Dear Readers,
A waning gibbous Scorpio moon lights our skies this evening (Feb 2). It’s a time for reflecting upon whatever intentions we brought to the New Moon in Capricorn on January 11. This point in the lunar cycle has been called a crisis in integration, not because it’s likely to bring up traumatic events, but because it’s likely to bring up challenges to whatever we intended at the New Moon. This is when we can make conscious choices that support our intentions and let go of what isn’t working before the next lunar cycle begins on February 9.
February 1 is the traditional cross-quarter festival of Imbolc, halfway between the December Solstice and March Equinox. Known in Ireland as St Brigid’s day (Lá Fhéile Bríde), it celebrates the Celtic goddess Brigid, or St. Brigid as she came to be known under the Christianization of the Celtic lands. Astrological Imbolc occurs on approximately February 4, at the astronomical midpoint between the Solstice and Equinox. Brigid was the goddess of Spring and new life, and in general, this pagan cross-quarter festival celebrates new beginnings. It's about nature awakening, the lengthening of days, and the anticipation of Spring. Metaphysically, the idea is to turn inward and assess our sense of purpose, to ritually cleanse and purify, then tend the seeds of new growth within ourselves. For more on Brigid, Heather wrote a beautiful piece honoring her here.
The Christian holy day known as Candlemas on February 2 also revolves around the theme of purification. It commemorates the presentation of Jesus at the Temple 40 days after Christmas, and is also known as the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. For some modern Christians, this is the end of the Christmas season. (I suppose it’s time for me to take down my crèche scene. If the wise men haven’t found baby Jesus yet, they’re lost in the Arabian desert.)
Ground Hog’s Day (Feb 2)1 too relates to these other celebrations. German immigrants to Pennsylvania brought with them the idea that a sunny Candlemas portended another 40 days of cold and snow, thus theoretically predicting the beginning of Spring.
The Aquarius New Moon on February 9 is our next astrological new beginning, but between now and then we have a couple more opportunities to get a sense of what the next 20 years of Pluto in Aquarius has in store for us.
On February 4, Mercury will move from Capricorn into Aquarius, then run into Pluto early on February 5. Mercury, the messenger planet, represents the mind—our reasoning and communication processes, markets, and all forms of movement and transportation. Mercury mediates between things and connects disparate elements like a bridge connects islands or land masses. Pluto digs underneath the surface to discover and expose unconscious and subconscious material and motivations and is closely linked to power and primal energies. When the two of them come together, we can expect intensity and depth in conversation. We could find ourselves obsessing over deciphering a mystery, dredging up secrets, getting stuck in a dysfunctional mental swirl or caught in conspiratorial thinking. As always with Pluto however, the central concept relates to death and rebirth, and with Mercury in Aquarius it’s likely to be in the realm of our ideas and ideals related to what it means to be a part of the human family.
On the morning of February 8, the Moon stops to check in with Pluto before meeting up with Mercury a few hours later. The Moon and Mercury are the mediators of the zodiac, Mercury in his role as Messenger and the Moon as receiver and translator of energy. In my mind, it’s like a relay, passing the baton from one planet to the next. In this case, each is picking up information about what Pluto will be up to in Aquarius. The Moon will give us the opportunity to work with our deep emotional processes related to Aquarian topics once a month as it whizzes around the earth and sun and through the zodiac.
On February 9, she joins up with the Sun at 20° Aquarius. The New Moon is in a square with Uranus at 19° Taurus. This creates an “expect the unexpected” situation, and since it’s a square, it’s not likely to be gentle. And because it’s the New Moon, we can anticipate a surprising lunar cycle ahead. In Aquarius, this could look like disruptions in information systems, technological snafus or breakthroughs in collective insight and collaborations that open to new and liberating possibilities, all requiring an open mind and flexible thinking—not the Aquarian strong suit.
Aquarius is the sign of fixed air. How does one conceptualize “fixed air” in a 3-D world where the air is never still? As someone with strong Aquarius placements in my chart, you’d think it would come easily, yet typical of Aquarius, it’s a contradictory notion, and the only way I come understand it is through the lens of how it tends to manifest. A key expression for Aquarius is “I know”. It’s as if it’s a storehouse of accumulated knowledge; the pinnacle of the Enlightenment. It wants to know and figure out the system behind everything, name it, and lock it down safely inside a structure where it can’t cause chaos. Logic, rational thinking and dispassionate understanding take priority over the messiness of feelings. It’s interested in reforming the system, not dissolving it—leave that to Pisces.
With the New Moon squaring Uranus just after Mercury and the Moon have received instructions from Pluto, it appears as though we’re set up for a dynamic, potentially jarring and revelatory month ahead.
On February 13, barely an hour before the clock ticks over to Valentine’s Day, Mars will conjoin Pluto, still at 0° Aquarius—not the most romantic of combinations. Indeed, the last time Mars and Pluto were in a tense aspect was October 7, 2023. It’s a combination that can feel like being in a fight for one’s life. Unfortunately, it can easily slip into power struggles, ruthless competition, brute force, and violence. Our work under this influence is to become aware of these forces within ourselves; and to acknowledge, contain and find healthy ways of experiencing and expressing the raw catalytic power they hold.
On February 17, Venus takes her turn meeting up with Pluto, putting our values under the plutonian spotlight, and on February 21, the cosmic lovers Venus and Mars have their rendez-vous in Aquarius, but that’s enough for today. I’ll come back to these last two next time. All of this energy, coming between now and late February is a lot to take apart. To note, it likely won’t be distinct like I’ve described it as each of these aspects and holidays overlaps with the next.
I began writing this yesterday afternoon before taking a break to go to the University of Washington planetarium with my daughter and son-in-law. As I sat under the dome, shoulder to shoulder in a circle of mostly strangers listening to Andy, a PhD student in Astrophysics talk about the planets, solar system, far away galaxies, dark matter, and the limits of our understanding of the Universe while projecting images from giant telescopes, I felt completely at ease. That wasn’t my first experience of the sort, but it’s been a while. We talk about the collective unconscious, oneness, and the sense that we’re all connected—an Aquarian idea, but last night, as on other occasions in planetariums, it wasn’t just a concept. I went to bed last night feeling the privilege of being alive and able to witness all of this—including this much anticipated transit of Pluto through Aquarius. Typically, I’m a skeptical person, and if you’d told me that sitting in a planetarium with a bunch of families with young children would yield such an experience, I might have nodded and invisibly rolled my eyes, but it did. Andy was brilliant at making the presentation accessible to the children without limiting it for the adults. It’s a free show with the opportunity to donate afterwards. If you’re in the Seattle area, I recommend it.
Last year, I had the great pleasure of meeting some of you face to face. If you’d like to begin 2024 with a better understanding of yourself or what the year or years ahead might hold, or decoding how all of this applies to you and your chart, I’d be delighted to serve as your guide. 2024-2026 promise to be big years.
As always, thank you for reading.
Cami
https://www.history.com/news/groundhog-day-history-and-facts
Great Cami thank you
Thank You Cami!!!💕