Re-Evaluating New Years

A few days ago, Dawson's Creek actor James Van Der Beek took to social media to claim we need "a NEW new year".

In his video post (@vanderjames on Instagram), James asks, "Why are we celebrating a New Year in the dead of winter? Why are we celebrating new beginnings at a time when nature rests?" He goes on to add that we should be celebrating and making our resolutions in the Spring, at the Vernal Equinox, when the flowers come back to bloom and everything is lively again in nature.

(He also mentions how, if March was the first month - and at one point in time, it was! - then September would be 7th, October would be 8th, November would be 9th, and December would be 10th ... as a language nerd, I agree with this whole-heartedly! But I digress ...)

James asks some very valid questions, and I'm not here to say he's wrong. However, I've taken a couple days to reflect and I wanted to share my insight.

For those who are newer to Astrology, Capricorn is noted to be an ambitious sign. When we're celebrating Christmas and the New Year, Capricorn is the present sign of the zodiac (mid/late-December to mid/late-January). To go deeper into Astrology, Capricorn is a planner, and more specifically a long-term strategist. It actually makes complete sense that we would be using this time to evaluate our goals and make plans for the upcoming year.

To bring it back to James' point about celebrating in the Spring, this is where I think many of us (myself included!) go wrong with New Year resolutions. Aries is the action-taker of the zodiac, and Aries season begins at the Vernal Equinox (mid/late-March). We, as a society, believe we need to quickly make these plans and start turning our dreams into reality on January 1st. In reality, to really work with the seasons and the stars, now is the time to sit in quiet contemplation and plan while we rest. By the time Spring comes, our plans should be so detailed thanks to Capricorn that Aries would have no problem following through!

I'm not sure at what point in history celebrations became so distorted, but I do agree with James that something needs to change ... at least for myself, personally, and anyone else who feels as though the vibes of the Winter holiday season have gone awry. I'm grateful someone in the public eye has brought this to attention; I appreciate James for using his voice in this way.

Let us consider how we can bring rest and inner peace back into our Winter, in order to better prepare ourselves for Spring.