Today's the Day…

2.3.06


Is it the big day? The day after? The first day of the rest of our lives?

Anyone of those could be true, but since this is primarily an astrology website, you're safe to assume that today (Fri Feb 3) has some sort of astrological relevance. Two sorts, actually.

For starters, Venus is ending its retrograde and returning to direct motion today, in the sign of Capricorn. Venus first flipped direction back on Dec 24 05… in time to stamp the beginning of '06 with an air of reconsideration.

Venus retrograde is the time to reexamine the value of that which we find dear—relationships with lovers and friends, objects of monetary or sentimental esteem, activities that bring pleasure. Consider this your explanation for recent run-ins with old pals and exes (or spankin'-new flames and flings!), or why that jacket was too good a buy to pass up (or too flippant a purchase not to regret later!).

With Venus stationing direct now, we can readjust ourselves to our normal means for assigning value… and acclimate to the repercussions of any realizations we made, about certain folks or financial outlays, during the retrograde. If we're typically the socializing kind but recently kept to ourselves, then it's ripe to reemerge from the retreat. And over the next week or two, we'll discover if this latest catch is a keeper… or has already worn out the welcome. With Capricorn involved, it'll be a practice in discerning foresight—the right props and players are those which bolster future plans and aspirations, not distract from them.

Today's even more groundbreaking news (at least in my book) is the movement of Mars out of its retrograde shadow, past the point (23 Taurus) where it initially reversed its motion back on Oct 1 05. In simple terms, this is the first time since the beginning of October that Mars will tread across new territory. And when you bear in mind that Mars is like a planetary metronome, setting the rhythm and tempo for our physical impulses, this is truly a front-page headline.

Perhaps I feel freer to repeatedly diss on Mars in Taurus because it's my natal placement… but as I've said over and over again, when in Taurus, Mars isn't known for rapid-fire action or marked adaptability to change. That goes far to explain the feeling of 'hip-boots stuck in molasses', which has so epitomized the past few months—more of the same, followed mercilessly by even more of the same.

It certainly didn't help matters that Mars's nearly-immobilizing visit to the middle degrees of Taurus brought two squares (to Saturn and Neptune) and an opposition (to Jupiter), a configuration affectionately known as a grand cross—maybe because, at every step we took, it felt like another nail was being hammered in. Well, with Mars leaving this mid-Taurus zone behind (and Saturn continuing to retrograde further back into early Leo), only the slightest residual traces of this ass-kicking crucifix are left in the air.

Raging newness, signified by Mars's introduction to fresh ground and reinforced by the end of Venus's retrograde, is merely in its beginning stages now. Still, Mars has another couple weeks in the sign of 'just-need-to-make-sure' obstinacy, so it's a little premature to shoot off down the racetrack. Once Mars reaches Gemini on Feb 17, however, the energetic pulse will quickly turn freewheeling and frenzied. Gemini, unlike Taurus, prefers lots of stimulation and activity and myriad modes of miscellany. Boring, it's anything but.

Then comes March, the next pair of eclipses, and the turning of the page to another exciting, unfamiliar chapter of this book called life. But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. First things first.

Today's the day stuff really starts to turn around… and these last few months are more than ready to quickly fade into memory.