The year 2014 promises some rather miraculous turns of fortune. Given that the last couple of years have been extremely difficult, I can promise that many of you will find the coming year to be far better in ever so many ways. Opportunities and fortunate conditions will show the fullness of the earth and water elements: Practical matters will work out favorably. Emotional matters will, if not resolve completely, at least begin to flow in constructive directions. Together the earth and water energy will allow for healthy growth and fruitfulness.

The Grand Sextile and the Grand Square

At midnight, January 1, 2014, the planets and three fixed stars will form a perfect hexagram pattern in the heavens, aligned with the north and south nodes of the Moon. In my book Aspect Patterns, I wrote the following about the grand sextile aspect pattern:

The grand sextile is the epitome of opportunity. It represents the fullness of capacity for effective action, with multiple conditions of ease and opportunity. I liken this richness to nearly Christ-like ability to work miracles. I say "nearly" for two reasons: First, avatars like Jesus are extremely rare, and I would not want the reader to expect that kind of behavior from people with perfect or near-perfect grand sextiles. The second reason has to do with the astrological realities of the pattern itself. The perfect grand sextile focuses all its energy into two elements — either fire and air, or earth and water. We know that this strong emphasis may well deny the strength of the other two elements and therefore indicates a lack of balance. The individual may be capable of magnificent success in some areas while being rather deficient in others. Still, there will be something almost miraculous about what this individual can accomplish.