As the New Year begins, there is an underlying theme of Saturn throughout January 2008. This theme actually began on December 18, 2007 when both the Moon’s North Node entered Aquarius and Jupiter entered Capricorn.
Saturn is an interesting planet. Until the discovery of Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, Saturn was thought to be the final planet circling the Sun. Its 28-year cycle in your life aligns with the times when you need to review your place in society as an adult. It’s seen as the planet of discipline where you need to follow rigid rules. Some people feel that Saturn is actually the father-figure who disciplines through confinement.
However, Saturn also represents much more. It represents cultivated gardens that are created in society. It represents architectural designs that are representative of societal needs. And, for this reason, Saturn can represent a wonderful presence in your life when you know how to use that energy.
When there is an underlying theme of Saturn, the best thing for you to do is review your life and the structure you’ve created to support your life. Structure means everything from your family life, your physical home, your health, and your job situation. If you are feeling confined at this time, it’s because you’re letting other people dictate your life. That’s the negative aspect of the Saturn energy. However, when you feel that your life is moving forward and you’re seeing the rewards of your movement, that’s the positive energy of Saturn.
Think of your life as a piece of land that you cherish. Take this time to draw out a landscape for your success. Think about the type of home you’d like to have and the type of relationships you’d enjoy in your life. Think about how you feel when you wake up in the morning and start your daily routine to prepare for work. Think about how you feel when you return from work and have the evening to spend for your special moments. These are all the elements within the design of your landscape.
Once you’ve drawn out your landscape, see if there are areas of changes that you need to make in your life. In your drawing, remove those objects that cause pain and restriction. Imagine what you need to place there to create a better flow and abundance in your life.
As Mercury moves into Aquarius on January 7th and the new Moon in Capricorn occurs the following day, you’ll find it easier to open your mind to new possibilities. This is a good time to discuss matters with your friends and build alliances. This is a good time to negotiate, perhaps even refinance your home. Building a sense of security is very important right now. Also, doing the best you can to establish a good financial plan is critical. The housing market is still dropping and it’s more difficult to find easy credit. Be very careful of those “low interest” credit card offers that come in the mail because when you read the fine print you’ll find that once the regular interest rate kicks in the actual interest rate will be very high. While Congress is trying to do something about the way companies charge interest rates, it’ll be a while before anything is done with credit card interest rates.
The stock market takes erratic swings between January 8th, at the time of the new Moon, and January 12th, when Venus in Sagittarius forms a square to Uranus in Pisces. This new Moon indicates that companies will be restructuring to meet their debt requirements. It also indicates that more attention is paid to the health of the nation than occurred previously. There’s a sense of concern that the dollar is not holding its value in the global marketplace.
This new Moon can be very good on a personal basis if you start taking steps to take care of your health. You’ll be able to find programs that work with your body type. And, through relaxing you may also be able to understand just what you steps you need to take as things are beginning to shift in your life. If you do want to make changes in your life, it’s important that you take some of the lessons you’ve learned and use them as a springboard for your plans.
Be very careful with personal relationships on January 12th, when Venus forms the square to Uranus. As you’re looking at your landscape, you may decide that relationships aren’t going quite the way you like and you may want to ditch them at this point. Perhaps that’s the right thing to do, but you’re better off waiting before breaking anything off. The reason is that today may be a better day for communicating your needs to other people and finding out whether they are able to support your needs. Perhaps they don’t understand what your needs are. Perhaps they are willing to give you support once they understand your needs. If they are either unwilling or unable to give you support perhaps then is the time to consider moving on.
The Sun enters Aquarius on January 20th and the need to build good alliances continues. If you were confused about relationships on January 12th, still wait a few more days before making any decisions that could permanently change your life. This is another good day for trying to make amends with people. Perhaps some healing can take place.
On January 21st, Jupiter forms a trine to Saturn. This trine, which occurs about every 19 to 21 years, tends to happen in a series of five or more times. It occurred on March 16 and May 6, 2007 and it will occur again on September 8, 2008 and November 21, 2008. When the cycle occurred in 2007, Jupiter was in Sagittarius and Saturn was in Leo. Now Jupiter is in Capricorn and Saturn is in Virgo.
Economically, there’s a tendency for over speculation, especially in the real estate market. One of the big things that you saw in 2007 was that the market began to take a nose dive because homes were over valued. This occurred not only in the United States, but also in China and is currently occurring in England, as well as other countries. Easy credit is the reason given. In order to sell more homes, mortgage companies came up with innovative lending practices; such as, the ARM mortgage where the first several years the interest rates and monthly payments were low and ballooned later and the interest-only mortgage where people paid only the interest and nothing on the principle. In some of those cases, the value of the home decreased causing the outstanding mortgage to be higher than the value of the house. The same was true for many people who kept refinancing their homes to take out the equity for various purposes and found that soon their new mortgages were higher than the value of their homes. Even people who were flipping got caught in purchasing property that they eventually could not sell because the market changed.
The real estate problem is having a cascading effect in other areas: Non-profit organizations which purchased investments based on subprime loans are now selling those investments often at a loss. Banks that also invested in subprime loans are having financial difficulty. The stock market is reflecting this unrest, not just in the United States but in Shanghai, China as well. Historically, banks have failed and in some cases taken down a country’s economy. Also, cities, counties, and countries that rely on real estate taxes based on the valuation of the property will suffer since the property values are declining.
Historically, art always becomes more inspirational and abstract when Jupiter forms a trine to Saturn. Already many artists are developing multi-media expressions which use more senses than just the visual sense. Some artists are experimenting with light and sound. Others are experimenting with scents. They want to pull you into the full experience of their art. While many of these forms of art can only be found in galleries, you’ll find that advance technologies will enable you to bring more of the multi-media art home. Also, the use of technology and multi-media art will inspire some individuals to “paint” their work on the internet and others to use the outdoor environment as their palette. More print media will incorporate the senses of smell and touch. Meanwhile, more television programs, commercials, and games will find ways to use all the senses. Also, if you’re planning on developing websites, try to think of ways to incorporate sound as part of your website presentation, not just the written word.
Weather patterns will continue their strange track at this time. Areas will be warmer than usual. At the same time, the storms that occur will be more intense than usual.
When Jupiter does form a trine to Saturn, it’s important for you to understand the difference between what you want and what you can do in life. There’s a tendency to believe you can accomplish anything. But, if you don’t use the experience from your past to help you create a future, you may just step out into the thin air and find life falling apart on you. The key to personal success when this trine occurs is take your past experiences and build on them. If you do that, your life will be on the right track for success.
The full Moon (Sun in Aquarius and Moon in Leo) that occurs on January 22, 2008 is very important. First, it occurs a day after Jupiter forms its trine to Saturn. This means, both globally and personally, that you need to throw out all the old garbage that doesn’t support your future success. It means that leaders need to look at economic structures and make changes that are more in line with a global economy. It means that you need to clean house and throw out all that stuff that interferes with your future progress.
Mercury is about to form a conjunction to Neptune in Aquarius and does so a little shy of 12 hours after the full Moon. There is a danger that you could be deceiving yourself. Or, this could indicate that you understand the difference between your dreams and reality. This is not a good day to negotiate any contracts because there is no way you’ll have all the information you need.
Take care of your health around this time period. With weather patterns being very erratic, there is a stronger possibility of germs spreading. This could mean that a flu epidemic starts. If it does, it will impact your respiratory system. So, it’s very important for you to make certain that your immune system is as strong as possible.
Venus enters Capricorn on January 24, 2008, one day before Pluto enters Capricorn. Venus is not always comfortable in the sign of Capricorn because there is a desire to value love that has specific rules rather than love unconditionally. The same is true when it comes to your finances. There is the need to understand what you want to purchase rather than just spend the money without thinking.
At this time, there is a stellium in Aquarius with Chiron, Neptune, Mercury, and the Moon’s North Node. The energy of Saturn, as well as Uranus, is stronger now than before. Review the landscape that you’re developing. Take a look at the areas of your life that were hurting you and determine what you can do to heal your life. Take a look at your dreams and see if by following their paths you are living as realistically as possible. Communicate with your friends and those other special people in your life so that you can benefit from their perspectives. And, see if your new plans can fit well into your social group so you don’t feel like an outcast and yet are able to maintain your individuality.
On January 25, 2008, a major paradigm shift occurs. Pluto enters Capricorn until June 14, 2008. It retrogrades back into Sagittarius for a while and finally enters Capricorn from November 28, 2008 to March 23, 2023. It will also be in Capricorn from June 11, 2023 to January 21, 2024; and from September 1, 2024 to November 11, 2024. This means that Pluto will be in Capricorn for approximately 16 years during this cycle.
Although Pluto is no longer considered a planet by astronomers, it is still an important indicator of cycles. Historically when Pluto is in Capricorn, great changes occur with governments, their leadership, infrastructures, and monetary systems. This is not surprising since Capricorn represents governments and the administration of these governments. The changes are not always immediately evident. Rather, take this time to implement. So, when Pluto enters Capricorn for this first time, you may not notice all the changes right now. You may just start seeing some of the symptoms. (For indepth detail on Pluto in Capricorn, read my book, Trends 2008.)
When Pluto is in Capricorn, leaders emerge trying to either save old empires or create new ones. Usually the steps taken to save old empires work for a while but eventually fail as Pluto moves into Aquarius. There is a strong need to improve the aging infrastructures of countries by building new roads and other means of transportation. There is also movement by leaders to expand the influence of their realms through increased global contact.
Monetary changes are very necessary when Pluto is in Capricorn. As countries try to expand their reach, the leaders of these countries seek better means for improving the use of currency or some other means of exchange between various merchants, various classes of society, and other countries. There is always a desire to expand the empire. And, in our world today, part of the empire building is now found in corporations. So, more corporations will seek to increase their international influence.
At the time of Pluto’s entry into Capricorn this month, there is a grouping of planets and energy points. Pluto, Venus, and Jupiter are in Capricorn. The Sun, Chiron, Neptune, Mercury, and Moon’s North Node are in Aquarius. Meanwhile, Uranus is in Pisces. This grouping creates intensity with this ingress of Pluto. At times, intensity can also lead to fear. If fear is involved, struggles to hold on to a past that needs to be released will occur. Yet, this intensity can also increase excitement about the future.
This is a time for you to see where your place is in the world. Even though you may not travel internationally, the global trends will have a direct impact on your life from imports that come to your country to credit terms you sign for various loans. The downsizing of the world also has an impact on your friendships as more people are living further from their birthplace. You’ll be meeting more individuals from different cultures and traditions and seeing that their influences also make changes in your daily life.
If you are a business owner, especially a small business owner, you’ll find that this global expanse can actually increase your ability to succeed. You may be able to market your product via the internet to people in countries you never visit. You’ll be able to work in virtual space and help more people than ever before.
If you are a parent, this can be both an exciting and frightening time period. You and your children have more opportunities for education through the use of the internet and interactive technologies. At the same time, you may find more “strangers” invading your home as you open your computers and hope that the people you communicate with are really people who are safe.
Sometimes as the world expands, more rules are set in place. This can also be seen when Pluto enters Capricorn. Monetary controls need to increase so that the value of one currency in a country can’t disrupt the economy of another country. Assuring your privacy and safety from internet theft becomes important as you seek ways to limit access to your personal information. While some people feel this limitation is too late, you’ll see new measures being installed that can aid in limiting the information.
Mars is still retrograde at the time Pluto enters Capricorn. While Mars is not in Cancer at this time, it will re-enter the sign of Cancer. So, this indicates that it’s important for you to pay attention to hidden enemies. It definitely indicates that you need to pay attention to subtle messages that exist around you: Your subconscious mind, your fears, your hidden motivations. This also indicates that changes coming to you may be a bit slower right now than you expect them to be. And, the fact that those changes are slower may actually be a very good thing.
About three days after Pluto enters Capricorn, Mercury in Aquarius turns retrograde at 23 degrees. As it turns retrograde, it’s also moving back into a conjunction with Neptune. This could either bring out your creative nature. Or, it could make you feel that you need to focus on your goals. You may be afraid that losing your goals also takes you off track in life. However, this is also a good time to review your landscape plan and perhaps even make some important changes to those plans.
This is a time to be cautious about your financial matters. The stock market is erratic. In addition, you’ll hear news about various pharmaceuticals that need to be recalled.
The month ends with Mars in Gemini turning direct on January 30, 2008. For the last several months you may feel that you were left in the dark. Now information is being revealed. This is also a good time to clean up any messes in your life.
When Mars turns direct at 24° of Gemini, this means that you have an opportunity to communicate to others. You are able to take actions that are important to you. Yet, remember that Mars will soon be in Cancer again. So, it’s important that you don’t overstate your case. It’s also important that you start nurturing yourself even now. And make certain that nurturing yourself is part of your landscape plan.