Welcome to February, Mainers, and what portends to be a month of magic. The funny thing about magic is that it’s both illusory and real, depending on who you ask. Magic asks us to hold “truth” and mystery at the same time. It asks us to relinquish our Cartesian training and put some stock in the unseen world. To remember we are mostly made up of empty space, that solid matter is both “real” and illusory.
Such is the lore and vibe of Aquarius Season, where we begin and spend most of this month, and Pisces Season, where we end it. Aquarius is ruled by Uranus – planet of disruption and upheaval, and patron of all visionary revolutionaries (and proud weirdos) planted here on earth to imagine a better future for all. Aquarius Season is all about embracing change and everything strange. Pisces, on the other hand, is ruled by Neptune – planet of dreams and dreamers, of dissolving boundaries, of inspiration and the higher self. Even material realists can access feelings of mystery during Pisces Season.
Feb. 1 is the date the ancient Celts celebrated Imbolc, one of their major yearly holidays devoted to the Goddess Brigid. Depicted with a flame or candle on her head, she brought light to midwinter and ruled prophecy — the practice of doing magical things with time. The astrology this year supports this, with the Sun in Aquarius squaring the Moon in Scorpio. Squares create friction, so the start to the month is gonna feel clunky and strange. But sometimes these hard moments when things don’t flow are when the cracks really open up in our thinking or perception – like a flower sprouting through a crack in the sidewalk. So in terms of prophecy on the 1st, we’re asked to hold deep feeling (Moon in Scorpio) alongside dry, emotionless analysis (Sun in Aquarius). If you can harness this kind of perspective overlap on Day 1 of the month, an important message about what’s coming down the pike will reveal itself.
In true Aquarian fashion, Feb. 2 gets even weirder. It’s Groundhog Day in the U.S., the weirdest American holiday by far. This year, Mercury sextiles (appears 60 degrees away from) Neptune on the 2nd, meaning we’re offered ease in communicating, or even just acknowledging, our more high-minded fantasies. Then Mercury enters Aquarius on the 4th, helping us communicate more confidently and logically about these inspired ideas. On the 8th, the Sun in Aquarius squares Uranus in Taurus – a crunchy day when we’re in a hard relationship with our own revolution. Stay strong through self-doubt: the New Moon in Aquarius on the 9th isgonna feel like a huge relief, reminding us that planting a seed for change is always the first step.
On the 18th the Sun enters Pisces, commencing the shift from the realm of the revolutionary to the realm of the mystic. Pisces Season is always a time of endings and beginnings, with a major theme being merging… with others, with our far-out fantasies, and with the divine. In its highest expression, Pisces energy can heal the world. In its shadow, this energy leads us into delusion, insanity, depression or addiction – anything to escape the harsh reality of what is.
The beginning of this Pisces Season is boosted significantly on the 19th because the asteroid Chiron joins the North Node (a mathematical point in the sky that shows us where humanity is heading) in Aries. In Western astrology, Chiron is known as “the wounded healer” and its placement shows us our greatest wounds – as well as how tending them offers great opportunity for healing and growth. In Aries, this is going to feel like intense identity reckoning. Don’t be surprised if everyone you know has a kind of “Aha!” feeling that’s both hard but freeing. Then, on the 24th, we have a big full moon in Virgo. Revolutionary seeds planted on the 9th are reaching fruition, and lessons are being learned. Wrongs will be righted, and if we’ve been off-track in any way, expect to be nudged back into place.
At month’s end we reach the miracle day: Feb. 29. An extra day pulled out of thin air! This year Mercury in Pisces is sextiles Jupiter in Taurus. Mercury rules communication, consciousness and all the little details. In Pisces, this means we become conscious of our dreams and are able to articulate them with precision. Our fantasies will be specific! Jupiter in Taurus, which brings largesse to the practical, foundational parts of our material world, offers a huge helping hand to these longings by allowing us to see how they could manifest “in the real world” (which is not usually Pisces’ forté). In this sense, this year’s extra-magical day of borrowed time is like a gift for us to apply toward the futures we most want to inhabit. That’s magic we can all benefit from, whether one believes in magic or not.
Caitlin Scholl is a writer, artist and intuitive astrologer living in Yarmouth. For private consultations, inquiries or comments about Astral Tides, e-mail her at coaching@friendenergies.com.
