By Judith Gayle | Political Waves
OUR WEEK launched with an energized Aries Moon, now in Taurus. There is still a tight alignment in Aquarius, with the Sun still close to Neptune -- which has a tendency to fog over reality, spray the light of idealism and sprinkle the universe with delusion. This is the kind of fog that you see only as it clears.
Mercury is slowing to a station; it's been retrograde since Jan. 28 and will station direct Feb. 20, just as the Sun changes signs, and right before a lunar eclipse. You might be inclined to think those are going to be an interesting few days, but we're under their influence now. Events clustered like that act like a vortex that ripples out in all directions, particularly in the direction of the approach -- which we are now in the thick of.
Chiron, Mercury and the North Node remain in loose alignment in Aquarius.
Aquarius is the epitome of the 'different drummer'; it prefers to think outside of the box and disdains being pigeonholed. Now is the time to notice where we've just 'gone along', and fully embrace the restless urgings that are asking us to rethink our situation and break away from the pack. True independence comes from being comfortable in our own skin and that is our project under Aquarian influence. The water bearer invites us to step into our true authenticity without caring what others think of us -- and the metaphysical full circle proves to us that the more we accept ourselves, warts and all, the more others will accept and appreciate us.
Aquarius has always seemed to me the strongest sign of our twelve; it has a mental toughness that's hard to top. Consider -- Scorpio, at its least enlightened, will plot and scheme and put into motion a plan for revenge that may take years, even decades, to accomplish. Aquarius at the receiving end of that dark energy is the sign that simply shrugs and moves on. It has an ability to take in the reality of the moment and say, "So? It is what it is, nothing more." In each of our lives, WE assign the meaning to everything that occurs -- Aquarius assigns meaning in emotionally detached Mr. Spock fashion, tilting an eyebrow and murmuring, "Interesting." We could all use some of that ability, and now is our chance to integrate it into our psyches as a mental/emotional safety net.
Chiron's role in this has been to point us to our psychic wounds, so we are probably all uncomfortable to some degree; at the least annoyed and testy, at the most fully freaked and melting down. Mars moving into position to square Uranus in March adds to our discomfort, making us all feistier and less patient than usual, so we may find that we've worked the nerves of our friends who usually offer a sympathetic ear. It may feel as though we're the only ones nursing our personal dramas along -- and what's a good drama without an audience? The problem is that most all of us have some drama or other to tend to, and finding energy to appreciate someone else’s might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Try for perspective -- this too shall pass.
Wounds cannot be ignored, but they also cannot be healed until they're cleaned out and attended to, so whatever is still driving your dreams, your anxieties, your flagging self-esteem, take the gift card Aquarius is handing you, and read the instructions: Nothing Is Personal. We can escape the wallowing self-pity that often comes with baggage handling by harnessing the cool Aquarian energy, and make some real progress in binding up the wounds of the past. Moving into the future depends on it, and the current Mercury retrograde is giving us time to reconsider how we got here and where we're going.
Neptune is the fog machine in our planetary lineup, of course, so be aware that the mental brilliance of this Aquarian stellium is being clouded by much we don't know, and much we'd rather not know. The first is academic -- the last is emotional.
Humankind is afraid of pain, happier to rest in illusion than confront reality. Logic tells us that remaining in illusion will eventually bring us pain, so as usual we've got it backwards. Be proactive, daring and logical. Follow the dots that lead you to a newer version of reality -- whatever ground we can cover now will make any bursting bubbles later easier to handle. Neptune's trine to Mars in Gemini will lend us enthusiasm for gathering facts, and helps keep our mental windows open for fresh air.
Jupiter in Capricorn is trine to Saturn in Virgo, which can help us with details, but try not to be too self-critical -- criticism is ultimately a tool with which to notice flaws and correct them. If we attack ourselves, we lose out on the potential that a cool assessment and rethink offers us. Allow all the airy, mental energy of the week to be grounded by this practical and earthy trine. As always, the energies offer the potential, it’s up to us to use them wisely.
Just remember, this week -- it is what it is. Our job is to see through the fog to discover what 'it' is, and then we'll know what to do next. We have all the tools we need to make real internal progress, and the more we understand ourselves, the less threatening the world will seem to us. All that seems broken around us probably is, so let's take advantage of our eclipse window, stop complaining and move along into a serious plan to reconfigure our reality. Aquarius offers us the vision; it's our job to supply the elbow grease.
