“Love Is Love”

‘Skyvibe’ Astrology Forecast for February 2018

February 2018 is an interesting month astrologically, as there is no Full Moon this month. The last Full Moon was a Lunar Eclipse in Leo, exact at 11.25pm on 31st January, and the next will be in Virgo, exact at 10.50am on 2nd March, Sydney time. This absence of a Full Moon in a calendar month is quite a rare occurrence, happening only four or five times a century. The last time it happened was in 1999, so it is the first one this century.

As we come off the Lunar Eclipse of 31st January, February begins with a harmonious sextile between Mercury in Aquarius and Mars in Sagittarius on 3rd February, followed by a square between Venus in Aquarius and Jupiter in Scorpio on 4th February. Be aware of what you say, especially with loved ones, around this time as you may express something a bit more forcefully than you intended and it may blow up to be a bigger issue than it really is. Take a deep breath and count to ten.

On 7th February Aquarian Venus sextiles Uranus in Aries (a good date night if you are looking for fun), before she enters Pisces on 11th February where she takes on a more dreamy, otherworldly character. On the same day the Sun in Aquarius squares Jupiter in Scorpio. Mercury squares Jupiter and sextiles Uranus on St Valentine’s Day, 14th February. Be careful when you send your Valentine’s greetings that there is no miscommunication or the result may not be as romantic as you’d hoped!

The big astrological event of the month occurs two days later, on 16th February, when we have a New Moon and partial Solar Eclipse. This eclipse will only be visible in the lower reaches of South America and the adjacent part of Antarctica, and as it is partial, the Sun will not be totally covered by the Moon. The Eclipse occurs at 7.04am Sydney time, at 27° 07’ Aquarius. Mercury is in close conjunction with the Sun and Moon, and it also sextiles Uranus in Aries. Venus in Pisces sextiles Saturn in Capricorn on the same day, and a day later on February 17 Mars in Sagittarius squares Neptune in Pisces, and Mercury comes into exact conjunction with the Sun. That is a whole lot of astrological aspects piling on top of each other. To add to the mix, the asteroids Juno and Hygeia are also conjuncting Mercury and this Eclipse.

So, what does all of this mean? Eclipses represent the endings and beginnings of things, and with Mercury so closely involved we can expect that there will be discussion around Mercurial issues such as transport, new ideas, communication and the news media. These events may be good news to most, but possibly challenging to or challenged by the Establishment.

Let’s not forget the two asteroids which are closely conjunct this eclipse. The asteroid Hygeia is connected with all things to do with health, hygiene and medicine, both traditional and mainstream, so events related to these issues may also come up in the weeks and months around this eclipse. Juno is the asteroid associated with marriage, partnership in the deepest sense of the word, loyalty and commitment. Interestingly, the Romans originally associated Juno with the New Moon, calling her Juno Covella, “covella” from the Latin word for hollow, as in the new moon’s thin crescent. She was worshipped on the first day of every Luna month, and from this link to the 28 day cycle came Juno’s association with the female reproductive cycle and motherhood. So this New Moon eclipse is about an ending and beginning around the issues of communication, new or radical ideas, marriage, motherhood (parenthood?), medicine and health.

The Sabian Symbol for the eclipse is A Tree felled and sawed to ensure a supply of wood for the winter. The tree started life as a small seedling, but with nurturing and care grew to an impressive size, such that it is sufficient that its sacrifice is enough to ensure the future wellbeing for the whole family or community. We have recently celebrated Australia’s adoption of marriage equality into law, something that many fought long and hard and sacrificed much to bring about, so perhaps this eclipse will prompt the next stage of this evolution. Most newly weds start thinking of starting a family – perhaps this eclipse will bring to forefront a range of issues around this wish, those ruled by Hygeia and Juno, such as equality of access to reproductive medicine and the reform of laws around surrogacy and adoption, regardless of the make-up of the family unit?

The Sabian Symbol for the Mercury/Sun conjunction on February 17 is A Butterfly emerging from a Chrysalis. This is a lovely symbol, representing a beautiful outcome from a profound and transformational metamorphosis. One thing is in no doubt, if this eclipse does herald changes to the laws around reproduction and surrogacy, there will be a lot of argy-bargy and discussion, both rational and irrational, a few trees will be felled and sawed before any new laws are passed or Butterflies emerge.

Mercury enters Pisces at 2.28pm on 8th February, followed by the Sun 13 hours later. On 22nd February Mercury in Pisces sextiles Saturn in Capricorn and Venus conjuncts Neptune at 13° Pisces. On 25th February Mercury also conjuncts Neptune at the same degree. The Sabian Symbol for this degree is A Woman wrapped in Fox Fur, a fitting symbol for both of these aspects. We are presenting a front of prosperity, worldliness and competence, but if our Fox Fur were stripped away, would we still be authentically how we represented ourselves?

The month concludes with a Venus/Mars square on 25th, the Sun sextiling Saturn on 26th, Venus sextiling Pluto on 27th and Mercury squaring Mars on 28th. With so much Mercury involved this month, perhaps the issues to do with our state’s public transport system will still be making headlines? I for one sincerely hope not!

— Joanne Rixon
February 2018

Joanne Rixon