THE PLANET, THE PLANETS, AND YOU
BY MIZ SATURN
THE ONLY MARXIST FEMINIST ASTROLOGER THIS SIDE OF THE VOLGA
February 2012
Neptune enters Pisces this month for the first time since 1848...
the year that brought us The Communist Manifesto!
Neptune enters its own sign on February 4th, where it stays for fourteen years.
So let's reflect a bit on the 1850's.... and what an interesting time that was!
Just as now, Uranus was in Aries. And like now it was a period of upheaval and revolutionary fervor: early feminists organized the Seneca Falls Women's Rights Convention, and John Brown -- my own personal favorite crazy white guy -- was doing his anti-slavery mobilizing. African Americans founded Liberia in 1849.
But then Neptune in Pisces brought a desire to dissolve or transcend boundaries ("workers of the world, unite!") And displaying another kind of transcendence, here in the US in the late 1840's state after state relaxed interstate commerce laws to enhance the slave trade.
For one thing, it is about water. Neptune rules the water, and Pisces, its home, represents the ocean. In astrology, water is the feeling realm, and in its Piscean context we yearn to float unencumbered in a sea of unity and connection.
So Neptune in Pisces could usher in a period of connection and community, transcending individualism. But it has another side. It also is about the Citizens United decision by the US Supreme Court, which shattered the boundary between corporate entities and um, human beings.
But back to the topic of water.....
(You see, this sidebar is a good example of Neptune: your astrologer is all over the place, wandering from Karl Marx to Citizen's United, and god knows where else.... Everything is connected; "everything is everything," in the words of the utterly Neptunian Lauryn Hill.)
Okay, water. Neptune in Pisces is likely to have big implications for climate change and the environment. Look at our water-covered sweet blue planet, after all.
Speaking of water quality, to mark the advent of Neptune in Pisces I attended my first anti-fracking meeting last night -- in Youngstown, Ohio where fracking has likely caused over a dozen earthquakes in the past year. Oil, gas, water, contamination -- all Neptunian themes.
Let's make sure Neptune in Pisces keeps us aware of the interconnectedness of all things.
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Now for my Mars Retrograde Hit Parade:
> After a major brouhaha, The Susan G Komen for the Cure just reversed course, and will not withhold funding from Planned Parenthood. The miscalculation, the backlash, and the reversal -- all classic Mars retrograde.
> Israel blurted out it might bomb Iran in April, May, or June. And the US is trying to backpedal like crazy. Israel will probably wait til after Venus goes retrograde in May -- Venus retrograde can be the goddess of war, after all.
> Indiana just became a "right to work" state. And they think organizers won't take advantage of the Superbowl for some very public outcry? Like I always say, expect the unexpected.
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Your February Forecast
AQUARIUS (JAN 20-FEB 19) For the first few days of the month it is hard to stay focused, with Mars retrograde opposing Venus in Pisces. Then this shifts quickly into an excellent Sun-Mercury conjunction in Aquarius. You're firing on all cylinders, and the full moon on the 7th helps bring some plans and efforts to fruition. The middle two weeks of the month have a lot to do with creative and
artistic inspiration. Enjoy it. Then around the 18th you are in the midst of people and lots of chatter. Some work tension follows the next week, and you're feeling pulled in more than a few directions. Everyone is thin- skinned at the end of the month because of the heavy Neptune influences, and you may be crabby. You may feel disappointed in people or in plans not coming together. Console yourself with some good old Neptunian TV watching.
PISCES (FEB 20-MARCH19) This is a big month for you with Neptune entering your own sign, especially around the new moon on the 21st....but I am getting ahead of myself. The first half of the month facilitates communication, the middle of the month brings fun and interchange with friends, and then things get soupy towards the end of the month. On the one hand, Neptune makes you all dreamy and unfocused while Mars retrograde is pulling at you to get things done. Be careful of struggling with yourself and your own expectations during the last half of the month. Just go with the flow, and don't be cranky. If a blizzard upends your plans, there is nothing you can do. It is a great month for creative inspiration, especially after the new moon on the 21st.
ARIES (MAR20-APR 19) Mars is your ruling planet, and don't you forget it! Its retrograde pass in Virgo is actually a blessing for you -- it is giving you the chance to clean up your act, to turn inward and re-order your internal universe. Mars retrograde is teaching you the nature of will and direction when you're going with the flow and not forcing things. Force is not a viable strategy -- especially this month, when the Neptunian influences make outcomes very slippery. Use the new moon to focus your creativity, and try not to be too irritated when the Mars-Mercury opposition at the end of the month stresses you out and reminds you of all the things you need to accomplish.
TAURUS (APR20- MAY20) This month has a lot of ups and downs, starting with some tension between what you want and what is reasonable to accomplish in the first few days of February. Remember -- Mars is retrograde, so things do get done but not in a linear way. You have to be patient....Then there is a satisfying couple of weeks of solid communication and clarity. The
Neptunian spaciness hits around the new moon on the 21st. Use this lunation for deep creative inspiration -- it doesnt get any better than this. The week following brings some Mercury-Mars tension -- a bit of scrappiness, perhaps, having to do with having too much to do. At the same time, this combination is great for writing and editing.
GEMINI (MAY21-JUN20) This is a strange month -- the first few days strain your sense of purpose and accomplishment. Remember, Mars retrograde is about process, not product, and it has its own rhythms. The middle of February brings you a lot of mental clarity and you make wonderful connections with people and ideas. The Neptunian influncce is very strong the seocnd half of the month, and you should channel it for some creative and political inspiration. Get your hands dirty in an art form this month. Build something, carve something, write or paint. Focus your political and visionary ideals into some activity.
CANCER (JUN21-JUL20) Aquarius is not an easy sign for you, and so this month is challenging. For the first few days, you are aware of a conflict betwe
en what you want and what you are doing. Remember that Mars is retrograde and so your usual ability to move and make things happen isnt working the way it should. The second week brings you a lot of clarity in commun ication, and perhaps more rigidity than you are used to. But then all that rigidity goes out the window after the 19th, when the Sun enters Pisces and sits with Neptune for a few days. Jeez, all of a sudden you are a space cadet! Use the spaciness to focus your creative inspiration, especially around the new moon on the 21st.
LEO (JUL21-AUG 20) Oh honey! What an odd month! You fight with yourself a bit the first week -- something you very much wanted to happen is happening but you are not sure how to handle it. The full moon in your own sign on the 7th really helps you focus your mental energy. It is a good time for thinking and writing, and of course, talking. You have a good time connecting with friends around the 18th. By the 19th, the heavy Neptune weather hits -- don't be surprised by a lack of focus. The focus is dreamy and intuitive, and if you can let it wash over you, you'll be fine. Use the powerfully inspirational new moon on the 21st to generate some dreams.
VIRGO (AUG 21-SEPT20) This is a slightly challenging month for you, and you would do well to remember that Pisces is your opposite sign and Neptune, its ruler, also has a special relationship to you. Pisces is your mirror image, and both signs have to do with wholeness. The Piscean and Neptunian influences are big this month, and with Mars retrograde in Virgo, you feel pulled between two extremes: taking care of every single little Virgo detail, or letting all those details go and trusting in the big picture. Which will it be? For the first half of the nmonth you'll be on top of all those details, and for the second, well, you know where this is going... you won't have control over a single thing. Go with it -- this is a great month for inspiration and creativity, for losing your ego a bit.
LIBRA (SEPT 21-OCT 21) Gee, I haven't mentioned Saturn even once this month! I better mention that it is hanging out ion the last degree of Libra but without the Jupiter effect of last month. You are a bit stressed. Mars retrograde isnt helping -- you don't think you're getting
anything done, but you are, trust me. The second week of February is wonderful for clear and focused mental energy. Then that all goes away -- pffft! -- when the big Neptune aspects hit around the 19th. But all the Neptune and Piscean energies are good for inspiration -- really good. But you can't push toward a goal in a conventional way. You could just go to the movies.
SCORPIO (OCT22-NOV21) You can't get a thing done this month, so stop worrying about it! Mars is in full retrograde mode. At the start of the month, it opposes Venus, and at the end, it opposes Mercury. Both transits will make you cranky. You will feel pulled in different directions, with Mars straining against your values and then your rational mind. You cannot fight this, just let Mars take you where you are supposed to go. Once the Neptune influences hit around the 19th, where you need to go is to your happy place of inspiration and intuition. Focus on your creative impulses and generate new plans and ideas around the 21st, the day of the new moon.
SAGITTARIUS (NOV 22-DEC21) Mars retrograde has made you feel like you are swimming upstream. You are getting a lot done but it doesnt feel like that. You try to do things to set plans into motion and they appear not to move. And have I mentioned that things are breaking? At least one piece of important equipment will go on the fritz. Honey, there is nothing you can do. There are
great things happening for you this month but those things are happening in the corners and crevasses of your life. You're making great connections with people all month long. Get ready for the heavy Neptune influences during the last couple of weeks of February-- allow yourself to inspire others and be inspired.
CAPRICORN (DEC21-JAN 19) Mars retrograde in Virgo is giving you a great opportunity to organize your work life and reduce stress. But you cannot achieve goals in a conventional way under this influence! Expect some frustration at the start of the month when Venus opposes Mars retrograde, and also at the end, when Mercury opposes it. It is these oppositions with Mars that create the tension, when we are pulling at Mars' sideways process to make something else happen. Well, it won't! You have to go with it. The middle of the month brings you a big burst of mental energy -- get some writing or other work done. Then heavy dreamtime hits when the Sun enters Pisces and we have Neptune Neptune Neptune. Use the new moon for creative inspiration.
Important February dates
Yes, Mars is still retrograde -- until April 14!
February 4th- Neptune
enters Pisces
February 7th, 4:54 pm EST Full Moon in Leo
February 19th, Sun enters Pisces
February 21st 5:35 pm EST, New Moon in Pisces
This new moon will have a huge Neptunian influence. Expect to be dreamy. Expect really bad weather.
Contact Pat by phone or email for December and January New York and Boston appointments. Long distance readings are also available through Skype.
photo by Cynthia Shepard
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analysis about astrology and world events on Facebook, at the new Patricia Maher Astrology page.
Occupy Wall Street, presidential campaigns, the world in a tailspin...there is just too much to talk about!
Don't worry -- this is no substitute for the monthly column.
