The Zodiac Dispatch: February horoscopes

Welcome to Aquarius season, whose symbol is the Waterbearer, whose element is fixed air, and whose energy is awkward. This period favours the cerebral over the sensual, the odd over the conventional, and the ingenious over the simple. Be your weirdest self and follow your fascinations during Aquarius’s one-month reign. 

AQUARIUS
This is usually your time to shine with the sun highlighting your selfhood sector this season. But there’s a catch this year. The sun is going to be in sync with Saturn, your strict ruling planet, which has also been transiting your ego zone since late 2020. Solemn Saturn trumps the sun in this position – and, as such, it could make you more focused on themes dear to the taskmaster planet: getting older, maturing, and being more serious. A new moon on 1 February is a good day to get back to any forgotten New Year’s resolutions. 

PISCES 
The Aquarius sun highlights your sector of the unconscious and secrets this season. Usually, this transit beckons you to grapple with your demons. But this year, things will be different for Pisces. Why? Your ruling planet, expansive Jupiter, has entered into your sign until May. Jupiter’s placement here takes precedence over the sun. Your focus should be on expanding beyond limiting self-concepts (I’m too x, y, z, etc). Jupiter wants to break boundaries, so go with the energy of this transit. A full moon on 16 February in your health sector is the day to reach a workout goal, which you should set on the new moon, occurring on 1 February. 

ARIES
The Aquarius sun camps out in your friendship sector this month, but pay more attention to the location of aggressive Mars, your ruling planet. Until 6 March, the Warmonger is in conservative Capricorn, where it is exalted, meaning more energy to get things done without that red-hot Martian mania involved in the mix. All of this Mars fire will be lighting up your career zone, so use this transit to go full-on worker bee. Come March, you could very well be ‘employee of the month’.

TAURUS
Your themes this month: career, reputation, bosses, and public self. That’s right, the Aquarius sun lights up your workplace sector. Use the Waterbearer’s big picture approach to problems to think about career-related issues. The detached aerial view of Aquarius could stop you being too bullish about situations at work. A new moon on 1 February in your career zone is the best day to approach a colleague with an open mind. Remember, too, that Aquarius favours the unconventional, meaning good ideas at work can come from strange places sometimes.

GEMINI
Both the sun and serious Saturn are camping out in your sector of spirituality and higher learning this season. While your nature is light and easy, Saturn doesn’t like idle chit chat. All you can do is roll with this transit and get deep into some serious study time. Remember, Aquarius emits unconventional energy, so this season will support investigations into the weird. A new moon in your higher learning sector on 1 February is a particularly good day to start a reading project. 

CANCER
The objective Aquarius sun will be illuminating your intimacy sector. Given that you can get too emotionally invested sometimes, use the more detached light of Aquarius to look at your relationships: do you need to scale back or is it all systems go? You also have strong energy in your partnership sector (spouse, business); Venus and an exalted Mars are there, meaning more energy (Mars) for love and/ or making money (Venus). On 14 February, Mercury (communication) joins your relationship zone, too. Herein lies a great day to put into words what a loved one means to you. You’ll have Mercury’s clarity to go with Venus that day. 

LEO
You’re a highly social sign – or rather you like society to pay attention to you, as you walk on catwalks, real and imagined. But with the Aquarius sun camping out in your relationships sector, work on sharing the limelight with your partners. Aquarius favours collective energy, so listen a bit more and talk less in groups or pairs. A new moon on 1 February in your relationship zone marks a good day to sit down and say, ‘Hey spouse (and/ or business partner), let’s share some ideas.’ A full moon on 16 February in your selfhood sector indicates a day where it can become all about you again.

VIRGO
Routine and health are being highlighted for you this month. Your sign is nothing if not practical and meticulous, so this should be a nice, sympathetic transit. Consider the following, too: Aquarius rules over the body’s circulation system, so it’s a good time to perfect a workout regime. A new moon on 1 February indicates a particularly excellent day to inaugurate a health plan – get a new gym membership, running shoes, or yoga pants.

LIBRA
You share a triplicity with quirky Aquarius, meaning as fellow air signs you get along well. With the Aquarius sun in your fun, romance and entertainment zone this season, expect some unusual happenings – meeting someone who suggests an unconventional date, for example. The new moon on 1 February is a particularly great day for an interesting outing. 

SCORPIO
Your sign is squared by Aquarius on the Zodiac wheel, making this season’s energy a bit difficult for you. Aquarius is independent and distant, while you tend to be fixated on partners and/ or problems. With this more detached Aquarius sun highlighting your home sector, work with the energy of the transit. Are the colour schemes too dark? Does that chair need to go? Aquarius could help you see the place in a different light and improve the surroundings by letting go of some things, as hard as that may be.

SAGITTARIUS
Your carefree nature jibes in some fundamental ways with Aquarius energy, which favours freedom from constraints. The difference between you and Aquarius is that you are hot and it is cold, and you may find this season a bit of a slow burn. The sun will be lighting up your communication sector this month, so look for strange words coming from the Waterbearer’s influence. A new moon on 1 February in your sector of short journeys could be a good day to travel somewhere off the beaten track alone (Aquarius is very independent).

CAPRICORN
Both the sun and stern Saturn (which rules both you and Aquarius) will be camping out in your money sector. Saturn is known to penny-pinch – and your conservative nature doesn’t have a problem with that. Given the stars and your sign, this isn’t a month for financial exuberance. But, with quirky Aquarius in the mix, it could be a time for slightly unconventional investments. A new moon on 1 February might be the day to invest in such a small, unique object that will fascinate you for years to come.