FEBRUARY THEME: SACRED LOVE
by Simone Butler

Long before St. Valentine came along, February belonged to Isis. The Great Goddess of Love was feted on February 2, the sacred mid-point between winter and spring. This year that ancient festival date, now known as Imbolc or Candelmas, is given extra power by a Full Moon in Leo/Aquarius the night before. These signs symbolize the giving and receiving of love. Therefore, Thursday, Feb. 1st and Friday, Feb. 2nd are prime dates for passion.

If you're unattached, hold a Love Fest in your own honor. Make your favorite food, buy yourself a special gift, play uplifting music and feel the good vibes. If you're coupled, take this opportunity to bow to the god or goddess you're privileged to be with, massage each other with fragrant oils and make love as a sacred act of worship.

True love is universal. It happens naturally when you open your heart-whether to a mountain, an animal or a person. In his wonderful book Intimate Communion, David Deida distinguishes between love, sexual polarity and romance. Sexual polarity, he says, is the arc of energy that flows between the masculine and feminine poles in two people. But romance is a feeling of infatuation that actually stems from unhealed childhood wounds. Love and polarity are essential to a successful relationship. But Deida claims that romance leads inevitably to pain and suffering, because it's based on holes left by Mom or Dad that can only be filled by our own self-love.

So, rather than celebrating romance this month, let's toast to sacred love--which fuses love and sexual polarity into what Deida calls "a delicious swoon that dissolves two lovers into a single heart of desire."

Expansive love is in the air, with most of the fast-moving planets in the signs of Aquarius and Pisces. These signs, which come at the end of the zodiacal wheel, symbolize how we are all connected at the heart--nature, animals and humans. My featured art this month, Birch Lovers, by photographer Jeanne Cameron, beautifully depicts this experience of oneness. "Sacred love to me is not just romantic love," says Jeanne, "but the awareness of the love that connects all forms of life and flows through us all, if we are able to open our hearts. Every being yearns to be loved…including plants and animals."

This Valentine's Day should be an interesting one, as it features a fateful yod aspect between cosmic lovers Mars and Venus and no-nonsense Saturn. This signifies a turning point in relationships--for better or worse. As my fellow astrologer Natori Moore has noted, we'll likely see at least one high-profile break-up this month, with the focus on confronting reality. Saturn issues a warning: How stable is your foundation? Is your union based on more than a pretty fantasy? Are you honoring the sacred in yourself and each other? Have you forgiven and released the past?

Yet the positive link between practical Mars in Capricorn and poetic Venus in Pisces can also affirm undying love. The yod's higher purpose is to transform suffering into freedom. I'm reminded of the characters in Shakespeare in Love, separated by fate but ennobled by love, forever joined in their hearts.

The year 2007 has already proved itself a crucible for change. Many are suffering from extreme winter conditions such as killer ice storms, with more likely on the way. Others are facing a dark night of the soul for other reasons. Yet the intense pressure can actually be a catalyst for a leap in consciousness. The Mayan Calendar reminds us that the rapid acceleration of evolution is making everything happen faster. This means we can manifest our dreams more quickly, too. We're called to act from our deepest emotions and intuition, and engage the sacred feminine within. In this month of sacred love, honor the undervalued feminine in yourself, others and the planet. Blessings to all!

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