It’s a Leap Year

It’s February 29th – a date that only happens every four years – it’s a leap year.   It’s when we add a Leap Day to the calendar.   This tradition goes back to the time of Julius Caesar and our Gregorian calendar.  Because the Earth does not orbit the Sun in precisely 365 days, we have to add an extra day every four years because otherwise we would lose almost 6 hours of our calendar every year.   Because February was already the shortest month it was given the honour of having the extra addition. 

A person born on February 29th may be called a “leapling”, a “leaper”, or a “leap year baby” – or just plain special!.   So three years in every four the leapling has a choice whether to celebrate their birthday on either February 28 or March 1, or even to only observe birthdays on the authentic intercalendary date, February 29th.  Bear in mind though that choices are difficult for the average Piscean!

Leaplings will always have their Sun in Pisces no matter what year they are born and they will always be born near the tenth degree of Pisces.   From an astrological perspective, this point of birth makes Neptune, the ruler of their Sun, extremely strong in their charts and this tends to magnify the demands that come with being a Pisces.   The sensitive, creative, mystical, idealistic and compassionate energy that goes with the sign is increased.   Leaplings are likely to be blessed with a strong sense of intuition.   Babies born on this day may lean towards dreaminess and the desire to escape from the harsh realities of life.   However, just as Pisces is the sign of the mystic and the visionary, it can also be the martyr and the victim.

Leaplings may feel special or neglected, depending on their point of view. It can be fun to have your “sweet 16th” birthday when you are 64, or your 21st at 84, but they may bemoan the fact that they only have a proper birthday every four years!

Pisceans just want to go with the flow and not be pinned down.  They know and accept that they are just a small part of a larger picture.   A man who embraces this energy just might let his girlfriend ask for his hand in marriage in line with the centuries’ old tradition where the woman may propose to their man!

On this Leap Year Day the Moon is in Taurus, providing much needed stability for free flowing Pisces.   With Neptune this year also sitting with the Sun in Pisces, this is Pisces energy on steroids.