Astrology of Now: Fireworks!

Tuesday February 21st 2017

Girandola at Castel San Angelo, Franz Theodor Aerni

Fiery energy is gathering around the coming eclipse on February 26. We are in an unusually unstable period. The times are angry enough and polarised enough already. Know that the planets are stirring the pot this week and next, adding a huge dollop of chilli to the cosmic soup. Be cautious, calculate your actions, be prepared for unexpected arguments — and brilliant brain waves.

We may all have to confront something or someone over the next few weeks, bravehearts.

Let’s break it down.

Mars

Mars, the planet of aggression, war and action (and chilli peppers), smacks into Uranus, the planet of electricity, the unexpected and rebellion, on the same day as the eclipse in Pisces — and the following day also. You can understand that energy could be like a flamethrower to a Catherine’s Wheel.

Now Mars and Uranus meet every two years, so this is not so unusual. But ever since Uranus moved into Aries, Mars’ own sign, back in 2011, these meetings have been, well, sparky. (April 2011, March 2013, March 2015, February 2017, February 2019)

To add fuel to the fire this time around, there’s Jupiter, the planet of expansion right in the mix. Jupiter makes everything he touches bigger, so what might have been a bit of a row turns into a knock-down, drag-out, relationship-ending shouting match.

What is more this time, on February 22, Mars will make a hostile aspect to dark and dangerous Pluto just before he meets Uranus. So the planet of anger (Mars) is reactivating the quarrel between Uranus and Pluto — the sky god and the underworld god.

On February 28, the Moon moves into Aries (just fresh from the eclipse) and rekindles the Mars-Uranus-Pluto conflagration over the next few days, so it’s not over by the end of February.

Those most affected by these combustible energies are people with planets or angles in Libra, Aries, Cancer and Capricorn — especially around 20°-24°. But the power is strong enough for all of us to feel blowback.

Now, the upside of this energy is important to grasp. It’s a good time to start something with a bang, something that could do with a whoosh of positive energy — like a rocket launch, for example. Maybe something you light and then allow to take off on its own. You won’t have much control over this, but it could go very far. Start after the eclipse.

Fireworks in Venice by George Barbier.

Eclipse

This watery eclipse on February 26 will be strongest over South America. People with planets or angles near 3°-8° Pisces-Virgo will feel this solar wink most personally — but Sagittarius and Gemini should also take note. It is the last of a series across Virgo-Pisces that’s been going on for around 18 months. This is a clear end to a chapter, a great time to flush away the past, say good-bye to something, purge.

This eclipse is a New Moon, so it’s also the darkest night of the month — it’s a moment to stop, listen, breathe, and let go. Since this is a Piscean eclipse, this may be rather emotional, or the end of a certain creative period in your life (e.g., your “water” phase).

And the future is coming thundering down the track. You have only a moment to blink now, since this is really no time to be sitting on your hands. It’s time to take action.