February 2025 Horoscope: Travel May Be Messy—But You'll Learn Something
Lin Chen
Meet your astrologer
Steph Koyfman is a writer and astrologer best known for her work as Lady Cazimi. She writes the monthly horoscope for Condé Nast Traveler's Women Who Travel.
We began the year in a state of cosmic time out, but your February 2025 horoscope reflects a wake up from the sluggish transits of winter. Jupiter stations direct on February 4, and Mars follows suit on February 23, offering a strong dose of forward momentum after a fall and winter of rethinking our plans. Jupiter’s direct station often feels like gathering the confidence to move in the direction of your dreams again after a period of doubt, or maybe a period of reframing or integrating the progress you’ve made so far. Mars’ direct station is usually much less gentle in comparison. This is the point at which things more completely break apart and sever, the critical degree of separation between two points that can no longer reconcile. By this point in the month, we will be moving on from the relationships, plans, and goals that didn’t pass the stress test. Whether we’re happy to be free of that dead weight or grieving the loss of what didn’t come to pass, we will all probably be relieved to move forward and stop enduring the slow breakdown of all the things we can no longer tolerate.
For travelers who have held off on planning their 2025 travel because life conditions have felt too wobbly and uncertain, some clarity might be arriving this month, and possibly also the green light to go ahead and book that trip. Ideally, do this at the start of the month, in the lead up to Mercury trining Jupiter on February 3. Our logical minds will be sharper in the first half of February, and logistics easier to sort out. That said, with Venus conjoining Neptune and the North Node during the first week of the month, we’ll also be in an excessively romantic and idealistic mood, which can be great for experiencing life, but maybe not so much planning it. In either case, February 1 might be a better day to take your Valentine out for dinner.
On February 14, Mercury enters Pisces, which is amazing for right-brain thinking but not as helpful for finding your way through unfamiliar streets or getting your SIM card to work in another country. If you’re on the move, expect the unexpected in the form of confusion or unannounced gate changes, but don’t let the road bumps derail you from the insightfulness and creativity you’re meant to experience.
Astrologer's note: Below we refer to your signs as “rising” signs, also known as your ascendant sign. Horoscopes are more accurate when read this way—using your birth time and location, you can quickly find your rising sign online (it takes less than 30 seconds).
Aries Rising
Not one to be held back for long, you’re now gathering momentum to cut your losses and move forward again. How you do this will of course depend on what’s standing in your way. The unmet needs of your inner child will require you to step in as the fierce protector you didn’t have growing up. The vulnerabilities of your fortress might require some added security measures—if not a new address to call home altogether. As Mars stations direct among the root systems of your chart on February 23, you will find yourself in a position to cut through some of the tangled weeds that have made things so untenable for you. Whether it’s a long overdue confrontation with your family, a crisis in your living space, or simply a change of life plans that will require some uprooting, the tensions and challenges of fall and winter are finally reaching resolution. Just don’t be surprised if these resolutions look more like frictions in the moment.
Lindy Reid, an American citizen and founder of Rhodo Bagels, shares how she built a life abroad in Portugal.
In the meantime, Jupiter also stations direct in your third house of siblings, short trips, and written missives on February 4. If you’ve been in a more prolific headspace than usual since last summer, some of the poetry, songwriting, and content creation that you’ve been stuck around since October might now come tumbling out of you with less hesitation. You might have a better idea of how to move forward with your siblings, cousins, and besties after the familial trials of Mars Retrograde, and perhaps you’ll also start penciling in more weekend trips you’ve been meaning to take.
With Venus entering Aries on the same day and a Leo Full Moon popping off in your fifth house of creativity on February 12, the muse will be paying you a visit this month, and you’ll probably feel more confident and magnetic than you have in a while. With the world more likely to receive you favorably and appreciate your natural charm, maybe it’s time to put yourself back out there again and prioritize creation? Of course, this month’s Venus story is connected to this month’s Mars story, and there are shades here of “repelling in order to attract.” The girls who get it, get it. Perhaps speaking your truth right now entails becoming unlikable to some people in order to become more likable to others, and especially to yourself.
Taurus Rising
The dream team assembles on February 1 as Venus conjoins Neptune and the North Node in your eleventh house of groups. Or at least that’s how it feels. You might need to circle around this cuddle party a couple times before the spring is through before you’re ready to really go all in. But considering how far you’ve had to come in order to locate your people and build a place where they can gather, you’ll probably be feeling pretty inspired at the top of the month. Your community, your friendships, the organizations you belong to, and the collective hopes and dreams you’re rallying around together are a vision that’ll keep you going when other things feel challenging.
About that circling though—when Venus enters Aries on February 4, you might feel the Kool-Aid leave your system. In its place, perhaps there’ll be a nagging sense that you’re still feeling misunderstood, rejected, or somehow unable to assimilate into the demands of collective unity. In March and April, Venus will retrograde back through the parts of the sky it covered in January and February. This is a process you’ll need to go through in order to arrive to a truer sense of community, and to land among people you trust. Even group tour fanatics need to take the path less traveled alone sometimes, especially when there’s not a strong enough critical mass headed in the direction they wish to go.
Introducing *Condé Nast Traveler*'s 2024 November issue, plus the 37th annual Readers' Choice Awards.
Also on February 4, Jupiter stations direct in your second house of resources, and Mars also resumes forward motion on February 23. Some of the steps you’ve been taking to increase cash flow and abundance may have stalled a bit since the fall, or perhaps there simply hasn’t been as much available to you. You might notice that there’s some more wiggle room freeing up in February to pursue those opportunities, mobilize toward projects involving media or educational material, or clear some space in your daily routines and screen consumption habits in order to prioritize the things that are important to you.
Considering that community is such a hot topic for you right now, Mars’ direct station may also encourage a culling of your close friendships and neighborhood relations in order to prioritize connections that feel more aligned. These conflicts may land close to home, and they may feel really personal. Conflict can be an invitation into deeper intimacy, but the relationship also needs to be strong enough to withstand it too.
Gemini Rising
You’ve had your season of second-guessing yourself. Now, you’re poised for liftoff once again. As Jupiter stations direct in your rising sign on February 4, confidence is also set for a return. The unique brand of wisdom and creative genius you’ve been bringing forth into the world probably goes against the grain in certain ways, and maybe you’ve been humbled or slowed down in the initial stages of your launch party. Taking the lessons of what worked and what didn’t work in the second half of 2024, you might be ready to do your big one now in the first few months of the new year. And with Mercury sweeping into a trine with Jupiter as it goes direct in the first few days of February, you might come out swinging with new scholarship and ideas before the week is through.
This also doubles as favorable travel astrology, so whether you’re on a pilgrimage or merely drafting up your itinerary, the first week of February is especially supportive for opening your world. Trips you take now will have a way of restoring your sense of wonder and possibility, and trips you plan will give you a needed boost in the form of “things to look forward to.” It might very well be the case that this adventure is somehow tied in to the personal growth arc mentioned above—perhaps you’ll be traveling for a conference, a spiritual quest, or a study abroad program? Either way, expect to gain a lot of perspective, and maybe also expect the unexpected during February 9 and 10, when Mercury conjoins the Sun and squares Uranus. Mercury’s proximity to the Sun in the first half of the month can impede the smoothness of your travels and the clarity of your studies, but sudden realizations can abound during these two days, as can sudden rental car malfunctions.
We ask our editors and favorite solo travelers for their savviest tips and tricks.
On February 14, Mercury enters Pisces, and you move from an empirical mindset to a more abstract way of approaching your work. Additionally, Mars will also be ending its long retrograde on February 23, stationing direct in your second house of income. You might have a better sense of how you’d like to proceed from here—or how you’ll need to proceed. Mars’ retrograde may have eliminated an option for you, broken some of your prized possessions, or possibly cut you off from a source of material support. The best-case scenario is that it’s merely reframed your priorities and moved the goalposts for you when it comes to the hustle. In the second half of February, you’ll be plotting your way forward, with some good ideas and some not-so-good ones. Trust your instincts, but get a second opinion, just to be sure.
Cancer Rising
If you’re at your wit’s end, if you just can’t take it anymore, if your anger is escaping containment, then that is the dominant story reshaping your trajectory right now. As Mars ends its retrograde on February 23, it brings the frustrations and furies of the fall and winter to a decisive moment. This can look like cutting your losses and moving on, and it can look like preparing to go back on the warpath after strategically playing defense for longer than you would have preferred. Even if no one’s been playing money games with you or trying to take what belongs to you, you’ve probably gotten some valuable insight from the particular thorn that’s been digging into your side. Perhaps by being brought to the point where you can no longer ignore or brush it off, you’re now being guided to a decision that will spare you further pain down the road. Thank whatever you need to thank before you let it go, and remember that every garden requires weeding if it’s meant to thrive.
Some of January’s journey-flavored astrology also seeps into February. One of the biggest stories for you in 2025 will involve a longer process you’ve been in related to education, travel, beliefs, and spirituality. This is a process that’s perhaps been underway for the last two years already, but will really start to accelerate and move you into new timelines this year. If you noticed some of those themes beginning to emerge last month, perhaps in the form of a pleasurable voyage or sense of spiritual communion, there is more where that came from.
While the fairytale romance and idealism peaks during the first week of February with Venus’ conjunction to Neptune and the North Node, some even murkier influences arrive with Mercury entering this part of the sky in the second half of the month. Everything may not be entirely as it seems, whether you’re crushing on your new thesis advisor or you left your heart in the last place you visited. Additionally, your wayfaring may be compromised somewhat when your map is blurred by water stains. Still, the inspiration you’re feeling right now is not meant to be discounted or distrusted—you will probably follow this thread through to its logical (or illogical?) conclusion this year, and you will grow a ton as a result. Perhaps this journey of faith or higher learning is your path forward from all the strife that Mars Retrograde brought your way. Whether 2025 finds you entering your Eat, Pray, Love era or not, it’s probably time to break free from your cramped enclosure.
Leo Rising
It’s only human of you to feel victimized by life, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with feeling defeated sometimes. What’s important is that you don’t let that be the end of the story. The good news is that you’re finally turning a corner this month after this long winter of your discontent. Reclaiming your power can start with such a subtle postural shift that others barely notice you sitting up just a little bit straighter, but the dominoes will only continue to fall over the coming months as you make your comeback. You’ll also be changed on the other side of this, having shown to yourself that you can climb your way out of any hole and triumph over adversaries that were hidden in plain sight all along.
Mars stations direct on February 23, which is the main event this refers to. However, this month also features Jupiter stationing direct in your eleventh house of friends and allies on February 4, which contributes to your growing sense that you’re actually not alone in this at all, and that you have a wealth of support from your posse. Some of the group projects and community-building initiatives you’ve taken up since last summer may also be ready to move forward again after stalling in the fall and winter months, perhaps due to financial obstacles. Those roadblocks won’t just disappear overnight, but you might have a better sense of how to proceed. And with Venus entering Aries on the same day—your ninth house of travel and education—it’s possible that you might decide to move forward with that group tour you’ve had your eye on, or get your loved ones to circle the wagons (and their wallets) to go on that reunion trip you’ve been talking about.
The details matter, but don't lose sight of the bigger picture: spending quality time together.
There’s also a full moon in Leo on February 12, which contributes to this being a climactic month for you, and most likely an important turning point. This particular full moon will bring big (and potentially surprising) revelations in its wake, and most likely in the form of clarifying conversations that deliver a very different kind of truth bomb than what you were expecting. The moment of truth might arrive somewhere between February 9 and 12, to be clear. But when it does, you’ll have a clearer sense of the landscape and a clearer sense of who’s really on your side.
Virgo Rising
You might be celebrating some good news soon when it comes to work matters, especially if it’s been harder to get ahead this fall and winter. But breaking through stagnation might have less to do with waiting for things to magically fix themselves on their own, and more to do with you taking some sort of decisive action around the group efforts you’ve been a part of. As Jupiter and Mars both station direct in February, a sense of momentum and possibility returns to your professional endeavors, and you also decide whether to cut ties or lock in with the team. Whether this is about a community you belong to, a movement, a friend group, or even a social media network, you’ve been watching the dominos fall for the past few months, and if the infighting can’t resolve itself soon, that might be where you leave things.
Mercury in your sixth house of labor and coworkers also helps you brainstorm a workable vision, especially as it forms a trine to Jupiter on February 3. Good ideas aren’t always enough to overcome irreconcilable differences, though. The fractures will become more and more apparent as the month rolls on, with some potentially unsettling revelations arriving between February 9 and 12, and a more decisive sense of how to move forward toward the end of the month. There will be more time this year for you to flex your versatility, bring more of your talents and genius into the world, and even find a sense of belonging to replenish the communal ties that are currently frayed. But first, you need to get really clear on who’s coming with you into this next phase of your growth.
For evolving food scenes, remarkable wildlife viewing, and small towns with a whole lot of soul.
After February 14, your focus shifts toward your relationships (and to muddling your way to clarity together). Mercury’s transit through Pisces might fudge some details, but it also helps you tune in to the multidimensional layers of communication that are always happening in your interactions with others. What’s being said with body language, with emotional tenor, and with what’s not being said? This can be helpful for building emotional intimacy, and maybe less helpful for ironing out the details of a contract. Either way, this is an even worse time than usual to assume things, and to assume your understanding of a situation is complete. Instead, consider your understanding to be a work in progress.
Libra Rising
It’s taken you a long time to become who you’re meant to be, and though there’s no such thing as being done with growing, this next month or two will feel like a graduation ceremony for you. In February, Jupiter and Mars both station direct in the parts of your chart connected to education and professional aspirations, so perhaps “graduation” is pretty literally on the mark. Then, your ruling planet Venus goes retrograde throughout March and April, which will culminate in an even more significant turning point in your relationships and work life. Though these transitions will likely affect many aspects of your world, it definitely seems as though you’re getting ready to level up professionally right now, and that even the recent storms you’ve had to weather have served their purpose to prepare you for this.
The most palpable influence this month is Mars stationing direct on February 23, which may culminate with you liberating yourself from professional circumstances and expectations that have been grinding you down. Leaving your job isn’t the only option here, and given the way you enter February loving on your teammates and wearing rose-colored glasses at work, it seems likely that any action you take now will only serve to bring you closer to the sense of idealism you’re feeling around your sacred mission in the world. Taking a stand publicly to defend the people and things that are close to your heart certainly counts. So does eliminating busy work that distracts you from your purpose.
In the lead-up to this more climactic moment, Jupiter stations direct on February 4. Jupiter first set up camp in your ninth house of travel, learning, and spirituality at the end of May last year, encouraging your curiosity and wanderlust to lead you on various side quests. After pausing a bit to rethink your next steps and rework your thesis, you might be ready to pursue that bucket list trip, publish your dissertation, and bring your faith-based explorations into your work and world. Will there be another multi-city itinerary in your near future, say, by the end of this spring?
Also on the February 4, your ruling planet Venus enters Aries, where it settles in for an extended stay due to its upcoming retrograde beginning March 1. Questions of “who in my life really accepts me for me?” will intensify throughout February as you start to look at your relationships in a different light. After all the excess baggage you recently shed, it makes sense that you’re ready to reevaluate some key partnerships too. You might be ready to play for keeps, but knowing who is worthy of your commitment is its own journey of the heart.
Scorpio Rising
It’s either that life hasn’t been going your way lately, or that you’ve been carving a new path. But there’s always a way to come back from being humbled, and that starts with you drawing a line in the sand. The big news this month is that your ruling planet, Mars, finally stations direct on February 23, and this puts some agency back in your hands to take a principled stand or divorce yourself from the expectations and roles you’ve had a hard time performing as of late. Perhaps your politics are clashing too much with the demands of your professional title, or perhaps you’re feeling called to defend an aspect of your religion or identity. Maybe you’re just burned out on making travel your entire personality for so long, and you’re ready to take a big step back. Either way, you won’t be feeling quite as defeated as you have been these past few months. Something’s gotta give, and the path to reclaiming your power will be legible soon enough.
For our guests this week, childhood vacations meant a cousin's house in Alexandria or New Delhi.
Jupiter also stations direct on February 4, which brings some forward momentum to your financial endeavors as well. Maybe you’ve been working hard to pay down your debt, diversify your portfolio, or grow your nest egg, and something’s finally starting to click. If you’ve been waging a legal battle over the Mars Retrograde, it’s possible that a settlement might be reached now, or a financial aid application approved or denied that helps you decide how to proceed with school. Even “successful” outcomes may still come with strings attached or fall short of your desired amount, but it will still feel like a relief to know where you stand.
Some of the creative enchantment and pleasure-maxxing of January also spills over into this month, peaking on February 1 with a romantic trifecta of Venus, Neptune, and the North Node. Early February is a great time to decompress from the intensity of winter and enjoy a date night with your partner, children, or art studio. You’ll continue to float in an imaginative headspace after Mercury enters Pisces on February 14, and your Notes app might be busier than usual with ideas, shower thoughts, and poems. Even when you inevitably run into the writer’s block that’s been frustrating you creatively as of late, you grow things with your attention, so grow the things that feel generative to you.
Sagittarius Rising
You probably haven’t loved feeling mired in doubt these past few months, but gratefully, your confidence is returning to you now. With your ruling planet, Jupiter, retrograde since October (and compromised in other various ways), you’ve been guessing and second-guessing and drawing some of the wrong conclusions in the process. Jupiter’s station direct on February 4 is welcome news, and a green light for some of your plans to move forward again.
This might involve plans for your family, a shared vision you’ve been cultivating with a partner, or even negotiations for a business deal or collaboration of some kind—possibly a mentorship, counseling relationship, or client practice. Although it seems as though moving forward requires someone else’s cooperation (and the exercise of your negotiation skills), it’s possible that Mars’ direct station on February 23 also drives you closer to a resolution, one that may involve killing off some debt, cutting off a current source of financial support, or separating your finances from your partner’s. The past couple months have been a gridlock of decision-making, and that’s partially owing to the tangled web of financial and emotional enmeshment that keeps you bound to various people, employers, and financial aid sources. Hopefully you can now see exactly which cords need to be cut in order to solve the puzzle.
Curious about the two-century gap in her family's itinerant history, Sarah Khan sets out to uncover tales of those who came before.
With Venus spending the month in Aries, you will also be in a potentially more playful or pleasure-seeking mood, one that points you back to the things and people you love. However, Venus is getting ready to station retrograde in this part of the sky on March 1, which means this isn’t just a nice time with your kids or especially productive month in the dance studio. You will be going on a journey of the heart to reclaim your creativity, redefine your commitment to your family, and better appreciate what it means to carry on your ancestors’ legacy, so take note of the dissatisfaction and angst you’re feeling right now.
Hopefully this does at least grant you a permission slip to get away and play for the time being. On February 12, there’s a full moon in Leo, bringing matters to an interesting and not entirely expected conclusion around travel, learning, and spiritual seeking. You might decide to pursue a very different course of study after Mars Retrograde messed with your existing educational plans, or pull the trigger on a big trip you weren’t sure you were going to take (maybe because it’s one you weren’t anticipating?).
Capricorn Rising
It looks like the stalemate is ending, though whether you’ll be able to reconcile is another matter altogether. Since December, Mars Retrograde has tested your relationships and possibly even dealt you a low blow as others violated your trust, attempted to take something from you, or rehashed old grievances from the graveyard of your past. Best case scenario, you’ve been in a bit of a tactical freeze as you worked on coming up with a new plan for your shared financial life with a romantic or business partner, but perhaps found yourself walking through an emotional landmine in the process. With Mars stationing direct on February 23, you are ready to be done with this phase of the negotiation, and possibly with this relationship entirely. What is meant to come back into harmony will come back into harmony, but what can no longer reconcile will begin to break apart.
Hopefully, you’ll feel good about where you land, regardless of how things are ending or moving forward for you now. If this past winter hasn’t been that dramatic or dire of a reckoning, you will probably feel somewhat more energized around reaching a decision, one that involves who you decide to be linked to or indebted to going forward. Jupiter’s station direct in your sixth house of work this month also points to February potentially being a time when a stalled project moves forward, or an important deal is closed. While you’ll likely be relieved to know where you stand (and eager to get going), Jupiter has also helped you make some significant inroads this past year into your wellness journey, so don’t overlook the importance of how certain habits, practices, and lifestyle adjustments have gotten you to where you are today.
During a week-long wellness trip to Costa Rica's stunning Papagayo Peninsula, writer Maria Yagoda finds that living well is just as important as living longer.
Venus also spends the month in Aries, your fourth house of home. There might be more family reunions, dinner parties, or personal enjoyment of hermit mode in February, which means it’s probably the season for a staycation, not a safari (that said, Mercury will be sailing through Pisces in the second half of the month, which could bring you out of the nest for short trips around town or to nearby cities). Still, watch for signs of discontent. Venus is preparing to retrograde, and she might send you a signal or two about why you’re not feeling as happy or connected to your roots as you’d like.
Aquarius Rising
This has been no one’s idea of an easy winter, but at the very least, much is illuminated for you this month. On February 9, the Mercury cazimi in Aquarius brings things into sharp focus for you, though the truth may rattle you before it sets you free. This then leads directly into the peak illumination provided by the Leo Full Moon on February 12, which reveals something crucial to you about the state of your union. One or more of your key relationships may have been weathering a stress test as of late, and this full moon provides a needed dose of clarity around where you currently stand. For context, February’s full moon looks a bit like the mirror of August’s full moon, so think back to any wakeup calls you received around August 19. You’re not in the same boat now by any means, but you might find that these two events rhyme with each other, like different stanzas in the same poem.
Though romantic partnerships are probably the first place your mind will go, don’t sleep on the potential for work relationships to be rocking your boat right now either, or for work to be rocking your relationships. You may be having a tough time with everything on your plate, and it’s possible you haven’t been getting enough help from the people you were hoping you could count on. One of your projects could have flagged a fatal error, or maybe there’s just been more heat in the kitchen than usual. As Mars stations direct on February 23, there will be more possibilities for moving forward, though this could look like rage-quitting in practice. Can you eliminate the more top-heavy aspects of your workload so you don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater? Maybe a more moderate approach will cut it; maybe it really is time to cut your losses and move on. Just try to be realistic about what you can afford, because there’s also some idealism potentially clouding your judgment around money right now.
These oceanside properties offer surfer-specific amenities, from quivers of custom boards to “surf butlers" who will help you find the perfect wave.
February can also be a month for welcoming in more play. Jupiter stations direct on February 4, freeing up more space for you to pursue the hobbies, outings, and creative projects you’ve been trying to prioritize more, or maybe just giving you the green light to move forward with your updated creative direction or dating philosophy. Venus enters Aries on the same day, populating your social calendar with more friend dinners, block parties, and local live music. Even if you’re not in your usual zip code, you might gain more pleasure than usual from flaneuring your way through unfamiliar city blocks.
Pisces Rising
If you’re being real with yourself, you’ve needed to hit “refresh” on the browser window of your existence since yesterday. And in many ways, you’ve been ever so slowly starting to come back online. Some of January’s re-enchantment carries over into February as Venus conjoins Neptune and the North Node in Pisces at the very top of the month. Your ruling planet, Jupiter, stations direct on February 4, and the Sun enters Pisces on February 18, summoning more of your life force back from the ether and giving you more permission to begin initiating again, versus just tolerating and allowing.
As Jupiter stations direct in your fourth house of home and roots, you, too, feel wiser on the other side of all the doubt and questioning. You’ve made some big moves this past year when it comes to upgrading your living situation, gaining wisdom from your ancestors, and deepening your connection to the land. Some of these big moves may have even included some literal big moves. That doesn’t mean it’s all been easy or lacking in complexity. You’ve had to go slower than you preferred, offer plenty of grace to yourself, and navigate the dance of “two steps forward, one step back.” An important part of your adjustment curve is over, though, and you’re probably ready to embrace the rest of what this journey has in store for you. Will you spread your wings and go on that ancestral pilgrimage you’ve been meaning to take forever now?
How chasing her clan's roots led one writer to a beautiful, overlooked part of Scotland.
Mars also stations direct on February 23, which can contribute to your kids being extra reactive and ungovernable if you’re a parent. However, this at least clears the way for some sort of conflict resolution in the weeks ahead, or clarity around what to do next. For you, Mars Retrograde may have amplified frustrations around your work/life balance, the labor and health demands of child-rearing, or a particularly agonizing case of writer’s block. Your creative abundance will flourish once more, but first, you might need to crumple some sketches and clear away the dross. You will figure out ways to solve for the pain points, but likely not before you decide to do things differently. Most importantly: can you switch your focus to increasing enjoyment, versus decreasing displeasure? There are likely certain things you’ll just need to live with, but they can be made more tolerable if they’re not the largest object in your field of vision.
Enjoyed your February 2025 horoscope? Look back on January to see how things lined up.
Originally Appeared on Condé Nast Traveler
