She doesn't wear power suits. She wears embroidered blouses, long dark skirts, collars of silver and stones. Before she took office, she was blessed by a shaman. She looks different, and she feels different from business as usual. I get so bored with men in suits.

Who knows what will happen? As I write this, the new president of Ecuador, Lucio Gutiérrez, has only been in power a few weeks. He is the first Ecuadoran president to put any indigenous people in his cabinet. (Besides Pacari, there's also the secretary of agriculture, Luis Macas.) Will this help with the intense conflict between the tribal people of Ecuador and the multinational oil companies? Will this help to preserve the ancestral lands, the bits of it that are left?

This development gives me cheer. I'm also heartened by the 500,000 people who attended the Washington DC peace march in January, waving signs like, "And You Thought He Was Pro-Life", and "Would Jesus Bomb Them?"

This brings up February's major aspect - the opposition between Jupiter and Neptune. Jupiter is the enthusiastic commitment to community traditions, including the right to bomb the hell out of anyone we don't much care for. (Another sign from the march: "War's Only Fun for the Fortunate Son".) Neptune represents Jesus, Mary, the saints, Kwan Yin, and the little nature spirit that lives in your potted avocado plant.

February begins with a new moon (on the 1st), and the new moon always tells us something about the next lunar cycle. With this one, the sun and moon are conjunct Neptune, and all three are opposing Jupiter. So it looks like Neptune has support. She has support from the sun (active expression) and from the moon (inner sense of connection).

And this gives me hope. Neptune is not a materialistic, avaricious planet. (Another sign: "All wars are fought for money. -- Socrates, 469-399 B.C.") She is gentle, compassionate, idealistic.

This Jupiter/Neptune opposition is rather like a staring contest between a business tycoon and a mystic. And the fact that there is a showdown is what heartens me. The tycoon is not able to run roughshod over anyone. And why is this? Because the tycoon does care about reputation. In some part of his mind, Bush still wants to look like a good guy. Yeah, he's way out of touch with what that means to the rest of the world. He's walking around in a cowboy story that distorts all his perceptions. But still, he wants to be the hero of the story.

And as long as he has all these shaved-head peacenik spiritual seekers parading around in front of him, waving signs about Jesus, he can't really do that. (Another sign from the march: "Bush: The Compassionate Executioner & Warmonger") He feels subtly in the wrong. He keeps blustering. He says, "I don't need you, I'm king here." And that is also Jupiter, since it's now in Leo, the sign of royalty.

Neptune (joined by the sun and moon) is in Aquarius, the sign of collective consciousness. Neptune is a mystical planet, but it's not in a mystical sign. Aquarius is the sign of knowledge, truth, reason, learning, objective insights, and social change. And so this is where we find our spiritual sustenance these days. With Neptune in Aquarius, we can't nestle into a little spiritual cave and contemplate the mysteries of the divine. No, the world calls for peace, and we respond to the call by learning everything we can.

Aquarius is also a very experimental sign, and so we will be trying many new things in this quest for peace. And some will work better than others. There will be confusion and there will be despair - because Neptune is a planet of empathy, and we can't contemplate war with any sort of detachment. But the spiritual element will keep standing there, crying out, "Not in our name." The voice of conscience is strong this month.

The Jupiter/Neptune opposition will have a particular effect on people born with planets between 9 and 14 degrees of fixed signs - Taurus, Scorpio, Leo and Aquarius. You may find tension between your social role and your spiritual needs. On the one hand, there is the self that is supported by tradition, and that has developed into a particular career or community role. On the other hand, there's the quiet inner voice, which sometimes tells you, "This isn't right." This is the voice of the child who mentions that the emperor is naked. (A sign from the march: "The Children Are Watching".)

How do you handle this? You are a person of the world (Jupiter), but also a person of spirit (Neptune). February will be all about reconciling these two facets of yourself. It will be about finding ways to be in the world, ways that don't offend the spirit. It will be about claiming your ideals, and bringing them into your career and your community life.

Although Jupiter stands for entrenched community interests, it shouldn't be seen as a "bad" planet. Jupiter in Leo can be expansive, imperialistic, overbearing, ambitious for glory and power. But it can also be incredibly generous. In our personal lives, we will need to find ways to express the generous urges of Jupiter in Leo, the fire and enthusiasm of this planet. And at the same time, we must be conscious of the tendency to take over, and to assume that our will is the only thing that matters.

The U.S. has passion, energy, and rich resources, and the perennial question is - how are they to be used? This energy can be channeled in many different ways. We are already known for generous gestures and flamboyant cultural efforts. But these positive contributions fade in contrast to the long shadow of death that we also cast.

Those of us who oppose the conquering instinct are also required to put forth alternatives. That's why I'm so happy that Nina Pacari has become secretary of state here in Ecuador. This is a chance to see how a person can take a difficult situation - such as a country that's in debt up to its eyeballs - and start making decisions that are good for the people and the earth, rather than for the oil companies.

I don't kid myself that it will be easy. Change is always hard and frequently uncomfortable, even when intentions are good and the direction is clear. But we can only begin with this particular moment in time. It's what we have, and it's a more powerful tool than we know.

Index of Jenny Yates' Writings on Lesbian.com