February 6: Teachable Moments

Venus is sextile Chiron at 3:43 a.m.
In the pre-dawn hours, Venus in Aquarius forms a harmonious sextile to Chiron in Aries, offering heart healing. The love and affection inspired by Venus in Aquarius is social and communal, and at this time we are more acutely conscious of whether we belong or do not belong, of whether we feel ostracized from, or enmeshed within, a peer group.
As Venus connects to Chiron, which might otherwise serve to amplify vulnerability, a soft, supportive undercurrent permeates our interactions with others, causing us to feel seen and honored for our uniqueness and individuality. The qualities that set us apart become gifts that help us form energizing bonds. However, the sextile is a subtle aspect, and if we fail to place ourselves in a communal atmosphere, its auspicious effects may pass unnoticed.
 
The moon is sextile the sun at 4:56 p.m.
In the late afternoon, the Sagittarius moon sweetly sextiles the sun in Aquarius, instilling confidence, and inspiring both enthusiasm and objectivity. While the moon travels through the optimistic sign of the Centaur, we are prone to impulsivity and rash decision-making, but where our wild schemes might otherwise expand beyond their reasonable attainment, the Aquarius sun provides checks and balances by motivating us to ask the important questions: What technology should we use? Which people in the community can we reach out to for advice? Who benefits from our plans and visions? Keeping the faith and showing a willingness to experiment with the particulars gets us where we want to go.
 
The moon is square Neptune at 6:40 p.m.
In the evening, the moon squares off with Neptune in Pisces, causing emotional tides to rise. It will be difficult to handle intense feelings now, and our increased sensitivity could see us offering compassion to those who might take advantage of our generosity. It will be a challenging time to determine whether someone truly needs help, or whether they are taking us for a ride, in part because we are genuinely sympathetic to their needs, and in part because our intuitive barometers are hazy. Sentimental or nostalgic fantasies may cause us to want to run away from our problems or drown them out with vices, so exercise mindfulness here.
 
Venus is square Uranus at 7:33 p.m.
After nightfall, Venus in Aquarius squares off with Uranus in Taurus, creating a battle of wills as each planet transits the sign of the opposite planet’s rulership! Sparks will fly, one way or another. A seemingly out-of-nowhere attraction may pull you into an unexpected affair. Or perhaps a current relationship suddenly seems tedious without anything to justify your abrupt disinterest.
This time is intended to disrupt where you are at, to provide a fresh perspective into your romantic or material life by offering glimpses into alternate realities. We may later recognize that the desire for comfort or stability had kept us mired in a state of unhealthy stagnation. The immediate reality, however, can be inconvenient, stressful, or heartbreaking. In craving excitement and change, caution can be thrown to the wind, and situations have the potential to get messy, so avoid putting yourself in unsafe positions for the sake of novelty. Ideally, we want to look back at this time as a teachable moment, not a regrettable one.
 
The moon is sextile Mercury retrograde at 10:16 p.m., and moon void of course begins
 The moon sextiles Mercury retrograde in Aquarius in the late-night hours, allowing us to absorb a good deal of information in a short amount of time. Because of Mercury’s backspin, we are better at internalizing than communicating now, but we may already be probing our habits, feelings, and emotions for important takeaways, leaning into this sticky social time when we’d prefer to back out.
The nice thing about Mercury in Aquarius is that it offers us objectivity, the lack of which tends to completely frustrate us when Mercury spins backwards in signs with hotter tempers. We may not have the words to express ourselves gracefully now, but we have idealism to spare, which allows us to feel like we are learning the proper lessons despite the requisite awkwardness. Following this, the moon begins its void of course, which lasts until tomorrow afternoon, so delay starting new projects until the morning for best results.
 
All the aspects mentioned are calculated in Standard Pacific Time, for greater accuracy please adjust to your own location.