STARS IN SIGHT February, March 2010

How sweet it is when autumn colours start to show and cooler evenings mark the coming change. February and March relate to the signs of Aquarius and Pisces, and are seasonal high points for Australia and New Zealand, with the warmer seawaters and more settled summer of February sometimes spilling over into March as the best of both climate worlds. With March 21 comes Autumn Equinox, when day and night are equal length once again. This is the turn into true autumn and to spring for the northern hemisphere.

The stirring breezes of Air sign Aquarius do not always fit the expected pattern. For a start this Air sign is frequently confused for a Water sign because of those waters pouring from the jug Aquarius holds aloft. That figure has been identified with the Egyptian god Hapi who poured the flooding waters of the Nile each year. For Ancient Greece it was Ganymede, the beautiful boy who was cup-bearer of the gods. Not normal waters but the revivifying liquid of renewed life, of hope reborn, is what Aquarius pours.

This second last stage on the zodiac wheel represents social maturity. We all have an eleventh ‘house’ in our natal chart that describes some level of Aquarian urges – the way friendships and social conscience manifest. This eleventh sign finds its identity in meaningful connections, in service to the needs of others, in like-minded groups, but not necessarily by following the rules. Usually disciplined and productive, courtesy of ‘ruler’ Saturn, Aquarians often prefer to think before obeying, they prefer to work within a system but if possible rewrite the rules. After all, the modern ruler of Aquarius is Uranus, the planet linked to sudden changes, an inner electrical charge, intuitive leaps. Aquarius is Every Man/Woman, our collective conscience, fixed social drives to cement group life, to share knowledge. Love for Aquarius is tribal, all welcome. Rumi’s words perfectly describe the spiritual secret of this eleventh sign:

We are the mirror as well as the face in it. We are tasting the taste this minute of eternity. We are pain and what cures pain. We are the sweet cold water and the jar that pours. (Open Secret, Versions of Rumi, trans.by John Moyne and Coleman Barks, p. 22)

While some power struggles are inevitable in early February, a Venus/Jupiter link up in mid February soothes the troubled soul. The Aquarius solar cycle started January 20, picks up enthusiasm February 8 to 10 and finishes February 19. A wave of humanitarian, knowledge-oriented zeal is likely to arrive via that most Aquarian of institutions, the worldwide web. The period from January 20 to February 15 is especially potent and culminates in a Sun, Moon, Neptune, Chiron alignment which marks a healing opportunity for Aquarius New Moon on February 14: A seed can be sown, which may take until late July to show its helpful results. Water it with hope.

Strangely, it is ‘mutable’ introverted, sometimes overly sensitive Pisces energy, rather than fixed extroverted Aquarius energy, that holds the lamp of hope for 2010. Expansive ‘benefic’ Jupiter returns to Pisces for most of 2010. This makes Jupiter ‘dignified’ and its return to this home sign can only happen every twelve years. The plot thickens from February 15 to 17 when Venus also in Pisces and ‘exalted’ there, joins Jupiter. This supporting act paves the way for the Sun’s entry on February 19 - a Pisces trifecta. The Pisces solar cycle will have an extra edge on loving behavior and meaningful connections. Yet plans could easily be delayed by unknown factors, soul needs could upset the cart of worldly goals. Only a temporary slow-down, patient acceptance and efforts to focus on quality rather than results, will be the most organic strategy. Both relationships and work can undergo a refining process now and pleasure in small things brings rejuvenation.

Since the two most challenging planets - Mars and Saturn, are both in retrograde motion and therefore have less influence on our affairs, this gives Jupiter and Venus extra strength, particularly from February 17 to 28. Considered to be benefics, helpful to human affairs, these two are also the brightest planets for viewing, Jupiter will disappear from sight in late February but the viewing opportunities for Venus get very good indeed...Invisible since last December, Venus reappears as Evening Star, right after sunset in the West, on February 22. Now for about nine months Venus will be the star that heralds the evening then sets, appearing longer in the sky as time goes on.

March begins with a Full Moon. Emotional flows reach high tide, pushing everything into visibility. Since this Full Moon is in Virgo, all the details will be scrutinized, whether it be within personal relationships or bureaucratic structures, there will be no hiding. While March continues to carry the softer energy that began February 17, there is a wild undercurrent that surfaces occasionally, first glimpsed March 1-4.

The Pisces New Moon on March 16 marks a turning point. This is particularly profound because Sun and Moon conjoin both Mercury and Uranus, the two planets most connected to mental breakthrough. Uranus is considered a higher octave of Mercury and operates more on an intuitive loop than a logical process; together they evoke new perceptions and an unusual if restless energy. This watery combo can also be the harbinger of wild weather, internally and externally. Those astro-folk born just after mid March, mid June, mid September or mid December are the ones who will most clearly focus this energy. If that is you, make this a time to gather insights and deepen perceptions but make no final decisions just yet. 

Perhaps the insights of Sufi mystic ‘Ibn Arabi, suggest an appropriate container for the wild-child impulses of Pisces New Moon. He sees the Moon’s phases as allowing the contemplation of the Sun’s Unity, even though its ongoing journey through the zodiac is one of constant change. That way, both aspects of our soul function are fulfilled at once. In his book Mystical Astrology, ‘Ibn Arabi described the Moon as the transmitter of Divine Wisdom…the mediator proper to the human heart”. This view supports the concept of healing as wholeness: There is a natural equilibrium of stable systems amid constantly changing processes and age related cycles; wholeness can only be achieved by embracing change. Unlike the view popularized by reality TV, our birthright is to be whole, not to be eternally young. Each New Moon represents that stable union of Sun conjoined Moon, a cyclical renewal. After the emotional climax of Full Moon, Moon wanes until invisible in the Sun’s embrace at New Moon - our monthly chance to re-experience timeless sacred time. What better lunation to grasp this chance than the Sun/Moon alignment in the twelfth sign of Pisces, which represents a return to source, the great process of dissolving the separate self. As Rumi says: 

Be melting snow. Wash yourself of yourself. (Ibid p.50)

Cycles like the monthly lunar cycle and the eight year Venus phase cycle, and the twelve year Jupiter return cycle and the 29 years Saturn takes to return, play a big part in our life. This is particularly so when the transiting planet in question rules the Sun, Moon or Ascendant in your birth chart.Consider Warrior Mars, whose name was given to March and whose day of the week is Tuesday. Its transit influence is important now because March 10, 2010 is when Mars completes its long retrograde phase. Mars has seemed to slip backwards through the zodiacal sign of fiery Leo since last December and now it resumes direct motion. Since Lover Venus moves through fiery Aries, from March 7 to 31, Mars is in charge and passionately engaged. Fire meets fire and spontaneous unions occur. Creative teams and love matches spark and crackle in March. While linked to extremes and destruction, Mars is also an important guage of vitality and our ability to defend ourselves from attack. Moving direct through Leo until June, Mars helps us stand up for our own creative ideas and marries purpose with passion as we move into the Aries solar cycle at March 21’s autumnal equinox..

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.c) Christine Broadbent