Written and published exclusively for Chatelaine. Read the French version here. Illustration, Kiki Ljung.

February skies feel qualitatively less hectic compared to last month. First things first: Mercury, the planet that helps us process information, is moving forward on February 3. No longer retrograde, this can signal for situations to progress towards resolution. Or, at least, stuck things start to gain some traction. This also means Mercury re-enters Aquarius on February 14, which can help with big-picture thinking. Since the new moon happened on January 31, we’re working with just a full moon this month on February 16 in Leo. It is the halfway culmination moment from August 2021. The sun enters Pisces on February 18 to usher in the liminal, where one season ends, and another begins. Read your month-ahead horoscopes for some guidance.

It's highly recommended that you primarily read the horoscopes for your Rising sign. If you don't know your Rising Sign, you can read for your Sun (if born during the day) and/or Moon (if born at night) sign. Read it all if you like, and take what resonates. To figure out these placements, enter your birth date, location and precise birth time into an astrology app like Time Nomad or online at astro.com. For more guidance on how all of these play together, visit charmastrology.com. 

Aquarius: Hermit mode continues for much of February. However, the difference between last month and what’s up ahead is that you’re clarifying the big-picture truths about who you are and what you’re willing to offer—especially in your relationships. You’ve been uncovering and looking inward at the parts of yourself you’ve kept small and hidden. For some time, this strategy has been invaluable for your self-preservation. But it keeps you stagnant—and it’s time for a change.

Pisces: You’ve been trudging down memory lane and down the path of honesty when it comes to your place with the people around you. Belonging has often been a tender subject. But friendships and platonic relationships hold such meaningful space for you, and it’s a shame that the world insists on romantic connections as supreme. Take some time away from externalizing and get centred. Sometimes the answers you are seeking become clearer once you take away all the extra movement and noise.

Aries: It seems paradoxical to plan for a future when you’re dealing with seemingly insurmountable uncertainties and too many variables outside of your control. Perhaps if you learned anything in the past month, change is the only constant. Your effort will not always yield success—and maybe it’s time you shed this binary way of thinking. Be present in the life you are living today. It’s okay to be cautiously optimistic even in the face of despair. Perhaps it’s even more vital that you keep hope alive.

Taurus: What you believe in inherently and essentially shapes how you experience your reality. The past month has been a reckoning of sorts—a confrontation with old ideologies that have kept you inexperienced and unexposed to other possibilities. Now you get to dream new dreams and trudge new paths. Perhaps it’s a fool’s journey, but nothing will change if you keep insisting on doing the same thing. Take some measured risks and keep it moving.

Gemini: It takes heaps of literal energy to metabolize and psychologically process all the ways you’re hurting. It means you must take care of yourself. So much of life is really about the emotional work that cultivates useful wisdom and valuable skills. The kind of proficiency that builds resilience over time and constructively shapes how you see your life―in nuanced and appropriate doses of realism and awe. Isn’t life such a bewildering affair? Keep going.

Cancer: Well, you of all people know all of life is relationships. What’s the point if you can’t proudly scream from the rooftops who you belong to? Belonging not in the sense of possession, that is, but in the sense of caring devotion. This is what makes life meaningful to you. With this, you have been tasked to also parse through the connections you’ve outgrown. This is okay. Some breaks are heartbreaking; some just happen through time. But you must remain honest with the truth of your heart.

Leo: You know that being useful and helpful may have given you the fleeting affection and attention you need. But you must also understand that this kind of care leans too much towards the transactional. The type that is hard to sustain should you find yourself even slightly inadequate in the eyes of your beloveds. So what now? It’s also possible that all of this story making is internalized and not at all objective. That perhaps your people actually love you for all your flaws and ineptitude. Maybe it’s a pressure you’re also building within. Please take a closer look.

Virgo: Hopefully, you’ve had some space, whether tangible or mostly internalized, to contemplate how you’re managing your responsibilities and your craving for more spaciousness, more desire, more inner-child playtime. As you push forward and show up to your adult responsibilities, remind yourself to only commit to work and situations that are resonant to your desires for pleasure. The bucket of obligations drudgery, of “you just have to do it,” is already full. Don’t add more if you can help it.

Libra: If you could revisit a moment in your past to watch as if you’re viewing it like an audience sitting in a dark theatre, which part of your memories would you like to become familiar with again? The difference, of course, is that you are rewatching it with the you that exists today. What changes between the time that memory occurred to the time that is operating now? How has the passage of time shapeshifted your resentment, forgiveness, softness, and rage?

Scorpio: Living under conditions with more restraints and less spontaneous flow requires that you get creative with your own journeying. Whether it’s ideal or not, chances are your in-the-flesh reality has made it more difficult to wander aimlessly, without care. Because now there’s more deliberation required to move from point A to B. With this in mind, how are you stretching your zones so that even though your world feels a lot smaller, you’re not metaphorically wasting away? How can you channel more hope, curiosity and cautious optimism in your daily life?

Sagittarius: It’s prime time for you to double check, recalculate and see in a new light how you’re handling your valuable material resources. Within this is also evaluating how you may have been potentially underestimating yourself. Go ahead and improve your financial literacy, because it’s a disservice to yourself to just chuck it to the seemingly elusive intricacies of the mechanism of money. This excuse, perhaps, was okay for some time. Still, you have to untangle this confusing relationship so you can move forward with more confidence and clarity.

Capricorn: The hurrah and novelty of the new year may have been slightly anti-climactic this time, but this slow and steady energy of self-renewal continues to this month. There’s an emphasis on sustainability as a theme in all kinds of contexts in your life. But particularly around how you feel supported. Do you keep your word when it comes to the boundaries you set for yourself? Just start there.