Pinay Zodiac: Aries/Ynaguinid

Pinay Zodiac // Created in collaboration with Jodinand Aguillon and shot on location in Manila, PH. Bridging Philippine mythology and Western Astrology, this series re-envisions ancient Filipina goddesses for the modern diaspora.

Ynaguinid, the Visayan goddess of war and poison, is prayed to before making weapons or going into battle. Warriors would smear themselves in coal and herbs to emulate her and ensure victory.

There are numerous plants in the world that alternatively act as medicine or as poison when used within a different context or capacity. For example, herbs like tobacco and coffee can cause harm when abused or can be pleasurable when used intentionally. As Yngaguinid is the Goddess of poison-making, she teaches us to respect how we use the force of our will. The warrior’s responsibility is to use their strength to serve as guardians of life.

Ynaguinid represents the aspects of power related to war and victory. At its core, power is essential for survival. Each day, it is our spark of survival that wakes us up, brings us to our feet and powers us through our day. We all have this internal force; though how we choose to live and thrive is expressed in different forms.

Ynaguinid and Aries, the first sign of the Zodiac, share the same qualities of survival and the desire to assert the power of the will. While this may sound mundane, the determination to live is a fundamental part of the life process. We have all been given the experience of life and to be here, in existence, is a fight. We must survive. The wisdom of Aries and Ynaguinid is the archetypal force that we all have to defend and protect the things that we love.

How to embody your modern Visayan warrior:

I doubt it would be socially acceptable to smear the blood of your opponent on your boat before you fight off trolls and cyber-bullies.

Rubbing coals and herbs on ones body for intimidation and to let your opponents know you are not backing down is the same expression as having an unmovable course of action to succeed and win.

The heart of the warrior is in their intent. It takes much wisdom, skill and patience to extract the right plants to create poison. There is much precision necessary to effectively strike your enemy.

In our time, our battles are most often less life threatening, but rather based upon what we wish to see in the world - justice, success, gain, liberation.

Ask Ynaguinid to show you the poisons in your life. The places where you are hurting, the habits that are not good for you, the experiences that deplete you. How about your own self sabotage? Ask her to show you the difficulties you’ve been through that are your medicine.

Take the time to recognize that that which was once poison can be a healing balm. The wisdom of experience becomes the antidote to a former struggle. The sting of the arrow becomes a scar worn with pride.

Wear your experiences as sheaths of tattoos. Your truths carry you through the process of detoxification.

Your truth is your battle. The beauty of your experiences your tattoo.

Horoscopes March 20-April 20

As the sun begins its journey through the zodiac, we are placed into a state of equilibrium: a balance of night and day. Spring represents the bursting forth of the year; flowers bloom and our bodies awaken.

However, this spring, we emerge half asleep with muta in the sides of our eyes, still in a haze. Mercury - the ruler of communication and clarity - still traverses the waters of subconscious Pisces until April 16. This suggests that our battles are inward.

The power of the warrior exists in their intent. Clarity of purpose, resolve and capacity to charge with single pointed focus. As mental faculties will be more creative, sensitive and even spiritualized - it is the perfect time to look inside.

What if this time was used to ask: What am I fighting for? How can I gather the poisons (lessons) around me and use them to create medicine (solutions)?

Aries + Aries Rising

Spring begins with a Full Moon, bringing relationships into focus for you. Try to find the sweet spot between juggling your own needs vs. the needs of others.

While the past months have been incredibly work-oriented, there is also a growing emphasis on deeply checking in with yourself and to focus on your home and family. The desire for external achievement is definitely where you have set your arrow this past year, though powerful realizations through inner inquiry can propel your intent much further through April 17. Successful work is a culmination of contentment in relationships, the home, and self - there’s has been lot to consider lately.

Being pulled in many directions through March will clear up by the New Moon on April 5. Use this moon to reign in your fire and define yourself.

It was quite a soft start to the astrological new year, but April will change to a faster pace. Take the time to slow down and keep your head clear.

Taurus + Taurus Rising

The start of spring has you dreaming and considering where you see yourself in respect to your friendships and greater community. While a certain level of clarity will be achieved by the week of March 24, this inquiry seems to last through April 11. During this time, use the process of discernment to get clear about identifying the difference between: dream, ideal & goal. Goals are the matured process of a dream and ideal. If utilized creatively, there’s some really exciting ways that you can be participating in your social circles.

As you may have been feeling the past month, a sense of change is coming over you. Do you have a chip on your shoulder about not wanting to take shit, or even a desire to get a makeover? Allow these impulses to drive the growing urge to express yourself more clearly. One place to look is your relationship to your friends and the other, the relationship to your inner mind. While there’s a boisterous need to change yourself, there is also a need for diving deep. Allow time on the April 5 New Moon for contemplation; you will see the hidden parts of yourself that want to come through.

Gemini + Gemini Rising

Spring pops off for you by presenting the question: “How effectively am I using my gifts and being seen for them?” The past month has left you in deep inquiry around work. March 27-29 should prove to brighten up your situation as clarity starts to ease your sector of work and reputation. Stressful work matters will lighten up.

By March 31, you may feel a rush of excitement and more of a desire to assert yourself. Heed a bit of caution for rash decisions and utilize any excess energy on physical activity.

The new moon on April 5 will be an excellent time to envision where you see yourself best and to be seen for your skills and talents in the way that they are deserved, but first define: Who is your audience? Utilize the lessons of the past month to fertilize your vision.

April 14-15 will be an excellent time to hang out with friends, make new connections and get stimulated. Meeting someone important can come to you this weekend, so be sure to seize the opportunity.

Cancer + Cancer Rising

2019 has offered you some powerful realizations about yourself and especially the way you present yourself to others. As spring begins, it’s a new year and a new you, boo.

The feeling of putting yourself out there in a way that is more authentic will be the flavor this month. The New Moon on April 5 activates your sector of career and reputation. It will be the best time to create intentions around how you wish to be seen this year for your work direction. When creating the intention, think back to your ethics and morals as there have been some changes in how you see them lately. Your work is a culmination of an aligned sense of life philosophy and a flowing balance between self and others.

During the week of April 7, don’t worry if some old relationship patterns creep back in to challenge you. Stay focused and maintain that alignment to your growth.

Leo + Leo rising

How well are you dealing with being intertwined right now?

Since February of this year, the question of your attachments to others and how you share yourself intimately has come up. There have been situations brought into your life where you may need to establish boundaries in partnerships, friendships and intimately. No worries! The tides will start to turn March 27-29. Be mindful of the lessons learned throughout the month of March, as they can be tested April 9-10.

Anyway, it’s not a time to be worried about the entanglements and drama of others for two good reasons:

You are reorganizing your relationship to time and responsibilities
You are feeling really creative right now!

Use the New Moon on April 5 to devote yourself to learning something new. The bubbling creative forces that have been building for you this year are ripe and thirsty for some fertilizer. Cultivate the garden of your mind as this New Moon extends the boundaries of what you think is possible.

Virgo + Virgo rising

Spring has sprung, and maybe you’re sprung too?! The dreamy contemplative nature of this month is happening in your relationship sector. The Mercury retrograde that began on March 6 has brought exes, old friends and colleagues into your life. You may be dreaming about old relationships as well. What is the meaning of all this? Don’t ignore it because it’s time to revisit your relationship patterns, as there is much to learn through the end of the retrograde on March 29.

The New Moon on April 5 marks a new chapter for the year in how you want to express intimacy and closeness in your relationships. There is an obvious lesson that has been developing around how you connect with others. Use your understanding of who you are and where you have come from in order to create an updated set of rules for what you will share, limit and compromise in a relationship. This is called boundaries, honey.

Libra + Libra rising

Have you been allowing yourself time to pause and wonder how your days are flowing for you? The past few weeks have brought in confusion to your schedule. Feeling a bit aimless or lazy? March 27-29 is when it may be easier to ground into your time management and work will likely start to flow for you.

Utilize the New Moon on April 5 to assess what partnerships and relationships mean to you. Since the start of 2018 there has been an overwhelming sense of focus on understanding who you are on a fundamental/emotional level. The week of April 7 will seem to challenge your values in relating to others. Use the awareness of who you are to commutate your deep truth.

Scorpio + Scorpio rising

As the spring emerges, there is a yearning for passion that has been welling up inside you for the past few weeks. Your creative process is under evaluation and there is a little back-and-forth around what makes you feel vital and excited. Do not take this lightly. March 27-29 should offer a pleasant shift in this personal inquiry.

Meanwhile, relationship challenges and annoyances seem to be taking up a lot of your energy the past few weeks.

Utilize the New Moon on April 5 to set clear intentions about how you wish to prioritize your time. How much do you allot for your pleasures, leisure, responsibilities? What are the boundaries necessary to fulfill your many needs?

Sagittarius + Sagittarius Rising

The spring starts off inching you toward enjoyment and pleasure, but there has been a even bigger question welling up around what actually makes you happy. Is there a sense of thirst you’re trying to quench emotionally? Through March 29, your home and family may be requiring more attention from you. Take a lot of time and space to enjoy this process, because this period of reflection is supporting the new YOU that has been building up this year.

The New Moon on April 5 will be a great time to set intentions for a new passion project or around how you are inviting love into your life. Your intention should be built on the lessons of the previous month >> emotional foundations and reiterations of where you are growing and upgrading. April 14-15 has inspirations and opportunity for you, so keep your mind + heart open to possibilities this month.

Capricorn + Capricorn rising

Daydreams have been quite frequent, making it difficult to focus on yourself amongst the busyness of the past few weeks. It is easy to feel the weight of growing pains right now. Don’t fight the urge to daydream! Your imagination has been speaking to you, urging you to find new pathways in your mind and also in your waking life. Take new routes to work and switch up your day-to-day. Authenticity and identity will be a strong inquiry this month. It may feel like many parts of you are churning on the inside and it’s taking a lot to express yourself the way that you truly would like to.

Don’t fret! Use the New Moon on April 5 to get very real with yourself about who you know you are, the story you tell yourself, and the story that you play out. Alignment leads to authenticity. Write your story, and edit out the parts that don’t match up to where you are growing.

Aquarius + Aquarius rising

Springs begins with you having to reconsider many of the parts that make you feel like yourself. The recent concerns around money and how you are being valued will begin to taper off by March 27-29, bringing a renewed sense of self esteem and some extra funds into your bank account.

The New Moon on April 5 will be an excellent time to set intentions for learning something new. Set intentions based around that warrior clarity, as the following weeks will be busy and very social for you. April 14-15 is a great time for fun; meeting people and some opportunities are awaiting you. Make sure you get out of the house to enjoy the special connections waiting for you.

Pisces + Pisces Rising

How comfortable do you feel with yourself right now? Spring is bursting forth, but do you have the words to accurately express yourself?

The past few weeks have had you questioning if you like what you see in the mirror. Maybe there has been a need to change your appearance, or you are feeling the need to assert yourself differently. As more people seem to be noticing you this year, the desire you have been feeling to switch up how you present yourself is timely. All the personal inquiry for the past few weeks will start to make sense by March 27-29 as Venus will start to increase your magnetism and physical beauty until April 20.

As the topic of confidence has come up quite a bit, the New Moon on April 5 is your time to set intentions for your self value. Identify what is good enough for you - within your lifestyle, your money and self-esteem.

There’s so much to define this month so that you can charge forth through the year without questioning yourself!

Photography: Dar San Agustin
Art Direction & Styling: Jodinand Aguillon
Illustration: Anissa Aguila
Hair: Leslie Ferrer Espinosa
Makeup & Model: Crista Aguinaldo

Chase Chualong

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Chase Chualong is a professional astrologer based in New York City and the founder of the Bay Area Healers Market.

Chase is certified by the NCGR-Professional Astrologers Alliance and his mentor, Adam Sommer. Chase teaches classes in New York, San Francisco and online.

Chase’s work with astrology is influenced by the healing arts, modern psychology, herbalism and magic.