A January of Further Astrological Intensity and Stubborn Optimism

The month and year get underway in the wake of another very powerful New Moon, from the 19th of December, just before the solstice, that activated all three outer planets. This involved Neptune and Uranus by close longitudinal aspects, the usual kind, and Pluto by extremely close declinational parallels that the Sun and Mars make to Pluto in that timing. The thirty-day lunation cycle of the previous month’s late Sagittarius New Moon takes us to the late Capricorn New Moon of January 18th, which also features Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, and perhaps even more strongly. Another way to put this is to say that we are well and truly “in for it,” and yet there are mitigating sides to this dilemma that we must also take note of. The first of these is that Jupiter is also powerfully present in the recent New Moon, bringing his fundamental optimism and joyful expression to bear. We can always rely on hope and do our best to help produce the positive outcome. A second consideration is to additionally state that, no matter what, the universe has our back. It can all become exactly what we need in the moment. Everything that we experience is in fact the story that we make up about it. As Shakespeare informed us in his masterpiece, Hamlet, “Nothing’s either good or bad but thinking makes it so.” We can indeed manufacture whatever we want out of the transformational impact of these outer planets in the glory of their prominence. They could be in our lives to encourage us to grow beyond our previous high-water marks. Another great truth is that we do not learn very much during the easy times, but rather, our lessons come from the challenging ones, as we do what we can in the face of trial and thereby demonstrate character. So, while these times are undoubtedly difficult, they are also ultimately rewarding.

To examine more closely the recent Sagittarius New Moon lunation that sets the stage for the first half or more of January, we have Pluto, in the early degrees of Aquarius, providing a transformational tenor to that sign, wherever it shows up in your natal chart, or your solar one based on your Sun-sign. Pluto is in close semi-sextile to the position of Mars, in early Capricorn, so that we might need to keep our repressed anger in check as there could be outbursts there to contend with. Uranus in late Taurus is exactly inconjunct (or quincunx) the Sun and Moon, therefore also quite prominent. We have surprising events and unexpected revelations still occurring, plus intuitional information that comes from seemingly nowhere and yet can tell us true. Uranus is also right on the edge of 0° Gemini, so affecting that chart sector also. Neptune at 29° Pisces is closely squared by the Sun and Moon, and therefore extremely prominent, as was mentioned above, also affecting the Aries sign. Neptune can be deceptive or confusing, and yet there is a sense of the spiritual and the numinous that comes through these days in everything that we see and do.

There is also this month Saturn in late Pisces, and in close forming conjunction with Neptune, with the Saturn archetype representing the practical and as well the 3D world of the physical. Saturn is thus antithetical to Neptune, which operates to take us beyond the mere physical or mundane reality we normally experience. Astrologer Rick Tarnas has indicated that one consequence of Saturn-Neptune times is “deception unmasked” while another is an ideological divide in which neither side can – whatsoever – perceive or understand the other one’s point of view. Indeed, we seem to have that going on right now, in our politics, here is the U.S. and elsewhere.

As the January month begins, in its first weekend, there is the Cancer Full Moon that emphasizes nurture and our feelings rather than our mental process. This Full Moon features as well a close triple conjunction of Venus, Sun, and Mars, opposite the Moon and in close quintile with Saturn. This is thus quite a dynamic juncture as well, and brings the Saturn-Neptune conjunction, including the spiritual possibilities of this interesting archetypal collision, into greater prominence.

One week later, the Last Quarter Moon of January 10th is another very intense configuration, featuring a cardinal grand cross between Sun, Moon, Mars, and Venus (all at 20° or 21°of their respective signs, with the Sun, Mars, and Venus conjoined in Capricorn) square Chiron at 22° of Aries, in conjunction there with Eris, which increases the energy. This is quite an important quarter moon lunation, again bringing Chiron and inner wounding to the surface, so potentially difficult to manage. This is the lunar phase that Dane Rudhyar identified as a “crisis in consciousness,” and we might continue to struggle in seeing our way clear to our best direction forward.

Then, in another week or so, we find the late Capricorn New Moon of the 18th, which features four additional planets lined up in late Capricorn or early Aquarius, indicating another dramatic New Moon when Pluto – along with Neptune and Uranus – are all once again featured.

In the First Quarter Moon of the 25th these personal planets, plus Pluto, are all lined up in Aquarius, square the Taurus Moon at 6° of the sign, and beginning the last week of the month with another potent configuration.

All in all, this is a very active month of January, which starts off another climactic year of 2026. In the following month of February, Neptune and Saturn meet again, coming into the same degree at 0° of Aries, the Aries Point, on the 13th. The remainder of the year features Uranus also returning to Gemini, and aligning by July with Neptune and Pluto, making for another year when all three outer planets, plus Saturn, are extremely active, and thus indicating that the potential pace of hither-to-unknown changes, at both personal and societal levels remains quite intense. Things might begin to settle down in 2027. In the meantime, we must all try to keep our heads on straight, and to participate as we can find it within ourselves to do so, in the societal transformations that we as a global culture are engaged in. It is important to recognize in all this, that if we can each work for the betterment of all, we can in this way make a tremendous impact. We are thus more powerful as individuals than we might think and may be able to collectively prove the old adage that when the going gets tough, the tough get going.

A January of Further Astrological Intensity and Stubborn Optimism

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