Stellar Insights: February 13 - 19, 2023

It’s a week of love. And not just because it features *Valentine’s Day.

On Wednesday, love planet Venus unites with dreamy Neptune in soulful Pisces. And with this, we may find ourselves absorbed in an ocean of emotion, notably when it comes to our visions and desires for being in relationships that embrace us with affection.

The notion of being cherished, and who we cherish, may captivate our hearts and minds. Within that, or perhaps beyond that, what we can open to are meditations on love itself, what it is and how to connect to its source so that we can have it further flow through us. This love is that not just of another, not just of others, but also of ourselves.

I heard this beautiful quote by Rumi this weekend in a wonderful workshop I took with one of my family constellation teachers, Bill Mannle.

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” - Rumi

This invocation feels to be a very timely invitation as the desire to dissolve barriers is something that both Pisces and Neptune truly emphasize. To this aim, reflect upon any Do Not Enter signs that may surround your heart—and the experiences and stories that led to their being constructed—and see whether forgiveness and acceptance can help to wash them away, even if ever so slightly.

It may be a process, and yet one that we can more deeply commit to this week. As it turns out, on the heels of the Venus/Neptune Conjunction is the Sun/Saturn Conjunction, a yearly alignment that reminds us that treasures can be accessed if we invest effort and take responsibility. If we channel the latter’s dedication for fortitude as well as reverence for diligent work, we may find that we can further transform our heart into a fountain of love, one from which compassion, adoration, and care can more readily spring forth.

The combination of these two alignments may also interplay in another way. That’s because the Sun/Saturn duo can serve as a natural brake to ground the Venus/Neptune pair from having us fly too far off course into the what-is-possible-but-not-likely-probable realm. If we find ourselves with our head in the clouds, remembering to keep our feet on the ground can help us to not drift off into fantasies and perceptions of realities that may be nothing more than the projection of our hopes, wishes, and desires.

While Venus is a planet connected to love (as well as relationships), its realms extend beyond that. It embraces what we find to be beautiful and pleasurable and what we deem to have value and worth. And with that, and Saturn’s strong archetypal presence, we also need to be careful this week related to money matters, so as to not have our precious resources dissipate and float away.

I also wanted to address something else about the Sun/Saturn Conjunction. This is the last time (for close to thirty years) that they will come together in the sign of Aquarius, given Saturn’s upcoming entry into Pisces. As such, this week you may find yourself further illuminated when it comes to seeing the results of the investments you’ve made in Aquarian arenas such as community relationships, altruistic efforts, technology adoption, social progress projects, and perspectives that help you to recognize and appreciate patterns. Saturn entered Aquarius in December of 2020, and so consider looking back through this past two-plus year swathe of time in order to access more understanding of your journey since then and the achievements you’ve crystallized.

To close, I wanted to offer another ode to love, both because of the astrology I’ve already noted but also because this week begins Pisces season (with the **Pisces New Moon occurring around midnight Sunday/Monday). It a short snippet from a William Blake poem:

And we are put on earth a little space,

That we may learn to bear the beams of love.

- William Blake

May your week fill you with an abundance of beams of love.

xxStephanie

Astrological Highlights

February 15: Venus/Neptune Conjunction
February 16: Sun/Saturn Conjunction
February 17: Mercury/Jupiter Sextile
February 18: Sun enters Pisces
February 19: Venus/Pluto Sextile

All days reflect Eastern Standard Time (-5 hours GMT)

* If you want some Valentine’s Day insights for your zodiac sign, see this Well + Good article to which I contributed.

** the Pisces New Moon occurs at 2:05 am EST on February 20