January 14 – 20th

Old vs Wise

What to expect: Leaving the old
What to watch out for: Carrying forward wisdom
What will it affect? Old and outdated issues, customs, traditions, ways

Last week Venus, Chiron, and the North Node were dancing in grand trine providing an opportunity for us to heal our hearts and open to relationships. This week Venus moves on, but Ceres the minor planet associated with nurturing and mothering moves into the same spot to dance with Chiron and the North Node in a different but equally healing grand trine. All three are in water signs. Ceres will be in Scorpio helping us to work on trust and intimacy issues. It connects with the North Node in Cancer, which encourages us to look back on our lineage to unearth any karmic hereditary issues. They both connect with Chiron in Pisces to treat our collective wounds in self-care and nurturing. This entire aspect can bring up a raw emotional feeling, but deep healing can occur if we let ourselves go there.

In truth, we can be quite complacent about using the energy of a grand trine, but as we move closer to the lunar eclipse on the 20th of January, the Sun starts to oppose the North Node. The Sun and North node will help to bring this energy into a fairly special astrological formation. The Sun will sextile Chiron and Ceres to form a mini trine (or triangle). Ceres and Chiron will trine the North Node to form a grand trine (or equilateral triangle). Together they join to form what looks like a kite. The kite can only fly with a little bit of tension and that tension comes from the Sun opposite the North Node. The North Node is in Cancer and brings family, roots, lineage and family traditions to the focus. But with the Sun in Capricorn at the South Node, we want to hold on to the old, the tried and supposedly true. This can be an amazing time to let go of “old no longer working” customs and move forward with new. It is time to create new traditions, new family, and new foundations.

Recently I had the opportunity to spend some time with an Elder who taught me that there is a big difference between old and elder. An elder has the same amount of age as the old, but the difference is that he or she has amassed wisdom. We have another fortunate astrological configuration on the 18th. Mercury will conjunct Pluto in Capricorn. With both in Capricorn, we can draw on a pearl of deep and penetrating wisdom. Grandfather and Grandmother wisdom. The Elder wisdom of these two in conjunction to help us make wise, measured, laser sharp decisions. In fact, it may not be a bad idea to seek out the advice of an elder. This helps to bring the needed transformation to the foundations and structures mentioned above.

Why? Sun Opposition  North Node, Ceres Trine  North Node, Sun Sextile Ceres, Sun Sextile Ceres, Sun Sextile  Chiron, Sun Square Pallas, Mercury Conjunction Pluto,

Adventurous Magnetism

What to expect: A magnetic spark
What to watch out for: Misleading offers
What will it affect? Relationships, money, optimism

Venus and Mars will be in an exact trine until January 18th. We can enjoy the magnetism that these two will generate. Venus in Sagittarius and Mars in Aries create a fiery combination. This combination works much better if there is a bit of a chase. Mars in Aries jumps in with spontaneity and Venus in Sagittarius is definitely up for the adventure. Great things to do to take advantage of this energy are day trips or weekend trysts. Try out a new hiking trail or forge into new territory with a new type of foreign food. Entrepreneurs take note… use the energy to capitalize with adventurous offers. But buyer beware. Jupiter is still in a close square to Neptune and by the 20th Venus will square Neptune exactly. This is not so great energy for businesses. It brings about vagueness or dishonesty with money and relationships. Make sure to be clear and honest in your dealings.

Why? Venus Trine Mars, Venus Square Neptune

The Real Lion’s Gate – Lunar Eclipse

What to expect: Endings
What to watch out for: The need for courage
What will it affect? Leadership, courage, ego’s, change

The Lunar eclipse happens on January 20th at 0 degrees Leo. The Sabian symbol of this Lunar eclipse is “Under emotional stress, blood rushes to a man’s head”.How symbolic! When this total lunar eclipse is exact, it will look like a big red ball, like blood rushed to a man’s head. This degree represents the fire we feel as our egos are bruised and we are inflamed to defend. We are like the lion king. Maybe we’ve been living a life of Hakuna Matata (no worries) up until now. But now is the time to step up to lead! We’ve been working towards this energy all week! We are now ready to let some things go and to move into change. At this Full Moon Lunar Eclipse, the Sun which is opposite the Leo Moon is in Aquarius. It’s definitely ready for change, innovation and progress. But when the earth gets in the way to block the Sun from translating its light to the moon, change progress and innovation may desert us momentarily. Do we lose our courage?

The Sun will also square Pallas. Yes, we see the complete story. But with Pallas in Libra, unfortunately, we try to see both sides. Rather than make a decision to move forward, we may decide to sit on the fence. Fortunately, the Eclipse will square Uranus helping us to break through the indecision. Suddenly we roar. Our faces may be red with the adrenaline coursing through our bodies. In fact, it might come out of the blue and surprise even us. Did I just say that? Did I just do that? Well now that you have, there’s no turning back!

Mercury trines Juno so whatever we say, even if it is a bit shocking will get the support of our partners!

Why? Full Moon Lunar Eclipse at 0°Leo, Sun Entering Aquarius, Pallas Square North Node, Sun Square Uranus, Vesta Square Juno, Mercury trine Juno

Need support as you move through the eclipse energy? Book some time with Ingrid 

January 7 – 13th

International Relations

What to expect: Expansion
What to watch out for: Communication issues
What will it affect? Relationship building, values, communication and direction

Venus enters into Sagittarius on January 7th making it a great time for international relationships. What cross-border relationships do you want to establish? Our values shift toward expansion, in particular, global expansion. If you have a desire to expand into new territory, now may be a great time for investing in those relationships and Venus in Sagittarius will help you do so.

Mars is also in Aries and is driven to get things off the ground. However, Mars makes a square to Mercury in Capricorn on the 8th which sets off a bit of clash. Mars just wants to get things going but Mercury throws in the “what if’s” and the “have you thought about’s”. Actually, it’s more like “you can’t do that” and “that’s kinda stupid”. And this starts a bit of a conflict between the two. Mars in Aries is quite okay with making some mistakes and asking for forgiveness (instead of permission). Mercury in Capricorn, on the other hand, is concerned about quality and image and takes into consideration the impact that making mistakes and looking “stupid” can have on reputation. Mars in Aries doesn’t live in that kind of fear and knows that making mistakes and looking stupid is the way to move forward and figure it out. So what’s the compromise? Mars can slow down a bit to make sure there are not fatal errors being made. Mercury can be a little more flexible and open to a little less perfection.

Why? Venus Entering Sagittarius, Mercury Square Transiting Mars

Dynamic Duo

What to expect: Solid partnerships
What to watch out for: Abuse of power
What will it affect? Power dynamics, relationships, structures, and goals.

The Sun meets up with Pluto on January between the 10th and 12th and makes a trine to Juno, the marriage and partnership asteroid. The Sun and Pluto and Capricorn create a powerful combination. With this conjunction happening in Capricorn we see power focused on achievement, and building something that is enduring. It does however like the tried and true. And it is a bit intolerant of the weak and feeble. With the trine to Juno, it brings this powerful energy into partnerships. United we stand. Divided we fall… It highlights the power that comes from strong and solid partnerships. Juno is in Taurus which favours tradition, reliability, and groundedness. Normally this kind of traditional energy works best with conservative relationships, but you can take advantage of the energy if you work towards mutual understanding, clear expectations, agreement on goals and agreement on values. These qualities are the hallmark of interdependent relationships! If you have soul mate or twin flame relationship that just works, all that much better. The benefit, of course, is that we can do more together than we can apart.

Why? Sun Conjunction Transiting Pluto, Sun Trine Transiting Juno

The Fool!

What to expect: Over-optimism
What to watch out for: Over-optimism
What will it affect? Risk taking, gambling, beliefs, international trade and finance,

On January 13th Jupiter squares Neptune. This energy will be in play all year as Jupiter and Neptune dance in their forward and retrograde motions. In total, they will make three conjunctions. The first conjunction is on January 13th. The next two will be June 16th and September 21st. At their exact conjunction, the energy will be strong, but with these two in this dance all year, we can expect much of the year to be filled with this energy. In fact, this is one of the major transits of 2019 and is a particularly difficult one for business and business activity. You can still launch a business and get things off the ground with success. Back in 1853, the last time Jupiter was in Sagittarius and Neptune in Pisces on May 1, 1853, Levi Strauss & Co. was founded. But it should be noted that on that day Neptune and Jupiter were probably the farthest they apart they could be while doing this dance.

What can we expect from this combination? Well, Jupiter is in Sagittarius the sign that likes gambling and risk-taking. It expands things and makes us feel more optimistic and generous. On its own, this is not a bad thing. But the square to Neptune currently in Pisces brings in an illusory quality. Our optimism becomes over-optimism. Our generosity becomes lavish. We may be sold on things that promise much but deliver little such as get rich schemes, volatile stocks or pyramid schemes.

Luckily for this first conjunction, we also have Mercury conjunct Saturn. This helps us to view things critically and to have a cautious approach. On the other hand, we may be so convinced of our knowledge and authority on a subject that we speak with influence, leading many to believe we know. The danger is that we are strong and wrong.  Neptune makes a sextile to Mercury and Saturn lending inspiration to our authoritative voice. We dream out loud and others say “yes!”. The best way to use this energy is to do so in an area that over-optimism and foolish risk-taking may be served well. I can’t tell you how many entrepreneurs I know who have acted without much thought, only to realize much later that if they had known better, they wouldn’t have. That foolish action led them into following their dreams albeit with much hard work and failure. Yes while sometimes it can work out, most of the time it will fail! We just learn from our failures, which in my books is a success!

Why? Jupiter Square Neptune, Mercury Conjunction Saturn

December 31 – Jan 6, 2019

Wrap Up 2018 and Plan 2019!

What to expect: Great Opportunity for Planning
What to watch out for: Pessimism
What will it affect? Projects, plans, getting things done

December 31 Mars enters into Aries. Mars feels very comfortable in Aries. It’s an action-oriented planet in an action-oriented sign! This gives us the energy to push through the last day of the year with anything we hoped to complete in 2018. Aries is the sign of the Entrepreneur. Sometimes we as entrepreneurs have so many ideas with so many directions that we fail to complete things. Take one of those unfinished projects, something you consider low hanging fruit, and complete it. Just remember not to be too hasty and rushed. Don’t sacrifice quality for quickness.

Even if you do rush, things will slow down. On January 1st the Sun will meet up with Saturn in a conjunction. This is great energy for organizing and delegating any work that needs to be done. If you’re a planner, and I hope you are, this is a great day to get out the calendar and plan things. Saturn and the Sun are in the sign of Capricorn and the combined the energy bring structure and the ability to construct solid foundations. It also gives us a slowed and pragmatic approach to our planning. This helps to ensure quality in our plans and approaches.

Why? Mars in Aries, Sun Conjunction Saturn

Vision and Hope

What to expect: Healing
What to watch out for: Fear and hurt
What will it affect? Inspiration, healing, relationships, collective wounds

On January 3rd, great ideas may come flooding in. Mercury the planet responsible for our thinking processes will make a trine to Uranus the planet of surprises, change, and flashes of insight. Mercury is in the last degrees of Sagittarius so our ideas may be very abstract and lofty. The way to make them doable is to share them. Bring on the inspiration. Bring on the evangelist within. Mercury will also be squaring Chiron in the last degrees of Pisces. This brings up a wound. It’s the collective wound. The wound we all feel. The one we all also feel is out of our reach to fix. Yet we can be inspired to let go of the pain surrounding it! And it’s this inspiration that can help us gain access to the fire within, igniting the passion for change. 2018 is done. It’s time to let go! It’s time to leave it in the past! What visions are you sharing that will inspire us on that path forward?

There is something else that is happening. Venus in Scorpio, Chiron in Pisces and the North Node in Cancer are forming a grand water trine. The grand trine provides an opportunity generally not taken advantage of unless there is tension or an impetus to do so. Uranus mentioned earlier as the planet of surprises, need for change and the flashes of insight, stations on the 5th and will go direct on the 6th. It’s been square to the north node for quite some time but now breaks the tension as it moves direct. The Sabian symbols for the north node is “An Indian girl introduces college boy-friend to her tribe”. The north node, Venus and Chiron want to heal relationships and the differences we experience in them. Does the tribe welcome the boyfriend with open arms? Or do they cast him and her with her new educated ways out? The opportunity is for us to be able to heal and accept differences. There is also an opportunity to heal our money wounds. The educated Indian girl can be seen as a threat. But the opportunity is to welcome her higher education and the opportunity it provides without it changing the values that are important to the tribe.

Why? Mercury Square Chiron, Mercury Trine Uranus, Mercury Trine Transiting Uranus, Venus Trine Transiting North Node, Venus Tri Chiron

New Moon Solar Eclipse

What to expect: Opportunity for intention setting
What to watch out for: unconscious false beliefs
What will it affect? Opportunities, goals, manifestations

Both Saturn and Pluto have settled into Capricorn. For the coming 2019 year, much of the themes we encounter will be Capricorn flavoured. Saturn and Pluto get a harsh rap. They operate in extremes. Pluto drags us through the underworld and turns us out. Saturn brings structure, lesson, and responsibility and is largely karmic. However, if we embrace these two when their energy is present, our lives definitely go much easier. For Pluto to be on your side, you need to step out like a warrior, ready for the hero’s journey it’s sure to bring. Viewed this way, any misfortune or challenge can be seen as character building and wisdom imbuing. On the other hand, for Saturn to work in our favour, we need to have done the work leading up to it. Saturn shouts at us to get down and give her 50! If you’ve done the work, even though those pushups are challenging, you’ll be doing them with one hand. If you haven’t done the work, like a drill sergeant, she’ll whip you into shape, but I promise, it will feel like death getting there. That’s why this particular New Moon is important. The New Moon on January 5th sits between these two, with each of them leaning in to add their flavor.

New Moons are times of intention setting, envisioning new projects, and turning over a new leaf. This New Moon is also a Solar Eclipse which gives it even more intention setting power. In what area of your life do you want to set intentions to welcome in structure and transformation?

When we think Capricorn the sign of this New Moon, we think of a stern fatherly energy. But it might surprise you to know that Capricorn is a feminine sign. Feminine signs are receptive, intuitive and inward-oriented. The energy is magnetic, drawing to it the circumstances it envisions. With Saturn’s Karmic energy leaning in, it has the power of manifestation. It is therefore important that we are careful in our construction of what we envision for manifestation at this time. The New Moon will sextile Neptune in Pisces which connects us deeply with spirit, intuition, creativity, and emotion. There is a very powerful key to manifestation. The key is to combine clear and well-defined goals with that spirit-filled, heartfelt emotion. The stumbling block is that Capricorn and Saturn can draw us into pessimism. Mercury now also in Capricorn also throws a damper on our thoughts. Now is the time for building our confidence and to speak what want with authority and confidence. To do this it will help to uncover any false core beliefs and clear them. My advice is to take the transformational energy that Pluto leans into the New Moon with to become clear on those internal false beliefs. Then through whatever means possible, transform the structure of those thoughts! Then and only then, set your intentions for the New Moon!

Why? Sun Sextile Neptune, Mercury Entering Capricorn, New Moon at 15°Capricorn, Partial Solar Eclipse