Valentine’s Day can feel like a set- up if we take it too personally, our experience often clashes into cultural expectations and leaves a cynical residue. This year’s attitude can be extra challenging as both emotional planets, Venus and Mars, wrestle with strong squares in this week leading up to the pick holiday. We need to either put on a real production, loosen up and make the day an exercise in gratitude, or, best of all, reframe the day, take it back to the heart’s most compassionate work and love our community.
Mercury, Mars and Neptune are all conjunct in mushy-feeling, dream-building Pisces this week, so it won’t be easy to break the unrealistic expectations floating around Valentine’s Day. Mars and Mercury together usually encourage us to think and act decisively, but conjunct with Neptune we can decisively dream, space out, share from our heart, think in circles, perceive, paint, work magic, mind-map, intuit, dive into a fantasy world, or write poetry. And this may be the perfect mood for those who are snowed-in this weekend, or those who wish they were. But everything else will need patience.
We can pierce this fog if we want to see the truth, but that may be tricky. We may be clouded by emotional material and easily lost in our hopes and fears. Or just feel sleepy.
As the weekend begins its time to get organized and tie up loose ends wherever we can, so we can enjoy the magical if emotionally foggy weekend ahead. Take this literally if near a major storm system, as Neptune, Mars, and Mercury all conjunct in a water sign can signal an overwhelming weather event that will greatly affect transportation and communication. But if we’re not trying to get anywhere in a storm, or not trying to understand one another in a stormy situation, this line-up can also bring a magical mood.
Sunday ‘s New Moon in Aquarius wants us to look at how we get on with our community, whether we view that as our family, a church group, a chess club or snow-plowing team, or all sentient beings. Some joint, collaborative project to or single event may call us to collaborate, or bug us if we don’t collaborate. But the planets do not ask us to be sheep; they also underline our need and right to think independently even as we work together.
As the weekend progresses and the new week begins, circumstances may pressure us to move forward in some emotionally or logistically complex situation. We may feel swamped, or be tempted to cut off something or somebody important if the uncertainty of the situation is painful to us. Some event can leave us feeling vulnerable and cranky, as it underscore our interconnectedness and remind us that independence alone, though tempting, won’t solve our problems.
We may need to shovel each other out, literally or figuratively. We can follow the magic and notice that this permeability works both ways. Compassion and kindness, a gift from this Pisces line-up, can open our hearts and allow us to feel how much we affect the people around us and explore how we can make our actions a Valentine’s to the world.
Mars squares Jupiter and brings out or pugnaciousness, but because Mars is in more introverted Pisces, this pugnaciousness can come out backwards or sideways or as a protective response towards someone in real trouble. But it can also energize snow-shoveling and any other muscular effort for a good cause. Just take care of sore feet (Pisces) or lower back muscles (trines to Saturn in Scorpio).
We’ll be tempted to argue philosophy, but let’s do so with an open mind or our differences can inflame and make it hard to love one another as romantic Venus squares hard-working Saturn on Monday. Valentine’s Day can be lovely if we stay in the moment and keep it simple, real, and openhearted. Release expectations and hold the intention to honor one another and our tender feelings.
Later in the week we begin a planning phase. We may get excited or worried about some new endeavor, but need to be patient. Get ready, mend nets, organize resources and make connections for the next few weeks. Be patient because spring is coming, and with it, fresh wind in our sails.
Friday, Feb. 8: Deal with practicalities first. Get more information now but move decisively only where the path is clear (not in reaction) as Mercury conjuncts Mars. Be honest about potential emotional consequences of any action taken. If we feel fuzzyheaded this morning, it helps to get pragmatically organized. Help others see that collaboration actually speeds up the process. Afternoon and evening are more collaborative as the Moon enters Aquarius, the mood become positively expansive (if not intimate) tonight as the Moon trines Jupiter. Find the magic in the moment.
Saturday, Feb. 9: The mood is warm and cheerfully stubborn with restless undertones. Puttering helps. We’ll speak up, but can say too much when we want to provoke as Mercury squares Jupiter and the Sun semi-squares Uranus. We may feel stiff in the morning, more relaxed and spacey if unsettled midday, and need to work on our group dynamics later on. Teamwork furthers, help one another.
Sunday, Feb. 10: The New Moon in Aquarius calls us to engage our community as a Mars-Jupiter square brings out our competitive streak, so maybe the team competes together. The mood is open-minded but with a fighting spirit with an inclination for temper spikes and hasty moves. It feels good to move the body to solve a problem. Evening softens and can leave us feeling tired or overwhelmed as adrenalin leaves and we look ahead. Stay in the present and find its beauty.
Monday, Feb 11: First we have to be honest with ourselves, and then stay gently honest with others as the Moon enters sensitive Pisces. We may feel overwhelmed if we look too far ahead, and need to take it all one step at a time. If our vision is distorted by emotional clouds, we need to peer through and look for the bedrock beneath. Relationships can feel like a lot of work, but it doesn’t have to be so hard. Lean on old friends, old traditions or familiar work while the Venus squares Saturn. Look for valuable antiques or scraps of ancient wisdom; put some effort into a craft project. Build structural or organizational support to any creative endeavor.
Tuesday, Feb 12: If we let go of our own agenda we repair a recent rift as Mars conjuncts Chiron. If others are seriously not interested in what we hope and long for, it’s time to step back and deepen our own path independently as Mercury trines Saturn. Practical works with steady rhythms are good for the soul; common sense grounds us when the moods stroll through. Energy, optimism, and feistiness grow through the evening as the Moon enters proactive Aries.
Wednesday, Feb 13: We’ll chafe at being managed, so leave room for inspiration as the Moon conjuncts impulsive Uranus this morning. Midday, our options may seem limited or our problems loom as the Moon squares Pluto, but if we breathe and move through the narrows rather than get stuck or fight, and we’ll feel the path open up farther on down the line. Things just don’t go as planned, but may be an improvement. Late night humorous inspiration can be medicine for the day’s moods as the Moon sextiles Venus
Thursday, Feb 14: Emotional winds swirl this morning as the Sun semi-squares Pluto, actions can feel symbolically weighted, but we don’t have to read so much into them. Do not define oneself by today’s moods. Save concern for real issues and leave events in their simplest and most innocent forms. Take this opportunity to share love and build trust, kind actions are a universal Valentine.
Starcodes 
Thank you. <3