A Fiery February

2.1.17


A burst of raw fast-paced activity—and the corresponding collisions of our self-involved campaigns—will punctuate this very astrologically energizing February.

In fact, the events of this month will set into motion a string of introductions, engagements, explorations, and alliance-redraws that'll continue to unfold, evolve, mutate, or crest for the few months following.

The backdrop against which such fire-starting acts will commence is the latest pair of story-shifting eclipses… those super-charged full and new moons which, due to their conjunctions with the lunar nodes, bring an accelerated concentration of climactic developments in our ongoing life-narrative. Eclipse periods (the few weeks surrounding a pair or trio of eclipse lunations) occur twice a year, and I like to think of them as 'chapter-markers' which quickly ferry us from one distinct episode to the next. These two February eclipses will be in effect until the succeeding pair arrives in August.

At the same time, both Mars and Venus will spend most of February traveling together through Aries, that eager-and-initiatory cardinal fire sign which ushers in every new zodiac-cycle. Mars has already been in Aries since last Friday (Jan 27) and stays through the second week of March, while Venus arrives this coming Friday (Feb 3). Add this couple of feverish yin/yang personal-planets to slower-moving Saturn in Sagittarius and Uranus in Aries, and we've got a very potent convergence of fire-element energy impacting our behavioral tendencies.

Mars couldn't be happier about this turn, naturally, on familiar and strengthening ground as it is in Aries, one of its home-signs. As Mars's job is to spur assertive actions which differentiate us from others, display our desires, and/or thrust us closer to our individual aims, its transit through Aries makes this job faster, easier, and more effective—that is, as long as we have the courage to simply get started, without tons of preparation or a reliable safety net or assurances that things will proceed as we hope.

Mars in Aries depends on instinct, daring, and full moment-to-moment embodiment for its strength. If we dare to follow our instincts—knowing, of course, unanticipated twists will force us to spontaneously come up with ad-libbed responses—we'll most certainly make remarkable strides rather quickly over this coming month. Forward movement will occur, opening up unforeseen possibilities… as well as a lot more questions and conflicts and pieces of follow-up work, which is the nature of getting something started. If we are too scared to act, fickle, or with no purpose or persistence governing our deeds, we'll just sputter and jerk every which way and/or invite those who are brave and focused to exploit our submission for their own self-serving triumphs.

Venus is as decidedly uncomfortable in Aries, a sign of its detriment, as Mars is strong. By the rules of dispositorship, Venus in Aries must always 'report' to Mars for its expression, bestowing a rather Mars-flavored self-interest upon a planet that's tasked with 'bringing together in relationship'. Venus in Aries, then, is first motivated by fostering partnerships and pairings which immediately promise to give us what we want from such a union—without necessarily deliberating much on what they might want or what we'd be willing to offer them. When Venus in Aries works well, a rapport is established swiftly and viscerally, not by gradually becoming acquainted or discussing one another's relational attitudes. But as soon as the chemistry cools, interest dwindles, or a problem arises which might require belabored negotiation, the connection either fizzles out or blows up.

In our fiery February, Venus's role becomes more complicated, in light of it already being within the shadow-zone (as of Jan 30) which precedes its upcoming six-week retrograde in March and April. I already wrote a bit about this in my 2017 outlook, and will certainly write more in the weeks to come. For now, it's enough to know that all these steps Venus will blaze through Aries throughout the month are going to be revisited twice (once while retrograde, again after returning to direct motion) before the middle of May. That also means Venus will stay under this Aries influence not only in February, but through all of March, too… and again through all of May and into early June. (For comparison's sake, a direct Venus typically moves through a sign in three-to-four weeks.) This will definitely heat up activity levels in Venus-ruled contexts such as relationships, finances, and aesthetics.

Both of February's eclipses tap into this fire-centric vibe… especially in how they feature Uranus in Aries, emphasizing its continuing status as a major player in this year's overall astrology.

The lunar eclipse full moon on Feb 10 falls in fixed-fire Leo, forming the third point of a grand fire trine with already-trining Saturn and Uranus. During this lunation, awareness of our own unique calling to openly share who we are can help inject a warm dose of heart-centered generosity into our sustainably disruptive Saturn-Uranus drives. This eclipsed Moon and its opposing Sun will simultaneously magnify Uranus's opposition to Jupiter, either adding to our further understanding of others' perspectives or just amplifying the sounds inside our self-satisfying echo-chamber.

The solar eclipse new moon on Feb 26 also highlights the Jupiter-Uranus opposition, though the eclipse itself falls in Pisces and conjoins Neptune, thus bearing a powerful water-element signature alongside all the fire. Within the same twenty-four period as the eclipse, Mars will conjoin Uranus in Aries and, correspondingly, oppose Jupiter in Libra. (It will have already squared Pluto a few days earlier.) Mars-Uranus conjunctions are one of the most unruly, impulsive, and explosive transits we have: great for sudden breakthroughs and unprecedented gambles, not so ideal for calm logic or stability-seeking pragmatism. Both the short-fused, act-first Aries influence and the 'makes-things-bigger' Jupiter opposition only further inflame the situation. Whatever departures and discontinuities occur at this time may be surprising, stunning, or sharp. Whether they delight us, horrify us, or fall somewhere in the more emotionally-nuanced in-between, they're sure to ignite or intensify the fires under our butts to take life-affirming action no matter what.