February 28/March 1st : Mercury ends its retrograde period conjunct star cluster M30, indicating an individualistic environment with communication difficulties; the Sun and galaxy M49 attract attention with intensity, and galaxy M106 confronts us with outdated ideologies tha need to be renewed

February 28/March 1st : The Sun is conjunct the North America Nebula, in parallel to Mars and contra parallel to galaxy M49. This combination is extremely powerful and represents a trend of competition, assertiveness and the tendency to attract other people´s attention. The Sun, no doubt , imposes its presence due to its extreme brightness. But combined with the M49 galaxy, it tends to further notoriety. M49 is a giant galaxy, which is the brightest of the Virgo cluster, its cosmic neighborhood. What's more, Mars, a planet famous by its self-assertion ways, is involved through a powerful parallel in this astrological combination. Therefore, it is an excellent day to draw attention to the issues that we need to promote; they will hardly go unnoticed . The North America Nebula, in the constellation Cygnus, is also very bright...

     This trend is ideal for project promotion, creative/artistic activity, spectacles and demonstrations of all kinds, which will certainly find considerable recognition. But, if you are looking for attention in a purely egocentric way, or you act as an exhibitionist at all costs, the effect will definitely be negative: a blatant, public and embarrassing rejection. Public confrontations should be avoided; try not to stress too much situations if resistance is shown. Moreover, it is likely an increase of violence in situations where rudeness prevails and there is little rationality... However, this astrological combination may be great for sporting competitions events or likewise .

          It is important to avoid aggression, as there are other astrological events that indicate that we must deal with rather stressful tendencies. Mercury ends its retrograde period (finally!), being stationary in conjunction with star cluster M30, and parallel to the Eagle Nebula (M16 ). When Mercury changes direction (although this is only an optical illusion), it  always coincides with communication and everyday life problems. But this time, the fact that this happens in conjunction with M30 indicates the need to address deeper problems. M30 is a highly compressed globular cluster located in the constellation of Capricorn, whose gravitational core has collapsed due to the enormous pressure from its stars. This symbolizes disorder, anarchy, disagreements, as the order that structures collective coexistence is broken.

     However, very few collisions have been detected among M30´s stars. This implies indifference. Thus, everyone has their own truth and it is difficult to get along with others. Therefore, this trend favors concentration on individual projects. This is not a good time to convince anyone of anything, but rather to act and think in an individualistic way. This can be used to focus on personal issues that have been neglected, ignored or that have been hindered by Mercury retrograde, during the last three weeks. Moreover, Mercury is in parallel with the Eagle Nebula (M16), abundant in O -type stars, whose high temperature symbolizes an ideological emphasis on religious, artistic, spiritual or scientific fields -the higher mind. This indicates progress in these fields, especially in terms of research. From this perspective, the worst thing one can do now is to have ideological confrontations, because they only lead to trouble. We´ll have to wait for another time to convince others of  (our) scientific, spiritual, political or other kind of truth.

      What's more, the Sun moves a little farther into the zodiac, trining Jupiter and passing in opposition to spiral galaxy M106. This combination enhances the conflictive mood, as it emphasizes traditionalist ideologies, particularly religious ones. How is this possible? M106 is a galaxy with many unique features, but two of them draw our attention in this astrological combination. One is that, despite being a fertile galaxy, it contains a "fossil " arm, in which the hydrogen has been depleted, and therefore, cannot produce more stars. This is equivalent to say that it is a window to the past, to ideas or situations that have not evolved or have remained intact for a long time: traditions or ideologies with an ancient perspective, conservative and/or outdated .

     Furthermore, M106 has one of the densest concentrations of matter in the known universe: 36 million solar masses contained in only 1/24 of a light-year. This symbolizes density, strength, but also stubbornness and obsession. In sum, this indicates stubbornness and obsessions with traditional views. The Sun in opposition indicates that circumstances foster the demonstration of overly conservative viewpoints, which are out of context in the present. Jupiter, associated with religion , knowledge and ideologies, as well as international relations, just magnifies this effect with its large size and huge magnetic field. In this sense, confrontations are needed, both personally and internationally, to balance obsolete points of view that need to be renewed because they harm development. This implies discussions, fights and arguments.

     As it can be seen, it is a difficult atmosphere, but being aware of this may enable us to decide whether we get hooked in these processes or just contemplate them as a passing reality. And in the best of cases, we can use them for our benefit, drawing people´s attention to promote our worthwile projects, focusing the mind on personal business, or looking for a needed renovation for this flow releasing the excessive weight of the past. ..

      The decision is yours, astrological knowledge is now in your hands... And get ready for the nearly simultaneous retrograde Saturn, Mars and Vesta, in the next two days! We will discuss this in another article in the Galactic Guide, right here and in Twitter and Facebook :

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Greetings (without controversy)

Carlos Duarte

Research Astrologer