Insights: Aquarius
January 20
Sun enters Aquarius 09:07 AM EST
Pluto enters Aquarius
You may think you know something about the Age of Aquarius that we seem to be thrashing our way toward. You may hold it out to be the crowning glory of humanity or the automation of the human soul. Both are possible… Pluto wants us to know that where there is light, there is shadow. We can ponder this over the next 9 months especially when reacting/responding to the little beep, interrupting your train of thought, telling you about something you don’t really need to know. (Pluto will dip back into Capricorn at the beginning of September for a short time.) Think about it in those moments when the natural world shows itself to you as a living breathing body. When you become aware of an angle of the light, snow on the curve of a branch, waves and light on water.
Aquarius reminds us that we have hopes and dreams, plans for the future. We are idealists. How else to survive the difficulties and dearth of winter? For many winter is not a season on the calendar but a continuing set of conditions. Aquarius reminds us that every living thing wants to live.
The Sun lights up the day. It is the guardian and perhaps the creator of consciousness. Pluto’s realm is the underworld where it’s dark and murky. As they meet on the threshold of Aquarius (auspicious points, these first degrees of a new sign) they are not in opposition. Together they signal the discomforts and fascinations of paradox. How to hold our existence in the light of our ideals as we witness the devastation of the effects of war and climate change. Doing this without rationalizing and normalizing the insanity of it all: That’s the hard part.
As the Sun travels through Aquarius this month it will square Jupiter and Uranus and, of course conjunct and oppose the Moon at the New and Full Moons.
January 23
Venus enters Capricorn
While Venus moves through Capricorn she reminds us to take stock of resources in the hope that they can be well used, managed wisely. During this time Venus will aspect Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune; each time reminding us that it is possible and necessary to manage what you have. From this vantage point you can realistically figure out how to then get what you need.
January 25
Full Moon: 05 degrees Leo: 12:53 AM EST
Mars square Chiron
The best way to pull our own weight is together. Trite but true. This is particularly challenging in a dominator society which stresses individuality to an extreme. We have been struggling with the ‘how’ of this since the 1960s. Celebrate those that carry the weight with you. It’s as good a time as any.
January 26
Mercury square Chiron
Who suffers? Who learns? Who carries? Who teaches? And who tells the story? The answer is probably something like, ‘all of us, some of the time but none of us all of the time’.
January 27
Sun square Jupiter
Uranus stationary direct
Mercury conjunct Mars
We journey deeper into 2024 with a sense that we are heading into new and greater changes than the ones that have already created so much disruption. There is no guarantee that it has to get worse. It just has to get different. Business as usual is not working. So what would? Think of it as applied chaos. Question how much is enough and what are the consequences of having it. Put thought into action if it helps create structure and orientation, even for a moment. Our bodies don’t last forever but they somehow last long enough to make a difference.
January 28
Venus sextile Saturn
Mercury trine Uranus
Venus trine Jupiter
(Mars at the bending (square) Nodes)
Nothing seems ‘unprecedented’ any more. Humans are ingenious adapters. We like to solve the problems, even in a maelstrom, even when the sky seems to be falling. There never was a better day than this one to consider an old situation from a new perspective. If you can’t work it out in your mind work it out as you engage the parts. Hold it in your hand, turn it toward the light. Do not be intimidated by apparent limitations.
February 2
Mercury sextile Neptune
Consult your soul even as you live your embodied life. Our longings are not meant to make us languish. We have this amazing capacity to sit, in our bodies and still our minds by focusing on our breath. We know how to relax, no matter what the circumstance. We just have to remember to use it.
February 4
Imbolc
Which is to say that today is the exact midpoint between the (winter) solstice and the (spring) equinox. In the north, it’s the time when seeds and all manner of life quicken deep beneath the surface as they prepare for birth in spring. We might also consider the seeds we are planting in our own ways for future generations. Ideas and aspirations that may not flower in these times but will possibly find fertile soil in times to come.
February 5
Mercury enters Aquarius
Venus square Chiron
Mercury conjunct Pluto
What does it mean to be reasonable at a time when extremely Un-reasonable things are falling like rain all over the world? Ask again: Who suffers? Who learns? Who carries? Who teaches? And who tells the story?
February 6
Venus at the bending (square) the nodes
Who owns the land? There must be other ways to live upon it aside from killing each other. How is it that the aggressive and rapacious inclinations of some keep the rest at their mercy? It’s certainly not how most of us live with our neighbors. Big questions. So many answers.
February 7
Venus trine Uranus
Mars sextile Neptune
There are so many ways to look at the same thing. Maybe one for each of us. How we think powers how we act. Today is a good day for right action, for building a world you know is possible. Small ways matter. Power does not have to be the driver. Sustainability makes more sense. Real world, here and now always for the good of all.
February 8
Sun square Uranus
We cannot control nature although we try. Too much power makes us crazy. Wealth becomes a weapon with which to exclude others. Might makes suffering, not right. Desire, one of Nature’s most blessed gifts becomes abuse. Let the wind blow, let the rain come down. Blessed Be. Tomorrow is a new moon, a new month.
February 09
New Moon: 20 degrees Aquarius: 05:59 PM EST
A good intention for this New Moon might start by aligning with your community. Even if it isn’t what you had in mind back in the day, this New Moon calls to us to gather with those who will accompany us as we negotiate the massive changes staring us in the face.
February 10
Mercury square Jupiter
If you’re the kind of person that looks for prophesy to explain what’s happening in these times you’re not the only one. Take your pick! Meanwhile, understand that the real message has always been written in our bodies, in the body of the earth, in what you might call (our) nature. Spend some time with your own inner universe, even if it’s uncomfortable. Breathe into the vast spaciousness that lives within. The still, small voice has so much wisdom. It might reveal something of the way through.
February 13 & 14
Mars enters Aquarius
Venus sextile Neptune
Mars conjunct Pluto
This is the first of Mars’ 2024 encounters with Pluto. More intense than usual because of Pluto’s relatively recent entry and the retrograde period of Mars much later in the year. It’s about power and vitality. We have choices. We do. Venus come in from the side, reminding us of this. What would it take to sit down and talk about things? To use power differently than simply to gain control or territory? Let’s never lose the Aquarian ideal of humanity working together to channel our amazing powers with kindness and inclusion, for the good of all.
February 15
Mercury sextile Chiron
Kindness and inclusion are the main ingredients of the best opportunities. Don’t kid yourself that it’s ok this once to do it the old way which only fosters greed and dominance.
February 16 & 17
Venus enters Aquarius
Mercury square Uranus
Venus conjunct Pluto
Venus enters Aquarius
Allow me to quote myself from the last day of Capricorn (January 20th): “Today is a good, maybe great day to stand at the cusp of Great Change.” Today I would add, ‘even if…’ - We don’t live forever. We never got rich and famous. We don’t think our efforts amount to a hill of beans. - Even patriarchy has a life span.
These insights, are meant as contemplations. Astrology is a kind of sky writing which invites the muse. No two perceptions are exactly the same but any of us can find insight through the images if we look. These are mine, happily offered for you to reshape and fashion into something of your own. Follow the links, where you find them for further musings on the planetary aspects.