Bringing astrology to the people of Carbondale and beyond is the passion of Crystal City Astrology, founded by Susanna Kitchen. Offerings include the Cosmic Chatter podcast (also periodically live on KDNK), planetary transit articles, birth chart readings and workshops. Join on Substack @crystalcityastrology or visit www.crystalcityastrology.com to learn more.
Throughout January, the Sun, Venus, Mars and Mercury assembled in Capricorn to examine the potential in our personal lives. I wonder what new ideas you’ve tried on? What values you’ve reflected on? With the Capricorn new moon on Jan. 18, our emotions and needs came to join the crew. What intentions did you set? Now that we’ve moved into Aquarius season, internal composting work can be applied to the common good.
The full moon in Leo on Feb. 1 is the symbolic flowering of a plant that was seeded at the new moon. Intentions are seeds. At the new moon we plant them. As the moon waxes, we nourish them, their coiled bodies emerge from the surface of the soil. At the full moon, the young plant stretches for the sun, full of life and expression, and beginning to flower.
On this Leo full moon, we must play. Like the flower calls pollinators with its petals and sepals, we need to play with others. We must sing and dance together. We must fill the busker’s cup. When we express our creativity through play, we generate energy and share it with others. That’s the aim here.
This full moon is also the last before eclipse season, which happens every six months. Honoring the clear, reflective power of the moon before the blurs of eclipses is necessary. At this time, our play is about our survival. We learn to respond to unknown circumstances and challenges. We release expectations to outcome when we foster free expression.
On Lunar New Year, Feb. 17, the sun and moon meet for a solar eclipse in Aquarius. Ambiguity or confusion about our responsibility to the collective may come up, in what we’ve agreed to already and future possibilities. Eclipses obscure the luminaries, welcoming our awareness of the shadow. They are times to observe and take notes, and to notice incongruence within.
This solar eclipse may make us curious about the motivations for our solo performances. Do we share our creativity with others? It examines access and impact without attachment or judgement toward the show. Because it’s square Uranus, we may come upon an unexpected change of course or epiphany.
On Feb. 20, Neptune and Saturn meet at the first degree of Aries. They conjoin every 36 years, roughly, but haven’t met in Aries since 1703. Here we see early independence movements away from monarchies, early enlightenment thought and mechanical inventions that contributed to the Industrial Revolution. Saturn is a world builder and Neptune is unbound idealism. Together they collaborate in a rebirth of humanity, of heroism, perhaps dissolving the individual.
As this dream becomes reality, we must remember that the one is supported by the many. In this way we call in Libra, the opposite of Aries, to balance out the individual with the other. Be wary of fierce impetus to change without consideration for impact, as Aries can be catalyzing without consideration of consequence.
Eclipses come in pairs. On March 3, the lunar eclipse signals the ending of eclipse season. With the sun in Pisces and the moon in Virgo, there are themes of service and healing shared between internal and external landscapes. This is the last Virgo eclipse of the series, which calls to a longer story that began in September of 2024. Virgo brings accountability to Pisces’ compassion because Virgo understands the limits of an energy exchange and that overcommitment ultimately harms the giver.
Use this time to reflect on the state of your mental and emotional health. We must be well in these areas in order to ride the waves of outer planet activity this year. If you need a break, please take it! Mercury goes retrograde from Feb. 25 to March 20 — another prompt to reflect on holes in our plans and anticipations.
Spring comes on March 20 when the sun moves into Aries, and immediately the pace and intensity of life accelerates. Mars, the great initiator, embarks on a journey to conquer. April 9 to May 17 is an opportune time to begin a creative project or a workout routine. Aim for mindfulness of your limits in this time too, because excessive heat and energy from Mars can be harmful if not well tended. With help from Saturn, the steadfast authority in our lives, it may just stick!
At home in Aries, Mars meets Neptune on April 12 and then Saturn on the 19th. I expect this to be one of the busiest times of the year, and not free of pivots or snafus, as Neptune is known to scramble messages.
By anticipating the energies, we can put them to work as well as allow inconveniences to pass with grace. Expect to be beat up and burned out by May. This is why I reminded you to rest and reflect during eclipse season! Look to the end of May and early June for a rejuvenating time.