A look at the astrology of the week of February 20, 2018 - February 26, 2018
By Erica Jones
The next two weeks feature heavy Piscean influence, as the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Neptune and Chiron are all in Pisces until Mercury saunters into Aries on March 5. The sign of the ocean-going fishes, Pisces is dreamy, intuitive, compassionate, filled with inspired creativity and striving for spiritual knowledge. On the unintegrated side of the spectrum, Pisces can also signal challenges with boundaries, a sense of drifting or aimlessness, depression and an unhealthy relationship to suffering, perhaps mistakenly seeing something glamorous in it. If you’re in the middle of a great change, this cosmic landscape is supportive of the necessary feeling of drift or disorientation which accompanies change. If you’re in the mode of integrating changes, it is a time of great healing potential as what has moved on or passed away can begin to ease into a different place in the story of your life.
In general over the next two weeks, you may find your heart, your thoughts, your sense of self and your spiritual aspirations tuned into compassion. Zen Buddhist Roshi Joan Halifax will soon publish a book on compassion, and why she doesn’t like the term “compassion fatigue” to describe what happens when we become overwhelmed by the pain of the world. Our ability to empathize with others—including parts of ourselves—is a miraculous gift that can help us successfully navigate even the most treacherous waters. Compassion isn’t something we want to try to turn off or tune out, and Halifax has developed the idea of “edge states” to describe what happens to us when our compassion pushes or pulls us to the edge of our capacities. She describes edge states such as pathological altruism (martyrdom), empathic distress, moral suffering, disrespect, and burnout. All of these edge states are very Piscean (and Neptunian, Neptune being associated with the sign of Pisces)—as is compassion.
A strong Piscean influence asks us to know the difference between suffering on behalf of other beings, and being present to the difficulties that other beings are experiencing. The experience of compassion is accompanied by an awareness that you are not the other person or other being, even though you do resonate with their experience, and are concerned about them and feel moved to improve their circumstances. This distance is what allows us to remain connected and supportive of those who need it, and to also let go of thinking that we are able to control or manage everyone’s difficulties. The urge to merge may be strong, but it’s worth moving towards the wisdom of differentiation. Offer yourself some compassion, and explore where your limits truly lie.
Shifting to the particulars of this week, Venus conjoins Neptune (exact Feb. 21) to provide an excellent backdrop for any creative endeavor, particularly those involving the fine arts. It is also an inspiring time to drink the arts in deeply, whether that be a theatre performance, an art gallery, or simply sitting in a library flipping through stacks of art books. Aesthetic senses are heightened, so take advantage of this time to take in an art film you’ve always wanted to see or to begin or renew a relationship with your personal Muse. Note again that Pisces is a very open-hearted sign, where empathy can reach painful extremes, so you might not be well served by taking in highly disturbing images—though to each their own.
As the week progresses, somewhat murky interpersonal tensions could arise or get a little messy, as Mars in Sagittarius squares Venus (exact Feb. 25) and Mercury in Pisces. Confusion may reign, as enthusiasm and confidence is met either by deception or a poor sense of direction. Where on earth is this thing headed? may be one version of a question you’ll come across this week. Although the Sun makes a helpful sextile to Saturn (exact Feb. 25), don’t expect any clear answers right away, as emotions may be overflowing on all sides and resist attempts to get any objective distance.
Cosmic Sightings by our dear astrologer Erica Jones
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UP & COMING EVENTS
at our APOTHECARY!
store in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
To sign up, please visit our event page here.
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: FEBRUARY 24th :
3-5pm // Waxing Moon TAROT CLASS with Tarot Mama
6-8pm // BREATHWORK with Siedeh Foxie
The practice of deep, conscious breathing can aid in cleansing the mind and body of toxic build up, allowing us to tap into our intuitive intelligence. By accessing the subconscious, the breath opens the channel to our high self, enriching our true spiritual nature while promoting feelings of joy, creativity, and overall well-being.
Read more about it and sign up here!
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: March 15th :
7-9pm // Make your own MISO!
In this course we will cover the basic science behind making miso, why it is good for you and how to make it yourself. Miso is a traditional Japanese product produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and the fungus Aspergillus oryzae called Koji. We will cover soy and non-soy based miso!
Read more about it and sign up here!
Coming up we have a class on Conscious Cocktails, impress your friends and elevate the vibes at your party with medicinal cocktails. This will be a good one!
Stay tuned on our event page here
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Come by for some plants medicines and lattes !
35 noble st. Brooklyn NY, 11222
