ARIES

Fasten your seatbelt, Aries, because there’s a lot you’ll be dealing with this month. For some reason, insecurities are stronger than they usually are—and this isn’t something a typical Aries is comfortable with. It’s important to avoid shying away from them, as an insecurity or a fear that is not confronted will still linger under the surface no matter how hard you try to pretend that they’re not there.

On the other hand, February appears to be an excellent month to do these confrontations—they may not be easy, but the benefits will likely be strong and immediately apparent. This is a good thing. You’ll likely be amazed at how you’ll feel once much of this weight is off your shoulders.

Now, how do you go about confronting? Well, that depends on your individual situation; I can’t determine that in a sun-sign horoscope. However, it looks like you’ll know exactly what you need to do, as you’re likely to find yourselves in situations where the fears and insecurities manifest quite loudly. Whatever these individual situations may be, run with it, reflect, and move beyond.

TAURUS

You know, every now and then, the charts point in such an outrageously specific direction that my Virgoan, analytical mind pipes up and says to me, “Oh, Vid, there’s no way in hell that this could POSSIBLY apply to all Tauruses everywhere.” And yet, I can’t shake the impression I get, so I’ll fill you in on it anyway.

It appears that most of you are unusually burdened emotionally. On the one hand, it’s not something you’re too hyped about discussing with others, but on the other hand, the bottle is about to burst. And burst it shall—probably sometime in the middle of February.

The interesting thing about it is that you’re likely to get an unexpected response from whoever is on the receiving end of your dumping. Don’t panic—this is much more likely to be a pleasant surprise than an unpleasant one, so once it all starts gushing, it’d be good to just let it all out without holding back. Hopefully, you’ll be amazed at how much stronger your friendship(s) can get in such a short period of time.

GEMINI

On the topic of your money issues: Honestly, what’s stopping you? It appears that there is some sort of block going on. “Is this really me?” you ask. “Can I really pull this off (or pull myself together or get in touch with my inner capitalist or exercise wisdom with my budgeting, God forbid, or deal with whatever is standing in my way)?” you ask.

My answer? Yup. You can, will, are, etc. Of course, telling you this now will probably do nothing more than give that doubting side of you a reason to pipe up with its silly attempts at validating its point of view, so I’ll just let you find out for yourself. Looking over your charts for February, it’s clear that I really don’t need to tell you anything at this point, because by the time the month is over, it’ll likely hit you like a brick (or like a Voice From On High, if we want images that aren’t so violent). Come early March, you’ll likely say to yourself, “Oh Lord, this was so much easier and simpler than I thought!”

CANCER

And now, for your viewing pleasure, we shall continue with this month’s episode of the Continuing Saga of the Cancerian Identity Reevaluation! Huzzah!

This has been going on for a while now, hasn’t it? Confronting insecurities, modifying your understanding of yourself (preferring the truth to pleasantry), and more or less deciding that you’ve “had enough of all that crap,” regardless of what that crap is for each of you individually. In Astrogeek™ terms, you can thank (or blame) Saturn’s transit through your home sign of Cancer for this—it’s the planet of will, discipline, and feeling of both security and insecurity.

So, here’s how this month’s episode will likely play out. While there might an emotionally taxing belief, somewhere in the back of your mind, that you’re not making as much progress as you’d like on your long-term goals, this will likely become overshadowed considerably by windows of opportunity. This might involve completely changing direction—and hence, changing those long-term goals—but it might also be a simple matter of realizing that there’s a much more viable route to take in order to meet these goals. If you want more detail than that, well, your guess is as good as mine. We’ll just have to see how February plays out.

LEO:

Let me make something clear. I’m not one of those Fortune Cookie Astrologers who spoonfeeds randomly selected complimentary affirmations. No—I’m the kind of astrologer who looks at what is really going on and tries to give you information you can use, whether it’s sunshine and daisies or rainstorms and earthquakes.

Now, don’t panic just because I said, “rainstorms and earthquakes.” Rainstorms and earthquakes certainly haven’t been new or surprising to you lately, and frankly, this month isn’t likely to be significantly worse than any other month of the past year. But, there is a difference.

Okay. I know how annoying it is—especially when you’re still in the thick of it—when someone says, “Look on the bright side. You’re learning so much!” But, really. For quite some time, your life has been one lesson after another, each very valuable, but most wildly unpleasant (or, at the very least, outrageously inconvenient). On the other hand, I’m sure that an entire series of expletives flows out of your mouth whenever anyone rambles this don’t-worry-be-happy attempt to cheer you up.

So, at the risk of being annoying, there’s something important that I want you to keep in mind throughout February: You’re learning so much! You can send me hate mail for saying so, but only if it ends with, “Well, yeah, I am …. ”

VIRGO

Okay. Most of you are torn between two choices: The first is to throw a “People Suck” Pity Party, and the second is to just mind your own business as if other people aren’t really there (thereby minimizing your exposure to suckiness in general). I mean, really—a lot of you are so drained right now. How many times lately have you asked yourself, “Oh, why do I bother?”

But, hold on a minute, Virgo. I hope you understand that this is just a temporary mood, an obvious side effect of recent events and/or choices that other people have made. It will pass. Not to mention, the odds are fairly likely that sometime over the course of February, a different set of events and/or choices might restore your faith in humanity (or, at least return it to subsequent levels).

Hopefully, you’re not too preoccupied with your bitterness—I’d hate to see you miss the boat ….

LIBRA

Many of you feel as though you’re sacrificing too much for the sake of your love life. This seems to be true even if you’re not romantically involved with anyone—perhaps you feel you’re sacrificing too much for the sake of pursuing a relationship. Either way, there’s a sense that you need to regain control of your future, so to speak.

First off, don’t make any rash decisions. Second, this mood will likely pass by the 20th, and it’s at that point that you’ll be much more clear-headed if big decisions need to be made. Third, you’re likely to get thrown a total curve ball this month, and that might completely change your current perspective (which, incidentally, is the biggest reason why it’s important to avoid rash decisions right now). Well, that’s it.

SCORPIO

“I feel like my life isn’t going anywhere!” Now, calm down, Scorpio. Take a deep breath. “No, really, Vid. I feel like I’ve been living the same day over and over again for God only knows how long, and it’s become so frustrating!”

Ummm, Scorpio—I have an idea. Why don’t you try doing something different. Okay, I know I’m just playing the doctor who says, “Well then, don’t do that,” but it seems uncannily appropriate this month. Release your creative potential. It’s not nearly as difficult as it appears.

SAGITTARIUS

If there’s only one month this year that you turn into a movie, make it this one. It appears to have all the necessary components for a heart-warming but tear-jerking drama. Emotions are tied in knots due to a sense of loss, but by working through those emotions with those you love, you find yourself even closer to them. Very “Steel Magnolias,” if you ask me.

I hope you’re not reading this after the emotional difficulties have kicked up, as you probably wouldn’t appreciate my apparent trivializing. But, really, it has a happy ending—don’t forget that this month, okay?

CAPRICORN

You really need to take the time to further your understanding of what’s important to you in relationships and close companionships. You’ve been doing that for quite some time anyway, but this month, its importance is even stronger. This is because you likely don’t feel grounded or secure in your concept of closeness, and this may carry over into the relationships themselves.

I can’t really help you formulate or solidify your ideas of relationships, as each of you are going to have a different approach and a different set of priorities. But, I can tell you that most of you are feeling a strong need to sort this out within yourselves, and that it would be good to follow that. Also, come the latter half of the month, it would be really good to communicate the ideas you’ve come up with. This might help solidify your close relations, it might help you “iron out” your priorities, or it could simply help you feel comfortable standing your ground. Odds are very likely that the effects of communication will be unusually positive. So, there you go.

AQUARIUS

First off, the main reason why you don’t want to tell others how you feel is because you don’t want to fall back into old habits. (I’m not exactly sure what I mean by that, but I’m banking on the idea that you know precisely what I’m talking about.) While this might appear, to you, to be a major issue through about mid-February, it actually brings up the larger issue of the old habits themselves. This might not be what you’d most want to hear about right now—again, you may feel like the biggest issue is your apprehension about communicating your emotions. But, that feeling will likely pass about the third week of February, and what may happen next is much more significant.

See, the whole issue of falling back into old habits may reach a breakthrough by the beginning of March. The “habits” issue has been a recurring theme for quite some time now—to demonstrate, just compare the way a typical day plays out now with the way a typical day would play out two years ago. For most of you, the contrast is striking and sharp. This will almost certainly continue for quite a while longer. The specific significance of this month, however, is that you’re predisposed to “take stock” of your progress, and find that you’re much better off than you may have believed. This might happen in an unexpected manner—perhaps opportunities will arise that wouldn’t have been possible if these changes had not been made. So, while the first half of February might create emotional blocks and discomfort, the latter half could seriously improve your progress on overcoming old habits.

PISCES

Talk about “between a rock and a hard place!” You may be thinking, “I cannot do what I absolutely must do. I don’t have what I need to do it. And yet, I must do it anyway. What do I do?”

First off, many of you actually do have what you need—you’re just apprehensive about using it. It may be a pride issue: “No, I have to do this myself!” For others, it may be an insecurity issue: “I don’t have the confidence to pull this off.” It may also be a variation on these themes, but it’s mostly centered on emotional blocks regardless of what these precise blocks are.

You know how this appears to me? It appears to be a matter of falling out of touch with your true self. It’s understandable under the circumstances—you’ve had a lot on your plate, after all. But, I’m confident that you can break these barriers this month. Try to emphasize remembering and acting on who you really are, and those barriers will break with a lot less resistance than you might expect.