Feeling like you were just squeezed through a toothpaste tube? You’re not alone. From November-January, all the influences we’ve been dealing with since early 2008 came to a point and brought us to a crossroad. We have had to choose the comfortable if unexciting familiar or the uncomfortable (even distressing) but exciting territory of the new. Now we get to live with our choices, at least until the next energy window of opportunity presents itself (which is not long off).
February is a time of testing and checking, of refining and adjusting, based on the choices we’ve made. There’s not a lot of room for movement as the planets pass through the fixed sign of Aquarius, but it’s not time for movement—and thank our lucky stars for that! We get to stay in the field we’re in right now, building a force, sinking our energy, planting our seeds—to see what grows. We have made our offering to the heavens, and the heavens have responded dispassionately, simply reflecting our creative process back to us: We get what we want now.
But do we want what we thought we did? We will begin to find out in February. In the small-picture scenario of the yearly cycle, we have seeds to plant as the Sun conjoins Neptune and Chiron. These planets are out of the big loop this year, but not to be overlooked even though they are in the undemanding sign of Pisces. They’re on background, quietly dissolving structures we no longer need (even if we think we need them).
There is a troop of the fast-moving bodies marching through the month, strung like pearls that give their wisdom with each outer-planet contact. First is Mars with the Sun close behind. They conjoin on February 4, starting a new Mars cycle and marking the deepest point of his stay in the Underworld (when he cannot be seen because his light is “burned up” by the Sun’s). Mercury is next and gaining ground fast. He reconnects with Mars on February 20, bringing to fruition the seeds planted on November 22, seemingly so long ago. Far behind is Venus. After her retrograde, she has some catching up to do.
Mars, Sun, and Mercury bring a quick staccato of triggers that light up our energy field, focusing on healing processes as they make contact with Chiron and Neptune. They sink us into the commitments and responsibilities we’ve taken on as they trine Saturn, the Maker of Divine Social Contracts, from its position in Libra. Venus guards the rear, protecting (as the Morning-Star Warrioress) us and softening our outcomes.
Saturn is retrograde now, and we find ourselves on that level plateau after a steep climb in January. The air is fresh and clean, but there’s work to do. We have five months of lessons to learn from within the parameters that are now established. Whether we feel comfort or confinement in the playground we’ve created depends on our perspective as well as how well we’ve expanded our boundaries prior to the retrograde’s commencement.
Jupiter, now in Aries, is bringing more endings to us as its 13-month solar cycle (begun last February 28) completes on April 6. We’re revisiting situations and stories that we co-created last year June 6-September 9. Uranus lends its sparkle and zing from the same zone of the Zodiac, bringing out Phase II of the story with plots twists galore once it enters Aries on March 12. For now, we have time to pack those boxes, clear our emotions, and get ready to travel more light-ly.
We ignore Pluto at our peril, and Jupiter reminds us to pay homage in some way when it squares this denizen of the deep earth on February 25. This energy colors our process and perspective as we move into the spring. The first salvo into our lives occurs on February 6 through 9, when Venus connects these ancient gods and brings our own “State of the Union” awareness where love is concerned.
On February 26, Uranus squares the Moon’s Nodes at the degree of December’s powerful Lunar Eclipse. Situations on our minds then will be nudged to a decision point.
A “Void Moon” or “Void of Course Moon” (or “VOC moon” for short) makes no significant aspects until it enters the next sign. Its void period is thought to be a poor time for starting new projects or making concerted effort toward existing plans.
According to William Lilly, the Moon in Cancer (Moon’s rulership), Taurus (Moon’s exaltation), Sagittarius and Pisces (signs ruled by Jupiter, the Great Benefic) “performeth somewhat.” Lee Lehmann reports that she has tested this, and “you can take it to the bank.” Another way of putting how this works is that, when an action is taken during the void period in one of these signs, you get “unanswered success.” That is, the lack of planetary action prevents your action from being denied.
Maya’s rule of thumb was, “In making a close call, I look at the moon’s final aspect, just before it goes void of course. This shows how the situation will end up.”
Daily Astrological Forecast, February 2011
At 11:31 am, the Moon enters its void period in Capricorn on a note of positive change, following easy contacts to Mercury and Uranus. We have down time until 3:21 pm, when the Moon’s entry into Aquarius gives us a boost in fruitful enterprise, with an opportunity contact to Jupiter. Venus makes a sextile to Neptune, laying down for us a tap-line to spiritual love.
Yesterday’s spiritual love energy becomes today’s awakening to love as Venus squares Uranus before we rise. Mercury gives love expression with a harmonious sextile to Uranus soon after. At 6:31 pm/13°54′ Aquarius, the Moon conjoins the Sun to bring our first New Moon since last month’s Solar Eclipse. This carries the energy of Mars as it sojourns the Underworld, its light burned up by the Sun. This is symbolized in fairy tales by the Prince wandering in the wilderness, blinded by misfortune. Even if we feel as though our path is unclear, we will benefit by the dampening of Mars’s brash energy for now.
This lunar month, and especially the coming week, will be colored by increased awareness in how we can tie up our remaining loose ends. In the chart cast for Washington DC signifying the fate of the nation, a stellium in the 5th house shows a focus on education and schools, sports, and the US Senate. Pluto on the IC portends an intense mid-winter storm or record cold snap in the east. Employment continues to fall, but reports of entrepreneurial efforts increase.
The Sabian Symbol for 14 Aquarius is “A long and heavy train climbs the steep mountain grade and at last a tunnel offers a shortcut to the other side.” (ME Jones version) A doorway opens to relieve the seemingly oppressive and unending climb we’ve been making toward the unknown. Where we have climbed in faith we reach by Divine Grace, with a helping hand up just as we may feel we can go no further. Blessings rain upon us.
Lunar harmonies and two ingresses mark the day. The Aquarius Moon brings a breath of fresh air to our ongoing plans and responsibilities, showing us an easier way to do it. At 2:19 pm, Mercury enters Aquarius, replacing Capricorn’s pragmatism with Aquarian objectivity. Venus crosses over into Capricorn at 9:59 pm to ensure that we find wisdom and authenticity in love.
The Sun reaches Mars, completing Mars’s descent into the Underworld that started last fall. We may feel a peak of vitality and optimism—or agitation, nervousness, and hyperactivity. The Moon enters its momentary void period at 1:48 am with a conjunction to Chiron, reactivating with its entry into Pisces at 2:24 am. The Moon calms our nerves as it transits dreamy Pisces, making soft sextiles to Venus and Pluto. Our relationships, and the feelings surrounding them, deepen.
We can align our mental focus with our goals and intentions with added potency today, as Mercury sextiles Jupiter. Sun trines Saturn to add wisdom, industry, and balance to the mix.
Mars mimics the Sun by trining Saturn, creating an echo of industry and the urge to “get it done” today. The Moon enters its void-of-course period at 11:13 am with the bang of a conjunction to Uranus, although in Pisces the void period can be actively used. At 2:45 pm, the Moon’s entry into Aries opens the door to deeper processes, as it heightens the precurrent activation that Venus already creates as it squares Jupiter at midday. Moon reconnects them in the evening to bring out a process that makes us want to isolate a little so we can figure it out.
Today’s Moon in Aries brings head and heart into accord overnight, making it easier to manage the changes currently in motion in our lives.
At 11:57 am, Chiron re-enters Pisces, where it was last April 20-July 21. Now it’s there to stay until it pushes into Aries, in April 2018. Our healing processes are now experienced more as energy flow in swirls and spirals than as the laser-like straight-line current of Aquarius. In the wee hours, the Aries Moon moves into the beams of an opposition to Saturn then finds its feet with sextiles to Mars, the Sun, and Neptune over the day. The sextile to Neptune opens the Moon’s void period at 11:31 pm, lasting until 3:22 am tomorrow, when it enters Taurus.
At 3:22 am, the Moon enters Taurus and harmonizes with the Venus conjunction to Pluto that perfects today. This is a golden time for relationships that seek authenticity, but anathema to those that hide behind a mask. A late square to Mercury suggests that words do not serve us well in communication as the day waxes on.
The Moon reconnects Mars and the Sun, returning us to the feelings and energies of their conjunction on February 4. The desire to take blind action still exists, but if we do it for love, on faith and following guidance, the outcomes are good. At 11:18 pm/22°13′ Taurus, the Moon reaches its First Quarter square to the Sun, making that Sun-Mars reconnection. We still have time to finish old tasks.
The lunation for Washington DC occurs at 2:18 am on February 11, with an emphasis on media and communications. Meanwhile the US House of Representative continues its retrograde behavior, and the East Coast recovers from last week’s severe weather. The good news is, it puts people to work. Don’t believe the economic forecasts—there are hidden challenges, and the deck is stacked.
At the degree of the First Quarter Moon, 23 Taurus, the Sabian Symbol is: “a jewelry shop filled with the most magnificent jewels.” The true jewels of life are those we find within. Each of us holds a jewelry shop of the most magnificent jewels. We may also find a few gems and pearls among the usual droning platitudes of politicians and spokespeople.
The Taurus Moon connects us to the energies of the past to give another opportunity to focus on the old tasks we have yet to complete, as it squares Neptune and sextiles Uranus. The latter contact opens the Moon’s void period, although in Taurus, she still “performs”. At 2:20 pm, the Moon crosses into Gemini, opening the door to optimism and expansion with a sextile to Jupiter.
It’s a grand-trine day, as Moon in Gemini completes a triangle across the heavens with Mercury in Aquarius and Saturn in Libra. This is a long-lasting effect involving contacts with Mars, Sun, and Neptune tomorrow. This is powerfully harmonious for communication, understanding, connecting the dots, and for healing.
The grand trine continues all day today, giving us a calm space to integrate in when the Moon goes void of course at 7:19 pm. We lose focus on this space once the Moon enters Cancer at 9:48 pm.
Mercury’s trine to Saturn reaches exactitude overnight, underscoring the grand trine of last weekend. The Moon reactivates the Venus conjunction to Pluto and pre-activates the Jupiter-Pluto square (which occurs on February 25). What do you need to do achieve the changes you’ve been building toward since (even before) last summer? Chances are, we see a block in relationships that we think prevents us from moving ahead—but we need to ask, is it the relationship, or is it me?
The Moon continues through Cancer, squaring Saturn before dawn to bring our anxieties out through our dreams, then showing us the way out through a trine to Uranus. This perfects at 11:06 pm for a brief void period lasting until 1:14 am tomorrow (although this time can still be used actively).
At 1:14 am, Moon enters sunny Leo, then makes a cheery trine to Jupiter to brighten the day.
At 1:58 am, the Sun reaches its conjunction with Neptune to start a new yearly cycle of spiritual development and manifesting the energy of light. The rest of the day it’s all about the Moon, as it gives us a gentle nudge then an illuminating new awareness as it opposes Mercury, Mars, and Neptune leading into tomorrow’s Full Moon.
In the dead of night (0:36 am), the Full Moon perfects its opposition to the Sun at 29°20′ Leo, the degree of Regulus, Royal Star at the Heart of the Lion (Leonis). This bright star signifies power and success through love. At this lunar event, the planets are clustered to suggest current and imminent new awareness with the potential for great, positive change. There are three patterns, a cardinal T-square involving Saturn in Libra, Pluto and Venus in Capricorn, and Jupiter in Aries. This motivates us to do something. Using translation of light, there’s a kite pattern with the nodes creating the spine of the kite and a grand trine in Air. This generates a desire to reach a goal and the ability to do it. Finally, there is a T-square of Uranus to the Nodes, which are at the degree of the December 21 Lunar Eclipse. The harmonic resonance of these connections makes this a turning point lunar event, and from February 16 through March 2 we’ll be integrating the opportunities these planetary doorways represent, into our lives.
The Moon is void of course from 0:36 am until it enters Virgo at 1:39 am. A trine to Pluto eases the dynamics of the Full Moon, with more to come. At 4:26 pm, the Sun makes its ingress into Pisces to bring the softer warmer days of winter, with damper air and sublimating energies.
In the chart cast for Washington DC, the Nodal axis aligns with the ASC/DSC—North Node to the ASC with Pluto. Saturn is at the Midheaven receiving an exact square from Venus, who’s carrying light from Pluto and Jupiter. This will provide the support of tough love to the nation’s leaders, especially President Obama. There is a seismic shift in the consciousness of the public, and the image the nation presents to the world. The economy continues to show signs of weakness, leading us to inner strength and mutual supportiveness.
At 30 Leo, the Sabian Symbol for the Full Moon is, “Into a letter is poured vital and confidential information; it is folded carefully, but the envelope is not sealed.” Leaks: Whether Wikileaks or another source, we will find startling revelations of facts that the source felt should not be generally known. By whatever agency, they become known so that what’s real and true can be the basis for future decisions and actions.
At 10:09 am, the Sun conjoins Chiron to set in motion a new year of healing and the development of energy sensitivity. The Moon, now in Virgo, earths the energy of Venus in Capricorn through an early-morning trine—an encounter with a dream lover? Expect the unexpected today as the Moon pushes into an opposition to Uranus, her final contact before giving us the well-deserved rest of her void-of-course period.
Mercury and Mars have had a checkered relationship since mid-November, when they conjoined in Sagittarius. Today we get their third of three conjunctions to tie up loose ends related to events last November-January. This has the added benefit of a simultaneous conjunction to Neptune to give us access to inner truth through the electrical vibration of Aquarius, following their contacts in mobile Sagittarius and “make-it-real” Capricorn. At 1:01 am, the Moon enters Libra, and we weigh our decisions carefully as it heads into an opposition to Jupiter, square Pluto and tomorrow’s conjunction to Saturn. We’re looking at the big picture now.
Moon conjoins Saturn in Libra before dawn, then finds Venus to tune us into the final changes we want to make before the planet of love changes signs on March 1. At 12:54 pm, Mercury enters Pisces, its sign of detriment and fall. This means that Mercury does not function according to its “normal” pattern—rather we will find intuition and image-based reality (“energy logic”) to be more powerful means of communication and connection than mental logic. The Moon trines Neptune to finish the day on a note of stillness and peace.
The Moon trines Mars at 0:35 am, just before both planets go into Pisces. This opens a brief void period for the Moon, lasting until her entry into Scorpio at 1:29 am. Moon finds the other watery planets—Chiron, Mercury, and Sun in Pisces—before breakfast, creating a feeling that all is well in our world. We have the opportunity to set changes in motion today, and they will end well when we are in this balanced state. At 5:06 pm, Mars enters Pisces to add to our imaginative processes.
The Moon and Venus harmonize with a sextile that collects the energy of positive outcomes over the day.
After a square to Neptune, a trine to Uranus at 3:14 am finishes the active phase of the Moon’s journey through Scorpio: nothing can be finalized now. It leaves this void period at 4:46 am as it enters Sagittarius, jumping into squares to Chiron, Mars, Mercury, and finally the Sun to fix the energies of inner transformation and healing into our consciousness for the next week. Now we’re integrating the changes that have built and manifested since the New Moon. This chart carries the Jupiter-Pluto square but gives us a soft way to work with it: the Moon trines Jupiter while the Mars-Chiron-Mercury-Sun sextile Pluto. This represents a two-stage development process that integrates our stories in several different areas. A Mars conjunction to Chiron pushes our pain and woundedness to the surface so they can be healed.
In the chart cast for Washington DC, the Moon on the IC with its squares on the Descendant suggest a virus from another country—whether biological or digital. Just like us as individuals, the nation gets a soft landing out of this lunar event and the Jupiter-Pluto square. It will focus on our relationships with other nations. Immigration reform is likely to be in the news, and there are friendly ways out of the multi-layered national schizophrenia this represents.
The Sabian Symbol for the Last Quarter Moon, at 6 Sagittarius, states, “There is a great display of colorful coming and going in a large concourse of people; it is a cricket game.” This is symbolic of a coming together of people in unison for an event that distracts from their differences. Cricket was (and sometimes still is) a segregated sport, but sports offer the opportunity to work around the world to conquer fear/aggression between people. We can do the same in our own lives by extending a friendly hand to others in gatherings.
The Moon in Sagittarius creates a doorway of opportunity through a sextile to Saturn, but mostly we have bigger fish to fry today. The biggest is Jupiter’s square to Pluto, the second of two that ties into the one that occurred last July 8-August 22. Whatever happened then comes back in a transformed way now. This process is supported nicely by Mercury’s conjunction to the Sun, then their near-simultaneous sextile to Pluto. This, another “triple hit” to add to the many we’ve had in the past four months, deepens our understanding and allows coherent, powerful, and successful changes as a result of so much evolution since last summer.
The Moon finishes its stay in Sagittarius, giving us a dreamy start to our Saturday with a sextile to Neptune but startles us awake on many levels with a square to Uranus. This opens the Moon’s void period, although the Moon still activates events well during this period. At 11:32 am, it moves into Capricorn to ground our energies into efficient and well-managed efforts. This is supported by a sextile to Mars over the day.
The Moon in Capricorn stimulates our deep understanding through our unconscious mind as we sleep when it connect with Pluto, then energizes us with a square to Jupiter and sextile to the Sun, all before we wake. Near dawn, a sextile to Mercury harmonizes head and heart for an easy, peaceful feeling. This sense of communion could be nudged aside by a square to Saturn that isolates us as we complete the work of the day, but that separation is illusion.
Be the change you want to see, and your relationship life will flourish. It’s okay to admit that you made a mistake or need to change an undermining behavior, as Moon in Capricorn conjoins Venus and sextiles Uranus. The Moon goes void of course at 8:03 pm, giving us a breather before it enters Aquarius at 9:14 pm.
For more than 20 years, Terry Lamb (M.A. Linguistics, UC San Diego; C.A. NCGR, EEMCP) has been helping people to understand how cycles and energies work and interact in their lives. She augments her astrological acumen with energy medicine, Yijing (Chinese Book of Change), cosmology, psychology, and a broad range of health and spiritual studies.
Terry is among the nation’s most knowledgeable, insightful, and engaging astrologers. With pragmatic optimism and compassion, Terry’s approach has helped clients and students find their own way to “walk among the stars”. She is dedicated to using astrology as a way to create our future and free ourselves from “fate”. She goes along with Abraham Lincoln, who said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
Her unique approach to astrology can be learned through her home study and apprenticeship programs (contact her directly).
Too much moon stuff.
Too vague.
Stick with planets
thanks