Love is in the Air

It’s a week full of love, not just because of the date on the calendar, but because of what’s happening in the sky!

The week begins with Valentine’s Day, or the “ides of February” from the ancient Roman calendar when the month was counted from the first visibility of New Moon ~ the ides are halfway through the month, around the time of Full Moon, like this year.

After Valentine’s Day, the big celestial events come on Wednesday when Venus and Mars unite in the morning sky, followed by the glorious Leo Full Moon later that same day.  Venus is the ancient goddess of love and beauty, and Mars is her true beloved. When they’re close in the sky you might think love gets a boost, but this is actually a soft, whispering kind of gesture, when they are close enough to not make strong pronouncements that everyone can see.

But the Full Moon in Leo has a totally different mood. Leo rules the heart, and all things royal, loyal, and showy.

Then on Friday, the Sun moves into the sign of Pisces, as calculated in the tropical zodiac. Pisces season is always full of dreams, and of visions informed by what’s stirring just out of sight, readying to burst into full bloom when Spring finally gets here.

So keep loved ones close this week, shower them with Leonine warmheartedness, and dream together into what’s ahead.

Here’s ee cummings, as fitting scribe for a week of love:

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
                                                      i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)
With love and gratitude,
Mary
Hear this episode on my podcast The Storyteller’s Night Sky and on Interlochen Public Radio.