When Is Your Birthday?

“The only reason for Time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.”

~Albert Einstein

Perhaps the question most frequently asked when getting to know someone is “When is Your Birthday?” Why is this?  Probably because everyone knows birthdays are important. They are quite personal and everyone has one. It is amazing the stories people will share with you once you know their birthday!

As I sit down to write this months article I realize, (not for the first time, mind you) the entire study of Astrology is based on the question, “When is Your Birthday?” Quite auspiciously, the deadline for this article was August 20th — my Birthday. I was also selected by Joann to be on the cover of this month’s issue (when I mentioned the synchronicity of this to Joann she said to me, “Cool!  I love when that happens”. 

The experience of living is cyclical in nature – 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 he or she has 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?  In my many years of practice I have found the following 5 cycles to be the most challenging.  (Sure, we have many other cycles, but these are filled with layers of growth.) 

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 a massive potential and can be associated with powerful feelings that are activated during these years. Because the nodes are associated primarily with where they are located 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 natal Moon for the first time. This marks the first part of a difficult transition from the phase of Youth to the phase of Maturity associated with the Saturn Return (see below). Because it is lunar in nature 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 is symbolically associated with time, challenge, fear, doubt, confusion, difficulty, seriousness, heaviness, and hard lessons, among 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 major 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 lightening 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 break down (or break up) of our old ways of being. The lightening bolts of Uranus can illuminate the landscape of our psyche and we can now see our new directions and the new goals we must move towards.

5. Age 52 Saturn Squares your Sun
In this cycle we can experience some form of disillusionment with regard to 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 apt to be a rather 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 you ask 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 .