Tonight, after midnight, in the eastern sky, look for the waning gibbous Moon in a conjunction with the red planet, Mars in the sign of Libra. Mars rises Mars-Moon-Spica Conj Jan 22at 11:42pm but will become much more visible after midnight with the Moon. Also in conjunction with Mars and the Moon is the asteroid Vesta, but that celestial object won’t be visible until late Mars and into April.

The Moon will also be very close to an occultation of the star Spica, one of the 4 Royal Stars. This multi-level conjunction will happen in Feb, March, April and May as well, but earlier and earlier in the evening each time. Libra is a sign that is in the forefront of the astrological psyche this year. The global community is an revolution of how we define relationship to each other and as a whole from social networking to intimate & romantic partnerships. Check in with this alignment in the night sky. It can be used as a timing with relationship ceremonies and coming together to open up to more honest answers about what we want in relationship and how we relate to others.

Note: Actual conjunction between Moon & Mars take place at 7:50pm Pacific time, but that will be below the horizon at that moment.  However, after midnight, it will still be very close in the conjunction alignment.

Erik Roth, Shamanic Astrologer