LIVING YOUR LIFE
SENSIBLY WITH JYOTISH HELP
Mars + Mercury in Aquarius February 2
– March 3
Mars moves into Aquarius on January 25 and
Mercury follows quickly behind on February 2.
According
to traditional jyotish rules, Mars is neutral to Mercury but Mercury is an
enemy to Mars and in addition, planets when in occupation of one sign are
inimical to one another, so we may feel some friction from the proximity of
these two planets. However, almost every set of circumstances is good for
something, so let us attempt to put this combination to work in the most
positive way. One thing that Mars and Mercury do very well together is
communications technology. Without Mars we wouldn't have computer programmers
and without Mercury we wouldn't have the insatiable desire to exchange
information. Projects in this field should be nice to work on during this time.
Mars is an expert at power management, planning and building; Mercury is
diplomatic, analytical and neutral. While Mars is very focused on gaining and
using power, Mercury could care less about having power. While Mercury has the
ability to see the truth of all sides of a situation, Mars prefers to see
things in black and white. So, while these two are working together, they have
different motivations and methods.
Venus Transits Capricorn &
Aquarius Jan 28 – March 17
Capricorn and Aquarius are both ruled by
Saturn, the only two consecutive signs in the zodiac to be ruled by the same
planet. When a planet enters Capricorn, there are then two Saturn-ruled signs
to traverse. Venus is a natural friend of Saturn, so this territory is amenable
to Venus' activities. In addition, this puts Venus and Saturn into an exchange
of signs, making the relationship between these two planets strong during this
time.
During this entire transit of Saturn's signs,
Venus is slowly approaching an exact conjunction with the Sun, which will
happen toward the end of March in Pisces. Venus is currently visible to some in
the morning sky. As Venus gets closer to the Sun, she slips from our view and
begins her transformative "underworld" journey, eventually
re-emerging as the evening star in early May, 2013.
While Venus is in Capricorn, receiving
Jupiter's aspect, we may find ourselves extremely creatively inspired as well
as able to make material progress toward manifesting these creations.
After February 21, Venus moves into a much
different situation; a sign crowded with other planets, one of which is Mercury
on the brink of retrograde motion once again. This could bring out the socially
active side of Venus, attempting to make things peaceful and beautiful for all
involved.
New Moon in Capricorn February 10
After the Full Moon of January 26 in Cancer,
the Moon begins to wane through its dark cycle, joining the Sun once again at
27° Capricorn just after midnight on February 10. This is just one degree away
from Mars' point of exaltation, which was recently energized by Mars passing
through it in January.
The new Moon occurs in the sign of Capricorn
and in the nakshatra of Dhanistha.
Dhanistha is ruled by Mars and by the Vasus, the gods of abundance. It is
supportive of all types of educational pursuits, artistic ventures, medical
therapies, legal matters, travel and financial gain. These types of activities
could become successful if started just after the new Moon, as the Moon begins
to wax and grow.
Sun in Aquarius
February 12 – March 14
A few days after the new Moon, the Sun enters
Aquarius, joining Mercury and Mars. The friendship between Sun and Mars when
they are sharing space often creates an abundance of heat and light, like
building a bonfire on a sunny day. At no point this month, however, will the
Sun come close enough to either Mars or Mercury to create the state of
combustion, which occurs when the Sun gets too close to planets for them to
clearly express their energy. We can think of the Sun in this case as a well
placed spotlight for Mars and Mercury.
With Mars and Sun together, it can be very
easy to fall into self-centered behavior; this combination happening in
Aquarius provides a convenient check and balance system for the ego. If you
find yourself asking, "but what about me and my needs?!" let that be
a cue to follow up with, "How can I creatively meet my needs while at the
same time supporting the collective?"
Saturn Retrograde
February 17 – July 8
Saturn is currently in its sign of
exaltation, Libra, joined recently by the north node of the Moon, Rahu.
Starting February 17, Saturn apparently begins to retreat through the middle
degrees of Libra for a five month period. This Saturn retrograde occurs about
once per year for about 4.5 months. That's a little over a third of the time!
Let's get some perspective on retrograde
motion, because the next section of this forecast will also focus on retrograde
motion. The important thing to understand about retrograde motion is that it is
apparent and not actual. The planets as they circumambulate the Sun do not
actually stop and move in the other direction.
The keyword here is "illusion,"
which in Sanskrit we would translate as "maya." The thing to bear in
mind as we attempt to remedy the retrograde situations that arise when planets
"change course" is that in reality, in truth, the planet is going
about its course in forward motion. From our perspective, though, we are
experiencing the perception of that planet as reversed, haywire or chaotic.
This perception is illusory, so the trick is to note the perception but choose
to act on the basis of reality and truth. This is similar to the realization
that we can't control the feelings that arise in us but we can control our
reactions to them.
With Saturn retrograde, there is the
opportunity to take note of what is slipping away or causing discomfort/disease
and to address the changes that need to take place to heal or remedy those
situations, many of which may be rooted in our past experience. In most cases
the instability that we "seem" to feel when Saturn is retrograde can
be remedied by focusing on integrating the positive qualities of Saturn: karmic
responsibility, discipline, detachment, structure, truth.
Mercury Retrograde February 23 – March 17
Applying the theory of retrograde to Mercury,
we can expect the qualities of Mercury to reverse or appear to be lost during
this time. The remedy is to apply extra effort to exercise and strengthen the
natural qualities of Mercury. Communication, diplomacy, humour, analytical
ability, attention to detail, intellectual capacity, exchange.
The illusion of chaos presented by Mercury
retrograde motion generally shows up a few days before and lingers a few days
after the official period. So, be ready with your plans, your observations and
your sense of humor. As the great Benjamin Franklin (who had Mercury retrograde
in his birth chart, so he would know) said, "An ounce of prevention is worth
a pound of cure."
Full Moon in Leo
February 25
As the Moon waxes through the early signs of
the zodiac, make sure to check out another great Jupiter-Moon conjunction on
the evening of February 18.
The moment of the full Moon occurs during the
afternoon of Monday. The Moon will be in the Sun's sign, Leo, while the Sun
will be in Saturn's sign, Aquarius, joining Venus, Mars and retrograde Mercury.
The four planets in Aquarius will create a great support for the culmination of
the Moon's cycle that was begun on February 10. This will be a great day to
celebrate the work that we will be doing in the realm of expression of our
unique selves that also supports the collective.
Monday is the day of the Moon, so we have two
reasons on February 25 to celebrate the lunar forces. It is a great day to
start important business, perform spiritual ceremonies, and to honor the Moon
through paying respect to maternal figures in one's life. This is the time to
allow the work that has been done in the previous two weeks of the Moon's
waxing cycle to blossom and unfold.
