The Horse year wound down dreamily, with profound emotional processing. Here in Western North Carolina and many places on the East Coast we were even blessed with a dose of winter weather hibernation as the Horse’s final moon waned to a close. Our energy has been low. We’ve been needing to recoup. To break up the routine – to have no routine. To lay in bed all day, ignore our projects, and exist in a state of receptivity, of rest, and of feeling. We feel it acutely: Something old is passing away, while a new dream emerges from the deep. This, as I expressed in last month’s New Moon post, is what I see as the predominant overarching theme in this upcoming Lunar Year of the Sheep. The Horse helped us set things in motion, now it is the Sheep’s job to begin the assimilation process – unburdening our closet of old selves, while gently nurturing the seed of the future. Just think of the shearing of a sheep’s wool – the extra stuff comes off, and with some work and cultivation, we fashion this wool into sweaters, coats, and scarves that continue to keep us warm for years to come. This opening moon of the Lunar New Year is like the shearing process. We feel a bit weak, sensitive and vulnerable. We’ve had a heck of a time recently – and we’re ready for a bit of peace. Most importantly, we are in a place where whatever it was that has been giving us difficulty has showed itself to be not worth hanging on to. So even if we were holding on, hesitating, and struggling – it seems somehow easier to let go of burdensome attitudes and situations right now than it did a year ago when many of these things were initially spun into crisis. Mainly, we’re just TIRED and feeling ready to move on. Whatever it was that caused all of the problems just can’t possibly be that important. Why waste precious energy on that old story, when there are plenty of new ones just waiting to be written? You know, next week, when the Aries energy starts and we’re ready to get off the couch.
An interesting point came up yesterday in a meeting with fellow intuitives that I think is relevant here. It is the idea that sometimes, the way to be free of disturbing energies is as simple as dissolving or dispersing those disturbing energies. Without needing to analyze, interpret – know how, know why – simply sweep away the debris. This, I feel, is what is happening – after the Horse opened us up, and galloped through our lives with a force, we are left behind with a mess. The ride was so strong, and so fast, that it seemed we might want to write some things down, or remember it, or memorialize something… but when it comes right down to it, the best thing to do is to grab the trash bag and push every broken chard of life directly into it. Right now, we don’t have time to waste playing “What to keep, what not to keep.” Trust that anything that came up during the 2014 Cosmic Shake Down belongs in the “What not to keep” section and be done with it. Because, remember, we are still feeling that new thing on the horizon. That important, big, creative dream – our personal, unique, individual contribution to humanity. And we can’t let any of that old junk get in the way. That’s why it came up to begin with – because our job right now is to get clear, to be clear, and remove as quickly as possible, as deeply as possible, any and all impediments that interfere with the expression of our true self. Really chew on that one for a while – OUR JOB, Right now, is to see ourselves through the eyes of our UNIQUE perspective, gift, and calling … and let go of any and all psychological, emotional, and subconscious obstructions that keep us off course.
That brings me to the other theme I see powerfully presented in this Lunar New Year chart – and that is the sense that this a year for building new foundations. The interesting thing about these new foundations is that from all angles the element of deep release and divine surrender is also embedded within whatever it is we are planning to manifest. In other words, what I am perceiving from these energies is that what we are driven to manifest must powerfully align with our spiritual ideals and our hopes for the greater good – and, we must proceed with this work through the heart of service. Our ego involvement is not helpful in this situation, and so we are really grappling to connect more deeply and more authentically to bring forth what our heart is calling out for. We must see our creation as a container for something much greater than our small selves, and use this time to gather, test, and play with the many new ideas and visions we have been receiving. Having the willingness to surrender those bad habits that pit us against these higher goals helps us make progress faster, live a more balanced & healthy life, and fall in line with the divine direction more effortlessly.
I think this year it would be wise to avoid certain pitfalls that I see with these energies. Primarily, with the Sheep personality and the aspects in this chart, there can be a tendency to overthink, worry, or be fearful and obsessive. Getting in touch with earthy, grounded activities can be helpful this year as we are basically in a time where the small day-to-day tasks and routines are being laid out. For any void that might be left by the events of last year, we want to incorporate positive new habits and find a sense of steadiness. It is important, also, to cultivate a sense of safety and rootedness. This will help disperse some of the paranoia and subconscious emotional churning that is going to start working us big time these coming years. The sense of physical insecurity and instability of recent years, I feel, will start to ease off and we are entering a phase that will be more intense from a psychological and emotional perspective – so this is a time to really use the information we received in the past several years about what makes a good foundation and build upon it. A good foundation is one that has plenty of room for growth, expansion, and freedom, while also being a place one can return to when feeling lost, confused, or distressed.
Relationships are also a theme this year. Relationships will be a great source of inspiration, of pain, and also of reflection. This can be an area where we need to really shift perspective, or shed some people/things in order to be more authentic and stand in our truth. We feel VERY sensitive to others, and receptive to their energy at many levels. This sensitivity might also bring out the Ram within the Sheep – the more aggressive side of the Sheep that can emerge when his buttons have been pressed just a teensy bit too much! We might find ourselves occasionally defaulting on Independence At All Costs and relationships can quickly devolve into a war of rivaling forces – but compromise and cooperation are called for. Take some time to get clear about your own role and your own feelings before attempting to navigate these shifty waters with the other person. This will aid in smoother sailing for all involved.
I really see the year ahead as a year of visioning for our future, and tying up some loose ends and projects – emotional, karmic, and otherwise – from the last several years to be put away for good as we move into the more active phase of creative problem solving and restructuring that we’ll start to encounter toward the year’s end. I sense, overall, that this Sheep will be a more peaceful creature to contend with than the past year’s hyperactive Horse, and look forward to the calm progress that I think we’ll all feel is welcome now. Artistic, gentle, spiritual, and easy is the Sheep. This is the way we want to work our lives in 2015.