February 21st ~ 28th

Practice the pause. Pause before judging. Pause before assuming. Pause before accusing. Pause whenever you’re about to react harshly and you’ll avoid doing and saying things you’ll later regret. ~ Lori Deschene

On Sunday, February 23rd (or 24th, depending on where you are in the world), Mars will finally makes its direct station. For weeks it has appeared to be standing still in the sky, and will proceed to do so moving forward. Mars is now at a dead stop, and it will take several weeks for it to resume what appears to be its normal speed again. So don't expect to see our energy and motivation restored overnight. However, this apparent lull in the Mars cycle, is not about reversal any more, so much as reorientation. It's the "Ready, Set…" before we "Go."

Like the planet Mars, we are also paused in order to regain our own orientation, so that we can be sure about where we are headed, how we are going to get there, and why we are doing so. We will need this orientation going forward, as there is so much else going on to distract and disorient us right now. Also know that when planets station they are also a bit stronger, and they will make their presence felt. For Mars in the sign of Cancer that can bring a feeling of agitation, with a strong desire to protect and defend. During the retrograde there may have been actions occurring behind the scenes doing a lot of this work, plans were being formulated, but with the direct station we are all wanting to get going again, and get down to business. And the desire to DO something, to take some sort of action will only continue to grow over the weeks ahead.

Mars in Cancer is not normally a fighting Mars. But when you harm their own, when you attack the defenseless, when you marginalize the vulnerable, Mars in Cancer can be a force to be reckoned with. This is the Mama Bear who lifts the car off the child, the peasants who defend their turf with bottles and cans, the brave warrior who stands in the line of fire to protect those in their care. Do not underestimate Mars in Cancer.

Cold hearted orb that rules the night, Removes the colors from our sight. Red is gray and yellow white. But we decide which one is right. And which is an illusion? ~ Graham Edge (The Moody Blues)

If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed and unable to process everything you are not alone. On February 27th at 7:45 pm Eastern Time, we have our New Moon in Pisces, at 9º Pisces 41'. And within its auspices we are being asked to have faith, even when the world seems so uncertain, so unfathomable, so confusing. On February 14th, Mercury entered the sign of Pisces, a Jupiter sign, and as it did so it became engaged in a mutual reception with Jupiter in Gemini, a Mercury sign. We had a similar experience last November and December when Mercury was in Sagittarius. This can feel like information overload. Like we cannot see our way through the miasma. We find ourselves confounded by distraction, and desperately trying to make sense of the insensible. What is true, what is not true, what is real, and what is merely an illusion. Within a tidal wave of information we feel subsumed.

To exacerbate this feeling, the modern ruler of Pisces, Neptune, is conjunct the North Node in the very last degrees of Pisces, casting a veil over the proceedings. All of this abundance of Pisces and Neptune weather could drive us to madness with despair, loss and disenchantment. It can fill our hearts with a sadness so deep that we find it impossible to see beyond the confusion. But Pisces season, and Neptune leading the charge this year, can also carry us aloft to the land of the faeries,, and the Olympian towers of the gods. When we center ourselves in our own inner Neptune, our own divine center, Pisces can be a magical, beautiful and wistfully sacred experience. It can also be the way and the means to navigate this weather.

If we were to wish anything with the New Moon in Pisces it might be to find deeper meaning and purpose in our very real lives, while also recognizing ourselves as being part of something much greater. Pisces in its highest expression imbues us with compassion, inspires us to be charitable and moves us through our conscience. Pisces identifies with sacred causes, and with those things that invest our lives with Wonder and Enchantment. The things that bring meaning, and connects us with our heart center.

Neptune/Pisces is that feeling you get when you see the magnificence of a perfect sunrise, when you immerse yourself in the beauty and profundity of nature, take a walk by the sea, or notice the dew on the petal of a flower. Neptune/Pisces is that which inspires, and fills your heart with a love so transcendent, whether in a dream, a song, or with the feel of a subtle breeze like the breath of a baby on your skin. Neptune/Pisces is that experience you have when you do a good deed, say a kind word, or come to realize the ways that we are all so deeply attuned and connected to one another on these subtle yet deeply ethereal levels. And we must not forget this. Nor deny its guidance. It is this that will keep us sane in times of insanity. And it is this that will lead us through the fog.

And as the station of Mars is asking us to pause, and the New Moon in Pisces is begging to pause, we can make the most of this sacred season. If just for a few minutes of our time: be present, feel, connect with your own divine center. And by doing this connect with your own inner guidance system. Then allow it to lead the way.

New Moons are times of new beginnings, and the New Moon in Pisces is the ideal time to further cultivate more Pisces in your life. This can be done: through your dreams, your daydreams, your craft, your voice; by connecting to your Intuition, to your Spirit Guides, your Higher Self/Divine guidance/conscience; by performing acts of compassion and divine service; connecting to nature, and allowing that divine spark to speak through you and what you do.

Then when you do connect with your dreams, dare to cast them like a net out into the ocean of life. There is no telling what it may bring back. If you choose to do so, seed your intentions along with the New Moon in Pisces. And do so within the New Moon phase, which begins on Thursday, February 27 (7:45 pm EST; 4:45 pm PST; which would be 12:45 am in the United Kingdom on February 28th); and ends with the Crescent Moon on March 3rd.

Some affirmations or intentions for this Moon might be:

• May I have the courage and confidence to allow (divine guidance, my intuition, my higher self, my conscience) to lead me. even and especially in times of confusion.

• I am a spiritual being fill with light and a love that knows no bounds. May I draw it forth as needed.

• My imagination has no limits. May I find the best means to allow it to speak through me.

• I have music, wonder and possibility in my heart. May I reclaim it, and carry it with me wherever I go.

• My heart is filled with compassion for all beings everywhere and without exception.

• May I have faith that goodness will always prevail in the end, even if it doesn't appear to be so at first.

• Pause where and when you are needing to pause, and find enchantment close to home.

This morning I stopped to watch the geese fly, even though I didn't have the time to do so. And I realized that not having the time to do something might be the very reason why I need to do it. ~ Craig D. Lounsbrough

For the New Moon in Pisces for your sign or natal house placement, check out this week's horoscopes:

HOROSCOPES

Image: CrystalWind.ca

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