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 

Your 9th House relates to such things as higher education, long distance travel, legal matters, other cultures, religion, politics, and that sort of thing.  Your 10th comprises such things as your career, community standing, and reputation.  Thus, these are areas in which you can expect some activity in January, though there's a few key planets scattered about in other signs and houses that will also be making a bit of noise.  Also, worthy of note, is the fact that the New Moon on the 8th occurs in Capricorn as well, indicating something new is on the horizon in that area.  The Full Moon on the 22nd is in Leo, your 4th House of home environment, implying the culmination of something involving your home or immediate family, meaning those that live with you.

For starters, Jupiter, who's currently in your 9th, is making a rather scratchy aspect with Neptune in your 10th until January 28th.  Jupiter is all about expansion whereas Neptune is the king of illusion.  You may see an increase of some sort in those 9th House matters, such as the potential for a trip abroad, but Neptune might make it no more than an illusion.  A good example of Neptune is chasing rainbows.  I don't know if a practical Earth Sign like yourself has ever pursued such an endeavor, but if you have you've definitely noticed that no matter how certain you are of exactly where that rainbow ends, by the time you get there it has moved or disappeared entirely.  It's pretty and it's entertaining, but not reality and there is definitely no pot of gold.  Of course if you're smoking something you shouldn't you may think you found it, but then again, when you come back to reality you'll have the same null result.  So the bottom line with this aspect is to maintain your usual, practical outlook and not trust anything that isn't in writing or, better yet, present materially in your greedy, little hand.

During about this same time, the Sun and Jupiter will take turns trining Saturn, the Sun from the 1st through the 3rd, and Jupiter from the 10th thru the 1st of February.  The Sun will draw attention to something, then Jupiter will expand upon it.  So of course you're wondering what this might be.  Again, this is likely to relate to your 9th House in some way since both Jupiter and the Sun are in Capricorn.  Saturn is retrograde (RX) in Virgo, and since both Cappy and Virgo are Earth Signs like Taurus, this will form a nice Grand Earth Trine with your Natal Sun if you were born within a few days one way or the other of April 28, in which case you can expect to see something even more significant. 

Virgo represents your 5th House, which includes such things as your children, love life, ego and creativity.  Of course Saturn isn't exactly the party boy of the Zodiac, but rather represents delays, restrictions, discipline and authority.  As a fellow Earth Sign, you don't necessarily have a problem with that, but it also doesn't usually mean it's time for a celebration, either.  On the other hand, he does offer stability and wise tutoring which Taureans will appreciate more than most.  While RX he'll be gathering up something in your 5th House that needs work, putting your subconscious to work on it during the RX period, then bringing it forward for resolution between May 3 when he goes direct and August 8, when he gets back to where he started.  Being as August 8 is 08/08/08, a rather cool date, hopefully something cool will happen along with it.  So think children, lovers, creative efforts, and what needs work, then tie that in with Jupiter's expansion and how it relates to you.  As an example, perhaps you've been neglecting your creative side lately and need to do something more for personal fulfillment.  Maybe something from the 9th House, like a trip abroad, would be beneficial.  Or even more to your liking, perhaps you should look at acquiring a vacation home, since real estate transactions, being legal matters, also falls in the 9th.  Use your imagination and apply this to your own circumstances and I'm sure you'll be able to come up with something that rings the proverbial bell. 

Venus, your Sign Ruler, will throw some vibes at Saturn from January 4 - 9, which might present a conflict of some kind.  The first thing that comes to mind is that maybe your kids or someone you're involved with will do something that costs some money, though you could well be the beneficiary.  Toward the end of the month, From January 29 - February 1, the aspect will switch from a negative square to a nice harmonious trine, which implies a pleasant resolution to whatever happened earlier in the month.

So that is the good news.  Unfortunately, there is also something you need to seriously watch out for this month.  Already in effect as we start the New Year, and continuing until around January 13, Mars is facing off with Pluto.  Most folks know intuitively that these two are bad actors, being the god of war and god of the Underworld, respectively, and when their opposing one another it's best for us to just get out of their way.  However, if you have to continue with your normal routine, that is probably also impossible.  Mars in in Gemini, your Natural 2nd House of possessions, finances, and pleasures, which is Taurus' Zodiacal home, so these are things that are important to you.  He's also RX, which means he's already starting some crap by stirring up suppressed anger that has been pushed aside from past events that relate somehow to these issues.  For example, perhaps your brother borrowed some money or a favorite tool that he never returned, but you were nice and didn't make a big fuss about it at the time.  Now, for whatever reason, you're going to think about it and get pissed off all over again.  Mars will go direct on January 30 and sometime after that you can expect to have the situation resolved, one way or another.  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.

On the positive side, from January 25 - February 2, Mercury is in trine with Mars, which will encourage good communications in this area, so this should help you identify anything that requires resolution.  Bear in mind, however, that starting January 28, Mercury will take his turn at RX motion, which will honk up not only communications but anything associated with them, such as electronic devices, and mechanical items such as cars and appliances, in short anything with moving parts, will be on possibly poor behavior as well.  However, reworking or replanning something works well at this time, thus the trine with Mars should still be useful.  But I digress, which is easy with all these overlapping influences as I try to explain what they mean as I go along.

Back to the Mars - Pluto opposition, Mars is also known to cause accidents and such so you need to be particularly careful.  Don't take any unnecessary chances, especially as they relate to your possessions.  Now Pluto has been over there in Sagittarius for 12+ years and will actually move into Capricorn on the 26th, which is quite an event.  Meanwhile, he's been chugging along in your 8th House, which includes such things as sex, death and regeneration, transformation, and shared or other people's resources.  As the Zodiacal Rotorooter, if there was anything in that area of your life that required cleaning out, it's probably been taken care of by now.  However, it's not unlike Pluto to go out with a bang, especially if he missed anything along the way. 

Think back over the past decade of some of the experiences you've had that involved something previously hidden or buried being exhumed for examination.  More than likely these weren't exactly pleasant, but when all was said and done, you'd learned a lot and were a different person in one way or another.  Just think about the real Rotorooter coming out to take care of clogged sewer lines, which would be a very typical Pluto in the 4th House event.  They dig up the yard and make a tremendous mess, but after their work is done, the dirt is put back and the grass grows back, everything is much better than it was before.  I suspect that if you think in those terms, you'll be able to come up with one or more events that meet that figurative description.  So the bottom line is Mars and Pluto are in cahoots for one last hoorah, so be careful and don't invite trouble.  Drive as defensively as possible, don't let your insurance lapse on anything, avoid questionable areas, especially after dark, and keep everything secured.  Better safe than sorry.

At least the month ends on a positive note when Jupiter and Venus, two nice, benefic planets, get together in a cozy bear hug from January 30 - February 4.  This should throw some majorly good vibes into that 9th House.  This happy couple will also be trining Saturn, another friendly aspect, over there in your 5th, which we already discussed at length.  A possibility here could be that you've been involved in a custody battle over your children that will have a very favorable outcome.  Or if you're involved in a creative endeavor of some sort that you're trying to market, you may achieve some legal coup, such as obtaining a contract of some sort.  Or maybe you'll win a trip abroad.

At any rate, this should be an interesting and busy month with lots going on in a variety of venues.  Stay alert, be safe, and look forward to interesting events that should be far from boring.