A February Month of Surprises and Unexpected Enlightenment

February comes on the heels of a surprising and transformational January month, and continues many of the same themes, including relationship insights and evolutionary transformation. The Aquarius New Moon that took place (at least on the West coast) just before the month officially began – setting the stage for the thirty-day cycle covering all of February – was quite dynamic, with Uranus greatly emphasized by being in close square to the Sun and Moon, along with prominent Saturn. Uranus only quite recently stationed to direct motion in Taurus. Venus, at the same degree of Capricorn as Uranus in Taurus, therefore trine, and having only just stationed herself to direct motion, is therefore quite prominent as well, and brings issues of relationship, values, and aesthetics directly into the picture of this month’s astrological signature. Completing a rather dramatic picture for February is the evolving retrograde of Mercury, due itself to station to direct motion in only a few days, on the 3rd, and slowing down in the New Moon chart, just two degrees away from Pluto, which has also been recently intensely active. Pluto was dramatically conjuncted by the December transit of Venus, and opposed by the recent Cancer Full Moon, at 27 degrees, followed in the last week of January by Mercury conjuncting Pluto in its retrograde motion. So much Pluto!

In February, Pluto once again is prominent, especially on the 11th, when Mercury in its forward motion again conjuncts him. There is also strong Pluto in the timing of the climactic February 16th Leo Full Moon, at 27 degrees, with the Sun and Moon in perfect inconjunct alignment with Pluto. Relationship transformation is one way to read all these astrological signals, and with both Uranus and Pluto in play, also to be considered are revolution, evolution, and soul growth.

Another exciting factor for relationship transformation is that Mars and Venus come together in dramatic fashion in a partile or same-degree conjunction that begins on Valentine’s Day, Februry 14th, at 15 Capricorn, and is featured in the Full Moon of February 16th. This extremely close conjunction of Venus and Mars lasts into mid-March. Venus is still moing slowly, so that Mars can keep pace. We may onder what the astrological message might be of these two personal planets of male and female, yang and yin, coming together in this way. The action is made mentally more exciting by Jupiter at 10 Pisces in sextile with a slow moving Uranus. Therre will be insights to store up for concerted action in the weeks and months ahead.

The new planet beyond Pluto, Haumea, representing profound connection to Nature on the part of individuals and the collective, is located at the very edge of Scorpio, at 29:59 Libra, just having stationed retrograde there as February began. Haumea is parallel to prominent Uranus, and is featured in the Leo Full Moon by aspects from the Sun and Moon in that configuration. This implies a greater prominence during the February month of aspects of connection to Nature, including truth telling in adherance to natural law, as well as indigenious people’s rights, and poterntially earth activity. Haumea was quite active in the recent January 16th Full Moon, being the focus of a T-square from Sun/Pluto and Moon, and the Tonga archipelligo tsunami hit just one day prior to that astrological event.

The Venus-Mars conjunction stays within less than one degree throughout the February month, and leads up to a triple conjunction, at 27 Capricorn, with transformational Pluto. This is in the timing of the Pisces New Moon of March 2nd. The two weeks leading up to this moment during the second half of February might prove enlightening as to the gulf or divide between the sexes, either in traditional terms or in the attempts at understanding one another in the modern lack of such well-defined roles. Across the Great Divide indeed!