Everything Seems Possible
Dates and times are given for U.S. Pacific Time zone.
How Far You’ve Come
Mercury retrograde makes his inferior conjunction to the Sun (Feb. 8 2021, 5:48 am) this week in Aquarius, a sign in which the Sun struggles but Mercury is strong. The conjunction is on the Sabian symbol, A woman disappointed and disillusioned. If you’re feeling a bit that way, or a bit down on yourself, let Mercury guide you inward and help you remember the times you succeeded and the person you used to be.
One of my oldest friends sent me some blurry photos from our grammar school days. Although my memory is generally not what it used to be, I recalled the names of every classmate in those photos with no effort. But who was that long-haired, fierce-looking, awkward girl with my name scribbled underneath? I remembered her, too, how she struggled to feel good about herself and to fit in. Looking at my youthful self made my heart catch, made me feel protective of that girl. And for a moment, I realized how far I’ve come in the 45 years since, and also how much I’m the same.
Mercury retrograde, especially in one of its strong signs, can be aggravating for all the usual reasons – technical and electronic snafus, communication problems and misunderstandings. But it’s good for remembering; and as it makes its conjunction to the Sun this week, remember who you used to be, who you are, and how far you’ve come.
Mercury and Mars: Round Two
This week brings the second in a series of squares between Mercury (planet of communication) and Mars (competition, aggression or violence, and determination), on Feb. 10, 2021, at 4:15 am PST. The first of these squares was exact on Jan. 8, days after a violent attempt to prevent the Electoral College from certifying the November U.S. presidential election. (Mars was approaching a conjunction to Uranus, planet of revolution.) On Jan. 11, as Mercury conjoined Jupiter (legal matters), the House of Representatives initiated impeachment proceedings against the former president, alleging his complicity in the violence. This week, as Mercury retrograde makes a second square to Mars and conjunction with Jupiter (Feb. 14, 1:40 pm PST), the Senate takes up the matter.
Beyond Washington D.C., here’s what it could mean for all of us: With Mars past Uranus, it’s hopefully a less-charged moment to review how we use language (Mercury) to handle conflict (Mars) and advocate for our vision of justice (Jupiter).
Everything seems possible
On the heels of last week’s aspects with Saturn and Uranus, Venus rushes gratefully into a conjunction with Jupiter (Feb. 11, 2021, 6:59 am PST). This heart-opening combination reminds me of something my husband-to-be said just after we became engaged all those years ago. He said that our decision to marry had made everything seem possible. I knew just what he meant. When you join forces with another person – and this doesn’t have to be marriage, or even love; it happens with business or creative partners, as well as best friends – there’s a feeling of strength, joy, and optimism. The skies open up. Everything, indeed, seems possible.
Peak Aquarius
The chart for this week’s remarkable New Moon (Feb. 11, 2021, 11:05 am PST) boasts six planets in Aquarius. Four of them (Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn) are square Uranus; they’re on an earthquake fault line, ready for the earth to shake at any moment and upset communication, affection, optimism, and boundaries. And five of them (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter) are square Mars, signalling conflict but also igniting confidence, security, thinking, relationships, and beliefs.
All this by way of saying that this week, we reach Peak Aquarius – and peak tension, discord, and conflict as well.
But don’t miss the opportunity to dream big. Try to let the hard aspects in the sky fire you up instead of making you melt down. This is the New Moon cycle that’s best for imagining what you want your future to look like – and those hard aspects challenge us to MAKE something of those dreams.
Lovebirds and chickens
Mercury the messenger conjoining Venus (Feb. 12, 2021, 11:48 pm PST) may bring a message of affection or an offer of money. The Sabian symbol for the conjunction degree, Two lovebirds sitting on a fence, does auger favorably for this. However, Mercury is retrograde through Feb. 20 – so don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.
Out to pasture
Since Mars entered Taurus on Jan. 6, the bull has been upsetting the apple cart right and left. He’s calmed down a little bit since he got past his conjunction to Uranus on Jan. 20, and this week’s Mars sextile to Neptune (Feb. 13, 2021) should settle things down even more. When Mars is worked up, Neptune in good aspect can be a calming and relaxing influence. Put yourself in a soothing environment, put on some music, and soon Mars will be mooing contentedly.
Speaking each other’s language
There couldn’t be a lovelier Valentines Day gift than Venus’s trine to the Moon’s North Node (Feb. 14, 9:09 pm PST). Venus is on the Sabian degree, A man unmasked, and the North Node is on Two Chinese men speaking Chinese, a degree we’ll take to symbolize the coziness of speaking with another in “our own language.” That’s something that’s been sorely missing during the pandemic. Even among friends and family, there are profound disagreements about whether and how to get together. One of many bones of contention is the issue of masks, which makes an appearance in Venus’s Sabian symbol.
I don’t expect my polarized and suspicious fellow humans to suddenly sit together in kumbaya, Venus trine or no Venus trine. But maybe we can declare détente, if only for one day, to focus on the pleasant memories we’ve created together through the years. To recover old, shared languages of intimacy.
Either that, or we can just eat some chocolate. Venus likes that just fine, too.
Writing and collages © 2021 April Elliott Kent
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