RIDING A WILD DARK HORSE: CHINESE NEW YEAR 2002
Feb. 10, 2002 – The New Moon in Aquarius rings in the Chinese New Year on February 12. Year 2002 is the Year of the Horse. This powerful and adventurous animal augurs an exciting year. High energy and decisive action bring success. With the Horse, there is no middle ground. This is appropriate for the ongoing opposition of Saturn and Pluto in progress since fall. These two potent transformation planets ask some serious questions and require definitive movement in one direction or the other. Aim your vision from your inner truth and let fly the arrow.
This year is a culmination year for activities begun in 1996. Actions taken this year influence the direction of the next six years. That brings us to 2008, the final year of Pluto in Sagittarius, a transit that started in 1996 indicating global questioning of the meaning of life and our collective vision of the future. In a Horse year, global economies can either get stronger or collapse and regroup. Generally, if you are turning 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72 or 84 (multiples of 12) this year, you are a Horse and this is your year! Remember–the Chinese New Year starts and ends on the New Moon in Aquarius, which happens sometime in late January or into February.
BLACK WATER HORSE
Horses come in different colors. This year we ride the Black or Water Horse. Imagine sea foam turning into horses. Did you see Lord of the Rings? Remember the scene at the river where the Elven Lady Arwen Evenstar calls on the powers of the waters to help her escape from the dark riders. The waters surge and rise up into horses. Water gives this Horse increased passion and drive, as well as a creative, sensitive, magical nature. Such Horses can even fly–like Pegasus, the Flying Horse, on wings of inspiration. As frisky and fun-loving as this Horse is, with a love of travel and spontaneous adventure, it also has a good business sense and is conservative in spending–a good plan for this year.
URANUS, THE ODDBALL PLANET
With Uranus in a key position, this is a wild Horse we're riding. Closely aligned with the New Moon, the odd-ball planet has a lot to contribute this coming month. Uranus is the only planet that rotates like a sideways top, with its pole facing toward the Sun. Expect the unexpected with Uranus, as it moves into its last year in its own sign. High tech Uranus rules Aquarius and has been speeding along the information highway since 1996, when the world jumped onto the Internet in a global revolution. We will never think the same as before. Uranus rules the higher mind, our ability to step back and see things "From a Distance," as the popular Bette Midler song goes. Perhaps this new technology is encouraging us to turn on more brain cells, fine tune our higher intelligence circuitry and increase the frequency of our internal perception wiring. Next year Uranus starts dipping into Pisces, suggesting a sea change in the agenda. This year strong, brave, wild Horse brings us to the edge of that sea.
As equestrians know, you either ride a Horse or the Horse rides you. After a slow down of several months, with several planets in seemingly backward motion, Mercury and Saturn are now turned to direct motion. Saturn has been sitting in the V-shaped pattern of stars representing the head of Taurus, looking the Bull right in the eye. It's now time to move forward with definite strides. As we head into this new month and Chinese New Year, imagine where you want to be and urge the Horse onward.
NOW FREED FROM PASSION, A MAN TEACHES DEEP WISDOM
Every degree of the zodiac holds an image that best expresses that point on the wheel. The above Sabian symbol for the February 12 New Moon speaks to the ability to detach and gain perspective on our experience, tame our selfish desires and act for the common good. This sounds idealistic, but is necessary with current intensity of the world situation. Each one of us can make a difference in the way we live our own lives. True freedom comes from wisdom and personal responsibility. Isn't this why we still honor Abraham Lincoln on this day, his birthday? He stood for something–for freedom. What does this current fight for Enduring Freedom mean–and to whom? Whose freedoms are we talking about? These are important questions in such a revolutionary time. The truth is beginning to be revealed about political and economic forces that rule from behind the scenes.
And now we mount the wild dark Horses.
She went to the stallion,
whose answers fling from his breath and his hooves,
and whose eyes imagined her freedom.
–(C.P. Rosenthal, Elena of the Stars)
Explanation of Horsehead nebula photograph: Rising from a sea of dust and gas like a giant seahorse, the Horsehead nebula is one of the most photographed objects in the sky. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope took a close-up look at this heavenly icon, revealing the cloud's intricate structure. The Horsehead, also known as Barnard 33, is a cold, dark cloud of gas and dust, located in the constellation Orion. The bright area at the top left edge is a young star still embedded in its nursery of gas and dust. But radiation from this hot star is eroding the stellar nursery. Only by chance does the nebula roughly resemble the head of a horse. Its unusual shape was first discovered on a photographic plate in the late 1800s. Image courtesy of NASA's website.

Editor's note: Internationally-known astrologer Kelley Hunter is a resident of St. John, US Virgin Islands, where she leads stargazing nights. For an astrology consultation or stargazing schedule, call her at 693-5849 or e-mail Kelley Hunter. Check out her new website:www.heliastar.com
M. Kelley Hunter, Astro-consultant and mythologist
PO Box 37, St. John, USVI 00831
1-888-7ALTAIR