January 2008 Astrocast

Key Events:  

New Moon:  01/08/2008

Full Moon: 01/22/2008

Mercury Retrograde: 01/28/2008

Other RX Planets:  Mars until 1/30; Saturn until 05/03 

Mars is currently in Gemini, where he just came in through the backdoor due to the fact he's moving backwards.  This is your Natural 11th House of groups, organizations and hopes and wishes.  Mars RX tends to bring suppressed anger to the surface, though on the positive side it can also motivate you to get something done.  In this particular house, therefore, it has a lot of potential to go either way.  On the positive side, if there's something that needs to get done, this should help get it going, particularly after January 30 when Mars goes direct again.  On the other hand, if there are any issues that irritated your leonine nature but you've swept under the rug, the dust and dirt is likely to escape and demand attention in a more lasting way.  This is largely inevitable due to the fact that Mars will be opposing Pluto, who's currently finishing up his work in Sagittarius in preparation for moving into Capricorn on the 26th. 

Sagittarius is your Natural 5th House, one of Leo's favorites, which comprises your children, lovelife, ego and creativity.  Pluto's domain comprises such things as power, secrets and other hidden elements, regeneration, and transformation.  He's been hanging out in Sagittarius for quite a while, since November 1995 to be exact, so for the past 12+ years he's been doing his work in that neighborhood.  Remember he's the god of the Underworld and commonly recognized as a bad actor, though in reality he actually cleans things out so they can function properly or even heal, somewhat like lancing a boil or Rotorooter clearing out your sewer lines.  He can hide things and he can likewise dig them up.  Putting this in context to your 5th House, think back on the past 12 years and some of the crap you've encountered in the way of secrets, power trips, or transformations that you've experienced relative to your lovelife, children, or creative efforts.  The good news is that he's just about done cleaning up this neighborhood and preparing to move on, in your case to your 6th House of work, health and pets, but we'll get into that more in subsequent months.  (And to think that astronomers say that Pluto hasn't cleared his neighborhood.  Ha!  Little do they know.) 

At any rate, when Mars, god of war and Pluto, god of the underworld, face off it's going to stir things up.  Mars is RX, which softens it slightly, but the bad news is that when he returns to direct motion on the 30th he'll pass this way again, which will also be covered in a future astrocast.  What you can expect between January 1 - 13 will be a confrontation of some sort such as the surfacing of hidden resentments over your hopes and wishes being violated by the covert actions of a lover or possibly your children; anger at a group or organization for not implementing one of your creative ideas or perhaps not giving you the credit you deserve; a secret lover, past or present, suddenly showing up and causing problems of some sort, and so forth.  Bear in mind that the suppressed anger thing is likely to go very deep and have transformational effects with Pluto involved.  It will be cleaning house much more than Mars alone, but your likelihood of resolving it once and for all is quite good.

If not resolved before hand, between January 25 - February 2, Mercury, the communications magnate, will be trining Mars, however, which should be very helpful in any necessary discussions to resolve these issues.  Note that it goes retrograde on the 28th, but as long as you're working out existing issues you're okay; just don't start anything new.  So the first two weeks of the new year could be a bit intense, but on the positive side, it could clean up a few things before they rot and fester any further, though it's possible that it won't be entire resolved until Mars makes that direct pass in the February - March timeframe.

Another aspect this month to be aware of is a scratchy one between Jupiter and Neptune.  Jupiter tends to expand or inflate what he touches and Neptune alternates between illusions and delusions or sometimes dissolving anything in his way.  Chasing rainbows is a good analogy here.  As long as you realize that what you're pursuing isn't real, you can enjoy it for what it is, but once you take it seriously and really believe you're going to find a pot of gold, you've set yourself up for either trouble, disappointment, or both.  The House placement for these two indicates that some majorly inflated delusions are possible as they relate to your work (6th House) and relationships (7th House).  For example, with Jupiter in your house of work, you may encounter an increase of some sort, perhaps in the amount of time you spend there.  You think it's going to be great and not affect your relationships, or maybe even make them better, when in reality your absence is going to be an issue that is less than positive.  Or perhaps you think a relationship at work is going to go somewhere or do you some good, when in reality it won't. 

However, something cool like a raise is possible in the end of the month or first few days of February when Jupiter and Venus get together and trine Saturn, which implies this will also include a promotion or increase in responsibilities of some sort.  The New Moon on the 8th also occurs in this same house, so that is another indicator of a new phase opening up in this area.  So something positive is on the way, but don't believe everything you see or hear until you sign on the dotted line and by all means read the fine print.

Speaking of Saturn, stuffy though he may be, he will be throwing some healthy skepticism and common sense about during this time to help keep Neptune in check with his delusions.  For the first three days of the month the Sun will give him a nice, harmonious trine over there in your 2nd House of possessions, finances and pleasures.  Note that Saturn is also RX, however, so is functioning a little bit differently.  As such, he tends to bundle up whatever needs some work in the resident house for your subconscious to work on, then present it for resolution when he gets back to where it all started, usually about 9 months later.  He'll also be trining Jupiter between January 10 - February 1, which further implies an increase in your responsibilities toward your resources, to be followed by that possible raise mentioned earlier.  Another possibility here, since your body is a possession and the 6th House also comprises your health, is that you'll have some useful astrological vibes to go on a diet or improve your health habits in some way.

Friendly, romantic Venus is in your 5th House of children, creativity and love affairs until the 24th, which should have a favorable effect on all of these areas.  She'll square Saturn between January 4 - 9, which may throw a stumbling block or two in the way that relates to your financial responsibilities, but other than that things should be quite favorable.

The Full Moon on the 22nd is in Leo, which should bring closure of some sort to a personal issue.  And one final bit of advice, is you need to buy anything of an electronic or mechanical nature, do it either before January 28 or after February 19 since Mercury will be entering another one of his infamous retrograde cycles which tends to honk up communications of all sorts and cause all things mechanical to go on the blink; buying something during this time locks in this influence for the duration of time that you own it, so being financially celibate except for the grocery store is recommended during this time.

This should be a busy and eventful month.  Don't believe everything you see or hear, expect to have to deal with something that requires deep clean-up and resolution, and use those favorable health vibes to clean up your act after all those holiday indulgences.  There's a lot of potential for progress and good things to come, though it may not all be immediately apparent as you pick your way through this month's astrological tangles.