January: the Month in Review

This month is the last before Jupiter, ruler of luck and expansion, turns retrograde for four months. Retrograde is when a planet, due to the relative positions in our respective orbits, appears to go backward. While this is an optical illusion, the effects are no illusion. When a planet goes retrograde, those things that planet rules are less accessible. So this is the time to take all those actions that require extra luck. Push to rise up and out of the rut in which you find yourself. The extra effort this requires won’t be easy, due to Saturn’s retrograde, but in six weeks, things will be so different astrologically that it won’t even be possible. Force yourself to do what you must and don’t stop just because you step on somebody’s toes. Clarify to those you must that, starting now, you are making an all-out effort to work toward your goals and will consider any interference, even disguised as helpful or sound advice, as sabotage. Remember too that those times that are the luckiest and best for you don’t always find you feeling your luckiest or best.

All times are given in New York (Eastern) Standard Time

Saturday January 8th

Scorpio moon goes Void of Course (see note below) at 4:01 AM entering the 12th House of Mysteries, Secrets and Lies at 4:28 AM and Sagittarius at 7:22 PM. Mercury enters Sagittarius at 4:05 PM.

Moon sextiles Jupiter 4:01 AM
Moon conjuncts Pluto 12:08 PM
Moon conjuncts Mercury 8:52 PM
Moon conjuncts Venus 10:05 PM

Full reverse. From holding back yesterday, press that luck today, to the hilt if necessary. Have thought it out.

This isn’t all that lucky, although luck is definitely a player in your plans but people, sociability, wit and willingness to act on what you recognize as an opportunity are the order of the day. There is literally no end to the advantages you can win with people but you have to make the effort. Your plans will be served by a strategically placed party. Tonight is definitely the night, and not to invite those usual and comfortable friends. Rather, look to those who are not yet friends but in a position to do you some real good. You don’t have to invest a lot of money to make a great party, just love.

Sunday, January 9th

Sagittarius moon
Moon sextiles Uranus 5:57 AM

Rest if you want to, but it’s better to shower energy on those you love. In either case, recharge.

Just like last week, this is the official day of rest and it’s going to feel like rest is what you really need and that’s true, but what those around you really need is you and this is one of the rare opportunities this month to show that much needed love in the most efficient manner. Usually the word efficient and love don’t seem to mix. But we all need love and there are times when we are simply more receptive to it. Today is a day you can get across with a smile what on another day might take an hour of heartfelt conversation. To make everything more magical, be more active.

Monday, January 10th

Sagittarius moon wanes to new and enters the 1st House (Personality) at 7:05 AM, going Void at 1:01 PM.
Sun squares Jupiter 3:31 AM
Sun conjuncts Moon 7:05 AM
Moon opposes Saturn 1:01 PM

FULL STOP. This is a dangerous day, too much work for even the ambitious. This is a magic time but, at this very moment, the magic is that odd sort that lets you see that what you depend on will not last.

This unlucky and difficult day has some real advantages and the foremost of these is the dreadful awareness that all things pass. That includes good things; that includes things like jobs and income and other vital concerns. Use your magic now not to preserve but to change. The dangers that you sense under the influence of these aspects are not the dangers that are currently taking place but what is to come and come real soon, like next month. So wake up and get active for your own sake. What you are going toward must necessarily replace what you have. Be smart. Pray.

Tuesday, January 11th

Sagittarius moon enters Capricorn at 4:17 AM
Moon sextiles Mars 4:52 PM
Moon conjuncts Neptune 8:35 PM

Today’s still dangerous if only because people haven’t caught up with the times which are once again lucky.

Having made your best magic last night to make the best of specifically the next 3 weeks, shake off any emotional residue from the new moon and start the last big push of the year today. Astrologically speaking, the year changes next month, not this. The atmosphere will change as well. You have, no doubt, already felt the energy shift. This is still, astrologically speaking, a Leo year, full of aggression, broad feelings and creative energy. But that has not actually been the case since late last summer because that is actually when the year shifted. That change will become ever more apparent.

Wednesday, January 12th

Capricorn moon goes Void at 2:52 AM, enters the 2nd House (Earned Money) at 9:45 AM and enters Aquarius at 11:32 AM.
Moon trines Jupiter 2:52 AM
Moon sextiles Pluto 10:47 AM

Let it ride. Keep the pressure on what you’ve been doing and, as much as possible, have planned for this.

Wake up early and be ready to push hard. While there may seem to be little, and not so little, difficulties in your way, this is an extremely lucky time and the more you’ve rallied your energies for it, the more you will get out of it. In the year ahead, details and punctiliousness will be more important. The best advantage is made out of the day by getting as much done as you can during the day, as tomorrow will be so complicated astrologically that there won’t be enough time left over to effectively push plans. So push now and expect tomorrow to hold this ground you are now gaining.

Thursday, January 13th

Aquarius moon goes Void at 8:59 PM.
Venus sextiles Uranus 1:02 AM Mercury sextiles Uranus 3:35 AM
Moon conjuncts Uranus 5:10 AM Moon sextiles Mercury 5:20 AM
Moon sextiles Venus 5:33 AM Sun opposes Satur 6:09 PM
Moon squares Mars 7:59 PM Mercury conjuncts Venus 9:33 PM

This is a very busy day astrologically and to keep pace with it, you will be able to do little else. Don’t try.

This is a difficult day, as in challenging. To manage all the mood swings of those around you, you are going to have to be extremely flexible, as in a whole lot more flexible than usual. It will be important to bear in mind that there should be no competitors for love but indeed there are. Don’t engage in such competitions now. As mentioned, the place to focus your energy is in maintaining advantages gained yesterday and the greatest threat to those gains is anger, which will come very easily and with a great deal more force than expected. Pound your fist in anger today and you’ll wind up apologizing for breaking someone’s table as well as heart.

Friday, January 14th

Aquarius moon enters Pisces at 9:50 AM and the 3rd House (Everyday Matters) at 3:25 PM.

Moon squares Pluto 12:42 PM
Moon trines Saturn 1:45 PM
Sun sextiles Moon 3:25 PM

Try. Your week shouldn’t have been too disrupted by yesterday but make a valiant effort now for more.

Now again, the forces favor real aggression on those real goals, very different from yesterday’s temptations to expend aggression on the dim and undisciplined who were just getting in your way. Work comes more easily but you have to focus to get the results. Today’s easier. Don’t rest. As the day wears on, there will be seen among the better folks a decided upturn in spirits. It’s worth watching for, as it is an indicator to you of who those good folks are. These people may not be those you expect. Therefore, it’s best to watch now to see who responds well. It’s the only way to be sure.

___________________________________________________________

* To make an 8,000 - 10,000 year long story short, Actual Astrology is the kind practiced by those great little guys who invented astrology. To the people of Sumeria and, for all we know, before, the study of the movements of the astral bodies and their relationships to earthly events was ever of extreme importance. They documented both. Their astrological reports recording planetary and star positions included observations of the weather, market prices, political change, royal disposition, water levels, birth defects, the appearance of strange animals, the flights of birds, the dreams of common people and the behavior of livestock. These people, founders of civilization, and those who followed, Akkadians, Assyrians, and Babylonians treated this study as a state project. In time, it became both the science and religion of these peoples. Thousands of people, over thousands of years, observed and recorded, considered and calculated, creating the only database of this kind. For 2000 years after the fall of Babylon, astronomy fell to not thousands of people, but three - Hipparchus, Ptolemy and Copernicus - and they didn’t bother to note concurrent events. Western astrology today is built on formulas and fallacies designed by Greeks who couldn’t read cuneiform.

IMPORTANT. When the Moon goes Void, or Void of Course, it means the moon has made its last significant aspect in a sign and will be considered Void or Void of Course until it changes signs. It is commonly held that things begun when the moon is Void will come to nothing. These times are, however, usually excellent for taking care of old business.

Notice that some of the astrological information here, like the time of exact planetary aspects, is very similar to what you will find in other sources you may study. However, the timing of Moon Voids and the house and sign changes of the astrological bodies are among the original calculations that will not agree with other sources. It is my belief that the information given here, based on the oldest and most accurate systems of astrology, is more reliable than what you will find elsewhere.