February Energies
February is a “1” Universal Month [2 (February) + 8 (2024) = 10 = 1+0 =1] in an “8” Universal Year. 1 is the number of new beginnings, & this is reflected somewhat in the astrology for the month. We are entering a new era (Pluto in Aquarius which will last for nineteen years). There may need to be some adjustments. It may seem as if everything in your life has shifted. If you feel this way, know that you are right on time.
The Setup
February begins with the Sun & Pluto in Aquarius, Mercury Venus & Mars in Capricorn, Jupiter & Uranus in Taurus, & Neptune in Pisces. By month’s end, the Sun & Mercury will have entered Pisces, & Venus & Mars will have entered Aquarius. It’s worth noting that all of our personal planets are still quite bunched up in the last quadrant of the horoscope wheel – this shows that even though February may be a “beginning” of sorts with its 1 energy, there are still things that need wrapping up before we can all fully move on. This is further indicated since Pluto, now in Aquarius, will briefly retrograde back into Capricorn later in 2024 before moving direct & into Aquarius again by year’s end.
The Nitty Gritty
The big astrology for the month is Pluto’s ingress into Aquarius which happened back on 1/20. As our farthest planet from the sun (at least most of the time), Pluto remains in a single sign for an exceptionally long time. In this way, we can view Pluto as our cosmic clean-up crew – it is constantly & very slowly working behind the scenes to dismantle what we all, as individual groups & as a greater society, have outgrown. Much like a vulture, Pluto picks apart what we have been to free us for what is yet to come.
We are most of the way there now. Pluto has been flirting with Aquarius since the beginning of 2023 as it moves forward & backward across the border between Capricorn & Aquarius as part of its retrograde cycle. This is ingress 2 of 3; Pluto will station retrograde on 5/2, reenter Capricorn on 9/1, station direct on 10/11, & enter Aquarius for the final time on 11/19. All of these dates will be pivotal moments in the story of 2024 & the change that this year will bring to all of our lives. But, for now, we are in a place of beginning. In February, all three of our personal planets will enter Aquarius & immediately form a conjunction with Pluto at 00° – in this way, we are given three days to release what is no longer serving us to better move forward & adapt to the changes that fall ahead.
These releases will work from thought (Mercury on 2/5), to action (Mars on 2/13), & finally into our emotional centers (Venus on 2/17). Each of these days will be highly supportive of personal work of all kinds – most especially personal work that falls within the purview of the planet in conjunction with Pluto. A great way to work with this energy would be to perform a simple banishment ritual each day – the first to banish unwanted thoughts, the second: actions, & the third: emotions. It’s worth keeping in mind here that although the immature presentation of Aquarian energy can be quite selfish, the mature form wants the best for the entire world. With our personal planets & Pluto in Aquarius, social justice magic of all kinds will be strongly supported.
When all of our personal planets are tightly packed together, astrological weather tends to pack a pretty big punch. This is because we will all experience four repeating aspects with the Sun, Mercury, Venus, & Mars (the moon as well, though that works on its own schedule) to the other planets in our sky. We see this in the example above where all of our planets conjunct Pluto in sequence with one another but we will also see them each form squares with Jupiter & Uranus in Taurus, as well as sextiles to the North Node & Chiron in Aries, & trines with our South Node in Libra.
Jupiter is the great expander, sometimes considered to be our “go” force in life. Uranus breaks things down to enact change beyond our control. Chiron is the cosmic wound that forces us to heal & grow. The South Node (of focus here) is the axis of Past Fate: the things that have already happened to us that were unavoidable.
Read together, I see this overarching message stand out: Sometimes, this world can feel like an unavoidable hellscape. Bad things happen. BIG things happen that are far, far beyond our control. Through pandemics, inflation, climate instability, & financial crises, the world moves on. We still need to live in it. That may sound harsh, but it’s not meant to be. You cannot change what you cannot change. That is one of the deepest lessons that Saturn, the planet of time, has to teach us: absolve yourself of your angst over the things that were never in your control to begin with.
Although in modern times we talk about the planet of Aquarius in reference to its true planetary ruler Uranus, Aquarius’ traditional planetary ruler is Saturn. The secret to Aquarius times is to dream about big change (Uranus), but to keep it grounded in reality (Saturn). You can enact change – change perhaps beyond your wildest expectations even – but that change needs to be possible. Everything in life has limitations, that’s another Saturn lesson.
The sky is the limit but you need to remember not to fly too close to the sun. Apply that metaphor where it fits in your life this month & into March as well because these arbitrary calendar demarcations have nothing to do with astrological transits.
Mars will sextile Chiron & the North Node (now in close conjunction with one another) & trine the South Node between 2/5-2/7, Mercury does so as well on 2/15 – these are not going to be easy days. Consequences of past actions are on the table here and its likely to hurt. We have three signs in play here – the dichotomy of our 7-7 Sun Sign pair (Aries and Libra) & the master oddball Aquarius.
Since Aries is the sign of self & Libra is the sign of relationships & this is happening around Valentine’s-Day, one can assume relationship tensions will be high throughout the first half of the month. Especially in relationships where there is a big power imbalance or a lot of codependent tendencies. It’s worth keeping in mind here that our way forward is found in the North Node, now in Aries, so independence is likely to trump codependence during this time.
That is going to make a certain type of person very uncomfortable. I don’t always do “Valentine’s Day” transit reads because I find it to be a kind of minimal holiday at most, but this one is worth mentioning. Venus & Mars are in close but not quite conjunction the week of the 14th. Each is working their way through Capricorn towards that inevitable conjunction with Pluto. Mars enters Aquarius on 1/13 & conjuncts Pluto on 1/14. That’s…a pretty big breakup signal.
Not saying that applies to you if you’re in a solid relationship. Just saying that transit, on Valentine’s Day, has red flags & long nights painted all over it. That toxic couple who only stays together for the makeup sex may be pretty into this transit.
If you’re in a loving relationship, try & cut your partner some slack around this time. They may be pretty deep in it & it may not have anything to do with you. Especially male-identifying partners or anybody who has a strong Mars influence in their charts (I’m looking at all of those Aries & Scorpios). There’s a huge amount of performative pressure put on Valentine’s Day & Pluto might just set about dismantling that right about now. That could even be a good thing.
Magic done SPECIFICALLY to dismantle the performative pressure of Valentine’s Day will be highly supported during this time. If that’s your thing & you want to write a group ritual, cue me in, I’m very interested in helping out with that.
It’s not likely to be the sexy times, though. Not unless you are really getting off on some toxic shit. (no shaming here, toxic shit with real boundaries can be super hot)
Venus enters Aquarius on 2/16 and conjuncts Pluto on 2/17: so this energy is going to stick around for a while. If you want to schedule something with your sweeties, do so after the Sun enters Pisces on 2/18, maybe when Venus & Mars conjunct on 2/22. But, even then, at 06° Aquarius, our two relationship planets are still in stellium with Pluto. It’s just not the best month for relationships. Tread lightly & practice all of your empathy skills if you want to get along with your Partners this month.
Our new moon for the month is on 2/9 at 20° Aquarius. This is sitting in a tight square with Uranus in Taurus. This may feel a bit like that long-term Saturn square Uranus aspect we dealt with a couple of years back. Something has got to give or it’s going to break. Uranus is our planet of disasters, so it’s worth being careful of fire & explosives when it is activated by either the Sun or Mars. Where are you holding on too tightly in your own life? This is the cosmic right time to let that shit go. The lunar nodes are being activated here as well by a square with Venus in Capricorn so all bets are off.
This is a great day to do wild magic through aspects with both the lunar nodes & Uranus & that is further indicated as this Leo new moon is a “5” moon. This is a great day to shake things up or work to make a significant difference in your life or the world. But, a word to the wise: Leo full moons are naturally “4” moons, so they do require some structure & handling. Again, moving back to the above warning: don’t go overboard with dry botanicals & candle magic with this new moon.
Again: red flags. This time for fires rather than breakups.
Our full moon is on 2/24 at 05° Virgo. All of our personal planets are in play here, too. (theme of the month, after all) Mercury is in conjunction with the Sun while Venus & Mars are still conjunct with one another in Aquarius & square to Jupiter in Taurus (Venus exactly during our lunar event). Virgo can be an overly critical full moon to begin with & this seems turned up to 11. Mercury is in its detriment in Pisces so we may not be thinking straight. Neither Venus nor Mars is particularly at home in Aquarius (& Aquarius loves a good fight…I mean…discussion) so there isn’t a lot of peace to be found here.
Additionally, it’s a 9/1 full moon which carries quite a bit of finality to it. You can use this energy if you know what you are doing. Be critical of what you want to remove from your life during this time. That focuses the natural Virgo “9” full moon energy. But make it work for you, remove it for a new start. That brings it back around to 1 & a new beginning. That’s very in line with our “1” universal Month & it activates the sense of completion of coming full circle that our “8” year demands.
At the end of the month, the Sun, Mercury, & Saturn will meet up in a rare stellium at 09° Pisces on 2/28. This has "consequences" written all over it. Perhaps the kindest thing that you can do for yourself (Pisces vibes) when faced with what you have wrought (Saturn) is to admit to it. Own up. Verbally say that you are sorry if you are actually sorry (Mercury). If you can do THAT & tap into your heart after the long dry winds of February, you'll know that you've gotten somewhere.
In this way, I see the energy of February as harsh at times, but ultimately, working for us. It may be easy to get mired in the past or feel hopelessly turned to dust & emotionless. The anecdote to Aquarius energy is always found in Leo & the deep heart space. Working with warming herbs, fire (except where already forwarded against), & heart energies of all kinds may help to move stuck energy all month long. There’s a lot of room for change here (magical or otherwise) but you are going to have to work for it.
