February and March 2024: spotlight on Aquarius and Pisces; the Aries Equinox and the first Eclipses of 2024

Pluto’s cosmic encounters
2024 will be the last year to witness the Pluto’s transition from Capricorn to Aquarius, marking a cosmic shift of great magnitude. After entering Aquarius on January 21 Pluto will briefly return to Capricorn on September 2, to leave it for good on November 20 this year (for the next 230 years, to be precise, returning to Capricorn only in 2254!).

In the short term it is important to place this Pluto’s transit in the contest of other current transits, those that could provide the means of expression for Pluto’s transformative energy.

As always, in February and March, the Sun will be gliding between the last two southern Signs of Aquarius and Pisces. Mercury, Mars and Venus will follow a similar course as the Sun, from early February to the end of March.   

According to ancient astrological wisdom the faster moving celestial bodies (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars) act as triggers to the slower moving bodies (Jupiter, Saturn, Chiron, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto), bringing their influence down to earth, so to speak, for all of us to experience at some level.

The Sun and Pluto
On January 21 the Sun and Pluto became conjunct just as they were entering Aquarius, offering an opportunity to make the global shift of consciousness represented by Pluto in Aquarius into a personal experience. The Aquarius-Pluto’s effect will unfold during the next two decades, slowly and, at times, dramatically, but the present multiple alignments could already show us the way forward.
The Sun in astrology represents the core of our identity as individuals. When the transiting Sun aligns with any planet we become more conscious of that planet’s energy, in the case of Pluto its transformative and regenerative function.
Alignments like these are not rare but they become more significant when they happen at the onset of a historical planetary event like the current ingress of Pluto in Aquarius.  
If you have already felt a shift happening within your psyche, an urge to cut off from the past and embrace fundamental changes in your views on life, your relationships, your place in the world, you have to thank Pluto. Scary as it might feel to stop compromising our personal integrity and core values, becoming more truthful to ourselves and others, this is an ideal time to embrace such lasting changes, Pluto providing the necessary psychological resolve and emotional resources. Here is a real opportunity for the consciousness of many separate individuals to become aligned to the collective purpose of our planet. The focus is shifting, collectively, from authoritarian and established rules of conduct (Capricorn) to progressive, inclusive, open minded, even revolutionary guidelines, beyond personal, political and religious bias; with each individual playing his/her role in the process.

Mercury, Mars, Venus meeting Pluto
Mercury will conjunct Pluto while entering Aquarius on February 5; Mars will do the same on February 13/14 (an intense Valentine Day!); and Venus on February 17. And Venus and Mars will become conjunct in Aquarius on February 22. 

The Wood Dragon Chinese New Year on the Aquarius New Moon, and Uranus activated
The New Moon will fall in Aquarius on February 10, date that also marks the beginning of the New Chinese Year of the Wood Dragon.
Furthermore Uranus, planet associated with Aquarius, turned Direct on January 27, thus accelerating the pace of change that its recent retrogradation had slowed down. The Sun will also form a right angle (square) with Uranus, on February 8. Mercury will also square Uranus on February 17, Venus on March 4, and Mars on March 10: all added stimuli to embrace change against many difficulties.

Well, it seems like we could really get the Aquarian message of humanitarian fellowship this time. The birth of a new age cannot be a smooth transition. Very many outworn modes of thinking, acting and relating to each other will have to go through rigorous tests to align to Aquarius high ideals. The process of becoming more truly individuals can cause, at first, emotional disconnection, creating a sense of loneliness too.

Saturn-Neptune in Pisces
The Sun will be the first to leave Aquarius, entering Pisces on February 19, followed by Mercury on February 23, and then Venus and Mars, on March 12 and 23 respectively.
The Sun and Mercury will become conjunct on February 28, both aligning to Saturn on February 29. This yearly reality check is particularly important this time because of the high expectations described by the recent numerous transits in Aquarius. How our personal circumstances can cope with the pace of change all around us and within us? Saturn and Neptune’s placement in Pisces suggests the need for embracing less rigid attitudes; preparing to accept unavoidable losses as we strive toward a better version of ourselves and the world we live in. This year represents the end of a thirty yearlong epoch for Saturn, hopefully bringing the world to a new level of responsible maturity.
However, for the time being, it is in in the nature of Pisces to seemingly obscure the path ahead, pulling us in different directions, unavoidable consequence of past errors we will need to redress for a long time.

Saturn and Neptune will both leave Pisces between 2025 and 2026, years announcing other profound experiences for the planet, as described by their uncanny conjunction on the very first degree of Aries, the beginning of the solar wheel of manifestation (!) in early 2026.  

Aries Equinox, more than a new season
Every three months the Earth and Sun come to a special alignment, twice when the Sun appears perpendicular to the earth’s equator at midday, at the Aries and Libra Equinoxes, in March and September. And twice when the Sun reaches its northernmost and southernmost height at midday, in January and June respectively. The transits active at these special times are used by astrologers to look into the trends that will unfold during the course of each season.

This year we celebrate the Aries Autumn Equinox on March 20, at 2.06 pm local time (Australian Eastern Daylight Saving Time).

The first obvious observation, on Equinox day, is that the Moon in early Leo will be in opposition to Pluto in early Aquarius. This shows that the Plutonian theme is running through the coming season, collectively affecting our emotional lives.

This date is very close to the first Lunar Eclipse of 2024, happening on March 25. This will be followed by a Solar Eclipse at the Aries New Moon on April 8.
At the time of the Lunar Eclipse, the Full Moon, on the fifth degree of Libra, and the Sun, on the fifth degree of Aries, will be in harmonious aspect to Pluto in Aquarius, intense but also somewhat auspicious configurations, allowing profound changes to take place without undue resistance or struggle.
The Solar Eclipse, on April 8, will be perfectly aligned to Chiron, promising healing if we have the collective courage to face the past wounding that is keeping us back.

Here are the Horoscopes of the Aries Equinox and the March-April Eclipses.

Finally an important observation: at the moment and until the ingress of the Sun in Gemini (May 20) the Sun and planets are all concentrated in a short span of 120 degrees, a third of the whole circle, from Earth’s viewpoint, of course. This is obviously a high concentration of energies, often associated by traditional astrologers with increase in earth tremors, volcanic eruptions, as well as climatic and emotional extremes.

Best wishes in navigating these powerful transits. May the Force be with you …