This journal shares the transcript of the second episode of our Lunar Series! The Lunar Series is a down-to-earth breakdown of the lunations (New Moon, Full Moon, Eclipses, etc.) of the month ahead. By observing the moon and what she’s up to in the sky, we can harness the energy she mirrors to us and apply intentional practices for growth and personal development.

Join us as we chart these transits, and explore the passage of time via our second most important luminary - the moon! Our first lunation of this month is a New Moon in Aquarius followed by a Full Moon in Virgo.

Listen to the full episode.

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Hello, everyone. Welcome back. There is an emphasis now, generally, but also in this coming month of February, on focusing on what’s good for the collective.

And although this is something that I personally believe we should all be thinking about in everything that we do, there's really a push towards understanding what collective growth, collective support, collective improvement means now and for really the next couple decades. And I say this because Pluto, which is our farthest-reaching planet, just moved into Aquarius. It'll move back into Capricorn briefly, but once November comes around this year, Pluto will be in Aquarius for the next 20 years. So we're going to be getting really acquainted with the sign of Aquarius, which is very much a progressive, communicative, and humanitarian sign. It's the sign that's farthest from Leo, so it's the farthest from the Sun, or that's what it's considered to be. So it is sometimes considered to be cold, but really it's also the furthest from the sign that is all about the identity or the central identity. Therefore, it is really about who we are within the group and who we are as a global or collective community.

So there are a few things happening in Aquarius in this month of February, particularly, which is why I'm introducing this episode with this discussion. But I want you to just think about the last couple of weeks and explore how you might have already found yourself thinking about how you operate within the group, how you want to contribute to the group, and what your place is within a larger group setting. And what does that mean in terms of your understanding of yourself? What does it mean in terms of your ability to express yourself, perhaps in ways that might be a little bit tricky or make you feel a little more vulnerable? And in what ways can you express compassion for yourself rather than being overly critical about what you are doing or not doing, or how you're doing it or not doing it? So let's get into why I'm bringing all of this up.

The first lunation of the month happens on February 9th, and it's a new moon at 20° of Aquarius. And now I did just mention that Pluto just moved into Aquarius, but the Sun is also here because it's Aquarius season. Mercury is also here, and just a few days after this new moon, Mars is going to be moving into Aquarius, and then a few days after that, Venus is going to be moving into Aquarius. So really, there's this huge emphasis on Aquarius as an archetype and an energy type and also an emphasis on the part of your chart that contains Aquarius.

So what is Aquarian energy? What is this archetype, and how can we experience it in ourselves? How do we experience it also in ourselves, and how do we experience it in the world? Aquarius is a progressive, humanitarian, altruistic, and very independent sign and energy. It's very much about the mental versus the emotional. It's an energy that inspires invention and thinking outside the box at looking at the boundaries of things and saying perhaps there's more beyond this boundary that can be explored. What happens if we go beyond these edges and maybe mess with what's on the other side of what's considered to be where we should stop or where we should be socially acceptable? It's a sign that's traditionally ruled by the planet Saturn but in the modern sense is ruled by the planet Uranus. So what that says is that it's very much about discipline and structure, but it's also about how we think beyond those structures, how we kind of blow up what is traditional or what is potentially set in stone or seemingly set in stone. And in that sense, it can be a little deviant or anarchistic in some ways, but it's again really about how do we use the structures that are already here and improve them for the benefit of everyone.

So as I mentioned at the beginning of the podcast, Leo is very much about our identity, our central core, and who we are individually. It's about our ego, it's ruled by the sun, everything revolves around the sun, right? So the opposite of that is not our ego or our central self; it's about who we are collectively. If you were to define us as a group, as a community, as a whole, as a globe, what does that mean? And so it's very much about how we are intrinsically interconnected and how everything that we do has a ripple effect into our communities and the world at large. This new moon that's coming up, again at 20° of Aquarius, is very much about all of these themes, particularly in the part of your chart that is ruled by Aquarius, which I will share a resource around how to find that in just a moment. But I want you to think about what ways you are contributing to the collective, maybe in an overt or indirect way. You know, everything that we do is connected. Everything from the food that we purchase at the grocery store or the clothes we purchase, to how we get from place to place, to also how we share ourselves on social media or in, you know, on our day-to-day interactions.

So, how are you interacting with the people around you? How are you connecting to your community on a regular basis, and is there anything that you want to change or expand or shift in this part of your life? Again, because Pluto just moved in here, we're going to have about 20 years of exploring this part of ourselves and this part of our energy and inviting power into this part of our lives. So this new moon is a fantastic opportunity to lay down intentions around how it is that you want to show up in the community, how it is you want to express yourself and communicate in your community, and what progressive visions, ideals, or things you'd like to see change, you know, on a small or big level that can make a difference in within your immediate community and the world at large.

What I'm talking about is really sometimes the smallest thing. It could be simply volunteering at a local community organization or learning more about your local politicians and regularly voting when there are elections. It could be getting involved in a book club. It could be so many ways to get tapped into what is being created and what is already being mobilized around you and taking advantage of it in a way that really connects to who you are. Again, because of this push and pull between Aquarius and Leo, the way that I think about the energy and this kind of opposing line is it's how we draw ourselves and our individual talents and skills and identity and infuse it into society and the collective in a way that really empowers us. So what is it that you have that you are excited to bring and share with the larger community or your immediate community, and how can you start taking small actions to make that happen?

And think about it also in terms of how you communicate. Aquarius is an air sign, so it's very much about how we express ourselves and how we share ourselves. So what are the words that you're using? What are the visual signals that you're also using on a regular basis? And how can you perhaps bring a little more attention to how you're communicating so that you're infusing the change or the progress or the growth in your groups and collectives in a way that really, really empowers you and is representative of the empowerment you want to see on a bigger level?

I know that might seem like a lot sometimes, thinking about how we want to contribute to a larger group can feel like a lot, especially when it feels like so much of our lives, we just have to take care of what's immediately in front of us. But I want to emphasize that this is the first new Moon in Aquarius since Pluto has moved into Aquarius, and there's this really fantastic energy here that is inviting us to just start thinking about these things, to start jotting down ideas, intentions, potential possibilities that could happen. And it's not so much about, "Okay, now is the time to take action." I want you to think about it as if you were planting seeds for something that's going to take a long time to grow and really turn into itself. So this is a slow growth kind of new Moon intention-setting scenario. Take time to consider what's been coming up around these themes, and I really encourage you to jot down even just a few intentions for the next couple of decades for how to grow into this part of yourself.

Now the next lunation of the month is a full moon on February 24th, and it's at 5° of Virgo. This full moon might stir up some feelings around discipline and any judgments that you might be grappling with, whether it's from others or from yourself. When we have a full moon in Virgo, it means that it is opposing the sun in Pisces. So again, we're playing with this axis of Virgo being a sign that's very much about efficiency, analysis, being discriminating, critical, but also wanting to be of service. And the energy of Pisces, which is very unifying, kind of dissolving, less about the details and more about the bigger picture. So there is this push and pull between how we can be efficient and productive and discerning and how we can be empathetic and compassionate and embracing and understanding that we are not just individual. We are of a larger web that is moving in harmony together. And I know that sometimes it doesn't seem like we're moving in harmony. Sometimes it seems like a lot of discord, but really I'd like to think that there was a purpose and a meaning to the movement of all of it.

So this full moon will be illuminating the part of your chart that contains Virgo, and it might be bringing to the surface a lot of feelings about how we're overly critical of ourselves or where we're passing a lot of judgment on ourselves. It's inviting us to explore how we can hold space for that analytical and productive criticism while also holding space for the fact that we are messy human beings and we make mistakes and we fail and we do things wrong. And knowing that we can hold both at the same time, it's really about understanding that there is always room for growth and for improvement and there is also room for being compassionate with ourselves and knowing that it's okay if we go in one direction and then we have to start all over or, you know, we are impractical sometimes or we fly by our emotions rather than our logic. And how can we hold space for both of those things, particularly when we're being overly critical or overly judgmental with ourselves? How can we invite compassion into those moments?

Again, we're not focusing on intention setting. We're focusing on how things have culminated, what's coming to the surface, what's ready to be released. So I'd love for you to think back on the last six months since the last new moon in Pisces and think about any instances where you have experienced self-criticism or criticism from others and how you've approached that criticism with compassion and understanding and empathy. How you've perhaps set aside any feelings of shame or self-doubt to make space for the fact that you are human and you are always evolving, and this kind of criticism is really there to either protect you or to help you grow. Sometimes it's not helping you do either of those things, but really that's why it shows up. It's with the intention of that. So holding space for the possibility of either improvement or also recognizing that this criticism is unhelpful at this moment. When has that happened over the last few months and even beyond? When has that happened in your life? What other experiences have you had where you can easily say, "That was very, very harsh and difficult, but I was able to approach it with a lot of holding of myself."

The other thing I'd love you to think about is how you've applied more efficiency or analysis to your life in ways that have actually been really productive. You know, being critical is a double-edged sword because sometimes being critical means tearing things apart in a way that is unhelpful and kind of tears you down. But other times, being critical is really helpful because it helps us see the details of where we need to realign or reassess or improve. So where in the last few months have you been able to apply a critical eye or a critical mind, and by doing so, you've actually found expansion and you've actually found improvement in ways that feel really aligned with who you are. So both of these lunations have this really interesting connection between how we connect to ourselves and how we are connected to the collective. Again, the new moon in Aquarius is challenging the ego identity that is in Leo. And the Virgo full moon is very, again, detail-oriented, kind of focused on the small things while it's opposing the sun in Pisces, which is really about the bigger picture.

So there's this really interesting play between how do we connect to ourselves in a way that is clear and effective, and then how do we bring the parts of ourselves that feel most supported and empowered and infuse them into this larger vision for the community at large? And how do we tap into our own skill sets to be able to be really helpful and compassionate and bring compassion and bring unification to the communities that we work within? You know, I want to emphasize too, we're at a point in time where there's a lot of division in the worlds. There's a lot of us versus them. There's a lot of divisive language being thrown around all the time. And I think it's important to remember that, even though we're all individuals and we're all very different, we are a collection. We all work together. I think if anything, COVID really showed us how interdependent we all are and how interconnected we all are.

So thinking more about how our words, our actions, our judgment has a ripple effect into the larger experience that we're all having is something that I think will inspire empathy, and not only in ourselves but also through the larger picture. And this is something that, you know, I think we could all use a little bit more of. A little bit more empathy and understanding, even if within disagreement, even within conflict. Holding a little more space for the spaces that we don't quite agree with or we are passing judgment on merely for the sake of we're all in this together. We're all on this little planet floating around in space together. So how can we make more room for how we can all do this together, even if it is challenging at times?

I want to end this podcast by letting you know that I have uploaded some resources on the website that will help you decipher some of this language. So, for example, if you don't know where Aquarius or Virgo are in your chart and what areas of life they rule for you, I have resources up on the website. You can go to thelifedesign.co/astrologyresources. You will find a whole slew of tools to help you figure out what signs rule what parts of your chart and how to figure out what lunations are illuminating what parts of your life. So, for example, you know, I'm a Sagittarius rising. Aquarius rules my third house, the 3rd house is all about writing projects, communication projects such as podcasts, daily life, my local community as well, so there's really an emphasis on all of that for me. But for you to figure out where does Aquarius rule for you and what's being activated this new moon can be really, really helpful for narrowing down what kind of your intentions you make and getting really specific about your intentions and what area of life is going to be shifting for you with this new moon. And same with the Virgo full moon, knowing what area of life you might be experiencing this extra criticism or where you've been growing this efficiency over the last six months.

I welcome you to check out the website so you can apply this more specifically to you and your life in particular. And if you have any questions about anything, I'm always here and available to answer them. You can reach out to me via email or Instagram. The details are in the show notes. Wishing you all a really beautiful, beautiful February, it's supercharged with a lot of Aquarian energy. So I really hope that there is a lot of understanding about how you are innovative and how you bring some things special and unique to everything that you do. And you know, if you want to be a little disruptive this month, go for it. And if you feel the urge, the energy, the impulse, and it feels empowering, I say do it. Next month we'll be talking more about Pisces. We'll be in Pisces season. There will be a new moon in Pisces. And we'll be discussing the first eclipse of the year in Libra, and we'll be talking more about what eclipses mean and the Eclipse series that we'll be experiencing for this year and also a little bit beyond. So wishing you all a beautiful February and catch you in the next one.