Current Transits for January 2015 Current Transits for January 2015Here's some of the important astrological news this month ...
Preview of 2015
Happy New Year, 1-1
Full Moon at 14Cn30, 1-4
Ceres enters Capricorn, 1-8
Mars enters Pisces, 1-12
New Moon at 0Aq08, 1-20
Mercury Retrograde Station at 17Aq05, 1-21
Vesta enters Aquarius, 1-28
Hindsight...
An online ephemeris for the month is available.
Happy New Year! The consensus attitude seems to be good riddance to 2014, a difficult and tempestuous year if ever there was one. It would be nice to think we've turned a corner finally and everything will be better right away, but I suspect there will be a few months of loose ends to tie up before major changes show up. We're still dealing with the disruptive Uranus-Pluto squares, which checked in for the 6th time on Dec 15 and won't make their final contact until Mar 16 of this year. Even after this climax, it may take several years for these planets to slip out of orb and leave us alone, so get ready to clean up the lingering messes this spring. Since the Sun is also conjunct Pluto shortly after new year's, the entire year is apt to be under this cloud. Another piece of unfinished business is the shift of Saturn from Scorpio into Sagittarius. Due to an upcoming retrograde period for Saturn, he'll be dancing back and forth across this border until Sep 17, giving us an opportunity to clean up our emotional Scorpio issues this summer. Many of the "big aspects" active now will be dying off by the summer, while the new influences coming up don't check in until August, so if you're looking for big changes in the overall direction of life, you may have to wait awhile yet. As for January itself, there's not too much news to anticipate. Mars moves into Pisces on the 12th, which dampens people's energy and ambition markedly -- this is one of the least favorable zodiac sign placements for our Warrior God. The next Mercury retrograde cycle starts on the 21st, turning the thinking mind into mush. Get any affairs that require clearheadedness under control before then, as it's easy to make mistakes and miscalculations when Mercury is backing up. Except for a couple of moderate planetary storms, the energies are generally weak to moderate in intensity and rarely well focused. There's enough "oomph!" to channel into useful work, but the going is often impeded by disruptions and contrary influences. If you have reasonable expectations about what can be realistically accomplished, you should be able to take the frustrations in stride. It could be worse...
There's not much important news this month. Mars and a couple of asteroids change signs and Mercury goes retrograde on the 21st. There are no "big aspects" that are exact this month.
Before diving into January's news, I'd like to take a preview of coming attractions for 2015. It's easy to get lost in the minutiae of monthly events and lose sight of the big picture unfolding all around us. I've been looking for a big change in this picture for about a year now, following the collapse of the infamous Grand Cross pattern of early 2014 and the long hangover that came in its wake. We still haven't gotten past this lull. In the first half of 2015, there are two dominant stories to follow. As you've heard over and over again, Uranus and Pluto are in a square aspect which is undermining the status quo to its foundations. This square first checked in back on 2012-6-24 (curiously the day former Egyptian president Morsi took office, only to be removed a year later) and has repeated 6 times so far. Uranus is a force of revolutionary change, an overthrowing of anything in our lives that has grown old and stale. Pluto works at a deep evolutionary level, breaking down outworn habits and patterns that distract us from our more fundamental soul purposes in this lifetime. The fact that this is a square can be viewed on two levels. First, squares are conflict and strife, when the opposing planetary forces duke it out and strive for ascendancy. Given both planets are agents of change, the outcome is chaotic and messy. The situation in the Middle East is a classic example of such forces, where the Arab Spring that started with so much optimism in 2011 has degenerated into more conflict, military government, civil war and war with terrorist organizations. There was no solid foundation for positive change in most of these countries and so the Spring failed spectacularly. The other way of looking at the square is as a major turning point in the long term Uranus-Pluto cycle that began in 1965 and lasts to 2104. The starting point of this cycle was the revolutionary shifts that we call "The Sixties" which shook western cultures to the core. We're in the midst of a reaction to that time. Politics, in particular, has moved from a liberal, forward looking attitude back then to a conservative, even reactionary backlash against this progressive viewpoint. (I'm anticipating a return of the liberal spirit, perhaps even an American renaissance around 2025, when the outer planets form easier aspects.) The last 3 years have been painful and disheartening. Curiously, the mood of the last contact of the square on Dec 15 had a hopeful and constructive tinge, some light at the end of this long tunnel. We've got one final contact on Mar 16, so hopefully some of these loose ends will be resolved in the coming months. However, since Uranus and Pluto move so slowly, it may take several years before this square fades away. There's a long rebuilding process ahead of us -- we'd better get busy.
The other major theme for the year is Saturn's passage from Scorpio into Sagittarius. He first entered Sag on Dec 23, giving us some relief from the emotional storms of recent years. As often happens, however, Saturn will retrograde back into Scorpio between Jun 14 and Sep 17, serving up more loose ends for us to handle. As the Lord of Karma, there's no escaping these lessons hanging over our heads. It's a time to liberate yourself from negative emotions and egotistical attitudes that distract you from the spiritual freedom that is our birthright. The downside of Saturn in Sag, since he's generally conservative in outlook, is a kind of stuck in the past attitude about matters spiritual. (We saw something similar when Pluto entered Sag in 1995, leading to an upsurge in fundamentalist religion all around the world.) Freedom is not easily attained, especially when existing belief systems aren't recognized as the prison cells that they are. When Saturn finally sets up shop in Sag for good in September (lasting until 2017-12-19), this sets up the new planetary patterns I've been anticipating for so long. He forms an imposing T-Square with Jupiter and Neptune starting this fall. Jupiter square Saturn is another difficult, conflict-filled turning point in the 20 year cycle of these planets which started in May of 2000. This is typically viewed as a crisis or conflict within society as a whole, especially in the government. More testing and realignment going on. Saturn square Neptune kicks in around November. There's a mighty stand off here between idealistic and "pragmatic" (read, "stuck in the past") attitudes -- I once described this as being caught between a rock and a dream. Confusion reigns until we get our bearings again. Of course, by then the 2016 campaign is well underway. Pluto and Uranus are on the fringes of this T-Square pattern, making for more chaos. And remember that Pluto is opposing the US Sun until Nov 1, so the government in general and Obama in particular are under a big cloud until then. Given the history of confrontation and gridlock of recent years, this isn't a good omen for the coming years. The GOP takeover of Congress in the last elections may not have much in the way of good outcomes unless they have a change of heart about why they're in office in the first place.
Going just by the waveform, 2015 comes in on a quiet, but well organized note. As has happened the last few years, the Sun is conjunct Pluto and square Uranus in this chart, though these aspects aren't exact until the 3rd. So maybe this won't be quite as intensely crazy a year as 2014 was, but I'm still expecting it to be rather rocky. The influence of the Uranus-Pluto square in this chart should be more obvious by the full moon on the 4th, when this pattern turns into a pesky T-Square. Coincidentally, the new GOP Congress goes into session next week -- let the fireworks begin! There's a lot of earth in this chart, with 5 bodies in Capricorn and a Taurus Moon, so being practical and levelheaded is apt to pay off. The only significant aspect today is Mars opposite Jupiter. I'm not sure how to spin this aspect, as it could go several different ways. A simplistic reading is a tug-of-war between aggressive instincts (Mars) and the desire for justice and order (Jupiter), as if the world is getting sick of constant fighting in various areas of the globe. Less benign readings are also possible. I'm intrigued by Ceres the Mother crossing the Galactic Center today, a position that was active frequently in December. Humanity's instinct for caring needs to be nurtured and supported. Best wishes as this year unfolds...
We've mentioned the most important parts of the full moon chart already, the T-Square of Sun-Pluto, Uranus and the Moon. Rounding out this group at 12-16 degrees are Juno, Vesta and Chiron. Saturn, Mercury, Venus and (on the fringes) Neptune form a second group, loosely connected to the first. Mars and Jupiter are pretty quiet.
Emotionally, this could be a very rocky full moon. It's as if our feelings are a direct conduit of intense activity down in the unconscious, allowing it to spill out into our everyday lives. If you let these feelings take over and run riot, the effects could be very disruptive and chaotic. Relationships with others can get touchy. This is why it's important to be able to stand back from your feelings and observe them from a distance, as it were. When your inner world is active and boiling over, you need to be quiet on the inside as well as disconnect from distractions in the outer world so you can pay attention to what is emerging from inside you. Otherwise, these different worlds tend to blur into each other, mixing up in a confusing manner that can cause a lot of trouble for people. Be calm and still, let the craziness of life flow over you without sticking. It will only drive you nuts if you take this stuff more seriously than is necessary. Lighten up and don't forget to laugh!
Now, Ceres enters Capricorn on the 8th. She'll remain in this sign until she moves into Aquarius on Apr 3. This is a most peculiar placement for Ceres, the most maternal of the planetary bodies in the most paternal of zodiac signs. We normally think of Ceres as the Great Mother, the symbol of caring and nurturance, our connections with all living beings. The image of a mother with her children is very personal, individual and tender. Capricorn is more on the level of large cultural organizations and actions, the stage of governments and corporations, not families. The next few months are a time to express our caring for all life in this larger framework -- caring on an institutional level rather than one on one. A good start would be if the world took the Ebola situation in West Africa seriously and mounted an effort to shut down this epidemic, an effort that no country or organization (other than Doctors without Borders) has committed to fully. I guess we don't take seriously this notion that we are all connected in a Web of Life on this planet, that the concerns of even the furthest people are everyone's problems. Large global initiatives like this may seem foreign to our simpler images of Mother Love, but in our world, they are more closely related than we think. For now, Ceres is not a stay at home mom.
Mars leaves Aquarius and heads into Pisces on the 12th. He'll be in this sign until Feb 19, when he shifts into Aries, his home territory. Our Warrior God, the original action figure of the universe, really squirms and complains when he's in Pisces. He wants to get busy, make things happen, bend circumstances to match his desires. But Pisces is calm, dreamy and selfless, more concerned with the world on a cosmic scale than catering to the ego's wishes. Imagine a fully armed soldier barging into a Buddhist monastery and being asked to sit quietly on a meditation pillow. Keep in mind that the first planets he aspects after the 12th are Saturn and Neptune. Saturn restricts the ego's expression and keeps a person from acting recklessly and without thought. Similarly, Neptune has an uncanny ability to totally deflate Mars' drive and ambition, reducing the ego to a mere shadow. The coming weeks are going to be rough on people, especially those that thrive on getting their way all the time. The more your efforts are for the greater good, the fewer complications you'll experience. If all this is intolerable, keep in mind that Mars will be back in Aries soon enough. Mars can be himself, can express as much bluster as he wants, when he gets back on home turf. For now, though, quiet, calm, patience are in order. It's not that bad...
The new moon is a marked shift point from the earlier part of the month. The chart appears to be broken up into a number of small groups of planets, with loose connections between them, as though the sky is talking with a number of voices, but no central theme to hold it together. Some of these connections, like a fan built on 5th harmonic type aspects (of 36 and 72 degrees) are unusual and quirky.
The biggest shift away from previous energies is that Capricorn is finally emptying out. The Sun moved into Aquarius just hours before the new moon fell in early Aquarius. This is a mood changer, all by itself! The light and quirky Aquarius is night-and-day different from stuffy, button down Capricorn. The new moon point makes helpful aspects to most of the outer planets, even if some of these aspects are atypical ones. Saturn is softened by a sextile to the new moon, making him less stodgy than usual. That funny H5 fan includes the new moon, Mars-Neptune and Uranus. The interesting thing about H5 aspects is they are not strictly good or bad influences, but more a force that lets you redefine and transcend problems simply by looking at the situation differently. It's hard to say what can inspire you to laugh away your issues so easily, since we're working with oddball planets like Uranus and Neptune that play by their own rules. Stay open and receptive to novel ideas that may cross your mind at odd moments. There's an intriguing opposition between Jupiter-Juno on one side and Mercury-Venus on the other. Jupiter and Juno (or in Greek mythology, Zeus and Hera) had a most tempestuous relationship and their conjunction in a chart often indicates relationship issues. Often there's a breach of trust or some kind of abuse; in more negative cases, trust is no longer possible and feelings of betrayal run rampant. Venus and Mercury on the other end say to be warm and open, and to speak your mind honestly and openly. A magnanimous and open heart, free from hurtful emotional currents, is a must. Over all, this chart feels so much better...
Mercury reaches his retrograde station of 17Aq05 on the 21st, starting a 3 week retrograde period. This lasts until his direct station at 1Aq17 on Feb 11, when he resumes normal motion. Mercury is the thinking, symbol-using part of the mind, our ability to make sense of the world and make connections with other people. In particular, Mercury is the weaver of all the internal stories we make up to explain how the world works. As these stories become more complicated and sophisticated, we often forget that our narratives are not the same as the world itself. The chasm between story and reality seems to peak when Mercury is backing up in the sky like this, as though this storytelling function is out of touch with reality without even realizing it. For a time, the world seems crazy and unpredictable. Decisions made for the best of reasons suddenly run into unexpected roadblocks that thwart your actions. Attempts to communicate with others run into confusion and misunderstandings that can't be bridged. The hold on the world by the thinking mind is stretched to the breaking point. It's best not to lock yourself into new insights or decisions while under this confused cloud. Reconsider your ideas several times before acting on them, as you are most certainly overlooking some vital issue along the way. From a spiritual perspective, Mercury retrograde is an excellent time for introspection, as this entire storytelling part of the psyche is most easily seen in a truthful light -- often handy, but usually coming up short when the world is more convoluted than we imagine. Rational thinking, despite how much we glamorize it in our culture, is limited and often fails us. It's a tough lesson to learn, but a vital one on the spiritual path. Our brains may be mush now, but they slowly return by mid February. PS -- for some reason, Mercury retrograde in Aquarius seems to be doubly hard on electronics, probably because its ruling planet, Uranus, rules our toys. Back up your hard drive ahead of time...
Vesta enters Aquarius on the 28th. She'll be in this sign until Mar 28, when she moves into Pisces. Vesta is an introverted gal who can feel worn down or depleted by the world when she has to engage it too much. This produces an urge to retreat and go within, to disengage from the world and experience life on her own terms. Sometimes this is due to the calling of an inner muse, as she understands that any creative act of worth to her needs to bubble up from inside. When Vesta listens to her inner voice, she eventually emerges refreshed, invigorated and inspired. In Aquarius, she's enthralled by big ideas and visions for the future, a sense of how the world could be ideally instead of the way it is currently (and why she's in retreat). In an exaggerated form, this utopian vision can descend to a dictatorial attitude or "everyone should do things my way", though it would take some other planetary influences to make Vesta go to the dark side like this. In a more benign vein, this is a time to examine basic ideas and beliefs with an aim to debugging your thinking and freeing your mind of ideas that drag you down. It goes well with Mercury retrograde in this regard. Just be sure your beliefs reflect who you really are, as this is important to your sense of integrity now. If you're true to yourself, the world will see it eventually...
The week between the Dec 15 Uranus-Pluto square and the winter solstice new moon was a busy time in the news. The US and Cuba reestablished diplomatic relations, 2 cops were shot in New York, the Russian ruble tanked as gas prices plummeted, etc. Many of these stories could have major repercussions in the future. But what will most Americans remember? The silly comedy movie "The Interview" sparked a major row with North Korea. Oh, and something about Internet security. We love our distractions.