January Astrology 2016
First Week Of Jan – 4th – 10th
Mercury Goes Retrograde!
What to expect: Review, rethink, revise.
What to watch out for: The usual travel and communication mess ups, plus pessimism.
What will it affect? Thinking, communication, new ideas, and practical assessments.
The energy shifts as we move into 2016. Mercury moves into Aquarius and will stay in the sign for just a few days before going retrograde on January 5th. Zero degrees is a very important degree in the zodiac. It’s the degree of initiation, when things move from nothing to something and, with Mercury in the sign of Aquarius, this is a beginning in new and innovative ways of thinking or communicating. But sometimes when we take a leap forward and we get scared. we move backwards. When Mercury gets to one degree of Aquarius, Mercury backpedals and moves back into Capricorn.
When Mercury goes retrograde, it’s all about hitting pause and taking a look at everything we have put into action over the last couple of months since the last retrograde. It’s a time to review, re-evaluate, and reconsider. It’s going back into Capricorn which is concerned with quality, structure, foundations and achievement. We need to consider if the direction we are going is practical. We might get caught up in being skeptical and find ourselves uttering a lot of ‘shoulds.’ We might even begin to think those thoughts we had at the beginning of the month were crazy talk, but this is a necessary process and it sets the groundwork for moving forward once Mercury goes direct on Jan 25th. Use this time for making practical assessments and reworking what may not be working.
Why? Mercury goes retrograde in Aquarius, back into Capricorn.
Putting your big toe in your mouth
What to expect: Someone yelling “fight!”
What to watch out for: Big crowds spurring it on.
What will it affect? Thoughts, words, and actions.
There is a lot of passionate energy at the beginning of January; Mars goes into Scorpio on Jan 3rd, making us forceful and at times suspicious. We’ll have a tendency to want to be manipulative and a jealous nature might emerge. These feelings are complicated by the Sun meeting up with Pluto on the 5th which pushes our need for intensity — our egos may get involved. Mercury is also in a face-off with Mars. It’s the same day that Mercury goes retrograde. Mars in Scorpio is a sign known for its sting as Mars was the traditional ruler of Scorpio. Expect passionate, fighting words. There’s another planetary thing happening on the 5th which makes it a day to avoid getting carried away with unrealistic expectations. Venus is square to Neptune, making us unclear or clouded about our love and money situations. Committing to anything on this day will be source of a great turmoil in the future. Instead, go see a futuristic war movie like Star Wars and allow your passions to play out on the big screen.
Why? Mars in Scorpio, Mercury rx, Mercury square Mars, and Venus square Neptune.
Inner Cleanse
What to expect: Self development.
What to watch out for: Ignoring the inner call.
What will it affect? Beliefs, plans, and health..
Jupiter goes retrograde on Jan 7th. Jupiter is expansion — when it goes retrograde it still expands, but inwardly. Its job during retrograde is to help us turn inward and reevaluate our beliefs, the ways that we have been expanding and growing. It’s an expanded inward journey and we can take time to work on our self development with respect to our productivity, our plans, and backup plans in the sign of Virgo. We can clear out the inner clutter of our lives. On Jan 7th, the Sun also makes a square to Uranus and we might find that this generates an inner jolt (or even an outer jolt), causing us to take action to make the necessary inward look.
New Moon at 19°Cp13′, Jan 9th – Music of the Spheres
What to expect: A new time for intention setting.
What to watch out for: Aligning what we really want.
What will it affect? Achievements, healing, and expanding what we w
ant.
When notes are played in a particular order they can move, heal, and inspire us. Truthfully, music can move us to almost any emotion. If I am driving and I hear Ludacris’ ‘Move b*tch get out the way,’ it is almost certain that it will channel my inner road rage. If I am listening to classical piano music, it channels another emotion. Pythagoras postulated that music had a structure: pitch was in proportion to the length of a string and sound frequencies were in relation to a ratio between harmonies. Long story short, there’s mathematical reasoning behind the structure of music. He related all of this to the Moon, Sun, and other planets in a theory called the Music of the Spheres. You might think to yourself that Pythagoras was all about triangles and wonder what he has to do with the New Moon. At this New Moon, we are invited to join with the healing music of the universe. It is a time when we can lift our spirits in gratitude and send out intentions to increase our vibration. Pay attention to whatever music with which you align yourself. If it’s the road rage variety but you want something different in your life, play a different song and you will most certainly change the math of your manifestations. Venus and Saturn will help us to assess what we value.
Why? New Moon forms helpful angles to Chiron in Pisces and Jupiter in Virgo. Venus is also conjunct Saturn.
Week of Jan 11th – 17th
Tree top adventure anyone?
What to expect: Learning from adventure.
What to watch out for: Being too scared.
What will it affect? Values, adventure, groups, and affiliations.
Venus is in Sagittarius on the 12th and it’s making a nice aspect to Uranus, creating a fiery adventure-seeking combination. Since Jupiter has just gone into retrograde, it’s a good time to work on personal development with inner work. This aspect from Venus can manifest in the form of a team exercise, something like the amazing race, or in the workplace as a facilitated team adventure. Not only will these kinds of adventures take you on a necessary adventure out of the ordinary, but they will also help you to assess your real values and help you understand what needs to change.
If you not able to out on the 12th, the 13th is also a great day as the Sun will be making a nice aspect to Jupiter and it’ll be very optimistic. It’s also the day that can be used to unpack what you’ve learned and to put into place any steps for implementing new ways of being. We can easily let go of things that are no longer necessary.
Why? Venus trine Uranus and Sun trine Jupiter.
Deep learning
What to expect: Peeling another layer of the onion.
What to watch out for: Trying to move forward with new plans.
What will it affect? Communication, plans, old projects, and old teams.
The review continues as Mercury makes aspects to the Sun, North Node, and Jupiter. This week centers on a deep review of our plans.
Get out a pen and paper on Jan 13 – 14th and make a list of all of the things that you’ve started and haven’t completed. Things won’t go well if you’re moving forward on a new project. But if you’re moving forward with things that you have yet to complete, things that have been shelved and ignored, now is the time to act. Mercury is retrograde but it’s making aspects to planets that, if used wisely, will help move you through some of these projects. It makes an aspect to the North Node which may bring together the old dream team. Maybe you all had good intentions, but just got too busy and ended up going in different directions. Now you may find the chance to come together. It’s also time to decide if something needs to be put to bed for good. As Arianna Huffington says in her book Thrive, “Did you know you can complete a project by dropping it? ” But if you’re going to drop it, drop it mindfully. Tell yourself it’s done and remove it from your life.
And if you need to purge, Mercury is also making a nice aspect to Jupiter which is in the sign of Virgo. Virgo loves a nice clean-up.
Don’t forget to communicate your plans as the Sun will connect with Mercury on the 14th, giving us time to communicate and assert ourselves. We may still have to contend with email glitches or computer problems, so don’t be surprised to see or send out a lot of messages in the form of ‘correction news.’
Why? Mercury trine North Node, Sun conjunct Mercury, and Mercury trine Jupiter.
Share knowledge, Insights, Best Practices
What to expect: Synergy.
What to watch out for: Trying to go it alone.
What will it affect? Relationships, teams, networking and connections.
The 15th is a prime time to get together with others and enlist their help. It’s a great day to connect with your tribe – you’ll be able to get what you need from each if you spend the time brainstorming. If you have trouble reaching out for help, give it a try today.
Why? Venus trine North Node.
Week of Jan 18 – 24th
All talk no action
What to expect: Loving concern and great ideas.
What to watch out for: Doing nothing about it.
What will it affect? Beliefs, values, and the collective good.
You may wake up on the 18th with great intentions for doing all kinds of things for others. We are all selfless and we have many ideas on how to help. The only problem is that we are a little bit self-indulgent so, though we have these great ideas in our minds, we may end up spending the day watching Netflix. It’s a day when we may be all talk and no action. Don’t get me wrong – even if you end up doing nothing, it will be an enjoyable day. But we will feel much better about ourselves if we actually take action with our selfless and loving ideas. It’s a time when we will need to act without expecting others to do the work for us. AND, If you happen to be the one doing all the work, by the 19th we can let go of relationships that don’t serve our values or support us. The Little Red Hen fable comes to mind here.
Why? Mars trine Neptune, Venus square Jupiter, and Venus square North Node.
Communication breakdown and breakthroughs
What to expect: Intensity around communication.
What to watch out for: Fear.
What will it affect? Governments, power structures, and personal changes.
The third week of January builds up to some intense communications by the middle of the week. Mercury Rx will be squaring Uranus. Later in the week it will be conjunct Pluto. These events all come very close to Mercury’s stationary period just before it turns direct again, making it a time when the intensity of Mercury retrograde will speed up. Anything from technological breakdowns to breakdowns in structures will make themselves known. We’re also at the end of the tail end of the Pluto-Uranus square. It’s that big energy that has been playing out over the last couple of years, causing huge revolutionary changes in power, governments, and social groups. Officially we left it behind last year, but these two are coming very close together again and, with Mercury in the mix, announcements may be made
with respect to what has been going on with these two. On the social level, this change could be talks of war or it could be talks of changing governments/leadership. In our personal lives, it could be the final breakthroughs, the culmination of all the breakdowns that you have been experiencing in the last two years. With the Sun moving into Aquarius this week, we’ll be motivated to make changes.
Why? Sun in Aquarius, Mercury square Uranus, and Mercury conjunct Pluto.
Full Moon at 3°Le29′- January 23rd
What to expect: Looking for a sense of achievement.
What to watch out for: Discounting the feminine achievements.
What will it affect? Courage, leadership, and relationships.
At the Full Moon, we want to feel a strong sense of accomplishment. On one hand, we are recognized for our courage, our intelligence, and our strength of character. But at the same time this desire is at odds with our feminine aspects. As we’re hanging up our trophies, are we losing our feminine identity? Now is the time to acknowledge our feminine intelligence and achievements and to stop discarding that which is feminine as lack of accomplishment. We tend to discount stillness and retreat. We reward the fight, rather than the flight. But now is the time to acknowledge the courage in those other approaches.
We are especially concerned with our relationship at this Full Moon. How do we protect our partners? And what is the best approach to creating solidarity?
As powerful words are spoken and words of fear are tossed around, we can access these tools and acknowledge their source of accomplishment in our lives, whether they are of the fight or flight variety.
Why? Mars conjunct Juno, Venus in Capricorn, and Full Moon in Leo.
Jan 24th – Feb 1st
Escalating communications
What to expect: Fearful communication.
What to watch out for: Missing the opportunity for loving approaches.
What will it affect? Communication, social changes, personal changes, and spiritual approach.
Mercury goes direct on January 25th and, in its forward motion, it goes again over first Pluto on January 30th and Uranus on January 31st. This energy consumes the week. It’s a little bit of a repeat of last week except now the energy is freed to move forward. We may hear powerful speeches from politicians or world leaders. We may hear radical challenges of the status quo. The passionate energy of Mars is still in Scorpio so we may also hear some fighting words or words of manipulation.
At the same time, Venus is making a nice aspect to Neptune. Venus is in Capricorn and Neptune is in Pisces which is an energy that helps us not to suffer fools. This is a time that we can connect to the divine and unconditional love without being duped into unhealthy sacrifice in the name of spirit or the collective good. All in all, we have the ability to be spiritual and unconditional while keeping our feet on the ground. This grounding helps us to assess what is going on around us and to take loving actions both for ourselves and others without resulting in spiritual bypass – if we so chose. This choice is the key to dealing with the intensity of the communication this last week of January
Why? Mercury conjunct Pluto, Mercury square Uranus, Venus sextile Neptune