Many people think of the Zodiac signs at stagnant or unchanging personality descriptions—but this couldn’t be further from the truth! Each sign is here to embark on a great evolutionary journey through three distinct alchemical stages. Tapping into the energetics of each phase can help you understand your place in this great cosmic journey called life.
Stage One: The Ram
As the first sign of the Zodiac, the first phase of Aries is actually the first phase of existence—and this is an energy that comes out swinging! You’re passionate, excited for each day, and seek the thrill of chaos and adventure. Like the ram, you actually enjoy butting heads with others, which can make you prone to aggression, defensiveness, and anger. You devour your goals with ease, and can accomplish anything you put your mind to simply by following your impulses and unrelenting courage.
Eventually, you will grow tired of this constant strife. Your flame will begin to dwindle as you work yourself dry trying to prove yourself. Once you surrender to the softening the cosmos are asking of you, you are ready to enter the next phase of evolution.
Stage Two: The Shepard
It’s time to humbly walk the path of your soul, dear Shepherd. During this phase, your once fiery demeanor is replaced by a more contemplative and reserved nature as you ponder what’s truly worth fighting for. Imagine the shepard; he travels with almost nothing but keeps his most important resource (his sheep) close by. As you travel through the metaphoric valleys of life, you, too, are being called to protect and defend only what is most important to you.
The shepard is often a seldom figure, signifying you may enter a brief hermit phase to heal and release. Allow any externally-motivated goals and your obsession with proving yourself to fall into the loving soil of Mother Earth as you walk. Without this extra weight, you can finally hear your inner compass. With your newfound internal map, you’re ready to navigate the path forward and forge new goals aligned with your highest mission and purpose. You are ready to be reborn.
Stage Three: The Reborn Sun
You’ve arrived at the end of your metaphoric pasture with only your most beloved resources and goals by your side. The energetics of your spirit and the creative essence of each of your goals merge, and you become the Reborn Sun. Your vitality, ambition, and zest for life return to your spirit. Once again, you find great joy in working toward your goals.
You’ll discover that much of the anger and hostility from the earlier phases has dissipated, leaving you with the energy to fend for what’s truly worth fighting for. Now is the time to commit yourself to an aligned cause, project, hobby, relationship, or goal based on what truly matters. Now that you’ve done the inner work, your external reality will fall into place. You will shine a bright light of inspiration, creativity, and confidence to all you encounter.
The Bull:
Taurus plops onto Earth and straight into the pin of the Bull. In this early phase, you are stubborn, put your pleasure first, and set out to achieve goals while scoffing at the need for any sort of self-reflection. In this phase, your priority is to build the financial abundance required to calm your innate need for security and practically. In this phase, you actually enjoy being stuck in the same place, much like a bull that never wants to leave his green pasture. But eventually, you will realize how your inertia blocks your spiritual and metaphysical evolution.
Remember, dear Taurus, your soul wanted to be born stuck in the mud. You will ponder life beyond the bull pin—no matter how finely you’ve decorated it. The cosmos will beckon you to transcend the material and surface level side of life as some destined path will ultimately have you dipping your toes into the metaphysical world of the Minotaur.
The Minotaur:
In mythology, the Minotaur is a powerful creature kept in a labyrinth to guard the symbolic secrets of society and our subconscious. You must leave your cozy pin and life and descend into the darkness and confusing world of the great mystery. Remember, this story is a metaphor—you don’t need to purge your life of all material comforts to begin seeking deeper truths. Some sacrifices, however, are inevitable for your evolution. Call upon the courage and bravery of the Minotaur to do this transformational and sacred work.
Your journey into the depths of the mystery will awaken your soul to feelings of empathy and compassion that you didn’t formerly experience all that often, and never this intensely. As you begin to ask deeper questions, you may feel called to share some of your abundance with others. Your once endless pursuit of pleasure is transformed into a genuine and fulfilling relationship with beauty and reciprocity. You discover creative ways to give comfort to others as you step into your highest form.
The Demigod:
In your ultimate form, you learn how to bridge the material and the spiritual realms to step into divine co-creation with the universe. Your fertile nature is overflowing with abundance, and you plant seeds of prosperity, safety, and nurturance to all you encounter. People want to be around you in this form. You are a safe haven for people to seek your grounded and nurturing support. Your love of creature comforts evolves, and you now freely apply your unique gift for creating safe spaces with the ones you love and the world around you. You nurture others with what you used to blindly indulge yourself in, and in doing so create rich meaning and purpose in your life.
Twins:
This first stage for Geminis is marked by an insatiable quest for knowledge and mental expansion. Life is a game and you came here to play! The mythological origin of the Twins states they can alternate their immortality and trade spots from vacationing at Olympus with the Gods to being a mortal man on Earth. At the end of each cycle, they reconnect and share notes—as if it were all one big experiment! This is how life may feel during this chapter.
At first, this constant shape-shifting fills your days with novelty and wonder. But eventually, you begin to feel unfulfilled and uprooted in a life that’s never really your own. You just can’t seem to hold your attention on anything long enough to actually reap the benefits and sense of purpose that comes with persistence. This realization comes with a painful release of your former lifestyle. You realize you must you station your sails down a specific channel and into the next phase of existence: The Ship.
Ship:
You’re guided to sail into unchartered territories once you begin to sense how all the information the playful Twins gathered in the prior phase actually fits together to pose one divine question. Now, your love of learning is guided by finding answers to a question or dilemma that can help you and others. However, that’s not to say this voyage will be all smooth sailing. As you travel the metaphorical seas, huge storms are bound to crash into you and try to send you back into your first stage of being.
Mental toughness and trust are your keys to bracing through the storms. Remember, you are divinely guided during this voyage because it’s no longer just about you and your mental expansion. Now, your mental pursuites serve a purpose for the higher good of your soul and the world around you. These storms are divine tests, so don’t give up and you’ll make it to the stars.
Stars:
In your final form, it’s time to gather all the lessons from your vogue and unite them into one North Star. This alchemical process of taking information and weaving a mental pursuit will catapult you into the sky and in the role of the star. In this form, you can guide others in their own discovery and learning process. In this stage of evolution, Geminis are helpful, stable, and supportive as opposed to fickle, fleeting, and superficial.
Your constant quest to travel and search now only appears in cycles, meaning you can trust when it is time to seek and when it is time to be content where you are. You find more enjoyment in the small things in life and embracing the comfort of not always searching for all the answers. You embrace the mystery of the stars.
Crab:
Cancers incarnate into this world armored in the cozy nest of a metaphorical shell. This protection helps your sensitive soul adjust to life on this emotionally-dense planet. Eventually though, the shell becomes a cage—and you use it to hide from the world out of fear that others will either cause huge emotions with their betrayal or rejection, or that they will witness you in big emotions.
Similarly, crabs don’t actually move forward. Instead, they side step about scavenging for whatever they can find. This phase can feel the same as you retreat to your home or safe places instead of moving forward. You may settle for less than what you deserve because you are blind to your own value under the weight of your story that sensitivity is weak. Eventually, the stirring emotions within your soul will reach a boiling point, and that lovely shell of yours will crack, revealing the deadly Hydra hiding within.
Hydra:
You are initiated into the deadly Hydra form when one too many of your symbolic heads is severed. Perhaps someone took advantage of your kindness or undervalued you gifts of feeling, comfort, and intuition. You realize you’ve been thrown about with the tides, and you’re desperate to reclaim your power in all the wrong ways. You may hold grudges or seek revenge, wrongly thinking this will bring a sense of justice and strength back to your being. The cosmos push you to explore the depths of your rage and trauma to release the past and step into your power. However, be careful, dear Cancer; you are capable of massive damage in this phase.
You eventually realize these vicious sprouting heads belong to you, not others. They grew abundantly from your lack of self-worth, poor boundaries, and overly-protective defense mechanisms. Just when you are about to surrender to the beasts within, the cosmos illuminates another way: To forgive, heal, and step into your unique form of soft power. You begin to sense a future that is brighter than the wounds of your past. You’re finally ready to release old stories and step into the vibrant and self-assured power of the peacock.
Peacock:
Like the magnificent peacock opening her beautiful wings to the world, you must bravely reopen to a world that has hurt you. The self-confidence and empathy you built in the prior stages are your new protective layers, allowing you to bask in the glory of your delicate, soft, and commanding sense of power.
You regain your beautiful sense of Cancerian empathy and compassion because you bore witness to the darkness within your soul. You now know what drives people to dark places is their own pain and woundings. Your deep understanding of emotional processes and trauma allows you to alchemize experiences of the past into new stories to build an entirely new future for yourself. When in peacock form, you embody your kindest and most loving self—offering the energy of the Mother archetype to all you encounter in your unique way. You are no longer afraid to love with everything you have, and the world embraces your magic with open arms.
Lion:
From birth, Leos feel a sense of royalty running through their veins. This confidence imbues you with magnificent creative power because there’s no low self-esteem getting in your way. You are vibrant, passionate, and vital. But there is one thing that can get in your way: Pride.
Your soul came here to explore the tough lessons served with a prideful disposition. In this stage, any perceived threat to your capabilities sets you off into a fit of rage. This can manifest as self-destructive patterns harming your close relationships and isolating you from others and your creative flow. In this form, you may fall also into traps of showing off or doing extreme things just to get a reaction from others—often at the cost of your own values and boundaries. The lesson in this turbulent stage is to learn to lead from your heart. Study the generous Lion, who at its best wants all members of his pride (which is ironically the name of a group of lions) to thrive.
Warrior:
As the warrior archetype, you learn to stop fighting for your Ego and to start fighting for others or a cause bigger than yourself. During this stage, you’re asked to simultaneously put down old swords and pick new ones up. Don’t let this paradox confuse you, as it’s really quite simple. You must destroy the armor you’ve built around your Ego and learn to be so self assured that nothing anyone could say or do will ever threaten your sense of self. The next step is to pick them back up and learn how to gracefully and mindfully use them to achieve your goals and desires for the betterment of all beings. You must learn how to lead with a loving rule rather than a tyrannical Ego to enter the third stage of evolution.
King:
Your mentor in this stage is the sun itself, teaching you how to lead with a loving rule rather than a tyrannical Ego. The sun shines brightly each day on the entire kingdom, allowing all of the beings to wake from their slumber and go about their brilliant tasks. This is how you operate in this form. You understand that it’s no longer about you and your individual genius—it’s actually about shining a light onto others so they can step into their unique expressive potential.
Your true birthright of leadership is activated once you begin encouraging others and seeing the light in them, rather than trying so hard to get them to see the light in you. In this radiant process, your energy body floods with universal consciousness. You are now tapped into the endless stream of creative potential, blessing you with the ability to touch people on a deeper soul level with your leadership style and creative endeavors.
Maiden:
Virgos come to this incarnation acutely aware of the perfection of the universe. Your intimate connection with source consciousness yields a playful, curious, and wondrous personality. You see the good in everyone, and believe you can fix the bad with your natural healing abilities. As a result, you may accept a servile role, always aiming to serve others with little to no consideration for your own needs (for this would be selfish and imperfect in the eyes of a Maiden Virgo).
Your obsession with hacking life and others to be perfect, may be successful at first. But eventually, you will get burned by your relentless efforts. The creeping reality sets in that, although the universe is perfect, it is also riffled with imperfection. This confusing realization sends you into a deep downward spiral, from the gates of Heaven to the depths of the underworld as the Dark Maiden.
The Dark Maiden:
Virgo mirrors the story of Persephone, the sweet daughter of Demeter who was kidnapped and trapped in the underworld by Hades. This tale chronicles the fall from light to darkness that all Virgos must endure. This initiation is often triggered by a painful event or experience that shows Virgos that no matter how much they give, they are utterly powerless to the chaos and imperfection of our world. This shatters their illusion of perfection, and they lose their entire sense of self in the broken shards.
The underworld represents the depression and longing to become whole again that often accompanies this stage. Without the light and tools needed to make change happen, you learn to find magic in the mundane. You may also avoid depression by embracing your wild side, allowing your controls to melt away in pursuit of a freeing recklessness.
The purpose of this dark night of the soul is to integrate your shadow and accept your humanness. You realize your limited view of perfection are the chains binding you to darkness. You learn to appreciate what you have when you have it, and stop trying to make everything and everyone perfect. Only then, are you able to rise from the chains and into queendom.
The Queen:
Once you learn that all things, including you, are perfectly imperfect, you can find presence and peace. In this final evolutionary stage, your goal is reclamation. By anchoring into an appreciation for the present moment—no matter where you are or what it looks like—your innate sense of magic and wonder returns.
At the same time, the darkness matured the logical side of your nature, allowing you to work with the dual energies of our world instead of fighting against them. As the regal queen rules with compassion, you are ready to return to service in a whole new light. You now serve from a place of earned wisdom and regality rather than owned servitude. This makes you particularly equipped to help and guide others.
The scale
Interestingly, Libra is the only sign who incarnates as an object. Despite your innate charm and likable nature, your difference drives your intense desire to belong and relate. In this stage, you may struggle to accept yourself and find separation between yourself and others. Patterns of codependency, confusion, and people pleasing run rampant in this stage as you desperately seek a sense of balance and normalcy through others rather than build a sustainable relationship with yourself.
In this challenging beginning form, your gifts of mediation, diplomacy, and sense of justice flip on their head and become vehicles of your own self-imprisonment. You are essentially a prisoner to the thoughts, opinions, and desires of others. Eventually, the cosmos or your inner voice will say "enough" and strip you of your counterweight. You will fly off balance and into a crucial period of despair and confusion for your beautiful unfolding. Go into the dark with grace, dear Libra.
The Blindfold
Libra gives up trying to be fair or belong and put up a blindfold against the world they were once so desperate to fit into. This stage is a temporary retreat from society to peer inside the landscape of their own mind and unveil the true origins of their discontent. In this stage, Libras finally distance themselves from others opinions and demands of them to focus solely on their own desires and needs.
Libras are destined to feel uncomfortable in this stage as they strip themselves of the external markers of beauty they identify with so strongly. Libras must resist the urge to distract themselves or return to superficial pursuits and remain strongly committed to the messages that await them in the dark. The Universe will reward this effort, blessing Libra with the objectivity and inner compass required to navigate their fated duties and responsibility that lie ahead.
The Sword
To become one with the sword is to cut things through to their core. The indecision and muddled mess of thoughts and opinions are no match to Libra’s newfound sense of self-driven objectivity and discernment. This is when your gifts of discerning right from wrong come to life. You know when others are lying, and you know what needs to be done to create balance and fairness.
In this form, you may advocate for the underdog, provide council to those in need, or simply lead with compassion in all that you do. After an arduous journey of learning what it means to be human, you embrace the objectivity that is your divine birthright and balance it with your humanness and very-much alive heart. From the space of the sword, you cut through all the emotions and opinions that typically cloud our viewpoint to make swift and right decisions.
The Scorpion:
Scorpio’s unique relationship with death and darkness means they come into this world acutely aware of their eventual demise and society’s shadow side. This awareness sends them into an immediate fight-or-flight mode that manifests as self-sabotaging behaviors such as defensiveness, revenge, and deeply-seated trust issues. This struggle is crucial to your growth and learning on this planet.
Peer into your darkness, but know it’s not who you are. You came here to alchemize these toxic patterns for your sake and the sake of everyone around you. A scorpion’s sting is poisonous but can provide healing benefits, so be careful with who and how you sting. You will discover that your vengeful stings often comes back around, wounding you, too. Eventually, you will realize there is more to life than strife and paranoia, allowing you to break free from the chains that bind and soar like an eagle into clearer skies.
The Eagle:
From the wide-open sky, Scorpios realize that maybe not everyone is out to get them after all. You witness yourself and others from a higher perspective, seeing all the power struggles you've been immersed in for so long from an entirely new light. Your entire perspective crashes down from that sky view. You learn how to use the energy of the wind and life’s natural flow to get you where you want to be without so much challenge and destruction. You get a taste for how much easier life can be, if only you can allow and surrender.
As you soar, you gain insights and broaden your mind to see that, although there is dark, there is also light. In this eagle form, you learn how to open yourself to all parts of the world and fly without resistance. Release your fears and let them burn to the ground, for you are about to become the mythical Phoenix.
The Phoenix:
The mythical status of the Phoenix is granted once you surrender to your destiny of constant transformation. You see, dear Scorpio, to life a life of constantly shedding old identities and patterns, you must first learn to surrender your foundation and release what no longer serves. The eagle teaches you to surrender, and the Phoenix's how to alchemize. From an outsiders perspective, this release may seem like complete destruction. But fear not, as the Phoenix actually harnesses the energy of decay and toxicity as fuel to propel themselves into an entirely new reality. From these ashes, your true Scorpionic power is born.
You ascend into mythical form—signifying your newfound ability to access other worlds and spiritual wisdom that is hidden or protected away. You become the spiritual leader of your group, and people come to you in search of support, guidance, and protection. Your intuition is sharp, so you are well positioned in this form to help people bridge the worlds that exist beneath the surface of our five-sense reality.
Archer:
As the Archer, Sagittarius feels there’s nothing they can’t aim for in this life. You feel guided and protected by the Universe, and soar ahead with big dreams and an open heart. With stars in your eyes, you set your sights on many goals and adventures without ever fully committing to just one. Due to your open and optimistic nature, you are prone to heartbreak as some are bound to take advantage of your trusting nature or hurl pessimistic insults on your galaxy of rainbows and butterflies. This can cause your expansive demeanor to become dull, closed-off, and bitter.
In this phase, you must learn that your optimism is your strength. You must not let anyone get you down, because you came here to show people how to live from an open heart and mind. Only once you accept your optimistic nature, you will be able to block out the pessimists and keep your sight set on the bigger picture of this life.
Arrow:
In your second stage, you focus your energy on meaningful pursuits for mutual expansion. No longer are the days of blindly tossing your arrow and hoping something will stick by the grace of higher beings. In this phase, you learn how to create plan and follow-up on your soaring arrows.
You incorporate the lessons from the Archer to create a big-picture life path for yourself that is equal parts wise and wondrous. Your soul came here to shoot for the stars, and this is the time to build your rocket and plot your route.
Centaur:
As a Centaur, you have balanced the joy and trust of a child with the execution and strategy of an adult. This makes you unstoppable, and, in some ways, downright mystical. The Centaur in mythology is the bridge between Earth and Heaven, representing your ability to simultaneously reach for the stars in divine co-creation while also taking the right aligned steps and actions to make it happen.
A master of manifestation, you have unlocked the secret to the universe: That big dreams come with a mix of hard work and faith. In this form, you are well positioned to guide and teach others. You have gained much wisdom in your journey, and are eager and excited to share with you know with others to support them in theirs.
Goat:
Capricorns come to Earth as the humble goat. You find great enjoyment in the day-to-day tasks and are driven by a strong desire for accomplishment. Others can depend on you in this phase, but you prefer to work and spend time alone and away from things you consider to be distracting, juvenile, or impractical.
Your close relationship with Saturn means you were born with an old soul. From a young age, you likely took on more responsibilities than the average person. As with any soul that loves to accomplish so much, you posses an innate fear of under-achieving. When you allow this fear to fester unchecked, shadow manifestations such as greed, overworking, and excess stoicism squeeze any remaining drips of joy from your spirit dry. Exhausted and tired from the heavy weight upon your back, the goat eventually stumbles upon a cave—a portal for meaningful rest and portal into the next phase of life.
Cave:
Only within the dark walls of this earthly structure can Capricorn reflect on their life. You begin to question whether all these accomplishments truly mean anything. In this period of isolation from society, you begin to view your peer’s joyous activities and earthly pleasantries you once scoffed at from a new light. Maybe there’s more to life than work, you question. In the cave you have nothing, but begin to find pleasure in the dull flicker of the fire and basic food. Gratitude fills your soul as you empty your to-do list.
You begin imagining what it would feel like to operate from the lens of the eternal child. A longing for this experience—one you rarely felt growing up—spreads deeply throughout your soul. Finally, you leave the cave, determined to give joy a chance.
Sea Goat:
Your commitment to loosening up has a mystical effect, sending you into the form of sea goat. Suddenly, you have returned to your hard-working and ambitious self, only now, your ambitions are driven by the deep spiritual wisdom of joy. You have integrated all parts of your self and are ready to dance the cosmic dance of your divinely-guided purpose.
In this form, you feel free to let out your goofy and romantic sides. You have pointless conversations and sometimes spend hours doing nothing. It’s liberating, and makes returning to your work all the more meaningful because you have achieved balance. In this final stage of evolution, you are called to share your gifts of discipline and focus with the world.
The Waterbearer:
Aquarius comes into this world bearing the cup of cosmic knowledge to pour upon humanity—only to be heartbroken by society’s dismissal of their gift. The ideas this water represents is too futuristic for most to wrap their mind around. Despite your deep love of the collective, you lose patience with the limiting actions and mindsets of the individuals around you.
You may feel like an alien who speaks an entirely different language, leading to intense feelings of isolation, self-rejection, or acts of rebellion. Eventually, the time comes to make peace with your destiny and mission to the collective. Your soul begins to study this restrictive world so you can transform into a wiser and more loving source of cosmic knowledge.
The Owl:
As the owl, your job is to translate the messages from the universe into the hearts and minds of the collective consciousness. You get in touch with planet Earth and ground yourself into this dense but beautiful reality. In this stage, you learn from nature and animals the secrets of this world and how to live within it without losing what makes you different.
Your newfound reverence for the animal kingdom also teaches you humility as you recognize the divine wisdom you have access is not yours at all. You are the translator of cosmic knowledge to the masses. Your heart begins to grow for the collective as you conjure up plans of humanitarianism and loving support to the collective.
The Angel:
You reach divinity on Earth by learning how your individual piece of the puzzle complements the whole of humanity. You lay down your grips on idea ownership and pick up flowers of forgiveness, love, and kindness as peace offerings to those around you. You may now step into your mission of spreading cosmic knowledge to build a future that is more expansive than the one we inhabit today.
You have grounded into your true self through the helping hand of a planet you once resented. You give up any fears around being seen as eccentric and instead learn to love what makes you different. In fact, you become so intensely yourself that you inspire others to unlock their inner weirdo, visionary, and genius.
The Fish:
You incarnated to swim in the currents of emotions and feelings, dear Pisces. Much like the fish lacking skin for protection and instead adorned with hyper-sensitive scales, you were born with your sensory antennas fully attuned to the currents and rhythms of all the energies that congest our world. At first, this creates a romantic existence as you spend your days creating art, listening to music, dreaming, feeling, and crying. The only problem with this romantic portrait is you have no clue how to separate yourself from all the energies around you.
Like the fish that absorbs toxins in dirty water, Pisces absorbs energies that don’t belong to them. The result often manifests as deep confusion, feeling lost, vulnerability, victimization, and escapist-fueled addiction. The purpose of this phase is to transmute your sensory powers for your benefit instead of your detriment. You set out on a lengthy quest that takes you into the pits of your evolution.
The Darkness:
When Pisces can’t take all the noise and energy around them, they eventually become one with darkness. This period of time is a necessary and meaningful retreat so you can tune your sensory capabilities to your own energy field, away from the influence and noise of others.
The purpose of the darkness is to find your inner compass and not be so subjected to the whims of the tides crashing around you. In these moments of darkness and realness, you might have the painful realization that life is not just about creating art and experiencing spiritual bliss. You must learn to swim in this reality by creating healthy boundaries, learning discipline, and trusting your intuition. You must always keep swimming, Pisces—even through the dark.
The Ocean:
Once Pisces discover just how responsible they are for their own energy, they can surrender back to the ocean where they belong. All the boundaries and separation you built in the darkness drift out to sea and you are free to live your cosmic dream once again.
You may feel frustrated that the efforts of your previous chapter ultimately fall apart. But this is the lesson of Pisces, to release attachment to your work and efforts. Remember, you are a spiritual being on a process of evolution. Deep down you know it doesn’t have to make sense, as no one knows how to go with the flow quite like you. In fact, this sentiment becomes your very purpose in the form of the ocean. Like the ocean, you are here to inspire others to surrender, dive deeper, and claim nothing. Everything dissolves or is devoured by the ocean, including all ego and material pursuits. In this powerful form, you guide spiritual seekers through initiations into the incomprehensible just by being you.