January 2012 Astrocast

Key Events:  

Full Moon (18:26 Cancer): 9 January 2012

New Moon (02:42 Aquarius): 23 January 2011

Retrograde Planets: 

Mars (23:05 Virgo - 03:41 Virgo):  24 January 2012 - 14 April 2012

Easy Reference

Sun   Moon  Mercury   Venus   Mars   Jupiter   Saturn   Uranus   Neptune   Pluto  

1st House   2nd House   3rd House   4th House   5th House   6th House   7th House   8th House   9th House   10th House   11th House   12th House

Aspects     Sign Rulers     Fire-Earth-Air-Water     Cardinal-Fixed-Mutable

Eclipses  Solar Returns  Retrograde Planets

Lunations and Long-term Aspects

The first thing to note about this new year is that it begins with all the planets in forward motion.  This provides an active boost as all their astrological influences express clearly through their respective signs of residence.  Jupiter recently went direct in your sign after almost 4 months of retrograde motion which internalizes the energy.  This may have brought about insights and motivated contemplation into your philosophy of life or perhaps brought various ethics issues to your attention for consideration.  Mars goes retrograde in fellow Earth Sign, Virgo, on January 24.  Virgo represents your 5th house of ego definition, creativity, children, entertainment, romance and speculation.  Being an Earth Sign, you probably tend to respond to these parts of yourself in a practical, tangible, "down to earth" manner.  Usually Mars only spends a month or two in each sign but when he goes retrograde this stay is greatly extended, in this case to nearly 8 months considering he doesn't leave for Libra until the 4th of July.  Mars provides energy and motivation, but that is going to be suppressed and internalized during the retrograde period.  Since Mars is your energy source generally, when he goes retrograde you are likely to feel unmotivated and perhaps even more tired than usual. 

While retrograde planets often cause a variety of discomforts, they are not without purpose.  The problem most people have is that they don't know how to utilize the internalized energy to their advantage.  Retrograde periods are intended to be used to step back and contemplate the part or parts of your life affected, consider how things are going, and make adjustments as necessary as opposed to simply acting on the energies directly.  Mars retrograde in your 5th house of ego as well as those other things noted above is an excellent time to look yourself in the mirror on a figurative plane and analyze what you see.  The 5th is the "fun house" where you should enjoy life.  It is where you express yourself from the core level and define who and what you are.  Your creative projects, children, romantic interests and even how you enjoy yourself are all reflections of self in one way or another.  If you are unhappy or dissatisfied Mars can help you discover why, since this condition lies at your core, not in the world around you.

At a certain point in every retrograde period which involves one of the superior planets, i.e. those beyond Earth's orbit, the Sun will oppose that planet.  The energy of a retrograde planet speaks to your unconscious but when this opposition occurs the Sun illuminates what this information happens to be, thus merging your unconscious and conscious minds long enough for the planet's message to surface.  This will occur right around March 4 so mark your calendar and listen carefully for insights into yourself or other 5th house matters at that time.  The Sun's energy will be filtered through Pisces at that time which likewise delivers a certain message.  Pisces is your 11th house of friends, organizations, groups, networking and goals.  Vedic astrologers also consider the 11th the house of big gains.  While your 5th house is you at the core, the 11th is where you interact with others.  Those you choose to associate with are reflections of yourself, though you may not always notice that.  However, at this time you may experience one of those "Aha!" moments where this makes sense.  The result could be a new commitment and appreciation of your friends and group activities or perhaps the opposite where you wonder why you've been wasting your time with those people.  Recognize this impression as a message from the Universe and don't hesitate to act upon it.  Change is difficult for Fixed Sign natives like yourself but there are times when it's better than being stuck.  Mars' 8 month stay in Virgo should be sufficient time for you to gather the necessary insight and motivation to do what needs to be done.

The Full Moon on January 9 is in Cancer, your 3rd house of thoughts, ideas, siblings, neighbors and local travel.  This lunation will typically bring a culmination or shift in phase to something in the house where it occurs.  Remember that a Full Moon is merely when we can see this heavenly body as it reflects maximum light from the Sun.  This brings us back to polar signs, given that the Sun is across the zodiac in fellow Earth Sign, Capricorn, your 9th house of higher learning, legal matters, relocation, other cultures, long-distance travel, politics, religion, your philosophy of life including all beliefs and expectations.  There is always a link between polar signs and houses with one on a higher octave.  In this case you can easily see how your thoughts and ideas as well as your everyday interactions evolve into how you relate to society as expressed by your beliefs.  If these are out of synch in some way there will be a sense of discomfort which won't be resolved until balance is achieved.  This lunation is thus a favorable time to identify any disparity between these two parts of your life and work toward mitigating it.

The New Moon on January 23 occurs the day before Mars goes retrograde, so bear that in mind.  It occurs in Aquarius, your 10th house of career, reputation, status and public image.  Bear in mind that "status" encompasses a huge amount of ground.  Think "Facebook" and what you may enter there as your "status" and you get some idea.  Anything found in the public record or newspaper fits this description as well as most things which involve a title or label.  If you get married or divorced; elected or defeated; have your first child or the last one leaves home; receive a honor or go to jail; open a business or shut one down; obtain a license from a civic authority and any number of other things, it will show up in this house.  Career and reputation fit into this but it's important to realize that it is more complicated than that.  A New Moon suggests something new and it's usually a favorable time to begin a new endeavor related to the house it's in but this may be stymied a bit by Mars.

The New Moon is also at the apex of a T-square which points toward some sort of challenge that relates to this part of your life.  The other components are Saturn in Libra and Jupiter in your sign.  If your birthday is right around April 22 then Jupiter is conjunct your natal Sun, emphasizing his message even more.  Saturn is exalted in Libra which will tend to mitigate his malefic tendencies and bring out more favorable traits such as discipline and responsibility which are nicely directed toward your 6th house which includes your work, service, health and pets.  Assuming more responsibility and being more organized in these areas would be favorable effects from this transit. 

Jupiter tends to expand or inflate what he touches and in your 1st house he can act as a magnifying glass, making you appear bigger than life to others and give you a sense of the same.  He tends to be lucky, making the coming six months an excellent time to tackle any personal goals.  However, this is going to have to be balanced with Saturn's mission in the 6th.  (You may have noticed that while these two planets are opposing one another that house and sign-wise they aren't.  This is because Saturn is in the end degrees of Libra while Jupiter is in the early degrees of Taurus, so they are in orb.)  Pursuing your own agenda may compete for time and energy with responsibilities at work or other obligations.  This is further complicated by the New Moon in your house of status, possibly your career.  If a new opportunity comes along it will be more important than ever to achieve a comfortable balance between these three areas of your life.  Bear this in mind and give it your conscious attention, noting that in the coming months while Mars is retrograde the person you are at the core is going to evolve as well.

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What are Your family Gatherings like?

Holiday get-togethers can be heavenly or they can be hell.  Ever wonder why?   Our Family Dynamics report not only explains who gets along with whom but WHY!  

Just because you're related doesn't mean you're compatible.

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