  The traditional Hallmark version of Valentine’s Day always conjures up beautiful images of Cupid, flowers, chocolates, music, candlelit dinners and romantic love. One always wants to write an upbeat article about this holiday that celebrates Venus and Eros. It’s always possible to put a positive spin on astrological interpretation especially when Venus travels through the sign of its exaltation, but don’t let that fool you. The imminent ingress of Saturn into Pisces on March 7 and Pluto into Aquarius on March 23 conjures up post-holiday images of a St. Valentine’s Day massacre rather than Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. I speak in hyperbole of course and it’s not all doom and gloom, but as Bob Dylan famously coined, “The Times They Are A-Changin’.”
The planetary energy this Valentine’s Day says by all means enjoy the romantic, Hallmark traditions of the holiday, but the deeper meaning lies in the transits approaching just a month later. The vernal equinox is full of deaths, transformations and endings combined with births, rebirths and new beginnings. The chart for the day places Venus in a rather beautiful position. She’s exalted in Pisces, the sign of unconditional love, conjunct Neptune the planet of transcendental beauty, seeing beyond the material world into the soul of ethereal spirituality and divine magic. It’s as if Venus is bathing luxuriously in the Land of Oz or Shangri-La: a world of rainbows, unicorns, magic, fantasy, glamour and illusion! We should enjoy it! But the question after the fact will be—is it real or an illusion? The Piscean/Neptunian conundrum and riddle is that the fishes swim in two directions, so the answer is both! Enjoy the fantasy while you can because Saturn in Pisces will place a limit on those dreams, reveries, pleasures and imaginative flights of fancy. It’s as if Venus and Neptune conspire to pull the wool over your eyes before Saturn enters the picture to spoil the fun. From Saturn’s point of view he’s not spoiling the fun but he does want you to earn it. The Lord of Karma will supply a healthy dose of reality to ensure you’re not fooling yourself with pipe dreams, castles in the air and unrealistic expectations. Saturn wants you to ground dreams and bring them down to earth. He’s not against them, but he demands taking responsibility and working for them. Only then are they worth having. Achieving dreams is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration. A yeoman effort must be exerted to concretize the ideas in the creative imagination. Everyone is approaching a reckoning between whether they have the discipline to manifest dreams or face the disappointment of possibly sacrificing, surrendering, letting go and giving up. For some Saturn will provide the ecstasy of fulfillment and for others the agony of despair. Venus rules pleasure, therefore another question to face this spring will be about putting the brakes on indulgences and escapist tendencies that have eroded our productivity. It’s time to take a long, hard look at bad habits such as drugs, alcohol and indolence before they run amok and break you beyond repair. Saturn in Pisces is like getting a new pair of glasses to see things more clearly. It’s a cautionary warning to stop viewing life through rose-colored glasses. This will be a very sobering time for many. Uplifting Piscean endeavors such as spirituality, medicine, music, art, poetry, meditation, yoga, photography and movies can gain traction. Let’s not forget that Valentine’s Day falls during the Aquarius time of year, which as a youngster baffled me. It’s drummed into the zeitgeist to celebrate and exalt romantic intimacy, sexuality and sensuality between partners. Aquarius says to open up that view of love to a broader definition. The airy water-bearer is the sign of friendship and love amongst equals. It has a very generous and humanitarian bent at its core. Brotherhood, sisterhood and a utopian love that celebrates all humanity is an Aquarian trope. Enter Pluto into the picture: How is that utopian interpretation going to sit with everyone when the Dark Lord of Hades oozes into Aquarius on March 23? The symbolism in February is to enjoy things while they last because there is evolutionary change in the air as we continue to transition from the past into the future. Giving birth is always painful. Pluto in Aquarius will challenge us to choose our friends more scrupulously and question the infrastructure of our friendships, communities and group alliances. Who stays and who goes? Who stands the test of time? Which friendships are deepening with passion, love and uplifting power vs. which are rotting, decaying and need to be purged? On a political level, the polarization of special interest groups will deepen. Aquarius may be the sign of democracy but it’s also the sign of communism and socialism. Pluto in Aquarius will bring up issues of transparency in government and large civic groups, such as the police and military as well as social services. What might happen to Social Security in the upcoming years? Will the British Monarchy survive in its present form? Pluto can reveal the icy, cold underbelly of Aquarius in a way reminiscent of the French Revolution. The guillotine, an invention that beheaded thousands who disagreed with the political concepts of the new regime, ushered in the Reign of Terror. Counterbalancing the negativity will be the concepts of enlightenment and humanitarianism. There is a massive amount that can be written about the upcoming transits of Pluto and Saturn. We are at a crossroads in the world as these two titans enter the last two signs of the zodiac. Before that happens in March, use the beautiful aspects on Valentine’s Day to celebrate love with cherished family and friends that have proven their worth and value through thick and thin, and stood the test of time. They will be the loyal ones in the upcoming years. Of course, there will be new people entering with whom to trust, merge and forge new emotional bonds. They will appear when the time is right, according to the rules and regulations of the Saturnian clock. Just don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Heaven or Hell can be a place on Earth. Watch for extreme manifestations of both in the next few years. Remember: Pluto’s lesson is learning where to maintain control vs. where to give it up. Saturn’s lesson is to face your fears, otherwise they become your limitations. It’s time to clear out the ghosts in your closet. Joseph Addeo is a Level IV NCGR-PAA Certified Astrologer. He can be reached via his website at www.josephaddeo.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/josephaddeoastrologer. |