Starcodes Feb 10, 2023

This Valentine’s Day we may not be feeling particularly pink and romantic, but the stars can open our hearts to compassion and help us make the day a Metta loving-kindness meditation and beam it out to the whole world. The stars know we need it (see https://www.lionsroar.com/how-to-do-metta-january-2014/ ).

Two tricky aspects bookend this Valentine’s Day and ask us to take the world, but not ourselves, seriously; Mercury conjuncts Pluto on Friday and the Sun conjuncts Saturn the following Thursday. These are fast-moving if intense transits. They don’t ask us to get depressed, though they can bring up serious matters, but do ask us to be fully alive in the face of our concerns.

We get a glimpse of mortality as the weekend begins- either close by or in the news- through images of the Turkish/Syrian earthquake and more, as mental Mercury conjuncts intense Pluto, symbol of life, death, and transformation. This aspect can also bring out more paranoia or worry than a floating Chinese balloon, so process all feelings but watch where the mind goes, and work with the mental muscles to stay realistic, level-headed, and solution-oriented.

We may need to accept a tough fact or look at our worst-case scenarios and plan for it. Once we’ve done that, we don’t necessarily have to live through those worst-case scenarios, we just we need to know we can. Then turn on our imagination towards the best that could happen- and take a step in that direction.

Towards the end of the week the Sun conjuncts Saturn and encourage us to inventory our life, notice what makes us feel safe and secure, be honest about our situation and what work we have left to do. But we can take it all way too seriously and need to keep a kind perspective, both towards ourselves and others.

Sandwiched between these heavy aspects, Mercury enters Aquarius this weekend and brings us all up in other people’s business for the next few weeks, either through a gossipy edge or an enhanced sense of social awareness and responsibility. We choose how we run with it.

The Moon heads into Scorpio Saturday through Monday, which adds to that serious edge, but can also make it deeply satisfying to contribute to something real and wonderful. Venus and Mercury are still in mutable signs, Venus is exalted in sensitive Pisces…