Valentine’s Day is always tricky, as it gets so loaded with our expectations and potential disappointments. It is a true Aquarian holiday, and Aquarius encourages us to search for the ideal but can leave us stuck in the abstract ideal. Our modern Valentine’s Day traditions give us a theory of how the holiday should go, what we should do if we love and when we should do it, and that can put a lot of pressure on us poor fallible mortals.
This Valentine’s Day can be particularly tricky, as Mercury is now retrograde in Aquarius and can make us forgetful and while being well- meaning, not so observant of the people near us. It can also trip us up with technical snafus or complicate our reservations and assignations. The best laid plans may go awry. All as a Full Moon in extroverted, expressive Leo cranks up our desire to express ourselves generously, speak in hyperbole, and be treated like royalty.
Let Valentine’s Day be an opportunity to express feelings but not hold people up to external standards. Make the most of the evening, and with a positive attitude, bond over any snafus. If alone, a radical act of generosity can celebrate the heart (and be more recognizable as an expression of love to both Aquarius, and the various saints they call Valentine). Aquarius is a sign of community, and may feel better (and less emotionally loaded) in a communal celebration around music or other artistic expression. Because Mercury retrograde has its own plans, spontaneous last-minute enthusiasms will probably be more successful than complex plans.
Remember, with Mercury retrograde we can do wonderful things, particularly things that take us within ourselves, or which help us use resources from the past, old friends, familiar haunts, connections we have woven together through time. It is a great time to finish any unfinished business. But if any situation starts to go south, particularly a tough relationship talk, give it breathing room. Do not pursue at the moment, listen to the feelings and concerns, but do not try to talk it out. Agree to think about what has been said, and come back later. So much of the problem can turn out to be a misunderstanding or passing anxiety triggered by our old ghosts and wounds, and not our real feelings about the present or the potential future. Let’s be modest about our ability to know where we’re heading next.
The Moon moves into more workmanlike Virgo on Saturday and Sunday and brings us back down to earth, making it time for long baths and deep analysis. We have work to do. But let’s keep that wonderful Virgoan critical thinking entwined with kindness.
Mercury forms an uncomfortable semi-square to Uranus and Pluto on Sunday and Monday, and exacerbates our tendency to worry. If only we could take the week off and bathe our tired minds in sunlight on a deserted beach, because we’re not thinking very efficiently right now, and can worry over the strangest things. Subtle anxiety can make us act out unless we stay conscious of our responses. This can also be an accident-prone time, so please play it safe around equipment and ice-patches. Websites may have problems, or electrical systems get strange. But not all worry is useless; underneath the unnecessary concerns we may also discover some unsettling information. So listen for important clues about major ongoing problems
Although conditions may still be rocky on Monday morning, the workweek begins to sing if we put interpersonal relationships ahead of efficiency while the Moon works through friendly Libra as our mutual goodwill can help us smooth turbulence caused by small delays. We can work together and make it easier, or blame each other for the glitches, but that won’t solve anything.
Delays and frustrations can mount up midweek as Mercury Square Saturn so it pays to keep a good book on you and be ready to find creative uses of delays. An interesting person may be next to you when the line stops, look around for possibilities created when plans change.
We move into a deeper relationship with our muse (or our internal demons) as the Sun enters intuitive, sensitive Pisces, the last and most introspective month of the year, on Tuesday, and The Moon enters broody introspective Scorpio late on Wednesday. Our mind casts back over the past with Mercury retrograde but we can make it a healing retrospective if we hold that intention.
Friday, February 14: Morning is energized and ingenious as Mars trines the Sun. The quality of our mutual attention is most important. Midday we tend to bump egos and get discouraged or bored easily. The Full Moon peaks in melodramatic Leo around dinnertime and splash our emotions all over the place. Leo can be abundantly generous, and generosity can be the cure for loneliness; get into the heart of giving to one or to the many. Celebrate early; communication is more stressed later on.
Saturday, Feb 15: Concerns discomfit us this morning as thoughtful Mercury semi-squares deep Pluto under a task-oriented Virgo Moon. Our minds want to analyze, unless we challenge them well, they can analyze everything that’s gone wrong recently. So put the mind to work improving the world, rather than criticizing of the people. Keep the heart in Virgo compassion. Catch up on less romantic, more cerebral events. It may help to celebrate the spoken word tonight; conversation, poetry, a play or debate, and distract the mind from unnecessary worry.
Sunday, Feb 16: Correct misperceptions about the past; dig out a closet, face an old adversary, or honestly reassess a charged event. Look into history with critical mind as Mercury trines Mars, while the Sun semi-squares discontent Pluto. We can choose to get snarky, or do this with love and get old splinters out. Or we can feel that we have not done enough toward some goal and feel motivated to fix this. Our energy may be a little off, our bodies little achy, but rather than focus on the problem, let’s focus on what makes us feel healthier.
Monday, Feb 17: If we feel out of sorts this morning, let’s do what we can to get settled and get in our bodies before we launch into the week. Take a look at the concerns on the table but don’t let them run the show. Look for creative solutions, easier to find afternoon when the Moon enters friendlier and more collaborative Libra.
Tuesday, Feb 18: check for changes in plans first thing this morning as the Moon squares Uranus, then spend the next few days socializing, adjusting, connecting, while the moon in friendly Libra trines the sun. Work out kinks in relationships, tend to bureaucratic work, have work meetings, bond over problem-solving, call difficult relatives anything that it takes goodwill to move smoothly.
Wednesday, Feb 19: be ready to work around transportation difficulties this morning as Mercury square Saturn. If communication bogs, slow down and define terms. Take any frustration and use it as a reason to focus and accomplish what needs to be done. Find diplomatic ways around some confusion about who’s in charge of what.
Thursday, Feb 20: The mood is sensitive and squirrelly; we can get grim easily or go to the dark corners of our mind as the Scorpio Moon approaches Saturn. Try not to poke people on their tender trigger places. Afternoon is more expansive, if more emotional; float in the river of emotions, let them flow through rather than attach to the story. Take time away within gently as needed, rather than push people away. It furthers to have a focus to concentrate upon.
Starcodes 