The shortest month of the year starts off with a stellium in Aquarius. All of the Sacred Seven planets are in Aquarius on the 1st except the Moon – who will ingress just a few days later on the 9th – and Mars, who is off in Taurus coming off a recent exact conjunction with Uranus, squaring all of the planets in Aquarius. Some of my fellow RSPM astro-peeps described this as being like a family meeting called by Jupiter and Saturn at their Great Conjunction on December 21, 2020; all the other planets have hustled to join them over the next few weeks except Mars, who is like a surly teenager locked in his bedroom, ignoring everyone.
This stellium in Aquarius is a very unusual and striking formation. It will be magnified by Mercury’s recent retrograde station (January 30 at 26 Aquarius) – the messenger planet has turned around and will retread all of the ground he covered over the last few weeks, going all the way back to 11 Aquarius where he stations direct on February 20. So, over the first three weeks of February we’ll experience exact conjunctions of retrograde Mercury with the Sun (Feb 8), Venus (Feb 13) and Jupiter (Feb 14); Mercury falls just shy of making an exact conjunction with Saturn but the day of his direct station (Feb 20), is within three degrees of Saturn.
So, that’s a hell of a lot of Aquarius energy over the next three weeks. Because Mercury is retrograde the whole time, be sure to take all the usual precautions (back up your files, double-check your emails before you send them, give yourself extra travel time). It’s also a good idea to keep that retrograde in mind if you have any insights or experiences related to the astro-weather. Mercury’s conjunction with these planets will be flavoured by its retrograde station so it might not be as productive as a normal, direct conjunction with those planets might be. You might get confusing information from it. Trust your gut and double-check everything before taking any major actions during this time. Best to just observe what insights come up and sit with them for a while longer before taking any action.
Further, all of these conjunctions will be square to Mars and Uranus in Taurus (by whole sign aspect, not degree), so that has the potential to irritate, inflame and disrupt the messages that Mercury’s various unions are sending you.
The major piece of astrology in February is the exact square between Saturn in Aquarius and Uranus in Taurus, which happens on February 17 at 7 degrees of each sign. On this same day, retrograde Mercury will be within a three-degree conjunction with Saturn, while the Moon makes an exact conjunction with Uranus. So, this is a clear sign that any decisions or actions taken around this time may very likely end up being reversed, delayed or otherwise afflicted and will need to be sorted out over the coming days. Emotions are also likely to be volatile and it’s a great time to say something you don’t mean or to be unnecessarily cruel or callous with your words. If you have any planets within about 4 to 10 degrees of the fixed signs (Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius, Taurus), this might hit you in a big way, so just tread cautiously.
In a broader world context, this time period might see a significant movement in the Saturn-in-Aquarius and Uranus-in-Taurus themes that predominate all of 2021. Decisions and actions around censorship may be prominent, and I could also see some kind of legal decision or legislation regarding technology’s role in the financial markets, driven by the short squeeze perpetrated by retail investors via FinTech apps like Robinhood that happened at the end of January. Cryptocurrency may come into focus again, or there could be movement around digital currency.
There could be some developments regarding the looming eviction crisis in countries around the world, or about the instability in the food industry; alternatively, maybe we’ll get more weird lab-grown meat or other strange food experiments. This might also be a time where we see some changes made (or initiated) regarding the elder care system, which has been under incredible strain and scrutiny due to the gaps and failures exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Going back to February, there’s a New Moon at 23 Aquarius on February 11, which occurs right in the midst of the massive Aquarius stellium. Given that Mercury is retrograde at this point, and that Mars and Uranus are squaring everything from Taurus, this probably isn’t a good time to start anything new – nothing major, anyway. Best to simply observe the transit in passing.
The Sun enters Pisces on February 18, followed by Venus entering Pisces on February 25. Venus is exalted in Pisces so this is a really nice upgrade to her dignity. I don’t see a ton of major things happening because of either of those stations, at least not this early on. However, it does relieve some of the build-up of energy concentrated in the fixed signs and especially Aquarius, and sets the stage for March.
A Full Moon at 8 Virgo on February 27 closes out the month’s astro-weather. This Full Moon represents a culmination of everything unearthed throughout this month’s deep dive into Aquarius. In the sign of precise, analytical Virgo, this lunation is an excellent opportunity to critically evaluate all the fruits that have ripened over the previous two weeks and sort out any confusion caused by Mercury’s retrograde; perhaps reconnect with someone or something where communication and understanding has gone awry over the past little while. A Virgo Full Moon is a good time for self-improvement and self-reflection, particularly focused on our emotional selves.
Full Moons always hold a duality at their core, as this is when the Sun and Moon face each other from opposite sides of the zodiac. During this particular one, the Sun is in Pisces and calls attention to our deepest emotional depths, providing an oppositional lens through which the Moon in Virgo may dissect, analyze and evaluate the qualities of those emotions. It is a time to take stock of ourselves and how we, as individuals, fit within the higher order of the universe; what we need to do – or to release – in order to achieve perfection and merge our selves with the divine.