Dr. G’s Flute Horoscopes February 2020
by Rachel Taylor Geier
Happy February! Hold on to your hats this month as a Mercury retrograde will be causing unexpected delays and miscommunications left and right. As with any Mercury retrograde, make sure that all of your technology is backed up, all software updates are completed, and all power plugs are in good working condition prior to mid-month. Avoid signing contracts until the middle of March and try to be as clear as possible with any written communications (including text messages). What is unique about this particular retrograde is that Mars, planet of action, will be changing signs on the very same day that Mercury initially goes retrograde. Reflect on the area that Mercury is housed and how it relates to the area that Mars is situated. What changes can you make in the Mercury house that will help move things forward more effectively in the Mars house? Pay attention to the gifts that the Universe provides at the end of the month as they will likely result from the positive changes made in the weeks prior.
Aquarius (January 20-February 18) HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
February 3rd – Mercury joins Venus in your 2nd house of income. This is a great day to schedule meetings at work, including a chat with your supervisor and/or conductor. Discuss your job performance and any opportunities for advancement. Does your group participate in rotational seating? Ask to be placed on principal flute for at least one piece in the next concert.
February 7th – Venus moves into your 3rd house of communication. Venus will help smooth over any difficult conversations with others. One of your orchestral colleagues may be consistently out of tune. Sit down with them, kindly explain the situation, and work patiently with them, tuning each note with a metronome, pausing to identify the pitches that pose the most difficulty.
February 8th – A Full Moon appears in your 7th house of relationships. Is there a toxic colleague or student in your environment? You may need to walk away from a difficult situation with this person. The Full Moon will give you the courage to end or change relationships that do not serve your best interests.
February 16th – Mercury goes retrograde in your 2nd house of income while Mars moves into your 12th house of behind the scenes activities. You may be considering a job change around this time. The Mercury retrograde will draw your attention to what is and is not working in your current position, forcing you to answer the question: “Is there something better out there for me?” Mars will help you do some research on your current position and how to get to the next step. Does that job move require auditioning to another orchestra or starting your own studio practice? Create a plan that makes the most sense for you.
February 19th – The Sun moves into your 2nd house of income. Your focus will be on your job when the Sun moves signs. You are craving new opportunities at work. Check out the job boards. Any orchestras searching for flutists? Any colleges searching for flute professors? Any high schools searching for a band and/or orchestra conductor?
February 22nd – A New Moon appears in your 2nd house of income. You may be offered a new job at the end of the month. Have you recently auditioned for a new group? Congrats! You will likely be offered the part. If not a new job, you may instead be offered a promotion in your current position. Moving from second chair to principal ain’t so shabby! Make the most of this opportunity.
Pisces (February 19-March 20)
February 3rd – Mercury joins Venus in your 1st house of identity. You will be quite popular in February, making this a great month to host a lecture recital. If you are too introverted to speak at your recital, write about the recital experience on your flute blog. People are interested not only in your flute playing but also your journey to excellence.
February 7th – Venus moves into your 2nd house of income. You will be popular with supervisors and coworkers alike when Venus moves into your 2nd house of income. This is a good time to ask for a raise or a promotion. Your work and/or playing has been noticed by the Powers that Be. This is a perfect opportunity to make the case for yourself.
February 8th – A Full Moon appears in your 6th house of daily work and health routines. Something needs to change in your daily schedule. Take inventory of your daily responsibilities around the time of this Full Moon. Is there anything that can be delegated to others? Can you hire a housecleaner to scrub the bathroom while you practice excerpts? Are you spending too much time on mindless practice? How can you better prioritize your time?
February 16th – Mercury goes retrograde in your 1st house of identity while Mars moves into your 11th house of groups and communities. Take some time to reevaluate who you are as a flutist and if the performing groups you currently participate in reflect your performance goals. Are you performing with a group that does not challenge you? Are you interested in forming your own group? Are there other groups that better suit your playing style and are they searching for a flutist? Do some research.
February 19th – The Sun moves into your 1st house of identity. When the Sun moves into your sign, you will be inspired to makeover your life. What means the most to you? Are you living your best life or just trying to keep your head above water? How can you bring in more of the things that provide happiness and less of the things that bring you down?
February 22nd – A New Moon appears in your 1st house of identity. A very important new performing or teaching opportunity will be presented at the end of the month. This is a gift from the Universe, perfectly in line with your ambitions. Make the most out of it!
Aries (March 21-April 19)
February 3rd – Mercury joins Venus in your 12th house of behind the scenes activities. Do you have a flute blog or a YouTube channel? This is a great time to discuss practice and performing techniques on various social media outlets. You have a lot of very valuable advice to give other flutists and Mercury and Venus will encourage you to share your ideas with a larger audience.
February 7th – Venus moves into your 1st house of identity. This is the very best time to host a recital. You will be quite popular when Venus moves into your sign. Enjoy your diva moment!
February 8th – A Full Moon appears in your 5th house of creativity and joy. A creative project will either need to change or be abandoned at the time of this Full Moon. Are you composing a piece of music? Reevaluate your work. Should you revise the number of movements or the key structure? Is this project publishable or should you start from scratch?
February 16th – Mercury goes retrograde in your 12th house of behind the scenes activities while Mars moves into your 10th house of career goals. Examine the way you practice in relation to your nearest and dearest career goals. Are you prioritizing your practice sessions? Are you practicing with purpose or merely mindlessly drilling scales? How are your excerpts? Can you further fine-tune your Debussy, Hindemith, and Daphnis and Chloe? Give it a go and schedule an audition.
February 19th – The Sun moves into your 12th house of behind the scenes activities. You will be moving into the practice room when the Sun moves into your 12th house. Experiment with new practice approaches. Create new goals each day and focus on three or four to-dos during each session.
February 22nd – A New Moon appears in your 12th house of behind the scenes activities. You may be learning a number of new pieces in the practice room at the time of this New Moon. Practice everything! Did you hear a new piece at a convention recently? Check out a copy of the manuscript. Would you like to program this at your next recital?
Taurus (April 20-May 20)
February 3rd – Mercury joins Venus in your 11th house of groups and communities. This is a great time to schedule sectional rehearsals or even just work out difficult sections of orchestra music with one of your closest colleagues. Mercury and Venus will help make any tricky group work easier to understand for all.
February 7th – Venus moves into your 12th house of behind the scenes activities. You will be loving the time you spend in the practice room when Venus moves into this house. How can you make your practice environment as comfortable and inspiring as possible? Light a candle. Avoid harsh overhead lighting. Hang up an inspirational poster or print out your favorite motivational quote and tape it to the wall.
February 8th – A Full Moon appears in your 4th house of home and family. Something in your home studio or practice will need to change around the time of this Full Moon. You may need to move your practice sessions off-sight as never-ending Peter and the Wolf excerpts may be driving your family members crazy. Totally understandable! Try to be patient with any changes in your environment during this time.
February 16th – Mercury goes retrograde in your 11th house of groups and communities while Mars moves into your 9th house of travel. The Mercury retrograde will encourage you to do some soul searching when it comes to the groups you perform with. With Mars also moving into your 9th house, it is likely that you will be seeking audition opportunities elsewhere. It is okay to expand your horizons. Audition away!
February 19th – The Sun moves into your 11th house of groups and communities. Your focus will shift onto performing groups and rehearsal commitments when the Sun moves signs at the end of the month. You may be knee-deep in auditions and rehearsal, wondering, “what is the point??” Try to take it easy and not over-book yourself. Get plenty of rest and exercise to avoid burnout.
February 22nd – A New Moon appears in your 11th house of groups and communities. You may win an audition during this New Moon or at least be invited to sub for a very important performing group in your area. Seize the moment! This opportunity is a gift from the Universe. Use this time to connect with new colleagues.
Gemini (May 21-June 20)
February 3rd – Mercury joins Venus in your 10th house of career goals. This is a great time to have a chat with a career advisor or a flutist that you admire regarding your career direction. Where do you see yourself in the next year? Five years? 10 years? What steps do you need to take to get there? Discuss all of your options with an advisor that you trust.
February 7th – Venus moves into your 11th house of groups and communities. Schedule a chamber group recital when Venus moves into your 11th house. Your group will be quite popular during this time. Enjoy connecting with your audience and performing exciting new music.
February 8th – A Full Moon appears in your 3rd house of communication. If you are working on a writing project, you may need to make some significant changes to your work at the time of this Full Moon, or even abandon your project all together. Have courage! If it is not working, it is totally okay to let it go and start fresh. Your next idea might be even better than the first!
February 16th – Mercury goes retrograde in your 10th house of career goals while Mars moves into your 8th house of banking and finance. The Mercury retrograde may encourage you to consider new ways to get ahead in your career. As Mars will be moving into your 8th house of banking, it is quite possible you will be considering investing in a new instrument as you embark on more ambitious audition goals. Do your research and remember not to sign on the dotted line until Mercury goes direct on March 11th.
February 19th – The Sun moves into your 10th house of career goals. Your attention will shift squarely onto your career goals when the Sun moves signs. What action steps can you take at this very moment to get you from where you are to where you would like to be? Are there auditions that you should prepare for or teaching jobs that you could apply to? Are there NFA competitions that you could enter this year?
February 22nd – A New Moon appears in your 10th house of career goals. You may be offered a new career opportunity at the time of this New Moon. This will start you down a completely new and exciting path that you may not have considered before. Follow the lead of the Universe. This is the right path, whether you know it now or not.
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
February 3rd – Mercury joins Venus in your 9th house of travel. Are you taking a trip, Cancer. Pack your bags! You will likely be traveling for an audition or a job interview. With Venus and Mercury in your court, you will definitely have the gift of gab that will no doubt enchant your committees. Put your best foot forward!
February 7th – Venus moves into your 10th house of career goals. This is one of those rare magical times when everything in your career seems to turn to gold. You will perform fantastically at auditions and recitals. Your responses to interview questions will be graceful yet informative. You are making great strides in your career and others are finally on your side to make things happen.
February 8th – A Full Moon appears in your 2nd house of income. You may be leaving a job around the time of this Full Moon. Keep in mind that when one door closes, usually another door opens with better opportunities behind it. Let go of any job that does not serve you and move onward toward better things.
February 16th – Mercury goes retrograde in your 9th house of travel while Mars moves into your 7th house of relationships. You will likely be traveling to meet new people, possibly in connection with a job interview or entrance auditions to a graduate program at a very prestigious school. Be careful to double check all itineraries when Mercury goes retrograde. Have a back-up plan if planes are canceled or you get lost trying to find an audition location. Try to keep your wits about you. You never know who you will meet on your adventures.
February 19th – The Sun moves into your 9th house of travel. You will be traveling, or at least making travel plans, when the Sun moves into your travel house at the end of the month. Hitting the audition circuit? Make sure to plan plenty of time to get from place to place and always have a back-up travel plan.
February 22nd – A New Moon appears in your 9th house of travel. You will be planning yet another trip at the end of the month. It is likely that you auditioned or interviewed for a job elsewhere and you are being called back for a second interview. Your committee is very interested in you and would like to introduce you to the other musicians you will be working with. Remember to avoid signing contracts during this time. Wait until Mercury goes direct after March 11th, if possible.
Leo (July 23-August 22)
February 3rd – Mercury joins Venus in your 8th house of banking and finance. Have you been considering making a large purchase (such as a new flute) or taking out an educational loan to go back to school? Mercury and Venus will encourage you to schedule a chat with your financial advisor to devise a practical savings plan.
February 7th – Venus moves into your 9th house of travel. You may be planning a vacation when Venus moves into your house of travel. Schedule a getaway to the beach and leave your flute at home! You may need some good old R and R.
February 8th – A Full Moon appears in your 1st house of identity. Something that was very important to you may need to change or end at the time of this Full Moon. A recital may need to be postponed or canceled. If you are just not ready to put on this performance, be honest with yourself and reschedule when your schedule isn’t so crazy.
February 16th – Mercury goes retrograde in your 8th house of banking and finance while Mars moves into your 6th house of daily health and work routines. The Mercury retrograde will have you stressing out a bit about how to put your savings plan into practice. You may have unexpected expenses come up that make saving money very difficult. Mars will help you take a step back and find clever ways to save a few bucks here and there to add to your savings account. Skip the daily Starbucks run and place the money you would normally spend on coffee in the bank.
February 19th – The Sun moves into your 8th house of banking and finance. Your attention will shift onto your finances at the end of the month when the Sun moves signs. Doing your taxes by any chance? Totally confused by the Schedule C? Were you expecting a refund but discovered that you owe quite a large tax bill? Don’t panic. Try to schedule a meeting with a tax specialist to get a second opinion.
February 22nd – A New Moon appears in your 8th house of banking and finance. Somebody may be sending you a financial gift to put toward your large purchase. You may even want to consider setting up a GoFundMe account to help fund your purchase. Remember to keep track of all contributions and send thank you notes ASAP.
Virgo (August 23-September 22)
February 3rd – Mercury joins Venus in your 7th house of relationships. Make new flute friends! This is a great time to do some networking. You will be chatting up a storm with some really interesting people and Venus will help make you quite popular with others.
February 7th – Venus moves into your 8th house of banking and finance. Venus in the 8th house will help attract the financial resources you need to fund a very important project. Do you have a great idea for research trip to Europe? Apply for grant funding during this time.
February 8th – A Full Moon appears in your 12th house of behind the scenes activities. You may need to abandon a piece that you have been struggling with in the practice room. It just isn’t for you and struggling with the technical bits has been wreaking havoc on your mental health. Girl, BYE! If it doesn’t work for you, you do not need to play it. Move on to something that speaks to your heart.
February 16th – Mercury goes retrograde in your 7th house of relationships while Mars moves into your 5th house of creativity and joy. Mercury retrograde in your house of relationships will force you to reexamine some of your connections with friends, family, and colleagues. Someone may be lying to you. Somebody else may be very jealous of you and creating a toxic work environment. Is there somebody preventing you from playing at your best? Do you feel like you need to apologize for successful performances? Mars will help you find creative ways to change your connection to toxic individuals. Remove any relationship that brings you down to create more space to collaborate with individuals that bring out your best self.
February 19th – The Sun moves into your 7th house of relationships. You will make a new friend when the Sun moves into your 7th house. Schedule some coffee meetings to chat about possible future collaborations. Your combined skills will lead to very interesting and inspiring projects.
February 22nd – A New Moon appears in your 7th house of relationships. Attend a local music conference around the time of this Full Moon as you will likely make a number of important new connections. People are very interested in your ideas and you will be interested in theirs. Bring some business cards to set up future collaborations.
Libra (September 23-October 22)
February 3rd – Mercury joins Venus in your 6th house of daily health and work routines. You may find yourself scheduling a number of meetings at the beginning of the month. Your teaching schedule may be booming and students may be scheduling extra lessons to prepare for upcoming competitions. Make sure to give yourself some extra time to rest between meetings to avoid burnout.
February 7th – Venus moves into your 7th house of relationships. This is a great time to hang out with your loved ones. Arrange a get together with your favorite flute friends. Discuss your hopes and dreams and what you love about playing the flute. Ask others about their musical journeys and future ambitions. What can you learn from them?
February 8th – A Full Moon appears in your 11th house of groups and communities. You may need to leave a performing group around the time of the Full Moon. The rehearsal schedule just may not work for you or perhaps you have had one too many difficult run-ins with the conductor. Be strong and reevaluate your commitment to the group. Is there another group that suits you better? Time to audition for a new role!
February 16th – Mercury goes retrograde in your 6th house of daily health and work routines while Mars moves into your 4th house of home and family. The Mercury retrograde may force you to finally admit that your schedule is out of control. Are you trying to do too much with not enough time? What can you delegate to others? What responsibilities can you clear from your calendar? Mars will encourage you to some time to spend with your family. They miss you and need your attention. Practice from home and involve your family in mock auditions.
February 19th – The Sun moves into your 6th house of daily health and work routines. You will need to put some work into reorganizing your daily schedule when the Sun moves into your 6th house. Are you scheduling time to exercise? Are you scheduling enough sleep and time to eat properly? Shift your schedule to make more time for self-care.
February 22nd – A New Moon appears in your 6th house of daily health and work routines. You will need to add more rehearsals or student lessons to your schedule at the end of the month. This is great timing as you have already spent a good amount of time rearranging your schedule to accommodate new opportunities. Just remember not to overbook yourself!
Scorpio (October 23-November 21)
February 3rd – Mercury joins Venus in your 5th house of creativity and joy. You have a creative project on your brain and will need some additional collaborators. Set up a number of meetings to discuss your project and project timelines with all who may be involved. If you are arranging a recital, schedule rehearsals with your accompanist, book the recital hall, find a page turner, and arrange for video and audio recording.
February 7th – Venus moves into your 6th house of daily health and work routines. You may be busy around this time, but you will be having a great time doing things that matter to you with people you enjoy working with. You will even be enjoying your workouts! Try not to accidentally burn yourself out doing all of the things. Make sure to get enough sleep and eat properly.
February 8th – A Full Moon appears in your 10th house of career goals. You will need to be honest with yourself about your career around the time of this Full Moon. You may have invested a lot of time pursuing a path that no longer works for you. Are you a natural born teacher trying to create a career as a performer? Or a musicologist that fantasizes about returning to the stage? Take inventory of your current career track. Are you on the right path?
February 16th – Mercury goes retrograde in your 5th house of creativity and joy while Mars moves into your 3rd house of communication. Think about the direction of your creative project when Mercury goes retrograde. Can you turn your solo recital into a lecture recital with a flashy accompanying PowerPoint presentation? As you reconsider this project, share your thoughts on your flute blog. Others are curious about your creative process and may have some great ideas that you had not yet considered.
February 19th – The Sun moves into your 5th house of creativity and joy. Your focus may shift squarely onto your project. Is there a deadline approaching? This could also be one of those great lightbulb moments when something you had been struggling with finally makes perfect sense. Create away!
February 22nd – A New Moon appears in your 5th house of creativity and joy. Sometimes a great project can snowball into other smaller yet similar great projects. This is what may be happening at the end of the month. If you are organizing a lecture recital, you might turn this into a conference proposal for a similar lecture recital or a panel discussion.
Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)
February 3rd – Mercury joins Venus in your 4th house of home and family. Spend some time with your family at the beginning of the month. Things may be changing at home and there will likely be weekend scheduling negotiations. Remain flexible and plan fun weekend getaways that everyone can look forward to.
February 7th – Venus moves into your 5th house of creativity and joy. This is a great combination! The planet of love is in the house of love just in time for Valentine’s day! Play music that you love during this time. Attend concerts by groups that inspire you. Take your loved ones to the opera. Find new inspiration in everything around you.
February 8th – A Full Moon appears in your 9th house of travel. If you have been planning a trip or a vacation abroad, you may need to reschedule your adventure. You may have even planned to travel to an audition and, due to unforeseen circumstances, need to cancel. It’s okay – there will be other travel opportunities down the road.
February 16th – Mercury goes retrograde in your 4th house of home and family while Mars moves into your 2nd house of income. Don’t freak out too much when Mercury goes retrograde. You will likely be planning a move to a new city, state, or country and will need to start making some decisions about where you would like to live and what you would like to take with you. With Mars in your 2nd house, it is likely that this move is connected to a new job. Congrats! As difficult as it is to say goodbye to your current circumstances, the road ahead will be filled with wonderful new people, places, and opportunities.
February 19th – The Sun moves into your 4th house of home and family. Your focus will be on your home and family when the Sun moves into your 4th house. Your family may be struggling a bit with the upcoming move. Try to be patient with them at this time. They are having a hard time saying goodbye.
February 22nd – A New Moon appears in your 4th house of home and family. You may find your dream home in your new city at the end of the month. Take a trip to view the property in person, preferably with your family, to get a good sense of the neighborhood. Try not to sign anything yet, if possible. Wait until Mercury goes direct on March 11th to avoid any delays or miscommunications with lease or mortgage terms.
Capricorn (December 22-January 19)
February 3rd – Mercury joins Venus in your 3rd house of communication. This is a great time to have some of those difficult chats that you may have otherwise been avoiding lately. Venus will help smooth over any touchy subjects while Mercury will help you clearly and efficiently make your case. Do you have a student that does not practice and clearly does not enjoy playing the flute? Have a conversation with them about what they enjoy about the flute and what they find challenging. If they are school-aged, chat with the parents to determine how involved they are in their child’s musical development. Are they giving the child space to learn in a way that makes sense to them and on a timeline that seems attainable or are they trying to impose rules and expectations that seem unreasonable?
February 7th – Venus moves into your 4th house of home and family. This is a great time to take your family out to a concert or simply schedule a family movie night. In fact, you might consider combining the two and renting a Met performance of your favorite opera. For more of a challenge, rent a video of the entire Ring Cycle and host a Wagner marathon at home. This is a great time to teach your family what a leitmotiv is and how to spot it.
February 8th – A Full Moon appears in your 8th house of banking and finance. You may be making the final payment on a new flute or finally paying off an educational loan you had taken out to attend grad school around the time of this Full Moon. Congrats! Make sure you have made all interest payments and close out your account with your financial advisor. Good work!
February 16th – Mercury goes retrograde in your 3rd house of communication while Mars moves into your 1st house of identity. It is never easy to have a Mercury retrograde in your house of communication, but this will be a really good opportunity to reevaluate how you communicate with others and if there are better ways to go about getting your point across to others. There may be misunderstandings with others during this time. Take a step back and identity your role in the miscommunication. Mars will ask you to be more genuine in your interactions with others. Express yourself honestly in ways that invite engaging and pleasant conversations.
February 19th – The Sun moves into your 3rd house of communication. You may find yourself writing up a storm when the Sun moves into your 3rd house. Blog about flute topics that interest you or ones that you see your students struggling with in their weekly lessons. You have a lot of great ideas and an entire World ready to engage in meaningful conversation about the flute.
February 22nd – A New Moon appears in your 3rd house of communication. Have you ever considered writing a book or an article about the flute? This New Moon will encourage to try your hand at a more substantial writing project. You may even be putting together a conference presentation proposal. Go for it! This New Moon will be pushing you to hit the “submit” button on your work.
Happy February!