Today is Monday, Feb. 20, 2017
Hebrew date is 24 Shevat 5777
Islamic date is 23 Jumada-I 1438

Mayan Tzolk’in Day is 5 Ik’
Mayan Long Count is 13.0.4.4.2
Julian Day is 2457805

Today’s Birthdays: Elizabeth Holloway Marston (1893-1993), Ansel Adams (1902-1985), Sidney Poitier (1927), Mike Leigh (1943), Brenda Blethyn (1946), J. Geils (1946), Anthony Head (1954), Kurt Cobain (1967-1994), Trevor Noah (1984), Rihanna (1988).

“The big picture is that racism has been an awful experience — but there are other experiences. We need to keep an eye on the other human experiences to give ourselves the fullness and the breadth of our own humanity. Our humanity is served back to us through the eyes of those who have diminished us. And they serve back to us a view of ourselves that is incomplete. If we don’t look to the bigger picture, our view will narrow to that which is constantly fed to us.”
— Sidney Poitier

Painting by Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966).

Special Comment: The Essential Message of Pisces
Over the weekend, the Sun changed signs from Aquarius to Pisces. I’ve said before that the real ‘opposite’ signs are the ones next to one another. With this move, the Sun has left the energy field of fixed and focused mental patterns, and entered the environment of flexibility, feeling and flow.

Think of mathematics on one side and music on the other. They are related in many ways, but are distinct entities here on the cosmic physical plane.

Photo by Eric Francis.

Pisces is here to draw you into your inner life, even as the world appears to be in a state of benighted mayhem.

You may not be able to change the world, but you can change the world in you. In truth that is a tremendous gift to yourself and to your personal community. You make the world a better place when you grow and evolve.

Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac. I think of it as the river’s delta — the Delta of Venus, you might say (indeed, Venus is exalted in Pisces). The well of inspiration, Pisces is better when we draw on its water more abundantly; as the Quran informs its students, flowing water is healthier water.

The Quran is a kind of aquatic theology. Consider the idea that God “sends down water (rain) from the sky, and with it We bring forth vegetation of all kinds, and out of it We bring forth green stalks, from which We bring forth thick clustered grain. And out of the date-palm and its spathe come forth clusters of dates hanging low and near, and gardens of grapes, olives and pomegranates, each similar (in kind) yet different (in variety and taste). Look at their fruits when they begin to bear, and the ripeness thereof. Verily! In these things there are signs for people who believe.”

I love this simple respect for nature and for life. You might say that this nourishing spiritual aspect of water is what Pisces describes. All those fruits the prophet is describing are also the fruits of your mind and soul. Now is the time to drink in that water.

Read more…

Moon Phase: Moon is in Last Quarter phase and enters Balsamic (waning crescent) phase on Feb. 22 at 1:08 pm PST / 4:08 pm EST (21:08:15 UTC).
Next New Moon is in Pisces on Feb. 26 at 6:58 am PST / 9:58 am EST (14:58:19 UTC), and is an annular solar eclipse.
Corresponding Full Moon in Virgo is on March 12 at 6:54 am PST / 9:54 am EST (14:53:43 UTC).
Moon Sign: Moon is in Sagittarius and enters Capricorn overnight at 11:08 pm PST / 2:08 am EST (07:07:43 UTC).
Sun Degree: 2-3 Pisces.

Planetary Stations and Sign Changes
Asbolus stations direct at 7:46 am PST / 10:46 am EST (15:46:03 UTC).
Altjira stations direct at 10:15 am PST / 1:15 pm EST (18:15:03 UTC).

Interesting Selected Aspects | Data by Serennu
— Mercury square Ceto at 8:43 am PST / 11:43 am EST (16:43:28 UTC).
— Ceres sextile Nessus at 4:02 pm PST / 7:02 pm EST (00:02:08 Feb. 21 UTC).
— Mercury sextile Uranus at 8:01 pm PST / 11:01 pm EST (04:01:21 Feb. 21 UTC).

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If Your Birthday is Feb. 20
(The Day of the Impression) | Pisces Birthday Reading | All Other Signs
You may well receive an opportunity to deal with some pretty deep emotional matters in the time ahead. Perhaps that process has already begun. If either is true, remember that self-care is vital in sustaining you. Make sure you serve your bodily needs in particular. You may or may not think of your body as a temple, but there’s no denying it works best on proper nutrition.

Written in the Planets
Mercury’s aspects today refer to the congeniality of left-brain activities in our present society. In contrast, our artistic and imaginative side, often suppressed in childhood, can feel unrecognizable; almost alien. For some of us this works in reverse. Yet our culture needs both, and so does each of us individually. Why not spend some time cultivating your less familiar side?