Image credit—@postwook on Instagram
Ah, February—the month where time teeters between the fading glow of winter’s introspection and the restless murmurs of impending spring. It’s a cosmic in-between, a threshold moment where the past whispers its final secrets, and the future begins cracking through the ice. This is the kind of month that asks you to listen closer, to dance with paradox, and to sharpen your senses for the unseen shifts just beneath the surface.
SOLAR SPOTLIGHTS
The month kicks off with the sun pulling away from its late-January rendezvous with a stationing Jupiter, a cosmic echo still lingering in the air like the scent of a firework finale. By February 9, the sun conjoins Mercury in Aquarius, an event that hums with the electricity of revelation. This isn’t just about insight—it’s about a revolution of perspective, a tectonic shift in how we articulate truth. The sun squares Uranus on February 11, throwing the predictable into the blender of chaos. Here, old habits meet their disruptor, and rebellion sparks not from recklessness, but from a deep, gnawing need for authenticity. If you’ve been trying to balance wild indulgence with unwavering discipline, expect the cosmic pendulum to swing hard.
Then, on February 18, the sun slips into Pisces, dissolving the sharp edges of logic into something softer, more fluid, more attuned to the whispering tides of intuition. The month pivots from sharp electric shifts to something more dreamlike—where boundaries blur, time warps, and reality itself seems to breathe in and out.
MOON MOODS
The lunar tides this month are a symphony of tension and release.
On February 5, the first quarter moon in Taurus arrives like a long-held breath finally exhaled. There’s a reckoning here—a necessary confrontation with what’s been pressurized, held back, or stuffed into the attic of the subconscious. This is the karmic pop, the moment the dam breaks, and while it may feel intense, there’s an undeniable relief in the surrender.
By February 12, the full moon in Leo shines with a theatrical brilliance, illuminating the gap between who we are and who we present ourselves to be. This lunation asks: What parts of yourself have you been suppressing in the name of acceptance? What dazzling, untamed aspects of your soul have been kept on ice for too long? The trick here is to navigate the performance of selfhood without losing sight of your own heart.
Then comes the last quarter moon in Sagittarius on February 20—a crossroads of belief, a wild intersection between what’s known and what’s waiting to be discovered. There’s no straight-line logic here; enlightenment isn’t a bullet point checklist. Instead, it’s a tangle of missteps, uncanny synchronicities, and roads that seem to vanish just as you step onto them.
Finally, the new moon in Pisces on February 27 invites you to dissolve, to slip between the cracks of certainty and into the mysterious. This is the moon of deep listening—of tuning in to messages carried in dreams, of sensing shifts before they materialize. Reality itself feels porous now, and if you pay attention, you might just glimpse the blueprints of something entirely new.
MERCURIAL MACHINATIONS
If February were a game of mental acrobatics, Mercury would be the ringmaster. This month, the planet of intellect, communication, and trickster-like revelations keeps us on our toes, weaving between clarity and illusion, insight and distortion.
On February 3, Mercury aligns with a stationing Jupiter, stretching thought processes like taffy. Big ideas, big debates, big everything—this is a day where the mind expands to embrace contradictions, where paradox isn’t a roadblock but an invitation.
February 9 brings the superior conjunction of the sun and Mercury, marking a turning point in thought and perception. A day of downloads, of messages arriving in sudden bursts of clarity. Then, on February 10, Mercury squares Uranus, sending shockwaves through the system. Expect mental breakthroughs wrapped in disruption, truths arriving like lightning bolts—jarring, but impossible to ignore.
By February 14, Mercury enters Pisces, and suddenly, words feel less like definitions and more like watercolors bleeding into one another. Logic softens. Dreams whisper their insights. Thinking becomes less about equations and more about poetry.
As the month nears its close, Mercury squares Jupiter on February 20, amplifying exaggeration and idealism, tempting us to chase illusions wrapped in golden promises. Then, on February 25, Mercury meets Saturn, forcing reality’s cold, unflinching gaze into the mix. This is where the dream meets the architect, where what could be slams against the hard edges of what must be built.
VENUSIAN VENTURES
February’s Venusian journey is a study in contrast—between surrender and assertion, dissolution and desire.
On February 1, Venus embraces Neptune in Pisces, an intoxicating blend of fantasy and longing. It’s the love story that feels written in the stars, the artistic vision that flickers just beyond reach. But is it real? Or is it the mirage before the awakening?
Then, on February 4, Venus strides into Aries, trading soft whispers for bold declarations. The shift is palpable—suddenly, love, pleasure, and beauty demand action. Desire is no longer a passive longing but a force that moves.
Venus makes a sextile to Pluto on February 7, adding a layer of intensity, a magnetic pull toward what is raw, real, and transformative. And then, on February 27, Venus stations retrograde at 10° Aries—a moment of pause, reflection, and recalibration in matters of love, self-worth, and personal values.
MARS MOVEMENTS
February’s Mars retrograde in Cancer has all the urgency of a soldier dreaming of home—action laced with nostalgia, motion tangled in the past.
On February 3, Mars squares Chiron, pressing on old wounds and demanding confrontation. This isn’t a gentle healing—this is the messy, uncomfortable kind, the kind that forces you to see where you’ve been moving from pain rather than power.
By February 9, Mars trines Saturn, lending discipline to the chaos. This is the energy of structure within emotion, of stabilizing something that’s been flailing in uncertainty. Then, between February 19-23, Mars stations at 17° Cancer, a slow-burning moment of reckoning.
What fuels your actions?
Are you driven by old fears, or by the genuine pull of your next chapter?
JUNCTURES OF JUPITER & STRUCTURES OF SATURN
February’s Jupiter and Saturn transits remind us that expansion and discipline are two sides of the same coin. Jupiter, still stationing direct in Gemini from February 5-9, calls forth grand visions and abundant possibilities. But Saturn in Pisces asks: What will you do with these dreams? Will they remain castles in the clouds, or will you carve them into reality?
This month is about the tension between inspiration and responsibility, between dreaming and doing. And in that tension, the future begins to take shape.
JUNCTURES OF JUPITER
Jupiter, that cosmic maestro of expansion and wild possibility, shakes off its retrograde slumber between February 5-9, shifting from 11°18’ to 12°18’ Gemini. If Jupiter were a person, it would be the type who enters a party with arms full of gifts—golden tickets to the future, keys to hidden doors, unexpected windfalls wrapped in riddles. And yet, the trick isn’t in receiving—it’s in knowing how to use what’s given. The danger of limitless bounty is that it can scatter itself to the winds, lost in a whirl of distractions. This is a month where you might be tempted to say yes to everything, to chase every dangling thread of possibility. But Jupiter in Gemini demands discernment—what is truly worth your energy? What dreams deserve your full-bodied commitment, and which are simply mirages of momentum?
Stationing in isolation, Jupiter pauses like an architect staring at blueprints, vision wide, hands steady. This is not about running ahead without a map—it’s about refining the vision before the world catches up. In this moment of stillness, the whispers of opportunity grow louder, the cosmic currents shifting toward alignment. Those who listen closely will find that the universe is speaking in possibilities, waiting for someone bold enough to answer.
STRUCTURES OF SATURN
Saturn in Pisces is the paradox of discipline within the dream, the architect sketching castles in the fog. This month, Saturn moves from 17°28’ to 20°44’ Pisces, calling forth a deep undercurrent of structuring the ineffable. This isn’t the rigid rulemaker of Capricorn, nor the cold strategist of Aquarius—this is Saturn as the sculptor of myths, the master of unseen frameworks. If the world were a stage, Saturn in Pisces is the unseen director, orchestrating every cue, every shift, every quiet moment of revelation.
For those attuned to the subtle, this transit speaks of deepening mastery. Psychic faculties sharpen, intuitive abilities root themselves in the body. But the danger of Saturn in Pisces is isolation—the kind that wraps itself in the illusion of self-sufficiency, the belief that one’s inner world is enough. It is a delicate tightrope, balancing solitude with participation, vision with manifestation. Saturn asks: What are you building? And more importantly: Are you building it alone?
This month, be mindful of where structure turns into limitation, where protection hardens into walls. The work of Saturn in Pisces is not just to create but to connect—to bring forth the visions that matter, the dreams that refuse to dissolve into oblivion. The tides of fortune shift unpredictably, but for those who remain present, something enduring can be carved from the currents.
UPHEAVALS OF URANUS
Uranus stations from February 1-4, hovering between 23°16’ and 23°39’ Taurus, the celestial equivalent of a power outage moments before revelation. Uranus doesn’t ask for permission—it disrupts, overturns, and rewires. This is the lightning bolt through the status quo, the unexpected twist that redefines the entire storyline. For those clinging to predictability, this moment may feel like an earthquake; for those embracing change, it is the opening of a long-sealed door.
The energy here is relentless, pressing forward like a revolution waiting for its spark. There is no time for hesitation, no room for complacency. This is the call to action, the moment where what has always been collides with what is becoming. The trick is not to resist—it is to stay awake, to remain sober in the face of transformation. Because while Uranus is chaos, it is also liberation. The question isn’t Will things change?—they will. The question is: Are you ready to move with the current instead of against it?
NEPTUNIAN NOTIONS
Neptune, the dreamweaver of the cosmos, moves from 27°59’ to 28°54’ Pisces, deepening the fog, expanding the mirage, dissolving the edges of reality itself. If February has a soundtrack, Neptune is the distant hum of a song you can’t quite place, the echo of something ancient woven into the present moment. This is the realm of blurred boundaries, where vision and illusion drink from the same cup.
For those deeply attuned, this is a time of heightened intuition, of messages arriving through dreams, symbols, and synchronicities that defy logic. But Neptune’s dance is a double-edged sword—what feels like destiny may be a beautifully constructed mirage, and what seems like loss may be the unfolding of something far greater than the mind can grasp.
There is an urgency in the air, a call to dive deeper, to strip away the veils that obscure the real from the imagined. Neptune asks: What are you holding onto that no longer serves? What stories have you told yourself so often that they have become reality? The path forward is not through grasping but through surrender—through allowing the currents to carry you to the truth that has been waiting all along.
PENETRATIONS OF PLUTO
Pluto, that dark alchemist of transformation, shifts from 2°04’ to 2°54’ Aquarius, pressing ever forward into the terrain of the unknown. This is where power meets possibility, where the familiar crumbles to make way for the radical reimagining of what can be. If Uranus is the earthquake, Pluto is the tectonic shift—the deeper, slower, more profound unraveling of old paradigms.
This is not the realm of comfort. Pluto does not deal in pleasantries. This is the deep work, the excavation of truth beneath layers of conditioning. The world is changing, not at the surface, but at the root. And for those willing to dive into the depths, the opportunity is immense.
The great adventure is unfolding, the known fading at the edges, the unknown beckoning like a mystery too compelling to ignore. The question Pluto poses is simple: Will you cling to what was? Or will you become something entirely new?
NODAL NUANCES
The nodes continue their slow journey, shifting from 28°10’ Pisces/Virgo to 27°24’. This is where karma meets free will, where the echoes of the past collide with the possibilities of the future. The North Node whispers of the road ahead, the South Node carries the weight of what has been. The dance between them is one of choice—of what is carried forward and what is left behind.
This is a time of initiation, of stepping into a new archetype, a new way of being. There is no map here—only the call of something greater, something beyond the well-worn paths. The challenge is not just to recognize the shift, but to trust it. To let go of the need for certainty and step forward with faith that what awaits is far greater than what is left behind.
CONCERNS OF CHIRON
Chiron, the wounded healer, moves from 19°31’ to 20°38’ Aries, dragging its cosmic finger along the scars that still ache. This is where old wounds meet the fire of transformation, where pain is not just something to endure, but something to alchemize into wisdom.
For some, this transit may stir echoes of past struggles, unresolved pain, a resurfacing of what was thought to be buried. But Chiron’s lesson is never about staying in the wound—it is about transmuting it. This is the kind of healing that doesn’t come with soft whispers and gentle reassurances. No, this is the raw, messy, beautifully human kind—the kind that asks you to confront your shadows, to stand in your truth even when it trembles.
This is a call to leadership, to embody the wisdom gained from past struggles, to guide not from perfection, but from experience. Chiron asks: What have you learned from your pain? And how will you use that knowledge to shape the world around you?
Because the past may linger, but the future is waiting. And February is the bridge between the two.
FEBRUARY OVERVIEW
February is the kind of month that walks into the room with a knowing smirk, balancing paradox in one hand and a mystery in the other. It doesn’t tell you what’s about to happen—it dares you to pay attention. This is not the predictable rhythm of January, nor the full-throttle initiation of March. February is the interlude, the liminal space, the breath between the inhale of the past and the exhale of the future.
The cosmic currents are in flux—Jupiter stations direct, Saturn weaves dreams into form, Uranus hums with the low, electric charge of imminent disruption. Mercury, ever the trickster, shifts from the sharp logic of Aquarius into the oceanic whispers of Pisces, blurring the line between what’s known and what’s intuited. Venus moves from the enchanted surrender of Pisces to the emboldened pursuit of Aries, reminding us that love is both a longing and a battle cry. And Mars, still retrograde in Cancer, pulls us into the deep, murky waters of unresolved emotions, stirring up echoes of the past that still need tending before we can move forward.
The lunations this month are a study in tension and release. The first quarter moon in Taurus arrives like a long-held breath finally exhaled, cracking open what’s been contained. The full moon in Leo is a revelation, a theatrical unveiling of where we’ve been dimming our own light. The last quarter moon in Sagittarius is the cosmic trickster, reminding us that the path to wisdom is rarely a straight line. And finally, the new moon in Pisces dissolves the known into the unknown, inviting us to dream beyond the edges of what we’ve deemed possible.
Beneath it all, Pluto in Aquarius churns like an underground river, reshaping the collective narrative in ways we can’t yet fully grasp. This is the long game of transformation—the slow, inevitable reworking of what power means, what freedom demands, and what the future holds.
February is not about certainty. It is about navigation. It is about knowing when to push forward and when to let go. It is about trusting the undercurrents, tuning into the subtleties, recognizing that sometimes the most profound shifts happen in the quiet moments before the storm.
This is a month of recognition—of what’s changing, of what’s ending, of what’s calling you forward. You don’t have to have all the answers. But you do have to stay awake. Because February is not waiting for you to figure it out—it’s already in motion, and the question is:
Are you ready to move with it?
FINAL THOUGHTS
February unfolds like a puzzle where the pieces keep shifting—some dissolving before they can click into place, others emerging from unexpected corners. This is a month where clarity arrives in bursts, only to be followed by more questions. A month where the past lingers just long enough to test your resolve, but the future glows at the edges, waiting for you to notice.
So, will you resist the tides? Or will you wade in, let the currents carry you, and see where the waves break next?
Because one thing is certain: February isn’t waiting for you to catch up. It’s moving, shifting, transforming. And so are you.
How to Utilize February’s Energies—A Cosmic Survival Guide
February is not a passive month—it’s a threshold, a space between what was and what’s about to be. It demands discernment, adaptability, and trust in the unknown. If you work with its currents, February can be deeply clarifying, liberating, and creatively fertile—but if you resist, it might feel like wandering through a fog while your past tugs at your sleeve.
Here are five ways to make the most of its shifting, surreal, and electric energy:
1. Journal & Reevaluate Your Dreams (Jupiter Direct in Gemini + Pisces New Moon, Feb 27)
✦ Why? Jupiter’s station direct (Feb 5-9) reignites expansion, but in Gemini, it asks: Are your dreams still aligned with who you are now? The Pisces new moon (Feb 27) supports visioning—but some of those visions might need revision.
✦ How? Write down: What am I still holding onto that no longer serves me? What new direction is calling me forward? The key is choosing your dreams consciously, not just defaulting to old ones.
✦ Bonus Tip: Revisit old journals, past goals, or vision boards. Do they still resonate? If not, update them.
2. Trust Instinct Over Logic (Mercury in Pisces, Feb 14 + The Moon’s Influence)
✦ Why? Mercury in Pisces dissolves the boundary between reason and intuition, while February’s moon cycles (especially the Leo full moon on Feb 12) illuminate inner truths that can’t be measured in data or facts.
✦ How? When faced with uncertainty, pause before overanalyzing. Feel your way through decisions. Pay attention to gut instincts, synchronicities, and dreams.
✦ Bonus Tip: Try intuitive decision-making exercises: pull tarot cards, free-write answers to big questions, or use body pendulum testing (where you ask a yes/no question and feel which way your body leans).
3. Let Go of What’s Holding You Back (Uranus Stationing + Venus in Aries, Feb 4)
✦ Why? Uranus in Taurus (stationing Feb 1-4) demands a shake-up, and Venus moving into Aries (Feb 4) gives you the courage to act on it.
✦ How? Identify one thing in your life that feels stagnant—whether it’s a habit, a relationship dynamic, a creative block, or a way of thinking. Then, change something about it.
✦ Bonus Tip: If you feel resistance, ask: Am I afraid of change, or afraid of my own power? Aries energy doesn’t wait—it initiates. Take one bold step forward.
4. Move Through Emotional Fog with Creative Expression (Saturn + Neptune in Pisces, Ongoing)
✦ Why? February’s heavy Pisces energy (Saturn, Neptune, Mercury after Feb 14) makes emotions feel like deep ocean currents—easy to get lost in. The way through? Create.
✦ How? Instead of thinking about emotions, express them—write, paint, dance, play music, design something, rearrange a space, or do anything that externalizes your inner world.
✦ Bonus Tip: If you feel overwhelmed, try a no-rules creative purge—write a stream-of-consciousness journal entry, make abstract art, or move your body freely. The goal isn’t perfection—it’s release.
5. Set Boundaries & Protect Your Energy (Saturn in Pisces, Feb 17-20 + Mars Retrograde in Cancer)
✦ Why? Saturn in Pisces reminds us that not every energy deserves access to us, and Mars in Cancer (still retrograde) makes emotional boundaries especially important this month.
✦ How? Notice where your energy feels drained, entangled, or hijacked by external expectations. Set clear emotional or time boundaries—whether that means saying “no,” turning off notifications, or stepping back from draining conversations.
✦ Bonus Tip: Try “energy auditing”—list out the people, habits, and commitments in your life. Ask yourself: Does this give me energy or drain me? Adjust accordingly.
Final Takeaway: February Requires Both Flow & Intentionality
This month isn’t about rigid goals—it’s about clarity, alignment, and trusting what’s unfolding. Move with the current, not against it. Use this time to redefine your vision, release what no longer fits, and strengthen your inner knowing.
The real magic of February? It’s the calm before the ignition. What you clear now makes space for the fire that’s coming.
Zodiacal Perspectives for February—Potentials & Pitfalls
February is a threshold month, a fever dream of Piscean mist, Aquarian lightning, and the slow, tectonic grind of Saturn whispering, “Are you sure about that?” It’s got the scent of nostalgia mixed with revolution, like finding an old love letter in the pocket of a jacket you were about to donate. And the signs? They’re all navigating this cosmic in-between in their own peculiar ways.
Here’s what February has in store for each of them—the potential, the pitfalls, and the cosmic cue they should pay attention to.
♈ Aries—The Spark Before the Fire
🔮 Potential: You can feel it, can’t you? That thing about to ignite? It’s not quite time to run full-throttle into your next adventure, but February asks you to sharpen your sword before the battle begins. Venus moves into your sign (Feb 4), making you magnetic, but Mars (your cosmic general) is still retrograde, urging strategy over impulse.
⚠️ Pitfall: Impatience. You’re revving the engine at a red light, but February isn’t about charging forward—it’s about learning to sit with discomfort without punching a hole in the wall. Not every problem requires brute force.
🎯 Cosmic Cue: The pause before the leap is just as important as the leap itself.
♉ Taurus—The Tectonic Shift You Didn’t Ask For
🔮 Potential: February’s got Uranian upheaval written all over it, but here’s the thing: what feels like instability is actually freedom in disguise. If you stop gripping onto what “should” be, you might just like what’s emerging. Jupiter in Gemini is opening new doors—but you have to be willing to walk through them.
⚠️ Pitfall: Resisting change like a cat being forced into a bathtub. Comfort is your religion, but clinging to what’s familiar will make February harder than it needs to be.
🎯 Cosmic Cue: Let go, even if it feels weird. Change isn’t the enemy—stagnation is.
♊ Gemini—The Truth & The Trickery
🔮 Potential: Jupiter stations direct in your sign (Feb 5-9), which means your mental floodgates are about to burst open. Ideas, insights, connections—it’s all pouring in. February wants you to embrace expansion, but it also asks you to be discerning. Not every opportunity is worth chasing.
⚠️ Pitfall: Overcommitting. Just because you can say yes to everything doesn’t mean you should. Some paths are illusions, and Mercury in Pisces (after Feb 14) makes it very easy to get lost in the fog.
🎯 Cosmic Cue: Discernment is the name of the game. Ask: Is this real growth, or just a shiny distraction?
♋ Cancer—The Emotional Archaeologist
🔮 Potential: Mars is retrograde in your sign, meaning you’re digging through old emotional terrain, whether you like it or not. February wants you to heal something at the root—and with Saturn in Pisces lending structure to your intuition, you actually have the tools to do it this time.
⚠️ Pitfall: Clinging to past wounds because they feel familiar. Yes, you can keep carrying that old emotional baggage, but why would you, when you’ve got an upgrade waiting?
🎯 Cosmic Cue: Let the past be a lesson, not a permanent residence.
♌ Leo—The Great Reveal
🔮 Potential: The full moon in your sign (Feb 12) is a giant cosmic spotlight saying, “Here, darling, let’s illuminate what’s been hidden.” Whether that’s your own brilliance or an uncomfortable truth, February brings clarity you didn’t even know you needed.
⚠️ Pitfall: Vanity disguised as confidence. If you’re resisting feedback or deflecting introspection, Saturn will find a way to humble you.
🎯 Cosmic Cue: What’s being revealed now is for your highest good—don’t look away.
♍ Virgo—The Logic Slipstream
🔮 Potential: The Pisces new moon (Feb 27) pulls you into the realm of feeling, intuition, and the non-linear, which is great if you let it happen. February’s energy asks you to step outside the spreadsheet, the plan, the five-year goal, and just trust the flow for once.
⚠️ Pitfall: Overanalyzing feelings instead of just feeling them. Not every mystery needs a solution—some just need to be experienced.
🎯 Cosmic Cue: Not everything can be figured out—some things are meant to be felt.
♎ Libra—The Relationship Rewrite
🔮 Potential: Venus moves into Aries (Feb 4), setting your relationships on a path of bold, unapologetic honesty. February asks: Are you expressing your true desires, or just keeping the peace? This is your moment to own what you want without worrying about how it lands.
⚠️ Pitfall: Overcompensating. If you’ve been too accommodating, you might overcorrect by burning a bridge just to prove a point. Don’t set fire to what only needed a boundary.
🎯 Cosmic Cue: Honesty isn’t cruelty. Ask for what you want, but with grace.
♏ Scorpio—The Unraveling Before the Rebirth
🔮 Potential: Saturn and Neptune in Pisces are pulling you deep into your subconscious, exposing old narratives, wounds, and half-truths you’ve been telling yourself. February is not about control—it’s about surrendering to what’s surfacing and letting transformation take its course.
⚠️ Pitfall: Trying to manipulate the outcome instead of letting the process unfold. February isn’t interested in your control mechanisms—it’s interested in your evolution.
🎯 Cosmic Cue: Let go. Let it dissolve. The rebirth is coming.
♐ Sagittarius—The Big Questions
🔮 Potential: Jupiter (your ruler) is waking up in your opposite sign, Gemini. It’s time to ask bigger questions, pursue deeper wisdom, and open doors you never considered before. Expansion is coming—but are you brave enough to go beyond what you already know?
⚠️ Pitfall: Sticking to shallow truths. You love to explore, but this month asks for depth over breadth.
🎯 Cosmic Cue: Ask better questions. The answers will surprise you.
♑ Capricorn—The Restructure
🔮 Potential: Saturn (your ruler) is shaping your future quietly but profoundly. February isn’t about external hustle—it’s about internal restructuring.
⚠️ Pitfall: Measuring progress by external achievements rather than internal alignment. This is not a time for rushing.
🎯 Cosmic Cue: The best foundations are built in stillness.
♒ Aquarius—The Lightning Strike
🔮 Potential: The sun is in your sign, charging you up with insight, vision, and a call to revolution. Uranus (your ruler) is stationing, meaning change is coming—fast.
⚠️ Pitfall: Ignoring your intuition in favor of logic. This is not the time to play it safe.
🎯 Cosmic Cue: Trust the shake-up.
♓ Pisces—The Initiation
🔮 Potential: This is your month—the Sun, Mercury, and a new moon (Feb 27) in your sign invite deep soul work, rebirth, and intuitive expansion.
⚠️ Pitfall: Avoidance. February asks you to show up fully, no matter how uncomfortable it feels.
🎯 Cosmic Cue: You are ready. Step forward.
February is a month of liminal space, quiet awakenings, and unseen shifts. The question is—will you embrace the unknown, or cling to what’s already crumbling?