At one time, many of us turned the calendar corner with baited breath, leaning forward hopefully on January 1st, optimistic about the fresh year ahead. Given the last few years of pandemic and the ensuing upheaval, my clients invariably say to me at the end of each December, “the next year has to be better than this last one”.
Humanity has indeed been through the ringer since 2020. Shut down, shuffled, reshuffled, reordered
and re-set. Repeat. Now as 2024
approaches, with mayhem and chaos seemingly steering planet Earth, the general sentiment
is skepticism, apprehension, or outright fear at what the next twelve months
might have in store. Do we even dare to
hope any more for kinder days ahead?
Why yes. Yes we should,
dare, hope, and dream. Always dream.
Especially this particular New Year’s Day. We have a massive
energetic tail wind pushing us forward into 2024. Generous Jupiter turns direct motion on the
final day of 2023, December 31st, followed by Messenger Mercury
turning direct on the first day of 2024, New Year’s Day. We could not ask for a better one-two cosmic
infusion to launch a new start for the days ahead. This is
one powerful moment. Use it well.
Take advantage of this energetic boost by setting aside time
on New Year’s Eve, December 31st for releasing the old and calling
in the new. Use this 48 hour pause and
write out what you want to let go of and not
carry forward into 2024: negative emotions,
heavy baggage, or sour attitudes that
have weighed you down. Then, write out all you do want to create in 2024:
what you want your life to look like, what and whom you want to attract
more of, goals to focus on.
Remember: Our
thoughts become our actions, and our actions weave our destiny.
We so often get mired into thinking we are not making
progress, or that our desires and goals are not happening. It is useful to remember that the Universe
never says NO to our wishes. Instead,
it says not now or we have something
better in mind for you. What might
that be? Something or someone more
aligned with your soul purpose.
So before you get down on yourself for not being where you
want to be as 2024 begins, look back at just how far you have come. An exercise I suggest to clients is to
reflect on where they were a month ago, six months ago, one or two years prior,
and so forth. If you journal, or keep
any kind of calendar or diary, pull out an old one of yours and read what you
were doing and how you experienced life a year, two, or three ago. You
will amaze yourself.
These last five years have really required us to be
incredibly flexible. Unrelenting demands
have pushed us out of our comfort zone; yet just look at how creative,
inventive and innovative humanity has proven to be! Likewise:
You are definitely not the
person you were in 2022, 2020, or five years ago. And
that’s a good thing.
Just a few days into 2024, sturdy, building block energy
arrives. Motivating Mars turns into
responsible Capricorn. For the next six
weeks, Mars positively shines in this
heavy lifting sign, where it is considered exalted by astrologers. Why? The action planet, the veritable gas
pedal of the zodiac, Mars wants to get down to business. In earthy Capricorn, it excels, producing
results. Capricorn is the architect and
the accountant. It’s black and white, no
nonsense energy. You either have the
goods or you don’t. You either did it or
you didn’t. Capricorn leaves zero wiggle
room. Most definitely not warm and fuzzy energy, Capricorn’s
key phrase is “I use”. Hardly cozy.
Yet deeply purpose-driven, goal-oriented Capricorn gets the
job done. Any job. What is your task at hand? Mars in Capricorn starts at Square One and
clears the land, lays a solid and firm foundation, then builds a structure that
stands the test of time. In fact, it will
probably outlast all of us!
So at the onset of January, the massive tail wind of
Jupiter-Mercury moving forward motion combined with Mars in Capricorn only days
later says: LET’S GO! Build that dream. Time to get down to doing that thing.
This is cold, hard, calculating energy. Like granite: It doesn’t care if your dog ate
your homework. No excuses allowed. There
is no grey zone here. Nor any time to waste as Capricorn IS the cosmic clock. And
the BOSS. Capricorn keeps track of every aspect of our
efforts and holds us to account. Did you
do what you said you were going to do when you said you were going to do it?
Over and over again throughout January, like a hammer
hitting a nail, more hard-core Capricorn energy infuses our days. First, the New Moon on Thursday, January 11th. This is a ballbuster New Moon, like a
sledgehammer; but not in the way you might think. Wedged tightly between the Sun and Powerful
Pluto, all three align to Radical Uranus in Taurus. This New Moon means business. There’s no time to mess around. Think of a mighty engine built to withstand the
heaviest forces, yet running on time and under budget.
Use this highly potent
New Moon to set very clear intentions. It
says, “so you made it to a whole New Year. What are you going to do about it?” If you forgot, were distracted or too
hungover on January 1st to set intentions, now is the time. Hand write
three to five goals you want to manifest over the coming month or year. Then set alight safely in a fireproof
container, fire pit or fireplace.
Joining Pluto, Mars and the Sun just a few days later,
Messenger Mercury glides into Capricorn on January 14th. Our word is our bond now. And our honor. It is comforting to know that
during such current chaotic times, there are still people embodying honor,
integrity and responsibility. These
qualities may be considered old fashioned, but they’ll stick around long after
you and I are gone. Capricorn and its
ruling planet Saturn will make sure of it. Capricorn may not be fun or playful;
but it is endlessly resilient and resourceful. Capricorn delivers, and ensures
those who are doing the work now shine.
Whatever you are building, from the most abstract idea to
the tallest skyscraper, your time has come. If you have been towing the line,
showing up consistently, living honestly, then expect rewards or recognition. At
a minimum, hard-won acknowledgement. Taskmaster Capricorn has kept score and
ensures deserving souls receive their just due.
Meanwhile, major shifts are afoot. By Martin Luther King weekend, the Sun makes
its annual turn into Aquarius.
Transformative Pluto powers up the Sun’s passage as they roll together into
this avant-garde, mind-of-its-own sign on
the very same day, Saturday, January 20th. Can you say power duo?
The furthest most planet in our solar system, Pluto moves
very slowly. For the past year, it has
danced back and forth between the end of Capricorn and the beginning of
Aquarius. In 2023, Pluto spent two and a
half months in Aquarius, sticking its toe into this innovative energy to give
us a taste, a preview of coming attractions.
Pluto will do the same in 2024; only now spending much more
time in Aquarius than Capricorn. Pluto will
cycle back into Capricorn but stay there for only two and a half months this
fall. So we will get much more of a feel
for free-range, highly individualized Aquarian energy in 2024. Moving into Aquarius together, on virtually
the same day, Sun-Pluto say welcome to
the New Age.
This moment really is the actual dawning of the Age of Aquarius.
To be clear, it is equally exhilarating a time as it is
chaotic. Aquarius rules rebellion,
upheaval, surprise, electricity and earthquakes, change, change and more
change. Those born under this sign march
to their own drum, vibe to a different frequency, often making them eccentric
yet highly innovative. Suffice it to
say, the folks ruled by Uranus, the only planet in our solar system that
rotates vertically instead of horizontally, do their own thing.
The Sun is our will, how we engage with the world; while
Pluto transforms us. Together, they say the time for profound change has come. The question is: what about us needs
changing? And exactly how do we go about
our change? As each of us individually morphs
and develops, so does the collective.
Uranus and its sign Aquarius rule the collective, the brotherhood and
sisterhood of mankind, humanity at large.
We know what has come before. Distinct polarities, us vs. them,
me vs. you, will simply not stand going forward. So anything not born out of peace, kindness,
love, and mutual respect to benefit the vast majority, will dissolve.
Venus, the ruler of relationships, joins Mercury and Mars in
Capricorn, on Tuesday, January 23rd.
Here, she emphasizes the gravity of our choice: we can continue the old way, doing what no longer works; OR we can take the
pieces of our lives and put them to work building something new that serves us
individually and the group as a whole. Not just for some of us. For ALL
of us.
To underscore these significant planetary shifts, they occur
under the light of a waxing Full Moon in Leo on Thursday, January 25th. Capping off the cosmic gear shifts is Radical
Uranus turning direct motion on January 27th. Talk
about look at me Leo!! What to
expect? The unexpected. Like never
before. Try to lay low between January 23-28th
as this stretch is MOST unpredictable and is laden with potential volatility.
We will need the every bit of the hard-core, building block resilience
cosmically bestowed in January.
Each New Year gives us a blank slate affording a fresh
start, to make something from nothing.
After years of upheaval and tumult, from the Covid pandemic to Ukraine, and
now Israel and Gaza, we are tasked
with creating anew from the rubble of our lives. One stone, one brick, one foot after the
other, one at a time.
What will you build?
OF SPECIAL NOTE:
Tune into Mystical Messages podcast to hear my monthly astrology forecasts and to hear interviews with the most innovative holistic practitioners. Episodes are available on Google, Apple and Spotify.
