January's Planetary Forecast

January’s Planet ary Forecast

Happy New Year! I hope that the following helps you create a good start in making this year your best ever. We don’t have much control over the world as a whole, but we are able to work on creating the lives we want. The outer world continues as it always has with conflict, stress, opportunities, changes and blessings. We can work with planetary energies and remember that the old cliché, “Timing is everything,” does have some merit.

Pleasant social life all month
It is a good month to be with people you care about as the Sun is conjunct (about 0 degrees from) Venus January 1 through January 31. With a heavy planetary emphasis this month in Capricorn, it might be easy to spend too much time on career matters. Take time to enjoy pleasant times with people who are important to you. It is also a good time to meet new people.

Get Rid of Clutter from 4:00 a.m. January 8 until 12:10 p.m. January 10
As a Feng Shui consultant, I am happy to tell you that the Moon in Scorpio is an excellent time to get rid of clutter in your homes, offices and lives. If you don’t love it, need it or use it, get rid of it. Don’t waste your energy on things that don’t help you live the life you want.

Creativity and originality rewarded January 9 through 16
The Sun sextile (about 60 degrees from) Uranus gives opportunities to use your creativity and originality for good results. Think outside the box and watch for new opportunities.

Power struggles, changes of mind and intense thoughts and communications January 9 though 23
Mercury will be conjunct (about 0 degrees from) Pluto during this period. A keyword to keep in mind might be “deintensify.” Try to keep situations from stepping up in intensity level. Keep your cool and try not to make situations worse. Dramatic changes in thinking happen under this aspect. People who tend to obsess over situations may have to consciously work at stopping going over and over in their minds what is worrying them. Worry doesn’t help. Do what you can and then try to quit the incessant mind chatter. Communication can be intense with people letting out what they have been suppressing for awhile. You do have power over your thoughts and actions but not over other people’s.

Concentration on career matters January 13 through 15
With the Moon, Sun, Mercury, Venus and Pluto all in Capricorn, it is a good time to use all this planetary energy toward reaching your goals regarding career and connection to the outer world. Energy spent in this way reaps rewards. This includes a career you already have, a career you are trying to have and steps towards the career you want.

Hard work brings steady progress in relationship and career matters January 19 through 26
The Sun and Venus trine (about 120 degrees from) Saturn during this period. The trine indicates ease, helping you work toward good relationships and rewards in career matters.

Be with friends, work toward goals and try new things January 20 through February 18
The Sun in Aquarius (with Mercury, Venus and Neptune part of the time in that sign, also) makes this a good time to be with friends and acquaintances and in groups of like-minded people. Not many people know it, but Aquarius is connected to hopes, goals and aims, so this is a good time to make and work toward goals. Aquarius is original and unpredictable, so try new ways of doing things.

Extra care around the opposite sex January 22 through 30
With Venus opposite (about 180 degrees from) Mars, guard against being hypersensitive, argumentative and discontented with members of the opposite sex.

Lots of energy from January 25 through February 2
The Sun opposes (about 180 degrees from) Mars, bringing extra energy. Channel this energy wisely and you can accomplish much in a short period of time. Don’t channel it wisely and you could be accident prone and argumentative.

Pay attention to home and family until July 21
The second solar eclipse of last year occurred on July 21 at 29 degrees of Cancer and will continue to have an effect for about a year after that date. This indicates that people will have to spend more time and energy on home, family, dependency needs and security needs. These areas will be in a state of flux and will need more attention given to them. Take care of home repairs as soon as you can before they grow into larger problems. Many people will experience significant changes in their families. Devote more time to home and family to use this energy in a wise way.

Good for evolving spiritually through the rest of the year
Jupiter continues its long-term conjunction (being close to the same degree and sign of the zodiac as seen from Earth) with Neptune through the rest of the year and into part of 2010. Jupiter enlarges what it touches. Neptune rules spirituality, religion, confusion and addiction. Watch for continued righteous religious feelings, where people of different beliefs will each think they are correct. This aspect can bring people closer to God, but it can also trick people into thinking that they have the only truth with a capital T. Use this aspect wisely and you can become closer to God and also more unconditionally loving. This is a great time for spiritual retreats and religious pilgrimages. Watch out for all kinds of flooding, including plumbing problems.

Mercury retrograde affects you from December 26 until February 4, 2010
From time to time, each of the planets appears to go in backward motion across the signs of the zodiac, depending upon the relative positions of the earth and the planet. That apparent backward motion is called retrograde motion.

When Mercury is retrograde, it is a good time to renew, revise, refurbish, rethink and get rid of anything that no longer serves you. As a Feng Shui consultant, I am always happy when the planets are helping us get rid of clutter.

Whenever Mercury is retrograde, communications, contracts, machines and travel plans may go awry. For ordinary life, including communications, contracts and travel, I pay little or no attention to when Mercury is retrograde. I do, however, pay close attention to when Mercury is retrograde for important communicating, most contract signing and passport vacation traveling. I will continue to go about my daily life and do what needs to be done, but I will not send any manuscripts to new publishers under a Mercury retrograde period.

Under Mercury retrograde, take extra care while communicating with others. Make sure that everyone understands what the plans and expectations are. Signing important contracts to buy expensive items, applying for or starting a new job, or sending a manuscript to a new publisher may come to naught, have to be redone, or be short-lived. If you travel when Mercury is retrograde, make allowances for changes in schedules and allow extra time to arrive.

Mercury also rules telephones, computers, printers, machines and cars, so have these checked out to do everything you can to have them in good running order.

Some people feel the effects of Mercury retrograde up to a week before Mercury actually goes retrograde. Many astrologers, including me, wait until Mercury is in the same degree of the zodiac, called the shadow point, as it was before it apparently went in backward motion, until they think the effects of Mercury retrograde are gone.

Retrograde—December 26, 2009 at 8:38 am CST
Direct—January 15, 2010 at 10:52 am CST
Out of Shadow—February 4, 2010 at 12:15 am CST

Report card time for relationships through April 7, 2010
Saturn, the Great Teacher, gives us grades to let us know how we are doing. As Saturn entered Libra, the sign of relationships and marriage, on October 29, where it will remain until April 7, 2010, Saturn will be letting us know how we have been handling our relationships. If we have chosen the people in our lives wisely and have been working on our relationships, we will feel happy with them. If our relationships are not what we would like for them to be, now is the time to decide if they are worth saving, and if they are, what we need to do to get them on a better footing. If adjustments are needed, now is the time to make them. Many people are reassessing how to be responsible to themselves, as well as to others. Some relationships will dissolve when people realize that they cannot be true to themselves and stay in particular relationships. Saturn can be the planet of loneliness. If you are lonely, you should get to work and find the relationships that you want.

Feeling blocked, stuck and frustrated through April 15, 2010
Saturn is squaring (about 90 degrees from) Pluto, indicating necessary changes. The square means it probably won’t be easy, but the square can also mean drive, energy and strength. Use this energy to work toward achieving what you want. For many people, this aspect will be the one that has the most influence on them this month. If you have points in your birth astrology chart in the first few degrees of a Cardinal sign—Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn—you may be feeling the effects of this aspect strongly. Saturn squaring Pluto indicates there may be times of feeling like you are pushing a heavy object uphill with no end in sight. Saturn was exactly 90 degrees from Pluto on November 15 and will stay in square aspect with Pluto through April 15, 2010. Efforts seem difficult with little payoff. We have to keep plugging away, even though the progress seems slow.
This aspect has kept me incredibly busy as an astrologer with people having relationship and work-related problems. Saturn is in Libra, which is the sign that rules marriage and relationships. Pluto is in Capricorn, which rules career. Saturn is the planet that brings lessons to be learned. For many people it is one of the hardest planets to work with. It brings you exactly what you need to learn and it also will bring what you have earned. Pluto brings transformation.
The best way to get through this transit is to look realistically at what is going on in your life and make necessary changes. Are your relationships the way you want them to be? Are you happy with your career? If not, it is time to get busy and create them the way that will make you happy. It will be easier if you are thoughtful and take responsibility for your life. If you put in the work, make needed changes and are willing to transform yourself into a new and better you, this aspect can help you better your life and make it fit who you really are.

I hope this is beneficial to you. Let me know if I can be of any other help. Dianne Lawson 785/232-2836 Cappie0113@aol.com www.DianneLawson.com