January sees a lot of activity in the Saturn ruled signs of Capricorn and Aquarius. This highlights the condition of Saturn in Pisces, and gives that planet an outsized influence on the events of the month to come. In Pisces, Saturn is mostly peregrine, only having essential dignity by term in the last three degrees. It is these last degrees that he will be inching toward in January, though he does not reach them until the end of the month. So a Piscean Saturn is generally weak, unable to maintain a stable boundary, and generally represents a looseness or inefficiency in the application of rules and regulations. Saturn has also been in an on again, off again conjunction with Neptune, making him even less stringent, and a good deal more given to paranoid fantasy, than would be the case if he weren’t sharing his Piscean waterbed with a dreamy scatterbrain.
On the 1st, Mercury moves briefly into a square to the ongoing union of Saturn and Neptune, viewing the fun through a narrow window at 29° Sagittarius before entering Capricorn later in the day. This suggests the disclosure of a volatile secret, or perhaps a negotiation over boundaries.
Mercury, like many of the planets moving into Capricorn this month, is lost in all but a few degrees of the sign. In this case, the first seven degrees are Mercury’s by term or bound. For the rest he struggles to find purchase. Affairs governed by him this month are likely to be a bit terse, as the trickster finds his cleverness muted by climbing over too many rocks on the way to deliver his message.
The Full Moon on the 3rd looks a good deal brighter than the sinister overtones of the previous New Moon in December. At 13° Cancer, Luna finds herself in a decan ruled by Mercury. Both the Picatrix and Agrippa gives associations with gains, wealth, joy, mirth, and abundance. This lunation does oppose a conjunction of Mars and Venus in Capricorn, suggesting some tension. She also is dressed up for an applying conjunction to an exalted Jupiter, so this is likely to be a fairly pleasant Full Moon overall.
Between the 6th and the 14th, a series of conjunctions and oppositions in Capricorn indicate a great deal of focus on matters relevant to Saturn and matters that he rules in a given chart. Capricorn is Saturn’s night-time domicile, and tends to present a sterner, less idealistic version of the planet’s interests. This is a pragmatic, bi-corporate sign (being the domain of the sea-goat) whose ruler is currently in a very unpragmatic place, in Pisces. This is likely to be a period of solutions that are decided for practical rather than ideal reasons, somewhat offhandedly because people are a bit too overwhelmed to deal with it. Though some of the aspects will mitigate this, all are dealing with a level of frustration and stagnation that likely doesn’t lessen until the ingress of the Sun into Aquarius on the 19th.
On the 6th, the Sun and Venus meet at 16° of Capricorn. This Cazimi has Mars under the beams with it, and is somewhat volatile because of this. Exalted Mars is impatient for the chance to get his time with the King, and makes noises outside the conference room to voice his displeasure. Venusian matters get a boost, but with some disruption.
On the 7th, Venus and Mars gives Mars a lesson in manners at 18° of Capricorn.
On the 9th, the Sun and Mars discuss things as they meet at 19°. Given that Mars is exalted here, he’s likely to get away with being a bit rude the other day.
January 10th, the Sun moves into an opposition with Jupiter. Being stuck in a sign that is overall a bummer for him, and having had to deal with the drama between Mars and Venus, a chance to see another, more hopeful view of leadership will be good for the Sun. Jupiter seems to be shouting from across the hall to “just stick with it, this will be over in a few days.”
Mercury hears a similar injunction as he moves into his own opposition with Jupiter on the 14th. This time, the moral of the story is to keep your inner narrative focused on higher goals, rather than the transient difficulty of circumstance.
Venus is the first planet to leave Capricorn, entering Aquarius on January 17th. Here she has a stretch of territory, first by face then by term, where she is somewhat comfortable. She will tend to lend an optimistic glaze to matters under her watch, but is more of a “feel good” influence than a practical aid. Still, she will bring a bit more light to the party than she has been able to as of late.
The 17th sees the second lunation of the month, a New Moon at 28° of Capricorn. Being ruled by the Sun, this is a surprisingly upbeat decan for the tail end of a dour sign. Both Agrippa and the Picatrix speak of wealth and accumulation of money, though the Picatrix also mentions avarice. This lunation is closely conjunct Mercury and Mars, so there could be something mercenary in our dealings with others during the period between this New Moon and the Full Moon at the beginning of February.
After the New Moon things quiet down somewhat, leaving us a bit of time to process the rather strange and hectic first half of the month. The Sun enters his detriment in Aquarius on the 19th. Mercury follows him on the 20th, and they are finally joined by Mars on the 23rd. Both are moving fairly fast, so we will not see a similar pile-up at the beginning of February as the one that opened this month. Neither are particularly happy in Aquarius, but manage based on their natures (Mercury is airy and Mars is masculine, ticking off two similarities with the sign) to get some work done.