The Super New Moon in Pisces falls on February 20th (or 19th depending on where you are in the world) in the very early degrees of the sign. This only just further emphasizes this idea of impending or very real New Beginnings. Although Saturn is still in the later degrees of Aquarius, it is still conjunct this New Moon. The Moon in Pisces aims to inspire and dream, and Saturn sitting in the wings will cross this degree one month from now.

This week opens with a conjunction between Mercury and Pluto in the very last degree of Capricorn. What astrologers call the anaretic (29th) degree of the sign. Pluto, the planet of birth, death, and renewal, rarely does anything without an element of drama and finality. But know that when Mercury enters Aquarius this weekend, it does so with a promise for hope and possibility. A bigger vision emerges out of the ashes and rubble of what remains. 

There is a Full Moon in the sign of Leo this weekend. Falling on Sunday, February 5th at 16º Leo 41’, this is also a Moon laden with unexpected surprises, sudden (and sometimes dramatic) outcomes, and impulsive emotional outbursts of declarations and promises that can’t possibly be kept. But what can also arise are illuminating truths, unexpected changes, and the adjustment to a whole new paradigm or outlook in our lives. 

One of the fixed cross quarters of the Solar Year, February 1st-2nd, Imbolc, is the midway point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. A time of fertile potential, we too can see this as a time of potential in our own lives. All the more so now that all the planets are appearing to be moving direct.

The New Moon at 1º Aquarius on January 21st is not only a Super Moon, but a powerful Moon in other ways as well. With a conjunction to Pluto in the last degrees of Capricorn, and a supportive sextile from Jupiter in go-getter Aries, this is an excellent time to set our intentions and proceed with any plans that had been simmering on the back burner. For on January 22nd, with the apparent direct station of Uranus, all the planets will be in apparent direct motion until April 21st.

Mars has finally stationed for its direct phase. And this is to be followed shortly after with Mercury’s direct station on January 18th. We are in the process of positioning ourselves for a rare forward momentum that will come after the New Moon on January 21st, when all of the planets will be direct. Until then, use this period before the New Moon to tie up loose ends, fix what needs fixing, and pause when we just need to pause. 

The Full Moon in Cancer falls on January 6th this year. Within the Full Moon is also the beginning of a new Mercury cycle, which commences with its conjunction to the Sun. Meanwhile Mars is slowing to a dead stop on January 12th. And as it does so it could feel like we are being put on pause. Unlike the station before its retrograde phase, this pause is the preparation for the launch that is about to occur, when it is finally in its direct phase once again. For more on the week ahead, click below. 

It may seem pretty ominous to begin 2023 with the retrograde phase of Mercury. All the more so when we see the mayhem already wrought with all the weather and travel gremlins. However, as frustrating and inconvenient as these retrograde phases can be in our everyday lives, it can also be an ideal time for a brief interruption in our regularly scheduled programming. And it may be just what we need to rediscover and re-find ourselves in the scheme of things.

Although we traditionally make our New Year’s Resolutions on New Year’s Day, it might make more sense to do so with the New Moon in Capricorn which falls on December 23rd this year. New Moons offer us the raw potential of new beginnings. Then we can later use the Mercury retrograde phase which begins December 29th to make any revisions and adjustments that will allow them to be more sustainable and achievable.

This week we have one of the sacred 4 corners of the Solar Year: the Winter Solstice here in the Northern Hemisphere and the Summer Solstice below the Equator. The Solstice is one of the most powerful and significant times of the Solar Year. A time of transition as the Sun appears to hesitate and pause on its journey. Shortly after this day, the Sun will gradually appear to make its way back North, bringing with it the return of the Light. This year the Solstice is doubly invested with all that much more potential and light, as it coincides with the ingress of bountiful Jupiter back into the sign of Aries.