Valentines & Lanterns Under the Light of Aquarius
This is the week for Valentines and lanterns under a full moon. Monday, February 14 is Valentine’s Day– a day of hearts, flowers, cupids and chocolates. This year, Valentine’s Day falls under an ardent Leo moon – for Leos, love is always at the heart of the matter. Disciples know that “love underlies all people, events and happenings of our times.” Love requires a piece of our heart given to another.
Valentine’s Day occurs in the midst of winter. It rekindles a yearly promise and hope that new life and vitality (spring) will soon appear. Offering flowers to loved ones, gracing tables with buds, blossoms and blooms seals this promise. Mercury enters Aquarius on Valentine’s Day. We sense a love for humanity, wanting to unite everyone through cooperative and shared ideas and principles. The Aquarian Principles and Laws, actually.
Tuesday and Wednesday, with scarlet lights, dragon dances and lanterns released into the sky, are the last days of the Chinese New Year 16-day festivities. The festival culminates with the Lantern Festival. Always occurring at the full moon (Aquarius solar festival, Wednesday, February 16), the lantern festival seeks a restoration of friendly relations, peace, and most of all forgiveness. Some believe the Chinese Lantern Festival is actually Chinese Valentine’s Day. In the Tang dynasty, the Lantern Festival lasted three days. Lighting the lantern symbolizes illuminating the future, invoking goodwill and good fortune.
The Lantern Festival is from the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 25). Children walked together in the night visiting holy temples. They carried paper lanterns and solved riddles written on the lanterns. Lanterns today have many complex designs and are often red in color for prosperity and good fortune. People release lanterns on water and into the sky symbolizing liberation from the past and an embracing of the future, two very Aquarian concepts.
We make lanterns to lighten up the dark of our present times in this Kali Yuga. Making lanterns for the lantern festival. artofhomeschooling.com/make-lanterns-lantern-festival/
ARIES: All the ties that bind you to others become activated. You discover which are vital and real and which are not. You seek a harmonious integration with everyone, a change for you. You will eventually integrate those you have rejected. Without this integration you will feel out of harmony. This integration is a good challenge for you. Accepting it would be like a miracle, shiny, beautiful and bright. Like you like it.
TAURUS: You have sensed for years that a new phase of life is gradually coming into the world. Bringing forth a cleansing, healing and a fixing of what has been broken. This cleansing has just begun. You always show people a deeper perspective. You know our true history and know we need to cooperate in order to form the new Aquarian communities. You know we have to give something up so a greater intimacy can develop. You understand all of this and all the mysteries of the stars.
GEMINI: Saturn is the teacher for the Earth and Saturn is especially your teacher these days of transition. Helping you bring forth new concepts and philosophies, research into and understanding various religious ideas, all to be used creatively in your work. You are to expand limited small minds into large spacious minds. So they can know the truth of the kingdom (Earth) and all of its geometric beauty. You are to use your loving and intelligent mind to serve and educate others.
CANCER: Amidst all your nourishing and nurturing others, you might recognize that you also contain much of the Capricorn ways of being – hard work and responsibilities, ambition, achievement and success. Let’s talk about foundations here. Everyone needs a firm foundation. Love is that foundation. At the heart of your nourishing and nurturing, place love there. Sometimes Cancers hide under their shell trying not to be seen. But we know you’re there. Hiding for protection, which is sensible at times.
LEO: All Leos will become even more aware of themselves, which may be hard to believe. But, as the Aquarian era unfolds, Leos must assess and further cultivate their gifts, talents, abilities, and refine thoughts, actions and communications. Impatience is not a choice. Learn to adapt. Everything is a lesson. This is an important time of learning, and many feel restrained. Later you will see new opportunities, possibilities and perspectives unfolding along with a new level of strength, inspiration and confidence. In the meantime, be kind, learn to share, and come from the heart, always.
VIRGO: Old identities, events, people, previous beliefs and ways of being now have a level of understanding. Swift moving clouds clean and clear everything previously hindering you away. Should sadness occur, take the homeopath Ignatia Amara. It helps to calm and soothe sadness and heals grief embedded in the body’s cells. Rock Rose, the Bach Flower Remedy is also useful. New values begin to emerge as the old drifts away. You are a vital part of organizing all that will come to pass.
LIBRA: Creativity, love affairs, romance, fun, games, playing with money and art, and things that call for risk taking are on your mind. All creative self-expressions are being projected into the world. You love to be seen. When in need you easily ask for help. Emotional comfort comes from a new creative effort. Thoughts are of children, perhaps a new baby, a pet, a bird (tweet tweet). All your gifts and talents have a definite link to your childhood and your past. You realize this with gratitude.
SCORPIO: You think about all aspects of home – living in a home, changing it, maybe moving. Perhaps you seek (need) a long vacation, exploring how to create a home elsewhere. For a time, redecorating, reconstruction or remodeling will be needed. You wonder what a true home means. You will seek deeper foundations and a greater balance between home and work. One’s biology, genealogy, early family life and childhood memories become companions. Nurture yourself and others more. Build a spiritual home.
SAGITTARIUS: Always in search of new knowledge, seeking new roads and highways, usually the professor, over time developing mental telepathy, unfolding deep intelligence, entering a new study, you assess the state of the world and ask how Lady Justice remains blinded. You always assess what’s truth and untruth. Is it real or unreal? Your life is a Rainbow Bridge, a pilgrimage of deep thought. You will need to create a new level of education for humanity. The old has disappeared.
CAPRICORN: As you give and give, you realize you would like to be given to. You are secure within your own self, your strong armor, sturdy shoes, that ladder you climb, your ambition and success – all protect you. New values have arisen, new code of ethics, new responsibilities, new tasks. You contemplate right and wrong, good and bad. You always stand with tradition and the law. You are respected as a spiritual resource with strong morals and values. Your life is shaped by these qualities. You remember someone.
AQUARIUS: Aquarians are often a bit detached and seen as somewhat cold. We know the truth. They are always in a state of observation. As everyone’s rising sign becomes Aquarius, as the new era of Aquarius unfolds, the water bearers may exhibit their emotions and sensitivities more freely. As everything in our world changes to meet the new era, all Aquarians are changing, too. The Soul quietly begins to speak with you about the purpose and plan for the life of every Aquarian. Be still each day and listen for direction. Then find a garden of peacocks.
PISCES: You are able to turn inward, employ empathy and compassion and deep listening when needed. Others may come to you, attracted to your silence, asking for help. Always remain in a state of poise, kindness and goodwill. Allow nothing to hinder the still small voice of the intuition and the Soul attempting to communicate with you. Tend to your health with the greatest care. Stand in the morning and evening sunlight. Talk with the devas.
Risa – writer, educator, teacher, psychological-spiritual counselor, mentor, astrologer & esotericist. Founder & Director of The Esoteric & Astrological Studies & Research Institute/College, a contemporary Wisdom School for the Ageless Wisdom teachings. The foundations of the Teachings are the study & application of exoteric & esoteric Astrology, the Seven Rays & Raja Yoga meditation. risagoodwill@gmail.com, www.nightlightnews.org
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Recognition of the unique value of every living being expresses itself in reverence for life, compassion for all, sympathy with the need of all individuals to find truth for themselves, and respect for all religious traditions. – The Esoteric & Theosophical Worldview