Entering the Slipstream

Astro Notes for New Moon in Aquarius monthly cycle (January 29-February 28)

Yawn. Stretch. Blink blink. For many people, although the (calendar) year begins on January 1, it doesn't really get going until February. This year, January may have felt especially sluggish since Mars, the planet of action and drive, and Jupiter, the planet of growth and expansion, were moving retrograde, correlating with a more reflective period of inward preparation for the momentous changes to come. In the context of this historic year when everything changes, this may have felt for many like a period of (relative) calm before the storm.

Over the course of this month's new moon cycle, we will come out of this extended period of introspection, and enter the slipstream of historic transformation.

To be sure, with Mars still moving retrograde until February 23, the forward momentum we are likely to experience will take place primarily on the level of vision rather than concrete action. But the seeds of intention we plant now will carry the numinous power of the new era dawning. In the months ahead, those seeds will sprout into visible form.

The new moon in Aquarius on January 29 is the first Aquarian new moon since Pluto entered that sign for good in November last year. As such, it represents a launching pad -- an ignition moment -- for the fresh, futuristic energies of the Pluto in Aquarius period (2024-2044). At 9 degrees of Aquarius, it forms a broad conjunction with Pluto (2 degrees Aquarius) and a close trine with Jupiter at 11 degrees Gemini, indicating the presence of powerful and expansive support for the visionary energies of Aquarius, especially in the realm of ideas. It's a seed moment for an entire era -- rather than moving too quickly into action, just pay attention to the quality of the energetic potential you sense at this time, along with any new ideas that come in that carry the vibration of the new energy.

On January 12 this year, the Lunar Nodes changed signs, with the North Node entering Pisces and the South Node moving into Virgo. When the North Node passes through the mystical sign of Pisces -- which it will do until mid-2026 -- the leading-edge of human consciousness becomes connected to Piscean ideals of transcendent love and trust in the divine unfolding.

In the first week of February, the North Node will form a conjunction with Neptune and Venus at 28 degrees Pisces. This transit represents a very profound moment of karmic completion and spiritual renewal. Conjunctions between the North Node and Neptune in Pisces are extremely rare, occurring only once about every 160-180 years. Historically they are associated with movements of spiritual revival and a resurgence of interest generally in non-material dimensions of reality. For example, the last time Neptune and the North Node met in a conjunction in Pisces was 1858, when Transcendentalist thinkers like Emerson and Thoreau were at the height of their influence, and the Spiritualist Movement, involving seances and spirit communication, flourished in England and America. It will be fascinating to observe what kinds of spiritual movements might arise in conjunction with this transit in our times.

From February 1-3, the North Node and Neptune are joined by Venus, the planet of love, making this profound transit more personal to us. Since this triple conjunction is occurring at 28 degrees Pisces -- the next to last degree of the whole zodiac -- there is a theme here of karmic cycles coming to an end. Soul contracts have been completed, karmic debts paid off, and we are now released to explore our next relational adventures from a new place of freedom. Yet, with Venus involved, there are no hard feelings. The sense of karmic completion feels right to all concerned.

On February 4, Jupiter turns direct at 11 degrees Gemini, having been moving retrograde since October 9 last year. Jupiter represents the principle of growth, success, and happiness. During its retrograde period, we may have been asked to reflect on something within us that gets in the way of our fulfillment and success, and we may have been tested to see if we are ready to expand into the next level of our development. By the time Jupiter moves forward on February 4, hopefully we will have examined the relevant issues and are now poised to advance again toward success and happiness. With Jupiter in information-seeking Gemini, this shift may come with a big download that fills us with renewed confidence in ourselves to move forward and go for our highest vision.

Then when Mars finally moves direct on February 23, our energy, drive, and passion will start to slowly return. While Mars has been moving backwards in Cancer these last couple of months (since December 8), we've been swimming in deep emotional waters, bringing healing to those parts of ourselves that get in the way of our ability to take authentic action. When Mars turns direct on Feburary 23, we will be able to put in motion the plans and strategies we've been developing during the more introspective period of the retrograde, but from a place of deeper emotional authenticity.

In the final five days of this new moon monthly cycle -- from February 23 to 28 -- all of the planets will be moving forward. Although this will not last for long (Venus moves retrograde on March 1 and Mercury follows soon thereafter), it will feel like a boon to be carried forward by the universe after such a long period of patient inward preparation. We are truly in the slipstream now, the final push out of the birth canal, hurtling toward the true birth moment of the dawning Aquarian Age.

(Relative) Calm Before the Storm

Astro Notes for New Moon in Capricorn cycle (December 30, 2024-January 29, 2025)

I’m writing these notes on New Year’s Eve — Happy New Year everyone! — with a weighty, yet excited sense that we are on the precipice of an historically significant passage of time.

Pluto moved into Aquarius in November, where it will stay for the next 20 years. Between now and mid-July 2025, all the other outer planets -- Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune — will also have changed signs. When any one of these heavy-hitting outer planets change signs, there is a distinct shift in the zeitgeist, a new chapter in the collective narrative. With all five of them changing signs within a cosmic blink of the eye, it suggests a period of unprecedentedly rapid, concentrated, and consequential cultural change. Although I feel like a broken record on this point, it bears repeating that this has never happened before in recorded history.

At the start of this year, however, there appears to be a relative calm before the storm.

This month’s cycle is still colored by Mars moving retrograde, a period that occurs every two and a bit years. When Mars moves retrograde, it’s generally a time more conducive for reflecting inwardly on our strategies for action rather than making large strides forward in the outer world. We’re still mostly in behind-the-scenes planning, rather than out-in-front doing mode throughout this month’s cycle. There are big questions being decided for each of us about how we want to situate ourselves for the ride through the rapids just ahead.

We started the cycle on December 30 with a New Moon in Capricorn, with a supportive sextile from Saturn. It doesn’t get much better than this for making New Year’s resolutions!

As the beginning point of the monthly cycle, the New Moon is always the best time for setting intentions for the phase ahead. With the New Moon in Capricorn, our intentions carry real weight, for the Sea Goat loves nothing more than to set meaningful goals. And Capricorn means what it says. Add to that picture Saturn, the ruler of Capricorn, being in a harmonious sextile with the New Moon, and it’s clear that we have cosmic support this year to set powerful and realistic New Year’s resolutions that we can actually achieve.

Even though for many of us the start of the year entails a more sedate time, the first week could present an unexpectedly intense trial. From January 1-5, Mars moving retrograde to Leo forms an opposition to Pluto in Aquarius. Mars represents our personal will or drive; in Leo this can be felt pridefully. In opposition to Pluto, the principle of power and transformation, we might encounter frustrating delays or reversals in our plans and ambitions, or power struggles in our relationships. And those roadblocks might sting our pride a little. (Or a lot.) We may be forced to see something we don’t like about how we wield our personal power. The higher road for navigating this transit will be to transform that pattern rather than act it out.

One of the most important transits of the month — if not the year — occurs on January 12, when the Nodes of the Moon change sign. The position of the Lunar Nodes is significant for signifying the general evolutionary direction of humanity for the 18 month period they take to move through a sign. The North and South Nodes are always exactly opposite each other, and are linked in meaning. Simply stated, the South Node signifies the traits and tendencies that no longer serve us and that we are attempting to outgrow; the North Node symbolizes the qualities that represent our healthy growth edge. Knowing the position of the Lunar Nodes is actually a useful life hack, since the universe will tend to reward those people, organizations, and initiatives that embody the North Node attributes at any given time.

Since mid-July 2023, the South Node has been in Libra and the North Node in Aries. Libra is the sign of the peacemaker and diplomat; Aries is the sign of the warrior. During this period, it could be said that “fortune favored the brave” and that those embodying the noble attributes of Aries — courage, forthrightness, daring — broadly won the day. In contrast, Libran traits during this time -- such as the tendency for fence-sitting -- were often judged negatively as lacking bravery to take a definitive stand, or were otherwise seen as inadequate to the needs or temperament of the times.

On January 12 the South Node moves into Virgo, and the North Node into Pisces. What this symbolizes is that, for the next 18 months, Piscean values of sensitivity, compassion, mystical transcendence, and universal love will tend to be seen by humanity as the ideal traits to cultivate, while Virgoan tendencies to over-think, over-analyze, and over-think will be seen as more problematic.

We encounter a spirited Full Moon in Cancer on January 13. The Moon is conjunct Mars, which is in a trine to Neptune in Pisces. The Moon is at home in Cancer, at her most nurturing, caring, and loving. Yet Mars brings a potential feistiness and irritability to our emotional expression — or we may simply feel energized to act on our feelings and intuitions. With Mars in Cancer in a trine to Neptune in Pisces, the Full Moon could also be an ideal time for us to actively channel higher energies for personal and collective healing.

The Sun enters Aquarius on January 19. Aquarius season is our annual time of year to become more visionary, innovative, and idealistic. We can more easily open up to downloads about new structures and forms that are carrying the codes from the future. This can be a very exciting process. With Pluto having moved into Aquarius in November 2024, there is now massive support from the universe for novelty and innovation, especially in ways that bring liberation to humanity.

On January 20, the day of the Presidential Inauguration, the Sun is exactly conjunct Pluto at 1 degree of Aquarius. The Sun symbolizes leadership and authority, and Pluto represents power and transformation. No doubt it will be a day of high drama.

For many, the event will likely be experienced as a kind of crisis (Pluto), but for others the inauguration may symbolize a new kind of transformative (Pluto) or visionary (Aquarius) leadership (Sun), one that represents a rebirth (Pluto) of sorts for the country. The deeper meaning of these symbols will, of course, be revealed in time.

This New Moon in Capricorn cycle sets the stage for an extraordinary year ahead. With so much shifting in the cosmic landscape, this is a precious time to lay strong foundations for the transformative period to come. Capricorn is not into fluff; it rewards discipline, strategy, and showing up when it matters. Think of this as your chance to lay the groundwork for navigating the wild ride ahead.

Catching our Breath

Astro Notes for New Moon in Sagittarius cycle (December 1-31, 2024)

This is the first monthly cycle in which we have officially entered the Pluto in Aquarius era, with Pluto now solidly entrenched in Aquarius where it will stay for the next twenty years. Take that in. With Pluto’s move into Aquarius, we have arrived at an historic seven month threshold during which the cultural zeitgeist is poised to transform more rapidly and comprehensively than at any other time in our lifetimes. As I’ve mentioned in this space many times previously, this passage is marked astrologically by the movement of every one of the five outermost planets into a new sign.

But while we are now surfing the rapids of historic change, this month’s cycle offers something of a respite from the drama and intensity of recent months.

Arguably the most striking astrological feature of the cycle is Mars, the planet of action, turning retrograde on December 6. Mars only goes retrograde once every two and a bit years, so when it happens it tends to stand out. Mars will be retrograde from December 6, 2024 through February 23, 2025.

When Mars is moving retrograde, the universe asks us to be more reflective about how we assert ourselves and act in the world. It is prudent at this time to really think before we act. If we act impulsively, we could make a serious mistake that we will later regret.

It might seem during this period that we have lost momentum or are moving through molasses. If we keep trying to push forward, we’ll likely meet more resistance than usual. We may also be forced by events to acknowledge issues related to our anger, aggression, or sexuality, requiring us to contemplate and process these issues inwardly. Accordingly, the volume will tend to be turned down somewhat on the pace and intensity of outer events, giving us an opportunity to re-group, re-calibrate, and re-evaluate our current plans and strategies.

The other major transit of this month’s cycle is Jupiter in Gemini forming an exact square with Saturn in Pisces on December 24. This is the second of three exact squares between Jupiter and Saturn (the first was in mid-August 2024 and the third and final one will be in mid-June 2025). When Jupiter’s expansive outlook comes into a tense aspect with Saturn’s sense of order, we may feel that something needs to shift in the foundational structure of our lives. This is not mere tinkering with the details; we may want to make a big move that affects everything, like changing jobs or where we live. This drive to make a major structural change can arise in part because we are confronted with a limitation (Saturn) that blocks the realization of our ideals (Jupiter), forcing us to go back to the drawing board to re-think our fundamental approach.

Again, the focus is in the direction of thinking, reflecting, and planning rather than acting.

The Jupiter-Saturn square takes place in the mutable signs of Gemini and Pisces. The new moon on December 1 and the full moon on December 15 are also in mutable signs (Sagittarius and Gemini respectively). So there’s a lot of mutable energy this month. Mutable signs occur as one season gives way to another — there’s ‘a change in the air’. The underlying gestalt is about adjusting to changing circumstances, being adaptable, and making preparations for the approaching cycle. This dynamic is accentuated at the moment with the subliminal awareness that everything is about to change, calling for an even deeper inward preparation.

With the new and full moons occurring on the Sagittarius-Gemini axis of information, but at a time when outer action is relatively muted, there might be a lot of talk and ‘hot air’ without much real-world consequence.

The most concentrated astrological action takes place from around December 5-8. In that window, Mars moves retrograde, Neptune turns direct, Venus forms an exact conjunction with Pluto, and there is a t-square between the Sun, Saturn, and Jupiter. This may be a confusing time, fraught with frustrating highs and lows, intense and conflicting emotions, indulgences and limitations. We may not know up from down for a while — a good time to breathe and remember ‘this too shall pass.’

Going with the flow this month means accepting limitations, breathing through frustration, and adopting a more reflective mood. I hope you are able to find time to hit the pause button on your inner pusher and enjoy the respite. It won't be long before we'll be back in our life-rafts, steadying ourselves for perhaps the most exhilarating ride of our lifetime.