January 2006: Prepare for Your Long-Term Plans

Throughout the month of January, the main theme is re-evaluation of the past and preparation for the future. This theme is very appropriate for the beginning of the new year.

On December 24, 2005, Venus in Aquarius turned retrograde. The year of 2006 begins with this Venus still retrograde but entering the sign of Capricorn. When Venus is retrograde, you need to be very careful with your finances. New purchases may contain hidden charges that you didn’t anticipate. Property sales may be lower than expected. Or, you may not receive as great a value for your product or service as you would like.

Venus also rules love relationships and personal values. It’s possible that someone from your past may re-enter your life. Or, this may be a time for you to consider what is important to you. As Venus re-enters the sign of Capricorn, circumstances that occurred around November 5, 2005 resurface. These are circumstances that at the time didn’t really have a resolution in your life. Now, you must develop a plan to resolve any problems surrounding those matters.

It’s important to be fiscally conservative because energy costs and interest rates are rising. At the same time, you’ll actually find some good values at the stores. While many of the Holiday sales are over, you still find savings are being offered. With the various costs and interest rates rising, the stock market is erratic during the first few weeks of January.

In some cases, there is a desire to re-invent yourself when retrograde Venus is in Capricorn. You’ll see this with the leaders of various countries who are interested in escalating their popularity and that of their programs. However, events that occurred in early November 2005 will come back and haunt their efforts.

On January 3rd, Mercury enters Capricorn. You may be one who believes that the beginning of a new calendar year is a good time to pull back, reflect, and create plans for the future. If so, Mercury entering Capricorn provides you with the energy you need. Just take care not to create plans that are so difficult to achieve that you have no social life. The Moon is conjunct Uranus at the time Mercury enters Capricorn and there’s a tendency to feel excited about all your new possibilities that you may be a bit unrealistic.

The fixed grand cross that started last month (see December 2005 article for more information) is still in effect at this time. So, you may feel a little “stuck” and unable to start implementing your plans. But, don’t let that stop you from making them. This really isn’t the time to put everything in motion anyway.

As the full Moon occurs on January 14, you’ll find that some of your dreams are taking better shape because it’s easier to understand what you need to let go in your life. There’s a metaphysical concept that nature abhors a vacuum. At the same time, this same metaphysical concept indicates that it’s difficult to let new things enter your life if your life is crowded with old things that aren’t important.

On January 15th, Mars forms an opposition to Jupiter and the fixed grand cross enters its maximum peak. This means that unresolved issues force their way to the surface. It also means that while you feel extremely frustrated now, the frustration and inability to take action starts abating. In some cases, people will start a campaign of intense political maneuvering to try and maintain the status quo. You’ll see this expressed in political parties, as well as with other leaders who see their influence slipping away. You may even find that you want to protect old and outworn concepts. The harder you fight to maintain what you no longer need, the more your frustration increases. However, if you start tossing out what is no longer needed, you’ll feel that frustration leaving and your body relaxing. As a matter of fact, if you can take the time to go for a walk or receive a massage, you’ll really benefit from the experience.

On January 19th, Saturn forms a quincunx to Uranus. The last time this aspect occurred was September 21, 2005. It will also occur again on July 31, 2006. Events surrounding this aspect created the beginning of the current paradigm shift. The United States was hit with two hurricanes, Katrina and Rita. Other parts of the world suffered with mud slides and earthquakes. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist died creating an opportunity for President Bush to nominate not only one new appointee to the Supreme Court, but two.

When a quincunx occurs, you need to make adjustments in your life. The status quo doesn’t really work any more. With Saturn and Uranus being involved as the planets, this means that you need to see what changes are important to make in the very foundations of your life that prepares you for the unexpected. Emergencies happen. It’s really a time to learn that even if you plan, life still happens. Some of your plans can work. Others just need to be adjusted to accommodate what the world brings into your life.

Think of Saturn and its symbol (). It you look at it closely, it resembles a chair. This can represent the seat of success. Saturn as the seat of success indicates that you developed a plan with achievable goals and stick to that plan. On the other hand, Saturn can also represent the chair where you decided to sit and not move. In this case, Saturn represents holding on to the past without willingness to move forward.

Uranus represents individuality and search for innovation. When you look at the symbol (t) it appears as a person reaching upward, either floating over the earth or just standing on a moving ball. Either you can throw out everything without regard for its value and start over, possibly making the same mistakes, or you can find ways to see the world’s diversity in all matters and incorporate creative new approaches to solve old problems.

In the negative, this can represent remembering an idealized and unrealistic past and trying to hold on to that illusion. In the positive, this can represent learning lessons from the past and applying creative and innovation measures that enable you to move forward into success. The adjustment is really to see your hands up, embracing the possibilities in your world, while sitting in the chair of knowledge.

This will be a difficult time period for organizations that hold on to rigid rules when innovation is necessary for success. Groups will go through leadership changes. And, there may be strife as different sides vie for what they believe. If compromise can’t be found, the group will fail or split into two or more different factions. It’s interesting that as reports surrounding organizations such as FEMA surface, one of the most repeated stories is that various factions were fighting over their political agendas and not developing a solution for the actual organization. The true karmic lesson with this quincunx it to understand where you can compromise without giving up your ethical values. If compromises are not developed at this time and innovation solutions started, greater difficulties will arise in July 2006 when this quincunx returns.

Both the Sun and Saturn represent different aspects of authority. The Sun represents the leader of an organization while Saturn represents the corporate body of the organization. The purpose of the corporate body is to assure past events are remembered so the same mistakes are not repeated. Another purpose of the corporate body is to maintain the important aspects of the corporate culture that represents the organization’s structure. The purpose of a leader is to look towards the future and, using creative approaches, motivate the organization to develop future goals that maintain its continued success. When the Sun enters Aquarius on January 20th, it forms a mutual reception with Saturn. This means that each planet is in the sign that the other planet rules. Theoretically, a mutual reception creates increased harmony between two planets that ordinarily may not be comfortable in these signs.

With the Sun in Aquarius and Saturn in Leo, the need for organizations to develop innovative approaches to solutions increases. There needs to be an understanding between the various components of a group. If this understanding occurs, compromises can be made that lead to success. However, if the various factions hold on to their own beliefs, more strife will occur and no solutions developed.

Personally, this could put you in the middle of some difficult moments if you work for an organization where the various factions are promoting their own private agendas. If you are a leader in such an organization, you could be under a lot of stress unless you are willing to compromise. This same dynamic can occur at the family level. If there are disagreements in your family over important matters, the chasms of disagreements will increase unless everyone is willing to find a means of compromising. So, for this energy to be successful it’s important for you and everyone else involved to agree on the desired end result and than find a means of achieving that end result.

Normally, when Mercury enters Aquarius, as it does on January 22nd, there is a willingness to listen to innovative solutions. However, it creates another fixed grand cross in the chart between Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter. This fixed grand cross is not as intense as the one in operation during the first two weeks of the month. The reason is that Mercury in Aquarius is willing to listen to new concepts that don’t interfere with personal freedoms. So, between now and February 5, 2006, when this fixed grand cross culminates negotiations could occur between different factions that bring some solutions.

During this same time period, you’ll see a tremendous emphasis on matters relating to privacy. Congress will continue to debate the Patriot’s Act. The media will continue to publish information of data and other critical leaks. And, you’ll really need to read all those various opt-out notices that come with special credit card and other offers and take actions as soon as possible.

On January 27th, a new 13-year cycle beings. Jupiter forms a square to Neptune on this date. This same square occurs again on March 16 and September 24, 2006. Both Jupiter and Neptune represent aspects of a spiritual quest to understand how to live ethically in a world that requires compromise and understanding. For some people, Jupiter also reflects a belief that one can get away with anything in life while Neptune reflects the belief that through misdirection one can get away with their actions. Therefore, many scandals tend to occur during this cycle. (For detailed information on these scandals and potential areas of other scandals occurring, read Misty’s Trend Analysis for 2006.) The danger with misdirection is that people tend to use fear as the motivating force behind the misdirection. One of the greatest examples of this was in 1954 as Senator Joseph R. McCarthy attempted to prove Communist infiltration into the US Army. He was formally censured and condemned by a Senate resolution on December 2, 1954.

Since a square means internal tension, it’s important for you to pay attention to your feelings during this time period. Other people may try to increase your fears through emotional manipulation. Or, you may let general fears drive your emotions. But, the key here is to maintain your own ethics. By doing so, you won’t get sucked in to actions that are inappropriate. And, you’ll be able to gain understanding into the minds of those who are trying to manipulate you.

Avoiding manipulation at this time is also important because the month of January is a time to focus on your future plans. By now, you may already know what it is you want or need to do to prepare for your future. Yet, some people may not want you to change because that would mean their relationship with you will change also. They may try to control your decisions through raising your fears that maybe you won’t succeed. So, the karmic lesson for you at this time is to let your fears surface and understand that you don’t need to be controlled by them or anyone who flames the fires of those fears.

On a mundane level, Jupiter represents magnetic energy while Neptune indicates unseen force fields. This will be an interesting time for the development of wireless technology and other computer advances. There is a push in the computer industry to create greater reliance on internet technology, such as housing data and files on a mainframe server. While this technology will enable you to access your files from any computer in any location, it can also increase the risk of other people also accessing those files. So, there a danger those barriers to your privacy may come crashing down if someone can hack into that mainframe.

The month of January ends with a new Moon in Aquarius on January 29th that also is part of a stellium. A stellium is when several planets (in this case Chiron, Sun, Moon, Mercury, and Neptune) are found in the same sign. It increases the intensity of the sign.

Aquarius is an interesting sign in its extremes. It can represent either the desire to just do your own thing and not care about the concerns of others. Or, it can represent your belief that only you have the solutions to problems and therefore you must force other people to accept those solutions. On a spiritual level, Aquarius promotes the desire to work together, accept the diversity of others, and find innovative solutions to problems. Therefore, there is opportunity at this time to work with others while still implementing your plans for your future. Other people may not agree with you, yet that doesn’t mean that they want to sabotage your efforts. The key to success at this time is to take the plans you developed at the start of the month and implement them in an ethical manner.