Venus trine Mars

Planetary news this week: Mars turns direct and the Moon sings

Astrological update for the week of January 9-16, 2023

art by Kristin Ashley

This week we are in the waning phase of the Moon, just after the fullness of last week’s Full Moon and heading towards the second of three Super New Moons in a row. This is an interesting time of letting go as the Moon wanes, but also building anticipation as we move into a Super New Moon, a time when the Moon is at its closest point to Earth.

Throughout the month of January there are no major planetary alignments, so the smaller planets have a bigger story and will have a say in what is released this week as the Moon continues to wane, and in what is created at the New Moon on the 21st.

Mars turns direct. Mars, planet of action and desire, has been particularly troublesome while retrograde in Mercury-ruled Gemini and the double whammy with Mercury retrograde has wreaked havoc on communication (the botched election for the U.S. House Speaker is a good example!).  Mars is stationary as it prepares to change direction, and Mercury will turn direct on the 18th so they are both prominent in the sky in anticipation of the direction change.

Let’s take a look at what else is in store for us this week. (Dates and times are for the Eastern time zone, here is a time zone converter to adjust for your locality.)

Monday January 9. As the week begins, the Moon is still in the sunny sign of Leo where we are motivated to look for bits of sunlight in the midst of any darkness or drama that we find ourselves in. A Mercury/Uranus aspect lingers from Sunday to help us […]

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By |2023-01-09T08:28:25-05:00January 9th, 2023|Planetary news this week|1 Comment
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Planetary news this week: Saturn direct and the Sun/Venus dance

Astrological update for the week of October 17-23, 2022

art by Carol Drury

Retrograde update. The retrograde forces that dominated August and September continue to fade, and after Saturn turns direct this week there will be three planets traveling in retrograde motion (Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus) as well as Chiron. This may seem like a lot, but this is a more normal number of retrogrades and the forces that pull us back into the past to review and reflect are beginning to lessen.

Saturn station. The challenging square from Saturn to Uranus which came very close to an exact alignment over the past few weeks is also starting to fade, and with it the forces of rebellion and conflict which dominated the story of 2021 will also start to retreat. Saturn, the planet that teaches endurance and the value of discipline and hard work, is stationary in the sky right now as it prepares to change direction. When a planet appears to “station” before a change of direction its influence intensifies, especially if you have sensitive planets between 15 and 20 degrees of the fixed signs (Aquarius, Leo, Scorpio, Taurus). Saturn will barely move between now and mid-November, meaning this wise teacher will dominate the planetary energies.

Saturn periods like this one are good times to focus on the hard things that need to be done, but are not the best times for speculation and over-idealistic thinking.

The Sun/Venus dance from Libra to Scorpio. The Sun and Venus meet in conjunction about every 9-1/2 months: once when Venus appears to be at its closest point to Earth when retrograde, and once (like now) when Venus is at its farthest point when traveling direct.  From our perspective, the Sun appears to […]

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By |2022-10-17T08:27:51-04:00October 17th, 2022|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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1.9.21. A new perspective creates an expansive vision

art by Donika Mishineva

Today’s Sagittarius Moon helps to amplify the general expansion being felt these days under the shift from a heavy Capricorn emphasis into Aquarius.  Mercury (mind) has moved into Aquarius and will transit Saturn (discipline and focus) today.  Over the next few days Mercury, Saturn and Jupiter (optimism and expansion) will operate as a tightly knit team, putting the inventiveness of Aquarius to work through thoughts and communication (Mercury), goals and plans (Saturn), and self-confidence and assurance (Jupiter).  Over these next few days it will be tempting to remain stuck in old thought patterns, grumbling about challenges and obsessing about things that don’t work out.  But this strong Aquarian energy can help us to embrace new perspectives and help us to break out of familiar and comfortable habits that hold us back.

An earthy trine from Venus in Capricorn to Mars in Taurus today helps to stabilize relationships and our general sense of well-being.  Attention to practical matters, especially having to do with our savings or financial security, will be rewarded over the next few days under this trine, and the Aquarian insight of the triple conjunction described above will aid in the re-imagining of a brighter future. ❤️

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By |2021-01-09T08:13:20-05:00January 9th, 2021|Planetary cycles|0 Comments
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