Sunday, February 9, sees the beginning of the period where we’ll see the Sun in Aquarius III. The Sun enters the middle third of the sign at 2:29 am local time, and it’ll remain there until the early morning hours of February 18, 2020.

The chart shows the Ascendant in the sign of Sagittarius, co-present with Mars who soldiers on toward the last four degrees of the sign where he has dignity by term, and will be in a state of partial reception (Jupiter in the Decan of Mars in Capricorn, and Mars in the sign of Jupiter). The Sun itself is in the third house, signifying a constant busy-ness in the upcoming days without necessarily a return on effort; while the Moon is in Leo — not its favorite home — high in the sky, and planning on racing forward into the darkness of the New Moon on February 23, just a few days beyond the edges of the Decan. The Moon sits tropically on the throne in its Eleventh Mansion, a place of mastery and forward movement, represented by a warrior astride the back of a giant cat, armed with spear and shield; however, sidereally the Moon resides next to the star Alterf, whom the Arabs and Persians regarded as the eye of the great cat we call Leo. To be under the eye of the lion is to be caught in a risky position, at risk of both great blessing, and great misfortune — are we riding the lion, or caught under its baleful stare?

But we’ve gotten ahead of ourselves. Let’s check out planetary placements, and then consider the horoscopes by rising sign.

Planetary Placements

As mentioned already, The Ascendant is in Sagittarius. This is the mutable fire sign, and so we may expect hot and swift changes, and radical changes from the plodding practical matters which have occupied our last ten days. Passions will rise, and we’ll find ourselves in a heightened state of mindfulness, letting our base and material issues be overcome by significant changes to our more spiritual and energetic selves. Here, the Ascendant is in the part of Sagittarius that Austin Coppock called “The Poisoned Arrow”, a configuration that has come up often in the last year — we’re likely to discover that yet again we’re targeting a choice or a decision, only to find that the very act of selecting it has created further trouble.

We must also be mindful of the co-presence of Mars. The ruddy iron warrior advances rapidly toward the last four degree of Sagittarius, which he rules as his Term or Bound — and where his hot and violent nature is likely to stir up numerous fires and issues that must be extinguished before any challenges can be laid to rest. Here in the Decan called “The Horse’s Skull” we find ourselves flogging and even flaying matters that should have been put to rest weeks or months ago, re-hashing the same issues over and over again. We’ve been over this ground, and we’re likely to make our nostrils flare in fury when the old canard gets raised yet again, once more, with feeling.

The stellium in Capricorn is finally starting to break up, at least a little — the South Node squats sullenly in the first ten degrees, the Decan called “The Headless Body” ruled by Jupiter, and in the first Bound ruled by Venus (in the Chaldean system). We’re likely to find both creative and spiritual projects go awry, that we find certain parts or equipment or materials missing from our efforts, that we must go in search of celebrative moments far more than at other times. Enjoyment will be hard work, for now, and cheap/free entertainments (though less fulfilling) may be the order of the day. Jupiter holds the middle part of the sign, in the Decan called “The Pyramid” and just grazing the Term ruled by Mercury (as we’re in a night chart). The rainbow herald’s in fall in Pisces, and not having an easy time of it — but all our communications plans and structures are likely in need of shoring up just now. Are you in touch with the right people on a regular basis? Are you building the right team and connecting with them regularly? It may be harder than usual; so reach out more often. Finally we see Pluto and Saturn in the final Decan, “the Throne”, continuing to manage and direct our resources toward official business and serious issues rather toward the things that we enjoy and find fulfilling. Both Planets occupy the Term of Mars; they’re more likely to be forceful and violent than usual, though a steadier and gentler hand will come in a few months as they move into the term of Jupiter.

The Sun stands alone in the rarefied and still air of Aquarius in the Third House of short-distance travel and teacher-directed learning and our siblings, in the third Decan’s very first degree. Here in the so-called “Knot” (as Austin termed it in 36 Faces, his astonishing book on the Decans), he shines a light on the present tangles of modern life — the interaction and connection of both good and bad in all matters. In a term of Mars, and in the Decan ruled by the Moon, the Sun finds it necessary to think both tactically and aggressively about untangling the proverbial Gordian knot, but in dim light and while everything’s on fire and everyone’s angry. Maybe a knot isn’t the best analogy; perhaps bomb wires are. Are you sure you’re cutting the right wire in that ongoing familial dispute?

The Fourth House is where the new wave is rising — Mercury the non-binary bike messenger rides slowly through the First Decan, on his way to deliver messages to Neptune in the Second. The first is a complex “Labyrinth”, twisting and winding — it’s easy for our communications to go astray, now that the shadow period of the next Mercury retrograde has begun; those messages will eventually arrive, but by a meandering route; and they’re not likely to land with the kind of intent we had when we sent them, as the earthshaker-without-boundaries swims in “The Net”, and disturbs our plans with messages both true and false from around the world; finally, the Imum Coeli in the Third Decan, “the cup of blood”, has us wishing for the best for our immediate home and family — and by lack-of-extension, leaving everyone else to their fate.

Venus provides a bit of bright and energetic creativity in Aries, awaking our social butterfly habits; but in the Decan of “The Axe”, and under the double rulership of Mars (by Sign and by Decan), is likely to be a more male-dominated sort of entertainment than what we might prefer: Axe-throwing in a bar? A night out hunting and drinking? Spilled blood is certainly possible, but some are of the opinion that it’s not fun and games until someone gets hurt. Be careful out there.

Uranus continues to bring upheaval to Taurus, and this means disruptions to our health and health care, and ongoing challenges in the chores of daily life.

The Lot of Fortune, aligned with the Descendant, promises a certain degree of success and good fortune to our partners — but owing to their placement in the Decan called “the apple from the Garden of Eden”, there may be more than a fortunate bite… call it a big mouthful with some potential consequences.

We come at last to The Moon, which as we mentioned straddles the widening crevasse between the Sidereal and Tropical methods of calculating Moon Mansion positions — Sidereally, we’re experiencing limitation and disempowerment; but tropically experiencing success and increase of our prestige. I’ve been trying to figure out how to talk about this transition process I’m going through, between the Sidereal (star-oriented) and Tropical (earth-oriented) Mansions of the Moon — but I have to say, the Mansions themselves are doing a great job of it. The Tropical Mansions say that we’re doing great, and that everything is fine; while the Moon’s relationship to the stars says that more-sinister forces are creating a growing disconnect, and stirring up turbulence, between our surface or abstracted experiences, and the genuine reality that is visible in our diamond-sharp midnight anxieties. The Moon’s own position relative to the Decans belabors that point: on the cusp between the fading “Laurel Crown” and the more-militant “Banner”, we’re finding our fame and good fortune is waning, and the choice of advancing a martial standard seems to make more sense under the circumstances.

Rising Sign Horoscopes

Sagittarius: Don’t just sit there: get up and go to do!
the iron is hot; the hammer’s in hand.
Your inner worlds are a bubbling stew;
not work, nor love’s, a sturdy place to stand.

Capricorn: Newfound growth in your inner, unseen soul,
as all dump their work on you to resolve—
housemates, neighbors, see your typical role,
but new skills make your old rota dissolve.

Aquarius: This present hour puts wealth at gamble:
that’s what it feels like when you’re all alone.
Your friends and partner(s) cut through the bramble;
bring light and warmth to shelter from unknown.

Pisces: hard to leave home — hard to say why you can’t;
many friends stumble beneath debt’s arrears.
A boss or colleague lights on a new rant,
which dovetails tightly with your own dark fears.

Aries: Feistily demanding new excursions,
you find no money comes from former toils;
home and career meet feckless incursions
where you labor hard for others’ spoils.

Taurus: More eyes on problems at work would be best;
just one pair of hands loosens that tangle,
or just chisels through; their fortunes are blest —
though out of reach, greater prizes dangle.

Gemini: Hey, punk, are you lucky? Know this for fact,
that present blessings rest on someone’s woe.
It’s hard to explain home’s travails with tact,
or how you’ve consumed your ancestors’ dough.

Cancer: Your forebears expect just a little more,
just as your partner has a little less —
experimental mind helps career soar,
but holes in skill-sets require redress.

Leo: moving ahead, or somehow stuck in place?
a full agenda puts money in the bank,
though partner dribbles into common space,
and travel brings surprises on your flank.

Virgo: Ruling your self, and yet not so much more,
home is cut off, and most enjoyments stilled.
Adrift in the weird, partner can’t find shore;
for now? Untie, choose a course and rebuild.

Libra: Home a wild ruin, chores an ocean;
love an aggressive and ferocious charge
toward the eye of a whirlwind’s devotion;
new work is pledged— the old stands no less large.

Scorpio: Cut away some of the thicket at work,
and regulate your own worldly treasures.
Home is a lighthouse to those in the murk;
who, moth-like, swarm to your endless pleasures.

Colophon

I use iPhemeris for my charting software, and screenshot it to make charts. I use Christopher Warnock‘s The Mansions of the Moon as the basis of my Moon placement delineations, and Austin Coppock‘s 36 Faces as the basis of some of my planetary delineations. Neither gentleman endorses me.

Any errors in these columns are my own.

If you want to read some of my other astrologically-oriented poetry, To the Mansions of the Moon is a collection of hymns to the angels of the Mansions mentioned in these columns. For the Behenian Stars is a collection of hymns to the first/brightest sixteen stars. The Sun’s Paces are hymns to the thirty-six Hellenistic-era deities and ascended souls of the Greco-Egyptian Decans-calendar. While not astrological, Festae contains hymns to some of the older Roman gods and spirits from the calendar created by Numa Pompilius, the second ancient King of Rome.