Since Jupiter moved into Aquarius and has started stirring the atmosphere, there seems to be a sharp increase in the amount of information whipping around the world via the Internet and other technologies – both good and bad. Has anyone else noticed this happening?
Online Surveys & Market Research
Has anyone had experiences since Jupiter moved into Aquarius that were not what they had anticipated?
posted by Neith . . .
This should be a relatively quiet week, although there are undercurrents that may leave the more sensitive among us feeling prickly.
Our work week begins with Mercury retrograde. He just went into reverse (what it looks like from down here) on Sunday, so he’s barely moving on Monday morning. This is usually a recipe for traffic jams, missed connections, late arrivals, and general mix-ups — not exactly getting off on the right foot.
As the week progresses, expect communications to get more difficult. You may think you said what you said, but someone else heard it entirely differently. This is one of the more fascinating phenomena of retrograde Mercury. How two people can hear something entirely different and both be right can be a real eye-opener, and you might even get a good laugh if you keep an open mind.
Neith is always fond of encouraging forgiveness, and that is my usual refrain for Mercury retrograde as well. Otherwise intelligent people say and do stupid things, and none of us is immune. Admit your mistakes, forgive them in others, forget it, and move on.
Because Aquarius is the sign associated with technology, we’ll likely experience more computer-related screw-ups than usual, too. Back up your files, and try not to get frustrated if you can’t reach tech support. Chances are, they’re overloaded.
Now, those are all the predictable negative events associated with Mercury retrograde. There are some positive things, and that will be all the more true for this one, given the positions of the other planets. The way I see things shaping up, we are in a period of sweeping change, largely as a result of Jupiter’s entry into Aquarius last week. There is a continuing tug-of-war, however, between the forces desperately clinging to the status quo and the winds of change. This applies both to the world at large and within our individual hearts and souls.
As you know if you’re a regular reader of my weekly forecasts, the astrological influence behind this push for change is the opposition between Saturn and Uranus. Even when the aspect isn’t that close, we still feel it, particularly when other planets act as a trigger. That happens on Wednesday of this week, when the Moon in Virgo opposes Uranus and conjoins Saturn. If you get a little jolt, pay attention.
In fact, “pay attention” is my primary advice to you this week. As Mercury makes his retrograde path through Aquarius and back into Capricorn, we all will have a chance to think through where we need to make changes and what we need to let go of in order for the new reality to manifest. Recognition is 90 percent of success. This is normally way easier said than done, but now we’ve got an edge, so put these energies to work for you. Take time to stare out the window, and write down the thoughts that come to you. If you keep a journal, record your observations there. Even the back of an envelope will work in a pinch.
As the week begins, we’re still in the wake of Saturday’s Full Moon in Cancer, which packed a powerful punch. But that means we’re also heading into the eclipses, the first of which is a solar eclipse in Aquarius on January 25. Even with Mercury retrograde, you may start getting hints this week and next of what’s to come … or not. Some of us may experience a turnaround so surprising that we can’t even imagine it right now.
Wishing you all much love,
Pat
Image: Bust of the Roman god Janus, for whom the month of January was named, in the Vatican Museum. Janus was the god of gates, doorways, beginnings, and endings, and according to some sources was paired with Jana (Diana), together symbolizing Sun and Moon.
This week’s question comes from Natalie in New York:
My question is regarding the first eclipse of this year, which is going to exactly conjoin my Midheaven and Nadir. What meaning or lessons might this have in store for me? What can I expect?
Neith’s response:
Hi Natalie! Yes, the Full Moon in Cancer on January 10 is exactly conjunct your Midheaven with the Sun in Capricorn on the Nadir, and even though this lunation is not an eclipse, (it’s the New Moon in Aquarius on January 25 that’s the solar eclipse) your chart is strongly connected to it.
A Full Moon illuminates and brings into focus matters that we need to be paying attention to and how the different areas of our lives, represented by the houses, are interconnected – or not, as the case may be. This Full Moon triggers your four angular houses, particularly the fourth and tenth. Perhaps you have needed to devote extra time to matters related to your home and family at the expense of your career, and some balance needs restoring. At this time, Jupiter and Mercury are drawing closer together in your fourth house, which leads me to wonder if you are discussing possible improvements to your home or relocating altogether!
You will benefit from the mystic rectangle formed on the Full Moon, because Saturn is currently conjunct your natal Pluto with Uranus in the fifth house, so innovative but practical solutions are available to you. While Saturn-Pluto transits are not easy, they do help us process old issues systematically and release them, allowing us to move forward . . . if we accept the challenge and do the necessary work.
Since the New Moon solar eclipse exactly opposes your Sun, it might be a good idea take a look at what you feel is holding you back now, so you can take full advantage of new directions and possibilities awaiting you. Best wishes for a fabulous coming year!
Pat’s response:
Natalie, you sure have a lot going on in your life right now! As Neith writes, you have Saturn on your natal Pluto, which is presenting some tough challenges. But you have some incredible opportunities waiting for you, too.
Eclipses are essentially supercharged lunations, so the New Moon solar eclipse on January 25 and the Full Moon lunar eclipse on February 9 will in many ways be an extension of tomorrow’s Full Moon in Cancer, since they also take place in your fourth and tenth houses. The issues that Neith identified will be the dominant focus of your life for at least the next six months, when this series of eclipses ends and a new one begins.
The good news is that you already know what the issues are. If you’ve been dealing with issues regarding your parents, then you can expect new developments in that situation. Likewise, if you’ve been having issues with your home itself, you can expect developments there. I’m also wondering whether perhaps there’s a romantic interest or child in the mix. If so, you should experience some movement on that front.
There is one major factor now, though, that will make the upcoming pair of eclipses different than last year’s, and that is the presence of Jupiter. Now that Jupiter is in Aquarius, changes will come more easily and rapidly. Eclipses tend to bring change, often faster than we’re comfortable with, and this will be all the more true with the Big Guy in the sign of sudden change and surprises. In Capricorn, he was feeding the forces that maintained the status quo.
The one thing we can say with certainty is that your life is not going to be boring in the next six months! Thanks for writing, and stay in touch!
Got a quick question? Click here to contact Ask Real Astrologers. Reminder: Please tell us where you’re currently located!
Does it seem to you like everyone has gone berserk, yourself included?
I had three meltdowns over the past week, and let me tell you, it wasn’t pretty. All three were in response to someone else’s meltdown, and I’ve since heard from friends and co-workers that everywhere they turn, people are acting crazy. There’s a lot of anger and frustration out there, that’s for sure.
In circumstances such as these, the first thing the astrologer does is to try to figure out what’s “causing” it — remembering, of course, that the planets don’t cause anything to happen to us, but are just indicators of what’s happening with the invisible energies flowing through the Cosmos. We might surmise, then, that there’s a major traffic jam and that these energies are colliding with each other and wreaking general havoc.
One of the toughest puzzles in astrology is to identify which planetary indicators are at work at any given time. My money is on the Saturn-Uranus opposition, which got a jolt this morning when Jupiter entered Aquarius. Jupiter is bigger than all of the other planets in our solar system combined, and when the Big Guy moves, we know it.
In Capricorn for the past year, Jupiter has been feeding Saturn, the ruler of Capricorn, one of the more conservative signs that tends to favor the status quo. Conversely, Aquarius is about sudden, unpredictable change. The Water-Bearer’s ruler is Uranus, the sky god of storms and electricity. Meanwhile, Uranus himself is in the watery sign of Pisces, which is associated with the vast void of the collective unconscious.
Whew! What a way to start a week — or a new year, for that matter!
As if that’s not enough, there will be a Full Moon on Saturday, with the Sun in Capricorn and the Moon in Cancer, the sign she rules. Neith will have more on this on Wednesday, so be sure to check back. Fortunately, this Full Moon has a lot of earth energy associated with it, so we probably won’t experience all hell breaking loose, but we’ll be agitated all the same, and I think this may be in part due to the struggle between wanting to keep things as they are and the irresistible pull toward the changes we all know are necessary but that are very scary.
We’ll get plenty of opportunity to think about all of this over the next several weeks, as Mercury turns retrograde in Aquarius this Sunday and then retrogrades back into Capricorn on January 21. If we’re confused now (I know I am), we should gain a lot of clarity, although I think we’re going to feel awfully uncomfortable for a bit.
As they say in French, bon courage! Lots of love to all, and hang in there!
Pat
Image: Kerby Brown, a daredevil champion surfer from Western Australia, rides a 41-foot wave. He eventually wiped out and said he was lucky to be alive! I thought it was appropriate for this week because it feels like we are all riding big waves, and a lot of us are wiping out, but hey, we’re still alive. This photo was taken last July (with the Sun in Cancer) by Andrew Buckley for REUTERS.
RealAstrologers 