Year of the Water Dragon: Thunder EnLightening

We're in the midst of a pretty incredible ride: it's 2012, a Leap Year, an election year, we're OccupyingEverything, and now we're about to enter the Chinese Year of the Water Dragon, on the New Moon in Aquarius.

The dragon is a formidable, flamboyant, magical creature, calling us to enter the alchemical fire. According to astrologer Stephanie Austin, "Of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, the dragon is the only mythological creature, setting it apart from ordinary reality. On a spiritual level, dragons symbolize kundalini, the cosmic or 'serpent' energy coiled at the base of the spine, which leads to unity consciousness. That the Chinese Year of the Dragon occurs in 2012, a year considered by the Mayans, Hopis, and many others to offer the potential for a huge leap in consciousness, further emphasizes the evolutionary nature of this year."

And since this year is a Water Dragon, it's also about balance: fire and water. I just learned from a Twitter connection that "a fulgerite is fossilized lightning. It forms when a powerful lightning bolt melts the soil into a glass-like state." So 2012 might be described as a Water Dragon fulgerite year: enLightening melting what's soiled, watering our individual and collective Soul with awareness and possibility.

In fact, Water Dragon Inc. confirms, "Most people know that water covers two-thirds of our planet and comprises 95% of our bodies; we simply cannot live without it. In Chinese element theory, water produces wood, which signifies growth and is the natural element of the dragon. The dragon governs east/southeast, wealth accumulation and the hours of 7 a.m. - 9 a.m. Associated with thunder, lightning and arousal, the Water Dragon personifies creativity at its best.

As visionary activist astrologer Caroline Casey pointed out during a recent delightful duet on An Organic Conversation: "It's a Water Dragon year: we can ride this thing!"

Let's OccupyMythology, create a new millennial mythos, and ride the fire/water fulgerite dragon off the edge of the known maps, right on into a new dawn.

Valentine's Day / Year of the Tiger: It's Time for Powerful Love!

In 2010, the Chinese New Year falls on Valentine's Day (February 14th). It's the Year of the Tiger, a fierce, proud feline that denotes mastery: on my CD, What You Need to Know Now: A Road Map for Personal Transformation, a panther accompanies the quester as she enters the cave to begin her journey; as she emerges, a tiger walks beside her, indicating she has conquered her fears and now stands fully in her power.

Are we ready to claim our true power, to manifest our dearest dreams, with immense Love? That is the question I explore in my February newsletter, Heart Knocks. READ THE REST!

1/26: Opening to Power

Monday heralds a rare solar eclipse that will transform the sun into a ring of fire. Unfortunately, it'll only be fully visible to those in the Indian Ocean at the time. That doesn't mean we won't feel the effects, however.

As astrologer Allison Rae observes in the current issue of her ezine, Cosmic Time, "Eclipses break up energy, including long-established patterns that are ripe for removal. Solar eclipses are super-charged new moons signaling major new beginnings.

"In other words, this is a gamma-dose of transformational energy for planet Earth. The January and February eclipses happen in Aquarius-Leo and could easily be interpreted as an entree into the Aquarian Age. Both the New Moon Solar Eclipse on January 26 and Full Moon Lunar Eclipse on February 9 feature five planets in the sign of Aquarius."

It's also the first day of the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Ox (no time to be bull-headed!). Mercury is still retrograde (through the end of the month), and Jupiter's in Aquarius all year, expanding unconventional opportunity across the board.

Clearly, this dark moon, total solar eclipse, Chinese New Year gateway is a crossroads call to, as a We'Moon calendar creatrix writes, "come unfurl at the cusp of possibility!"