January signals right out of the gate that this month — and this year — are vastly different from what we’ve experienced lately. Buoyant and brimming with possibility, this phase encourages coming into being, for a change, instead of coming apart.
Optimism and drive descend with the last chime of midnight on the 1st and propel us into a weekend of enlightened, and ultimately grounded, shape-shifting. Along the way, we could go overboard on resolutions, visions for living on a grander scale, and the immediate schedule taking shape.
A new sense of self is emerging from the pressures of late December 2013 and April, September and October of 2014, without the emotional charge of those times. Intense influences are working us over once again, as the Sun links to cosmic change agents Uranus and Pluto, and the Cancer Full Moon of the 4th awakens the pull and emotions of last April and our journey since then.
This time, though, these influences have the counterbalance of detachment and future vision. The weight is coming off social interactions, thanks to their ruler Venus moving into friendship-oriented Aquarius, where she will remain from the 3rd to the 26th. Objectivity is also pervading our minds, conversations and information flow, with Mercury also entering Aquarius, on the 4th, for an extended stay.
We’ll be in observer mode, taking everything in like Mr. Spock, while we morph and emotions overflow. As paradoxical and woozy-making as that sounds, finding our footing and stabilizing come quickly, as Venus takes Saturn’s hand on the 5th.
The get-up-and-go imperative fades into gentleness from the 12th on, when action hero Mars slips into all-connecting, meandering, magical waters of Pisces. Pursuing dreams, romance and artistry comes more naturally than paying bills under this influence. Forceful, direct action won’t hit targets (or even appeal). Operating by guidance and/or compassion is more effective, although some people will express this influence via backhandedness, passive-aggression and playing the victim. (Not you, right?)
Mid-month, keys fall into locks that have constrained minds and hearts (from Venus and Mercury sextiling awakening Uranus). Keys don’t turn themselves, though; that is up to you. Likely the action benefits the newly emerged you, so likely you will take it. So what if Mars’ clash with Saturn on the 15th sends you colliding into a wall, or judgmental criticism, or a belief that’s blocking your way? Knowledge is power. Reroute. Tweak your perspective (that key in the lock, remember). Take a reality check. Ask for guidance.
Paradoxes swell again around the 19th and 20th, when unfettered desire and indulgence mingle with fairy-tale ambitions and lead back to … observer mode. The previous week’s heart and mind unlocking has freed up lots of space, and Venus and Jupiter are determined to fill it, and ask for more, more, more. Higher forces may be collaborating to that end as well. Venus’ lover Mars is meeting transcendent Neptune, which drenches actions and drive with escapism, compassion and magic. Any romantic developments are over the top, while desire fulfillment has an unreal flavor (perhaps heaven-sent, perhaps delusional; we won’t care which at the time).
Much as we may want to soak in this space out of time, the cosmos invites us not to lose ourselves in it. The Aquarian New Moon follows as chaser on the 20th, bringing detachment to the otherworldly and refreshing our ability to see the big picture and proceed from a base of friendship.
The opportunity to observe continues for the rest of the month, after Mercury stations retrograde on the 21st. The cosmic messenger is drawing attention to our information flow, technology and how we get around. He may well take us back over matters we have experienced since the 6th, when he crossed the degree where his retrograde will end on February 11.
The usual advisories apply: Confusion and misunderstandings abound, so don’t assume you and other people are in agreement, even if you’re using the same words. Follow up if you send a message that goes unanswered. Allow extra time for travel. Back up data. Take a deep breath before you react to technology breakdowns, or traffic problems, or the suspicion that someone has lied to you. Put off major agreements and purchases if you can. On a positive note, do research and tie up old business like a demon. All of these possibilities will happen quickly and easily, because Mercury is retrograding in his natural element of air.
The remainder of the month alternates moments of stabilizing with waves of compassion and magic, more mental shape-shifting and, ultimately, self-awareness.
The stabilizing moments may feel like tying down a hot air balloon that has come in for a landing. (Watch for this on the 23rd and again on the 30th, when structure could be imposed on relationship developments flowing out of mid-month.)
The waves engulf our hearts, desires and interactions with gentleness and kindness. They come from Venus entering Pisces on the 27th, where she will float into next month and her next date with her lover Mars. Venus is said to be exalted in Pisces, which brings a poetic, magical and heavenly approach to money, artistry, values and relationships. What transpires now in those areas flows out of the bliss, the out-of-time sensations and the daring to ask for more that occurred on the 19th.
The end of the month rattles our cages again and puts another key in the lock. Think about the shape-shifting you’ve undergone; with that in mind; update the way you look at yourself and the defining words you use. Align with forces greater than your conscious will and drive. Bold, empowering action results, with the confidence that comes from recently honed, unshakable self-awareness.
That New Year’s optimism isn’t dying back. You leave January still possessing the notion — the conviction — that you can build, for once, and at last. Adopt this mantra to keep your faith:
It is as it is, I am as I am, and now is my time.
Learn more in my 2015 guides for each sign.
I have now been making my forecasts freely available for six years. Please support it by booking a reading or making a donation via PayPal to kbiehlATempowermentunlimited.net (and replace “AT” with @). Thank you! And thank you to those who have donated — I truly appreciate your gesture.
© Kathy Biehl 2014. All Rights Reserved. You may forward this article as long as the copyright notice is intact. No part may be used or reprinted without my prior written permission. Karma, ya know.
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