Friday, February 14th, 2025, Valentine’s Day is upon us – which is one of the most celebrated and decision-heavy holidays that we have in the West: Couples decide to make up, break up, or step up and deepen their commitment (this holiday is said to be the most likely day for couples to get engaged, after all). Unhappy singles look into the void and ask themselves if/when love is for them or jump into dating with rigor – sometimes, with the wrong people. Married or similarly committed couples celebrate their love and reflect on their relationship (which sometimes has mixed results), and people who are actually happy single may pour into different relationships. Few remain unaffected (kudos to those who do!) and that is for usual years.
This year, Valentine’s Day is not, in fact, usual. Emotions and illusions run higher than usual as divine intervention becomes a major theme. This article is meant to provide astrological insight so you can find clarity and move forward with an understanding of what is going on – especially if you are in the camp of those actively needing to make a decision.
Valentine’s Day
Firstly, Valentine’s Day is not an astrological event that just happens to repeat on February 14th every year – frankly, no historical source I found can even point our present-day celebration of this day to a different cultural rite having to do with romantic love, though Ancient Rome did see the Lupercalia (ancient fertility ritual including a sort of “single’s lottery”) sometime in February. It seems like someone one day just decided that this is the day we’re going to celebrate romantic love and that we’ll do it through (insert) traditions. Because of that, Valentine’s Day is what I personally consider to be the most polarizing holiday we have globally right now. People either love it or hate it, but few are truly emotionally unaffected.
When it comes to loathing, some people do it because they’re the romantic equivalent of the Grinch, others because they’re genuinely trying to make every day special for the people they love and are disgusted by the apparent limiting to one day inherent to the holiday, as well as the commercialization and the, at times, empty gestures some people may feel obliged to make – out of duty, rather than love. A third group hates Valentine’s Day because they feel stressed at the pressures to a) not be single, b) deal with inevitable conversations on “are we doing more commitment (soon)?” with prospective partners, present partners, or people who have no business asking, c) to actually be happy in the relationship, and d) create the perfect date at a specific time that perfectly shows how happy you both are! OR ELSE!
However, Valentine’s Day is meant to be and is for many, a day of genuine expression of love and devotion to their relationship, partner, and love itself. Many love it because it’s a ritual of expressing love, desire, and joy at being with their primary partner, it’s a day of receiving attention and feeling special when routine has maybe made things boring, it’s a day of gifts, date nights, and affection when there maybe hasn’t been time for that recently. If it’s done well, Valentine’s Day is quite romantic and not a day of pressure or strife: it rekindles, deepens, and celebrates the love between you and your partner.
… but relationships that aren’t going well or that have one party with cold feet, doubts, or genuine unhappiness for one reason or another, are definitely in a stress test.
Why This Year Is Different?
The astrology greeting us on this day is highly unusual and includes rare events that affect love… and our decisions having to do with love and our desire for partnership.
With the Sun conjunct asteroid Ceres, this day brings a higher likelihood of making decisions because they’re what someone else wants, specifically, our family members or people we look up to as mentors. This means that whatever relational decisions we’re making – staying or leaving a relationship, deepening commitment, jumping into dating again when we’re single – are heavily influenced by what someone else wants or thinks is right. Taking advice is a great idea: we can’t see our own blind spots, so having someone we love and trust help us is nothing to be ashamed of. It’s actually quite wise. However, if things get to the point of letting someone else dictate your path (which is an elevated likelihood right now), then this stops being something good.
Additionally to that, Mercury enters Pisces, the sign of illusion, delusion, and poetic speech. Mercury in Pisces is a time when it’s much likelier that we’re misunderstood or misunderstanding someone else, especially when people’s desires are coming into the mix. Essentially, it’s easier to hear what you want to hear – or that you deeply fear – even in very non-committal or innocent statements. This, however, especially applies to times when we’re trying to carefully choose our words to communicate something tactfully and unambiguously at the same time.
Mercury in Pisces can make it very hard to speak both compassionately and clearly. Often, our ways of being diplomatic and tactfully come across as ambiguous statements that leave the other person 100% clear that you meant the opposite of what you just said. (Welcome to Mercury in Pisces – it’s got a lot of positive side effects, but this ain’t one of them). Since we’re also gearing toward a Mercury Retrograde soon, this effect is heightened.
This means that if you’re not ready to jump into commitment but your partner is (or you’re generally telling your partner something that they don’t want to hear), you’ll need to handle that conversation with even more care than you otherwise would on a Valentine’s Day because you need to not only take care of being kind and gentle with their hearts… you also need to make very sure that you are using clear language. You can’t control what someone else understands… but you can make sure their misunderstanding wasn’t thanks to your careless/confusing words.
If you’re breaking up with someone, you might need to make yourself extra-clear as setting boundaries of any kind isn’t easy at this time. Similarly, if you’ve been looking for the opportunity to have a “State of the Union” for the relationship where you address general patterns and why you’re unhappy… I would gently suggest a different timeframe as this is not a good time to put this on the table. (Obviously, there are themes that can’t wait to be addressed, so please use common sense). Actually, the day before (February 13th) is great for those conversations, and so is the time after February 24th, when Mars turns direct again.
On that note, let’s talk about Mars.
This Valentine’s Day has a higher likelihood of 18+-related frustrations (if you’re getting my drift – if not, please relocate your mind to the gutter and try again) as well as general conflicts between all sorts of people, but especially in/with/about love, family members, fertility-related themes, safety, protection, and men.
This means that relationships in which one party doesn’t feel safe – physically or emotionally – are very prone to experience conflicts. Situations in which your partner ends up hurting you where you’re most vulnerable (even by accident) are more likely, and instances where you feel like they aren’t protecting you – or, alternatively, becoming extremely, toxically overprotective – turn even more explosive.
The reason for this is the present Mars Retrograde that ends on February 24th (or 23rd, if you’re in North America), but is still in full force during this Valentine’s Day. As Mars is currently also affecting the planet of love, Venus, who is also preparing for her own retrograde in March, this is a time when things can turn into conflict quickly. But this especially goes for relationships where conflicts have already been brewing – either beneath the surface but unexpressed, or expressed but unresolved.
Here's the good news though: those very planetary themes are actually super helpful for relationships that are in a good place.
Venus in Aries, preparing for her retrograde, and Mars in Cancer also selectively heighten the passion, devotion, and love for relationships that are on the right track. While a misunderstanding might still result in conflict, the conflict will not be that bad and can be resolved very quickly – in some cases, in the bedroom. So, if you’re in a healthy relationship where both parties are happy, you have nothing to fear. Just be a bit more patient if something unexpected happens, and you’re good… and more than good.
Mercury in Pisces makes it easier to use poetic language and dial up the romance factor in the relationship as well. Creative expression is heightened and compassion – as well as acceptance – are heightened (and in some cases balancing out Mars Retrograde’s effects on sparking conflict).
This was the general astrological interpretation. However, there are two major astrological themes at play that we have to analyze that play into this day (but also go beyond that date, hence the separation – so please don’t just see this as a “Valentine’s Day” thing).
Divine Intervention
This Spring, we’re having an incredibly rare event of Saturn, Neptune, and the North Node in Pisces (other planets join as well for shorter time frames – like Venus or Mercury for a couple of weeks in one specific month). Pisces is a sign of miracles, soulmate love, divine intervention, absolute acceptance, and unconditional love. This sounds very promising when it comes to matters of the heart, but the reality is a mixed bag of chips here.
Saturn is a planet of making tangible shifts to create a reality that’s sustainable for the future. This means that it both transforms and even closes ongoing chapters in our lives that have outlived their purpose/just aren’t good for us. On the plus side, it also helps us build the foundations for our future that are so resilient they don’t break apart. This means that we’re in a long-term process (2023-2026) in which our lives are being prepared for shifts toward sustainability… including romantic unconditional, and sometimes even soulmate-based love.
Neptune is ending its time in Pisces (that started in 2011), showing us just how deeply we can merge with others and how powerful forgiveness, acceptance, tolerance, empathy, compassion, and love truly are. Neptune is also the planet of spiritual lessons and mastery, which means that this timeframe (until 2026) brings an even stronger sense of soul lessons and soul-led events occurring.
The North Node is all about catalyzing events that have been brewing already as well as bringing in shifts, changes, transformations, and opportunities that weren’t there before. The North Node here is new (January 2025-Summer 2026) and it’s actually gaining in power as we’re close to an eclipse on which the opportunity for great change becomes amplified.
Let me repeat, these are all long-term events. So, while this Valentine’s Day (which is just 24 hours!) may absolutely be part of those ongoing processes, it doesn’t have to be that in your case. You might be feeling this event in other parts of 2025 or even other parts of Spring 2025. So, if you’ve had nothing happen to you in love… then you haven’t missed the boat. You’re okay.
Now, what all of this means combined is that Divine Intervention is more likely to happen and more likely to be noticed as well. But this isn’t always a matter of our future spouse being dropped into our lap with a bow and a slightly confused expression as to how they got on top of you. Divine Intervention can also look like events that reveal information about a pre-existing relationship that then transform or deepen based on the news. It can also look like a relationship that wasn’t meant for you (forever) falling apart.
But this energy has a very, very clear message: whatever is meant for you relationally, during 2025 and early 2026, it’ll happen. So, any breakups were meant to create distance of a final goodbye between you and someone who wasn’t meant for you – right now, or forever, depending on circumstance. And as miracles are a lot more likely and more obvious, people actually can and do lastingly change: so a second chance during this time might absolutely be possible and could be genuinely heavenly for you.
Distortion
During this time, longing is also amplified – especially for people who are longing for more love than they’re currently experiencing. This time frame is going to make what’s already very painful a whole lot worse emotionally, but it also amplifies our likelihood to believe a lie or to see what we wish to see in a situation or person.
Therefore, this (until February 24th specifically) is not a time to jump into dating if you’re single, as it’s so much more likely to not see, or not be seen by the people you meet for the first time right now. The pressure of trying to create a connection quickly and fill a void might actually make you more prone toward additional heartbreak… which, again, shifts after Mars Retrograde ends on February 24th.
For people who are grieving a relationship that’s ended, this timeframe might bring up even more pain than Valentine’s Days usually do. This applies both to recent breakups and endings from the long-distant past. But the level of pain does not at this time translate to the “likelihood that you were truly meant to be.” Neptune and Pisces are both about grief; amplified as they are by the North Node and Saturn, it’s just a time to weep for what we lost in our lives and haven’t fully processed yet – whatever that is.
For people who are grieving a relationship that hasn’t ended, there’s ongoing hope. This timeframe is not one when we see our relationships clearly or are in a frame of mind where we can make good decisions. Notwithstanding extreme circumstances such as proof of cheating, abuse, etc., things may simply seem more dire than they are. Plus, this is a time when people are genuinely capable of great and almost miraculous change. This is a time to give things a bit more time rather than make a decision right away. Even if things feel differently in the moment. (Again… notwithstanding situations where you have to act quickly, or extreme circumstances are at play).
Proposals
This is a time when people are more likely to propose because it’s Valentine’s Day. And some may jump the gun a bit before they’re ready (because they feel that this is the right person, even if it’s not quite the right time). That’s okay. But similarly, it could absolutely be that the person being proposed to, despite feeling that this is the right person, panics – because they aren’t ready yet timewise themselves (this is unconnected to the proposing person’s readiness or lack thereof).
This means that if you’re putting together a proposal… be sure that you’re patient should the person you love not react as well as you’d like them to. It might not be you (or your proposal!) but just the timing. Give them time to reply. If they seem like a deer in headlights, don’t take it personally.
If you’re ending up with your date popping the question and a pretty piece of jewelry, please don’t feel pressured into giving an answer right away if you’re not capable of giving one. “Can you wait for me” is a reasonable request.
… and there is absolutely potential for a proposal to lead to a definite answer right away. If you know what your answer is, please communicate it clearly. Remember, Mercury in Pisces makes clear communication harder. Write it down if you have to – don’t string someone along because you feel bad, or you’ll create more pain for them in the future.
Conclusion & Further Reading
That’s it for my breakdown of 2025’s Valentine’s Day! I hope you liked it and that it helped you – please send this to a friend should you want to do so and donate if you’ve learned something new, or subscribe if you’d like more cool articles and bi-weekly astrology breakdowns only available in my newsletter. Also, if you’d like more individualized advice, I’m available for astrological consultations, too.
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Thanks so much for reading and happy Valentine’s Day!
See you soon, Alexandra Astrology from the Soul