THE COSMIC WEATHER REPORT
JANUARY 2012
The Sun and Mercury are each in Capricorn most of the month. Mars is in Virgo, Jupiter is in Taurus, and Pluto is in Capricorn. The Capricorn time of year is the time of getting back to work and routine after the holiday season. With such strong earth placements, January 2012 is especially so. It’s an opportunity to get squared away and get the year off to a good start.
Mars turns retrograde* on January 23. Mars normally spends a couple of months transiting a sign. In this case, with the retrograde cycle, Mars is in Virgo from November 10, 2011, to July 3, 2012 (eight months instead of the usual two). Mars relates to what we desire and how we go after it, including our ways of asserting ourselves, and matters of temper. Mars retrograde periods are good time for reexamining those drives and our methods of pursuing them.
On a practical level, it’s often more difficult to accomplish things while Mars is in retrograde. You may notice similarity with Mercury retrograde periods, as there may be false starts, delays and redoing things. Mars is currently in meticulous, order-loving Virgo. Be conscientious and discerning without wasting energy trying to make things more perfect than they need to be. Initiate any projects you are planning, before the Mars station on January 23. Mars will backtrack its orbit until April 13.
In the background all month is a positive trine alignment of Saturn and Neptune. This denotes balance between practicality and idealism, vision put into positive manifestation. Saturn will turn retrograde before reaching exact trine, so they won’t be exact until later, but they are within 1º of orb from December 23 until February 16. They will be exactly trine on October 11, 2012. Solar Fire © astrology software’s interpretation of the potential for this alignment, which will be affecting us from roughly Winter solstice until mid-February is as follows:
This a good time for achieving success in your creative and spiritual pursuits. You have just the right balance between discipline and creativity. Your intuitive abilities are heightened, and yet at the same time your common sense is well in place. As a result you are able to make wise decisions. You may also find yourself reassessing your life and gaining inner understanding before moving forward in a new direction.
WEEK BY WEEK:
December 25 – 31: The most significant influence this week is Jupiter turning direct on Sunday, as noted just above. This should be a positive time of grounding, well-being and abundance in the material realm. Be calm, steady and confident, and comfortable in your world.
On Wednesday-Thursday the Sun is conjunct Pluto. Hidden problems and matters needing transformation are likely to come to the fore; it’s time to face issues and make any needed changes.At the end of the week Mercury in Sagittarius squares Mars in Virgo. Mercury square Mars always has the potential to bring out conflicts and differences in opinion, in part because we tend to be thinking and speaking with energy and some abruptness. May any differences lead to productive discussion and enlightenment. Remember to think things through and to express yourself tactfully. Mars has been in Virgo all month, supporting a climate of striving for perfection but also bringing out critical attention to detail. Aspire to the best, but be tolerant when we and others fall short of ultimate perfection.
January 1 – 7: On Friday and Saturday Mercury in the late degrees of Sagittarius is in positive alignment with both Saturn and Neptune, which are in positive trine to one another as described in the overview. That should help us synthesize practicality and imagination.
It’s likely to be a busy week, as we are headed toward Full Moon on Sunday, January 8.
January 8 – 14: Mercury enters Capricorn in the wee hours Sunday morning. We’ll be more structured in our thought and communication over the next three weeks or so. Mercury was in positive alignment with Saturn and Neptune on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday around noon, Mercury trines Jupiter, enhancing communication and broadening our perspective. In the afternoon Mercury squares disruptive Uranus. People would rather speak their minds and maybe shock people or raise their awareness of different perspectives, than harmonize, collaborate or synthesize viewpoints.
Energy and emotions are high as we come to Full Moon, just past midnight Sunday night (12:30 a.m. MST). The “Sabian Symbol” for the Moon’s degree (19th degree of Cancer) is “a fragile miss, representative of old blood, is wed in a marriage ceremony by a priest to an eager youth of the new order.” The older is neither to be overthrown nor zealously preserved, but blended with new possibilities. You may note echoes of such a theme in the national news, as Venus will be on the fourth house cusp, representing home, tradition and roots, at the time of Full Moon in Washington. In Albuquerque, the Moon in Cancer will be almost directly overhead, opposite the Sun in Capricorn, which will be on the fourth house cusp. Capricorn is associated with tradition and established ways, and we may notice themes of new growth trending us out of our status quo way of being and identifying our selves or local culture and community.
As we get past the energy peak of the Full Moon, the middle of the week appears rather unremarkable. On Thursday the Sun trines Mars, energizing us a bit. At the same time Venus trines Saturn and is conjunct dreamy Neptune. Best potential is that we can be both realistic and idealistic about relationships, values and esthetics. There could also be deep conversations, hopefully focused on discovery and insight rather than confrontation, as Mercury is conjunct probing Pluto on Thursday and Friday. It’s possible all these alignments could synthesize harmoniously, with energy, positive relationship and readiness to look below the surface in a healing fashion. All this culminates on Thursday and Friday.
Venus enters Pisces, where it is “exalted” in the sign of tenderness, romance and compassion, ‘round Friday midnight, and on Saturday Venus will be sextile expansive Jupiter, a mildly positive alignment supporting happy relating and fun occasions.
January 15 – 21: This week we are approaching the Mars “station”.* Energy levels may be rather high, and you may feel revved up. Some people will likely be volatile, impulsive and confrontational. With Mars in Virgo there’s a tendency to nitpick and spin wheels over minor details. Drive carefully, with awareness that other drivers may be impulsive and unpredictable.
Crises and problems are especially likely on Thursday and Friday, as the Sun will be square Saturn, planet of obstacles. Sun enters Aquarius on Friday, and Venus sextiles Neptune. We’ll lighten up, smooth out a bit.
On Saturday the Sun will be sextile Uranus and square Jupiter. On the positive, this could confer flexibility and generosity, though when Jupiter is in the picture we sometimes tend to go to excess.
We’re coming up to New Moon on Sunday the 22nd, and Mars turns retrograde on the 23rd. Wrap up old projects and launch new ones this week, before that Mars station.
January 22 – 28: New Moon comes late Sunday night, 12:39 a.m. MST. Use Monday to take care of any pressing business and get projects running. Mars turns retrograde at 5:54 p.m. MST on Monday.
Midweek is fairly uneventful and gives an opportunity to settle down from the Mars station. Mercury squares Saturn on Thursday and Friday, bringing the possibility of misunderstandings and missed communications. By Saturday Mercury is in favorable alignment with Uranus, supporting breakthroughs. Later Saturday Mercury squares Jupiter, expanding communication and getting things upbeat and back on track.
January 29 – February 4: This is a fairly quiet week. Venus is opposite Mars on Wednesday. That’s said to spark both attractions and conflicts. On Friday Neptune enters Pisces, it’s own sign, where it will remain for approximately fourteen years. Speculations for this period include increased intuition and spiritual attunement, on the personal level, and advances in our knowledge and exploration of deep space and also the deep oceans. When Neptune ventured into Pisces in 2011, planned development of mini-submarines for deep water exploration was announced by.
February Preview: Full Moon comes on February 7. New Moon comes February 21. Mars is retrograde all month, slowing activity a bit. It could be a fairly quiet month.
*Regular readers of this column and others familiar with astrology know that all the planets occasionally appear to backtrack or “retrograde” in their orbits. A planet will slow down, appear stationary, and then appear to slip backward for a period of a few weeks or months before again appearing to slow down and be stationary before resuming apparent forward motion. Of course the planet is not actually reversing direction but only appears to do so due to its motion relative to Earth’s. Nonetheless, we do feel the effects of these shifts. When a planet is at its “station” or stationary point, the planet’s energies are emphasized; when retrograde, its energies are more internalized. The cycle looks like this. The planet is going forward, and affairs of the planet are moving forward normally. As the planet slows and turns stationary, those matters related to the planet become emphasized in our lives, and significant developments may take place. Then those matters ebb in our outer lives for a while, as we internally digest those developments and realizations and integrate them into our lives during the retrograde. Later, the planet again goes stationary, coming back to the forefront of our awareness, and then “turns direct,” resuming apparent forward motion as we again move forward with those matters related to the planet.
Mercury takes a little three-week retrograde cycle approximately every four months. Our daily affairs slow down and get complicated. Communications get tangled, computers flake out, automobiles break down and travel arrangements fall into disarray, a comedy of scheduling mishaps occurs, and things pretty much slow to a crawl. It’s really a great time to slow down and regroup, to finish projects and catch up on unfinished business. Just try not to launch your big project, or sign on the dotted line for a new contract, job, car, or whatever unless you really need to. Try to get those things moving before the retrograde, and shepherd things patiently along during the retro cycle, knowing that some things may not completely come together until Mercury turns direct. If you are making significant moves during the Mercury retrograde period, just know that some things will have to be straightened out after the direct.
**Moon void of course occurs when the Moon has made all the alignments it will make while in the sign it’s in, and is just “marking time” without real momentum. The Moon goes through a sign in 2 to 2 ½ days, so consequently it also goes v.o.c. Every couple of days as well, sometimes for only a few minutes or more likely hours, but sometimes for more than a day. Things initiated during a Moon void of course period tend to meander off and arrive at a destination other than what was planned. Void of course periods are well used in completing tasks or doing routine chores, or in resting, meditating, and planning for future activities. The v.o.c. period ends when the Moon enters the next sign.
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Sandy Bryan, Astrologer (505) 255-5001
E-mail: sstars@thuntek.net
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