The astrology for this week of January 16th through the 22nd of 2023 may prove jam-packed with Mercury turning direct, the Sun entering Aquarius and culminating with the Aquarius New Moon, the beginning of the Chinese Lunar New Year of the Year of the Rabbit.
The week might begin a little ‘off’, for we start this week with a Fixed Sign T-Square and our old ‘friends’ Saturn Uranus engaged.
Wednesday has Mercury turning direct ending its three-week retrograde cycle. And what a Mercury retrograde it has been! With Mercury dealing with communications and travel, we had the challenges associated with computer issues with the FAA software problem grounding all US air travel for the first time since the response in the aftermath of the 9-11 attacks. Weather systems wreaked havoc with air travel with major delays and cancellations, compounded by Southwest Airlines closing its operations for holiday travelers. If that was not enough, we seemed to experience a déjà vu episode as classified documents were found casually misplaced by Mr. Biden, akin to those found held by Mr. Trump. Another déjà vu incident seemed to be what has been referred to as the Brazilian ‘insurrection’ of January 8th as masses of Brazilians protesting the election of Lula da Silva to be President burst into government buildings, trashing them, reminiscent of the January 6th US ‘insurrection’ in 2021.
Ah, Mercury retrograde. We also had the usual traffic fare of drivers assuming stops signs and red lights to be only optional, and other drivers choosing to go down one-way streets the wrong way.
Mercury turns direct on Wednesday, and whenever a planet changes direction, things always get a little squirrely. Perhaps we noted that on Thursday last week when Mars turned from retrograde to direct motion in the Mercury-ruled Sign of Gemini with people being increasingly impetuous, shooting from the lip, and acting in aggressive ways.
While the ending of the Mercury retrograde cycle potentially provides welcome relief, more significant changes occur at the end of the week and over the weekend.
Friday has the Sun ending its transit of Capricorn and ending the Stellium of three planets in the Cardinal Earth Sign as the Sun enters Aquarius and triggering a Stellium in the Fixed Air Sign as the Sun joins Venus and Saturn in Aquarius. Saturday has the Aquarius New Moon and the start of the Chinese New Year of the yin water Rabbit with its promise of a year of hope with the opportunity for peace and prosperity. May it be so.
An eventful week, and one when we may lift our eyes to the distant horizon and give consideration to our future plans.
Monday, January 16th – Slogging Through – Lunar T-Square, Uranus, Venus. Monday begins this week with the Moon transiting Scorpio and the Scorpio Moon triggering a Fixed Sign T-Square as the Moon opposes Uranus and the Moon squares Venus. With the US Congress this week debating raising the debt ceiling from its present $31.4 trillion, more than 120% of the US GDP, each of us might be looking at our own debt load with the recognition that if we have been drawing upon our credit cards in order to pay for our essential[?] goods and services the interest on our debt seems to be ever increasing with many credit card interest rates being in the average 17%, a rather hard nut to crack, especially if one is paying the minimum on the balance. This Monday could have us wondering how we will be able to dig ourselves out of a hole with a recognition that our revenue stream and our expenditures seem to have the revenue stream virtually stagnant while our expenditures are increasing largely thanks to inflation and higher costs for most purchases. Not only may we be questioning how to extract ourselves from being between a rock and a hard place. We might also experience unexpected expenses that we could hardly budget for. This day calls for us to slog on through with the recognition that life operates in cycles and that no matter how bad things might appear, the sun is shining brightly somewhere and at some time.
Tuesday, January 17th – Always Look on the Bright Side of Life – Neptune, Saturn, Sun, Pluto, Moon Void-of-Course, Jupiter. Tuesday continues with the Moon transiting Scorpio with the Scorpio Moon today sextile Neptune in Pisces, the Moon square Saturn, and the Moon sextile both the Sun and Pluto both in Capricorn. The Moon then goes Void-of-Course for three hours with the Moon making no further connections to the planets as the Moon finishes its transit of Scorpio and before the Moon enters Sagittarius where in the evening the Sagittarius Moon trines Jupiter. This is one of those either / or days, a day when we might feel either challenged by circumstance and past matters or tested to prioritize and develop a best practices approach to successfully resolve our personal situation. Any belief of returning to an old ‘normal’ should be scotched by now. Life has changed, and in accordance we need to come up with new playbooks as to how best to play the game. With the recognition that ‘we never get more than we can handle’, we needn’t be overwhelmed by the present state of our affairs. On the contrary, we just have to avoid getting stuck or assuming that we can rely upon the so-called ‘tried and true’, once tried no longer true. With an upbeat attitude and a ‘can do’ disposition, we are able to successfully meet any incidents that come our way. While it may take our ingenuity and our elbow grease, our accomplishments can give us a sense of being functional, competent and triumphant. Let’s use the evening hours to celebrate… Us…
Wednesday, January 18th – As the World Turns – Mars, Venus, Sun, Pluto, Mercury direct. Wednesday continues with the Sagittarius Moon with the Moon today opposed Mars and the Moon sextile Venus. The Sun conjuncts Pluto, and Mercury turns direct [8:12 AM EST]. We might be amping as we start this Wednesday, for we could have a long list of things we want to do, things we want to achieve. With Mercury ending its three-week retrograde, we can start to get in gear for a productive year. Mercury turned retrograde at the end of December, and so even this early part of the new year of 2023 could have had us bumbling along without being either effective or accomplished. It would be wise to keep in mind that when a planet changes direction, things can get squirrely with the energy. Consequently, today asks us to be careful with our communications, our travel and our moving forward. Combined with the Moon Mars opposition and with Mars in Gemini we could easily be all over the place trying to do this, trying to do that and liable to be doing so in a dysfunctional manner. It would be wise for us to avoid running away with ourselves, apply braking action, and not feel compelled to do more than we can competently attend to. Fortunately, the Sun Pluto conjunction allows us to prioritize our intentions, focus on the truly meaningful and not allow any particulars to fall between the cracks.
Thursday, January 19th – Ground Control – Neptune, Saturn, Moon Void-of-Course, Jupiter. Thursday has the Moon completing its transit of Sagittarius with the Sagittarius Moon square Neptune and the Moon sextile Saturn. The Moon then goes Void-of-Course for nine hours with the Moon making no further connections to the planets as the Moon finishes its transit of Sagittarius and before the Moon enters Capricorn where in the evening the Capricorn Moon squares Jupiter. Lofty ideas can be tempting, especially if we fall prey to self-importance and self-aggrandizement, both of which we are liable to engage. A good friend could help ground us, make us aware of the flaws in our imagined results, even to the point of bursting our bubble of illusions and delusions. There are times when we need someone to help ground us, offer us a wakeup call to reality, and keep us on a right track. This could be one of those days. We may get a little serious in the afternoon hours as the Moon enters Capricorn adding emphasis to the Cardinal Earth Stellium by the Moon joining the Sun, Mercury and Pluto all in Capricorn. By being realistic and accepting a practical approach to our involvements, we can be far more effective and productive. But our responsibilities and attending to them might seem like the squashing of our personal desires and our individual autonomy. Why go there when we could actually create a soft landing and appreciate that hopes deferred may be momentary pauses until the right time for us to realize our dreams? First our obligations, later our desires.
Friday, January 20th – Look to the Future – Mercury, Uranus, Sun Aquarius. Friday has the Capricorn Moon conjunct Mercury early in the day followed by the Moon trine Uranus. The Sun exits Capricorn and enters Aquarius [3:30 AM EST]. Although Mercury now direct is still in its shadow until February 7th when Mercury returns to the degree at which it turned retrograde, Friday allows us to both focus on what we need to get done and also think outside the box in the most innovative ways by which to accomplish our tasks. We can streamline our operations, concentrate on how we can best achieve our desired results and not get caught up in the usual ways of doing things. This Friday may be a constructive day of sorting things out and planning our moves ahead. It would be wise to keep in mind that every project, every activity has a mind of its own and necessitates our being open to the shifts and changes in our undertakings as we proceed. With the Sun changing Sign, we end the Capricorn Stellium and enter an Aquarius Stellium as the Sun joins Venus and Saturn in the Fixed Air Sign. Increasingly, our attention might be directed towards our future, towards distant horizons, with a belief that even the seemingly impossible could prove not only possible but realizable.
Saturday, January 21st – Year of the Rabbit – Neptune, Pluto, Moon Void-of-Course, Aquarius New Moon, Sun, Chinese New Year, Jupiter. Saturday begins with the Capricorn Moon sextile Neptune and the Moon conjunct Pluto. The Moon then goes Void-of-Course for two and a half hours with the Moon making no further connections to the planets as the Moon finishes its transit of Capricorn and before the Moon enters Aquarius. The Aquarius Moon conjuncts the Sun at the Aquarius New Moon [3:53 PM EST] to start the Chinese New Year of the yin water Rabbit [the 22nd in China]. The Aquarius Moon sextiles Jupiter to end the day. The early morning hours may be best served tying up certain loose ends of our tasks, obligations and outstanding matters. As the day proceeds, we might be in a celebratory mood as we socialize with friends, look to our future, and consider our prospects. No Debbie Downers or Eeyores, please, not when we can look to the far horizon and realize that our possibilities are limitless. This is a day for us to throw wide open our consideration of prospects, even the wildest of our dreams with an appreciation that this paradigm shift which we are experiencing with its disruptive and tumultuous events provides an asequential reality where things occur in the most random and unexpected ways, allowing us to enter the realm of magic and miracles. As Richard Bach wrote in his book Illusions: “Don’t Limit the IS.”
Sunday, January 22nd – Knocked off Center – Mars, Uranus, Venus, Saturn, Uranus direct. Sunday has the Aquarius Moon trine Mars, and the Moon square Uranus. Venus conjuncts Saturn, and Uranus turns direct [5:59 PM EST]. We could be off and running as we start our Sunday. Although we might have a thrust of energy to explore, investigate, try new things; we have to be wary that we don’t try to go too far too fast. If we get ahead of ourselves, we could be tripped up. This is a day to moderate our sense of adventure and to calculate the costs of our endeavors. Expenses might be greater than anticipated or budgeted for. Whenever a planet changes direction, things can get squirrely, knock us off center, and demand that we be aware and mindful of the shifting conditions. With Uranus we are asked to ‘expect the unexpected’. Reconnections and drawing upon a trusted confidante provide detached, objective perspectives and might help us properly evaluate our projects and what they see as truly going on. Although we are living during disruptive times, these times are also dynamic times where things change suddenly and dramatically, times for us to ride the waves and avoid any body slams.
