decans of Aquarius, we look to the energies that we should try to embody.
The Energies to Embody…aka the King of Swords and the Knight of Cups
The energies to embody don’t work the same as the decans do – all staying within the same sign. The energies to embody start in the last decan of the previous sign and the first two decans of the upcoming sign. The King of Swords rules over the third decan of Capricorn, as well as the first and second decans of Aquarius. The Knight of Cups rules over the third decan of Aquarius, as well as the first and second decans of Pisces.
The King of Swords: Our call to rule our minds
Kings have earned the right to be called a ruler in Tarot because they’ve taken the necessary journey to understand their own minds (energy of a Knight), and mastered their minds (energy of a Queen). Our goal during the first two decans of Aquarius is to rule our mind, not out of malice or fear so that our own mind becomes a prison. Instead, we should rule our mind with strength and compassion so that our bodies and minds can work in unison for what’s the best for us. Simply mastering our minds are not enough, we must rule what we’ve mastered in way that matches the image we want to present.
The Knight of Cups: Our quest to understand our emotions
Knights go on quests and journeys to complete some task given to us. When the Knight of Cups appears, our quest is to better understand our emotions and how they’ve affected us. It makes sense that the Knight of Cups would follow the King of Swords. Once we’ve started to rule our minds in a way that matches the image we want to present, we now need to understand our emotions so we don’t fall back into old habits. The Knight of Cups reminds us that in order to be whole, we must understand ourselves on an emotional level. Logic isn’t the only thing that determines the decisions we make.
Final thoughts on the Sun in Aquarius transit
Free will is a big part of Aquarius, as anyone with strong Aquarius placements will tell you they have to walk to the beat of their own drum whether they like it or not. It’s like some force outside of them wouldn’t let them follow the pack even if they tried with all their might. During this transit, we have free will as well. We get to decide if we want to even take the journey ahead of us. We can choose to completely ignore the call of the universe and continue without a care in the world. However, those that choose not to take these journeys of self-discovery run the risk of repeating the same life experience and situations over and over again. We cannot progress forward without putting in the necessary work.
