In this unforgettable book, distinguished author Anne Nelson shares one of the most shocking and inspiring–and least chronicled–stories of domestic resistance to the Nazi regime. The Rote Kapelle, or Red Orchestra, was the Gestapo’s name for an intrepid band of German artists, intellectuals, and bureaucrats (almost half of them women) who battled treacherous odds to unveil the brutal secrets of their fascist employers and oppressors.
Based on years of research, featuring new information, and culled from exclusive interviews, Red Orchestra documents this riveting story through the eyes of Greta Kuckhoff, a German working mother. Fighting for an education in 1920s Berlin but frustrated by her country’s economic instability and academic sexism, Kuckhoff ventured to America, where she immersed herself in jazz, Walt Disney movies, and the first stirrings of the New Deal. When she returned to her homeland, she watched with anguish as it descended into a totalitarian society that relegated her friends to exile and detention, an environment in which political extremism evoked an extreme response.
Greta and others in her circle were appalled by Nazi anti-Semitism and took action on many fronts to support their Jewish friends and neighbors. As the war raged and Nazi abuses grew in ferocity and reach, resistance was the only possible avenue for Greta and her compatriots. These included Arvid Harnack–the German friend she met in Wisconsin–who collected anti-Nazi intelligence while working for their Economic Ministry; Arvid’s wife, Mildred, who emigrated to her husband’s native country to become the only American woman executed by Hitler; Harro Schulze-Boysen, the glamorous Luftwaffe intelligence officer who smuggled anti-Nazi information to allies abroad; his wife, Libertas, a social butterfly who coaxed favors from an unsuspecting Göring; John Sieg, a railroad worker from Detroit who publicized Nazi atrocities from a Communist underground printing press; and Greta Kuckhoff’s husband, Adam, a theatrical colleague of Brecht’s who found employment in Goebbels’s propaganda unit in order to undermine the regime.
For many members of the Red Orchestra, these audacious acts of courage resulted in their tragic and untimely end. These unsung individuals are portrayed here with startling and sympathetic power. As suspenseful as a thriller, Red Orchestra is a brilliant account of ordinary yet bold citizens who were willing to sacrifice everything to topple the Third Reich.
The #1 February 2026 highlight is – by far – the Saturn-Neptune conjunction at 0° Aries.
Saturn joins Neptune in Aries on February 14th, 2026, when the process Neptune has been setting in motion since January 2026 begins to take a clearer direction – things get real all of a sudden.
Just before the 2 make final contact on February 21st, 2026, we have an electrifying Solar Eclipse in Aquarius square Uranus, on February 17th, 2026.
And then comes the transit everyone has been anticipating – the most headlined event of the month: on February 21st, 2026, Saturn conjuncts Neptune at 0° Aries.
The Saturn-Neptune conjunction on February 21st at 0° Aries is so significant, so rare, that it’s hard not to think in terms of the world before and after February 2026.
Whether the Saturn-Neptune alignment becomes a clearly defined event that will steal the headlines, OR planting the seed of something that will set the direction for centuries to come, this is a major threshold moment.
We are living in extraordinary times!
Let’s take a look at the most important transits of the month:
February 1st, 2026 – Full Moon In Leo
On February 1st, 2026, we have a Full Moon at 13° Leo.
The Full Moon is opposite the Aquarius stellium – Pluto, Sun, Mars, Venus and Mercury – asking for a balancing act between personal authenticity and collective direction.
The Full Moon invites us to ask: in this new Aquarian world we’re inevitably stepping into, what’s my unique contribution?
How do I stay connected with the larger whole (communities, technology, the crazy AI-world we’re entering) AND stay true to myself?
The answer might be a little bit more roary, a little bit more dramatic than we’re used to. Leo is here to remind us that our uniqueness is not a glitch in the system, but the very thing we’re meant to bring into it.
February 4th, 2026 – Uranus Turns Direct
On February 4th, 2026, Uranus turns direct at 27° Taurus. This is the very last leg of Uranus’ journey through Taurus – a journey that started back in 2018.
Whatever Uranus in Taurus’ mission was – this transit meant different things to different people, depending on our natal charts -, this is the final bolt of lightning, exposing what still wants to break free, pushing things toward the right timing. It’s now or never.
This also means that these are your last couple of months of Uranus in your whole sign Taurus house. A big chapter is coming to a close.
This is the time to take stock of what Uranus has stirred up, integrate the change, and see the bigger picture of something that took a long time (7 years) in the making.
February 6th, 2026 – Mercury Enters Pisces
On February 6th, 2026, Mercury Enters Pisces – and it will be quite busy here this month!
On February 12th, Mercury enters shadow at 8° Pisces, and later this month, on February 26th, Mercury turns retrograde at 22° Pisces.
Mercury feels a bit fuzzy in the last sign of the zodiac. The good news is that this is the first time in a long time when Mercury is not accompanied by Neptune (and from February 14th onwards) by Saturn in the sign.
The focus now is less on trying to figure out the complex collective storyline and decoding the bigger context – and more about our everyday, relatable experiences connected to the Pisces area of our life.
When in Pisces, our mind automatically becomes more ‘in tune’ – picking up subtext, atmosphere, and subtle signals that an intellectual Mercury in Aquarius, for example, would miss.
Mercury in Pisces helps us listen between the lines – and this is a real benefit now, with Saturn-Neptune story building in the background.
February 10th, 2026 – Venus Enters Pisces
On February 10th, 2026, Venus enters Pisces. That’s great news, because the goddess of love loves the Piscean ocean. Aphrodite emerged from a sea shell after all!
Just like with Mercury, this is the first time in a long time since Venus has not shared her favorite sign with Neptune and Saturn.
This means we can focus on enjoying this 3-week transit, especially since for much of it, Venus will be trining Jupiter in Cancer, which makes an already great transit even better!
February 14th, 2026 – Saturn Enters Aries
On February 14th, 2026, Saturn leaves Pisces and enters Aries. Saturn first dipped its toes into Aries last year, on March 25th, 2025, giving us a 3-month taste of what this new cycle is about.
Saturn enters Aries now for good, and as soon as it ingresses into the sign, it starts applying a conjunction to Neptune.
With both planets in Aries, we can expect a very concrete shift, where a direction forward becomes blatantly obvious.
That shift (the subtle version of it) might have first emerged last month with Neptune’s ingress into the sign, but Saturn has a way of making things crystal clear and obvious – so do pay attention to what happens around this date.
Saturn will stay in Aries until April 2028, bringing into focus a particular segment of your chart – and area of life. A detailed report about the Saturn in Aries ingress will follow closer to the date.
February 17th, 2026 – New Moon And Solar Eclipse In Aquarius
On February 17th, 2026, we have a New Moon and Annular Solar Eclipse at 28° Aquarius. The Eclipse is square Uranus at 27° Taurus. This is a tight square!
Things can get dramatically charged when the Aquarian need to stay loyal to an idea clashes with what feels sustainable in real life.
There’s something that needs to break free before we can move into the new era.
However disrupting, remember that Uranus always pushes toward freedom and authenticity. Not that a Uranus square automatically brings upheaval – but if something does get unsettled, it’s because it no longer belongs to the next chapter.
February 18th, 2026 – Sun Enters Pisces
On February 18th, 2026, Sun enters Pisces, the last sign of the zodiac. Happy b-day to all Pisces out there!
Pisces season is that liminal time when we tie up loose ends and reflect on the lessons of the past year, making sense of the 12-month solar cycle before a new one begins.
And this year, Pisces season also acts as the buffer zone before the Saturn-Neptune conjunction at 0° Aries – the last inhale before a major shift.
February 21st, 2026 – Saturn Conjunct Neptune at 0° Aries
On February 21st, 2026, Saturn and Neptune meet at 0° Aries. We cannot stress enough how important this transit is.
This is an alignment that goes beyond the scope of a regular Saturn-Neptune 36-year cycle. Why? Because it occurs at the most important point of the zodiac – the Aries Point.
0° Aries is the cardinal point that marks a shift in the direction of the Sun – the gravitational center of our solar system.
This alignment is so rare that even ephemeris don’t go back in time far enough so we can track when Saturn and Neptune met last time at 0° Aries. Many sources point to something like 6,000 years ago. You get the message. This is rare.
When Saturn and Neptune meet at the zero-point, an energetic window is opening. More than in any other moment in recent history, we want to be intentional about what we’re seeding now.
More detailed reports about this transit will follow closer to the date.
February 22nd, 2026 – Venus Trine Jupiter
On February 22nd, 2026, Venus, at 15° Pisces, is trine Jupiter at 15° Cancer. Venus-Jupiter trines are known to be auspicious, but this is particularly auspicious, because both Venus and Jupiter are in their exaltation signs.
Moreover, Jupiter is also aligned with Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky.
This is a fertile transit promising abundance, opportunities, and a sense of ease and flow – a real blessing in the middle of an intense month.
There’s a lot to look forward to in February – and more detailed reports on the Solar Eclipse and the Saturn-Neptune conjunction will follow closer to the date.
Efforts to farm ourselves that disregard the distinction between our physical body, personality, and essence, will only augment their imbalance. True change—change on a proper foundation—can only be brought about by bringing these three mechanisms into harmony. So we must learn to work on them simultaneously, which means acquainting ourselves with each of them as intimately as possible; we must learn to observe ourselves.
Observing our three bodies in real time is possible because each expresses itself through specific functions that are, in varying degrees, active all the time. The physical body expresses itself through movements and sensations; personality through thoughts; and essence through emotions. So by learning to observe our postures, our thinking patterns, and our emotions, we are laying the ground for observing our three bodies. In truth, the relation between these functions and their respective bodies is more complex because they often overlap, but this generalization is sufficient to begin self-observation.
We must learn to observe how each of these functions is triggered in any given moment, by an internal or external stimulus. In doing this, we will begin to see how they influence each other, how they compete with each other, and how they color our perceptions. And just like someone new to farming starts with land that is mostly weeds and brush, so should we expect to observe mostly useless and inefficient functioning. Our movements are full of unnecessary tension; our thoughts race associatively and uncontrollably; our emotions swing radically with no obvious cause or relation to outward stimuli. This is our acreage, a plot of land that must first be cleared before it can yield any useful crop.
Our functions are so habituated to manifesting without any awareness, that at first we can only manage brief moments of self-observation, even with great effort. This should not discourage us. Anything of value comes at a price. Working with other practitioners helps overcome this difficulty. As the group pools together its observations, things we couldn’t see before become obvious. The observations of others give our own self-observation direction. The better we know what to look for, the better we learn to observe.
One helpful aid for self-observation is the STOP exercise. Throughout a few consecutive days, we are sent randomly-timed STOP commands meant to catch us immersed in our daily activities and to remind us to observe ourselves. How is my posture? What am I thinking? What impulses and feelings are driving me?
As our ability to observe ourselves improves, the prospect of correcting or eliminating each useless movement, thought, and emotion, may seem daunting. Fortunately, with experience we will find this mostly unnecessary. Self-observation will itself prove to be the change we seek. Just as burning firewood generates heat, we will learn to use our functions as firewood for self-observation. By working to keep a constant eye on our physical body, personality and essence, we are, unwittingly, giving birth to a new body. Impartial self-observation is not sensing, thinking or feeling. It is the manifestation of an altogether new function that can grow to govern the other three. This teaching calls this new body the Master.
ABOUT THE SCHOOL Our projects are undertaken with the understanding that a school must give back. It must harness the talent and resources of its members to form an expression that can outlast them.Learn more about the School of the Old New Method
ABOUT THE FOUNDER I had no structural foundation at my disposal, no institution, no location, no following—only the conviction that these truths were pertinent to contemporary seekers… Drawing inspiration from the agricultural metaphor embedded in ancient wisdom, I arranged the central concepts into twelve monthly labors, creating a yearly cycle of symbolic cultivation tasks… Soon, a hundred people committed to practicing this cyclical teaching on a regular basis. This was the beginning of my school.”Read the full autobiographical note by Asaf Braverman ABOUT THE TEACHING Nature develops us only up to a certain point and then leaves us unfinished, just as it creates wheat but not bread, milk but not butter, grapes but not wine…Learn more about our teaching
www.evolutionaryleaders.net/opportunitiesWelcome to the Evolutionary Leaders new portal to OPPORTUNITIES – upcoming events, courses, journeys and more, all led by members of the community of Evolutionary Leaders. Check in often when you’re looking for new, exciting experiences to empower your contributions to the conscious evolution of humanity!Here are some of the opportunities for the coming month:February 1 Death is Not the End– with David Lorimer
Peter Russell Jan 26, 2026 Peter Russell and Eckhart Tolle explore the nature of consciousness. The conventional scientific view treats it as a byproduct of brain chemistry. Peter claims there are actually two questions here which get confused. 1. Does the brain determine the changing experiences that arise in consciousness – the “contents” of consciousness? 2 Does the brain create the ever-present faculty of consciousness itself? He proposes that the confusion is exacerbated from our use of the word consciousness as a noun – some “thing” we can know. Instead, it is better to treat it as a verb – “knowing.” The permanent quality of being that knows our ever-changing thoughts and experiences. Eckart Tolle has now written a delightful forward to Peter’s latest book “How to Meditate Without Even Trying” (Publ March 24, 2026) https://peterrussell.com/HMWETbook/ See also https://www.peterrussell.com/
\Portals of Perception Premiered Dec 12, 2025 Portals of Perception At Portals we have been tracking the ending of one epoch and the birthing of a new one, asking: how do we navigate these major transitions and thrive in the liminal space of not knowing? For this conversation, Aviv Shahar brought together Sarah McCrum and Jeff Vander Clute to explore what can be realized at this threshold moment. Jeff is an author, mentor, and “coach from the future”, and Sarah is an energy master, author, educator, and innovator. Two strong themes emerge throughout the dialogue: breakdown and breakthrough. What is clear is that the decisions and efforts we make today can ease the road ahead and bring us closer to our collective future, one in which what now seems unimaginable suddenly becomes possible as we enter an age of miracles. This Epochal Moment: The Decision Has Been Made to Evolve 00:00 Introduction 07:47 Everywhere an Existential Threat 17:27 Breakdown and Breakthrough 31:25 How we Navigate Now 40:42 3 Processes at Once 59:39 Are We Going Through an Initiation?
New Thinking Allowed with Jeffrey Mishlove Jan 31, 2026 Glenn Aparicio Parry, PhD, is author of Original Thinking: A Radical Revisioning of Time, Humanity, and Nature. He is the founder and director of the Circle for Original Thinking, a think tank based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was also given the name Kizhe Naabe (Ojibwe for “Kind-Hearted Man”) and is author of Original Politics: Making American Sacred Again. His newest book is Original Love: The Timeless Source of Wholeness. He discusses the impact of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Glenn explains the origin of the American liberal and conservative traditions in the war of pamphlets between Thomas Paine and Edmund Burke. Over time, both liberal and conservative positions tend to reverse. Many examples are provided. Parry reveals the influence of Native American culture on the nineteenth century feminist movement. New Thinking Allowed host, Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD, is author of The Roots of Consciousness, Psi Development Systems, and The PK Man. Between 1986 and 2002 he hosted and co-produced the original Thinking Allowed public television series. He is the recipient of the only doctoral diploma in “parapsychology” ever awarded by an accredited university (University of California, Berkeley, 1980). He is also the Grand Prize winner of the 2021 Bigelow Institute essay competition regarding the best evidence for survival of human consciousness after permanent bodily death. He is Co-Director of Parapsychology Education at the California Institute for Human Science. (Recorded on June 1, 2020)
Life isn’t mostly about what’s happening; it’s about who we choose to be in the space of what’s happening. In the face of the extraordinary assaults on our democracy now taking pace, our attitudes and behavior can express the following: We Do Not Consent.
“It is only when we are ‘taken down,’ compelled by sickness, misfortune or limitation to investigate and come to terms with our own nature, that we may experience the somber power of the shadow as a messenger from the creative potential living within our own psyche. Lucifer, the bringer of light, chooses the shadow through which to reveal himself. The way to the self lies through the shadow; as such, the shadow is the guardian of the threshold. The shadow is an essential component of our creative vitality; the self lies within it.”
–from Awakened by Darkness by Paul Levy
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