What a week it's going to be...
I don’t think a seat belt is going to secure you this week. We’re got four big-deal transits coming up, and just one of ‘em could be enough to unglue you. But don't be scared: If you're "stuck," coming unglued might be exactly what you need.
Monday (6:48pm ET) features the first full moon of the year, in Cancer, meaning it’s opposite the Sun in Capricorn. Full moons bring opportunities to complete, fulfill, move on and release. This one, which deals with the polarity of home/family and professional life, comes with a little extra oomph.
The Capricorn Sun is just a degree and a half away from alchemical Pluto, which is many things, but never "subtle" or "gentle." If you’ve been talking about making some shifts in your life, well, get ready for your own submerged volcano to erupt and the tsunami sirens to go off.
To understand how this might affect you, find 27º Capricorn (and Cancer) in your chart. The houses they land in represent what’s ripest for change. Then look for other planets or major points in your natal chart between 26-28º, especially in Aries and Libra. The areas associated with those planets and the houses they fall in are also up for serious review and renovation!
You may have heard that the USA’s chart has Pluto at 27º Capricorn, and this year brings its first-ever Pluto return. Pundits have been debating for years what this might trigger. Such high-stakes predictions are tricky business, and I don’t much dabble in them, but I will say this: Whatever comes as a result will be epic, and its effects will be felt for a long time to come.
And then Uranus and the Lunar Nodes…
We may still be reeling from Monday’s full moon when, on Tuesday morning, revolutionary rabble-rouser Uranus ends its five-month retrograde and resumes forward motion at 10º Taurus, where it’ll form a tense square with communication planet Mercury, which is retrograde.
Future-facing Uranus has been the source of many surprises over the past two years, especially in 2021, when it squared off with conservative Saturn in progressive Aquarius three times. But in Taurus, Uranus struggles to spontaneously disrupt anything, which is why life may have felt very “one step forward, two steps back” ever since the pandemic hit.
And then—what to me is the headline news of the week—the lunar nodes, which don’t “rule” anything though they do describe our karmas, are shifting signs for the first time since May 5, 2020, when they left Cancer (North Node) and Cap (South Node) and retrograded back into Gemini and Sag. (Unlike the planets, the nodes move “backward” most of the time.)
While there’s a global, or “mundane,” interpretation to this rare shift—once every 18 months—I find the real significance lies in what this activates in your chart. Nodal events suggest karmic unfolding and ripening. But it’s our readiness that helps manifest either the positive potentials or the challenges, if we continue to play ostrich. ("Shadow work? Sorry, too busy to deal right now.")
The nodes will take 18 months to work their way through Taurus and Scorpio, and if you’re paying attention, you will notice what, uh, invitations they’re sending you. Unfortunately, the possibilities are too specific to each of us to say more in a general newsletter. (But it is a great reason to get a personal reading.)
The Dawning of Aquarius
On Wednesday evening (9:39pm ET), the Sun moves out of Capricorn and into Aquarius, where it’ll remind us of our higher humanitarian values. It’ll align with Mercury and Saturn and square Uranus, so expect some lively debates and possibly more externalized events. It’s a good time to practice putting the collective good first and to remind ourselves that “we” don’t "win" if everyone doesn’t win.
Thursday we can all exhale and, like Dorothy Gale, try to make sense of where the hell we’ve just landed.
And then on Friday (Jan. 21, 2pm ET), I’m leading a master class on Astrology and Your Karmic Path, which is an eerily appropriate way to round out the week. If you haven’t already signed up, there’s still time. [Class has already aired.]
But for now, I wanted to give you a chance to buckle up for safety—or heed Auntie Em and hunker down in the storm shelter. Or maybe you prefer to don your superhero costume and go slay some dragons. The choice, as always, is yours.
