I really need to get into a rhythm for doing these articles and getting them out the door on time. I worked hard to make sure the first two months of the calendar were completed, but never set aside time to talk about them. So, here's a little spiel for February, just a tad late.
Even though it has passed at this point, we can't talk about February without mentioning the trifecta that is the first three days of the month, wherein we have The Feast of St Brigid, Imbolc, Candlemas and The Feast of St Blaise. Depending on which way you lean, there's a lot to pick from here. The beginning of February is a "cross quarter" area, being, astronomically, the mid-point between Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox. So there is bound to be a cluster of ritual observances here. I try to be agnostic in my presentation, so I've got Neo-Pagan nestling alongside Catholic here. This is one of those times where my personal upbringing/history has a resonance. When I was young, I went to Catholic school and I vividly remember the Feast of St Blaise from when I was in the 2nd grade: the Monsignor came into class with these two huge candles that were bound together and he blessed each student by putting the candles alongside the throat and saying a prayer to St Blaise. This had quite an effect on me (I'm writing this on the 3rd, The Feast of St Blaise\Blessing of the Throats). If this time of the year is not already on your list of magically significant dates, it ought to be. You can find something here.
"Through the intercession of Saint Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from every disease of the throat and from every other illness: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit."
This bears repeating: most of what we discuss here is not "astrological magic", that is a specific and arduous discipline. This is just about timing, and picking the best time for an operation or experiment, or simply being aware of festivals and rituals that can add to your magical life. That being said, we do try to be aware of the space weather and try to call it out when appropriate.
You may already have your preferred astrologers (or maybe your proficient enough to judge the weather for yourself), but my main go to for month-to-month is the crew at The Astrology Podcast, so here's a link to the forecast for February 2020 which has a plethora of useful nuggets.
Speaking of the space weather, there's a Mercury Retrograde this month, with Mercury stationing on February 23 in Pisces. Mercury will be retrograde until March 16th, with a trip back through the first degrees of Pisces and the last few degrees of Aquarius. But we do have a fairly good day for Mercury style magic early in February on Wednesday the 5th, a Lunar Auspicious day (following the rules of the Hygromanteia) with the Moon in Mercury ruled Gemini on the Day of Mercury. This day covers the 12th and 13th Lunar Days so check those calculations (mine are all Eastern Time, my sources are the best I can find).
Wednesday the fifth is also The Feast of St Agatha, Patron Saint of Breast Cancer.
Friday the seventh is the Feast of St Richard The Pilgrim (interesting story), and for those of you following along: The Feast of the Boy Wonder.
The final day of the Lunar New Year Festival, the Lantern Festival, falls on Saturday the eighth.
The ninth brings us another Lunar Auspicious day, with the Moon in Sun ruled Leo on the Day of the Sun. This day also sees a Full Moon, the first Full Moon of 2020 that is not eclipsed (how was your Full Moon in Cancer eclipse in January? Mine was about as bad as it sounds.) This is also the Feast of St Maron, founder of the Maronite Church. This day straddles Lunar Day 16 and 17. The day of the Sun is ripe with wonderful hours for magic. Lunar Day 17 is one of my absolute favorite uses: for restraining a boat from sailing. There are just so many ways to unpack that one. This day also sees the Sun enter the Third Face of Aquarius.
The tenth is the Feast of St Scholastica, a rock star who summons storms, who is patron of school, tests, books, readings, etc. Invoked against storms and rains.
We can't skip over February 14th, Feast of St Valentine. This is not a made up holiday, this is not a holiday for the greeting card companies. The Feast of St Valentine has been celebrated since 469 AD. Patron of engaged couples, invoked against fainting, patron of love and happy marriages, (topical) invoked against plagues. St Valentine may not be a real personage, he may be an amalgamation and his festival certainly has some roots in the Roman festivals celebrated at this time (Lupercalica and the Parentalia). He should loom large in a magical calendar. And you should upbraid any who scoff at his authority.
The seventeenth of February remembers the execution of Giordano Bruno by the Catholic Church.
On February eighteenth, the Sun enters the FIrst Face of Pisces.
The nineteenth marks another personal festival: Festival of the Dark Eye, which commemorates intimate friends and siblings.
The nine day Roman festival of the Parentalia, honoring family and ancestors, concludes on the twenty-first with the Feralia.
On the twenty-second we have another Lunar Auspicious day with Moon in Saturn ruled Aquarius on the Day of Saturn. Saturn is still in Capricorn at this point, co-present with Jupiter, a newly ingressed Mars (February 16th), and still just a few degrees away from Pluto. I'm not enough of an astrologer to tell you what all that means, but it is a potent configuration. This is Lunar Day 29, which according to the Hygromanteia, is for destruction... which is going to go hand in hand with the day of the Greater Malefic. The first few hours of Saturday offer some tantalizing options:
- 1st Hour (Saturn): making a talisman to harm enemies
- 2nd Hour (Jupiter): causing a shipwreck (like the earlier Lunar Day 17, for preventing a ship from sailing, this presents a myriad of opportunities)
- 3rd Hour (Mars): for setting up enchantments
The twenty-third sees the New Moon in Pisces, co-present with Retrograde Mercury, just before the Sun conjoins Retrograde Mercury on Shrove Tuesday (Farewell to the Flesh). And the twenty-fourth, is of course, Ash Wednesday.
On the twenty-eighth, the Sun enters the Second Face of Pisces.
You knew it was a leap year, right? So here's an extra day for you: the twenty-ninth.
February is a busy month, and there are a few annual moments that you should scrutinize for possible inclusion.
I've included some other choice astrological links, but since Joomla only gives me three, here's one more I had to include but couldn't fit: Sphere and Sundry.
Also, if you read this early... I forgot to include the decans. That's been corrected now.
inimicus dei