Your career was moving along nicely, and you were making solid progress, but you may have noticed recently that talks began to slow down and it has become harder to get decisions from higher ups. You may have blamed this loss of momentum on the year-end holidays, but that was not the reason. Mars, now touring your tenth house of career fame, honors, and achievement, went retrograde on January 21 and will remain out of phase until April 13.
Even before Mars shut down for a rest late last month, he began to move ever more slowly during December and January, so you will have to be patient. You may see progress in early March, so don’t let up on efforts. You may have to push yourself more to keep motivated, but you do have a good chance of seeing success. Forward ho! Keep those wagon wheels rolling.
If you need a good day for a career effort, choose February 24-28. On Friday, February 24, you will have Jupiter to help you give a fine presentation or interview for a new position similar to the level of the one you had before. Or, if self-employed, you would be able to generate new business on Friday, February 24. (If you work weekends, then by all means, pitch over February 25, your best day.) For negotiations involving large sums of money, choose February 28 when Pluto will signal the Sun.
Early February might be a good time to take a little vacation. The full moon will light your ninth house of distant travel (Leo, 18 degrees) on February 7, so you may leave earlier in the week and be returning home from an exciting location within five days of the full moon. There is nothing like a long trip to put the bounce back in your step! Alternatively, you may finalize a deal with a foreign company, or you may be taking steps to go back to college for an advanced degree. Other matters may be taken care of now too – you may get a passport or green card, or you may finish jury duty. If you work in the media, you may get your book published or an important segment readied for broadcast. Lots of positive things will be happening within four days of February 7.
If your birthday falls on December 9, plus or minus five days, you will benefit most from this lovely full moon, or if you have planets in Sagittarius, Aries, Leo, Gemini, Libra or Aquarius at or very near 18 degrees.
Let’s look at your outlook for romance this month, which seem to have had more twists and turns than a best selling spy thriller. First, the eclipses have had an enormous influence on your love life (or, a business partnership). The first test to your partnership came December 21, 2009, the second one on June 15, 2011, and the third on December 10, 2011. If your birthday falls December 10-23, then you felt one of these eclipses; if your birthday falls in November, you may have noticed changes near November 25, but the eclipse that fell on that day was a positive one that brought opportunity, while the others were more emotional dates, because they were full moons. Depending on what happened as a result of all those eclipses, you may be happy or not-so-happy about love, but in any case, things will improve for your love life in time.
As said earlier, Mars is now retrograde, and Mars is the natural ruler of your fifth house of new love. (The fifth house also rules pregnancy and creativity, so in all these areas, there appear to be delays.) With Mars now looking back, not forward, until April 13, you may see your new relationship stall a little, or you may deliberately slow it down if you feel you’ve pushed it forward too fast. If you want to have a baby, the new moon at the end of the month might trump the retrograde Mars because it is so very fertile – a Pisces, Taurus, and Cancer new moon are often the very best for conception.
Sometimes a retrograde planet will bring a change of mind, so with Mars retrograde in your new love sector, you may decide this person is not for you, or conversely IS for you, despite previous doubts. Still, you need to go slowly. I would not want you to move quickly with the ruler of your house of love in retrograde. Mars rules the expression of physical affection, and so this month and next, you might find that your chemistry together is lacking or completely off. It is also possible that your new love has to travel for work, so you may not see one another at all, and that’s fine – actually, that would be a good manifestation of Mars retrograde.
The happy part about February is that Venus will be in Aries, a fire sign that blends divinely with your Sagittarius Sun, from February 8 to March 5. Venus is not an assertive planet, as Venus teaches the wisdom of sitting back and letting others come to you. This is how Venus got the reputation of being the so-called “lazy planet” – she teaches never to get desperate, to give admirers room to decide they cannot bear to be without you and come to you. Venus will help you use your considerable powers of attraction to bring the right person to you. From February 8 onward, it would be a great time to upgrade your appearance by changing your hair, buying new clothes, and for women, choosing new makeup colors.
If you have no one to love, you have the perfect day for a surprise, chance meeting on February 9, when Venus and Uranus will meet in your fifth house of true love in the adventuresome sign of Aries. This day will be charged with fantastic electric energy! Look your best!
Then, on Valentine’s Day, February 14, lucky you, the moon will be in Sagittarius, favoring you above all others! I like this day because during that entire week, Mercury will be so chatty with other planets, in the most positive way. Mercury rules your seventh house of close, serious relationships, which, of course, includes your spouse, or if dating, the possibility for engagement and marriage.
Here is what is happening that week, and keep in mind there is always an aura around the dates I am giving you, so don’t get stuck on one day. You can add a plus or minus of at least one day. (If you live in Asia, Australia, or other time zone that is 12 hours earlier than the US, then add one day. For example, in Australia, my mention of February 13 becomes February 14.)
February 13: Mercury will combine forces with Neptune, exuding a beautiful aura, just perfect for a week that holds the day for lovers, February 14. (This would not be a day to sign a contract but for love and romance, it’s divine.) On the same day, Saturn will work with Mercury too, so promises in love will be promises kept.
February 16: One of the most wonderful days of the month, when Mercury joins Jupiter, your ruler, in the most optimistic, expansive, happy day to make an agreement or a promise. Give this day three gold stars. Remember, you will feel the growing energy of this day on February 14. You may get an outstandingly generous gift on February 14, 15, or 16. Could it be a diamond?
Now, let’s talk about your home and family situation, which is about to become a huge hub of interest in weeks, months – even possibly years to come!
This month, on February 3, for the first time in your life, Neptune will move into your fourth house of home and is set to stay for fourteen years. Neptune has not been in Pisces since 1847 to 1862. Neptune rules creativity, so you may now become very interested in interior design, art history and furniture design, architecture, home textiles, landscaping, or other elements of home design. It may start with a redo of your apartment or house, and your interest may spread to a desire for an entire career in this area. Or you may be ready for a career switch and have always wanted to delve into this area. If so, Neptune will help give you the inspiration you need to be a success.
For now, you will need to make absolutely sure you have flood and other water damage or gas insurance for your home, whether you own or rent. This is a long trend, fourteen years, and when Neptune shows up, he will want to bring the sea with him into your house. Keep him out. Make sure your windows have secure, tight gaskets around the edge of each window so that the rain can’t ruin your floors. With your aspects, never leave a window open when you go out, and especially when traveling. Change your fire detectors so they’re up to date, with fresh batteries and the newest model, and make sure it has a CO2 detector feature too.
Ask your plumber to check all the pipes in your house to be sure they are in good shape. Once, when I was having my bathroom painted (I love to have my rooms painted frequently), my painter told me one pipe was in bad condition. I immediately invited my superintendent up who said – “You have hours, not days. Call a plumber NOW!” The plumber came later that day, and as he looked at it, it fell apart in his hands by barely touching the pipe. Fortunately, the water was turned off when this happened.
It may not be wise to buy beachfront property in the coming fourteen years. In the future, whenever Neptune will be visited by an angry planet, you could have water-related problems. At the very least, ask neighbors when the last time there was a bad hurricane or other natural disaster that could bring heavy water damage to your neighborhood. Check the safety of the well water, to be sure there are no problems with toxicity. By taking these simple steps, you can keep yourself safe.
Still staying with the topic of home, now let’s look at the month’s beautiful new moon, which just brims with real estate opportunity for you! If you were thinking about moving, you will have one of the best new moons of the year to help you. If you need support from your family, it just might be there if you ask for your favor after the new moon appears.
This home and family-related new moon will appear on February 21 in Pisces, 3 degrees. This new moon is very sweet. It will be in ideal angle to Jupiter, your ruler (which is very significant, for it means this new moon can help you in a bigger way than other signs, because Jupiter is your guardian planet). If you hope to list your house for sale, I would do it beginning February 21. Don’t wait to do so next month, as Mercury will retrograde from March 12 to April 4, not a time to make any important actions. If you act now, keep in mind that Jupiter usually brings money with him wherever he goes – you could make a tidy profit.
Saturn will be very comforting on this new moon February 21 too, which suggests that if you sign a lease or close on a house anytime within a week after this new moon arrives, you are likely to love your decision for many years into the future.
There is one day I just love for you, for home, real estate, or family-related actions, and it is February 25, when the Sun and Jupiter will be in perfect sync. This is a four-star day for signing a lease, closing on a house, assigning contractors, or even for having a party. If you have to make a decision for a parent who needs your assistance, do it on February 25. This works both ways – a parent may be helping YOU. Jupiter is currently visiting your house of work-projects, so if you want to set up a home office this month, I think that’s a great idea. Aim to have it open for business by Saturday, February 25.
There is one more excellent day, when Pluto in Capricorn in your money and wealth house signals the Sun in your house of real estate on Tuesday, February 28. Again, it looks like you’ll have negotiated a good deal, and it would be a perfect day to take action on any sort of home or real estate decision, including the rental of a summer cottage.
