Let's do one final post on 2023, to kind of touch base with where we are.The Sun is in Capricorn. The Moon is in Cancer trining Neptune and Venus and preparing to oppose Pluto. Mercury is retrograde. His retrograde started...
Let's do one final post on 2023, to kind of touch base with where we are.
The Sun is in Capricorn. The Moon is in Cancer trining Neptune and Venus and preparing to oppose Pluto.
Mercury is retrograde. His retrograde started in serious/sober/stable Capricorn and has backed into generous/explorative/bombastic Sagittarius. He/she (Mercury is rather androgynous energy) met the Sun - the mid-point of the retrograde cycle - on December 22nd. He will station direct on January 1st. We talked about this retrograde HERE. This Cappy to Sag and back to Cappy thing could be as mundane as work to holidays and back to work or work to travel and back to work. Or it could be about bigger things/decisions - the energy designed to shift our thinking about our goals/ambitions/career. Keep in mind with Mercury in Sagittarius - the sign of her detriment as Mercury rules Sag's polarity sign of Gemini - it is easy to confuse ideas (Mercury) with beliefs (Sagittarius), so we want to let this cycle run its course - well into January if possible - before making any big decisions. It is also important to note that Mercury retrograde STARTED at 8 degrees Capricorn this December which is where last year's (Dec 2022- Jan 2023) Mercury retrograde in Capricorn ENDED. Starting and ending the year with Mercury retrograde in the SAME sign is very unusual and then starting and ending in the exact same place - I've never seen this!
Add in the fact that Pluto is back at 29 degrees Capricorn (in Cappy since 2008) - scheduled ONCE AGAIN to move into Aquarius at the beginning of the New Year just like last year. It's almost like last year was a prequel or a trial run or we get a chance this year to do over last year? We even get Mars retrograde in Leo in 2024 very close to Venus retrograde in Leo in 2023. What magic is this?!
Venus is in Sagittarius as of December 29th. She sextiles Pluto (Scorpio's modern ruler) on her way out of Scorpio on the same day. Mergers. Commitments. Quiet intensity. Then, in Sag, she can stretch her wings. Sag risings and Suns become more attractive. January is going to have some over-the-top Cappy energy before we move into Aquarius season and having Venus still in the greener grasses of Sagittarius will be helpful. Add hope. Optimism. Faith.
Mars ends the year in Sagittarius. He will move into Cappy on January 4th. As I write this, Mars is conjunct Mercury and in an exact square to Neptune. Mars in Sag - the bold explorer- in a square to a strong Neptune in his home sign - can drift off/get lost. Sometimes here is where we let go of something that has run its course. Sometimes we make some kind of self-defeating move. Or we get sick. Always keep in mind with any Mars/Neptune contact that the impossible can be made possible, this is a blessing portal, although we know the square will bring growth through tension/frustration. When we see Mars in a square to Neptune, we could look back in their cycle - which began with their conjunction in May 2022 - to see where they are. Is this an opening square and we might need to push through? Or a closing square? This square at the end of December is their closing square before they start a new cycle at the end of April 2024 - April 2024, and the end of March 2024, is HUGE. So, we can look back to the middle of 2022 and see where we are with whatever was starting then. This will be about action (Mars) with our dreams (Neptune). This can also be about health/mental health and spirituality issues. Through Neptune and our 12th houses we carry very old familial and past life energies, so what have we been doing with them? Mars and Neptune will be at 28 degrees Pisces when they meet near the end of April 2024 launching a new storyline. Where is 28 Pisces in your chart?
Saturn is still in Pisces. Saturn is not strong in Pisces, but he is answering to a strong Neptune in Pisces which is a good thing. It can be challenging with Saturn in Pisces to build lasting things or feel totally stable. The roads are wet. The controls are slippery. It's not a time for stability. It's a time of change - Saturn in Pisces is kind of echoing/supporting Uranus in Taurus to me. We might think we fear change, but what we really fear is losing what we have. And that is perfectly logical. Nothing is designed to be permanent though. Change is inevitable. And if Aristotle is right and nature abhors a vacuum, and I think he mostly is, we can be assured empty spaces don't stay empty. This is why all the outer planets' transits - Neptune, Uranus and Pluto - speak of endings. It is important - and Jupiter in Taurus is supporting this - to focus on what we have/what we are discovering/uncovering and not on what we don't have/what we are losing. January is a perfect time for cleaning out. Emptying inboxes and drawers and shelves and calendars. Making space for the good stuff to find us.
CHANGE IS INEVITABLE.
Jupiter is in Taurus until late spring 2024 when he will move into Gemini. Jupiter will end 2023 direct in Taurus - stationing on December 30th at 5 degrees Taurus which is where we had that big Eclipse on October 28th. Once Jupiter stations direct he is on a collision course with Uranus - another HUGE aspect in April 2024. This is about BIG change/huge push into the future. Remember with Jupiter in Taurus - our luck/growth connects with our Taurus house theme, what we already own, our values, our skills, our existing resources, what feels comfortable.
Uranus in in Taurus, but only for one more year. His total upsetting of our values/money/resources almost complete. he has one more big trick up his sleeve. Yes, April's big meeting with Jupiter on April 20th! Where is 21 degrees Taurus in your natal chart? Do you have any planets or points at or very near 21 degrees that are opposing, squaring, trining or sextiling this degree? I will write alot about this in the 2024 posts coming next. Uranus ends 2023 retrograde and will station direct on January 26, 2024 when the future reaches back to pull us forward. Shocking change. This is just days after Pluto enters Aquarius and starts answering to Uranus. Mars and Mercury will be in Capricorn and very supportive of what is STARTING. This is also during the New Moon cycle at 20 degrees Cappy that takes us back to 'time runs out'.
By that third week of January we are moving/moving forward.
Neptune is in Pisces. His home sign, since mid 2011. Neptune will be in Pisces until the beginning of 2026 when his move into Aries - and meeting with Saturn, also moving into Aries AT THE SAME TIME (as well as Luna) - will set all the chess pieces in place for the new game.
We close out 2023 with Pluto back in Capricorn. Last year at this time we were talking about his BIG, and temporary move into Aquarius last winter which you might remember corresponded with oodles of media chatter about the dangers (Pluto) of AI and aliens (Aquarius). That ended as Pluto retrograded back into Cappy and our old fears of of world war/government control/authority, etc were dredged back up. This year Pluto's move into Aquarius in late January - conjunct the Sun - is designed to be EVEN BIGGER AND LONGER LASTING. Next fall he will once again retrograde back into Cappy - only for a few weeks this time - to finish up the Cappy demolition.
We will talk about all this in the 2024 posts, but I wanted to clear my head of 2023 before posting those. I hope you are able to have some downtime now.
xo all
