A January of Hope, Concern, and Inner Exploration

January begins in the wake of the dramatic Sagittarius New Moon from mid-December that once again featured Uranus in Taurus, implying a continuation, as the New Year gets underway, of surprise events and unexpected enlightenment. This is just as Pluto gets ready, later in the month, to advance once more into Aquarius, ruled by the Trickster planet. At nearly the 20-degree mark of Taurus, the energy of Uranus in the recent New Moon was promoted by a close inconjunct aspect from the Sun and Moon, themselves at 20 Sagittarius in this recent lunation. Now, in January, for an increase of good vibes, Jupiter in Taurus and Venus in Sagittarius find themselves in mutual reception. All this positivity and innovation could run aground, however, on the highlighted presence, on January 1st also, of Saturn in Pisces, squared by Venus, sextiled by Jupiter, and trined by the new Nature planet, Haumea. We must evidentially learn to combine the stability of the tried and true, represented by Saturn, with the innovative brilliance provided by Jupiter and Uranus in order to forge new pathways for moving forward in this new month and year. The Capricorn New Moon that comes along on January 11th also speaks to these ideas, with Uranus again emphasized, now by a close trine from the New Moon degree, while Jupiter lies in a near-exact trine from Mars in early Capricorn. Because this Capricorn New Moon again features the Chiron/ Eris midpoint, closely squared by the Sun and Moon, as this significant point was also featured in the December lunation, we are likely to continue the search for a new way of putting our best foot forward, in spite of the potentially painful places that we endure – in our individual lives and in our globally collective lives as well – or perhaps motivated by these grim realities.

It is interesting to note that Mercury, having been in retrograde motion ever since the mid-December Sagittarius New Moon, stations to direct motion on the evening of January 1st, but still remains in its retrograde shadow until January 20th . Because the station itself is one peak of the retrograde period, with Mercury standing almost dead still in the sky, the introspective mood brought about by the retrograde continues for several more weeks, and during this time we benefit from reflecting on where our lives are leading us at this time, and to what end. Mercury regains its forward motion gradually, so that things are very nearly back to normal with schedules and mechanics by the time of the January 11th New Moon in Capricorn.

It is an interesting contrast that takes place this month between the signs of Sagittarius and Capricorn, ruled by Jupiter and Saturn, with these two planets highlighted and in aspect in the neighboring signs of Taurus and Pisces. We have a combination of Jupiter’s positive optimism, an important theme in January, coupled with the caution and reality check of Saturn in sextile The recent Mercury Retrograde from last month began in Capricorn and then continued over Christmas into Sagittarius, followed by re-entering Capricorn on January 13th. In a similar timing, the Sagittarius lunation cycle from December gives way to that of the Capricorn New Moon on the 11th. Jupiter stationed direct at 5 Taurus just as January began, while Saturn in early Pisces moved forward to nearly match the Jupiter position in nearby Taurus by the end of the month. These two social planets are both aspected in the January 25th Full Moon at 5 Leo. It is indeed a social time that we are collectively currently engaged in.

Uranus in Taurus is again featured in the January 11th Capricorn New Moon, by a close trine. Jupiter and Uranus highlighted in Taurus make for an exciting and hopeful time of innovation and intuition. In this New Moon, Saturn is sextiled by Mars while Mars closely trines Jupiter, so that we do tend to remain grounded in our enthusiasm. Meanwhile, the two new Nature planets of Haumea and Makemake, located in Scorpio and in Libra, are both strongly aspected by Saturn, by trine and by a close bi-quintile. We are thus reevaluating our connection to the natural world this month, and to our internal sense of right action and right relationship. Haumea, in particular, is all about telling the truth as a moral precept emanating from deep inside.

The Leo Full Moon near the end of the month, on the 25th, features a close T-square to Jupiter in Taurus, a partile inconjunct to Saturn, and a T-square to Haumea in Scorpio, making a grand cross. Because this Full Moon represents a culmination of what we have learned from the initiation of the Capricorn New Moon, it seems clear that a sense of optimism, and coupled with grounded caution, will be a theme throughout the month. We have the presence of Haumea in these configurations as something to take into account as well. Indeed, it seems that the only way out of our potentially dire global situation will be a resurgence of an internal moral commitment on the part of all of us, to do the right thing in our dealings with the political situation, and with each other.

As we reflect in this new 2024 year on where we stand, with our increasingly general global communications, we must trust in the universe, and in our values and our relationships, to see us through. May we have the faith in ourselves to honor our commitments with others, and with respect to all people, everywhere. We will only succeed when we have the courage to articulate our deepest truth, to really walk our talk, and to have ultimate compassion for what our fellow humans are enduring wherever they are located in this fragile world.

A January of Hope, Concern, and Inner Exploration

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