Mercury entered Pisces today (31st Feb), hours before Venus goes direct tonight. And the moon will be moving from detached Aquarius into sensitive, impressionable Pisces to conjunct Mercury and then Neptune in Pisces...that's tomorrow afternoon (Feb 1st). And then she's moving on to hit Chiron in Pisces later tomorrow evening.
This gives a wistful, wounded emotional tone to the weekend...the ghosts of what could have been (but will not be now) might take a while to dissipate.
You'll know what regarding love and money matters is real and what's a mirage with Venus direct, and you'll be ready to move on. But there is definitely some sensitivity involved here; some last dream-tendrils to break free of; some grieving.
Well you can't move on without leaving something behind, right? And good-byes can be hard...
Mercury will be in Pisces till the 7th of February, turning retrograde just conjunct Neptune in Pisces. And then he will move back towards rational Aquarius, re-entering the sign on the 13th February, conjunct the sun. Just in time for Valentine's Day and a full moon in Leo - I'm thinking this looks like a good thing. You will hopefully be able to review love and money matters with a big measure of detachment and emotional control after Mercury re-enters Aquarius.
Anyway I think these currents are all about dreams and reality and how they intersect. Mercury in Pisces (and conjunct Neptune) is visionary, imaginative, creative, poetic...also often vague and wooly-headed, distractable, inarticulate. It's about intuition and the difficulties involved in translating intuitive knowledge into language or action.
I guess it's safe to say that with Mercury in Pisces you'll be able to see the issues at work in your life in a larger, transpersonal context, and hopefully have some sort of intuitive understanding of what's happening and what it all means, even if you can't necessarily articulate it.
--This is a very good influence for artists and musicians, who should be able to squeeze a lot of creative inspiration from it.
As Mercury retrogrades and moves back through rational Aquarius, you'll get a chance to reformulate your intuitions and put them into a logical framework. To marry your dreams to rationality and to a concrete vision for the future.
It's about practical idealism: finding out which of your dreams are actually attainable.
Be careful with alcohol and drugs over the next week, and especially this weekend - Mercury-Neptune is a real mental head-fuck even without them, but with them you can get really scrambled. And with the cardinal t-square in effect, things are tense: you will want to keep your wits about you as much as you can.
But overall this looks like a dreamy, sensitive, somewhat weepy, but imaginative and romantic influence. A chance to just feel what you feel, after the cold-hearted Aquarius new moon. And to transcend your feelings and imagine what would be the best next course of action...not just for you but for the grand scheme of things, if you get my drift.
This is exact at 11 degrees Aquarius, around 9:40 pm GMT on the 30th January.
And I like it quite a lot! Because Aquarius is progressive, revolutionary, electrifying. And detached. And lord knows we could all use a measure of detachment around this time, given how heavy and fateful these skies are.
About Aquarius: I associate this sign with Mr. Spock. Very rational, honest, scientific, disengaged from messy human emotion...but there is a big measure of inflexibility in this disengagement. A stubbornness. He is actually half-human, he does have emotions...but he regards them as 'illogical' and will not allow them any validity. And this is actually a form of aggression against the feeling side of his nature.
You can imagine how liberating it would be to hang out and talk ideas with Spock: you could say just about anything to him and he'd be impossible to shock. And he'd have plenty of fascinating facts and theories at his disposal about geeky stuff like how to build transponders out of rubindium crystals found on obscure asteroids.
But for an emotional person, hanging with Spock would feel pretty constricting: imagine trying to talk to Spock about your feelings! He'd probably sit there all deadpan, observing you as if you were some interesting new variety of microbe.
This is the paradox of Aquarius: open-minded and progressive on the one hand, utterly inflexible - in a way that can be cold and cruel - on the other. I'm thinking of Le Corbusier here, the French architect who dreamed of razing the poorer neighborhoods of Paris and replacing them with futuristic tower blocks. He wasn't thinking of the day-to-day lives of the people who lived in those areas - he didn't care about them or about the disruption to community life his plans would cause. He had his eyes fixed on a progressive dream of the perfect city, and who cared about the messy humans who got in the way of it?
Le Corbusier's 'Ville Radieuse' or Radiant City model
Imagine what Paris would be like now if he'd been allowed to build this in the heart of it? Imagine living in the Radiant City of his perfect future. It's batshit insane.
--Of course plenty of people do live there: plenty of poor neighborhoods in plenty of cities were razed per Le Corbusier's ideas, and replaced with tower blocks. We know what wonderful places to live those are.
At worst, Aquarius can be like this: loving humanity in the abstract, but with no feeling for the needs of actual people. And utterly unrealistic in its future-oriented idealism.
There are two planetary rulers of the sign: Saturn (the traditional ruler) and Uranus (the modern ruler). Saturn is about constriction, and this is appropriate to the stubborn and emotionally detached nature of the sign.
But let's talk about Uranus, as this is the modern ruler of Aquarius. It was discovered in 1781, during an era of revolutions: scientific, political, social. This was the start of the industrial revolution - technology was about to change ordinary life in previously unimaginable ways. The American colonies were at war with England, two years away from winning and establishing a new government based on progressive ideals of democracy and the rights of man. And France was undergoing social upheaval that would lead to a shocking revolution - one that would turn all social norms and traditions upside-down and tear the country apart.
The outer planets, discovered in the modern era, owe a lot of their astrological symbolism to the times and circumstances of their discoveries, and Uranus has become symbolically tied up with the idea of shock, upheaval, progressive change and scientific discovery (it was the first planet to be discovered with a telescope). Look at this picture of it! No, the picture is not tilted wrong. Uranus is the only planet in the solar system with an axial tilt perpendicular to the plane of the solar system: it rotates sideways.
As if to signal: hey, I'm a freak! I don't care what all you boring-ass bourgeois planets do, I'm going to rotate my own damn way.
Well anyway, that was a long digression on Aquarius and Uranus, but I hope you see where I'm going with this. Aquarius represents progressive change, social idealism, rebellion, revolution, liberation. Also oddity and a detachment from messy human life and emotion that can be liberating... but also strange and cold.
New moons represent new beginnings, and a new moon in Aquarius is a chance to really detach from the past - from old patterns and habits and neuroses. To survey your life rationally and coldly, and to envision a different kind of future. It's an opportunity for radical transformation.
The sun and moon (and also Mercury) in Aquarius will be disposited by Uranus in Aries, which is about individual liberation and revolt.
And Uranus in Aries is currently bound up with some very heavy shit: he is squaring Pluto in Capricorn (rotten social structures and power hierarchies) for the next year, and is caught up in cardinal t-square formations with Jupiter in Cancer (huge emotions, woman power), and then Mars in Libra (a drive for fairness in relationships and social justice) which last until July.
And I will not even talk about April right now, except to say that the drama reaches crisis level intensity (yet again) in April....that's really soooooon.
In other words, there are a lot of things that need changing, especially in regard to relationships, entrenched power dynamics and financial issues. Collectively and personally, radical change is demanded of us - and it's coming, like it or not. And in ways that are likely to be very shocking and unpredictable, especially if you're not prepared to change, or unable. Some people really are not able to change, I know it. It's sad.
(Crappy day in dinosaur land)
But if you are one of the lucky ones who can; who can roll with the punches...well you can use this new moon to observe your life with perfect detached clarity. What needs to change; what changes can you implement in advance of the drama that's coming? What can you do to secure your position, or conversely, to give yourself a lot of options so that you can use all this drama and upheaval to your advantage?
Shock coming out of a clear blue sky - well nobody wants that, but this is the cosmic weather we are living under, and it's good to be psychologically prepared, able to survey your options with clarity and to detach from what you don't need...and furthermore to think about what you actually want; what would improve matters. It might be something radically different and new: a complete break with the past.
The ability to cut cords and envisage something utterly new - that is the gift this new moon is giving us. Remember Aquarius is not just about logic and intellectual clarity and rebellion against the established order. It's also about hope. The dream of a better future, a fairer and more humane future - a future with room for you and your weird-ass freak flag.
Ok, so that's your new moon...use it! Any iota of intellectual detachment you can come by is valuable right now.
Because the cardinal t-square that is in effect now involves a lot of heaviness and emotional intensity. We have Jupiter in Cancer and Pluto in Capricorn in tight opposition, and Venus retrograding into a conjunction with Pluto. And all this is squaring Uranus in Aries.
And what's this about? Love and money, death and corruption. And huge feelings, broken hearts, broken dreams, rage. The need to change, to rebel...within a structure that does not allow change?
Miss Havisham's rotten wedding cake?
Juliet's corpse.
Is it time to let the romantic dreams go...to see them for the dried-up corpses they are?
Well of course it is. You know it is - it's way past time.
Venus conjunct Pluto in Capricorn is about wanting stability, security. Love you can bank on and money in the bank. Venus retrogrades are times of past relationships and their issues coming back to haunt us...past lovers, past patterns. They are also about reviewing and reconsidering financial matters - and this is especially evident with Venus in Capricorn, the sign of banking and career.
Venus goes direct the day after the new moon. So you can use this rational and distanced new moon to review how these issues impact your life very calmly and logically, like Spock would. And you can set a course for the future. Confirmation of your analysis should not be long in coming: you will know for sure what is real and viable, and what's a rotting wedding cake that should be thrown out already, after Venus goes direct.
And then you can get on with things. Like this, hopefully:
This one's at 26 degrees Cancer on January 16th,
around 5 am GMT.
And it's...not so bad. Really, ha. It's actually sort of nice! Provided you've been doing your work.
The moon will be in her own sign of Cancer, which is a very nurturing and motherly kind of vibe. And she will have just passed a conjunction with Jupiter in Cancer the day before, which is kinda like getting a cupcake from the universe. Or a big smoochy kiss. It's a fleeting influence, but sweet.
The moon will be opposing the sun in Capricorn, which is widely conjunct Venus: so this story is still about having rock-solid standards in love and money matters. Making sure your commitments are solid.
So basically we are looking at a very motherly, nurturing, cupcake-bearing emotional tone opposing the cold, bedrock reality of limits and standards. You can't always get what you want...
Oh crap, I'll play the song even though it's kind of hokey. You get what you need.
Yeah, very appropriate for this full moon. (There's even a cake on the cover of the album.)
Mars will be exactly squaring Venus in Capricorn later on the day of the full moon...so this theme of wants vs. requirements really does seem to be what we are looking at here. Mars in Libra wants one-on-one relationship, social harmony, social justice and fairness. And Venus in Capricorn requires solid investments and security. Something you can bank on. And the moon in Cancer is about hunger and sustenance.
What do you want; what is your heart set on? And is it something that can actually nourish you, or is it junk food? It's the full moon, so you will know: the issue will be all lit-up and in your face.
Here is a link to hexagram 27 from the I Ching. It's about issues of right nourishment.
There may be something you want that you just can't have. Or something you really want that you probably shouldn't have (another cupcake maybe?)
Maybe you're emotionally invested in something that just does not work in the real world. Or maybe you're involved in some unjust relational dynamics that need to exposed and weeded out.
Saturn in Scorpio (karma coming due, especially regarding dark collective psychological patterns) will be hitting the sun, Venus, the moon and Jupiter with beneficial aspects, and this is a very steadying influence on the emotional tone. It should be possible to cut off any toxic or unworkable patterns this full moon exposes. It should be easier than usual to walk away from temptation, to stop doing what you know is bad for you, to dissociate yourself from shitty interpersonal dynamics.
And because Mercury is in Aquarius and sextiling Uranus in Aries...you will probably find it easy to understand, in a fairly detached way, exactly what's going on. And to articulate it brilliantly and with great clarity! To issue your revolutionary manifesto in a very electrifying yet rational way.
I think if you've been doing your work and dealing with your shit (Saturn in Scorpio again), the skies at this time will really be on your side. You'll get back some sort of solid return on investment; you'll have laid the foundations of your security...and you'll probably be feeling pretty damn ok.
If you've been lying to yourself and others, indulging what's worst in you, attempting to nourish yourself on toxins...well you'll get a solid return on those sorts of investments as well. It's harsh, but that's just how it is.
Something I'm seeing in my own life under these skies: there is a real theme of women being fed up with deeply ingrained cultural patterns of patriarchal power and abuse, and refusing to put up and shut up anymore. It's exhilarating.
Jupiter in Cancer is some big fat female energy. And this full moon will be conjunct Lilith, a signifier of scary, socially unacceptable female power and rage. And these points are involved in the current cardinal grand cross, which is about rotten social structures that must be changed.
So I think for women especially...speaking out about relational injustice, even if you're initially branded a crazy bitch for it (and you probably will be), is really important. We have Jupiter (luck, blessing, justice) on our side right now and we had better use it!
This goes for gay men as well, and men who don't buy into the patriarchal worldview. The cardinal grand cross represents a window of opportunity or a portal to a different kind of world. We can actually instigate revolutionary changes in the collective via individual action these days...and that means fighting for justice on your own home turf, in your own life. Speaking out, making a fuss, being loud and troublesome if that's what feels necessary. And also banding together with other women and like-minded men for support.
Things only change when enough individual people are willing to stand up and challenge the collective undertow...even if that means being isolated at first. We have to value our personal integrity and the truth of our feelings and intuition more than we value fitting into social structures that are inherently rotten.
