January 2019 Forecasts

Saturn in Combustion Jan. 1/2
The year kicks off somewhat subdued, as Saturn joins the Sun. This brings a depletion of energy, requiring restraint and a focused approach. The Moon enters Scorpio on New Year's Day also, but thankfully it is welcomed by Jupiter, starting the year off in a sober, yet hopeful mood. 

As the Sun governs the rhythms of our lives, it is crucial to staying well. Saturn's influence reduces this rhythm, which would be fine if we just slowed down! However, most of us rally against this need by trying to ramp it up. Hence, the booming coffee industry! This can send our rhythm haywire and we loose a sense of a natural flow in life. 

This combustion occurs in the lunar mansion, Purva Asadha, which is all about flow, removing those things which stand in the way of our flow. 

When we get the balance right, between struggle and flow, we can find our center. 
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Venus in Scorpio Jan. 1 - 28
Venus remains in Vishakha, Jupiter's lunar mansion until January 4, at which time it moves into Anuradha, Saturn's lunar mansion. Venus in Scorpio is about focusing on what or who we love, devoting ourselves to that person or that thing. We first have an aspiration (Jupiter) and we then commit (Saturn). 

By January 17, Venus will have moved into Jyestha and into exact conjunction with Jupiter (exact on January 22/23). This transit reminds us of the messy side of love, the need to control that can result, the bitterness that can come from jealousy, as we experience the heart of the Scorpion in Jyestha and the obsessive quality of the sign. 

Love and hate are two sides of the same coin. 

Mercury in Sagittarius Jan. 1 - 20
Mercury's transit through the juncture between Scorpio and Sagittarius is a precarious one. Scorpio works mostly in secret, while Mercury's transit through the sign favours expressing our secrets.

Mercury in Scorpio gives us insights into our demons, and the ability to talk about them.  

Once Mercury moves into sidereal Sagittarius, and the lunar mansion at the beginning of the sign (Mula), we can see the stinger in the tail, and bitter exchanges can result as we figure out the root of the problem before we can be clear and more philosophical.

We think we can find out the truth on some level, but there are higher truths which can include, and transcend, lower ones. Truth versus falsehood arguments are possible, of course, but we can remind ourselves that some things are truthful or false on some level. 

With Mercury in Sagittarius, we are offered an opportunity to figure out that distinction, especially around January 13 as Mercury conjuncts Saturn, asking us to get real. 
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New Moon in Sagittarius Partial Solar Eclipse Jan. 5/6
The first week of January requires us to withdraw somewhat; not only because of Saturn's combustion, but because of the waning Moon, as it transits through Scorpio and Sagittarius, where it will meet with Saturn and the Sun, for a partial solar eclipse. 

This is a big reset in the year, which just so happens to be a new calendar year. 

Although this is beset with challenges, as Saturn and the eclipsed Sun are joined by the Moon in Purva Asadha - ruled by the water goddess, Apah - there is potential for a break through. 

Water-related damage, contamination and subsequent depletion, are all valid from the very start of 2019. If we can acknowledge the need to clear a path in our own lives in this area of our life, we can certainty go with the flow. Flow, or the lack thereof, are themes of this eclipse and for the whole year.

Saturn will transit this eclipse degree by mid-February (21 degrees sidereal Sagittarius), so we can expect more revelations, as those that have stood in the way of progress are asked to be accountable. 

If you have any planets at 21 degrees of sidereal Sagittarius this eclipse brings change to the area of your life it rules, and indeed, yourself if it involves your Sun, Moon or ascendant degree.
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Click here for timings of the eclipse in your locale. 

​Pluto enters Uttara Asadha Jan. 6
While the previous lunar mansion, Purva Asadha continues to receive an inordinate amount of attention, asking us all to do our bit in breaking through in 2019, the next lunar sign, Uttara Asadha welcomes Pluto to make sure we are all on board with the long-term plan. And when I write 'all' I mean all of us, our conscious and unconscious drives. 

Pluto will return to Purva Asadha for one last time between September 8 and October 26, to clear out any last remnants, but before then it will be joined by Ketu (south node) in Uttara Asadha in April; heralding the beginning of great change on the planet and in our lives. 

We cannot be assured of standing firm in our convictions at this time, as structures which have been poorly built will be toppled and this could mean quite literally in many cases. Mostly, however, it points to structures in our lives that have been built on what we believe to be true. 

Sometimes, we just have to acknowledge that 1) truth can be too subjective, and 2) we can sometimes just get it wrong. 

Uranus stations Direct Jan. 7
As if January didn't have enough to challenge the status quo, we experience the 'planet of shock and surprise' station direct in sidereal Aries, at a crucial turning point in the ongoing saga of 'us versus them'. 

Aries and Uranus are friendly, like two youths out to create some havoc and break things!

We can see some things turn around and move forward in the breaking process, more obviously expressed in the current 'national populist' movement, but also in the area we experience Aries in our own lives. 

Sun in Capricorn Jan. 14 - Feb. 12
After the Solstice, and new Moon in January, the Sun makes it's first change of sidereal signs and ushers in a new start as it begins to ascend for those of us on the northern hemisphere. 

This marks a turning point (the Sanskrit name for Capricorn is makara and is known as Makara Sankranti). As always, the Sun's transition is a day to reflect on the changes and new beginnings, as if taking a pause to see the terrain ahead and taking a deep breath before starting a new journey. 

With Saturn still having a big role to play in the way forward, especially as the Sun reaches Aquarius by February, we are reminded that forbearance and fortitude are must haves on the start of any journey ahead - before the 'runners high' kicks in we hit a wall.
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Full Moon in Cancer Total Lunar Eclipse Jan. 21
The January full Moon is a total eclipse in Pushya; one of the most auspicious lunar mansions, placed in sidereal Cancer. It is ruled by Brihaspati, the adviser to the gods, which is the planet Jupiter in Jyotish. It is also ruled by Saturn which gives the sign a strong ethical base (Jupiter) and sense of responsibility (Saturn). 

One of its symbols is a cow's udder which represents nourishment, of body, mind and soul. As the Moon becomes eclipsed, we are offered a peek into what or who we are actually being nourished by, and if it is indeed as wholesome as previously suggested. 

The Moon is with Rahu, the north node of the Moon, showing exaggerated emotions and fears, but also insights if we are open to see beyond our emotional reactions. 

There is a Mercury opposition to the eclipse degree (6 degrees of sidereal Cancer) a few days after the eclipse, so keep your mind and heart open for insights, especially if you have any natal planets, or your Sun, Moon or ascendant, close to this degree. 

​Click here for timing of the eclipse in your locale. 

​Mercury in Capricorn Jan. 21 - Feb. 6
Mercury joins the Sun in Capricorn on the day of the full Moon, quietly slipping into the opposite sign to the eclipsed Moon so we can get a even keel in the subsequent days. Mercury in Capricorn is more sober and realistic than its previous trip through Sagittarius, bringing us down to earth with a bang during the latter part of the month. 

We may have big plans for 2019, but until and unless we are willing to do what it takes to see them through, they remain just that - plans. 

Mercury in Capricorn gets us to at least talk about the things we must do, even if we are feeling otherwise (Moon in Cancer). 

Venus enters Sagittarius Jan. 29
Venus crosses the sensitive juncture known as gandanta by the end of the month, and this gives us a hint of what's to come when Jupiter stations here in March and April. 

Venus joins Saturn and Pluto in Sagittarius, requiring a certain amount of restraint and responsibility, after the indulgences of Venus and Jupiter's conjunction in Scorpio. Venus/Jupiter conjunctions can lead to a struggle between what we feel like (Venus) and what gives our lives meaning (Jupiter). 

Now, with Venus meeting with Saturn in Sagittarius, and Jupiter in Scorpio, more meaningful pursuits can override our sensual desires.
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