How was that final week of January for you? A little mooshy? Confused? “Gosh, why didn’t I anticipate that” moments? That was Jupiter square Neptune. Jupiter brings “lots of” whatever he touches, and Neptune is confusion, overlooked things, altered states of consciousness, even lies and fraud.

We made it through the first pass of the Jupiter Neptune square. Because the Earth (our frame of reference) orbits the Sun, and the other planets do as well, we have this phenomenon called “retrogression” that happens, whereby planets appear to move backwards, or retrograde, at regular intervals. Jupiter is on the verge of reversing direction in February—Jupiter retrograde begins officially on March 4. It isn’t a big deal like Mercury, Venus, or Mars retrograde, except for the fact that Jupiter hangs around for an unusually long time in this square to Neptune—it’s not really over until the second pass completes in mid March. (The third pass will be later in the year.) Lots of confusion, muddle, fantasies, idealism, intoxication. Not a good time to give someone a loan or make an important purchase. This will be more pronounced for you if these two planets contact any important points in your chart.

Neptune also governs spirituality and visionary or psychic experiences. But do stay grounded, it is all too easy to go overboard (Jupiter) with it. This aspect brings strong desires to expand your boundaries of love—very good. But we do tend to be very idealistic and not as practical as usual.

February 1 – 6

Notwithstanding the big picture, there are still some good days in February. February 1 is not one of them. There’s confusion in the air, with Mercury touching off the Jupiter-Neptune square. Take it easy, and wait a little bit to finalize the big deals.

February 3 is a day I know many of you have been waiting for. At long last, Venus ends her retrograde cycle, which began on Christmas Eve. Venus is the love goddess, and also reflects what’s going on with our finances. As time passes, and she slowly gets back up to speed, we return to our more normal patterns too. Infatuations and relationships that began during Venus retrograde show their true colors— is he truly a diamond in the rough, or is he a turkey?

The weekend may have us feeling fired-up, argumentative, or irritable as Mercury (our thinking and activities) squares Mars (anger, fighting, hastiness), and the Sun touches off the Jupiter-Neptune square once more. Don’t get behind the wheel when you’re angry. And—you should never do this, but especially now—don’t drive when you’re drunk or high: Neptune.

February 6 – 10

Monday afternoon (the 6th) and Friday morning (the 10th) are the best times this week for high priority business. In the meantime, Mars inconjunct Pluto tells us that the energy will be on the edgy side until Thursday evening. It’s not the most terrible thing that could be, just stay away from dangerous places and volatile people. Some folks just won’t be in the mood to compromise. And no skydiving.

February 11 – 24

We can all get out of our heads a little, as Mercury moves from logical, scientific, left-brained Aquarius, to intuitive, imaginative, right-brained Pisces, on the evening of the 8th. The planets are going to calm down as well. For the first time in several months, the coast is clear for a while.

A Full Moon in Leo on Sunday the 12th ramps up emotional energy that may be put to creative use, or may incite folks to childish outbursts. It’s a good night for romance, fun, and tuning in to your heart’s desire.

Valentine’s Day actually might live up to the hype this year, as Venus forms a nice sextile with abundant Jupiter. Mercury (communications) also conjoins Uranus (surprise). A secret admirer revealed? Surprise declarations of love? Even if you’re tired of the pink & red candied hype, and feeling Scroogey this V.D. (as I often am, although chocolate is always welcome), it’s a good day to connect with friends, maybe even to heal a fractured relationship, as the Sun dances with transformational Pluto.

Watch how people’s moods shift on Feb 17 as Mars enters a new sign for the first time in six months. Mars usually changes sign every two months or so, but due to the recent Mars retrograde, Mars was in stubborn, money-conscious Taurus for longer than usual. People will start feeling more curious, chatty and sociable when Mars enters Gemini. A day later, the Sun enters Pisces and tangles with Mars a bit, so be careful with the power tools, keep the 3-year-olds out of the candy jar, and choose your battles carefully on Saturday the 18th and the morning of Sunday the 19th.

The rest of the week is relatively calm, with a feelgood Mercury-Venus sextile on Thursday afternoon, which lasts all the way through the end of the month, as Mercury slows down before turning retrograde on March 2.

February 25 – 28

A new Moon in Pisces on the 27th encourages introspection, dreaming, and psychic awareness. Meanwhile, the winds may be picking up, traffic gets heavier, all the signs are that Mercury retrograde is coming in. There are two nice aspects in the sky at month’s end—Mercury sextile Venus and Mars sextile Saturn—good times to get work done, back up your computer, and get your most important work done. Mars and Venus are going to keep moving out of these nice aspects, and we’ll be left with stationary Mercury in a square (challenging aspect) with uncompromising Pluto as March begins. In like a lion, for sure….

Mark your calendar

Best days in February for your highest priority plans are February 6, 13, 14, 23-28.
Take it easy February 1, 5, 8, 9, 12, 19, March 1-4.

Molly Cliborne