Photo by Pierre-Etienne Vilbert on Unsplash
Happy New Year, Santa Cruz stargazers! This month’s astrology article is a special edition to ring in 2025! I’ll start with a brief overview of January’s changing sky. Then I’ll look into the months ahead and see what’s in store throughout the year. Lots of exciting news for me to share. Master song writer Robert Hunter, captures the spirit just right in Liberty: “Hey, now, bird, wouldn’t you rather die than walk this world, when you’re born to fly?”
January begins with some tension between needing to be seen and loved, while also feeling free as Mars retrograde at 1°08’ Leo opposes Pluto in Aquarius, January 2nd. Best to open our hearts to compassion when Venus enters Pisces, also January 2nd. Eventually Mars retrograde moves backward into Cancer. We strengthen bonds of love and family now by reassessing what we need to do differently to nurture those we love and make them feel safe. Nodes of the Moon shift by midmonth, south node into Virgo, north node Pisces. We are striving toward a higher road of spiritual love and understanding.
The Full Moon is in Cancer at 23°59’, January 13th at 2:26 pm Pacific time. With Sun in Capricorn in a trine (120°) with Uranus in Taurus and Moon and Mars conjunct in Cancer in a trine to Neptune in late Pisces, this Full Moon time is an especially emotional lunar event when we feel deeply our connections to those most dear to us. We can make real strategies now that support our dreams and visions for our home, our nest, and the special people who are “family,” our clan. “I’m gonna find my own way home…”
Sun enters Aquarius January 19th at noon, forming a conjunction with Pluto two days later on the 21st. The Sun triggers a longer process of Plutonian transformation in being our authentic selves. Look to see where slow-moving Pluto is moving in your own chart to best understand this liberation process. “Oooh Freedom! Ohhh Liberty”.
The month ends with a New Moon at 9°51’Aquarius on January 29th at 4:35 am. The Moon trines Jupiter retrograde in Gemini. This is a beautiful lunar time for planting seeds for where in your life you need fresh perspectives, new adventures or innovative thinking. Perhaps take a look at your New Year’s resolutions again and reimagine them. Set some good thoughts and wishes in place. Uranus stops in the sky and moves direct at 23°15’ Taurus January 30th. Move ahead with changes to help you calm down and find true peace.
Let’s take a quick glimpse now at what’s on the docket for 2025. “Hey now mama, come take my hand…” Several slow-moving outer planets are changing signs this monumental year. Three are going into cardinal signs, Aries and Cancer, suggesting periods of initiation, a changing of the guards so to speak. First big shift: slow-moving Neptune enters Aries March 30th. Neptune, the planet of consciousness, has been in dreamy Pisces since 2011. There has been a lot of confusion, misinformation and escapism, but also creative imagination and spiritual openings. With Neptune in Aries, expect to see some folks becoming spiritual warriors, while we see some delusional powers of military might too.
Saturn joins Neptune in Aries on May 24th (both move back into Pisces while retrograde later in 2025). Spring may offer challenges to being that warrior, fighting delusional power plays. We need courage to act. “Whole lot of shakin’ all over this land!” By June 9th, Jupiter enters Cancer, bringing opportunities for growth in emotional security and healing. Look to see where Cancer falls in your birth chart. Here it is time to take a chance and think big, especially in light of your emotional self care.
Finally, Uranus enters Gemini on July 7th (returning to Taurus briefly in November). We might see some radical new ideas and inventions to stir revolutionary change in years ahead. Uranus has been in Taurus since 2018, shifting our values and creature comforts. Now in Gemini, Uranus stimulates our curiosity, our intellect and our ability to think outside the box. “And what did I see? The whole damn world lookin’ back at me!” Blessings to everyone for a great 2025!