I had thought I knew the theme that might float up for February but as I looked at the various positions something different appeared. EDIT - forgot to mention ... all planets direct this month.
There are a LOT of activations to gate 63 (in Pieces for the astrologers), this is where Neptune has been sitting since February 2017 ... you just think he's about to head onward and then he does another slow shuffle with a retrograde and you find yourself back where you started! We have him here till the end of March. He'll be back again in September until finally departing this time next year.
So, let's take a closer look at gate 63. It's one of the three Crown (head) gates, where we connect with inspiration, outer influences, whatever name you might like to name it/him/her! This is the penultimate hexagram in the I Ching and along with 64 is a sort of summary of the cycle begun way back with the 1st and 2nd hexagrams. It has various names depending on the translator and is known as After Completion, Doubts (critical perception), Already Fulfilled, Already Across, After the Crossing.
In this hexagram each yin and yang line alternate and are in their correct position, it represents perfect balance, but as is the way with these things it's only for a moment before there will inevitably be that swing out of balance and on to the new challenge - in the Runic cycle I feel this is akin to Wunjo. To understand why this 'perfect balance' is not what it seems you need to recognise what happens when you achieve your goal ... often you tend to lose focus and drive, or just want more and more of the same ... and swing toward a new imbalance. This hexagram might well neatly sum up the fall of great empires that begin to wallow in the sensual pleasure of success.
Now think about Neptune and what he traditionally represents - this is the veiled and elusive energy which blurs boundaries, its associated with dreams and inspiration and illusions and spirituality. Combine that with a sense of having achieved what you wanted as described in 63 and you have the 'blissed out' state liable for a fall. Hopefully though many have been able to bring the critical perception aspect, doubts, to bear, and are beginning to see where re-balancing is required.
This month Neptune will be joined by Freya (beauty, independence, knowledge-seeking and shape-shifting) 2nd - 20th, Mercury (communications) 17th - 20th and will be triggered by arrivals in gate 4 (the partner for the 63-4 channel) by the Earth 8th - 13th and Isis (the missing piece) from 14th onwards. That's a whole month! Look to where you might be coasting and note adjustments that may be required to avoid a downfall - we've had a long period of reassessing and pruning down and upgrading, don't be seduced into thinking the job is done and dusted. 63-4 is the channel of the logical mind but it can become overwhelmed (hence the tag Confusion by some) seeing all the potential problems (and solutions), so harness the problem-solution energy.
The theme I thought may be more prominent was nurturing the new growth that is hopefully appearing after what seems a long spell of clearing out and culling ... but I think that will come through more in March. For now, hold tight to the new ways you have been bringing forward, there's still a window for bringing forward the new for awakening/planting ... Uranus is still in the Aries section of gate 3 until mid February; the shift to the Taurian gate 27, nourishment, is still a few weeks away. And all the while we have the south node in 60 there is that channel of mutation still active.
Talking of the nodes they shift on the 20th, so we have a new set of themes to work from and move toward. As they stay for several months at a time I'll give them more coverage next month. Briefly - we have a moving from inner truth gained (61, where we of course now have Pluto) toward clarification (62 - a throat gate, so manifesting potential). Until then you still have 3 weeks of reviewing/rewriting/releasing yourself from, the story you tell about yourself.
The other big mover is Saturn who is now going to shine his judgemental light on all that upgrading work you have been prompted to do by Pluto's extended stay in gate 54, the Marrying Maiden! He's here from 3rd until early August.
We have the Chinese New Year on the 5th, bringing us the year of the Pig (yin earth) a symbol of wealth. I went down a rabbit hole here to see where the sun was placed for the last few Chinese New Years ... 2016 it was 49, the gate of revolution (Trump/Brexit), 2017 it was 19, the gate of sensitivity (fall out from Trump/Brexit), 2018 it was 30, the clinging fire ... Trump/Brexit fires raging. You may be relieved to hear that this year's gate is 13, the gate of fellowship and the listener ... oh we can all but hope!
All month we have Jupiter in 26, great accumulation, often seen as the trickster or salesman. Monitoring this energy are both Tyr (truth and honesty/sacrifice) and Odin in 44 where they are keenly recognising what is coming towards us. These are some big energies in the channel of enterprise ... be interesting to watch how the big corporations (include governments here as well as big business) behave. Tyr of course lost his hand restraining Fenrir to hold off the end of the world.
Lunar activity - New Moon 4th 21:07 GMT in 13.3 BBW "Mistrust and secrets only lead to more mistrust and secrets. No good comes of this. Turn matters over to the Sage and follow his guidance."
Full Moon 19th 15:56 GMT in 59.1 BBW "Misunderstandings should be healed as early as possible. Take action to restore trust and good faith now." This is very much the belief of the ancient Chinese that the best way of solving a dispute is before it takes hold ... hence Rise Above It.
We have a Pagan Sabbat too, Imbolc (Candlemass) celebrating the first signs of spring, 2nd February ... as this is a fire festival it seems appropriate to see where the Sun will be ...
13 line 1 - "Being Open: Relating to and communing with everyone equally" Chetan
Finally before the weekly round-ups I wanted to look at Chiron. He is now firmly in gate 25 where he will be till late April and again later in the year ... these are his return periods for gate 25 - 18th March - 10th November 2018, 6th January to 27th Apil 2019 and 22nd September - 28th February 2020.
25 is the gate of innocence and those around aged 50 will all have this aspect as their Chiron placement. It can be seen as the area you have come here to heal and then model and teach. Those born between 2nd May and 4th September 1967 and 3rd March 1968 - 10th April 1969 and 14th October - 10th February 1970 have this aspect. Many of our current leaders and up and coming leaders are probably born in these time-frames. This is my generation in fact and many of us are just becoming grandparents as well.
And what I find really interesting is that for a period in early 1969 (4th January - 19th May) we also have the north node in gate 25 so people born in this period have Chiron conjunct and of course we have the Sun move through 25 the third week of March so a lucky few will also have their Sun there too! That's a powerful drive for the energy of this gate.
So, 25th hexagram, Innocence, The Unexpected, Without Falsehood, Without Entanglement, Not False. The I Ching recognises this hexagram as having the four virtues of Heaven. Huang talks of the wisdom of holding to the truth - no matter how situations change, truthfulness never changes. The host of this hexagram is quite unusually the first line but it clearly shows that a foundation of truth is key. So look to the inner self and start there.
Chetan: 25.1 "Loving: Living without ulterior motives. Your heartfelt spontaneity is potentially prone to being disturbed by outside influences."
The 1st rounds up the energies mentioned in January with Venus at the Galactic Centre in 11.5, peace and harmony (also ideas).
2nd- 7th - Sun in 13 (listener/fellowship) and Earth in 7 (the Army), we still have Mercury nearly conjuct the Sun in these days so an opportunity for really listening and being heard. The Earth is grounding us with the 'ducks in a row' gate so take another look around and check who your travelling companions really are, and if they should be, Mercury moves to the gate of revolution so you may feel a move to see what needs changing and Saturn of course is now reviewing all your up-grade decisions too with the New Moon on the 4th reminding us of the potential misfortune of secrets.
The Earth on 5th 7.4 Chetan "Disengaging: Leadership in the highest integrity knows when and how to withdraw. You are either realistic, or not, about how your leadership can serve others best."
8th - 13th - Sun in 49 (revolution) Earth in 4 (youthful folly) and triggering Neptune in 63. Mars is conjunct Uranus in 3.4 on 13th. Venus is in the gate of the fighter on the 12th. All in all this looks like a firey week to me but with the potential to find some sensible solutions if you ... rise above it.
13th - Mars Conjunct Uranus - 3.4 BBW "An effort at union, made in humility and sincerity, and faithful to the principles of the Sage, will meet with good fortune."
14th - 18th - Sun in 30 (clinging fire) and Earth in 29 (abyss - sometimes the big YES just to retreat from the pressure) - Valentine's Day begins this period and with the Earth saying YES, do be a little cautious!!! 30 can really amplify the energies generally being as it is fire over fire! Mercury moves into conjunction with Neptune on 17th for a few days which could trigger doubts or a potential to become blissed out and unobservant. Venus is also conjunct with Saturn from the 17th as well so upgraded relationships, or how you fit within the relationship hierarchy could come under the spotlight.
As 17th figures this week here is the Sun's placement for that day - 30.5 BBW "A true change of heart is possible when we accept the necessity of adversity. Peace comes when we discontinue the strivings of the ego." Mmm that sounds a lot like ... rise above it!
19th - 24th - Sun in 55 (Abundance) Earth in 59 (Intimacy/Dispersing) ... the nodes shift to 62/61 on 20th ... so we now have the south node (where we are moving from) conjunct with Pluto for the next few months and for a few days Venus is also here seeking that inner truth. Mars moved to 27 on 17th and joins up with Pallas in 50 until the 23rd so here we have the channel of preservation - it's tribal and about maintaining the order and nurturing of the community. Mars and Pallas are both of the warrior energies so perhaps here a fight for communal/tribal rights might be on the agenda. With the Earth's position seeking intimacy and the Sun bringing forward a sense of abundance and connection this week could be very interesting and don't forget Full Moon enhancing all the above during the 19th.
Just because 21st is my brother's birthday I've chosen this one for a message from the Earth ... 59.3 "Connecting: Serving yourself and your world by triggering interactions. You are open to respond to all kinds of associations and intimacies." - Chetan
25th - 28th - Sun in 37 and Earth in 40 forming the channel of Community. With Mercury seeking the hidden light and Venus moving from inner truth to containment and Mars moving into rationalising again we have the spotlight on tribal energies. 37-40 is powerful, it's emotional and connected to will and resources ... all about who does what, who has responsibilities, who has rights, how the whole exchange mechanism works that keeps community glued together. There could well be some very heated debates following on from last week ... rise above it. And we have 3 channels active on the 28th ...
Mars position for 26th Chetan 24.1 "Being principled: A constant need to review what is personally meaningful. Your mental processes can excuse you from living your own truth for one rationale or another."
And so to the Runes ... I love the anticipation of this ... I always finish trawling the positions, writing up the narrative, before I request a Rune to step forward and love that moment wondering how it will fit with what I have already seen and felt!
The half-months are Algiz to 12th and Sowilo to 27th
