The powerful cross-quarter day of Imbolc occurs on February 3 this year in the northern hemisphere.
In the Irish tradition, fires were lit and cakes sacrificed in honor of the Goddess Brigit.
She rules over fertility, the hearth, feminine arts and crafts, martial arts, healing, physicians,
agriculture, inspiration, learning, poetry, divination, prophecy, smith-craft, animal care, love,
witchcraft and occult knowledge. If there is something useful for you in that list, take
a moment to light a flame. Set the wards, focus your intention and give something
in honor of the great nurturing force that awakens to a new cycle in late winter.
During February the major celestial point of focus is on dwarf planet Chiron and planet Neptune,
both at 25° in Aquarius. Chiron moves in an irregular orbit, traveling between the
paths of Saturn (form, status quo) and Uranus (rebellion, cosmic creativity). It is
said to represent the "rainbow bridge" that connects the limitations of mundane
physical life on earth (Saturn) with the volatile generative energy of the cosmos (Uranus).
Our experience of these two transpersonal energies is cyclic; all things on earth experience
birth, growth, reproduction, decay and death, couched within the framework of concrete stability
established in the past and the breakdown of stagnant or worn structures in the future.
Various celestial devotees whang on about Chiron as a wounded teacher and healer, symbolic of an
energetic messenger that leads us to initiation through the suffering of experience, transcending
the "lower impulses" and igniting fires of divine creativity. But Chiron can represent a weak
point as well, a sense of entitlement or an overabundance of a ruthless will-to-power that can
sweep away ethical considerations, commonly because the individual has become a demi-god in
their own mind, equipped with the natural right to prevail over earthly matters. Including
any excess to which one may be inclined, mandated "for the greater good" or "because the
sheep need to be led" and so forth.
Neptune and its ruling sign Pisces prefer to come dressed in the glamorous costume of
spirituality, alternative healing modalities, compassion, mysticism and occult influence.
But Neptune can be likened to British rocker Pete Doherty; after prolonged exposure to him
beautiful people tend to get their reputation trashed and a few even end up dead, somehow.
During Neptune's sojourn in Aquarius, the sign of humanity at large, the masses have been
numbed down admirably with the help of Xanex, Prozac and pot etc. if alcohol won't do.
A victim mentality without personal responsibility is encouraged while the boundaries of
common sense have become fogged to the point of lunacy in the name of political and financial expediency.
Fraud, deception, corruption and confidence schemes have become the hallmark of business as usual.
Closer to home, every other kid on the street today seems to be psychic and/or beset by ghosts.
The Neptunian occupations of banking, cinema, chemical and oil concerns do seem to be doing
quite well at the higher levels and should do even better once the planet goes into its
home sign of Pisces next spring.
Chiron and Neptune are both considered as positive financial indicators by the Magi school
of astrology. As pertains to the human state of being, together they can represent not
only the raising of consciousness and journey towards Ascension that is supposed to be
happening to advanced souls out there any time soon, but also the full-bore extent of
human neuroses, psychoses, sociopathic tendencies and general separation from nature;
which is now coming into full bloom like an exotic carnivorous flower in the alleyways
of the domesticated mind. Venus is the first to visit this radioactive pair around
February 7, stirring up illusions, dreams and fresh projections of easy success.
In romance, the elfin prince will ride forth from the kingdom of Faiery to seduce
those who cannot connect to an earthly touch. Kissing a toad will become much easier.
On February 10 Mercury (communication, transportation) enters Aquarius, the sign of
its exaltation. Mercury in this air sign favors an unemotional intellectual outlook.
The vibe can be inventive, progressive and original; it gives rise to advances in
technology but also promotes extreme ideas like feeding us GMC crops which have been
shown to cause tumors in lab animals. It can talk itself into a complete lack of
empathy any old time and will be busy chatting up the Sun, Venus, Chiron and Neptune
also in Aquarius during much of the month. If you are a disruptive element in society,
perhaps you should report in for reprogramming.
Venus entering Pisces on February 11 should make the world more user-friendly, but Pisces
is not just concerned with sacrifice, compassion, yielding and fish. It also rules the
masses and large cleansing projects such as mass starvation, large holding tanks such
as hospitals and prisons and large organizational projects such as mega-corporations.
True, the goddess is in her exaltation here, so love and the money it can take to buy
some can become very important, just in time for Valentine's Day. We may wax a little needy,
and go groping for chocolates if no warm body is around. With so much planetary energy
moving in the collective social signs of Aquarius and Pisces we still may be open to
being talked into or out of believing just about anything like magical jobs for the
middle class, while the states contemplate levying taxes on food, for example, instead
of stopping corporate tax breaks. It's a great time to chase after an asset bubble or
indulge in speculative schemes designed to wring money out of those who are not paying attention.
A New Moon of beginnings
occurs at 25° Aquarius 17' on February 13; in
conjunction with Chiron and Neptune, both at 26° Aquarius. In a horoscope
set for Washington, DC and Koch Houses, Mars retrograde (ambition and drive inverted) sits
in the tenth house of ruling authority, engaged in a messy Yod or Finger of Fate with Pluto
in Capricorn and Venus in Pisces. Mercury in Aquarius is exactly in the line of fire,
in opposition to Mars; the formation en toto is representative of turmoil at the grass-roots level,
as people strive to digest dramatic alterations in expectations and lifestyle. An energetic
note of striving to put high futuristic ideals into action is also sounded, as concentrated
Aquarian energy radiates out of the nation's fifth house of love, children, creativity
and risk-taking. When those teleporting skills and replicators finally appear, we will be all set.
The message from the top will be swishy-swashy in actual content but verbally well-presented, as usual.
A bunch of semi-sextiles involving Juno, Uranus, Mercury and Pluto accompany this lunation; these
can be referred to as wish-it-were-true aspects. If in doubt, trust you own instincts over
anything you hear from authority. A day later the quincunx from Venus to Saturn is exact,
reflective of contraction in business management and a corresponding loss of employment
which will impact especially hard on the graduating classes of 2010. On the positive side,
metaphysical modalities and alternative healing work is favored, as is anything having to do
with the medical field in general. The two financial indicators Venus and Jupiter, meeting
up in Pisces through the end of the month perhaps signal some sort of windfall from clever
trading, or a good time to invest in water-based technologies such as desalinization plants,
fish farming, hydroelectric and geothermal energy development.
The Sun is next to meet with Chiron and Neptune, now just a couple of days away from exact
conjunction with each other. This energy really can be used to complete a breakthrough in
the reconstruction and healing of your sacred tree. In the years ahead it will become painful
on a bodily level to operate without an inner spiritual compass grounded in the earth;
disembodied religious references or gratuitous consumerism will not suffice to make sense
out of the dramatic re-calibrations in the literal framing and perception of reality that
are already rippling through the Gaiasphere.
On February 18 the Sun moves into Pisces, so we may lose much of that airy detachment that
made any challenges confronting us apparently easier to swallow. At its lower octaves
Piscean energy can be subdued, disorganized and vacillating; when aroused it may not stop
until nothing is left, like a tsunami sweeping in. Pisces is a chameleon, so it becomes
even harder to tell what is really going on, while emotions tend to ebb and flow with the wind.
Water, rhythm and the mystic are favored, hidden psychic talents bloom and all forms artistry
flow easily as does dreaming and other, less benign forms of escapism.
By February 21 the Sun will be passing through a Yod aspect with Mars and Saturn, befuddling
the focus of concentration thoroughly and kicking up more turmoil. Pisces is the last stop
in the zodiac, the place where all things go to die and be dissolved back into the oceanic
field of the Tao for awhile. As the months ahead are likely to be quite intense, consider
finding time for rejuvenation activities such as visiting a hot springs or spa to connect
intimately with water. Meld with some Goa trance-dance music, cleanse the chakra centers through
meditational visualization; hold certain yoga postures longer to rouse and build kundalini energies;
stalk your own Chiron energy as a spiritual warrior.
Asteroid Juno enters Taurus on February 23, precipitating a jarring materialistic note in the
midst of all the drifty-dreamy utopian meanderings. Like a rock rising out of misty,
wine-dark seas, Juno in this sign demands binding contracts, keeps an opulent public
profile and frowns mightily at breaches in comfort and security. The clash of energies
is sorta like rapper Kanye West and his girlfriend Amber Rose making the scene in
Paris at the international fashion shows recently, dressed in the real strange end of expensive.
On February 27 it is Mercury's turn to move over Neptune and Chiron. Mercury rules our thinking
and speaking processes; in mundane astrology it rules anything related to communication,
transportation and commerce. Neptune-Mercury pumps up the imagination and creates word
pictures as beautiful as the visions that inspired them. Poets, romantics and dreamers get a
free day at the racetrack, clairvoyant and literary talents can prosper. But reason may be unable
to distinguish between truth and fallacy; the habitual liar can have a field day. Supposedly
the presence of Chiron is supposed to support the Truth, but it could just as easily stand
for one wounded by a complete lack of ethical consideration or hypnotized by houris.
Which brings us to a
Full Moon of climaxes on February 28, at 9° Virgo 58'. A chart
set for Washington DC and Koch houses, puts the Moon of the nation's people at home with
all the devalued real estate; it reflects back wistfully to a sentimental Pisces Sun in
conjunction with expansive Jupiter, traditional ruler of Pisces, both in the tenth house
of governing authority. Jupiter also rules the lunation seventh house of (trading and corporate)
partners and open enemies, in which abides the Dark Lord Pluto (power, control, great riches).
The masochistic and rather prudish Moon is penned up with austere, penny-pinching Saturn
while working at slave wages for Pluto. Meanwhile the Sun (leaders) and Jupiter (big money)
high-step in a conga-line of planets including Neptune (corruption, fraud), Chiron (justification),
Mercury (spin), Venus (greed, speculation) and Uranus (foreign interests and judicial branches).
Economic recovery is eminent, the second coming of a savior is just around the corner; keep the
sausage machine cranking. Just pitch in bravely and believe.
You are hereby referred to the Carpetbaggers, a term used to describe mostly white northern
politicians, war veterans and reformers who came south after the Civil War in America. Some
were genuinely interested in projects such as educating former slaves and lobbying for
civil rights. But many more were interested in buying up farms cheap for back taxes, in
addition to gaining financial control over railroads and other key industries in the South.
These individuals gained prominence in local politics primarily through bribes and graft;
they also influenced the appointment of judges that made crooked rulings in their favor.
A common definition for Carpetbagger was "an outsider involved in politics". By month's end
a number of us will have done quite well by hook or by crook; others will be suffering from
lack of opportunity, perhaps even preyed upon by scavengers looking for advantage.
There is safety in numbers now; this is not a time to face the winter of a nation's betrayal alone.
