When Is Your Birthday?
When is Your Birthday?
The Peninsula Woman
Sept - Oct 2007
"The only reason for Time is so that everything doesn't happen at once."
~Albert Einstein
When getting to know someone, the most frequently asked question is, "When is Your Birthday?" Why is this? Probably because everyone knows birthdays are essential. They are personal, and everyone has one. The stories people will share with you are unique once you know their Birthday!
As I write this month's article, I realize (not for the first time, mind you) that the entire study of Astrology is based on the question, "When is Your Birthday?" So, quite auspiciously, the deadline for this article was August 20th — my Birthday. Joann also selected me to be on the cover of this month's issue (when I mentioned this synchronicity to Joann, she said to me, "Cool! I love when that happens".
The experience of living is cyclical – birth/death, the four seasons, daylight/darkness. Birthdays are the markers of life in the wheel of time. They help us look forward, and they help us look backward. Ask someone their birth date, and you will know at least how long they have been walking on the earth. The longer we are here — the more cycles of growth we encounter.
The Top 5 Astrological Cycles!
But, what birth years are most important? The most challenging? I have found the following five cycles to be the most challenging in my many years of practice. (Sure, we have many other cycles, but these are filled with growth layers.)
1. Age 18-19 years – Your North Node Return
The Moon's nodes return to their birth position once every 18.6 years. This means that every 19th year, we have what astrologers call a Nodal Return. The best way to understand the nature of this cycle is to envision these years as bubbling pools of energy. This bubbling pool has massive potential and can be associated with powerful feelings activated during these years. Because the nodes are associated primarily with their location in the birth chart, the related effects often seem inevitable.
2. Age 26 – Lunar Return (Progressed)
This is a very significant time in life when the progressed Moon reaches a union with the natal Moon for the first time. This marks the first part of a difficult transition from the phase of Youth to the stage of maturity associated with the Saturn Return (see below). Because it is lunar, it has to do with the Moon, your deeper needs in life, and consequently, your mother. Thus, this cycle revolves around the growth and developing relationship you have with your mother.
3. Ages 28-30 Saturn Return
This cycle is a phenomenon that occurs in a person's life every 29.5 years. Saturn's return cycle symbolizes time, challenge, fear, doubt, confusion, difficulty, seriousness, heaviness, and hard lessons. There are other more positive things such as structure, significance, accomplishment, reflection, power, prestige, maturity, and order – this is why astrologers believe that the 30th Birthday is such a significant rite of passage. It is considered by many astrologers to mark the "true beginning" of adulthood, self-evaluation, independence, responsibility, ambition, and maturity. Thus, this cycle revolves around the developing relationship you have with your father.
4. Ages 42 – 44 The Uranus Opposition
This cycle is the culmination of our entire life's direction and a shift into a new direction. Often what is experienced is an unexpected event (or events) that helps shake us from old realities. This cycle can be like a summer lightning storm, which can help release old, built-up pressure and clear the air. We are freed from the ghosts of the past, and we can experience breakthroughs from a breakdown (or break up) of our old ways of being. The lightning bolts of Uranus can illuminate the landscape of our psyche, and we can now see our new directions and the new goals we need to move toward.
5. Age 52 Saturn Squares your Sun
In this cycle, we can experience some form of disillusionment about an important person in our life or with authority figures. We can feel "left out" or "blocked" from advancing in our chosen life path. Some sort of buckling down is necessary at this time, and it is often perceived as limitations coming from other people or circumstances. Physically, this is a relatively low period when we don't have that extra "oomph" or drive to accomplish things.
With just a little astrological knowledge, you can know quite a bit more about a person after asking them, "When's Your Birthday?" So, When is YOUR Birthday? If you would like your Free Astrological Chart Example, email me at: amber@amberflynn.com.
