For the first portion of this month, we will be dealing with the very tricky energies of Venus in Scorpio and a Saturn-Sun conjunction. I have brought up Venus in Scorpio before – Venus is in her detriment here, as Scorpio’s preoccuptation with fear and death do not provide a suitable environment for Venus to express her focus on creating beauty and harmony in the world. Since Scorpio tends to constantly prod and excavate difficult emotional issues in a relationship, friendships can suffer or take a darker tone during this period. Fortunately it will only continue for another week.
What compounds this is the Sun-Saturn conjunction that will be felt for the first half of the month. The Sun rules life force, vitality, and ego; when he is conjunct the planet traditionally associated with death, loss, and restriction, our drive and desire to accomplish something in the world and be ourselves can suffer. People with a natal Saturn-sun conjunction can often feel like there are forces holding them back from expressing themselves, and can be the victim of a lot of negative self-talk and shame. On the positive side, this is a fantastic time to begin structuring our lives more and to begin getting clear about what it is we truly want in life. The temporal limits of Saturn grant an opportunity to take stock of what is really important to us and what we really want to be doing with our lives.
On the more positive side, Mars will be ingressing from Pisces into Aries on the first of this month. Pisces is a confusing placement for mars – while he isn’t technically debilitated, the deep, interpersonal nature of pisces tends to put out the fire of Mars. But Mars is essentially dignified in Aries, so this fire will come back full force. Mars in Aries is an excellent time to begin any new projects and tackle any daunting tasks – the hot fires of Mars are burning brightly and will provide the necessary stamina to take on a wide array of challenges.
For the most part this month, the aspects between the planets are positive. Venus will conjoin Jupiter in Sagittarius after she leaves Scorpio, and they will both be trine mars. However, once mars moves into Ares a dreaded Mars-Saturn square period will begin. Since these are both malefics and in a difficult aspect, the field is astrologically ripe for tension, discord, and general disagreement. More arguments may surface between friends and family, and you may feel blocked from getting exactly what it is that you want, or even knowing what you want. You will begin to feel the effects of the aspect around January 10th, and it will perfect on January 20th. After January 20th, the square will begin to die down.
That sums up some of the most important developments for the planets this month. I’d like to spend the rest of this essay discussing the motions of the moon. We start this month with moon in her fall in scorpio. Don’t be surprised if aspects of your shadow begin to surface and habits that you would normally repress are forced into the light of day. Whenever the moon is in scorpio, the stage is set to withdrawal and engage in inner reflection and meditation. This is not a good time to make any major life decisions – be still as much as possible and observe approach things with meditative awareness.
This new moon in Capricorn on the 6th will be unique since both the sun and the moon will also be conjunct Saturn. Saturn will bring sobriety to this period – while all new moons are excellent periods to make plans and set goals for the new cycle, the addition of Saturn into the mix affords an opportunity to make these goals very grounded and realistic. This is not a time for dreamy idealism – find what can actually be done and be honest. Since the moon is in detriment in Capricorn, don’t be surprised if any emotional or psychic pain becomes more pronounced during this time.
More positive periods for the moon this month are the 10th and 11th, the 15th and 16th, and the 19th and 20th, when the moon occupies in Pisces, Taurus, and Cancer respectively. In each of these periods she occupies a position of rulership (triplicity, exaltation, and domicile) and bonified by the sun. These are excellent times for things which require emotional stability – perhaps having a difficult conversation that you have been putting off. Towards the end of the month, the moon will be in Sagittarius conjunct both venus and Jupiter – the two classical benefics, and by this point the mars-saturn square will be separating, so we may find that this period produces more overtly posive results than the ones where the moon was in her rulership.
That sums up the forecast for January. There are a lot of challenging things coming up, but with awareness we can begin to prepare for them!