THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA have become rather exercised about eclipses in a way they never used to be. Currently they are animated about the total lunar eclipse of January 31, which has become dubbed ‘The Super Blue Blood Moon’, super describing its closeness to earth and blue its rarity rather than its colour.
If you are able to witness it, this eclipse won’t disappoint. What does it mean? According to mainstream media, nothing, it’s just a phenomenon to gawp at. However, the eclipse is one of a sequence across the zodiacal axis of Leo and Aquarius – there were four last year, two this month, and two coming up in July/August ’18, affecting assorted birthdays in January, February, July and August.
Astrologers have different opinions about eclipses – some say they reveal, others that they conceal. Some treat them as a bad omen, others as a positive one. Your astrologer regards them as more powerful new and full Moons, with an element of ‘now you see it now you don’t’ about them.
The mainstream media won’t be saying much, if anything, about the partial solar eclipse that accompanies the new Moon of February 15, but it’s something of a restart for all signs, not just Leo and Aquarius.
One of the most striking things about the current planetary picture is that all the solar system’s planets are moving forwards (they always do of course, but thanks to their relative speed, they often appear to being sliding backwards) which gives the early months of 2018 a rather relentless quality; it’s one thing after another, with little pause for thought or rest. However, in the words of one famous quizmaster, ‘fingers on buzzers, let’s get on with it’.
Aquarius
Aquarius and your opposite sign of Leo are currently hogging the eclipse cycle; see the introduction.
Eclipses can be disruptive, but their effect may not arrive instantly, so you may well be reaping the consequences of what went down last August. In any case the current cycle of black-outs promises a period of change,, not least where significant others are involved, where a balancing act is needed to keep both you and the other party (or parties) content.
Full Moons are rarely a good moment for full and frank discussions, however, and the first few days of February are no exception, but you can shoehorn in a meaningful exchange of views around February 7. And since Venus is in your skies until February 11, there is a glow of romance to more light-hearted relationships or fresh encounters.
Better to enjoy yourself and/or to conduct a personal overhaul than lean on relationship problems that look more easily solved after the new Moon cum solar eclipse in your skies on February 15.
Other issues may solve themselves – the recent shift of Mars into fiery Sagittarius should remove one hothead from your professional world, and makes the coming six weeks a fruitful time to invest in your professional network. ‘Lucky’ Jupiter – at the top of your ‘scope until autumn – insists on (and rewards) a high professional profile. This is not the time to fear the so-called great and good; shine up your Aquarian idealism and mingle boldly. Happy Birthday.
Pisces
‘Politics is the art of the possible, of the next best thing’, is how one dusty old ruler put it, and with tough guy Saturn in your zone of politics and networking, hard bargaining is the rule just now, especially where work is concerned. It’s a case of figuring out who needs who the most…haggle away, you are not the push-over that some folks (and astrologers) think.
The last couple of years of Saturn in Sagittarius – when your arm was forced and you were given barely a tea break – are, however, in the past. Give thanks.
A mere couple of weeks away comes a welcome blast of sweetness and ease, when Venus arrives (on the 11th) to exalt your senses and set you up for a celebratory birthday month. The Sun and Mercury in your skies from 18 February give you the edge in the political arena (try a charm offensive) and an excuse to buy new boots and panties.
As mentioned by your astrologer in previous dispatches, the long term residence of Neptune in Pisces is a mixed blessing (somewhere between charisma and chaos), but with other planets conjoining Neptune this month and next, you have licence to live it up and to cast your charms and spells where you will.
The upbeat message is further endorsed by your ruler Jupiter, whose current position in watery Scorpio supports earnest intellectual endeavours (especially education), a free ticket to somewhere startling or roistering on the ocean wave. Time for a sea shanty anyone?
Aries
You will, as they say, be moving right along in February. One reason is the recent of change of sign by your Mars ruler, now tromping through fiery Sagittarius for the next six or seven weeks, a transit entirely to your advantage and highlighting any international or educational links you have.
The demands of the status quo at work may also be making themselves felt during these (very) early stages of Saturn in Capricorn. March birthdays take note. If so, dig in your heels rather than click them in submission. You are too free a spirit for dumb conformity.
Making that point on a more personal level is the swathe of planets across your romance/friendship axis, along with two eclipses. Here you must examine your heart strings to find out who remains in and who is on their way out among your personal team. There is no rush – such is the rush that the cosmos is in that early next month you will be getting new information, new contenders for your affections and fresh ideas about what the girly magazines call ‘the new you’.
Meanwhile, with planets gathering behind the scenes as February draws to a close, a touch of inner communion calls. Time for a bout of bell, book and candle.
Taurus
Firing on all cylinders? You need to be to handle February’s stars. Not that they are awful, far from it, but there is an element of challenge at work that is not for the faint-hearted or the lazy (that’s not you, obviously).
As January may have illustrated, you have to think big now, expand your horizons to distant places and/or people therefrom. Your little ‘hood will always hold part of your heart, but Jupiter in opposition, Saturn in your ninth house of exploration, and a total lunar eclipse down at the root of your ‘scope. …those planets add up to a move out of your comfort zone. That may not be this very month, but certainly across springtime the sense that your established situation is not delivering enough nourishment will only grow.
Also on the agenda is a solar eclipse cum new Moon at the top of your chart, representing your career path – not so unusual, but, again emphasised by events later this year. It’s time to raise your game and your profile.
The latter looks simple enough. Your Venus ruler in exaltation in Pisces from the 11th pushes you into a quite furious social round where you can sport your best gladrags, talk up your chances and impress fellow travellers (but don’t start impressing yourself with your own bull). Also helping to bolster your cause is the asteroid Pallas Athene – daughter of Jupiter, warrior queen, wise strategist – which is the Bull’s skies this month and next. Up and at ‘em then.
Gemini
After two years of Saturn in opposition – amid which there is likely a big ‘Ouch’ even if you have also scored a major success – you should be frolicking like a lamb in 2018. There is plenty of joy and mischief to be had in February, with the Sun, ruler Mercury and Venus all in fellow air sign Aquarius. Circulate, bi-locate or relocate, but keep yourself and your social circle on the move, including any international contacts you may have. February 8/9 and the weekend of 23/24 are nicely starred for down time and celebrations, the deeper issue being how you can get your message across to the big bad world out there. Innovation, not least on the technical side, is crucial.
Still, major initiatives on the career front are best left until the solar eclipse cum new Moon of the 15th is out the way. The ensuing season of Pisces is, as always, about hoisting aloft your professional flag and doing some slick PR on your own behalf while not believing your own hype. With Neptune strong in the mix, misinformation coming to you from the other direction is also a hazard late in the month and in early March. This spring is an optimum time for job, work and self-promotion; in part it’s a case of how much hunger you have to succeed.
Downsides? Well, Mars has just moved into opposition for the next six weeks, requiring kid gloves when dealing with prickly people (including friends and partners), and safety gloves when hauling the butternut roast from the oven (Mars likes a scold and a scald). Otherwise, get to work.
Cancer
Did 2017 leave you stony broke or better off? This month’s pair of eclipses, one the total eclipse of your Luna ruler on January 31, fall across the financial axis of your horoscope, and since the same configuration occurred twice last year, in February and August, you are well placed to judge the implications.
Given that Cancerians are rarely gung-ho about money (there are male exceptions), it’s better to contemplate the spirit of enterprise and far horizons currently at work in your ‘scope. Jupiter in fellow water sign Scorpio occupies pole position, meaning it’s worth the creatives and romantics among you taking a few risks, whether with an odd date or a daring canvas – nothing ventured nothing gained is the mantra this spring.
Planets piling into the third water sign, Pisces, from February 11 onwards, amplify that notion, and add an intriguing international dimension to your outlook. Singles among you might consider a water sign for a hot date – Venus in Pisces on Valentine’s Day is a good star to follow.
More settled relationships, including burnt-out affairs with an ex or three, may not be so accommodating now that Saturn is in opposition. Lack of support, lack of warmth and downright boredom are the hallmarks of the ringed planet on a personal level. What’s to be done except tough it out or walk away? Perhaps the upbeat month of Pisces can help.
At work, Saturn requires you to graft and take your ambitions seriously. It will be hard to coast this spring. For those of you interested in making more money and acquiring assets comes the new Moon of February 15; helpful, but you will have to match any good fortune stride for stride – be ingenious.
Leo
There is a full Moon in your regal sign every year, though rarely one as spectacular as the total lunar eclipse of January 31. This follows the less striking full Moon eclipse of
February 2017, and the total eclipse of your Sun ruler last August, while upcoming this month is the partial solar eclipse cum new Moon of February 15 in your partnership sign of Aquarius.
What this sequence amounts to – and there is more eclipse action at your birthday – is a cross examination about your major relationships, your intentions and feelings towards your main squeeze or your ex, and how you can achieve a just balance between the two of you. And if that is not/hasn’t proved possible, how you can ‘move on’, as the saying goes.
The answer to that question may come in ‘Shazam’ fashion in this eclipse month, even if it takes a month or two to implement…say when your Sun ruler forms a new Moon in mid-April. Alternately (or additionally) a new association may form.
Mars the energiser has just begin a six week stretch in your fellow fire sign of Sagittarius; ideal for hot dates or just getting and staying on a winning streak in your occupation or favourite hobby or sport (Mars is the sports bod incarnate). Wherever you invest your energy and skills, be it in projects or people, tends to pay off this springtime. But do, as an old song says, pump up the volume.
Virgo
Even the slog through the dark days of midwinter cannot have been too gruesome given the stellium of planets in your fellow earth sign of Capricorn during January, a configuration equally devoted to pleasure and work. Saturn’s ongoing presence here until 2020 asks for new initiatives or developments – creative, work-oriented, emotional or plain capital- to be maintained with Virgoan duty in the weeks and months ahead. Whatever you jump into now, be in it for the long haul.
February presents you with a more mixed bag. The eclipses across the work and health axis of your ‘scope will activate hypochondria among some Virgos while suggesting new ways to handle projects and health regimes for others. The mind/body/spirit axis is an important one for many Virgoans, and rewards attention now, ready for further interrogation in a few months’ time.
Mars, now ensconced at the root of your solar chart, may meanwhile tease out any faults in your domestic set-up or require a row or two before you shuffle flatmates (or your own residence). The home looks noisy!
More demanding are one-on-one relationships, be they with your main squeeze, your ex, your bridge partner, a prospective lover or an openly declared foe. The presence of an exalted Venus in opposition from the 11th ticks all the boxes for hot dates and attractive newcomers, and r for buying the hatchet with someone with you are on the outs; feel free to take the initiative on both counts. Here, however, the action is only just getting going – there will be more developments in March. Single or semi-single? Enchantment is good, being taken for a sucker is not. Virgoan discrimination called for.
Libra
A pair of eclipses across the friendship/romance axis of your solar ‘scope doesn’t make for the most placid period in your rich emotional life, especially given that the wayward energies of ‘divorce planet’ Prometheus are also in play. Far from being in harmonious balance, the Scales are likely to be swinging, and many Librans have little choice but to fly with a wildly veering wind
Nonetheless, ruler Venus in airy Aquarius until the 11th has to be accounted a stabilising factor (even a joyous occasion) while the new Moon cum solar eclipse of February 15 is a turning point, a new chapter in your love life, though new chapters come as swift as that veering wind this year.
Mars, a strong relationship planet for you, is meanwhile busy in your neighbourhood, on your e-mail and among your acquaintances. The situation may be thrilling for those in the dating game, but more settled Librans may have to acknowledge that ultimately no-one can control anyone else, not in good conscience anyway, whether it’s you or another party that’s declaring independence.
There are plenty of other issues to keep you occupied. Saturn’s new position at the root of your ‘scope asks for close management of assets, property and the domestic agenda – September birthdays take note. Money is an issue this spring, albeit not in a bad way – just be sure that Mr. Micawber’s principle of expenditure and income is met. If you can’t get out of debt when ‘lucky Jupiter is in your cash zone (until autumn), then when?
Scorpio
When, as at present, Jupiter is moving forwards in your skies the compass needle is always pointing towards bluer skies and warmer seas. February’s stars give you plenty of reason for optimism, despite a couple of eclipses that may call for a rethink of your strategy.
The solar eclipse cum new Moon of February 15 is a reboot for your plans in any case, especially if they involve a change of home/flatmate/family set-up, though you may also be able to use this new Moon (and next month’s) to engineer better career prospects. You are, as the saying goes, empowered.
As much is true of your emotional life. Planets moving into your fellow water sign of Pisces from the 11th, starting with an exalted Venus, spell spring flowers and warm feelings for all sentient beings – though most likely for one Valentine-like being in particular. Warm and fuzzy – not always your style – is sweet, but since Neptune is in the thick of the action in late February and early March, Scorpio’s super powers of instinct and detection shouldn’t be abandoned. Keep a lid on your more delusional ideas about romance and, paradoxically, you’re hot stuff!
For those of you in the creative industries, these are stars to cherish. Fanciful works of science fiction and weirdo gothic canvases are favoured. If you are in the business of selling people fantasies – idyllic holiday homes, get rich quick ponzi schemes and the like – then here’s your moment (shame on you). Happily, even for honest Scorpios, with ruler mars in your cash zone, there is, finally, money to be made.
Sagittarius
You’ll be travelling a lot lighter now that Saturn has moved on from the Archer’s skies (though Centaurs born 1972 or ’88 still have the taskmaster planet on their case), and February’s stars ask you to look forwards with relish. For starters comes warrior Mars in your skies, signalling a high speed burn through to mid-March. Critics and opponents can expect a flea in their ear.
Also to hand in the first half of the month is a clutch of planets in airy Aquarius, stirring the pot socially and smiling on media/internet/educational matters. Be as lofty and intellectual as you like (as, indeed, only Centaurs can be). The new Moon of February 15 is a point of lift-off, despite being a solar eclipse – just give it a couple of days before you instigate your next grand plan.
The last ten days of February are less amenable, though without presenting a problem that a sensible Centaur with its dander up cannot solve. Neptune in the mix then and next month calls for piercing clarity and a keen nose for disinformation (fake news!), especially near February 28, and especially around domestic developments.
Romance and all the drippy stuff that accompanies it (which is not always the Centaur’s thing, yours being a sign of passion rather than sentimentality) may find favour in February, but for the stirring strings and full operatic works, you may have to wait until early March. Gently does it.
Your ruling planet, Jupiter, remains active but behind the scenes; your secret project takes shape, but remains secret, ready to be unveiled later in the year.
Capricorn
The Capricorn new Moon of January 17 should have set you on the route to a brighter, more informed new year. All you have to do now, and for the next two and half years, is stick to your good resolutions! You are marching to the demanding drumbeat of your ruling planet, Saturn, through to 2020, but the next three months – before the planet starts its long backslide until autumn – are especially important. Start as you mean to continue when wrestling with the big issues (work, security, ambitions, long term destination, those well meant resolutions).
The eclipsed full Moon of January 31 and the solar eclipse at the new Moon of February 15 both emphasise your assets and income while being annoyingly uncertain times at which to take action – you can, however, do some serious research. Eclipses across you axis of self-worth – and actual worth – occurred last year and return again this summer.
Don’t fret, you are not likely to discover your priceless collection of silverware/antique sports cars/first editions/sentimental old junk has been looted, but you may be moved to wonder why on earth your are hoarding it. But do keep decisions about unstable family or domestic scenarios to hand – things are unfolding through spring and very likely in unexpected ways.
The second half of February, with planets piling up in the water sign of Pisces, is more amenable for earthy Goats. For those of you in commerce there are deals to be done, for all of you there are networks to ply and glad-handing to undertake, while the singletons among you have the help of Venus from the 11th onwards (you better circulate, however). In all cases be aware that you have the dazzle/duplicity of Neptune in the mix, and gift horses and dream lovers need a sober check on their credentials!