Earth Day

It’s interesting to note that on April 22, this year and every year, Earth Day falls on degrees of the zodiac that so beautifully paint the idea of this commemorative time.

The message of the Sun every Earth day is one of the need to protect our earth. We need our ‘clover’, we need our bees, we need clean water to cleanse the earth and provide crops. We are at a very curious time in our evolution, and one that can have us wondering what is happening on this beautiful planet.

The Sabian Symbol/s for the Sun each year on Earth Day are Taurus 3: NATURAL STEPS UP TO A LAWN BLOOMING WITH CLOVER and Taurus 4: THE POT OF GOLD AT THE END OF THE RAINBOW

The following are interpretations from my book The Sabian Oracle: 360 Degrees Of Wisdom – 

 Taurus 3: NATURAL STEPS UP TO A LAWN BLOOMING WITH CLOVER 

Like the bee that now is blown honey-heavy on my hand, from his toppling tansy-throne, in the green tempestuous land—I’m in clover now, nor know who made honey long ago. Edmund Blunden

Sweet scents of summer air breathing over fields of beans or clover; the perfume of wet leaves or moss; the life of waving trees, and shadows always changing. Charles Dickens

The reason so many people never get anywhere in life is because when opportunity knocks, they are out in the backyard looking for four-leaf clovers. Walter Chrysler

Talk to him of Jacob’s Ladder and he would ask the number of the steps. Douglas William Jerrold

I like the man who faces what he must, With steps triumphant and a heart of cheer; Who fights the daily battle without fear. Sarah Knowles Bolton

Commentary: ‘Natural Steps Up to a Lawn Blooming With Clover’ implies ‘Steps’ that are

inviting, promising and easy to climb. It feels as though they’re leading to the promise of beauty, greenery and repose. They are ‘Blooming With Clover’, which shows there is a reward at hand when those ‘Steps’ are taken. Bees love ‘Clover’ and ‘Lawns Blooming With It’ ensures that the bees will make honey and therefore life will be sweet. Clover has long been believed to mean good luck, prosperous circumstances and luxurious surroundings. Also, the expression “he’s in clover” or “living in clover” comes from the belief that if you had plenty of ‘Clover’ for your cows to eat, they would produce good milk, thereby providing nourishment for everyone.

Oracle: This Symbol shows that a time of fulfillment and completion is close, but there is still some small effort to be made to attain what you want or need. You must take the ‘Steps’, even though they may be simple, to achieve what you want or to arrive where you want to be. There is definitely a need to put some effort into getting what you want but it’s probably not going to be too difficult or hard going. Be on the alert for laziness and a “come what may” attitude. Regardless of what others are doing, keep going the way you are, following your natural intuition and you will find, or achieve, what you have in sight. Rewards can be just a few ‘Steps’ away. It may be worth remembering that this landing in the ‘Clover’ may only be temporary, as there will be new things to do and further things to strive for. You may not have found your ‘Pot of Gold at the End of the Rainbow’ just yet, but you are most likely on the right path.

Keywords: Hopefulness. Inspirational possibilities. Gradually enlarging one’s vision. Harmony. Seasonal changes. Running around on grass. Bare feet. The beauty of greenery and flowers. Stability on the path. Steps that invite one on to bigger and better things. Abundance, nourishment. Making small efforts that can lead to large returns. Places to spread out and relax. Having plenty of room to move. Gardens and parks.

The Caution: Looking for the easy way out. Not making the effort to find what is just a few steps away. Being lazy when one should be going for the objective. Temporary success. Expecting everything to be laid out before you. Weeds. Unkempt lawns. Neglected land.

Both Taurus 3 and 4 are activated around Earth Day. Both of these degrees are beautiful, and, rather evocative. We see images of rainbows often, as an often awesome sign of nature’s bounty. And, on social media in particular, there have been several images of rainbows that were photographed at Prince’s Paisley Park residence in Minneapolis. Many will be feeling the effects of these degrees in the light of Prince passing away.

Taurus 4:  THE POT OF GOLD AT THE END OF THE RAINBOW

If I traveled to the end of the rainbow, As Dame Fortune did intend, Murphy would be there to tell me, The pot’s at the other end. Bert Whitney

All that is gold does not glitter; not all those that wander are lost. J.R.R. Tolkien

Pennies do not come from heaven—they have to be earned here on earth. Margaret Thatcher

The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet. J. Robert Oppenheimer

He felt like a man who, chasing rainbows, has had one of them suddenly turn and bite him in the leg. P.G. Wodehouse

I have been in Sorrow’s kitchen and licked out all the pots. Then I have stood on the peaky mountain wrapped in rainbows, with a harp and sword in my hands. Zora Neale Hurston

A golden key will open every lock. Yiddish Proverb

Every absurdity has a champion to defend it. Oliver Goldsmith

Commentary: ‘The Pot of Gold at the End of the Rainbow’ is a wonderful image. ‘Rainbows’ are said to be a bridge to the Divine. They inspire awe as we gaze at their beauty and the sheer wonder of nature. They can represent boundless promise, and there is said to be a reward, a ‘Pot of Gold’, to be found at its end. In folklore, elves, leprechauns and fairies are associated with ‘The Pot of Gold’.

Oracle: The quest to find our ‘Pot of Gold’ is very tempting but it can be forever elusive because it appears to move as we move or as we change our perspective. However, we all have our dreams and with a little concentrated effort we can reach our own version of the ‘Pot of Gold’. It can imply riches and rewards on many levels, sometimes beyond our wildest dreams. There may be a need to reflect on just what exactly these “riches” are. The promise of the ‘Pot of Gold’ entices us, but this can also be the cause of problems if we forget other more important things in life. Some people want material or spiritual riches without putting in any hard work. This way of thinking may lead one astray. Although some people can earn their way through life on a wing and a prayer, most have to put in a true effort to succeed. Often it is not the finding of the elusive ‘Pot of Gold’ at the ‘Rainbow’s End’ that is the real reward, but the rewards found during the search and the wonder the ‘Rainbow’ creates as it links heaven and earth. Perhaps there is a constant search for rewards without recognizing the riches that are already at hand. In this situation, many rewards can come from creative and spiritual efforts – just be a little wary of expecting too much. Picture a ‘Rainbow’ in your mind, see ‘The Pot of Gold’; and hold it in your memory bank – this will sustain you and may indeed lead you to your reward.

Keywords: The promise of riches, in whatever forms these may take. Creative imagination. Goals and ambitions. Alchemy. Splashes of color. Rewards contained. The search for the treasure. Seeking communion with nature and life’s bounty. Wealth derived from changing perspective. Talent and beauty. Fantasies. Illusions vs. reality. Fairylands.

The Caution: Seeking easy, tempting solutions. Thinking that rewards are always just “over the horizon”. Thinking that one is never going to get near “it”. Elusive success. Forgetting the more immediate things in life. Seeking perfection. Castles in the air. Pipe dreams. Fool’s paradise.

The very obvious message of the Sun every Earth day is one of the need to protect our earth. We need our ‘clover’, we need our bees, we need clean water to cleanse the earth and provide crops. We are at a very curious time in our evolution, and one that can have us wondering what is happening on this beautiful planet.

Following on from Taurus 3 and Taurus 4 is Taurus 5 on Sunday in Australia and Saturday in the U.S. This is a very different image, and one that will, no doubt, give pause for thought. In Australia and New Zealand, commemorations are held for the ANZACS and other returned soldiers from war. There are marches, speeches, medals, war stories, gatherings of people in clubs all over Australia. At the least, we see the marches on TV, and, there are always documentaries shown about the wars of the past, particularly World War I.

Taurus 5: A YOUTHFUL WIDOW, FRESH AND SOUL-CLEANSED FROM GRIEF, KNEELS AT AN OPEN GRAVE TO RECEIVE THE SECRET OF ETERNAL LIFE

The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone. Christopher Crowfield

One problem with gazing too frequently into the past is that we may turn around to find the future has run out on us. Michael Cibenko

If you’re still hanging onto a dead dream of yesterday, laying flowers on its grave by the hour, you cannot be planting the seeds for a dream to grow today. Joyce Chapman

Make the most of your regrets; never smother your sorrow, but tend and cherish it till it comes to have a separate and integral interest. To regret deeply is to live afresh. Henry David Thoreau

Every time I think that I’m getting old, and going to the grave, something else happens. Lillian Carter

The pain passes, but the beauty remains. Pierre Auguste Renoir

The grave is but the threshold of eternity. Robert Southey

Commentary: ‘A Youthful Widow, Fresh and Soul-Cleansed From Grief, Kneels at an Open Grave to Receive the Secret of Eternal Life’. She’s learning some hard-won and valuable lessons through her loss. She is mourning at a grave and receiving meaningful insights into the purpose of life. However, the ‘Grave’ is still ‘Open’, which shows that in some respect she hasn’t had the necessary time or hasn’t been able to complete the mourning process and move on with her life. The ‘Grave’ will only be filled in when she can sincerely say good-bye to the person or situation that has been lost. By continuing to stand at the ‘Open Grave’ the “burial ritual” cannot be fully accomplished or completed.

Oracle: Looking at things that are gone or lost can stop people from accepting newer, more vital relationships and opportunities. Don’t let loss make you give up and throw everything away. Gathering up one’s energy and starting on a new path is often the key. Realizing that life must go on, we learn that we can recover our feet and move forward. However, it is very important to allow time to grieve. Letting go of the past, and things that are worn out, and being accepting will bring release. The memory of the person, thing or situation that has passed from your life can bring tears of ‘Grief’, but also tears of joy. Remember the gifts that have been given or left to you, and don’t focus on the losses that you can’t replace. How many times and for how long do you have to say good-bye to someone or something? Don’t stand still, staring at loss, immobilized by fear. Imagine yourself walking away to a new chapter of your life. Take note of when it is time to fill in the ‘Grave’ and complete the circle. Fill in ‘The Grave’, bless the past and move on.

Keywords: Gradual realization of the illusion of matter. Letting go of that which no longer works. Purging and burning the past. Giving up past grievances. The passage of grief. Receiving the gifts that loss and separation can bring through time. Grief, divorce, loss. Redundancies. Near-death experiences. Inheritances.

The Caution: Wasting time staring at lost opportunities. Grudges and bad feelings that last much longer than needed. Staring at issues of loss and death. War and its horrors. The feeling that one has no future. People or events that just won’t leave one’s memory. Hanging on for fear of the future. Empty legacies.

How are we seeing the future of the earth? Are we feeling an ever more urgent need to protect the earth and it’s resources? We are seeing warning signs everywhere – from the devastation of the loss of great swathes of the Great Barrier Reef, to gas fracking our water while multi national companies suck water out of the ground to sell in plastic bottles. I could go on, of course, but, well, we know what’s happening.

I find this run of Symbols that the Sun traverses over to be so very interesting and worthy of our consideration. There is, of course, a lot more to be said.

Happy Earth Day!