Look, I gotta be honest with you folks. I am a Virgo, through and through. That means I organize my socks by color and I need a spreadsheet for everything. But it also means I am a massive skeptic when it comes to stars and planets telling me what to do. Usually, I chuck those career horoscopes straight in the trash bin. But late 2022, things were getting tight. I needed a pay bump, plain and simple, and I had been dragging my feet on asking for months.
I stumbled across this February 2023 prediction for Virgos specifically highlighting the “optimal days to approach higher-ups for financial discussions.” I laughed, but then I stopped. I figured, what’s the harm? If this whole process forces me to actually organize my pitch and commit to a date, then the stars did their job, regardless of whether they were actually aligned or not.
My Due Diligence: Pinpointing the Date
My first step wasn’t calling my boss; it was treating the horoscope like a data point that needed verification. Because I don’t trust just one source, I literally cross-referenced three different major astrology blogs that were tracking the Mercury and Venus transits for that specific period. I scoured forums and compared charts. It was intense, like doing market research for a new product, except the product was me getting paid more.
The overwhelming consensus kept pointing to a short window in mid-February, specifically around the 15th through the 17th. I zeroed in on the 16th. Why the 16th? One report I read claimed that Venus, ruling money and value, was in a strong position, making bosses more receptive to arguments about worth. I decided I was going to exploit that planetary energy, or at least the psychological deadline it gave me.
I marked the 16th in red on my calendar. No backing out.
Building the Unbeatable Case
You can’t just walk in and say, “The stars told me I deserve more money.” That’s a fast track to getting laughed out of the office. The real work started the minute I had that date locked down. I pulled up my performance reviews from the past year, ignoring the fluffy management speak and focusing only on quantifiable results. I needed facts, not feelings.
I drafted a document, something straightforward and easy to read. It wasn’t fancy, just a list of the specific projects I had taken over, the problems I had solved, and the money I had demonstrably saved the company. I organized it into this list:
- I took over the entire client intake process when Steve quit, and trained the new guy without dropping any balls.
- I fixed that messy reporting dashboard that nobody else understood, which saved us about ten hours of manual reconciliation every week.
- I successfully managed Project X, bringing it in 15% under budget, even though everyone said it was impossible.
- My current salary is X% below the industry average for this role in our city. I verified this using three different salary aggregators.
I rehearsed my delivery in front of the mirror, trying to sound confident but not demanding. I practiced answering potential pushback. The most important thing I drilled into my head was this: I wasn’t asking for a favor; I was demanding the value that I was already delivering.
The Execution: Walking the Talk on the 16th
I booked the meeting with my manager for the afternoon of February 16th. I wanted to give him enough time to get his morning coffee jitters out but before he started worrying about the evening commute. I walked into that office feeling more prepared than I had ever been for any meeting in my career. And yes, I was wearing the “lucky” shirt my sister gave me. Hey, why risk it?
I started the conversation directly. I didn’t beat around the bush. I laid out my document, literally slid it across the desk, and referenced the points one by one. I spoke clearly about my contributions and my market value. When I got to the number I wanted, I stated it confidently and then I shut up. That’s key—say the number, and let the silence hang.
My manager was surprised, not by the request, but by the level of detail I had brought. He reviewed the list, nodding along to the key accomplishments. He couldn’t just brush me off because the data was all right there in front of him. He thanked me for the meticulous preparation and committed to taking the request immediately to HR.
The Aftermath and My Conclusion
Did I get the immediate “Yes, here is your money” right there on February 16th? Nope. That’s real life, not a movie. But I did secure a firm commitment that day. Two weeks later, HR followed through, and my raise was confirmed, effective the following month.
So, was it the stars? Was Venus smiling down on this meticulous Virgo? Maybe, maybe not. What I realized is that the power of that horoscope wasn’t in celestial guidance; it was in forced organization. It gave a procrastinating Virgo a completely external, non-negotiable deadline. It pushed me to stop talking about getting a raise and start proving why I deserved one. I converted my typical analytical skepticism into actual strategic planning, and that, my friends, is why the timing worked. Next time I need a career bump, I’ll be checking those “best days” again, not because I believe in them, but because I believe in deadlines.
