After seven days (or billions of years) the solar system surrounding the Sun was finished.

The Sun now happily spins on its axis spewing light and energy forth.  As it spins, the Sun moves through its own cycles and rhythms, a little known fact.  You see, the Sun, like Earth wears a magnetic coat, but instead of having only two poles (North and South), the Sun has four more that run along its equator.  The Sun has a cycle of two, a cycle of three and a cycle of four that all interact to create a song with twelve unique chords.  Each month the Sun sings and for that whole month its harmonized chord floats out on the solar wind.  Then the next month, it changes its tune and sings again.

The solar chord was simply three notes played together.  The first note has only two variations, so each month the Sun oscillates between the one and the other.  The second note has three variations and the third note has four.  It thus takes a full twelve months for the Sun to play its complete song before it starts back where it had begun.

On Earth, the solar tune was heard throughout the land and soon this beautiful music had a magical effect on it.  It all began with the dawn of spring in mid-March.  As the day and night reached equal length in this fateful year, the Earth began to change.  With the flash of a spark, life was ignited on the little blue globe.  The tune being played was masculine-cardinal-fire.  The masculine, fiery energy, being cardinal, was igniting, frenetic and raw.  The life force surged and was sent forth.  Being new to existence, life was eager to understand itself.  It was impatient and screamed out, “Who am I?” then ran off to find out.  “There is no time to wait. Let’s go; let’s go! There is so much to learn!”  And thus went the impetuous early beings.

Soon, the planet was covered with life exhibiting the personality of the Ram that shone in the heavens above. This life was vastly creative.  There was so much to do and the energy of spring was endlessly supporting. Project after project thus began and beware if you stood in the way.  This Aries life charged into every endeavor horns first.  The problem is that life was still in its infancy.  All of this energy was great, but was not yet controlled.  The Ram had no problem building up speed but often came to sudden stops, crashing into obstacles or each other.  Being of the fiery sort, the Aryan Rams were competitive, individual and passionate.  They each had their own ideas and since they were ruled by Mars, their tempers flared easily.  When they disagreed or got in each other’s way, battles very quickly ensued.

The planet was teaming with life, active and creative, but disorganized and wrought with conflict.  Life was not progressing fast enough and instead of learning who they really were, the Rams could be found running around in circles.  One day, towards the middle of April, a particularly ambitious Ram charged a pesky hedge trying to surpass it.  Instead of breaking through the hedge, this Ram became entangled and, try as he might, could not free himself.  At first the Ram was very angry and then he became frustrated.  The hedge held strong and wore the Ram out.  Soon, his energy waned and the Ram gave in pondering his situation.  “Am I doomed to remain in this spot forever?  Is there no solution?”  And thus was echoed the very first primitive prayer.

This Ram caught in the hedge prayed for a solution and the Universe responded.  The solar tune changed and suddenly the Ram started to evolve.  His horns straightened out and shrunk.  His body gained mass and as the solar chord sang feminine-fixed-earth, the Ram transformed into the she-bull.  Rather than being built for speed, this animal was built for endurance.  The she-bull was slow, but strong.  She gained the gift of stability.

As this first day of Taurus grew dark, Venus suddenly appeared in the western sky.  All of Earth marveled at her beauty.  Each of the impetuous beings stopped, even if for just a moment, to enjoy the beauty of this bright evening star.

More and more beings evolved and took on this feminine earthy quality.  Being earthy, they were masters of the soil and held firm to their tasks.  The Bull learned that by dragging a plow through the soil, she could grow delicious fruits and beautiful flowers.  Being influenced by Venus, she was determined to create beauty on earth, but this took time.  The Aryan types were impatient, but the Taurean could wait as long as it took.

The Rams still raced around the land but these feminine Bulls were not easily moved by them.  As they created more and more from the Earth, they soon learned the value of these things and began to trade with others to get even more.  Before long, these Bulls set up markets and thus began Earths first form of commerce.  At her best, she could use her creations to gain even more, but at her worst, she could get overly attached to her possessions and lose what little she had.

Inevitably, the Bull and the Ram coupled.  Taurus was not exactly immune to Aries, but she held her own and could even tame the Ram.  Each day while the Ram set out to hunt, the Bull stayed home and worked the soil or bought and sold at the local bull-market.  She created beauty and bounty at home and prepared delicious meals while patiently awaiting the return of her mate.

Before long, the spark of life was once again ignited by Aries and then nurtured by Taurus and in the middle of May, a magical set of Twins emerged just as the solar song shifted into masculine-mutable-air.  The masculine Twins resembled their Aryan father but this time the energy was softer having been tempered by their earthy mother.  The Twins, being a pair, were gifted with constant companionship.  Their airy nature made them inquisitive and their minds being ruled by Mercury were active.  Two full months of life had progressed and the Gemini pair was eager to see and learn about it all.

So they darted out like the wind and flew hither and thither.  The Twins, being quick of mind, soon realized that if they communicated with each other and shared their ideas, they could learn twice as much in half the time.  So the Twins invented language and once they got a-talking, they couldn’t shut up.  “There is so much to learn, so much to discuss, so much to teach,” they told each other.  The Gemini didn’t care much who would listen just as long as somebody would.  Their need to learn and communicate made them very social and before long the Twins were gathering large groups to share information.

The problem with Gemini was that their masculine eagerness once again propelled them a bit too much.  The Gemini mind didn’t want to slow down and being mutable they could adapt to their environment well, however their environment was not adapting to them fast enough.  Each subject only interested them long enough to be understood and then they were on to the next endeavor.  The Ram became frustrated with the flighty Twins because they didn’t stick around long enough for a good fight and the Bull was saddened because they never seemed to want to stay home.

However, when working together, the three types were quite productive.  The Gemini, having learned so much, began to architect all sorts of schemes. This pleased the Aryan types because suddenly they had more interesting projects to initiate.  The Rams’ energy was still endless and now they could use it to build all sorts of structures.  But were it not for the stable and slow moving Taurus, nothing would have ever have been completed.  It was the Bulls with their fixed cardinality who had the patience to complete each and every project with beautiful finishing touches.

Before long, the three working together built houses all over the land and approached the shore.  The population was spreading, but something was not right.  The population was unbalanced being heavy with male energy.  There was too much competition and wars broke out frequently.

The summer solstice arrived and with it so did Cancer and a new solar tune.  Once again, masculine gave way to feminine, this time, feminine-cardinal-water.  As this chord rang out that first evening, the full moon rose in the East and began its night-long journey across the sky.  And as this particular tune played, a new creature evolved and emerged from the vast moon-lit ocean.  It was the Crab.

The Crab, being a cardinal creature of the water, was very emotional.  All of the influences of the growing population welled up emotion within the Crab and it was not yet evolved enough to do anything but express them.  So the Crab cried and the Crab laughed and the Crab emoted freely.  The Crab was sensitive and while this made it a little difficult being a Crab, it made the Crab a pleasant companion.  The Crab knew what it felt like to hurt and was thus compassionate and loving to its family and friends.  Because the Crab was vulnerable, she sought out protection and thus inhabited the numerous houses built by the others.  However, it was the sensitive feminine Crab that turned these houses into homes.  So the Twins architected, the Ram initiated, the Bull completed and the Crab embodied.

A full fourth months having passed and the Earth was now in its first state of balance.  The energy was now equally male and female and all four elements represented.  However, upon closer inspection, the balance was not complete.  Two of the four signs were cardinal and thus more things were being started than finished.  July was passing and the summer heat was building and the Sun was rising higher and higher in the sky.  Suddenly, the fifth tune started to ring as masculine-fixed-fire.

Looking back at the spring, we notice that each of the first three elements was dressed in its most appropriate cardinality.  The spark so readily creates fire, and thus the driving energy of cardinal worked so well with fire.  Earth, in and of itself is slow and stable, thus fixed-earth is even more so.  And nothing is more mutable than the winds of change.  Air is the easiest to move, the easiest to change and the easiest to adapt.

As summer began with Cancer, we encountered water.  Water, being such a versatile element, fits well with each of the cardinalities. However, in reaching the second summer month of Leo, we encounter our first apparent conflict.  Here we have fixed-fire, a seeming oxymoron.  But soon we realize that while fire can be impetuous, it can also be maintained.  The late July Sun is relentless and steadily beats on the planet all day long.  The heat just simply does not want to go away.  What is happening is the element of fire is maturing and therefore is becoming more stable.  And out of the jungle emerges a new king.

The Lion is the King of the jungle and for good reason.  The fiery male nature of the Lion makes him a successful hunter, the best the planet has seen thus far, but his fixed nature adds maturity, stability and makes for a loyal companion.  The Leo parent is an avid provider and quite nurturing and protective of his cubs.

Leo is ruled by the Sun and born during the Sun’s strongest month, thus the Lion shines brightly.  The Lion’s leadership qualities enable him to easily rise up and seize rule of the land and as a result the Earth encounters its first hierarchies being created.  It is easy to adore Leo just as it is easy to adore the sun, but it is also a bit too easy to get burned. The Lion’s successes elevate his ego a bit too much.  The Lion is King, but the Lion is self aware and knows he is King.  He sees that he is above what came before him but can demand too much in the way of homage.  The Lion looks back fearlessly, but neglects to look ahead and therefore his dominion is short lived.

And thus, toward the end of August, the solar tune changes and the King’s reign gives way to the ever evolving. A Virgin Queen emerges to take control.  In Virgo, we round out the cardinal cycle a second time as we encounter feminine-mutable-earth.  Once again we have a seeming conflict with mutable-earth, but once again, upon closer inspection, we see more maturation.  With mutable-earth, the Queen reaches a level where she is better able to change the earth around her.  Being of mercurial mind, she has the mental skill of the Twins, but combined with the practicality of Earth.  She can ponder more than rudimentary building, growing or arranging.  And this is quite timely because by this point, much has already been built on the earth.  The population has grown for nearly half the year and better ways are definitely needed.  So the Virgin Queen with her feminine grace calmly and steadily orders the chaos.  Her mind quickly determines what problems exist and just as quickly finds solutions and places them in motion. Thus she promptly wins over the masses.

After nearly six full months, our cardinality is again in balance, as is our gender, but our elements have not yet evened out as we are lacking both air and water.  The Queen soon falls prey to a similar fate as the Lion.  She gets carried away with her reign and gets carried away with her need for order.  The elements have not yet fully balanced on Earth and thus in her imbalance, she gets overly attached to the neat and clean.  Without them, she feels uncomfortable.  Frequently, she loses site of the big picture and can’t see the forest because of all of the trees that need pruning.

And just in her peak of imbalance, the day and night once again reach equal length and the Earth crosses over the Equinox into a new season.  With the end of summer comes fall, and with it the solar tune shifts into masculine-cardinal-air.  Here, the masculine air is directed having been organized by the Virgin Queen.  Venus returns but this time as the morning star.  Thus each day is initiated by the beautiful star and each day balance is sought between function and form.  Libra is once again social, but this time, the goal is balance and thus it attempts to join opposites.  So the beings of Earth push out the Queen and demand and better form of leadership.  They now require checks and balances to rule the land.

In Libra, many of the beings have sufficiently evolved and now seek their soul mate or life partner.  Each recognizes their own faults and now wants to balance them with the gifts that others possess.  They have learned the lessons of ego from the King and the Queen.  They survived the extremes of the summer and are now enjoying the more subtle and tempered climate of the early fall.  Life is warm and pleasant, beautiful and enjoyable.  The new form of leadership is more balanced albeit in an oscillatory sort of way.  However, pure reason is not sufficient to properly care for the masses and this airy balance is not yet capable of maintaining itself.  As the days grow shorter and cooler, each starts to look inward and many get nervous.  They find that their needs are greater than they thought and they feel fear.  The solar wind changes once again, this time to feminine-fixed-water.  And thus opens Pandora’s Box.

At Scorpio, the Earth beings feel their needs and desires in full force.  The summer was fun, but now that it is over, many are left feeling empty.  Deep down, each needs something more to be fulfilled.  They are discovering their complexities and the depth of their emotions.  By this point, many have loved, but have also lost, and the hurt was greater than they had ever imagined.  In an attempt to mask their vulnerability, they hold onto their emotions and keep them inside.  The surface of the lake is like glass, but still waters run deep and it is quite dark down there.

The Scorpion thus emerges from the damp, dark crevices of the Earth.  The Scorpion knows pain and to try and protect herself, she is armed with venom.  These intense but stifled emotions need an outlet and so they come out sideways.  Her relationships are complex and in an attempt to express herself without being vulnerable, she tends to only express her love through her sexuality.  In passion, her emotions flow with an almost fiery quality, but afterwards, she retreats back within herself for safety.  The Scorpion loves so deeply she would sacrifice herself for her loved ones, but alas, betray the Scorpion and you gain a formidable opponent.

Intuitively, all know it is going to get darker before the Sun returns and they brace for the worst.  In the night sky, Mars again rules the heavens and all expect more conflict.  Their technology has advanced, so this time, the war is going to be bloody.  They have learned too much, felt too much, and now many are afraid.

As the Scorpion struggles within her intense introspection, she begins to realize that her struggle is with herself.  The awareness of this is so profound that her out shell cracks and splits in half.  She is molting, growing and transforming.  Suddenly, all of the pressure of her old skin is released.  She is lighter, larger, and glistening vibrantly.  And out of the darkness, a new light shines.

Jupiter rises in the night sky and suddenly Mars’ light is outshone by the second brightest star in the sky.  Venus’ light is brightest, but she only shines in the evening or the morning.  Now we find a bright light that shines all through the night.  And with this light comes hope and a return to joy in the middle of darkness.   And this time, our song sings masculine-mutable-fire.

The fire of Jupiter’s light has adjusted, evolved and shines in the night when it is most needed.  The Sun protects the day; Jupiter protects the night, helping all to see that it will be okay.  And so throughout the long dark nights of the late fall rides the Centaur delivering to all the optimistic messages of Jupiter.  His fiery passions are strong, but they now have the versatility to really penetrate.

However, the Centaur must temper his fire lest he will become too intense and drive the others away.  He needs to allow others time to catch up.  Sagittarius, like Gemini, is another duality sign.  The Centaur is half horse and half man.  He is strong like an animal, yet very intelligent.  The Sagittarian can often find himself without a mate for finding a partner of equal strength in mind and body can be difficult.  And even when partnered, the Centaur’s mind can at times penetrate too deeply the subjects he ponders. In discussing his ideas he can find himself not easily understood.  The Twins, at mutable-air seek knowledge.  The Centaur, at mutable-fire seeks wisdom.  Philosophy replaces logic and his attention moves beyond the local to take in the global.  The details fade away as he begins to really see the big picture.  The Earth has evolved into a global community and by ascending the Centaur can lift up all of his companions as well as himself.

And so the Centaur reminds all to remain optimistic for spring will return.  The night is nearing its maximum length and it is not as bad as feared.  He teaches that Jupiter’s light within the darkness symbolizes our own light and that in our darkest moments our own internal light will shine.  God is within each and every one of us and the external light from the Sun is not always needed.  We can survive the dark.  Someday, we will return to the light and that light is greater than the Sun; it is greater than we can imagine.

But the cycle has not yet completed.  The masculine must give way to the feminine once again and while Jupiter brought hope, the Earth still needs faith.  For true creation requires faith, not hope.

The winter solstice comes and with it Capricorn.  As we cross into another season, the solar tune shifts into feminine-cardinal-earth. The Goat emerges from the Horse and is now capable of climbing the mountain.  She will only reach the top one step at a time.  She shows us that slow and steady is the way to go so that we won’t fall back to our past and unevolved ways.  We have now survived three full seasons and while it was not by chance, there were some close calls.  We mustn’t let our temper flare or get carried away by our emotions, and we must keep our egos in check.

She sees beyond the individual and sets out to create a whole new world.  She knows that the light is just beginning to return and we must prepare for it.  The solstice celebrations are over and it is time to get to work and build for the future.  So, from her lofty perch, she gathers all available resources and through her practical nature puts each of them to use wisely.

With renewed hope and optimism gained from the Centaur, the Goat is ready to direct her will into the Earth.  As cardinal-earth, she has learned the first level of creation. She understands the laws of dharma or cause and effect and knows that through right action, anything can be accomplished.  With Sagittarius, we have already gone through each of the cardinalities three times so now we know how to start, finish and adapt all that we create.  With Capricorn, our gender has once again equalized and soon our elements will also.

When keeping her goals altruistic she can help the community to work together and thus build something that will last into the next generation.  She knows that for the first time, Saturn has appeared in the night sky and that Saturn calls for structure and foundation.  A victorious society must be built from the ground up and methodically.

However, she mustn’t get carried away with her power.  It is too tempting for her to take advantages of the others allowing them to work for her benefit alone rather than the benefit of all.  And within her earthiness, she must be careful to not solely focus on the ground beneath her.  While she is built for climbing the mountain, she mustn’t forget that there is more to life than just what can be seen and felt around her.

So, for a solid month, foundation is laid throughout the land.  Urban infrastructures are being constructed and the cities are being connected together. A global community is being initiated just as we move into Aquarius and our solar tune shifts into masculine-fixed-air.  Air makes its third appearance and this time has the potential to reach full maturity.  And suddenly the Water Bearer appears.

Being of fixed energy, the Water Bearer, as a young adult, fell victim to rigid thinking.  He believed what he believed and was hard to convince otherwise.  However, as he aged, this particular Water Bearer matured and each morning was found meditating near a well.

Through his meditation, the Water Bearer discovered the second level of creation: manifestation.  He learned that his greatest strength is found in controlling the mind.  In meditation, rather than fluttering about like a butterfly at the mercy of the wind, his mind can now hold ideas and soar on the wind like a majestic eagle.  His fixed energy supports this stability.  The well he meditates on symbolizes access to the abundance of the Earth for he knows that by focusing his thoughts, he can create the world as he desires.  He can staid off fear through discipline shifting the air in an instant to a better and more positive thought.  He is often found carrying an urn of water which symbolizes his ability to contain and carry his emotions by means of his thought control.

The Water Bearer knows that he is a spiritual creature within a physical body and thus begins to see the unity in all things.  Man cannot survive lest humanity survives.  We must now think globally and act locally and if we clean up the planet we can ascend into harmony and peace.  War is no longer a viable solution for in this advanced civilization he knows that we can now do too much damage and in destroying our enemy, cannot escape destroying ourselves.  He has advanced, but is still evolving.  He still has life to live and knows that the future, while being unknown, is within our influence for he has experienced creating his own reality.

After a full month of stabilizing the environment and the community, the Water Bearer sits for an extended meditation and once again turns inward.  And just as he does this, the solar tune resonates with its last unique chord: feminine-mutable-water.

For the first time in the entire calendar, we reach complete balance.  We have shifted the gender twelve times reaching equal male and female energy.  We are now completing four trips through the cardinalities and three through the elements.  We have arrived at our third and final duality sign: Pisces.

Within his meditation, the Water Bearer suddenly transforms into a pair of fish that dive into the well of his internal waters.  The Fish are avid swimmers and are prepared to swim all the way out into the vast ocean.  At Cancer, we could not contain or manage our emotions and got swept away by them.  At Scorpio, we mistakenly thought that keeping them inside was the answer, but soon realized that this created too many problems.  The Fish know that emotions have to be expressed.  Through greater awareness, one can better see the truth within the circumstances of life and feel emotions more appropriately.  We do create our own reality and therefore the conflicts we experience on the outside are really just the results of conflicting beliefs on the inside.  But while feelings may result from inaccurate thoughts, they are feelings none-the-less and lest they are expressed, one cannot move past them or regain balance.  So each must learn to express their feelings and desires, their joys and sorrows, but more appropriately.  Each must express need without being needy.

The fish know that the waters of the Earth ebb and flow and understand that their emotions will ebb and flow also.  They always swim in opposition and are thus able to see that through sorrow, happiness can again be reached.  They are still watery beings and thus may be moody, but have gained an understanding of themselves.  This is not their final trip around the Sun, so they are not yet perfect, nor will they be after the next cycle.  Through encounters with Neptune, they have connected to their spiritual side, sometimes through ascending and sometimes through the influence of drugs and alcohol. They are still young creatures and will sometimes fall prey to addiction, but they understand that their trials are part of their growth and it is a long journey.  We are a communal race and to survive, we all need to support each other.  Each needs to give and show their love, and in loving others, will be loved by others.

And as winter nears its end, the beings of Earth look back on the past year.  They look back on all that they experienced and all that they learned.  They feel a little sadness because they are no longer naive.  They miss their innocence, and the joys they felt along the way.  They mourn their losses and take a moment of silence to honor their journey thus far.  And right after a moment of silence, the day once again overcomes the night.  The rains subside; the first warm day returns.  The spring flowers rise out of the soil and the birds sing with anticipation.  The solar tune changes back to an old song that we all long but forgot and the surge of masculine-cardinal-fire energy takes over once again.  The seriousness fades away.  It is spring!  It is a new year and there is no time to waste.  We know so much more and now it is time to get to it.  Hurry, before it’s too late.  Come on!  Let’s go!  We have an even better world to create!