Today is a turning point in the Wheel of the Year known in many traditions by many names. For Celts, it's Imbolc or Candlemas, and is sacred to Brigid, the Goddess of the Holy Well and Sacred Flame. Imbolc means "ewes milk," which was one of the earliest signs of Spring in the persistent cold of northerly Isles. This holiday in the solar calendar marks those early signs of nature's emergence, like wee lambs being born, into the still wintry scene. To learn more about the pagan roots of Imbolc, with ritual ideas, click here.

It's a time when farmers look to nature, to know when to plant crops. As part of the natural world, we also sense and respond to that deep-in-the Earth awakening. That makes it a time for the rumblings of a new dream, and hints at the exuberance of Spring. It's interesting to note that calderas under volcanos from Japan to Alaska (not to mention Yellowstone!), seem to be rising and churning with more power. The Earth's magma is a kind of purification, and the ash later makes the areas around it highly fertile. In the same way, Brigid's purifying flame is the inspiration for dreams, even as it sears away all but the essence.

The Wheel of the Year keeps turning, but we're living in a time when the Earth body is poisoned and under pressure. The natural disasters could actually be the Earth herself trying to purge, wash away and cauterize with heat. In the We'Moon Calendar this year, Vicki Noble (one of my teachers from San Francisco), writes that it's harder to discern nature's oracles, in this age of off-kilter weather fluctuations. And it's all intensified, with transformer Pluto is in the sign of deep, cardinal earth.

Writes Vicki Noble, With powerful Pluto having recently entered the physical sign of Capricorn (until 2024), we look forward now to momentous planetary and personal change. The wise woman releases obsolete forms. As old structures crumble, inside and all around us, a mantra can help to stabilize our energies and subdue our fears. Try saying the protective Sanskrit syllables OM AH HUM over and over whenever you feel afraid, and imagine yourself sitting safely inside Kali's dance of liberation.

So here we honor the traditional solar cycle, even as nature's patterns are growing chaotic, in an effort to adapt to the changing climate. We welcome the traditional return of the warming Sun, and its nourishing of all life, even as we know its heat is also a destructive force. The Hindu Goddess Kali is the creator and destroyer, a kind of Plutonian force whose only loyalty is to life itself. Noble's mention of Kali in her essay on Imbolc is interesting, seeing as its a holiday associated with healing. The dramatic surges and threatening movements of the Earth are signs of an urgent need for change, coming from deep within. This is a holy day for nature-rooted people, a time of honoring the elemental forces of water and fire. Light a candle, purify yourself and your home, take a healing bath. It's also a good moment to offer healing to our distressed Earth, by keeping your ear to the ground as the saying goes. Since our destinies are entwined, the big dreams of Imbolc, and wishes for healing, might also be a soothing balm for Mother Nature.

Lately, I've heard people say they're in a time warp, where the pace seems to jerk forward, or slow down to the eternal Now. One definition of this phenomenon is an imagined distortion of the progress of time, so that, for instance, events from the past seem to be happening in the present. The Mercury retrograde period takes us into that timeless zone, where we 'relive' situations in our mind. Sometimes, it's so real,as to wonder if the past is like a live play that we re-enact over and over to pick up something we need or resolve a conflicted scenario. The retrograde started at 7 Aquarius, a sign that mentally jettisons itself around the galaxy, and loves to question everything, even the very nature of reality and time. We time travel, but with a detached curiosity. Perhaps with this retrograde, we're getting taste of things to come.

All you Mercury retro watchers will be happy to know that this weekend, the trickster stations Direct (exact Feb 1st at 2:10 am EST) at 21 degrees Capricorn. Mercury will be covering the territory of the retrograde, but in direct motion, until February 21st, when it reaches 7 degrees Aquarius again. When Mercury is stationing direct, we can see the rightside up version of what we were grasping at during the retro period. It can bring big epiphanies, and trigger sudden flashes of genius that seem to offer a fresh path to follow. Dane Rudhyar writes about Aquarius at 7 degrees as New actuation of effort by the power of unrealized purposes. Self expression beyond all expectation. Spiritual protection.

What this Mercury retro cycle seems to offer is a chance to bust out of old visions of what's possible. Because if you can jet to and fro, speedily tweaking the past, who is to say you can't make quickly alter the present and future. The gap between where we are, as individuals or as a collective, and where we need to go (to sustain life) seems like a gaping maw. But perhaps the messages of the wily, fast planet is to watch for doors opening, that help us zoom ahead to self expression beyond all expectation. And out of that, discover a new sense of purpose with the power to inspire us in this crazy, exciting time.

All of today's aspects engage with the Moon in Pisces, with an exact conjunction with shocker Uranus that's sure to bring on surprising moods. The Moon is synonymous with the changing moods, and in Pisces, she draws us in, out and across, every nuance of the emotional landscape. Some say you're supposed to observe and let thoughts and moods roll by, like clouds in the sky. But moods are enigmatic, and their roots feel lodged in the soul....a cry from some deep place beyond words, that calls out for expression.

In her book, Making the Gods Work for You, Caroline Casey says moods are "spirit mail." She writes, A mood will come up and hulk around until we receive its message by expressing it. If we do not, it will continue to be a dark nuisance. Undelivered Moon/mood messages grow impatient, toxic and cranky. And that it's not enough to share the mood with friends, or 'process' it through feeling -- it needs a voice.

The message of the mood comes through when its expressed, like by making a collage, a landscaped garden, or spontaneous poem. That message of the soul can come through. And that's probably why masterful musicians and artists seem like the shamans of the day, because we know they're turning raw soul currents into something artful. It's an antidote to dealing with the onslaught of bad news, and not letting that linger your spirit like a swampy emotional soup. Incidentally, I used to have a theatre group called Swampfire, that carries that sense of inspiration burning through what's grown stagnant in the waters.

The recently passed writer John Updike said that art offers a certain breathing room for the spirit. A passing glance at headlines tells us that people are suffering intensely. The extreme reactions are expressions of the soul's most desperate and hopeless moods. In times like these, each of us needs breathing room! You might want to start a collective collage circle, a stitch n' bitch (knitting club), a poetry share, or start an image gallery online. Everything I latch onto when I read, is usually something I am working on myself, and I've struggled with feeling emotionally submerged by all that's going on. I know I need to write a poem today, and that it'll send a signal that I've received the "spirit mail," and want to honor its urgent messages.

• Your Moon Sign shows emotional needs, and clues about what modes of expression are right for your moods.
• Check out the timeless ideas about creativity found at The Artist's Way website

A lot of people are on edge lately, and wondering, could I lose my job? It's hard to believe, but up to 40 Million Chinese could find themselves obsolete, and out of work, as the Lunar New Year celebrations wind down. The holiday is a two week long celebration when workers go home to the country, to feast, light fireworks, exchange tokens of good luck. This year, many are not returning to the city, but find that there's nothing in the country either. Large-scale farming has made them obsolete there, too.

One of my friends had to write a defense of her county job as historic preservationist, to justify the funds for her position. I joked with her to look busy, but of course, it's a nerve-wracking thing to face that possibility. The over-arching influence of Pluto in Capricorn transit is already bringing many big structural changes in commerce and value-exchange. What's not working is the structure itself, though all of us within structure are paying the price. By the end of this long transit, I predict that the overhaul will lead to a new sustainable model, where humans forcefully reclaim their natural rights and value. And from that core essence that has God-given power, build anew a life-based system of exchange, where it would be regressive to say a person is obsolete. A vision of commerce where everyone's talents, time and personal authority are valued.