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The Astrology Blog 3 January 2023

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“Instead of asking, How can I achieve happiness? ask yourself, How can I be happier?”

 Gretchen Rubin – author of The Happiness Project – Or, Why I spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean my Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle and Generally Have More Fun

“A year from now you may wish you had started today.”

Karen Lamb – Author

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HAPPY NEW YEAR

When I was looking for ideas for New Year quotes I came across Gretchen Rubin. I was immediately attracted to her writing and her messages, and I wondered why I’d never heard of her before. She reminds me of Anita Moorjani without the near death experience. One of her most important messages that Anita brought back from spirit was that we’re supposed to be enjoying this life and that we need to do things that make us happy. And the reason that we need to be happier is because it’s the opposite to selfishness, it makes us far more available and effective in our interactions.

Gretchen Rubin is saying the same thing. Here’s the full passage that I chose from:

“Some people assume that happiness makes people complacent. Quite the contrary. It turns out that happier people are more likely to help other people, they’re more interested in social problems, they do more volunteer work, and they contribute more to charity. They’re less preoccupied with their personal problems. They’re friendlier. They make better leaders.”

“When I’m feeling happy, I find it easier to notice other people’s problems, I feel that I have more energy to try to take action, I have the emotional wherewithal to tackle sad or difficult issues, and I’m not as preoccupied with myself. I feel more generous and forgiving.”

“One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy. One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself.”

With Jupiter the Opportunity Maker now on his way through Aries (20 Dec 22 to 16 May), sign of the self and the power of the individual, NOW is the time to make those New Year resolutions with regard to the things that matter most to you – regardless of what anyone else might think or how scary it might feel! This last couple of weeks I’ve heard a whole string of stories related to sadness and ill health. Sometimes, but obviously not always, the two go together. What can you do to be happier? And might that make you feel better physically as well as mentally? Food for thought as we go into 2023.

WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK?

Here’s your “at a glance” picture for the rest of this week, starting with Venus’ change of sign in the early hours of this morning and leading up to the second of the three alignments between Mercury and Uranus –

Tuesday 3 January                                                 

• Venus ingress Aquarius 02.11

Wednesday 4 January

• Venus 1 Aquarius sextile Jupiter 1 Aries 09.09

Thursday 5 January

• Sun 15 Capricorn trine Uranus 15 Taurus 16.44

Friday 6 January

• Full Moon 16 Cancer 23.09

Saturday 7 January

• Sun conjunct Mercury 17 Capricorn 12.58

Sunday 8 January

• Mercury 15 Capricorn trine Uranus 23.24

VENUS – JUPITER

Any alignment, and especially positive ones like the sextile (exactly 2 signs apart) between these two planets is Good News. Venus is known as the Lesser Benefic and Jupiter as the Greater Benefic. In other words, they benefit us, they signal moments of fun, good fortune, love, opportunity, generosity and plans for the future, including travel and holidays. Pay close attention to whoever is there for you this week, helping hands will count for a lot, or to any new face coming into the picture, personally or professionally.

Venus is THE love planet so anything in the romance department gets a big tick as the week gets underway, especially as she’s just changed sign, ie opened a new chapter. Aquarius is an air sign, and is connected to groups and friendship, meeting those who are on the same wavelength or who share the same interests.

Just bear in mind that Mercury and Mars are both currently retrograde, slowing things down or pressing uncertainty buttons. Think about the characteristics of the planets in reverse – eg Mars is action and passion, but retrograde might show as things like biding your time, or building a new relationship or work project in the spirit of a slow burn rather than going for the blaze of glory.

There are things we don’t yet know but we will. Mercury won’t turn direct until 18 January but Mars will turn direct again next Thursday at 8 Gemini (having been retrograde since 30 October) so a hugely important turning point is in the making, especially if you have personal planets or Angles at or close to 8 Gemini or the opposite sign of Sagittarius. Universally this is great for “getting going” again after the festive break and in many ways may well mark the sense of the real beginning of the New Year.

MERCURY

Mercury turned retrograde at 24 Capricorn on 29 December, almost exactly at the same time as linking up with Venus arriving at the same degree. So as I’ve been saying in recent weeks these two planets have been something of a double act and, again, they’re a good combination.

The usual words of caution apply with Mercury wearing his trickster’s hat (until 18 Jan, and I’ll post the usual checklist at the end) but nevertheless this planet is playing a powerful role this week.

Mercury made the second of three sextiles to Neptune on Monday morning (the first was Christmas Day and the third and final one will be 6 Feb), joins up with the Sun on Saturday and then makes the second of three trines to Uranus on Sunday (the first was 17 December and the third and final one will be 30 Jan).

As Mercury is the communication planet these series of aspects are most likely to link to unfolding stories or situations that take a while to play out. Mercury is so often the news bringer and these combinations with Neptune and Uranus are a very mixed bag. Whatever the most important issue in your life may be at the moment bear in mind that you almost certainly don’t yet know the final version or outcome, and that there may be information yet to come to light. Retrograde Mercury is textbook for secrecy, concealment or mystery. Neptune is also good at these things but can also be dreamy and romantic. Uranus is anyone’s guess – the rug puller, the springer of surprises.

SUN – MERCURY CAZIMI

The Sun – Mercury conjunction happens approximately every 2 months, so 6 – 7 times a year, half of them when Mercury is moving direct (the superior conjunction) and the other half when Mercury is retrograde like now (the inferior conjunction). So these alternate. Well worth noting these for universal value but, as ever, especially if they coincide with the positions of any of your own natal planets or Angles –

• Last inferior conjunction was 23 September at 0 Libra
• Last superior conjunction 8 November at 16 Scorpio – same date and degree as the Lunar Eclipse
• This inferior conjunction 7 January at 17 Capricorn
• The next superior conjunction 17 March at 26 Pisces
• An inferior conjunction 1 May 11 Taurus
• A superior conjunction 1 July 9 Cancer
• An inferior conjunction 6 September 13 Virgo
• A superior conjunction 20 October 26 Libra
• An inferior conjunction 22 December 0 Capricorn

Any planet, not just Mercury, conjunct the Sun to within 17 minutes of arc (ie just over a quarter of a degree) is said to be “cazimi” – defined as being in “the heart of the Sun”. The symbolism of this is about the other planet drawing strength from that heat instead of being burned up by it. It’s a window of opportunity, the stuff of light bulb moments, vital information or having the chance to get your point across exactly in the right way and at the right time. In that hot spot is a golden nugget of truth, true connection or a lifeline of help.

• This Mercury cazimi period lasts 3 hours either side of the moment of exactitude
• This cazimi will therefore be from approx 10.00am through to 4.00pm on Saturday in the UK.
• Adjust to your own time zone – eg Greece midday through to 6.00pm
• Look out for that Mercury moment, especially things that shine a light into your understanding, help you to make a decision, negotiate a deal or find the right words to get an important conversation started. Information that surfaces on the cazimi is often invaluable, truth suddenly surfaces and a heart to heart can make a real difference
• Pay close attention to whatever comes to light for you as this will point the way forwards and reveal the full nature of your life event, concerns or challenges, especially for the rest of this month

FULL MOON IN CANCER – TRINE URANUS

All of this activity is wrapped around this month’s Full Moon –

Thursday 5 January

• Sun 15 Capricorn trine Uranus 15 Taurus 16.44

Friday 6 January

• Full Moon 16 Cancer 23.09

The Full Moon is that moment when the Moon lines up exactly opposite the Sun, receiving all the Sun’s light and therefore being visible as a whole disc. In traditional astrology the Sun and the Moon are the Lights (or the Luminaries) and are “dyadic” – ie they’re a team, they appear to be equal size in the sky and therefore carry equal symbolic weight.

The Moon is “dignified” in Cancer and in the natural sequence of things both correlate to the 4th House of the horoscope where we locate everything to do with home, family and property. The job of the Full Moon is to illuminate – hence lunacy when things start crawling out of the woodwork, and Cancer is also a super sensitive water sign – and/or to bring a matter full circle or to fruition in some ways.

This one falls while Mercury and Mars are still retrograde so any glimmer of truth or important information will be even more helpful than usual, and generally look out for things that will help in any decision making process, even if a matter can’t be actioned or resolved straight away. Tuck your Aces up your sleeve and be content to get the ball rolling.

This Full Moon also falls in a tight aspect to Uranus so there’s an X factor at work. Look out for the Uranus hallmarks of suddenness, originality, surprises or shocks. Uranus loves to rock the boat and is rather good at drama. Unsurprisingly in relationship astrology he can signal that sudden transition from being single to being a couple but this works the other way around too. Uranus is the divorce planet and January is the top month for the wrong relationships finally coming apart at the seams.

Next week starts with the love planets Venus and Mars in perfect alignment, with the latter turning direct, so moving things in the right direction in your love life or with financial concerns – Venus rules money as well as romance – is certainly on the cards. And as I always say to clients don’t think that results are down to you in the sense that you have to make something happen. As above, so below. When the conditions are right things happen anyway, our job is to be ready and fully engaged,

Until next week wishing everyone a Very Happy New Year,

With love from Greece

Joanna

WHILE MERCURY IS RETROGRADE

Regardless of what is going on in the world, here’s a reminder of the usual checklist of the kind of themes to look out for when Mercury is retrograde. Traditional astrology says expect problems with “communication, information and travel” and this list certainly includes those areas in all their guises, but has also been compiled from other observations over the years.

• Be cautious or at least selective in your use of social media. Avoid posting anything too personal or getting involved in any kind of angry debates
• You can’t fire with fire. If possible leave a touchy situation well alone – wait for things to calm down before going any further
• Guard against trying to construct situations or distressing yourself with regard to anything beyond your control. Forcing any kind of round pegs into square holes won’t be worth the effort and could cost you dearly
• Adopt the mantra of one day at a time … going too far ahead creates anxiety, especially with problems which have no clear or immediate answers
• Know that there are things you don’t know – yet
• Try to operate by “re” words – review, revise, research, reappraise, rethink, repair, redress the balance and so on. Also remember rest and relaxation, give the brain some time off and try not to put yourself under unnecessary pressure
• Watch out for projection, giving or receiving – ie the unconscious transference of uncomfortable feelings to another person. In this way we incorrectly blame or get blamed
• Expect cancellations or rescheduling of appointments or personal arrangements
• Buy yourself time wherever needed – keep options open
• When in doubt, check it out – second hand opinions are a dead cert for getting hold of the wrong end of the stick – and don’t believe everything you hear
• Write things down and double check everything – forgetfulness, being distracted, inattention etc can be a troublesome theme
• Back up all your computer work
• Don’t delete any documents – you may need them at a later date
• Getting back to ideas on the back burner
• Getting back in touch with those who’ve been neglected or important to you in the past – let them know how much they matter
• Keep a close watch on all belongings – especially keys or anything linked to communication such as phones, laptops, tablets, cameras etc and don’t even think about buying new ones for the time being
• The same for cars – it’s best to avoid buying any mode of transport under a retro Mercury BUT it’s the ideal time for doing all the hunting and research
• Plan any journey with extra care, don’t trust to luck or to fine timing, and make sure tickets are covered on your insurance
• Kill your speed when driving – allow extra time for getting there slowly but safely
• Take extra care with form filling/signing on dotted lines – paperwork and admin of all kinds are a minefield
• Decide to ease the pain or cool the resentment. Write the letter you can’t send or you’ll never send – whether it’s to someone you’ve lost or to someone you want to strangle it’s great therapy
• Turning this the other way around you can also write a letter to yourself from someone you’ve lost – which is even greater therapy. I’ve done this in the past, from my twin Sue, and it was unbelievably powerful
• Stop trying to fix others – just focus on yourself. Changes starts with us, and within us, from the inside out, not the other way around
• Assume nothing. No matter how certain a situation might seem there is a good chance that it will morph into something else over the next couple of weeks – the “x” factor is at work …
• Reserve the right to change your mind/keep an open mind. As you start to see something from a different angle the truth, reality or logistics will evolve in a way that you couldn’t possibly have planned or expected
• KEEP A SENSE OF HUMOUR 🙂