
February is a dark and shitty month. There are no big astrological upheavals—those come in spring and summer. But every planet that has sign preferences is in a sign that it does not like. The only exceptions to this are the Moon, which goes through all the signs each month, and Saturn, which is merely in a powerless place, not an actively bad one.
You don’t need an astrologer to tell you that things are dark and shitty—you can just read the news! But what I can tell you as an astrologer is that this will pass, and not to give up. Those big astrological upheavals of spring and summer are not grim like 2020 or the years leading up to the Great Depression. Rather, they describe a mixed bag of changes, some supportive, some destructive, all interdependent. And a key element of 2025’s astrology is pushing cultural projects that started in the mid-1960’s, like the civil rights movement, forward. In 1965, Uranus and Pluto met in the sign of Virgo, and that initiated a big push toward greater equality in the United States. In 2025, Uranus and Pluto will find themselves in the opening trine, which you could think of as the first turbo boost, of this cycle that concludes in 2104. This should look like the struggle yielding to rapid progress.
I know, I know. I don’t see it either, and there’s of course no guarantee it goes this way. There are Pluto Uranus cycles in history that are straightforwardly about oppression in some cultures. But we know what the beginning of the story is here in the United States, and the notion that this moment is pushing civil rights forward… well, it requires some imagination but it makes a certain kind of sense.
I hope you’ll forgive me for keeping this one strictly political.
We’re witnessing a global increase in far right extremism because social media amplifies resentment and outrage, and far right extremists stoke resentment and outrage on both sides. I certainly feel resentful and outraged! Who benefits from this? The small handful of broligarchs that got front row seats for the inauguration, that’s who! Not you, no matter who you voted for or what you believe. The only people who will benefit from this destructive, hateful trash fire already have billions of dollars.
Maybe the question in February, while we all sit in this shit, is what are you going to do about it? Are you going to stop letting your attention get harvested and pick up an analog book? Stop buying from companies that obey in advance and shop locally instead? Are you going to turn to your neighbors and get to know them better? Get a library card and discover the natural state of abundance that comes when you share stuff and knowledge with a community instead of buying everything? Are you going to learn how to have a productive conversation across political division? Join a political resistance movement like Indivisible or Braver Angels? Put your representatives on speed dial? Maybe you would prefer to just start an activity that allows you to build relationships with people across a political spectrum, run for office, or help vulnerable populations in your local community.
For some, the answer to these questions will be something like “I am a vulnerable person! I am focusing on keeping myself safe!” But most of us are more scared, sad, and shocked right now than truly vulnerable. And even those among us who are vulnerable can address those bad feelings by doing something to resist. It’s interesting how fragile what they are terrorizing us with is, and how easy it is to resist right now. Each of us could spend the entire month of February taking one small action a day to move away from phone addiction, social media, Amazon and any other company that tows the line, and invest instead in local businesses, analog books, local government, and actual friendships. These actions would make a huge difference if a lot of people did them. They would require no actual suffering. They are totally safe, and many would substantively improve quality of life. Going back to the history of Pluto in Aquarius, the people united to overthrow the cruel and oppressive French government, and they did so at great personal cost. What the broligarchy fails to understand in this moment is that we can unite at almost no personal cost, simply by choosing a thousand times to opt out of a bunch of stuff we don't even like. The barrier to resistance has never been lower. All you really need to do to get started is make some actual decisions about where you put your time, attention, and money.
Whatever else you do in February, do stop doomscrolling, get up, and do something to assert the power you have. To quote my favorite Brazilian pedagogical activist, Paolo Friere, we make the road by walking. We are at the precipice of a set of huge cultural shifts. We can make them by engaging in the struggle, or we can be led to them by a small handful of people who care about themselves.
It’s not a good time to trust the people who have power and let them make the road for us. But it is a surprisingly good time to use the power we have.
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