Aries

The last time the Moon was in Aries, I went on an impromptu trip to Budapest. I had no idea how long I was going to stay, I had no idea where I was going to stay, but I hopped on a train in Vienna and took my chances.

It was a huge leap outside my comfort zone as I still prefer to have everything planned out in advance, but I realised that I was getting into yet another rut and I had to push myself out of it. There are always excuses that the mind comes up with for not making a move, for not doing something you’ve never done before, from giving up some kind of security……for me it’s usually my bowels that get stuck because I am worried about eating foreign food, drinking dodgy water, and the general stress of travelling. But it’s all nonsense and just another way of stopping myself from moving forward and having new experiences.  

So, I braced myself, took my tiny overnight bag and stepped onto the train for Budapest, Keleti!  

Three hours later, I arrived in Budapest with hundreds of other people pouring off the train. I had no idea where to go and when I asked a couple of people whether they spoke English, all I got in return were blank looks. Hungary is not like Austria where most people speak at least a little English. In Hungary, most people don’t speak any English!  

The next lady I asked did speak some English and she wanted to know where I wanted to go. I said I’d like to get to the centre of Budapest. But she then said, but where do you want to go? I said I had no idea….Then she asked me, where is your accommodation? And again, with my heart in my mouth, I said I had no idea! She told me that the area around the station was not the best place to get a hotel and asked me how long I would be staying. At that point I said, maybe just one night, and she said to me, “let me phone my husband. We have a spare room and you could stay with us in our big family home with pleasure!”  

Her husband readily agreed to my staying, so I took pot luck, and decided that I needed to go with the flow.  

Then I realised that Hungary wasn’t in the Euro, and I hadn’t got any local currency. So she took me to the exchange place and I got some Hungarian Forints. They did look rather like monopoly money, especially as you get nearly 300 Forints for just 1 Euro.  

As in every foreign country, finding out how to use the public transportation system can be a challenge to say the least. Luckily I had Katarin with me who was my interpreter and helped me to get a batch of bus tickets.  

We then hopped on a bus heaving with people to her house in the suburbs. This was a real adventure. Going with a lady I had never met before, to her home and family in a place I had never been in before, and staying the night!

She asked me what was the most important thing I wanted to do while in Budapest and I told her I really wanted to visit one of the spas that Hungary is so famous for. She said, “no problem at all”. We got to her house and then I dropped my bag and she drove me all the way to the oldest and most beautiful spa in Budapest. I had a glorious few hours there swimming and the soaking in the health giving baths. There were a few locals playing chess with their bodies half immersed in the water and the chess board at the corner on one of the huge stones at the entry steps into the hot pools. It was hilarious watching them getting very animated about their next moves.

Katarin came and picked me up with her husband, Laszlo, and he drove while she was my private tour guide showing me round Budapest at night! They took me to all the sights, Hero square, Parliament building on the Danube, the Citadella panoramic point, the Freedom Statue……it was just amazing!!

There would have be no way in the world I could have planned all these experiences, but in just going with the flow I had the time of my life.

The fact that this is a difficult thing for me to do meant that finding an opportune time with a Full Moon in Aries would give me that extra push to be braver and more courageous. And it did help me.

I just stayed the couple of days and then headed back to Vienna for the Moon in Taurus which is good for getting down to business and working again.  

It’s amazing how you can work with the astrological energies to your advantage. You can break through barriers that initially seem insurmountable. I hope this will inspire you to do the same!