If you want a single word to interpret the zodiac as a whole right now, it would plausibly be “restraint.” The Sun has a lot to do with it. Tomorrow, the Sun completes its traversal of Aquarius (which started on Jan. 19) and enters Pisces. In addition, now is a good time to remember the huge role perception plays in determining reality.

Dating back to a least William Lilly (1602-1681), it has been common practice for Western astrologers to counsel restraint in making judgments, drawing conclusions or taking summary action when the Sun is in the latest degrees of one sign or the earliest degrees of the next.

The central role the Sun plays for all astrologers is itself largely a matter of perception. The Sun is a star. It is just one of hundreds of billions of stars in our galaxy. Among all those other stars, the Sun is not even close to being the most massive or radiant. Even so, the Sun is undeniably the largest, brightest and most influential object in the sky as your unaided eye perceives it.

In addition, the Sun is currently in the midst of moving between eclipses. One week ago, the Sun, Moon and Earth aligned with the lunar nodes to foment a lunar eclipse at the Full Moon. On Feb. 26, all those same things will align again to drop the proverbial other shoe with a solar eclipse at the New Moon.

The period between any pair of eclipses tends to correlate with certain identifiable topics. Among those themes is loss. The nature of loss, in turn, is also frequently a matter of perception. If you choose to divest yourself of something burdensome, it’s often liberating. Should something be taken from you against your will, it probably doesn’t feel so good. With time, however, it is not unusual to realize that even some involuntary losses are for the best.

Combine the Sun’s current spatial position on the zodiac with your temporal position between eclipses at present, and it’s relatively easy to see how restraint might now be advisable. This does not mean you should be indecisive. Neither is there any indication you should refrain from taking action. Exercising restraint does not entail existential paralysis. If anything, the next few days (and possibly the whole next week) will be an astrologically prime time to choose and do — but not recklessly or erratically.

Instead, it’s implicitly a time to exercise care and diligence. Remember that your point of view is not universal, but that your words and actions nearly always influence those who perceive things differently — basically, anybody else. Make an effort to discern whether you are procrastinating or deliberating. Above all, be patient, both with others and yourself.

If this brief review of the current sky still leaves you feeling at a loss for how to proceed, begin by simply exercising restraint regarding the use of profanity. This does not mean you should censor yourself. Just choose your spots. If used too often, those “four-letter” (and longer) words you know so well lose their power to do any practical good, becoming only senseless triggers that can easily be perceived as an intent to do harm.

Assuming you wish to do no harm, the simple practice of refraining from profanity beginning now will probably constitute a good enough start on next week. By pausing to choose alternative forms of expression, you will do more than make the lives of others more pleasant. You will also open doors of perception for yourself which you had previously, and probably carelessly, missed.

Offered In Service