Planetary news this week: A shift of energies and a New Moon
Astrological update for the week of February 5-12, 2024
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In case you missed last week’s post, Mercury and Ceres both change signs this week, with Mercury moving into Aquarius on the 5th and Ceres into Capricorn on the 7th. The shifts of energy when a planet moves from one sign to another are often subtle but there is a shift in focus that can ultimately have some significance.
These are both Saturn-ruled signs, but where Capricorn is serious about building for the future in the present moment, Aquarius tends to be more visionary and practical for the long-term. Mercury (mind and communication) in Aquarius over the next few weeks will broaden our view and encourage consensus-building, something our politics could use a lot of. Ceres (care of the self and soul) in Capricorn could give us the boost we need to organize the details that we need in order to improve the balance of our spiritual, physical and mental health.
The New Moon on February 9 is a Supermoon in Aquarius. The February 9 New Moon in Aquarius is the first SuperMoon (™️ Richard Nolle) of the year. A SuperMoon has a strong pull because it occurs when the Moon is closest to Earth. Even NASA says that a SuperMoon can cause higher tides than usual.
This New Moon features four planets in Aquarius, the sign of awakenings and paradigm shifts. Both the modern ruler (Uranus) and the traditional ruler (Saturn) of Aquarius activate the New Moon to further accelerate the radical shifts that may accompany this lunar event and encourage the expansion necessary for any activations that may occur. Challenging aspects of Uranus can cause some disruption to our nervous system, so having a plan in place to create more calm this week will be helpful.
The water that flows through the amphora in the image of Aquarius symbolizes the wisdom of life that flows from the heavens, through intuition and the higher mind (the Uranus connection). At the Aquarius New Moon we begin with new ideas and an awakened embrace of changing ideals and philosophies to better prepare us for the changes going on all around us.
Here’s what else you need to know this week. (Dates and times are for the Eastern time zone, here is a time zone converter to adjust for your locality.) Here is a link to an ephemeris if you would like to check the degrees of these planetary placements.
Monday February 5. There’s a lot going on Monday, especially in the morning and afternoon. The healing of old wounds is accentuated today: If any of your relationships are out of whack that may come to the surface today so that misunderstandings can be cleared up. These confrontations can be uncomfortable but if approached without blame they can lead to healing of resentments or other miscommunication. Mercury has just entered Aquarius and links up with Pluto for some deep thinking and truth-seeking which will help us to get to the root of the matter.
Meanwhile the Aquarius Sun harmonizes with Chiron to gift us with a broader view and insight to ease the way to resolution, and the Sagittarius Moon casts a bright light of hope. (Mercury enters Aquarius 5:10 am, Venus square Chiron 11:49 am, Moon sextile Sun 11:55 am, trine Chiron 11:57 am, Sun sextile Chiron 12:27 pm, Mercury conjunct Pluto 12:57 pm, Moon trine North Node 2:46 pm.)
Tuesday February 6. Today the optimism of the Sagittarius Moon gives way to the practical focus on planning of the Capricorn Moon. Both the Sun and Venus interact with the North Node today, suggesting that a course correction to keep us on the path to our destiny will be required. One door may open while another closes and it may not be that obvious. Take note of small occurrences which may reveal greater significance at a later time. (Moon square Neptune 5:06 am, Moon enters Capricorn 12:08 pm, Venus square North Node 4:15 pm, Sun sextile North Node 10:16 pm.)
Wednesday February 7. The Capricorn Moon is very active today and mostly very productive. There may be a few hours in the afternoon when we feel more vulnerable emotionally, but this will soon pass and give way to more positive feelings.
A harmonious Venus aspect to Uranus breathes new life all day into any relationship, no matter what its nature, and a harmonious Mars/Neptune connection builds today to peak just after midnight. Creativity abounds, as does the urge to experience something transcendent and magical.
(Moon sextile Saturn 12:18 am, trine Jupiter 1:40 am, square Chiron 3:32 pm, square North Node 5:35 pm, conjunct Venus 8:12 pm, trine Uranus 8:18 pm, Venus trine Uranus 9:25 pm.)
Thursday February 8. The magic of the Mars/Neptune aspect continues to linger throughout the day, but a few storms may break up the fairy dust. The Uranus influence of Friday’s New Moon intensifies and we may feel out of balance, especially after the Moon enters Aquarius around 2 pm EST and links up with Pluto for greater intensity.
When the status quo is challenged and we feel out of balance, we sometimes must let go of our ideas of how things should be. We are in microcycle and macrocycles of change right now, and faith in the process is the best medicine. (Mars sextile Neptune 12:20 am, Moon sextile Neptune 7:29 am, conjunct Mars 7:52 am, Sun square Uranus 10:45 am, Moon enters Aquarius 1:59 pm, Moon conjunct Pluto 2:57 pm, conjunct Mercury 11:25 pm.)
Friday February 9. The New Moon occurs late on Friday and in the meantime the Moon is quite busy. Even though the Moon represents emotions and feelings, Aquarius tends to be more detached and visionary. But emotions sometimes take the shape of energy. Maybe you have a weird feeling in the pit of your stomach. Or your heart is tight. These physical symptoms may be emotions that are stuck somewhere.
This New Moon gives us an opportunity to bring starlight into the murkiness of our emotions. Let go of the story and see what the energies have to say. (Moon square Jupiter 3:10 am, sextile Chiron 4:05 pm, square Uranus 8:35 pm, Moon conjunct Sun (New Moon) 10:59 pm.)
Saturday February 10. The hectic planetary activity calms down after the New Moon, but the effects of the lunation will linger throughout the weekend. Try to resist the impulse to do too much thinking or decision-making under a Mercury/Jupiter alignment today, and after the Moon eases into Pisces in the early afternoon take some time to rebalance your nervous system. (Mercury square Jupiter 1:25 pm, Moon enters Pisces 1:42 pm.)
Sunday February 11. Today the Pisces Moon continues to offer solace and ease our way with expanded creativity and optimism. (Moon conjunct Saturn 1:44 am, sextile Jupiter 3:04 am, sextile Uranus 8:06 pm.)
Looking ahead… Monday looks like another day of astrological harmony and the Moon will enter Aries in the early afternoon to energize us to put our new paradigms into action. Til then, I hope you have a great week. 💖
If you would like to know more about how your own chart is affected by these influences, consider a personal consultation.
You’re so welcome Linda! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. 💖
thanks a lot