If you live in the US, you'll wake on February 9, 2024 with the Sun already in Aquarius III — because the Sun enters The Knot (as named by Austin Coppock; T. Susan Chang called the third decan of Aquarius The Divided Mind, after the seven of swords' name in the Golden Dawn, The Lord of Futility) at 1:50 am EST. A season of tangled motives and secretive considerations, the next nine-ish days are under the administration of the Moon (who will pass through this decan early this week!), and in Hellenistic mythology belonged to Osiris in his role as king of the underworld.
The dark of the Moon, and the astrological formation of the 'new moon' occur on February 9 at 6:41 pm EST, with the Sun at 20° Aquarius 41' — a rare occasion indeed, when the Sun is in his detriment and the Moon is at an extraordinary place of potential power — fully darkened by the Sun, and yet in her own decan and in the dark half of the year from Libra to Aries where she's said to be in her own terms, or "in her chariot" as some of the ancient texts say. Normally a dark moon is not a good time to begin powerful new workings... but this one is surprisingly rich with themes of underworld communication and with the Moon occupying a dark and domineering role over the Sun in private playtime. In the Knot at the end of Aquarius, she looses what must be unbound, and
Osiris' story is too well known to spend much time on him here: as Pharaoh of the Two Lands of Egypt, he had a long and successful reign with his sister-queen, Isis (honored at Leo II). However, the god Set was angry at being passed over for the kingship, and lured Osiris into a series of traps intended to destroy him, and clear the way for Set to ascend to the throne. Eventually these succeeded: Osiris was trapped in a coffin, thrown into the Nile, and drowned — and somewhere along the way chopped up into thirteen separate pieces. Later, Isis was able to bring her pregnancy to term and birth a baby boy-god, the falcon-god Horus; and to reassemble twelve of Osiris' pieces. However... the little dongle between his legs was the part that couldn't be found, and so Osiris was assigned to be king in the underworld, since he no longer had generative powers.
It's a peculiar story, made only slightly less peculiar by the wide ranges of kingships in ancient times where the physical wholeness of the monarch and his heir was a key condition of rulership. The Byzantines had a whole system for blinding their emperors to force an abdication, as merely one example. But it also connects the generative Moon-power — the Moon is often thought of in ancient texts as the generator, gestatrix and deliverer of children — with the typically barren landscapes of the Northern Hemisphere when the Sun is here. Changes are starting to occur beneath the snow, beneath the ground, that signal an end to winter and the return of spring.
The four dodeks or Twelfth Parts of Aquarius III are assigned to Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, and Capricorn, paralleling the way that a person loses their struggle to remain in power despite contrary counsel. They come to a decision point represented by Libra, where many things are taken into account but a final decision must still be made. Scorpio represents the secret influences at work in their decision; as the Grail Knight says in the Indiana Jones movie, "he chose ... poorly." Sagittarius represents the technical, feral, and human decision-making and planning that goes into a decapitation strike (in a violent system) or a vote of no-confidence (in a more peaceful one), while Capricorn represents the act of betrayal that forces the old leader out and installs a new one... one much more amenable and biddable by the forces that deposed the last leader — Even the gods know that a living hawk is preferable to a decrepit and asexual old man with one foot in the grave.
Planetary Positions
With the Sun in Aquarius and the Ascendant in Sagittarius, we're looking at a Night Chart in which all the planets are below the horizon — and in which the private and personal concerns of self, home, and family take priority over the public events of legislature, governor's palace, and courthouse. It's not to say that events in these spaces won't occur — but look for the actors in such places to bear in mind closely how Main Street rather than Wall Street might react.
The Lot of Fortune is in Sagittarius in the second decan The Harness, signifying that you have control over both your work and rest this week — and it's a power or strength that you should draw on. It will be easy to rush into various courses of action, and harder to deliver on the promises you make with that swiftness, if you're not taking care of yourself. Be open to making rest a formal part of your routine in the coming days.
In the second house, Venus and Mars are chasing one another through the third decan of Capricorn The Throne — a part of the sky I've often seen associated with the priorities of billionaires and multi-millionaires to rule, to control, to extract, and to command. Pluto was here for most of the last seven years, giving outsized multipliers to their fortunes and cultural impact. However, his absence is keenly felt now as the commercial and technical giants fight over whether to take a conciliatory or combative approach to the rising power of unions and workforces. The planets don't conjunct until February 21, though, under circumstances that suggest the first course of action will be a conflict-oriented failure — and that a slower but more conciliatory approach is more likely to gain the upper hand. Bank board-rooms are not as public as court-houses, but they can still be swayed by public opinion.
Between now and February 21, the third house and Aquarius sees a lot of action, with Pluto, Mercury, the Moon and the Sun all making their progress through the water-carrier's sign. Despite its associations with a servant carrying water jars, the sign is still Fixed Air, where the Sun is in detriment and the Moon is peregrine. With Saturn inconjunct (or in aversion) in Pisces, this puts considerable power in Mercury's hands as the triplicity ruler — and at the moment they're in their own term, like a Grand Marshal and guest of honor in a parade. This is another indicator of the truism that former US Speaker of the House quipped, "all politics is local" — and we can expect publicity about local resentments and upsets on town councils and specific storefronts in national chains experiencing unionization conflicts. The critics and the prophets, standing in the wilderness demanding change, are going to have the microphones and the cameras trained on them — and their message is going to reverberate far and wide. On a more personal level, be aware that ongoing conflicts in your family or your friends group or among your neighbors may be open to a negotiated settlement, especially if they're managed before February 13 and Mars' conjunction with Pluto.
The fourth house is currently home to both Saturn and Neptune, each casting baleful rays and aspersions upon other parts of your life. Saturn applies by square to your personal freedoms indicated by the Lot of Fortune, and applies by sextile to Jupiter in the sixth house — it's going to be really easy to set daily routines and expectations for yourself at work or in your personal life, but home life may be under some serious restrictions, and you may find it hard to 'clump' errands, like going to the grocery store and the hardware store on the same trip; and resolving a conflict between two housemates may irritate a third; expect a long, delay-filled and winding road between any goal and the entry port to that objective, especially if you're trying to avoid offending anyone. Similarly, be aware that most people are not operating off the same set of facts — and even your most dearly held beliefs may be somewhat suspect. Don't believe everything you think, this coming week, and try to keep an open mind.
The Nodal Axis runs between Aries and Libra, advising us to spend more time on our hobbies or with our kids, and less time with our friends, in the coming days. Close ties with our acquaintances matter — it's part of how we bind our world and our worldviews together. But your own heart and mind know what they want, and February is the month whose name means "fever season" — a week or two of relative isolation isn't going to kill you. At the same time, some social occasions may be unavoidable, and it's going to be a somewhat messy way to spend your time and energy — go into the party with an exit plan in mind.
Jupiter and Uranus are in the sixth house, and will soon be less than 10° apart. On February 15, the Moon will be besieged (or enclosed) between them. Their enclosing sign, Taurus, is often concerned with both 'indolence' in our lives, and with practical decision-making around food and physical resources — and the presence of these three here suggests that you're going to make a number of sudden changes in normal routines and patterns over the course of the next ten days, some of which won't really have a huge effect in your life for six months, while others may take effect immediately. Be alert to how simple, small changes in routines can affect your health and well being; it's not always about going to the gym every day. Sometimes it's doing a stretching routine at home.
The Ascendant and Descendant are both in the 0th degree of their respective signs. I don't normally talk about this, but you may find yourself reading your partner or (statistically) significant other like an open book for a change, while not revealing much of your own interior process. This may lead to some imbalances, in which you carve out your own time and space for private thoughts but your partner is expected to reveal each transmutation of thought or sudden revelation. I won't say this is dangerous — but your own swift wit is potentially able to do more harm than good in the next ten days, especially if you're not open about your feelings or don't put a pause between stimulus and response. It's not a week for blabbing every small thought that comes into your mind: be open to listening, and be open to what you're hearing, from your partner, and don't be swift to speak your mind — or your snappy comeback.
The Midheaven in Virgo II The Hammer and Anvil invites you to practice your professional craft with both more deliberateness and precision than usual this week. The time to break rules at work is in the deliberative process and the organic growth of a project early stages — but subject any product or service that's nearing its launch deadline to the heat and tempering of rigorous testing. Nobody will be glad about doing this work, but they'll thank you for it when some risk-laden mistakes are uncovered.
Horoscopes by Rising Sign
Decan I of any sign (usually covering the 21st of the month to the first of the following month) is free to all visitors; Decan II is only available to Patreon and Ko-Fi.com subscribers; and Decan III is available to Patreon, Ko-Fi, and MailChimp subscribers.
Sagittarius:
Capricorn:
Aquarius:
Pisces:
Aries:
Taurus:
Gemini:
Cancer:
Leo:
Virgo:
Libra:
Scorpio:
Colophon
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If you want to read some of my astrologically-oriented poetry, the largest collection is called A Full Volume of Splendor and Starlight, available through my Etsy shop, and containing poems and hymns to the planets, constellations, decan deities, and Moon Mansion angels. While not astrological, Festae contains hymns to some of the older Roman gods and spirits from the calendar created by Numa Pompilius, the second ancient King of Rome.
I use iPhemeris for my charting software, and screenshot it to make charts. I want to thank the team that develops iPhemeris for the addition of Terms and Decans to their charts. I also use Hugh Tran's Physis typeface to craft logos for this blog, as well.
I use Christopher Warnock's The Mansions of the Moon as the basis of my Moon placement delineations, and Austin Coppock's 36 Faces for much of my planetary delineations. Neither gentleman endorses me.
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