DeaR Astro Lover,

I don’t know about you, but this Mercury retrograde in Aquarius has been so deeply powerful for me. In fact, both the Venus and Mars retrogrades of 2020 offered similar restorative medicine. Undeservingly dreaded among fast-astro content, retrogrades of Mercury, Venus and Mars are truly powerful periods of rest, integration and imagination. They can facilitate potent alchemical resets which aid us in reorienting our relationship with a specific sphere of our lives.

After giving birth to both a book and a human being within 6 months of one another (not to mention a global pandemic), I felt energetically depleted. My gut urged me to pull back. And I had no choice but to surrender much of my writing. When you’re on a momentous trajectory, it’s so hard to fight the current and turn back, even when your heart and soul are urging you to do so. But I’m so glad I did. Integration is such a powerful gift we can offer ourselves – and especially when the circumstances of our lives are changing. Life looks different for every single one of us now, which means that retrograde periods can be immensely supportive for us. Idk, in the spirit of our new lives, why don’t we try being excited about Mercury retrograde this year??

Slingshot theory. Sometimes you’ve got to pull back in order to launch.

I’ve got some exciting astrological offerings I’m preparing for you. We’re leveling up over here! It’s time. But before I share the bulk of my excitement with you, I’m starting small this week. Retrogrades often bring things back from the past, and I’m extremly happy to share, that I’m ready to write astrological forecasts again! I’ve missed it. So, so much. I’d like to grow this offering in time, but for now we will start small. Without further ado, here’s your weekly forecast!

Astrology Watch:

Mercury Stations Direct (2/20)

Mars trines Pluto (2/24/21)

Venus enters Pisces (2/25/21)

Virgo Full Moon (2/27/21)

The week begins with the long-awaited Mercury station. Yep, our first Mercury retrograde of 2021 is now complete. And what a powerful retrograde it was. Wherever your Aquarius house is located in your chart represents an area of life that is under major renovation at this time. Mercury retrograde helped us slow down and reorient ourselves to whatever is being tested and transformed by Saturn in Aquarius. At this point, you’ve probably gained some really helpful insights toward the matters at hand. The Aquarius section of our charts has been activated since March of 2021 when Saturn entered Aquarius. This past month, we’ve experienced an intensification of these issues thanks to up to 6 planets transiting this one sign! That’s an incredibly rare celestial occurance. So of course, we are forced to pay attention to this area of our life. Looking ahead, Saturn will remain in Aquarius through March 2023, and thereafter, Pluto will ingress into Aquarius in January 2024. Yup. We’re doing big things here on Earth!

However, this week we’re leaning off the gas a smidge. Transitioning out of Aquarius, the Sun entered Pisces on 2/18, beginning a new astrological season. Happy birthday Pisces!

Venus in Pisces: February 25th – March 21st, 2021

“Give me a higher love.” Venus, planet of love and beauty, reaches heightened levels of romance and heart expansion. In the sign of her exaltation, Venus embraces a transcendent love – the kind that traverses timelines and will cross the ocean (like in the movies) kind of love. Erotic, sensual and full of soulful longing, this is the kind of love that sweeps you away. As selfless as Venus in Pisces can be, there is a downside to loving with abandon: unrelinquished love. But what is life without love? Sometimes, it’s the risk we take. If you’ve had too high of boundaries in love, this is an excellent opportunity to lower the drawbridge and let love in. This can be a period optimal for forgiveness, for seeing the bigger picture and for loving people without expectation. The big caution with Venus in Pisces is to keep those healthy boundaries in check. We move from impersonal love for the collective (Venus in Aquarius) to yearning for a love that penetrates on a soul level. Definitely practice those heart-openers this month and lend empathy wherever you can.  

Mars trine Pluto: February 24th

For most of 2020, Mars edged in and out of a square with Pluto. Archetypally, it was the activist illuminating the collective shadows via Molotov cocktail. Now we reach a point of integration in the cycle where we have greater opportunity to channel anger and frustration more constructively. Change is underway, and we’ll see it unfold in a productive direction this week. Mars in Taurus is able to do this in a way without overexerting itself. We might choose love, beauty, pleasure or nourishment as a path to revolution.

Full Moon 8°57’ Virgo, 2/27/2021, 3:17 am ET.

I can’t help but think back to the last time we had a full moon in hygienic, meticulous Virgo. It was March 9th, 2020. Schools, restaurants, and salons were closing while videos of Lysol and hand washing went viral. Hand sanitizer became the most valuable commodity, as well as other hygiene products such as toilet paper, peroxide and alcohol. This particular Virgo Full Moon reminds us that we are nearing the one-year anniversary of lockdown in the United States.

The Virgo Full Moon culminates amidst wistful, floaty Pisces season to implement order. Virgo provides grounding and routine to the infinitely imaginative heart-space of Pisces. If Pisces represents the roses, orgasms and chocolates, Virgo is the not-so-romantic but vital task of doing the dishes or making dinner. Virgo is devotion manifest.  Shocking but true, several relationships have ended over dirty dishes. Devotion is often two-fold along this Virgo-Pisces axis. If Pisces is the yearning for soulful connection, Virgo is the daily practice, the ritual, the altar. Virgo is about continually showing up, no matter if you feel like it or not.

If you have a big idea for how the world “should” be, this full moon reminds us the value of daily praxis. The full Moon in Virgo answers to Mercury in Aquarius conjunct joyous Jupiter, ushing in themes of justice, optimism and belief. Mercury conjunct Jupiter can be highly opinionated and can take a lead-foot stance on an issue. Virgo doesn’t pressure us to build Rome in a day, but reminds us that it’s a daily effort. We can actualize the world we dream of – but it takes commitment – one day at a time. Virgo highlights the incremental changes which amount over time. Small can be significant around the Virgo Full Moon as Virgo rules the micro – micromanaging, microbraids, microdermabrasion, microaggressions, microscopes... The Full Moon is here to illuminate the fine print. It’s our job to see it and to respond according to the values of the world of which we are dreaming.