The month of February is dominated by the interplay of the lovers, Venus and Mars, who join their hearts and minds for six weeks, bringing passion, play, creativity, and all the vulnerability of intimacy to the forefront. In a cosmic wink from the universe, right around Valentine’s Day, the Full Moon in Leo on February 16th shines brightly on the lovers, also highlighting our friendships and work relationships. We also see the mind of Mercury joining up with Pluto, signaling an intensification of thought and communication as our minds burrow deeply for secrets and hidden truths. Mental Mercury later makes a stressful square aspect to Uranus, suggesting surprising turns of thought and disruptive insights flowing from our investigations and inquiries. Last but not least, we get a breath of fresh air as the Sun moves into the compassionate, imaginative sign of Pisces on February 18th, joining joyful Jupiter and boundless Neptune there, to expand our horizons and let in a little more hope.
The lovers, Venus and Mars, are beginning a very long dance through the sky, with Mars tracking Venus closely since February 6th and finally consummating their energies under the Leo Full Moon of February 16th.
Mars symbolizes our passionate pursuit of love, of war, of competition, and of victory. Venus represents our deep desire to be loved, to broker harmony and peace, to allure and attract by beauty and charm. When these two planets get together in the sky, it signifies a period of heightened romance, creativity, and pursuit of the good and the beautiful. Romances may begin or flourish under these skies, as our desires are stoked and we experience fateful encounters with love. It is also a great influence for making new friends who share our passions, initiating or deepening our art projects, attending dance parties, or any form of athleticism that involves graceful movement.
We are actually in an unusually extended Venus-Mars period, as Mars has quickened beyond his usual rate of speed, and will flirt and dance with Venus all the way to March 22nd, first in the practical sign of Capricorn and then in the idealistic sign of Aquarius, where they will conjoin a second time on March 5th.
Our love affairs, our friendships, and our business partnerships may also have to move through some quarrels, as the dynamism of Venus with Mars brings any disharmony to the surface. Practical matters, like finances, social standing, and career or life goals, are likely to be at issue. A constructive trine aspect from the planet of revolution, Uranus, does provide a lot of support to shed new light on any old arguments, and ease any adjustments which emerge from our discussions.
A sweet sextile from empathetic Neptune also signals support for opening our hearts and seeing more nuance in conflicts. Whether we must broker new agreements with our friends or with our closer intimates, it is helpful to focus on a shared goal that we can work towards together or a shared problem that we can solve together, rather than making the other person or people “the problem.” Taking this strategy early on can lay the groundwork for the true transformation of partnerships and creative ventures, as the Venus-Mars conjunction passes over cathartic Pluto in early March.
The surge of emotions brought on the high tides of the Full Moon in Leo on February 16th at 8:56 am PST, will set off the passions and vital energy of the Venus-Mars conjunction, which also goes exact today. If there is any potential for arguments with loved ones, this Full Moon is likely to trigger it, and we will have to watch out for getting caught up in egoic pride or getting too analytical to actually relate to the other. The empathy for creating connection and shared understandings may be in short supply as irrational stories based on perhaps repressed feelings have to run their course. If anything, we could try to question our stories and look a little closer at what our feelings want us to know—what do we actually care about? Can we find the generosity to open our hearts to what wants to be voiced—both our feelings and those of others?
The conjunction of mental Mercury and power broker Pluto, coming at the end of a challenging Mercury retrograde period, suggests we will be dealing with emotionally-charged fallout from that retrograde—the rethinking of commitments and plans, as well as the discovery of misunderstandings, misalignments, and previous mistakes. Let’s get ready for loads of communication, and try to steer clear of paranoia, obsessive thinking, and assuming the worst about things. Straight-shooting Saturn is implicated in this lunation, and if we can face up to what is really happening (rather than what we wish were true—positive or negative!), this Leo Full Moon can contribute to stronger and more authentic bonds with colleagues, friends, and lovers.
The Moon represents who we are before we even think about who we are. It describes our deepest vulnerabilities and our most profound capacity to connect with others. Full Moons amplify energy and emotions, and this Moon suggests a cathartic release of pent-up or stagnant energies. Let’s see how the Leo Full Moon impacts your own Moon placement!
Aries Moon
Some ego-bruising encounters with friends and work colleagues or associates may sneak up on you through the high energy of the Leo Full Moon. You may get called out for doing or saying something that seems to you like innocent fun, but which others see has deeper and perhaps even manipulative intentions.
Taurus Moon
Do I stay or do I go? maybe a question looming large in your mind under this Leo Full Moon. Whether the urge is to travel, to move house, or pursue better career opportunities, you are likely to feel more open than usual to considering some big changes in your life.
Gemini Moon
Finding the right measure of how much to say—or how you say it—in your negotiations could make all the difference in achieving success, Gemini Moon. Not sharing every last detail of your grand plans and leaving a bit of mystery can give you an open, creative space to work on others’ goals and expectations while also getting what you want.
Cancer Moon
A lowered sense of self-esteem may be contributing to feelings of vulnerability and emotional exposure under this lunation. You may see just how much others hold the key to your sense of self-worth—or alternatively, to your pocketbook.
Leo Moon
This is your Full Moon of 2022, Leo Moon! The needs and demands of your partners and friends may require you to set aside your own feelings and desires for a moment. If you take a moment to reflect on stepping aside and putting others first, it could lead to a breakthrough in understanding how best to share your big Leo heart with the world.
Virgo Moon
The creative beast in you wants out to play! Beware of letting paranoia or “worst-case scenario thinking” take over this creative streak, and instead let yourself be surprised by what happens when you let your Muse have free rein.
Libra Moon
Your deep need for partnership is stirred under the Leo Full Moon skies, Libra, and has you focusing on your hopes and dreams for the future. Discomfort may come as you are pushed to disentangle your individual identity from relationships you have overly merged with—but you must recognize that your individual expression is what forms the path to the future (and the partnerships) you desire.
Scorpio Moon
Your deeper feelings and motives may be on display for all to see under this Leo Full Moon, as the need to break with old communication patterns pushes you to expose more of your heart than you are usually comfortable with.
Sagittarius Moon
This may not be the best time to be abstract and philosophical about matters of the heart. While lessons and helpful reflections can be drawn from every joy and every challenge, this tendency can also carry us away from what’s happening in the moment; being present to emotional realities will serve you better under the Leo Full Moon.
Capricorn Moon
Your lust for life is trying to awaken under this lunation, Capricorn Moon. And while you will enjoy riding a wave of confidence in your values and what matters most to you, you may also need to hold your own against an undertow of negativity in your psyche (or in your relationships) that might try to pull you backward.
Aquarius Moon
Something from deep in the past would like to break free under the Leo Full Moon, to help bring forth a better lover and friend. Whether this is a better version of yourself or the possibility of a better companionship arriving in your life, something ancient is breaking loose.
Pisces Moon
How much energy you give over to friendships and lovers, and the kinds of boundaries you keep with them could be a hot topic under this lunation. All the wonderful feel-good energy of Jupiter moving through your sign may have you feeling generous and abundant, but you may be tempted to write checks that your body cannot physically cash.
Whatever emerges from the Leo Full Moon, we will all enjoy a bit of relief when the centering power of the Sun enters Pisces just a few days later on February 18th. We have been under taskmaster Saturn’s constant pressure with the Sun’s passage through Capricorn and Aquarius since mid-December, which can dampen our spirits. The Sun joins jubilant Jupiter and compassionate Neptune in Pisces, offering a boost of cosmic faith and belief in the Good, the True, and the Beautiful. Jupiter’s good vibes resonate especially well with the positive expression of Piscean qualities such as empathy, compassion, creativity, and imagination, and the Sun’s presence in Pisces until March 20th will help focus our conscious awareness on the positive, the inspirational, and the visionary. It’s true that emotional sensitivities are also heightened under heavily Piscean skies, but Jupiter’s infusion of faith and optimism offers us buoyancy and resilience. The dynamic dance of Venus and Mars will benefit from this expansion of heart space, the greater openness to the experience of others, and the ability to imagine beyond present limitations.
In the meantime, the mind of Mercury is conjoining the depths of Pluto (exact February 11th), which can drive obsessive thoughts, intense conversations, and a desire to unload or unburden one’s mind. We may find ourselves in someone else’s verbal headlock, or else we may be possessed by one of our own inner voices’ endless ranting. We may also feel compelled to dig and dig and dig even deeper for some compelling truth, which, when we find it, may actually knock our socks off when Mercury makes a square to trickster Uranus (exact February 24th). Mercury-Uranus moments involve disclosures of new information, or surprising new perspectives and exciting insights and while it is not a uniformly negative influence, it does tend to bring disruption. Considered together with the Venus-Mars influence, this might be a time when our hot new romance or exciting new friend turns out to offer more than we realized at first. Or perhaps our working through of issues within existing friendships and partnerships receives a jolt of insight or a break with ineffective or outworn communication patterns.
Mercury will enter Aquarius on February 14th and stay there until March 9th, aiding us in turning our thoughts towards the future and what lofty heights we may aspire to. Once we move through any turbulence generated by the revelations of mid-February, we can use Aquarian Mercury’s objective powers to take a step back from events to figure out a way forward. Our emotional investments will have less sway on our thoughts while Mercury travels through Aquarius, and we’re able to be more unconventional in our thinking and communication. Creative solutions and heightened intuition are also aided by the combination of Sun, Jupiter, and Neptune in Pisces, and we may find ourselves more willing to be forgiving and to find ways to join or keep things together, innovating where necessary, instead of separating or dissolving our connections or agreements.
Overall, February into March brings in fresh new perspectives, and an energetic shift towards more buoyancy, lightness, creative flow, and intuitive genius. Whether we experience new love or friendship or have the opportunity to build upon existing connections, an influx of cosmic faith and hope support our movement towards wholeness and the cultivation of the Good, the True, and the Beautiful in our lives.
This article was written in collaboration with
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