Astrology Highlights for Feb. 17-23, 2025: Pisces Soup

Pisces Soup

Moms in the farm community where I grew up had a soup recipe that went something like this: Get out a big pan. Add bits of all that stuff in the refrigerator that’s left over from the rest of the week’s recipes. Pour some water or broth over it and simmer it for a good long while. Serve it alongside some biscuits or cornbread, and you had dinner.

Let’s call it Pisces Soup – a bit of this, a bit of that, using up the remainders. Sometimes it tasted great, other times…not so much. But the fun part was that it was different every time you had it.

Pisces season is similar. All year long, we acquire leftovers from various endeavors: A new tablecloth from a flea market, a guitar we’d like to learn to play, a couple of books we’ve been meaning to read. When the Sun enters Pisces (Feb. 18, 2025, 2:07 am PST) – just a month ahead of the Sun’s Aries equinox (March 20), the start of a new astrological year – it’s time to put some of those treasures to use, to make room for new experiences.

So, you touch base with a handful of close friends and invite them over for a potluck brunch. You spread out that special tablecloth, brew some coffee, and start a crackling blaze in the hearth. Friends trickle in with their casseroles and park themselves in front of the fire. A musician friend picks up your guitar and teaches you a few new chords. Someone else spies one of your new books on the coffee table, has read it, and is excited to share a few thoughts. Before you know it, everyone is chatting, eating, and smiling.

And what did you bring to the potluck? A bit of this, a bit of that – everything to make your very own, very tasty Pisces soup.

Final Act

How did you arrive at this moment? Are you on track to reach your desired destination? And if not, is there time to shift course?

The Last Quarter Moon is a phase of redemption. It’s the pivotal third act in our personal narrative, when we undergo a crisis of confidence, come to terms with our circumstances, and take action to resolve something. This Last Quarter Moon is in Sagittarius (Feb. 20, 2025, 9:32 am PST, 2º19’ Sagittarius), which, with its optimism and humor, is one of the more uplifting Last Quarter Moon signs. And with Jupiter in a wide square with both Jupiter-ruled signs – Moon in Sagittarius, Sun in Pisces –we may be a tad more likely than is usual at this phase to believe that we can pull off a redemptive third act.

This Last Quarter concludes a lunar phase family that began with a New Moon at 1º37’ Sagittarius on Nov. 23, 2022. It’s now-or-never time for some bold adventure we envisioned then; first acted upon at the Aug. 24, 2023 First Quarter Moon at 1º00 Sagittarius; and saw come to fruition at the May 23, 2024 Full Moon at 2º55’ Sagittarius. Now, we decide how to conclude this personal story of adventure, of wild frontiers, with perspective and grace.

Voices

You’re immersed in some imaginative pastime – playing the piano or a video game, or tying to write a verse of poetry. You think you’ve chosen a quiet moment and a secluded corner of the house.

But just as you reach a moment of intense communion with your muse, the cat begins to holler for some food. The neighbor’s dog starts barking. Your teenager and a bunch of his friends spill into the kitchen, laughing loudly and rummaging for snacks. Your spouse wanders in to your quiet nook with a bit of neighborhood gossip. In the next room, someone turns on the TV and cranks up the volume.

Mercury in Pisces is that part of us that just wants to be alone with our thoughts. But when Mercury squares Jupiter in Gemini (Feb. 20, 2025, 12:13 pm PST), there is no such thing as “alone.” There are happy, boisterous voices everywhere, full of trivia and gossip and laughter.

You don’t begrudge the world its noisy conversations. Ordinarily, you’d join right in. But not right now. Not while you’re meeting with your muse.

But then, you give up. You feed the cat. You throw some Doritos in a bowl for your teenager and friends. You turn down the TV. You laugh with your spouse.

And somehow, when you go back to your music, your game, your poetry, you feel lighter and happier, and your muse smiles happily upon your efforts.

Playlist for the To-Do List

Your parents are coming over for dinner tonight at your new apartment. You’ll be happy to see them, but getting ready will be a lot of work – a day of shopping, cleaning, and cooking.

The good news is, you’ve had a busy week and haven’t had time to catch up on listening to your favorite podcasts. You arrange a playlist of 4 or 5 of them, put in your earbuds, hit “play,” and get to work.

Before you know it, the shopping is done, the carpet is vacuumed, and dinner is simmering on the stove.

Mercury wants to be entertained, and Mars wants to work its way through a to-do list. As Mercury trines Mars (Feb. 23, 2025, 8:58 am PST), let Mercury in Pisces make the playlist, and Mars in domestic Cancer will take care of the rest.

About to Hatch

It seems Mars has been in Cancer forever, although it only entered the sign on Sep. 4, 2024. Mind you, that’s a good long time when Mars normally spends only two months in a sign. And it feels like it’s been retrograde forever, too, though that’s only been since Dec. 6, 2024.

As it is, Mars the warrior struggles to be its assertive, straightforward self in the sign of the crab, which tends to favor an indirect, protective approach. Add the inward-facing nature of a retrograde period to the mix, and it’s been difficult to get traction on new projects and challenges.

By now, we’ve adapted a bit to the frustration and blockages of this retrograde period. But this week, Mars at last stations and turns direct (Feb. 23, 2025, 6:00 pm PST). And the energy that’s released! Particularly if your chart is heavy in planets or points in Aries and Scorpio (the signs ruled by Mars) or Cancer, you may feel like a chicken whose eggs are finally about to hatch. But until Mars leaves Cancer for Leo on April 17, proceed with a bit of caution; you need a little more time to gain the strength and clarity to move ahead.