It’s Carnival. All over the world, from Venice to Rio to New Orleans, people are exploding in a frenzy of celebration. Little children are dressing up in costumes and face-paint, and throwing confetti. Here in Quito, they also throw water, flour and foam at each other, and at any hapless passerby.

But the streets are quiet in my neighborhood, and I feel removed from it all. I’ve spent most of the last week living in the Hospital Metropolitana. It was my lover who had surgery, and the wonderful thing about Latin America is that it’s assumed that a family member will move into the hospital room and provide ongoing support.

And so I’ve been sleeping on a lumpy daybed, walking the hygienic green corridors, going through all the ups and downs of fear, uncertainty and relief. I was glad that I could be close to her, day and night.

When we moved in, my lover introduced me to everyone as her partner, just in case there was a need for a sudden decision. All the staff handled it with complete aplomb. After the surgery, which lasted twice as long as it was supposed to, the surgeon came to me and explained exactly what made it so complicated. I was the one who called my lover’s family in Caracas, and our closest friends here in Quito, to tell them that all was well.

I can’t take any of this for granted. But I was profoundly thankful that I didn’t have to fight for the legitimacy of my relationship.

Leaving the hospital, everything in the city seemed brighter. As I sat in the back seat of the cab, surrounded by all the ornate flower arrangements, there wasn’t room for anything in my consciousness except gratitude.

A week later, she’s recuperating nicely, and doesn’t even need me to spot her in the shower any more. Most of the bouquets have been disassembled, and the roses are dead but the tiger lilies are still alive. And it’s Carnival, a time for celebration.

And so I feel calm, here at the cusp of March. As February ends and March begins, one lunar cycle ends and another begins. Am I ready for anything, I ask myself? Because, at the new moon of February 27, the sun and moon were conjunct the planet of change, Uranus, and this indicates a lunar cycle full of sudden shifts.

Almost as soon as March begins, Mercury goes retrograde at 26º of Pisces, very close to the square of Pluto. (It will be direct again on March 25.) In the new moon chart for Washington DC, Mercury is at the descendent, and Pluto at the nadir, and so this will be a pivotal lunar cycle for the United States.

Pluto at the nadir indicates some stress and transformation close to home. Pluto also refers to anything that is demonized – from Arab countries to civil protest to alternate approaches to the world economy. Any of these things could foment a crisis. The dragons could go on a rampage. Meanwhile, Mercury at the descendent shows ongoing negotiations. So at least there will be plenty of talking, although this could also mean a lot of press manipulation.

The sun/moon/Uranus conjunction is also closely square Uranus in the U.S. chart. And so here’s another sign of eye-opening explosions and sudden power shifts.

This is going to test all of us, and we won’t be able to go on with business as usual. Mercury retrograde always brings annoying hassles involving communication and transportation, but this time, the difficulties will go a little deeper. Power dynamics will show up, stark as an X-ray, all the crumbling bones revealed.

And so I see a lunar cycle which will bring many cracks in the status quo. I see lots of men in neckties clinging to power, and their hunger and desire is awe-inspiring and terrifying. I see some of them falling into these cracks.

Last month, I predicted Cheney might fall, given the challenging aspects he was due to experience. What happened? He accidentally shot one of his best buddies, an incredibly apt metaphor for this trigger-happy administration. And he is still walking around. The grasp these folks have on power is unbelievable.

This lunar cycle is sharp with change, but will it shake this administration loose? Looking at G. W.’s chart, we see that the moon/sun/Uranus conjunction almost exactly opposes his Mars. And so there’s definitely some threat to him. He could get angry and fire a bunch of people. He could have his own “hunting accident”. He could have some sort of health crisis. But I don’t know that it will be enough to get rid of him.

However, the Mercury retrograde cycle always harkens back to the past, and it often reveals the corrupt things that have been hidden away from view. This could be shocking, but ultimately very healthy for the United States. Every country, eventually, comes to a time of reckoning, a time when accountability is assigned.

In the U.S., it seems like a long time before that day comes. But with this lunar cycle moving us towards sudden change, it may be sooner than we think.

I’m writing this on the last day of February. Tonight at midnight, the celebrations stop, and it will be Ash Wednesday. For forty days, the emphasis will be on discipline and self-abnegation. Mercury retrograde will be busy ferreting out all the unfinished business of the past, so that we can deal with it.

The Pisces lunar cycle brings us all to a state of heightened spiritual awareness. Pisces, as the last sign of the zodiac, is about peace and compassion, about recognizing the soul-connections we all share. We can imagine a world that’s formed by this awareness, and it’s like looking into a clear lake. We can see it, but we can’t dive in. We still have to face some inner demons, and these are symbolized by the Mercury/Pluto square.

We have to face our own beliefs – about who we are, what’s important to us, what is meant by freedom and respect and courage. These are the horses we ride, but they are also the dragons that lay waste our cities.

For myself, I plan to be quiet, and to spend the month watching my lover heal. I’m sure I will encounter my share of inner demons, too. I faced some of them in the corridors of Hospital Metropolitana, but life is long, and I know there will be more.

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