Hello everyone, the March Horoscopes are now up. This is an exciting time for me personally, as one year ago on March 1, 2014, I was uploading March horoscopes for the first time to the brand new cardinalfireastrology.com website. At the time, I had some worries about starting an astrology website and blog. I worried about committing to something that I couldn’t follow through with. I wondered if I would have the time and energy to sustain monthly blog posts and get your horoscopes up on time every month. Although I’m an Aries, I have a Capricorn Moon with Mars in Capricorn. I don’t take commitments lightly, especially if I’ve declared them to the world wide web.

However, my friends and followers have been so encouraging that I’ve been motivated every month to keep up with this work. My hope is that the information provided has been useful to anyone who comes across this site. I am truly looking forward to this coming new year as my astrological new year begins with the Vernal Equinox on March 20th. Interestingly, we’ll have a solar eclipse that same day in the last degrees of Pisces. Talk about a powerful New Moon! Later this month, I’ll blog in more detail about the exciting upcoming eclipse season and ways to maximize the power available in the next couple of New Moons. Hint: if you are ready for a “fresh start” in any area of your life, you’ll want to focus your efforts during March and April.

THANK YOU to everyone who has been following this blog and to those who have ever visited cardinalfireastrology.com. Portlanders, mark your calendars for Friday, April 3. Myself and fellow astrologer Stephanie Wilder, of circleandstars.com will be at the Aveda Earth Day fundraiser in Portland, OR doing mini readings. This event will feature music, dancing, Aveda product demos and a great community of people. Proceeds to benefit Columbia Riverkeeper. More details soon!

Sometimes I’m asked about the best time to get an astrology reading. Often, people come to me for a reading at just the right time in their lives to learn about an important transit they’re having or discover some hidden gifts in their birth chart. With couples, the timing is often more intentional. Couples like to come for an astrology reading so I can look at their charts and show them how their personal planets are working together. It can be helpful for people to learn more about their loved one’s natural style of processing information or communicating.

I’ve seen flashes of understanding and validation cross people’s faces as they see their unique blue print in the form of a birth chart explained in front of their partner. I’ve seen how a couple can feel the relief of adjusted expectations. For example, maybe one partner was expecting the other partner to behave like an Earth sign (practical, pragmatic, steady) when that person has a predominance of water in their chart (emotional, intuitive, creative). It’s not to say people with watery charts can’t get practical, but with astrology charts, we’re talking about your defaults. We all have free will and can learn new behaviors, but our birth charts are kind of like our factory settings. These settings are good to know about, especially for yourself and people you interact with closely. Astrology is a great tool to appreciate each others differences and recognize your common ground. It can be a romantic way to see why you were drawn together and what makes you sizzle.

I don’t think Valentine’s Day is only for couples. I think it’s a day when anyone can celebrate self-love. Individual readings are a great way to get insights on the methods and life directions that are likely to be more successful for you. If getting “in the flow” feels elusive, personal astrology readings can point you to your strengths and help you to find the timing and approaches that will work best for you. And if you are looking for love, astrology is a useful tool to know what type of partner to look for and when your prime time to meet someone might be.

Valentine’s Day, like every holiday, can be over-commercialized and lose it’s meaning. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t meaningful gift options available. My astrology readings are in-depth, personal and will include a beautiful artistic chart that can be saved forever. You’ll also get a written report and audio recording for future reference. Here are the Valentine’s Day specials I’m offering:

Sample Art Chart for Couples

Couple’s Reading + Art Chart $125 – A 1 hour couple’s reading with written report and audio recording plus a beautiful print out of your combined charts on an artistic background.

Individual Reading + Art Chart $85 – A 1 hour reading with written report and audio recording plus a beautiful print out of your birth chart on an artistic background.

How it works – Just email me at cardinalfireastrology@gmail.com to order. Once you’ve placed your order, I’ll send you a gift certificate PDF that you can print out. The readings can be scheduled anytime – there is no expiration date. Art Charts are created by the creative mystic, Stephanie Wilder of circleandstars.com. Choose your background design and I’ll have the print out ready for you when you come for your reading. Live outside the Portland, OR area? No problem. I can do readings by phone and mail you your Art Chart!

My hope is for each and every one of you to feel an abundance of love this month and every month.

Are you feeling a bit out of sorts? Full of ideas but also somewhat confused? Welcome to Mercury Retrograde in Aquarius. Aquarius is a sign that rules our intellect and what I think of as the “idea generating” portion of our brain. Since January 21, Mercury, planet of thoughts and communications, has been Retrograde. If you missed last month’s blog post, I went into more detail about the Mercury Retrograde cycle.

Meanwhile, we’re entering the second month of 2015 and your February horoscopes are available here. I’d say the coming month may feel more energetic than last month, but nothing in comparison to what we’ll experience in March. Mercury will be Retrograde through February 10 and we can expect some residual effects through February 25. That said, we’ve got a high powered Full Moon in Leo to kick off the month on Tuesday, February 3. Leo is the sign of creativity, romance and children. Any activities that light you up and require you to play with the abandon of a child will be especially encouraged around this time.

Full Moons can also be a good time to see some of your past efforts come to fruition. But, since this Full Moon falls during Mercury Retrograde, don’t be disappointed if everything doesn’t come together. If you’ve been working towards your goals, you’re likely to see some results, but really, things may not gel until next month. Probably the best thing you can do around this Full Moon is just get out and have some fun!

The Sun is in Aquarius through the 17th, which is a great time for socializing and bringing people together. This is a good month to celebrate the things that make you unique. I have spent a lot of time in the past wondering if I was doing things “right,” and I’ve felt disappointed when  comparing my methods to the way other people do things. I think some of my biggest inspiration in life comes from success stories about people who took an unconventional path. Aquarius is the sign of innovation and rebellion. Some people embrace the Aquarian way after banging their head against a wall one too many times trying to use traditional methods. Some people are just born ready to oppose the status quo at every turn. A lot of us alternate between following the rules and “coloring outside the lines.”

I used to follow a lot more rules, but have been learning from some of my life experiments that there are pretty awesome opportunities available if I’m willing to let myself be different. This might not work for everyone. I do have an Aquarius North Node. If you are curious about how the Nodes of the Moon guide your life, I highly recommend Jan Spiller’s fabulous book, “Astrology for the Soul.”

Right in time for Valentine’s Day, Venus and Mars will form a conjunction for most of the month and set the stage for passion. These two planets will be in Pisces for most of the month, moving closer together as February progresses. This can increase feelings of love, compassion and idealism towards someone we’re attracted to. But things really heat up after the 19th when both planets enter fiery Aries and are almost exactly conjunct for the rest of the month. I predict a lot of passionate encounters taking place during this time period.

Mars and Venus aren’t all about love or sex, however. Venus symbolizes our self worth and Mars represents our ambitions. When these two planets combine their energies we can all improve at the art of attracting what we want in a charming and tactful way. When we’re using the combined energy of these planets correctly, others are likely to hand us what we’ve been trying to get on a silver platter. Venus will help Mars to be direct without being combative and Mars will help Venus to feel like she deserves what she wants. Sounds like a good relationship to me!

For anyone who has been feeling especially sluggish during the second half of January, it’s possible that you were being influenced by Mars in Pisces conjunct Neptune. Mars, which is usually what helps us to get up and go, can be a bit sedate in Pisces and adding Neptune’s dreamy vibe certainly enhanced this sleepy effect. This transit may not have been noticeable to some, but if you have strong Mars in your chart (like me!), you can let yourself off the hook if you were not as much of an achiever as usual during the past few weeks. Now that Mars has gotten away from Neptune’s influence, you should be coming out of your haze a bit. After Mars enters Aries on the 19th you’re likely to be running at 100% again.

Saturn will continue the square to Neptune that it began last month which can help motivate us to make a solid plan to achieve our dreams. It can feel like it’s no longer ok to have our dreams on hold for “some day.” Instead, Saturn in Sagittarius’s optimism and fiery motivation will start to hold us accountable for some of the things we’ve said we want to do.