In a year full of pressure — pressure to grow and to release, to resist fear, to show up for what matters — this month brings a rare moment of optimism. February, often the dreariest of months, is full of surprises this year — and not just because we get an extra day! Jupiter, gay cheerleader of the cosmos who always wants us to do what feels good, is hooking up with Neptune — planet of dreams, escapism, drugs, spirituality, and idealism. This month brings the first of three times they’ll be getting swoony together this year.
When these two meet, we all get a contact high. Whether this is welcome or unwelcome depends on your relationship to hope, faith, and keeping the dream alive. For those of you dragging yourself through your daily tasks under a constant cloud of low-key dread, this influence could bring a needed reconnection to beauty and possibility. Those of you already turning up the volume on your headphones to drown out hard news from the world may find yourself retreating even further into comfortable fantasies. For all of us, there’s a tricky nature to this influence — it can help us feel really good, but it isn’t about seeing clearly.
For our relationships, this energy gives us a chance to forgive, repair, and dream up a better way forward. It can also spread a sweet fog of avoidance and over-idealization, encouraging bad habits that keep us from the real work of intimacy. Think of this Jupiter-Neptune connection as a really sweet love song, but not necessarily the therapy sessions that we might need after we’ve decided to give our relationship another try. At the same time, we see themes of starting over, or starting something new, as Venus moves into Aries, and with Mars moving into Capricorn there is strong motivation to show up for our responsibilities. Not a bad way to round out the dreamy influences of this month.
One way to work with the high romance in the air right now is to aim it far and wide — Valentine’s Day is among the most demoralizing holidays of the year, placing excessive pressure on partnered, poly, and single people. This month, if you’re feeling romantic, find a way to romance your entire friend group. Pour some sweetness into the relationships that have been holding you through hard times. Cultivate intimacy and tenderness with someone you’re not interesting in sexing with. This is the year of showing up for each other, and it’s up to you to make that ideal a reality.
As always, you can contact me for astrological readings tailored to your personal needs. And for a deeper dive into the astrology of this month and how to work with it, join me on Patreon. Only $2 a month gets you extra horoscope content every month, and at higher tiers you’ll be entered into regular drawings for free readings.
Aries
In the dreamy and muddled energy of this month, you may feel less aligned with your clean, quick, decisive nature. This is a time for showing up for people, even if you’re not clear what they need and they’re not clear what they need. Have the patience to sit with a friend or partner as they stress out or ramble or come to the wrong conclusions. Let them be in process. Doing so will make room for you to also be in process—because there are parts of you that are also a little vague and unclear right now. And if this all gets too heavy at times, feel free to restore yourself by honoring your own need for exciting new adventures.
Initiate: Taking risks that will help you feel more alive.
Show up: For what you’re committed to doing well.
Have faith: That the mysteries of your heart will reveal themselves in time.
Taurus
Change is in the air this month, but honestly it’s been in the air for awhile now, so what else is new? Let’s get more specific: Since last year, you’ve been in a process of thorough, dramatic, life-altering changes. Maybe at first you were in denial about it, maybe you’ve been dragging your heels and pretending that nothing that big is happening, but now is the month when you’ve got to reckon with your decisions. You’re saying yes to something exciting and unknown. This is amazing! This is terrifying! Whatever it is, it’s not necessarily a chill time. Luckily, this is a month when you get to create little oases of calmness in your days to defend your more slow and dreamy nature from the whooshing of your life. Stay positive about the changes you’re initiating, and rest when you need to.
Initiate: Carve out and defend time alone for retreat and dreaming.
Show up: Stay present with where you’re learning and pushing your growth edge.
Have faith: That you can find the people you’ll need to help you grow.
Gemini
This is a month crammed full of information — some of it you don’t need to know, some of it is hella important, and some of it you don’t get to know, even if you think it’s hella important. So what to do? Amidst all the communication of your daily life — some fun, some tedious, some downright strange, some from friends + frenemies, some from your dreams and inner world — your mission is to stay connected to what really matters. This means your inner and outer world — the groups you’re part of and your own sense of focus. Watch out for conversations where you think you’re talking about one thing but it soon becomes apparent you’re talking about something else. Emotional needs are hovering right below the surface right now, and it’s best to name them and honor them. Processing may be inevitable right now, but you may have a harder time making decisions—especially around the middle of the month. Have yourself a chill, low-pressure Valentine’s Day without heavy conversations! And remember that in just a few weeks you’ll have a clearer head and heart.
Initiate: Events that bring together people who need each other.
Show up: For what’s getting stirred up below the surface.
Have faith: That you can focus on what matters most.
Cancer
Sooner or later, every relationship you have, even the best ones, is going to raise the question: Am I safe with this person? How vulnerable can I really be? Maybe there’s a fear of rejection if you ask for help with what’s hardest, but like most fears this one is all about something you’ve already experienced. Someone in your family or in our wider culture taught you to reject the part of yourself that is vulnerable — that needs love and care and reassurance. Luckily, you don’t have to believe that story. Maybe you’ve already done a lot of healing around this already. This month is calling for you to show off what you’ve learned about the real daring work of intimacy — showing yourself honestly to those you trust. Trusting you’re worth loving exactly as you are. Demanding nothing less from the ones who love you. You’ve got this, and over time this skill is going to take you to amazing places.
Initiate: Acts of profound self-confidence that showcase what you do best.
Show up: For the relationships that keep you honest and trying your hardest.
Have faith: In the future.
Leo
Oooh, I’m excited for you. This month is speaking to your fiery, passionate core and asking it to step forward — and then take another step and another, until maybe you’re dancing or running a marathon or walking the Pacific Crest Trail. Whatever you’re moving toward, this is a month of movement. Here’s the thing, though: these transitional times, when we take the first of many steps, can bring up a lot of anxiety. Fear of loss, risk of injury, all sorts of doubts can block us from getting into the flow. While you’re warming up and getting yourself into the right rhythm, send a little extra love to those parts of yourself that might be hurt or scared or numb. You don’t have to stay stuck in the patterns that immobilize you. You’re headed somewhere new, and it’s going to be exciting.
Initiate: Adventures, real or virtual, that help you move and grow.
Show up: For how it feels to be embodied.
Have faith: That healing is possible, that pain ends, that releasing makes room for movement.
Virgo
When it comes to relationships, you may be feeling a little muddled this month, like you’re not fully awake. Ever quick to notice when something’s wrong and try to fix it, you could find yourself frustrated trying to get to the bottom of what’s wrong in your relationships, only to find that there is no real problem—not one you can name, at least. What’s happening is your desires are shifting right now, but you they haven’t yet settled into a new shape. Something needs to heal first, and this is a beautiful month to embrace that healing. Make time for journaling, daydreaming, and letting your body tell you things in its own language and its own time.
Initiate: Acts of profound healing that restore your sense of desire.
Show up: For the importance of your own story.
Have faith: That partners (current or future) will stick with you through your healing.
Libra
The simple answer for you, whatever your question might be, is yes. Yes, you should do the thing. Yes, you should ask her. Yes, you should accept the offer. Yes, you should trust yourself when you know that the answer is yes (even if a part of you is still trying to weigh all the options). This is a month that values your intuitive sense of what is right, especially as you move toward connection and intimacy. Don’t let fear or doubt leave you paralyzed — check in with yourself and you’ll know the way forward.
Initiate: Connection, intimacy, and commitment to a path.
Show up: For what is truest in your heart.
Have faith: That you’ll work out the details in time.
Scorpio
Here’s a big secret about Scorpio energy — you’ve got a powerful radar for when people are being sketchy, but that doesn’t mean you actually know what’s true. Your intuition is good enough that you can make a lot of lucky guesses, but you can’t actually know someone else’s reality without asking them about it. You may be quick to jump to conclusions — often the worst-case-scenario conclusion — about social interactions that may be more nuanced and less toxic than you assume. This comes from a real place of pain, and this skill can help you prevent future harm, but this month is asking you to fine-tune your senses, and to listen more carefully to the information you’re receiving. Begin from a place of curiosity, don’t dismiss your intuition, and see what you can learn.
Initiate: Investigation and adjustment to clear the air and get back on course.
Show up: For curiosity, questions, and conversation—especially about topics you’d rather avoid.
Have faith: That you get to be seen and adored, if you’re willing to let yourself.
Sagittarius
The charm of Sagittarius energy is its insistence that anything can be a fun adventure. The shadow side of Sagittarius is its demand that everything must be a fun adventure. This is the kind of month that can tap into both the best and worst about your Sagittarian nature — on the one hand, you are in a beautiful position to spread joy and help others feel reinvigorated and inspired. On the other hand, you may ignore anything you don’t want to hear, trusting instead that what you want to be true is the real truth. Stay grounded in what’s real right now, even as you chase those brighter possibilities.
Initiate: Time for playing—games, acting, singing, flirting, cuddling, laughing.
Show up: For what you believe in, and what you want to keep.
Have faith: That your connection to the past can help you heal.
Capricorn
After some long months of just getting by, this is a month that brings you a renewed sense of energy. Congratulations! And, be careful — remember how it feels when your leg goes to sleep and then comes back to life? That pins and needles sensation is the discomfort of waking up. If you’re feeling extra frustrated, extra lonely, or extra anxious this month, chances are you’re noticing something that you’ve been numbing out for some time. This is a good thing, even if the transition feels hard. Take some time to get comfortable feeling more than you’re used to, and testing out what new desires you might want to act on.
Initiate: Projects that deepen your connection with your inner world, at a slow and gentle pace.
Show up: For what helps you understand who you are and what you want.
Have faith: That you’re not doing this alone.
Aquarius
What’s happening in your heart right now? This year begins with a clear sense of what is ending, or what has ended. Is there something you need to say goodbye to? Where do you feel stuck? Maybe there’s more nuance than you can see right now in what feels like an all-or-nothing situation. Take some time to let things simmer, and notice that sometimes your desires aren’t clear, other people’s desires aren’t clear, but your actions can be. This is an excellent month for using clear signals, like a polite driver—if you’re about to change course, flip that turn signal. If you’re not sure where you’re headed, pull over and put on the blinkers. Communication is your best friend right now, even if all you can say is, “I don’t know yet.” What would it feel like to be loving and tender while in a state of uncertainty?
Initiate: Conversations that take you somewhere new.
Show up: For your dreams, your unclear desires, and your need to rest and retreat.
Have faith: That love can be restorative.
Pisces
Tell me if this sounds familiar: When you get to retreat from the world, turning off the noise and the requests and the unspoken emotional demands, you are thrilled. There’s that sense of safety, of quiet, of sweet blissful time passing while you knit yourself back together again. But maybe at a certain point you still don’t feel put back together, and you’re getting lonely. You’ve stopped feeling thrilled about your retreat and you’re starting to feel stuck in isolation. Yet, to reengage with the world seems exhausting. Finding a way out of this pattern is your main homework assignment this month—begin by coming back to a place of deep love and empathy for yourself, and then see what movement feels possible.
Initiate: Acts of profound love for yourself.
Show up: For the people who show up for you, even if you’re too tired to do more than show up!
Have faith: That no one else is entitled to your energy, and you can choose how and when to share it.
i feel both called out and cared for, that’s how you know it’s good horoscope
The Autostraddle horoscopes get me. Every time.
I always enjoy reading these (even though I don’t know anything more than the day of my birth). My mom said the time was sometime in the morning.
Even if you only have an approximate/vague idea of your time of birth, that’s still enough information to figure out which planets were in which signs! Just Google something like “my astrological chart” and put in whatever information you know. If you find that, for instance, you have several planets in Virgo, you know to pay particular attention to the Virgo horoscope because you have A Lot Going On there.
“Valentine’s Day is among the most demoralizing holidays of the year” – This is the ONLY Valentine’s Day-related thing I have EVER been able to get behind!
“What would it feel like to be loving and tender while in a state of uncertainty?”
Oh that’s the soundtrack of my LIFE