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February '13
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by Terry Lamb

Jupiter has just returned to forward motion as February commences, and what a relief it is. Finally, this impossible situation we’re in takes a turn for the better. Jupiter has been in a continuous yod formation with Saturn-sextile-Pluto since last October, with the most intense period for this pattern December–March. However, the focal point for its release is February—or would be if it weren’t for a couple of dampeners.

The dampeners are Saturn’s retrograde, which opens on February 18; and Mercury’s retrograde, which starts on February 23. Since Saturn is one leg of the yod, its retrograde is relevant to the process and pushes some aspects of your situation to be resolved in the summer. Mercury is not directly involved in the pattern, but it does connect with all these planets from its place in Pisces.

This means that, although Jupiter will release and give us some goodies, the rewards will come in waves—the first in late January–early February, the second mid-March–early April, and the third after July 7. Mixed in with this is the ongoing healing process we’ve been working through, affecting our focus, mobility, and commitments.

When you think yod, think awkward. A yod almost universally brings out karmic blocks and conundrums that resist resolution. They are the ultimate in incompleteness and being “almost there”. We keep reaching for the brass ring, but it hangs tantalizingly out of reach—until we deal with something that we’ve been avoiding, often without realizing it.

Perhaps you already know what this represents in your life but if you don’t, use the timing to bring it forward (looking back at events for the key time frames if needed). Key dates for this process include mid-June 2011, early June 2012, late July–September 2012, and the current time frame December 2012–January 2013.

Suffice it to say that wherever we feel caught between a rock and a hard place is where this yod is operating. And patience, persistence, and discretion are the keys that unlock the doors to the way out. Once you find the thread of the story in your life, follow it back and forward in time to see how you’ve been dealing with it. Also note the progress you’ve made—probably more than you think.

Even this experience is part of a larger, longer-term process of transformation. See where your current experiences fit in that dynamic. Chances are, you’re there because of choices you have made, and the chances are that they were good choices that will lead to huge positive changes when they are complete. Now is the time when the tough get going. By following through on your initial inspiration, you’ll learn more than if you quit—so keep going!

Mercury’s retrograde commences on February 23, and it is even more activating than the one last summer, but in a similar good way. Mercury makes its way round the Cradle, connecting harmoniously with Mars, Neptune, Chiron, Pluto, Saturn, Venus, and of course the Sun and Moon. Its only strident contact comes with Jupiter to open and augment the healing of the wound we are currently healing. This means that the only planet it does not connect with is Uranus!

What a time of integration this promises to be. Mercury may not be “happy” in Pisces because it is supposed to impart to us rationality and logic; but it is very useful to us in this sign, because it fogs us out just a little, enough for us to disengage from the usual linear, cut-and-dried thinking that Mercury fosters. Mercury in Pisces gives us the opportunity to see where situations overlap, are ambiguous, or need to be blended. We see the gray areas and add compassion and spiritual sensitivity to the mix. This can be ideal for solving weird problems, like the one presented by the Jupiter yod.

Through all this we are best off if we practice “grounded creative thinking”. Mercury will naturally guide us there if we listen, as it connects in the most pragmatic of ways with every planet (except Uranus).

Mercury’s retrograde shuffles the order of the planets. Mars has been in the lead (at the latest Zodiacal degree), the first to catch up with each slower planet. Venus has been trailing, with Mercury and Sun dancing between them. After February 8, Mercury takes over Mars’s position, but not for long. Once Mercury starts its retrograde February 23, it will fall back into the Sun, becoming a morning star once more on March 4.

Mars is still an evening star, Venus still in the morning sky, but all this will reverse itself in late March–early April in a spectacular display of inner (and perhaps outer) fireworks as they connect with Uranus (finally!) in early Aries. Whether we realize it or not, some aspects of our life story will wait until this time for the changes we seek. This is especially true in our relationships of all types, from intimate to family to work/business to friendships.

Leading to those resolutions, in February we experience a turning point or choice point with respect to our life path in general (through the Sun) and relationships in particular, as the Sun (on February 9) and Venus (on February 18) square the Nodes. The Nodes are our points of karmic sensitivity, the transiting eclipse points. When the planets connect to them, the situations that carry energy from the past (karmic, ancestral, or current history) come to the surface, often with a wallop because they are so charged with emotion for us. These choice points are often refreshing because they release situations that have felt bottled up, even if in the moment there is pain. These choices will be tied to events or situations that arose in October–November, with possible ties to events in mid-May last year.

We start two new cycles in February: a new yearly Neptune cycle of spiritual growth and inner awareness on February 20; and the new yearly cycle of deep soul healing through Chiron, which starts on February 27. This planetary pair (Neptune and Chiron) has opened the gates of healing to an unusual breadth and profundity. They afford access to the deeper energy layers where we can heal the glitches in our blueprint. In the context of the Pluto-Capricorn process and the new 26,000-year cycle we’ve just begun, we have unprecedented access to the primal wound of humanity, the wound of separation. Now we can heal what in the past was impossible even to perceive.

Saturn is Stationary Retrograde at 11°32' Scorpio on February 18, and we’ve been working with clearing the issues that feed our Saturn learning process since January 30, when the Sun squared it. From then until the retrograde starts, whatever obstacles we clear will open the door to greater opportunity as we go through the rest of this year’s Saturn cycle.

As you read this, it could seem like the same old intensity of 2012, but this is a lighter load than we’ve been carrying for many, many months. It is certainly true that Uranus and Pluto have not gone away, that they are still engaging us in their intense activation of change. But we get a breather, for a bit. We get to engage in a more constructive process this year—it’s not all thorns on that rosebush! It’s our time to rise from the ashes, even if our efforts are small at first. It’s safe to start building a new foundation, now that the planets are moving into greater harmony.

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