Important astrological energies for the month of January 2023:

• Mercury in Capricorn starts the year in retrograde motion.
• Mars in Gemini starts the year in retrograde motion.
• Full Moon with Sun in Capricorn and Moon in Cancer occurs on January 6, 2023.
• Mars in Gemini turns direct on January 12, 2023. It turned retrograde on October 30, 2022.
• Mercury in Capricorn turns direct on January 18, 2023. It turned retrograde on December 29, 2022.
• New Moon with Sun and Moon in Aquarius occurs on January 21, 2023.

January 2023 – Ready to Move On

By Misty Kuceris ©2022

May this new year bring you the best.

The year of 2023 begins with both Mercury in Capricorn and Mars in Gemini still retrograde. Both will turn direct in mid-January. Yet, with the various triad aspects that Mercury makes until January 29^th you won’t feel that Mercury is totally direct until the end of the month. For this reason, you’ll find that yourself thinking about the balance between your job responsibilities and your family obligations. You’ll also want to resolve old problems that are preventing you from moving on with your life. You’re at that point where you’re willing to release past pain that’s interfering with your happiness. You’re tired of tension and frustration. You’re ready to move on.

As the month does begin, Venus forms a conjunction to Pluto on January 1^st. This bodes well for moving on with your life. You usually feel the need to create or maintain commitments when Venus forms a conjunction to Pluto. You don’t want to take anyone for granted. You feel very intense about your relationships. As a matter of fact, there’s an intense passion of feelings when Venus and Pluto are involved with each other. You do everything you can to make relationships succeed. Sometimes it’s time to let go, but you are not willing to do that when Venus and Pluto are involved. You’d rather feel the pain of staying in a bad relationship, hoping it will work out, then leave and try to find a new one.

If you’re not cautious, it’s easy to become a martyr on January 2^nd as Mercury retrograde forms a sextile to Neptune on January 2^nd. You just want to rush in and save the day. But, it’s not always easy to think clearly when Mercury and Neptune form an aspect. Boundaries seem to dissolve and not everything is as it seems. This is not the first time that you’ve questioned your approach to situations. As a matter of fact, you may feel that what is occurring today is similar to what occurred on December 24^th. At that time you tried to handle a specific situation but couldn’t quite communicate what needed to be said or done. That’s because you didn’t have all the information at that time as Mercury formed a sextile to Neptune for the first time in this triad sequence.

Now you’re beginning to get more information. You’re able to understand a little bit more. But, with Mercury retrograde, you still can’t get your point across. Things are still in the process of shifting. You still need more information. In honesty, you won’t get all the information you need until February 6^th when this aspect occurs for the final time in this triad sequence and both planets are direct.

After Mercury retrograde forms the sextile to Neptune, Venus enters the sign of Aquarius. When Venus is in the sign of Aquarius, you find that it’s easier to pull back from situations that involve other people. You’re not as interested in making intimate connections. Rather, you just want to let things be. You don’t want anyone to be able to pin you down or control you. While you are open to new ideas and value new perspectives, you aren’t willing to put up with outlandish concepts.

You feel very optimistic on January 4^th as Venus forms the sextile to Jupiter. You believe that you can achieve anything, especially with Venus in Aquarius and Jupiter in Aries. You’re willing to take risks. You believe in your future. Just be careful that you don’t overdo things because of your high level of optimism. For example, you may push your physical abilities and cause some physical problems. Or, you may make so many commitments in life that you can’t do everything you promised to others. It’s important to understand that you can pick and choose to do what you want. Also, you don’t need to justify your behavior if something doesn’t work out.

Before the full Moon occurs later in the day on January 6^th, Venus forms a trine to Ceres. You feel this balance right now. You know how to find passion in what you are doing, while understanding how to apply logic in order to get the best end results. You can charm people. You negotiate well. Basically, you’re able to create winning situations.

When the full Moon occurs later in the day, the energy of Venus forming the trine to Ceres and creating winning situations is still operating. At the same time, the Sun in Capricorn is forming a conjunction to Mercury retrograde while the Moon in Cancer is forming an opposition. What this indicates is that while you’re still winning with situations at work, there may be some family members who feel you are spending too much time at work and not enough time with them. For this reason, it’s important to listen to the needs of your family. You may believe that putting all your energy into work is important to your family, but you may be surprised to learn that they would rather you placed that energy into spending time with them. Plus, with the Sun/Mercury conjunction forming a trine to Uranus retrograde while the Moon is forming a sextile to Uranus retrograde, you may view certain family dynamics in a different manner just by listening to their needs.

As Mercury retrograde forms a trine to Uranus retrograde on January 8^th, you are reminded of information you received on December 17, 2022. At that time you received some unexpected information regarding work. That was because Mercury, then in direct motion, formed the first trine to Uranus retrograde in this triad sequence. With Mercury now being retrograde, you’ll be reminded of that information and once again be able to apply it to work. Also, you receive more information on how you can balance your job responsibilities and your family obligations. You may decide that you need to think about this information and you find yourself waiting until January 29^th to act on the information because that’s when Mercury and Uranus, both in direct motion, will form the trine for the last time in this triad sequence.

Less than one hour before Mercury retrograde forms a square to Chiron on January 11^th, Venus forms a square to the Moon’s Nodal Axis. Venus is in Aquarius indicates that while friends are important to you, you’re not that interested in intimate relationships. You would rather keep to yourself. This is emphasized by the fact that the Moon’s North Node is in Taurus while the Moon’s South Node is in Scorpio. Basically, you want to move on with your life while not spending time divulging and personal information or even thinking about the past.

As Mercury retrograde moves into the square to Chiron, you don’t want to share any painful information with anyone. Yet, some difficult and painful situations from December 15, 2022 may resurface. This is because this aspect is part of a Mercury triad sequence that first occurred on December 15, 2022 when Mercury was direct and Chiron was retrograde. At that time you wanted to resolve those matters but it wasn’t that easy. There was too much pain involved. With Mercury retrograde you may be able to discuss those matters, but you still may not be able to resolve them. As a matter of fact, you may not be willing to deal with the situation until January 27^th when this aspect occurs for the last time with both planets direct. By that time you’ll decide that enough is enough: You don’t need to deal with the pain anymore.

Before Mars turns direct on January 12^th, Venus forms a sextile to Chiron indicating it’s easy to start healing from past pain. It’s also easy to find ways to treat people in a gentle manner. While you may not want any intimate situations to arise since Venus is in Aquarius, you still want to make certain that people feel comfortable around you and that everyone can just move on with their lives.

As Mars in Gemini turns direct you feel an increase in your physical energy. Mars went retrograde on October 30, 2022. About every two years, Mars goes retrograde which increases the length of time Mars is in a sign. Usually, Mars is in a sign for about 1.5 months. But with Mars initially entering the sign of Gemini on August 20, 2022 and not leaving the sign until March 26, 2023, that means that Mars is in the sign of Gemini for about seven months.

When Mars was retrograde, you felt as if you have less energy. That’s because Mars rules your stamina and your physical vitality. Also, with Mars in the sign of Gemini your words didn’t always come out right. As a matter of fact, you may have felt as if Mercury was retrograde. It took time before you found the right words to express your thoughts.

Now that Mars is direct, it will be easier to get your words across and communicate. You feel as if your mind is speeding up. As a matter of fact, you may find your words coming out so fast that your mind can’t keep up with your mouth. I like to call this “tripping over your tongue”. Also, during the time period that Mars was retrograde you may have tried to come up with some resolutions but very little seemed to work. Now, as if it’s suddenly happening, you can resolve those matters.

You may feel as if people are invading your personal space on January 14^th as Venus forms a square to Uranus retrograde. Making your own decisions and going your own way is very important to you. You need to maintain your individuality. So, if other people are trying to tell you what to do, you won’t tolerate that. Instead, you’ll feel as if other people are trying to take advantage of you, which you won’t allow.

There’s a tendency to speak without thinking on January 17^th at Mercury retrograde forms a quincunx to Mars. This is part of a triad sequence that initially occurred on December 15, 2022. At that time you may have felt that another individual didn’t show you the respect you deserved. Or, a situation occurred that raised some unresolved problems. There may have been so much anger surrounding the situation that you were unable to resolve it in December. With Mercury retrograde, you may need to look at that event and determine whether it is in your interest to just let go and move on with your life, especially now that Mars is direct. If you’re not able to let go and move on with your life, you’ll need to deal with the matter on January 20^th when both planets are direct.

Mercury in Capricorn turns direct on January 18^th. It went retrograde on December 29, 2022. When Mercury was retrograde in Capricorn, you spent a lot of thought on your career. You may have even considered your various goals to determine if you were on the right track in life. Things seemed very serious to you. You didn’t take anything lightly. At the same time, because Mercury did form various trines to Uranus, you were more open to new ideas than you usually would be with Mercury in Capricorn.

You may have felt frustrated during this Mercury retrograde time period that you couldn’t get as much done as you wanted to. Or, you may have felt as if other people weren’t listening to you. This will resolve itself as Mercury turns direct and time goes by even if you don’t quite feel that way today. Just take your time and know that you’re fairly organized. Trust in yourself right now.

As the Sun enters the sign of Aquarius on January 20^th, you feel as if you want to move on with your life. You don’t want other people telling you what to do. You also don’t want to make too many, if any, commitments. Yet, with the Moon forming an exact conjunction to Mercury at the same time, you want to make certain that people understand you.

A few hours after the Sun enters Aquarius, Mercury forms the final quincunx to Mars in this triad sequence. You feel frustrated if other people aren’t willing to listen to you or give you the emotional support you need. As a matter of fact, this lack of support may remind you of previous events that occurred on December 15, 2022 when Mercury was direct and Mars retrograde, or on January 17, 2023 when Mercury was retrograde and Mars was direct. Or, it’s possible that the frustration you’re feeling today is a direct result of what occurred on December 15, 2022 and was still unresolved just a few days ago on January 17^th. Whether the matter can be resolved today is up to you. One resolution may be just to realize that the other person isn’t going to ever give you any support. Another resolution may be to inform once again that person of the support you need. Then, let that individual decide if they are capable to giving you the support. Either way, it’s best just to move on with your life and let go of any expectations with this individual.

Being open to new ideas is so important at the time of the new Moon which occurs on January 21^st. That’s because this new Moon has both the Sun and Moon in Aquarius. You don’t want to be boxed into old plans. You also want to make certain that other people aren’t telling you what to do.

It helps that both Mercury and Mars are no longer retrograde. You feel as if you can move on with your life. Just don’t push so hard that you forget to relax. You’re ready for a new adventure. All you have to do is figure out which adventure you want to go on.

Less than one hour before Uranus in Taurus turns direct on January 22^nd, Venus forms a conjunction to Saturn and you find it easier to focus. You accept responsibility for your actions. You take things seriously. You’re able to resolve problems. Also, when Uranus turns direct, you may want to rush into situations, but with Venus forming the conjunction to Saturn you are able to slow down.

After Venus forms the conjunction to Saturn, Uranus turns direct. It turned retrograde on August 24, 2022. During the time period that Uranus was retrograde, situations may have slowed down. Or, they could have been difficult to resolve because coming up with new solutions didn’t quite work out. With Uranus now turning direct, there could be a number of ways that this plays out. You may find that any unresolved conflicts are now needing your attention so you can resolve them. Or, you may feel that you have to fight for your rights. If that’s the case, you’re willing to do that. But events may be more global than personal, which doesn’t always occur when Uranus turns direct. That tension could be caused by a public display where people are letting government officials know their needs are not being addressed. Or, there could be a problem with social media or a major hacking scandal being revealed.

You want to surround yourself with peace and other signs of contentment when Venus enters the sign of Pisces on January 26^th. With the Moon in Aries it may be a little difficult, but if you go with the flow, it will happen. Why? Because with Venus in Pisces there is this sense that either you can take care of situations in your life or that others will take care of those situations so you don’t have to. Basically, you don’t want to put out too much effort. You do want to go with the flow. You want to relax and approach life in a mellow manner.

Mercury forms its final square to Chiron in this triad sequence on January 27^th. When this aspect first occurred on December 15, 2022 you wanted to resolve problems but there was too much pain involved. And, you weren’t ready to deal with that pain. At that time, Mercury was direct and Chiron was retrograde. As this aspect occurred for the second time on January 11^th, Mercury was retrograde and Chiron was direct. Once again matters from the past surfaced. And you still didn’t find it easy to talk about those problems. Now that both planets are direct, you’re able to look at the situation and discuss the matter with people involved. You’re ready to move on with your life. More importantly, you realize that you don’t need to let other people cause pain in your life: You don’t need to hold on to this pain.

As the month of January draws to a close, Mercury forms its final triad on January 29^th when it forms a trine to Uranus. When this aspect first occurred on December 17, 2022, you may have received some new information that could help you understand how to balance your job responsibilities and family obligations. When it occurred on January 8^th, both Mercury and Uranus were in retrograde motion and you may have found cause to re-evaluate how to create that job/family balance. Now that both planets are direct, you know what you need to do and how to proceed with your life. You also are ready to resolve old problems that are preventing you from moving on with your life and releasing any past pain that’s interfered with your happiness. The truth is that you’re tired of tension and frustration. You’re ready to move on.

For more information on Misty Kuceris, her classes and seminars, as well as other articles, just go to https://mistykuceris.com/

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