Insights for the Month of Aquarius
January / February 2021
January 19
Sun enters Aquarius: 3:39 PM EST:
Aquarius puts us at the middle of the season, be it winter or summer (in the southern hemisphere). Middles are times when energy is at its greatest concentration. Snows are deepest here in the north. Winds blow cold. It may be the dead of winter but if you pay attention to the sky you will notice from the start of Aquarius to the finish that the days are lengthening. The Sun, born anew at the solstice, is growing as it appears to climb higher in the sky each and every day. This is why Aquarius is the sign of our ideals, our hopes and dreams for a better world.
Of course there is always a flip side to consider, a shadow.
Aquarius has an ancient ruler, Saturn, and a modern ruler, Uranus. The most major aspect of 2021 is the square (tension) between these two planets. Saturn wants us to get the system working, to have a plan, but Uranus reminds us again and again that the old mechanisms for that are broken or breaking. It demands, from the sign of Taurus, that we pay attention to the natural world as we organize our thinking. Forget the ‘top-down’ theories of existence. And ‘doing things the way we always have’ isn’t really working either. The realities of the actual circumstances including climate change (which includes pandemic) and a world economy in radical transition must be acknowledged and respected rather than dominated and controlled. Sounds easier than it seems to be.
Maybe at the beginning of the Aquarius season we might ask ourselves what exactly we do and don’t expect from the Age of Aquarius. We have stepped into an alternate reality, to be sure. There is no going back which is also certain. To inspect our hopes and fears is a good idea on this first day of Aquarius and throughout the month. There are those who comfort themselves with the thought that more or less, it’s always been like this on planet earth. Astrologically we know that any particular pattern only repeats itself every 24 – 26,000 years. I cannot remember what it was like back then.
January 23
Mars square Jupiter
Venus sextile Neptune
It’s hard to know exactly what to be afraid of in the midst of so much change and so little leadership. Distrust of who and what is ‘out there’ erodes our sense of security. We are overrun with expert opinions but rarely do we hear a clear voice speaking in a way that seems trustworthy. Although a sense of confusion continues underlie the crises and chaos swirling around the world, fear seems to be random and not that useful. Maybe we need to look at ‘fear itself’. In a world so full of fear and doubt it is still possible to find a thread with which to navigate the labyrinth. In stillness and with focus on what matters here and now we wend our way. Even when the path is not clear or well-marked we are on it, simply by virtue of the fact that we are alive.
January 25
Sun sextile Chiron
Every chance you get to step back into awareness and away from reactivity, to widen your view, benefits someone.
January 26
Sun square Uranus
North node square Neptune
If you want to point (and blame) the sky for what’s going on beneath it, today is your day! Although I don’t imagine the sky is listening. It’s certain the planets cannot change their courses. Neptune and the Nodes have been all about confusion over the last year: much doubt and wrong-headed conviction. Today is their last exact square for years to come (their effects will continue to be felt for a while however). We might be tempted to quote the bard: “What fools these mortals be” seems appropriate or maybe “Methinks I was enamored of an ass”. We all know who that ass was and although you may not have been personally enamored of him we are and will continue to deal with the fallout of those who were and are still under his thrall.
Amidst outrageous change we naturally look for something in which to believe or have faith in. However, during times like these our gods, so to say, shapeshift. Our metaphors adjust. There is much benefit in witnessing change at this moment. Beware the temptation to hold on to worn-out ways of thinking or to believe you know exactly how to forge ahead as if you know it all. You don’t.
January 28
Full Moon: 09 degrees Leo: 02:16 PM EST
Venus conjunct Pluto
Sun conjunct Jupiter
We cannot help but see possibilities arising from shards of broken dreams. It’s what humans do. Although we can choose not to look. A sorry choice, driven by fear rather than acceptance, awareness and creativity. Although this is not easy, somehow it is real.
January 30
Mercury stationery retrograde in Aquarius
This is the first of three Mercury retrograde periods in 2021, all in air signs. Air reminds us to think, to communicate and to step back and gather perspective and, as much as possible to do it together. Listen to the wind blowing through the collective. You are more than a data point.
February 1
Sun square Mars
Venus enters Aquarius
If you’re feeling caught between a rock and a hard place or maybe between maintaining your lifestyle and the possibility of extinction or just plain old this and/or that, take a breath, let it go. Do it again. Drop your shoulders. In fact, drop down into your body as you continue to breathe in and out. The more present we are in the here and now the better our understanding and therefore our ability to create the future. Presence softens and strengthens everything. Here is some inspiration.
February 6
Venus conjunct Saturn, sextile Chiron, Square Uranus
The Goddess of all that matters, of beauty and the kind of truth that beauty reveals, is hard at work. The mission of the moment requires us to facilitate changes we barely comprehend. As we evaluate and begin to construct new systems of life support it would be good to include beauty as a necessary ingredient: soul food. Right where you’re standing. Best that you can.
February 8
Mercury retrograde conjunct the Sun
A subtle but significant message is on the wind (if you have the ears to hear).
“The mind is understood to be the space between the stars.”
February 9
Saturn sextile Chiron
You could miss this one if you weren’t paying attention. The kindness of strangers is no small thing to those who experience its blessings. It feels as good in the giving as it does in the receiving.
February 10
Mercury retrograde square Mars
Anger, when focused and applied can clarify thought and intention. Use it for the benefit of all. Store it up to be used later. Don’t let it use you.
February 11
New Moon: 23 degrees of Aquarius: 2:05 PM EST
Venus conjunct Jupiter
Today is filled with blessings. Given that both Venus and Jupiter are close enough to the Sun so as to be invisible we might say that their blessings are hidden deep in our hearts: Deep in the heart of humanity. To live with ease in uneasy times requires a kind of acceptance that does not succumb to despair. We are blessed when we align this acceptance with our powerful intention to live in a world that works. An excellent tool for this is ‘beginner’s mind’. In willing acceptance of not-knowing we open to learning new things. It’s like they say:
February 13
Venus conjunct Mercury retrograde
Mars sextile Neptune
Make art not war. Beauty and truth live most authentically ‘in the eye of the beholder’.
The beauty of truth is that
it need not be proclaimed or believed.
It skips from soul to soul, changing form each time it touches,
but it is what it is, …”
February 14
Mercury retrograde conjunct Jupiter
Knowledge is a factor of wisdom but not when people spout it by rote. Know-it-alls are the enemy of reason, bandits who turn wisdom into a static, dead thing, a bulwark for dogma. Beware the pundits and pontificators but do not dismiss the truly knowledgeable. When Jupiter is in the news the factor of discernment or discrimination is always important.
Today is a day to celebrate love. It is no mere accident that this day of hearts falls in the sign of Aquarius which is the sign of friendship. Perhaps loving kindness is better than chocolate? Who can say?
February 15
Venus trine the North Node
Learn something new just because you can, maybe just for the fun of it. Curiosity did not just kill the cat!
February 17
Saturn square Uranus
The big astrological news for 2021 is this square. It is the first of three between these two heavyweights. In 2020 you might say things fell apart, many of which were overdue. ’21 asks us to pick up some pieces and at least imagine where we go from here. Of course ‘here’ is a constantly moving target. Saturn in Aquarius suggests the use of reason. There is a real possibility that we could rise collectively to our most intelligent use of information. Saturn can be stuck in the past however and rigid in its thinking. Uranus continues to show the wreckage in the natural world. Some might call it the ‘real’ world. Uranus is the agent of revelation. Climate change and the economy are two very Taurus-y realms. Uranus in Taurus doesn’t suggest stability. Nor does it promise a return to the way it was. We simply cannot resolve our global crises with the mindsets that created it. We all know this. To think collectively sounds easier than it is. Sitting in circle and listening to one another takes time. We don’t feel we have time. This is how Aquarius and Taurus challenge each other: One says, ‘theory’ the other says ‘reality’. The first hit is often the most defining. Resistance is futile. Resilience however is not. Continue to explore possibilities, remembering to ask, ‘What if?’