This week

It’s unfortunate that Venus and Mars are making eyes this week as the timing rather emphasises the annual Hallmark take on romance... ie an anodyne rhyme on bleached card and a red, red rose in a plastic, plastic tube. Pish. What’s rather neat however is that it’s women and the feminine side that are hot under the collar. Venus is now in Mars’s house while Mars is spinning through the detached, discursive sign of Aquarius. Venus is getting hot in here. In patent red leather heels and little else she’s sucking a lollipop and barking orders with a vocabulary that would make a sailor blush. Mars, on the other hand, is talking, thinking, inventing ways to proceed (without actually proceeding). Que pasa, indeed. And they’re about to meet up, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Aries
Venus is now sojourning in your first house of You, Yourself, and You. This delightful house guest makes you more attractive to potential squeezes and for courting Aries, makes you more inclined to rekindle the loving feeling with your existing beau. This visit happens once a year for three weeks. This year, however, Venus is set to do a uiee and she won’t be leaving your first house until June... Bumper oobah oobah, hmm? New love that turns up now may be a slow and steady burner and old loves may return under these skies – or at least be on your mind. What is rather marvellous now is that your ruler Mars is doing his chatty discursive thing in your social party house at the same time that Venus is making you hot hot hot. Rams wanting a new Flossie have every chance of bagging a rosette winner at a country fair. Wednesday and the weekend, clear the clods out your hooves, buff up your horns, and mingle at the dip. But do it with grace.

Taurus
With Venus your ruler slipping silently into your 12th house of, “The clowns, they give me nightmares Mommy,” a shadowy time for love stuff lands. And with Venus here for a mighty long stay this year – four months instead of three weeks – the love stuff and the clowns are set to abide. On the bright side here’s your chance to re-evaluate your loving style, the partners you choose, and what you give and receive in your relationships. Likewise if you’ve needed a prompt to rethink your material path in life here comes the Sun. Venus in this secretive zone sometimes suggests there’s a secret admirer in your midst or that you’re harbouring a goofy crush on someone in one of your stomachs. The truth will out. Eventually. While you’re doing the, “Who am I? Is there more to life than men in big shoes?” watch out for trying to do the relationship thing all someone else’s way. It’s a time for trial and error but a Bull does not a good doormat make and it’ll end in tears and goring. For now work success, and its implied potential increase in oof, should keep your glass half full, your cloud lined in silver, your pecker up.

Gemini
Venus is raging through your social zone in a fringed dress and a diamante choker and is calling all the boys to the yard with her milkshake. Now’s the time airy friend. Parties, social networks, and friends’ dos are The Place for you to be this weekend if you’re playing the wooing game. Your gift of the gab is back. You’ve got a shiny picture of where you’re headed and what your next step is along your life’s path. Now you just want a floaty honey to walk/run/scooter along beside you carrying library books and words of poetry and song as you take that step. So get to the party, get! Check out the flame-haired lovely with the loud laugh. Have a dance with the tousled haired cutey pie with the big eyes and the gesticulating hands. So wild! So chatty! For Geminis in a long-term loving embrace weekend partying with friends and your squeeze looks fun too; Sunday’s the best day for twosies and to drop a ring in his trifle.

Cancer
Full Moon Eclipse over. And breath. While you were comfort eating Chelsea Buns and adopting the crash position under the light of La Luna, Mars, that spikey, little voice inside you that you silence far too often has moved into your sensitive 8th house demanding Action. The Eighth governs sex, death, and taxes aka Letting Go. In the coming month Crabs are set for (a) hot oobah! (b) tetchy arguments about who keeps the stereo! (c) surprising commissions coming and going! Or a combination of all three. This week, however, as Venus smoulders in your 10th house of Success the emphasis may fall on (c) with rising lettuce needs urging you to get more and get up that career ladder. Friday through to next Wednesday brings some peaks of energy and luck. Take the Mars energy in your claws, Crabsticks, and use it to blow your own trumpet so that all in the reef shall know your name.

Leo
Like our celestial friends, the Librans, the planets this week are stacking up to bring you a rather glorious Valentine’s season. Today’s Eclipse may leave you feeling a bit wobbly so perhaps between now and Tuesday night book into the spa for a good hard brushing and manicure from some of your adoring subjects. From then on you’ve sweet words, fire and passion, and a sense in the royal waters that the love that’s around right now has a shiny, loving future to it. This is not a wilting bunch of gerbera or a leopard print thong in a bag, your Majesty. This is a chance to really get love-stuff right for the long haul. If you want to spoil your current consort like they’ll never forget, the planets say Sunday and next Tuesday are the best dates to hire the jester and prep the cannon.

Virgo
It may be a couple of days before you regain your composure after today’s Full moon Eclipse. And if you’re feeling a bit world weary (and looking a bit world weary) then make it a carrot and wheatgrass smoothie at lunchtime and an early night. Valentines is an interesting one for you this year. Work stuff is going to take you right up to the hilt it seems with a sense that you’re embarking on a new path, and taking bold steps that you haven’t taken in living memory. What’s more there’s extra oof to be had, talking and negotiations to be conducted, and some grey areas that need deciphering (Wednesday could be grey area central so have your Angela Lansbury eyebrows at the ready). Take this sort of career climate, add in the world weariness, and Valentine’s this year may feel like it’s slipping off the radar. Then watch Sunday. There will be nothing more potent, releasing, and affirming in your world than some hot, loving oobah.

Libra
The Full Moon Eclipse docks at GMT 14.50. Feel the emotion that lands clear as a bell; it’ll guide you well through a bumper Valentine’s week. Like our regal friends the Leos, Librans have a smorgasbord of love stuff brewing overhead. Five planets are matchmaking in your 5th house of lovers. Venus is currently making her feisty mark in your 7th house of long-term squeezes. And the Moon is making you misty eyed from Friday through to Sunday. The interesting mix is that the fifth house tingaling may be urging you to party, mingle, flirt, then slide away like a bar of soap with some new faces to cogitate. However, Venus has just started an extended tour through your 7th house of long term relationship ting (staying four months this year instead of three weeks) and she sez, “Nononono! Love, love me do!” It would seem there’s one perticaler honey amongst the crowd that has got your attention and Scales the world over will feel their loins and hearts sitting up and taking notice. The liaison is likely to be a slow burner but now would be a good time to fire the starting pistol. Never ones for making a decision this side of the end of the world, Mars is presenting you with opportunities on Sunday and next Tuesday to speak up and nail your colours to the mast. So do it, do it.

Scorpio
Mars is hoofing thoughtfully through your 4th house of home and family as Valentine’s dawns so it may be that this year family or decorating commitments take the edge off any loving spice. Venus, all fire and brimstone right now, is talking sass in your 6th house of work and health. Yes that does mean some Scorpios could be in line for an office romance – and with Venus staying here this year for a full four months instead of her usual three weeks, there’s love to be had on the 9 – 5 whether that’s loving the day job or doing the loving thing in the stationery cupboard while everyone else is in the morning meeting. What is cute again this year is Uranus, the planet of surprise, is heading forwards in your 5th house of lovers, chilun, and creative ventures. The surprises with lovers continue – which of course could mean they forget Valentine’s Day entirely.

Sagittarius
Venus has just landed in your 5th house of squeezes, chilun and creative ting for an extended tour of dooty – an enormous four months instead of her usual three weeks. Single Archers wanting to bag a suitable honey to lavish their wealth upon have an extended hunting season which is likely to include a rematch with at least one former squeeze. Archers already entwined with hearty side-kicks could be expanding the family in the coming months. Whichever romantic path you’re on, Archer, you’ve five planets in your zone of chitty chat and romantic city breaks. You have the gift of the gab to get what you want. You have the urge to talk, and negotiate, and whisper sweet nothings in flowery B&Bs. So yakkety yak yourself all the way into their little black book / arms again / gametes.

Capricorn
Home is where the heart is Goat and with Venus now docking for four months in your home and family zone it seems Goats will be happiest trotting home for an easy night by the fire, a nosebag of comfort food, and some soothing tunes at the weekend. Right now your world seems awash with thoughts, talks, and negotiations about money and it may start to take its toll. Watch Wednesday this week in perticaler for an offer that seems too good to be true. Eventually your toil will be replaced by an emphasis on love stuff. For now though, making money is where it’s at. As for Venus’s extended tour in your fourth house, money made now will help get Goaty Towers more the way you want it. The time to move or dramatically improve comes later.

Aquarius
Right now you may feel as if the world is revolving around you – or as if you need the world to revolve around you MORE. Five planets are in your first house of You, Yourself, and You giving you (a) a spotlight or (b) a demand to have the spotlight on you NOW. I’m ready for my close up Mr DeMille… Chuck Pluto in the deep end of your internal workings to stir up fear and paranoia, and it could all become something of a house of cards. The lesson? Treat others the way you would wish to be treated. And so to love stuff. Aquarian tongues are ruled by angsty Mars making you something of a vociferous breed. You see another way of doing something and you have no qualms in telling every poor wossname exactly what’s wrong with them and how you could make a better job of it. Venus has landed in this 3rd house of chitty chat for an extended tour of dooty (four months instead of her usual three weeks). Aquarians have a golden celestial master class opportunity right now to learn to say good, loving, kind things or nothing at all. At a time when you really need to be treating people the way you want to be treated, this is a rather glorious coinkidink isn’t it? Go for Gold, stude.

Pisces
Relationships remain strained but at least the dust has settled for now. Valentine’s Day will be more about financial gestures this year than you’d like but letting sleeping dogs lie and soothing them with a shiny bone or more suitable trinket is the sensible way to play it. Fishes everywhere aren’t feeling certain about what they’re feeling right now. With five planets loitering in your 12th house of, “Mommy can I leave the hall light on?” chances are it’s hard to fathom who’s for ya and who’s agin ya. Particularly on Wednesday you could be missing something right under your nose convinced that something (a) great or (b) underhand is about to happen. The Sun is shining over Neptune, your esteemed ruler, causing glistening and distraction on the surface. Yes it may be a Mermaid singing on the wind. Or it may be the sound of your boiler on the blink. Over the coming weeks a clearer light will be yorn. Until then prevaricate or seek the advice of a straight-talking friend.