February 2020 Horoscope: Give Yourself Extra Time

Our friend Mercury goes retrograde this month on the 11th, so get your new projects started before that time. Mercury will be direct on March 15. Mercury retrograde will make travel and traffic more difficult, so give yourself extra time to reach your appointments. The second half of the month is busier than the first half. February shouldn’t be as intense as January, but tensions do resurface in March. This is a good month to connect with friends, business associates, and other emotional support systems. • The sun starts the month in Aquarius before entering Pisces on the 18th. Mercury will be traveling through Aquarius, and then through Pisces on February 3. Retrograde Mercury will travel back through those same signs and have the strongest impact on the Pisces folk and the Aquarian water-bearers. Venus travels through Pisces and enters Aries on the 7th for a visit during March. Mars travels through Sagittarius as February begins, but then enters Capricorn on the 16th.

ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19)
Career demands and family obligations continue to keep you busy this month. You are feeling more confident and willing to invest in yourself and your projects. This can be the time to step up to a leadership position at work, or within your community. You are better in relationships and negotiations with Venus in your sign this month—and even with Mercury retrograde in the last half of the month. The last half of February is a better time to pull back and re-examine your current strategy. Make some time for your relationships, and renew those bonds.

TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20)
The energy of reinvention is very strong, and pushing you to explore different career options, new relationship interests, and a possible relocation. In the first half of the month, you are exploring options that will give you greater opportunities and make your life more interesting. Friends and business networking groups can be very beneficial this month. You can reconnect with old friends and coworkers with Mercury retrograde in the last half of February. Relationships can be dicey this month, with the old paradigms starting to feel restrictive and pushing you away from existing partnerships. Explore ways to bring new life to your relationships—otherwise, you may be considering an exit strategy.

GEMINI (May 21–June 21)
Relationships are especially active as the month begins. You will need to invest some time in your partnership to renew the bonds and commitments you have. Otherwise, your partner may feel neglected and create some drama to get you to pay attention! This is a good month to confront any existing problems and find a reasonable solution. Your creative urge continues to dominate your career sector. If you are not doing something that you feel drawn to, you may have a hard time keeping your focus and your drive. You will need some time for reflection, especially with your ruler, Mercury, going retrograde in your career sector. Pace yourself, especially in the last half of the month.

CANCER (June 22–July 22)
You are continuing to review your long-term plans around career, retirement, and relationships. Relationships are more energetic and feistier, with Mars (planet of action, physical activity, and instinctual response) visiting this area of your horoscope by midmonth. Your partner’s feelings are right on the surface, and they will take what you say very personally. This is a good time to renew your commitment—or to be prepared for an unhappy partner. You will also be quicker to respond to life in general. You remain in the reorganizing and restructuring mode that you’ve been going through. The latter half of the month is a time of reflection about the deeper meaning and purpose of life.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22)
Partnerships and personal relationships continue to be active. This is an excellent month to connect with the people who mean the most to you. It will help to remind you of why you do what you do. If you are single, the early part of the month is a good time to meet new people. You are still working on getting your life, your work routines, and your health habits in better working order. Coworkers may be harder to get along with as we approach midmonth. You are in a period of reinvention that is strongly impacting your career choices. You may want to leave what you are doing, start something on your own, or even retire. This energy will continue to build through the year.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22)
With your ruler, Mercury, going retrograde by midmonth, you need to get your projects started, contacts made, or that first foot in the door before February 11. After the 11th is a super time to reconnect with old friends and existing clients, and to finish up previous projects. The Mercury retrograde will be occurring in your relationship sector. Old problems may reemerge so you can get another shot at resolving those issues. You will want to have more conversations with your partner, even if everything is good. This is a great month for getting your life organized, cleaned up, and prioritized. Your creative energies get stronger by the middle of the month. You will want to act on a project that has been building in your head. You are keeping a close eye on your boundaries this month.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 23)
You are looking for a break from the demanding December and January period that kept your stress levels high. So much of that comes from family concerns, emotional and financial security demands, and from being the one who has to resolve the problems. This is a good month to spend time with your kids, or work on hobbies that satisfy your artistic urges. Mercury retrograde will be impacting your work environment. This may be a time of equipment or Internet problems, or just people having difficulty getting to work. You will exercise more control over all the situations in your life after February 16. Your patience levels will be dropping through the end of the month. Relationships can be a great escape from the muck throughout February. If you are single, the beginning of the month is a great time to meet someone new!

SCORPIO (Oct. 24–Nov. 21)
There is so much daily activity in your life that you are looking for some grounding time to step away from the demands of your busy schedule. You will want to spend more time making your home a more comfortable place to retreat to. You have set some new career and life goals for yourself. You want to turn your creative energy into something that produces income. By midmonth, you will want to review the projects you are working on, and at the same time you will get a strong burst of positive energy to help you push forward through the fog. Relationships are going through an upgrade in your life as you look for more free time to spend with your partners and break away from your old routines.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22–Dec. 21)
February continues to be a busy month as you keep your schedule full. The first half of the month is a good time for exercise and improving your health. You are not very patient during this period, but it’s a great time to confront any issues that you have been ignoring or avoiding. You are better at getting your point of view across, and you exhibit more self-confidence. By midmonth, old family issues resurface with Mercury retrograde. This can also be a time to consider some home improvements. You are interested in making investments in stable financial markets by expanding your resources or customer base. You may also seek a raise or increase your fees to align with current market trends. By the end of the month, you are ready to take a break from the activities.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22–Jan. 19)
You continue to be busy, even though the current energy patterns are less tense than they have been over the last two months. You are making major life changes such as a new career, starting your own business, retiring, or setting new goals for your relationship. It’s time for a major overhaul in how you generate relationships, and in the kind of support you give them. If you are single, this is a good time to be looking. If you are involved but unhappy, you must make some changes or your partnership may not last. With Mercury retrograde coming up in mid-February, you will want to take a step back and make sure you are on the right path. Be especially careful with the documents you sign in this Mercury retrograde period, February 11 through March 13. Your energy levels are much stronger and your patience is much shorter when Mars, planet of action, visits your sign from February 16 through March 31. Exercise is always good to mitigate Mars’ need for physical expression.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18)
Long-term, goal-oriented planning has become a part of what you are doing. For some, this is a time to really focus on getting your career on track. For others, this is a time to reprioritize your boundaries and focus on what you want to do rather than on what you have to do. This could also be a time to reinforce your skill set, or to consider retirement and other options. You are continuing to assess your domestic responsibilities at home. You want fewer demands on your time, especially with work or home obligations. Some of you may relocate, while others are making their existence easier. It will be easier to spend your money after midmonth with Mercury retrograde. If there is a need to buy something expensive, you will need to wait until Mercury is direct on March 15. You are still overly sensitive to the external environment, so you’ll want to limit your exposure in public.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20)
This is going to be a significant Mercury retrograde for you, with the retrograde occuring in Pisces. Mercury is our communicator, and when she is retrograde, she is ready to reexamine past communications that have not been clear. This will also have a significant impact on your relationships. If you are having problems with your partner, this retrograde will help you focus on the real problems and not avoid having a discussion. This is always the time of year when you need more “alone” time, and 2020 will be no different. You are not very patient at work unless you are getting your own way! Life does get a bit more stable in the last half of the month. Watch your spending, as your impulse to shop is very strong in the first half of the month. Focus on what makes you happy, and later on you can help others who need your assistance.

This article appears in the February 2020 edition of OutSmart magazine.