Astrological Forecast: February 2020

While I was preparing this blog post, a period from my own past kept surfacing in my mind. I realized there were many parallels to the energy we may experience this February, and if I'm not mistaken, a lot of this was actually occurring right around this time four years ago. In retrospect, I now recognize I was in the middle of what ended up being a major turn point in my life.

I was working full-time night shifts as a psychiatric technician at a local hospital, primarily caring for patients with dementia and delirium. While I was considering joining many of my co-workers who were pursuing careers in nursing, I was simultaneously becoming more aware of the fact that my calling was leading me elsewhere. I was consistently assigned to two patients who were perhaps the most difficult I ever worked with for months without fail. I was mostly assigned to a woman suffering from inexplicable liver failure, and due to her condition, was unable to receive the medications that would typically be administered to a patient in such distress. Save for the occasional snack or fifteen minute nap, she would pretty much scream straight through the entire twelve hours of my shift. She would call out the names of family members who weren't there before crying out to God. She was inconsolable in her stupor. Also keep in mind that my supervisor told me she regularly assigned me to this patient because I was "good with her." Gradually, her voice became raw, until she died from fluid build-up in her lungs months later. I watched this woman literally scream herself to death. I was actually with her when she passed away. Shortly after, a couple other patients in my department died in succession. Without ever having to explain myself, I had two other psychics around this time tell me there was a lot of death around me. One of them even described my energy feeling like "a graveyard," which aptly described my own experience of my life at the time.

The main reason I'm sharing the darker aspects of this time with you is to give context for one memory in particular. It was a night just after a big blizzard, on my second or third shift in a row. I was anxious, exhausted, and gradually losing hope. Not only was I dreading yet another night at work, I was frustrated that I had to leave early to unbury my car and to accommodate for the lousy driving conditions on my commute. My mind was racing angrily as I pulled on my coat and stomped into my boots.

When I stepped outside, however, my breath was literally taken away. It was so silent that I swear I heard the snowflakes as they drifted down from the sky in gentle spirals. As I walked towards the street, tiny, pristine ice crystals glittered like diamonds in the mounds of snow beneath the glow of the streetlights. The sidewalks were completely empty, with no headlights on the road in sight. It was as if time had stopped. Within the embrace of such beauty, my perspective shifted, and the very conditions that had me cursing just seconds ago inspired a deep sense of gratitude for the present moment.

While my job certainly didn't get any easier that winter, I was able to go into work that night with an unwavering peace, even after my windshield wiper snapped cleanly in half along my commute. Looking back, so much of my energy was spent on trying to survive and endure the situation I was in, that I didn't even ask myself what I really wanted. Ironically, when I finally just accepted that I wouldn't be happy working in a hospital for the rest of my life and gave up any possibility of becoming a nurse, the remainder of my time working that job became vastly more bearable. It was as if the universe stopped fighting me when I stopped fighting myself.

I'm sure many of you reading this post are already aware that Mercury is going retrograde on February 17th. Mercury retrograde is essentially a time in which we lose our illusion of control over our daily lives—perhaps most especially in the sign of Pisces. One of the best approaches for this month is slowing down and going with the flow. As we experience any delays, cancellations, or misunderstandings that notoriously occur during this time, consider that the universe may just be trying to show you what really matters or steer you elsewhere. Avoid trying to plan or anticipate everything this month, and instead, opt to remain as open and flexible as possible. Should you find yourself having no choice but to move forward through a proverbial blizzard: give yourself extra time, take it easy, tap on the brakes often, and trust that it's better to arrive where you want to be later than rush to where you aren't even meant to be.

Aquarius season may really drive us into trying to figure out the future, though we may not have full clarity until after Mercury goes direct in Aquarius on March 10th. We may catch ourselves revisiting old ideas or aspirations, only to remember why we dropped them later. Of course, some of us may just find something valuable from possibilities or futures we had previously discarded, especially during the second half of the month around the 20th and 29th. We may experience our psychic senses heightening throughout the month, especially around the New Moon in Pisces on February 23rd, but the information coming through may feel abstract, difficult to put into words, or not make sense right away. Visions, dreams, or prophecies may come true in unexpected ways.

Throughout the month, our lives may feel like a tug-of-war between trying to move forward and feeling stuck or delayed, particularly with Mars entering Capricorn on February 16th. I know for many of my clients the energy of this year has felt pretty dense. While February may be a bit of a slow month, it can also be a good opportunity to catch your breath. Sometimes things fall into place the moment you ease up on your approach. As you are working on a task or towards a specific goal, take moments to periodically check-in with your body. Are you noticing any tight areas or clenching? Your body is a highly tuned barometer to energy, and this "tight" sensation is likely indicating your flow is restricted or in a state of resistance.

February is likely to stir up some strong emotions and a desire for romance. Venus entering Aries on February 7th can really bring our love lives to a boil! Whether you find yourself ignited with passion or festering with anger over something someone said, remember that such intense emotions are not usually representative of a dynamic as a whole, and you may not be seeing a partner or connection clearly until things simmer down. While Mercury retrograde is notorious for bringing people back from the past, it's important to keep in mind that we may not be recalling the past very clearly as Mercury rewinds through Pisces. Our minds are subject to what psychology refers to as the confirmation bias, which is the tendency to search for or interpret information in such a way as to confirm previously held beliefs or ideas. Be mindful of your own preconceptions and how they might be restricting your ability to receive new information or perspectives.

Just taking a look at the list down below, there really isn't much going on this month—it's much shorter than the last few months! As always, it's best to confer to your own natal chart to discern how your life may impacted personally, which you can generate here. Without further ado, here is the list of transits and aspects for February 2020:

Happy Aquarius season! Pisces season commences on February 19th.

- Venus in Pisces sextile Pluto in Capricorn on February 2nd.

- Venus in Pisces sextile Saturn in Capricorn on February 3rd.

- Mercury enters Pisces on February 3rd.

- Mercury in Pisces sextile Uranus in Taurus on February 5th.

- Venus enters Aries on February 7th.

- Full Moon in Leo on February 9th.

- Mars enters Capricorn on February 16th.

- Mercury retrogrades in Pisces on February 17th.

- Sun enters Pisces on February 19th.

- Jupiter in Capricorn sextile Neptune in Pisces on February 20th.

- Mars in Capricorn trine Uranus in Taurus on February 21st.

- Sun in Pisces sextile Uranus in Taurus on February 22nd.

- New Moon in Pisces on February 23rd.

- Venus in Aries square Jupiter in Capricorn on February 25th.

- Sun conjunct Mercury in Pisces and sextile Mars in Capricorn on February 26th.

- Venus in Aries square Pluto in Capricorn on February 28th.

- Mercury in Pisces sextile Uranus in Taurus on February 29th.