January 2017 – Time for Reflection

Important astrological energies for the month of January 2017:

  • The month starts with Mercury retrograde in Capricorn.
  • Mercury retrograde re-enters the sign of Sagittarius on January 4, 2017. It turned retrograde in the sign of Capricorn on December 19, 2016. It will turn stationary direct in Sagittarius on January 8, 2017.
  • Full Moon with Sun in Capricorn and Moon in Cancer occurs on January 12, 2017.
  • New Moon with Sun and Moon in Aquarius occurs on January 27, 2017.

Time for Reflection

By Misty Kuceris ©2016

The new year starts with Mercury retrograde in the sign of Capricorn. It turned retrograde on December 19, 2016 and will remain retrograde until January 8, 2017. When Mercury is retrograde in Capricorn, you find yourself seriously considering your goals and your work situation. Even if you’re retired or not in the workforce because of your age, you think about your place in society.

This need to reflect on your status is emphasized on January 1st as Mars forms a conjunction to Neptune. Usually when Mars is forming a conjunction to Neptune, especially right now with both planets in Pisces, your energy level is low. You don’t want to do too much. You’d rather relax and let things float by in life. That’s why this is such a good day for reflection. You’ll be able to let thoughts just surface from your subconscious mind to your conscious reality.

On January 3rd, Venus enters the sign of Pisces. When Venus is in Pisces, you want to understand the world around you. You want to help other people and, if possible, keep them from making serious mistakes. Yet, you need to be cautious today and not let people take advantage of your good nature. Be supportive of your friends if they ask you for help. But, don’t become a support pole that stops them from making their own decisions.

Mercury retrograde re-enters the sign of Sagittarius on January 4th. As already written, Mercury was retrograde in the sign of Capricorn when the month started. When Mercury retrograde was in the sign of Capricorn, it was important to take a serious look at your life and determine if you were setting the right goals for your life. Now that Mercury is retrograde in Sagittarius, you need to re-evaluate some of those goals. Perhaps your expectations were too high and unrealistic. Or, perhaps you got sidetracked from your goals. If you feel you got sidetracked, take time to find out why. Also, create a new plan that will put you back on track.

Friends or lovers from the past may re-enter your life when Venus forms a conjunction to the Moon’s South Node on January 7th. This is especially true since Mercury is still retrograde. If these individuals re-enter your life, take time to review your relationships with them. Perhaps you’ve changed and you can no longer relate to them. Or, perhaps you’re glad to have them back in your life because they remind you of personal traits that you admire.

Mercury turns stationary direct on January 8th. During the time period that Mercury was retrograde, you needed to re-evaluate your goals and your ideals. You needed to determine if you were living your life in a way that helped you go after what you thought was important. If you did re-evaluate your goals, now is a good time to move forward with your new plans. If you avoided reviewing your plans, now is the time to start evaluating them.

One good thing about Mercury turning direct is that you’ll be able to discuss your ideas with others in a way that your family and friends can understand and support your decisions.

On January 11th, Mars forms a sextile to Pluto and you feel your energy increase. You are able to focus on your goals and not let distractions get in your way. Just don’t become so focused that you stop paying attention to your relationships. Some people may have important input that can help you succeed.

The first full Moon of the year occurs on January 12th when the Sun is in Capricorn and the Moon is in Cancer. Later in the day, Mercury re-enters the sign of Capricorn and Venus forms a conjunction to Neptune.

Today you need to pull back and slow down. However, that will be difficult since the full Moon creates a cardinal grand cross. A cardinal grand cross represents a time when crisis can be in the air. You need to take action, but you don’t always consider all the consequences. And, with Venus forming a conjunction to Neptune later in the day, you’re not even certain if the actions you’re taking are the right ones.

The Sun at the time of the full Moon is separating from a conjunction to Pluto while the Moon forms an opposition to Pluto. You want to find your personal power and use it to succeed. At the same time, you’re concern that other people are trying to manipulate you and prevent you from achieving your goals.

Jupiter formed an opposition to the Uranus/Ceres conjunction last month and that energy is still part of this full Moon chart. Meanwhile, both the Sun and Moon are forming squares to Jupiter and the Uranus/Ceres conjunction. You’re feeling some tension. You want to implement new beginnings in your life. At the same time you need to protect your environment. Perhaps one saving grace is that the trine Saturn formed with Uranus last month is still also part of the energy of this chart. What this means is that if you understand the lessons you’ve learned from your past and build a safe haven, you’ll be able to find that balance between implementing new beginnings in your life and protecting your environment.

As Mercury moves into Capricorn you feel that you’ve come up with the right solutions, but with Venus forming the conjunction to Neptune, you still don’t have all the facts. The best thing to do during this full Moon day is to gather information. Take time to verify the facts. Spend some time reflecting before acting. You may even want to wait until January 27th, the time of the new Moon, before you make any long-term decisions.

In general, this is a very volatile day. Pay attention to your environment. Don’t take any unnecessary risks. Watch the stock market and your finances. Don’t get into any arguments with others because they’ll escalate.

You may feel a little wounded on January 16th as Mars forms a conjunction to Chiron. It’s important that you pull back today and rest. You don’t want to exert yourself. You need to take care of your health, whether it’s physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually.

January 18th, when Mars forms a quincunx to Jupiter, and January 19th, when Mars forms a square to Saturn are two other days where you need to move slowly so you don’t put yourself into a difficult position.

When Mars forms a quincunx to Jupiter, there’s a tendency to rush into situations without reviewing all the facts. Even the information you hear contradicts itself. You need to move cautiously. It’s also important that you don’t make any long-term commitments.

When Mars forms a square to Saturn, especially with Mars in Pisces, it’s difficult to feel energetic. You want to be alone so you can make your own decisions. But other people are trying to tell you what to do. They want you to follow their rules. You may feel frustrated that things seem out of your control. Just don’t let this frustration turn into anger because it’s not worth it.

It helps that the Sun enters Aquarius later in the day on January 19th because you’ll start feeling your frustration subsiding. You’ll feel as if other people are starting to listen to your concerns. While your energy level may still be low, you don’t feel as if you need to rush out and get things done. You feel as if you can reach out and ask other people to get things done for you.

Finances and relationships will also start improving on January 20th when Venus forms a sextile to Pluto. Financially you’ll be able to find ways to balance your budget. If you’ve been looking for a new job, you may finally get the news you’ve been waiting for. Because you’re charisma is very high today, you’ll have the advantage in any negotiations. You’ll be able to stay focused on your goals. You’ll also find that other people want to help you. You may even meet someone special today.

January 23rd is not the first time that Mercury forms a sextile to Neptune. It formed its first sextile on December 10, 2016 when Mercury was in direct motion and its second sextile on December 26, 2016 when Mercury was in retrograde motion.

When Mercury forms a sextile to Neptune, you can tune into your spiritual and creative nature. At the same time you need to make sure that you’re looking at situations realistically. You don’t want to deceive yourself. You also don’t want to be deceived by others.

The first time this sextile occurred you may have been inspired to try some new ventures. A few weeks later, when this sextile occurred the second time, you needed to re-evaluate some of your plans. If you didn’t do so at that time, you may find some problems with those ventures now. If you did re-evaluate your ideas, you may find that you still need to make some changes but they won’t be a lot of changes. It is important that you don’t sign any contracts today.

When Venus forms a conjunction to Chiron on January 25th, you feel as if it’s important for you to help other people. You want to take care of their needs. While you’re able to show a high level of compassion today, don’t ignore your own needs. You’re just as important as everyone else. This is a good day for romance if you know what you need from a relationship.

You may feel a little confused about the direction of your life on January 26th when Venus forms a quincunx to Jupiter. If you feel confused, it’s because you aren’t putting your needs first. You’re too busy trying to live up to other people’s expectations. So, use the energy of today to determine what your expectations are. If you can do that, you’ll find that you can also determine what direction you want to take for your future.

Venus forms a square to Saturn on January 27th a few hours before the new Moon occurs. This can be a difficult energy because you may feel lonely and feel that other people aren’t supporting your needs. This can also be a day when you are overly critical of your own actions. Perhaps you’re feeling lonely because you’re not reaching out to others and asking for their help. Perhaps you’re feeling as if only you can solve your problems.

When the new Moon does occur a few hours later, the energy formed by the square Venus made to Saturn is still being felt. You feel as if you need to do things on your own, especially with the new Moon in Aquarius. Yet the lesson for this new Moon is to understand that you can’t achieve anything with help from others. As long as you approach problems from a group perspective and with the help of others, you’ll be able to solve them. Also, if you were gathering any information at the time of the full Moon on January 12th, you’ll find that people are now giving you the information you need to make some long-term decisions.

When Mars enters the sign of Aries on January 28th, it enters the sign of its rulership. You are willing to take risks. You want to move on with life. You don’t want to be held back by anyone. Having other people in your life isn’t quite that important. If other people want to join you in your experiences, you’ll welcome them. If they aren’t interested, you’re willing to move along.

On January 29th, Mercury forms a conjunction to Pluto and your find that you’re able to focus on your needs. Just don’t become so focused that you ignore other people. You’ll find they have important information to contribute if you listen to them. You need to find a balance between going after your needs and listening to what other people have to say.

As the month of January ends, you find yourself bombarded with a lot of information as Mercury forms a square to Uranus on January 31st. New thoughts keep coming up. Different concepts keep interrupting your focus. You want to implement one idea, but another (and different) idea is surfacing at the same time. Rather than trying to concentrate, let you mind wander and just write down the various ideas that surface. If you do that, you’ll use the energy of this aspect in a positive way. If you try to concentrate, you may be distracted to the point that you get involved in an accident. Once again, it’s important to take the time to reflect on important situations in your life.