Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of January 15th - financial and business opportunities, stepping into new responsibilities and goals and stepping back from anything that feels a little too close for comfort, keep a cool head, no dark alley meanderings, intense situations

Winter Birds by Das-Lauralein

Here we go!

On MONDAY, the Moon and a bundle of other planets continue in ambitious Capricorn.

The Moon is in the final hours of its monthly Balsamic Phase of release and time-out (I wrote about this phase a couple years ago for Create and Thrive HERE).

We have Jupiter (in Scorpio) sextiling (opportunity) Pluto (in Capricorn) at 19 degrees (19 degrees Capricorn was also the degree of last week's Venus Star Point).

Jupiter increases Pluto's power. Bigger/deeper transformations are possible now.  

Our faith/confidence in ourselves - or what we are doing - or in someone else - increases.

Results now could come from balls that started rolling around January 6th-8th when Mars - our courage/action/initiative - sextiled Pluto.

This is a culmination aspect so if we took some kind of action then, something good/expansive could come of it now.

We will get this aspect two more times during Jupiter's stay in Scorpio - April 14th (21 degrees) and September 12th (18 degrees) - Scorpio and Capricorn sextiles are good energies for financial and business opportunities.

(also increased intimacy, the wedding of our resources with other people's, opportunity with partner's finances, mortgages, loans, investments, inheritance, reproduction, career, authority, goals and also transformation for Jupiter themes - travel, education,foreign issues, media, marketing, religion, legal issues)

A sextile doesn't get much more more powerful than when a sextile is between Pluto and Jupiter!

So something between now and mid-September is growing, deepening, adjusting - opening up for us in a BIGGER WAY.

There is just no comfortable way to play small this year!

We could be growing/thriving under tremendous pressure, releasing an attachment that is keeping us from moving forward, there could be behind-the-scenes forces working to our benefit - there are too many ways to list for this sextile (opportunity) to play itself out. What houses in your natal chart hold Scorpio and Capricorn - what are the themes of those houses?

Successes here (and we get multiple lucky chances here over the next 9 months to make use of this) bring added power/influence (and maybe more money, honey!).

We could also meet someone now - a mentor/guru type, maybe, although our relationship might not fall into this category - who has a profound impact on us.

With sextiles, action on our part is needed to get the 'whole enchilada', but good things can sometimes get started with minimal effort (work will certainly be required as we move along). Maybe we are in the right place at the right time. Maybe just the right person reads what we have written or sees what we have made. If some kind of opportunity comes up now, especially related to career or finances - I say GRAB IT.

(not in a pushy attack while screaming "It's MINE!", but definitely with BOTH HANDS)

On TUESDAY, we have the New Moon in Capricorn (26 degrees). Start thinking about your New Moon intentions for your Capricorn natal house (what is that house's theme?) and for your work in the world, career, business, ways to solidify any less than solid structures in your life - get things onto firmer ground.

If you are starting something new hold off until at least 5PM EST. You have two weeks to get something going here!

This is Capricorn and Capricorn IS what is happening (with ruler Saturn getting settled in now) over the next couple years, so please let's not miss setting New Moon intentions this month. We won't have another Capricorn New Moon for a year.

This is a really BIG New Moon.

The Moon will be conjunct Venus (what we want - love, money, values, self-esteem), but squaring unpredictable Uranus. So probably not everything will go as planned. Mercury and Black Moon Lilith will meet up in Capricorn at the same time AND Ceres will be conjunct the North Node (in Leo) so this New Moon is all about the ladies - the mother (Moon/Ceres), the woman who cannot be controlled (Lilith) and the lovely maiden (Venus, about to move on into Aquarius).

We'll talk about the New Moon tomorrow. I will write a post. Keep in mind the companion Moon to this New Moon, the Full Moon at the end of the month, will be an eclipse - yes, eclipse season starts in 2 weeks!

On WEDNESDAY, Mars (in Scorpio) inconjuncts (Uranus) in Aries. This is volatile energy - acting on impulse. We, and others, could be headstrong and ambitious now. This could stimulate a kind of restless desire to provoke something. If you have an urge to make a sudden change in your life right now - I would wait a few days!

Arguments could pop up quickly and so could acts of anger or violence. 

We had this same aspect at this exact same degree (Mars has traveled the entire zodiac and Uranus is sitting on the same degree!) on July 15, 2016 - if that date rings any bells for anyone personally.

In the collective we had the Bastille Day terrorist attack in France that killed 84 people, the attempted military coup in Turkey that killed 300 and resulted in 6000 arrests, tens of thousands of Iraqis demonstrated in the streets, classified information on the Saudis ties to 9/11 was released and Trump picked Mike Pence as his running mate.

Also Game of Thrones garnered 23 Emmy nominations - winter is coming here.

Don't wander down any dark alleys. You know the drill. 

Also on Wednesday, the Moon, and beautiful Venus say "hasta-la-vista baby" to buttoned-up Capricorn and shift into future leaning and love the one you're with Aquarius.

Aquarian and Aquarius rising people get more attractive - both easier on the eye and able to attract what they want. All of our natal Aquarius houses get more attractive, too.

The unusual, the out of place, the "I've never seen that before!" will catch our eye. If you are marketing something, for the next month focus on what makes it different. Odd is the new black. Beauty is more than skin deep. Instead of being attracted to the sameness we find in others, we will find ourselves more drawn to those who are different from us

Unusual ways of making money and spending/investing money, could present themselves over the next 23 days.

In Aquarius, social Venus becomes more detached. She values her space and so is able to allow other people theirs, too. If we begin some kind of relationship now - business or personal - know this need for freedom and individuation will be one of the cornerstones it is built on.

Since Venus rules love, money, women, beauty and our values - all of these areas get a shot of something new and different now. Aquarius is a fixed sign and changes (especially changes that are future or humanitarian oriented) made now have a way of sticking. 

On THURSDAY, we are still dealing with the Mars/Uranus inconjunct and now have both the Moon and Venus in Uranus ruled Aquarius. This is alot of energy focused on liberation.

We could be taking a big step back from anything that feels smothering now.

The Moon (in Aquarius) will square Jupiter (in Scorpio) in the evening - watch for revealing too much within a public or group setting. You might have the urge to post something online more personal than what you would normally post. People could be moody - moods subject to change. Good energy for socializing just avoid anything too over-the-top.

On FRIDAY, the Moon moves into dreamy Pisces mid-day and we have Mercury (in Capricorn) sextiling (opportunity) Neptune (in Pisces). Since the Moon is void until 3:36PM EST anyway, it could be a good day for working with our imaginations, healing words, writing, creativity, meditation. Any part of our work that could benefit from working with fantasy and inspiration would be a good use of our time today. This wouldn't be the best day for a serious meeting because things will tend to drift off-course and not be followed up on. It could also be a time when something else, maybe that New Year's resolution?, jumps a rail.

On Friday night, the Sun moves into Aquarius, kicking off Aquarius season. The Aquarius Sun always offers us an opportunity to step back (detach/disentangle) and look at the big picture. It's energy pushes us to step outside the box and try something else. It allows us to put some space between us and that challenging, draining situation.

As always with Aquarius - detachment is helpful until it isn't anymore. 

Try not to over-think everything and waste the next few weeks of this innovative energy. The way it used to work, whatever "it" is, isn't going to work now. 

xo all

Looking Ahead to the Weekend - Astrology Forecast for Creatives | where fair and square meets what the hell was I thinking, something comes unglued

w03 by mymadeleine


This weekend is a bit of a mixed bag as we build toward Tueday's New Moon.

We have Mercury/Saturn in play so serious conversations, contracts, decisions, endings, goals - especially long-term goals, career issues, family issues, responsibilities, security, situations with authority, realistic planning.

Whatever we have going on here will continue.

Friday night is not the best "date night" of the year (although the Sagittarius Moon will help) unless you are up for a long, sober talk about his business (snore) or his approaching court date (yikes!) or are going to see The Post, like I am, which seems serious enough to satisfy my appetite for reality that has bit someone other than ME (heads up by Sunday afternoon we will have the Moon in Capricorn, too!).

By Saturday mid-afternoon EST Venus (in Capricorn) will be squaring Uranus (in Aries). In the collective this could be about women, love, money, our values and/or self-esteem needing more freedom.

Anything fitting even slightly tightly (slightly tightly!) will feel like a dog collar right about now.

If we are repressing this urge - our partner/child, etc, could be the chicken to fly the coop.  

Something unexpected could come up - so keep plans flexible.

If you have planets or points around 24 degrees of the cardinal signs - Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn - you would be most likely to feel this square in whatever areas of life are impacted.

Expect something else. Ruts can be jumped now. We will be attracted (Venus) to the cutting edge, the strange, the unusual (Uranus). This is good energy to break bad habits. Unexpected expenses might pop up, too.

Tension within relationships (picture a rubber band stretched to its breaking point) - could cause some people to snap. Maybe something has to change here. Business as usual isn't going to cut it.

Don't overspend.

That new piece of pricey technology that looks so tempting today, will look like "what the hell was I thinking" by Sunday afternoon (the same goes for that guy with the strange tattoo - trust me on this one).

On Sunday, the Moon will be void until 2:42PM EST, so sleep in. Avoid garage sales because "nothing will come" of your purchases (except maybe filling a space on the table of your own garage sale next year). After the void the Moon moves into Capricorn - for the first time in 2018! - we will be feeling even more ambitious or like a blanket left out in a rainstorm - there is probably no middle ground here.

By late afternoon EST Sunday, the Sun will square Uranus so everyone will want to do things their own way. There could be sudden outbursts of ... well, just about anything ... but also access to bursts of creativity and unusual solutions.

Instead of waiting for life to surprise us, let's take the bull by the horns, or maybe with all this Capricorn I should say take 'the goat by the horns' - and yes it can be one of those adorable fainting goats, why the hell not - and make some beneficial changes.

This is our second square to 'change-maker' Uranus this weekend

(although with the Sun and Venus so close together this could show up as just one thing or multiple things that feel kind of chaotic)

so keep plans flexible. Did I say that already?  

Expect people could be irrational/rebellious. This energy is going to get stagnant stuff unstuck one way or the other - so be pro-active through positive change.

We will be looking to experience something different. We will probably find what we are looking for.

xo all

Saturn Says You're It | another brick in the wall, sober thinking, the nuts and bolts of the thing, playing the long game, getting solidly fixated on whatever we need to be solidly fixated on

afternoon ritual by suckcess

Saturn solidifies his stranglehold on January as Mercury joins the Sun, Venus, Saturn, Black Moon Lilith and Pluto in "serious-as-a-heart-attack" Capricorn.

Mercury has been on a long two month journey (which is normally about a three week journey) through big-picture Sagittarius. Now he/she is finally ready to cover fresh ground!

Think about what Mercury does.

Mercury enables us to align ourselves with information. The ruler of Gemini (and Virgo) he/she has been in her detriment (not able to function at his best) in Sagittarius (Gemini's polarity sign). Mercury likes details. He likes to see the trees and Sagittarius only cares about the forest. We have been moving back and forth with some information/ideas/beliefs over the last two months.

Now Mercury moves into stable and ambitious Capricorn where things are more clearly defined (it is no coincidence U.S. politicians are talking about the wall again). Up is up and down is down. So what is real for us, now, after this Sagittarius journey? What is necessary? What do we keep? And what do we eliminate as distraction, gossip, an old story that no longer needs to be re-told/re-lived or just pie-in-the-sky foolishness?

And remember on Saturday, Mercury is going to meet up with Saturn 

(yes, again, this has been a three-peat also, because of Mercury's retrograde, but this time they are both in Capricorn - a more deep-rooted, but also brick-walled space and a space that Saturn rules). 

and we are close enough to feel this now. 

This is the final page of this chapter. Something ends. Something is given physical form. Something/someone gets a boundary. Someone steps into a responsibility. Someone gets a report card handed to them. Someone has to hear/or say NO. 

What we commit to now we will have to stick with. 

News gets delivered regarding an agreement, contract, responsibility, project AND even though this chapter is ending - next autumn when Saturn goes retrograde the themes of this chapter will be re-visited.

So now we are all dealing with the nuts and bolts of whatever situation we are working through.

If it isn't logical. If it isn't something we can physically touch. If it doesn't really matter. If it doesn't make us/something more effective. If it doesn't make good financial sense. If it doesn't pay the rent. It is on the back burner now.

We are solidly fixated on whatever thing we need to be solidly fixated on ... to survive.

Part of us (yes, the part that wants to be in Disneyworld having breakfast with Mickey) might wish we could look the other way - but we can't do that now.

There is something that must be tended to. Heavy issues could be dealt with over the next week or so. We have a mighty army lined up in the heavens to help us with this, but down here on Planet Earth we could be doing most of the heavy lifting in a very Saturnian way, ie ... all alone.

That's OK. Let's be realistic. What can we do by ourselves with what we have on hand. And how can we wrangle support for the stuff we need help with - hopefully we still have some kind of flock and they haven't all flown south for the winter. Winters can be lonely.

Watch for power struggles.

Watch for any tendency to over-think everything (Aquarius South Node!). Don't try to control everything/everyone. Don't look for guarantees. Don't make yourself crazy, and everyone else crazy, trying to rationalize something.

Just use common sense. You don't have to think to yourself - "what would a left-brained, logical, serious person do?" because YOU are a left-brained, logical, serious person right NOW.

With all this energy in tightly controlled Saturn it is important to

1. not shirk responsibilities
2. meet deadlines
3. live up to our commitments
4. be as productive and effective as we can be - that's it

You don't have to move a mountain or lift a car off an injured kitten - although it might feel like you do.

Watch out for guilt trips.

Meow! Wait, poor kitty - are you just going to leave her there pinned under your BFGoodrich?!

Watch for depressing thoughts. Saturn rules depression because the energy is literally depressing (pressing on) us. How can we re-position ourselves to avoid being crushed?

We need to be smarter than that kitty.

And don't let any Debby-downers into your kitchen for a quick cup of coffee. It won't be quick. Saturn rules boundaries. Lock the door.

The Moon is void almost all day Thursday (9:54AM EST to midnight). The Moon goes void off an opportunistic sextile to lovely Venus, so lots of good stuff can be accomplished today just don't start anything new or do anything you want 'something to come of'.

We can push through any inertia and we can make some real progress. This is also good energy to finish something.

xo all

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of January 8th, Part II Mercury Into Capricorn | breaking free from whatever is dragging us under, the decision is made, just when you are ready for a knuckleball you get a curveball, the need to be flexible, but still the decision is made

filament of fate by oprisco

Before we finish up this week by talking about Mercury, let's take another look at TODAY from a different angle (Pluto's!).

Since Pluto has been in Capricorn (2008) we have had the Sun conjuncting (hooking up) with him at some point every January as the Sun moves through Capricorn. This year, and this is exact today, we have the Sun AND Venus conjuncting Saturn at the same time (19 degrees). The Moon, in Libra this morning, but going void at 11:13AM EST through 3:05PM EST, will then move into Pluto ruled Scorpio.

Things are very Plutonian right now.

This is good energy, with the aid of the waning Moon, to release what isn't working:

1. The people and groups who drain our resources - do you feel energized after being with/talking to someone, or depleted? Venus is the ruler of our 2nd house of self-esteem and Pluto rules power. Do these interactions make us feel more or less powerful (self-assured)? Relationships (Venus) can become vampiric (Pluto) when we give too much of our power away. We could also be the vampire draining another person/situation of its energy. Sometimes simply by staying too long at the party ...

2. The things and situations that drain our resources - all those bills that we mindlessly pay through some kind of autopay - let's have a look at them now. What are our goals? Remember we are not the same people we were last year or the year before that. What are our priorities now? The Moon is waning - what expenses can be cut? What are we spending money/time on that doesn't support our integrity/wholeness? How can more of our money/time be freed up?

All this Pluto answering to Saturn (Capricorn/winter) is about pushing us out of our chains (which we are strong enough to break anyway, but like elephants born in a circus we have been trained to think are stronger than we are) - the chains made of fear, procrastination, perfectionism, people-pleasing, clinging to our make-believe safety net, holding onto things that are dead (lifeless). If it feels stagnant - get it moving. If it feels suffocating - this is powerful energy to push that pillow away from our face and stand up.

It's not a time to keep adding more and more into our life and then we sit there with all this stuff all squished together and wonder why nothing is GROWING. Imagine a farmer doing this in her field. Just adding more and more with less and less time to tend to everything and no space for anything to flourish. Be choosy about what you take on now, because all this Capricorn creates a COMMITMENT.

If nothing feels like something you want to commit to - it's time to clear. Imagine your new life - the stuff you can't take with you, that's the stuff that needs to go. All this Pluto could make us a bit ruthless. But remember, the situations we need to separate from, need to separate from us, too. We are as much a strangler as the one being strangled in all 'strangley-type' situations.

Back to Mercury.

On Thursday, Mercury moves into Capricorn after his long (it's been months people!) back and forth journey through Sagittarius. We KNOW "what we believe/need to know" by now. Really you know it. Trust me on this one.

He/she moves over the Galactic Center (28-29 degrees Sagittarius) tomorrow.

(And speaking of the Galactic Center - black hole in the center of our Milky Way Galaxy that astrologically birthed our creative universe - well, after seeing Oprah's speech headlined yesterday in the news at such an important moment for the rising feminine, I pulled up her astrology chart. She has ... wait for it ... although maybe this shouldn't be any great surprise - her ascendant exactly ON the Galactic Center AND those Capricorn degrees that are going to be so uber important, especially for the United States, come 2020 when we have Pluto, Saturn and Jupiter sitting together and interacting with the U.S. chart of 1776, well those degrees are conjunct Oprah's North Node (fated future) and Chiron (wounded healer). Her Sun is also conjunct Venus (exactly - you can't get anymore attractive than this) in Aquarius. You might remember Obama has an Aquarian ascendant and Trump's Sun is conjunct Uranus (ruler of Aquarius), making him an unofficial Aquarian - could Oprah be the next leg of our journey into the Age of Aquarius?! I am not kidding people.)

Back to Mercury. Again.

She/he (Mercury is rather androgynous energy) moves into Capricorn on Thursday and then meets up with Saturn on Saturday. There has been a series of these Mercury/Saturn conjunctions and this is the last one. Thank goodness. Their final meet-up coming in 'serious as a heart attack' Capricorn tells us the idea/conversation - (whatever this is we have been reworking since mid-November) is CLEAR. The boundaries are drawn. The rules are defined. All the words that need to be said have been said.

I would say this is stable and long-lasting because Mercury in Capricorn is very stable and typically creates long-lasting results BUT there are some planetary interactions/disruptions through 'expect the unexpected' Uranus over the weekend that will require us to be flexible. 

The stuff we have been working through will DEFINITELY (see how certain my natal Mercury in Capricorn can be?) be on more steady ground.

The decision we have come to is the decision we have come to.

Just know there could be an unforeseen change or two before the cement is poured. Maybe something that has 'always been done this way' needs a blast of something else.

Mercury meeting Saturn can be Mercury reaching his limit. Something (an idea/communication/sibling issue/transportation issue) has been taken as far as it is going to go. This is the final wall. The last leg. This isn't going any further. It can be a finish line. It can be a "no" but at least now we know.  

It is winter (except where it isn't, but the advice is universal) and the cold (like Capricorn) can make us 'tense up and stiffen' but stay a little loose. If a contract/commitment,etc can wait until next week - work it through for just a couple days longer. Maybe some last minute info comes in. Some plans might have to deal with a curveball or two.

The changes/disruptions this weekend would also play a part in the Capricorn stuff, by sign, included in Part I and could be a totally different thing than this Mercury stuff if these are two different story-lines in your life - we'll talk about this more later in the week.

We've got this thing. Stay frosty.

xo all