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elminx · 1 month ago

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Energy Update: January 2025

January is a "1" Universal Month [1 (January) + 9 (2025) = 10 = 1+0 =1] in a "9" Universal Year. 1 is the number of beginnings and starting over - this makes this January a 1/1 month as all Januarys bring 1 energy to the table, further amplified by our 9-themed year. It is worth remembering that 9 is the number of endings, so from a wide enough lens, we can say that this January is the beginning of the end. Or better said AN end.

The Set Up

January begins with the Sun in Capricorn, Mercury in Sagittarius, Venus and Pluto in Aquarius, retrograde Mars in Leo, retrograde Jupiter in Gemini, Saturn and Neptune in Pisces, and retrograde Uranus in Taurus. By the month's end, the Sun will have moved into Aquarius, Mercury will have moved through Capricorn into Aquarius, Venus will have entered Pisces, and Mars will have moved backward into Cancer. Additionally, we will see the switchover of our lunar nodes from the Aries-Libra axis to the Pisces-Virgo axis, and Uranus will have stationed direct.

The Nitty Gritty

All eyes are on our lunar nodes, moving away from the Aries-Libra axis towards Pisces-Virgo at the end of this month. The tides are shifting, and we need to shift with them.

The Lunar Nodes

In a year full of endings, this is a pretty big one. All month long, our North and South nodes will be sitting at 00° of Aries and Libra, respectively. This may seem counterintuitive because 00° is the first degree of a given sign, and as I mentioned above, the lunar nodes are about to switch signs. This is because the nodes - overall - move retrograde to the movement of the planets throughout our skies.

For a quick refresher: the lunar nodes are not physical bodies in our sky but mathematical points representing the exact degree with which the Sun, Moon, and Earth can align to create a solar or lunar eclipse. So, from a wide lens, this indicates that our eclipse seasons are about to shift from Aries and Libra to Pisces and Virgo.

But we aren't there quite yet.

The lunar nodes move backward through the horoscope every 1.5 years, representing a compass point of focus away from the South Node and towards the North Node. Society generally becomes more focused on the themes of the signs the lunar nodes inhabit. This past year and a half have focused on the dichotomy between the self (Aries) and relationships (Libra). It has been a battle of "I" versus "We". It's wise to remember that Aries and Libra, though quite different, are an astrological pair - one can never truly be understood without the other. There can be no sense of togetherness without understanding separateness, and vice versa.

This cycle has caused a lot of disruptions and reworkings, specifically in the realm of relationships because the axis of Aries-Libra IS the axis of relationships. With the North Node in Aries, the focus was on individualization, and this process corrupted and broke down relationships that couldn't exist within an individualized framework.

When things end, there needs to be a mourning period or, at the least, a period of readjustment. 00° Aries will be a heavy focus point throughout 2025 as Mercury, Venus, Saturn, and Neptune move into and back out of Aries later this year.

When we talk "1" as new beginnings - many think of January 1st and our calendar new year. But in astrology, the year begins at 00° Aries with the equinox and our first breath of spring. 00° Aries is highly potentiated - it holds the potential of an entire new year within its grasp. This enhances our natural "1" energy of the month of January, which has already been further enhanced by this January being a 1/1 year.

As our Sun and personal planets change signs this month, each will move into aspect with our lunar nodes at 00° degrees, creating strong short-lived windows of opportunity and further enhancing the New energy inherent all month long.

We can view each of these days as one last chance to come to terms with the waning energy of this cycle of the lunar nodes but also as the cosmically right time to start over. It's worth noting here that the type of aspect makes some difference, as does whether the planet is in a stronger aspect to the North Node (progress) or South Node (endings). Here, the most potent aspects are conjunctions, squares, or trines, with sextiles being second to that and semi-sextiles or inconjunction being relatively inconsequential.

As our planets enter Aquarius, for example, they find themselves trine to the South Node - this is more indicative of endings and needing to make adjustments to change. Whereas when Mercury enters Capricorn, it forms an intense square, which may propel us into the future with stronger more intent "1" energy. I will speak more about our planetary aspects to the lunar nodes in each planet's section, where I feel it is warranted.

It's worth remembering here that beginnings and endings are two sides of the same coin - you (often) cannot have one without the other. Only our ultimate beginnings (birth) and our ultimate endings (death) are concrete and finitely separated from each other.

It's also worth mentioning here the peculiarity of astrology and how it relates to the tarot. The major arcana and the astrological wheel begin with the number 0 rather than the number 1. In this way, we can say that all month, we are sitting in Fool energy - all of the potential of the world, but on the edge of a cliff. Also, like the ongoing retrograde Mars energy, when the lunar nodes switch, we will go backward into Pisces, not forward in the future.

Venus will be the first of our planets to cross the line from Pisces into Aries in forward motion this year, but she will also retrograde and move back across it, following in the lunar nodes' footsteps. So will Mercury, Saturn, AND Neptune over the coming months.

You might begin to see what I mean about beginnings and endings here. You might begin to understand why the lunar nodes are more important than many astrologers seem to comprehend.

The lunar nodal movement is certainly a changing of the guard, but it isn't always felt by everyone. I suspect this one will be, though, since those degrees of 00° Aries and 29° Pisces play so much into the energy of our year ahead. It is worth watching - especially if you have luminaries or personal planets within 5 of 00 for cardinal signs or 25-29 degrees for mutable signs.

The nodes switch on 1/28 at the end of the month, but there will be a building tension in advance of this actualizing. I will write more about our new Pisces-Virgo era as we get there, as that is mostly February's (and the future) situation.

Our Lights: The Sun and the Moon

As our Sun moves through Capricorn, it meets up for a brief sextile with Saturn in Pisces on 1/04. This is a check on our New Year's goals - have we set ourselves up with a solid framework to achieve in the coming year (Saturn), or are we grasping at a pipe dream (Pisces)? Capricorn especially wants to dot every I and cross every T; this is why it is auspicious to begin our calendar year in the sign of the goat. In what might be a rocky year, Capricorn can give us the confidence to keep our footing, but we do need to set ourselves up for success.

Our full moon for the month is on 1/13 at 24° Cancer, which looks like a less-than-auspicious day. Uranus forms a trine to our Capricorn Sun and sextile to our Cancerian moon, which adds a layer of volatility to anything that might come up during this lunation. Additionally, Venus in Pisces will square off with retrograde Jupiter in Gemini. This screams "unlucky in love," but it's wise to remember that Venus rules all kinds of getting along, not just the romantic vibes. Venus in Pisces has the bad habit of wearing rose-colored glasses and only seeing what she wants to see, and retrograde Jupiter in Gemini is an outright liar. All that glitters is not gold around this full moon, and certain inconsistencies or falsehoods may come to light or be revealed during this time. Tempers will also be high, stoked by retrograde Uranus in Taurus, who is breaking down old ground and not taking any prisoners.

Expect some waterworks, as Cancerian moons always seem to bring out the big emotions in all of us.

Our Cancer Full Moon is a 5/6 Full Moon.

10 (Capricorn Sun) + 4 (Cancer Moon) = 14 = 1+4 =5. 5 (Capricorn Full Moon) + 1 (January 2025) = 6.

The numerology echoes the astrological energy of the lunation - there's a lot of conflict inherent in the Number 5, but its conflict meant to show the fallacy of the complacency sometimes found within structures. We must work hard to harness the "6" energy of working together to find solutions. Still, the energy IS available if everyone involved is willing to put aside their reactionary brains and seek compromise for the higher good - a function of 6 energy.

It's unlikely, though. Our Capricorn moon is already closely opposed to retrograde Mars in Cancer at its height of reactivity. Mars is in its fall in the cardinal water sign of the crab, which often seems to move sideways rather than forward toward its goals. This creates a lot of angst and discomfort, further enhanced by Mars's current backward motion. Nobody is at their best right now, and patience has never been Cancer's forte. As I've said before, when referencing this Mars in the Cancer cycle, crabby hands are grabby hands, and grabby hands never let go. To compromise during January, we will have to meet the other person halfway, and retrograde Mars in Cancer makes it exceptionally difficult for us to do so.

The Sun will oppose retrograde Mars exactly on 1/15; this is definitely a day to lie low and do and say less. Set your expectations at the absolute bottom of what you can imagine, and give yourself space to go even lower.

When the Sun enters Aquarius on 1/19, it forms an immediate conjunction with Pluto and trine to our South Node in Libra. This accentuates the letting go part of our 1-themed month, as Pluto is the dwarf planet of erosion and disintegration, and the South Node shows what we are moving away from during this time. This aligns well with the waning moon cycle and is a great time to do any cleansing, banishing, or removal work. This energy will stretch through to 1/21 when the Sun meets up with Pluto in exactitude.

Our new moon for the month is on 1/29 at 09° Aquarius, which mirrors the full moon early with retrograde Jupiter in a tight trine to our Sun and Moon. This will be a low day, maybe one of the lowest of the entire year, as a lot going on around it will heighten this dark moon energy. The day before, Venus entered her pre-retrograde shadow in Pisces, and, more importantly, the lunar nodes switched signs. We may not know up from down, as if this were a Piscean moon or we are stuck deep in 12th house energy. If you can't even on this day, know that you are right on time.

It isn't a day for doing. It might not even be a day for feeling, given the airy spaciness of Aquarius.

Our Aquarius New Moon is a 4/5 New Moon.

11 (Aquarius Moon) + 11 (Aquarius Sun) = 22 = 2+2 = 4. 4 (Aquarius New Moon) + 1 (January 2025) = 5.

When one considers that Aquarius new moons are actually 22/4 moons, meaning that they carry the double 2 energy of choice and movement and the 4 energy of stability, this could be a very auspicious day. But, again, we see the 5 energy coming along to disrupt or break up that solidarity.

There may be too many unknowns to make any concrete plans. Sometimes, that is just the way that things are.

Mercury

Since Mercury was retrograde through the end of November and early December, it is lagging behind the Sun and playing catch-up all month long. It exits its post-retrograde shadow on 1/04 at 22° Sagittarius before moving on into Capricorn on 1/08. The Sun plus Mercury in Capricorn will add a serious tone to the two weeks that follow - people will likely be thinking carefully before they speak, which is ultimately positive in a month that is quite Saturnian.

In Capricorn, Mercury immediately squares off with the lunar nodes at 00° Aries and Libra, respectively. We are at a turning point, not quite stepping into the future (the North Node) and not quite ready to give up the past (South Node). There may be some unfinished business that needs attending around 1/8-1/9, and it's likely something best worked through verbally. Write it out or talk it out. Make a pros/cons list. Be practical here: Mercury is in Capricorn's realm now and, therefore, ruled by the planet of getting it right, Saturn. Squares (and this is technically a t-square with Mercury square at once to both the North Node and the South due to their inherent opposition) can be a harsh aspect, but as mentioned in the lunar nodes section above, this provides powerful energy to right your path and tap into the 1/1 energy that January so readily provides. Use this energy to intellectualize your plans for the year ahead of you and make concrete plans to make it happen.

Capricorn isn't the strongest placement for Mercury, but it can be used so long as you are willing to do the work to make it happen. (That's pretty much the theme of the month, after all)

Interestingly, we don't see another Mercury aspect after this until Mercury meets up in sextile to a conjunction between Venus and Saturn on 1/18. Saturn is making moves later this year (changing signs over the border from sign #12, Pisces, to sign #1, Aries), and we are now deep in the planning stages. Venus in Pisces wants to dream big, but Saturn holds things soundly grounded deep into reality. Saturn says there is no use in having goals if you aren't taking active steps to achieve them. With Mercury in tow, Saturn wants us to think things through to their logical conclusions. That is the skill that Capricorn has which Pisces often so desperately needs, use it.

By 10/23, Mercury is in a tough opposition with retrograde Mars sitting in its fall in watery Cancer. This is a test of our resolve to follow through on our ideas. And we are most likely failing, but that said - it's not our fault. With retrograde Mars in its exile in cardinal Cancer, very few people are living up to their obligations at the moment. It may feel like a punch in the gut and old thoughts (Mercury) around being not good enough, not brave enough, not smart enough, not Enough Enough may arise to the surface. Mercury in Capricorn can be a bit of a downer (Saturn has a suppressive influence on everything it touches), and retrograde Mars is far from giving us the pep needed to overcome that winter slump.

It's certainly right on time, but it won't feel fun. Stay aware if you're prone to the bad kind of depression and take steps early to care for yourself through this transit.

Some big changes are happening, and Mercury is at the forefront, as it so often is. (I suspect this is because we have to think our way through things before we can do much else, but I digress a bit there) Mercury enters Aquarius on 1/27 and immediately conjuncts Pluto (death/erosions/decomposition) while also meeting up in a sextile to the North Node and trine to the South the very day before the lunar nodes move backward into Pisces and Virgo, respectively.

The flex will be using your mind and staying aware during this time, but things will feel tenuous and incredibly murky. Put on your seeing glasses or your very best pathfinding charm if you've got 'em. The nodes shift, we experience a dense and low Aquarius full moon, and the Uranus stations direct - all three days in a row. All somehow involving Mercury (it is sextile/trine the nodes, widely conjunct the new moon, and the lower octave of all Uranian energy).

If you know how to look for one, an Ah-Ha moment might be hidden in all this nonsense.

Venus

Venus is out ahead of the pack and moving quickly through the mutable, watery sign of Pisces. Venus is exalted in Pisces, which means it is at its best - especially when pushing forward the radical idea that EVERYBODY deserves more love. Even so, all planetary placements have mature and immature sides. The above is Venus in Pisces showing up in its mature form, but the immature form of Venus in Pisces can be erratic and downright avoidant.

Pisces rules the unconscious and our ideals. Immature Piscean energy can be so obsessed with their sense of idealism that they lose sight of reality entirely. An immature Venus in Pisces type might prefer to be lied to rather than know the truth; they can live their entire life with their head in the sand focused on their fantasy while their Others are running around doing untoward things that they refuse to look at or admit to. Through this Venus in Pisces transit, we should all hope for the first mature type of Venus in Pisces energy - that is empathetic to all humans (hopefully with firm boundaries) and try to avoid the immature Piscean state of delusion and avoidance.

It may not be easy this month as Venus always needs to be read in relation to their counterpart, Mars. There are two sides to the same coin, as both deal with different ways we get along and work towards achieving our desires. We often view Venus as passive, drawing in what we want, and Mars as active, seeking out desires, but it is not that cut and dry. When Venus is in the more active signs (Air, Fire, and Cardinal), it plays a more traditional aggressor role, and Mars tends to be more passive in Earth, Water, and Mutable signs. Although Venus in Pisces can be infinitely loving, it is not the strongest placement from an outward energy perspective. And likewise, Mars retrograde in the sign of its exile, Cancer, is also not at its best.

This will be an easier month than when Venus was in Aquarius, directly opposed to retrograde Mars in Leo, but easier is a matter of degrees here. Mars is doubly exiled, and Venus isn't stepping up to take the reigns to get things done in her mutable, watery form.

Once you accept that, the month will probably run much smoother for you.

We don't see a lot of action from Venus this month aspect-wise, and what we do see shows the depths of the situation. As Venus moves through Pisces, it will re-activate our waning Jupiter-Saturn mutable square from December through a square to Jupiter on 1/14 and a conjunction to Saturn on 1/18. We are being brought to task by our relationship choices all month long as part of the last dregs of this lunar nodal cycle on the Aries-Libra axis, where we have let our relationships overwhelm us (Jupiter) and also where we have held on too tight and not given them room to breathe (Saturn). We all walk a tightrope between wanting and needing connection (Libra, the placement of our South Node) and needing space (Aries, the placement of our North Node). The truth is that we need both at the correct levels - right for us AND our others.

Therein, at times, lies the crux of the issue. In its immature form, Venus in Pisces wants to wear rose-colored glasses and focus wholly on the good in relationships. Venus in Pisces is the type to keep a relationship going with a toxic person because of the potential they saw in their other once upon a time. But in the real world (ruled by Saturn), potential is not enough.

I don't think this will be a hard pass for everyone, but it will be for those hiding things from themselves or trying to keep relationships long past their expiration date alive. I don't just mean bit R romantic relationships here, either.

The big flex around 1/14-1/18 will be seeing your Others for who they really are, warts and all. In realizing they have the intrinsic right to have wants and needs that have nothing to do with you. They are a whole person in and of themselves without you involved. This is going to strike a hard note for those dealing with issues around codependency for sure. The toxic "Us" will certainly rear its ugly head as people grapple with enmeshment within family systems and relationships. This is a bit of a glimpse into our future here as our North Node enters Pisces on 1/28, putting all Piscean ideals, good and bad, in the spotlight for the next year and a half.

Pisces, in its purest form, is a servant of love - it hints at the idea that on a long enough timeline (Pisces is our last sign in the horoscope lineup), humans will realize that universal love is the answer—the ideal. Piscean love is never meant to be personal as Piscean is - by its position as the last sign - the least personal of all.

This isn't going to be an easy road or an easy transition. As Venus moves through Pisces, it will enter its pre-retrograde shadow on 1/28 at 24° Pisces. Notably, this is the day the North Node moves into Pisces, forming a loose (05°) conjunction with Venus. Venus will move into Aries next month and then retrograde BACK into Pisces, following the path the lunar nodes have so recently trod.

As mentioned above, Mercury, Saturn, and Neptune will also retrograde and move backward from Aries into Pisces later this year. If Pisces is the most universal sign, Aries is the most personal. That they are neighbors, that one always becomes the other either by forward or backward motion shows a lot about the nature of humanity. About the many stages of being who we are as a species.

This is the meat of the work we all need to do this year, and we can see by the transits that we will get many chances to get it right, so it's okay if you don't the first time around.

Stay aware in and around 1/28, as it may be a sneak peek into what will arise for you again and again in the year ahead.

Mars

As Mars' retrograde cycle deepens, the pace of life may seem to continue to slow or halt altogether. If you feel like you can't get ahead this month, know that you are right on time. Retrograde Mars in Leo trines the North Node in Aries on 1/02, which will hit on those themes of Individuality/Togetherness that we have one last chance to rectify this month. Mars in Leo's prominent immature trait is that of inherent narcissism - Leo can be every bit as "Me First" as sign #1, Aries, albeit for differing reasons. Aries has an instinctive understanding that somebody has to go first, and they are willing to take the hit for the team (and it often is detrimental to go first, whatever people might think); Leo goes first because they usually believe they are most deserving.

Therefore, when Leo stumbles into the consequence of going first, they are often shocked by the result (rather than Aries, who is expecting this and has agreed to it). In this way, it is worth considering the consequences of your actions early in the month - are you, like immature Leo, barreling ahead without thinking about what will happen next, or like mature Aries, are you prepared to face what lies ahead, even if it less than ideal. It's worth remembering that January is an unusually Saturnian month, and Saturn will play a large part in the year ahead, so there will most certainly BE consequences.

Consequences don't have to be bad. They can be a reward for hard work. Sometimes, the difference between the two is all in your state of mind.

The energy of our inability to act will change drastically on 1/06 as retrograde Mars moves backward into Cancer, where it will remain for the rest of its retrograde cycle. It's worth noting that Cancer is the sign of Mars's exile - as it is the opposite sign of its exaltation, Capricorn. This means a couple of things concerning this month. For starters, the natural energy of Cancer (sideways, grabby hands, crab motion) does not suit Mars's energy well. Additionally, as our Sun and Mercury move through Capricorn - each will have to oppose Mars in their time.

If you think about the nature of the crab, their pinchers are likely the first thing to come to mind. Crabs are known to grab onto something and never let go. This is the immature energy of Mars in Cancer - otherwise known as "this is mine." Mature Cancerean energy is about sharing resources that you might see in a community or family unit. Still, immature Cancer energy is obsessed with keeping whatever it has at any cost! Because Cancer is a water sign and ruled by the capricious moon, this includes the dreaded emotional manipulation.

"Look what I have done for you." "I am the best you will ever find." "You owe me."

Remember we are in the last dregs of this Aries-Libra lunar node cycle, and Mars has just crossed backward from Leo into Cancer (fire to water), which is the point trine to Aries into Pisces that our nodes, Venus, Mercury, Saturn, and Neptune are all about to pass over as well. Everything is interrelated. Our story has no outliers this month, showing us that we must pay close attention.

This month, the big flex from a Mars perspective will be understanding that you have the right to any emotions you feel (Mars in Cancer has all of the feelings), but you don't have the right to use your emotions against your Others. On the other hand, you have the right to hold boundaries with others if they try to use their emotions against you.

"No" is a complete sentence, even if that person is your parent, sibling, friend, or lover.

You do not need to be a casualty in somebody else's war with themselves.

This has been an aggressively long Mars in Cancer transit that began months ago, and it's not much fun for anyone—emphasis on the aggressive.

Mars doesn't make a lot of aspects this month, which is a small favor, but those it does make will be challenging days for everyone involved. As retrograde Mars opposes the Sun, we will face the battling egos between ourselves and our Others; when Mars opposes Mercury, people will be looking for an argument. You can walk away and not engage (at least most of the time).

Relationship issues will be close to the surface all month long, as typical for a Mars retrograde cycle. Pick your battles. Bring a literal or figurative white flag, and try not to quarrel about the little things. Let people be emotional without taking on their emotions as your own. That won't be as easy as it sounds, but it is a practice worth cultivating all month. Again, this circles back to that pesky codependency issue I mentioned in the Venus section - like Pisces, Cancer can hold on too hard for too long.

This reads like the cliche: "Family must stick together because they are family."

And (spoken like a true Aries moon native here): fuck that shit.

You don't have to stay in contact or close communication with anyone for any reason other than that you are their direct care-er. If they aren't a minor, tell them to STFU if you need to this month. Iron-clad boundaries are a must when Mars is muddied in the waters of Cancer. Protect your personal space AND your emotions.

You don't need to engage.

Mars doesn't station direct until the end of February, but we are now 2/3 of the way through this retrograde cycle and that's...something. Maybe not enough, but we've got what we've got.

Uranus

Uranus stations direct on 1/30 at 23° Taurus. This probably won't be particularly notable in comparison to the mess forming around the boundary between Pisces and Aries. Still, it is worth noting because Uranus will move out of Taurus and into Gemini later this year. It is a step forward, but one that may fall under the radar for quite some time.

Looking Forward

February will be a month of major personal planetary movement as Mars (finally) stations direct and Venus retrogrades at the end of the month. Stay tuned!

The Details

1/02 - Venus enters Pisces, retrograde Mars in Leo trine North Node in Aries 1/03 - retrograde Mars in Leo opposed Pluto in Aquarius 1/04 - Sun in Capricorn sextile Saturn in Pisces, Mercury exits its post-retrograde shadow 22° Sagittarius 1/05 - Pluto in Capricorn sextile North Node in Aries 1/06 - Retrograde Mars enters Cancer, Mercury square Neptune in Pisces 1/08 - Mercury enters Capricorn, Sun in Capricorn square Chiron in Aries 1/09 - Mercury in Capricorn square the lunar nodes in Aries/Libra 1/12 - Retrograde Mars in Cancer trine Neptune in Pisces 1/13 - Full moon 24° Cancer, Sun in Capricorn trine retrograde Uranus in Taurus 1/14 - Venus in Pisces square retrograde Jupiter in Gemini 1/15 - Sun in Capricorn opposed Mars in Cancer 1/17 - Sun in Cancer sextile Neptune in Pisces 1/18 - Venus conjunct Saturn 16° Pisces 1/19 - Sun enters Aquarius, Mercury in Capricorn sextile Venus in Pisces, Mercury in Capricorn sextile Saturn in Pisces 1/20 - Sun in Aquarius sextile North Node in Aries/trine South Node in Libra 1/21 - Sun conjunct Pluto 01° Aquarius, Mercury in Capricorn sextile Chiron in Aries 1/23 - Mercury in Capricorn opposed retrograde Mars in Cancer, Mercury in Capricorn trine retrograde Uranus in Taurus, retrograde Mars in Cancer sextile retrograde Uranus in Taurus 1/25 - Venus in Pisces trine retrograde Mars in Cancer 1/26 - Venus in Pisces sextile retrograde Uranus in Taurus 1/27 - Mercury enters Aquarius, Mercury in Aquarius sextile North Node in Aries/trine South Node in Libra 1/28 - Venus enters its pre-retrograde shadow 24° Pisces, lunar nodes enter Pisces/Virgo 1/29 - New moon 09° Aquarius, Mercury conjunct Pluto 01° Aquarius 1/30 - Sun in Aquarius trine retrograde Jupiter in Gemini, Uranus stations direct 23° Taurus

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#astrology #energy update #transits #January 2025

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saturniandevil · 1 month ago

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2025 Forecast

AKA my notes on The Astrology Podcast's 2025 Forecast, hosted by Chris Brennan and Austin Coppock. Saddle up, it's a long one!

Overview

This year's forecast is divided into an overview of big planetary shifts and a chronological breakdown, but it doesn't go quarter-by-quarter like in previous years.

Outer Planet Shifts

It's quite rare that such slow-moving planets as Neptune, Uranus and Pluto* all enter new signs in the same year (*Pluto has already ingressed to Aquarius after transiting Capricorn for the past 16 years, but this is the first full year he'll spend in Aquarius). Uranus has been in Taurus since 2018, and Neptune first ingressed to Pisces in 2011. Thus we are seeing major shifts happening all at the same time. These represent major cultural and social changes. In personal charts, this concludes activity in other parts of our charts and begins focus in a new area.

Pluto in Aquarius (November 2024 (final ingress) - January 2044)

Chris has been connecting this to cryptocurrency (Bitcoin started under Pluto in Capricorn) and AI stories, such as Google & other companies rolling out livechats. He predicts that robots, especially humanoid ones, will he ubiquitous in everyday life by the end of Pluto in Aquarius, though Austin is skeptical as to how evenly distributed technological advancements will be. Jobs and labor will surely be affected by the increasing digitization of different industries. Everyone's trying to hitch a ride on the AI train, but it'll take a major scandal before we see regulations put in place or see just how it'll integrate into society. We'll have to train our eyes to recognize the artificially generated, and we'll also have to deal with inefficient bureaucracy that technology alone can't quite fix. In mundane developments, even though the US was founded under Pluto in Capricorn, most of the government structure were put into place under Pluto in Aquarius. Last time Pluto was in Aquarius was the French Revolution (opposite Leo, the fixed signs of sovereigns and heads of state). The current Pluto in Leo generation (baby boomers) were raised definitively in the area of the celebrity, an issue that will likely come into question in the years ahead.

Uranus in Gemini (July 2025 - May 2033)

Uranus trines Pluto during this transit, so these two planets' themes are closely tied over the next decade. Previous Uranus in Gemini periods include the revolutionary war/founding of the USA, its Civil War, and WW2. Term limits were pushed and set under this transit with Washington & FDR; 84 years previous to the founding of the US John Locke wrote his ideas on government. Continuing on the theme of liberal democracy, the King James Bible was published under Uranus in Gemini in the 1600s--an attempt to democratize religion and encourage readers to have their own individual relationship with the text. Uranus was discovered during a Gemini transit in 1781, and was almost named "George" after the King of Britain. In general Uranus in Gemini brings particularly forward-thinking ideas while in Mercury-ruled signs. We should expect to see continued developments in AI controversies and LLMs (large language models), and the role of language overall. We can also expect shakeups in transportation, with technologies like self-driving cars and drones expanding in transportation, war, and everyday life. The burgeoning dominance of electric vehicles space travel are also likely previews into the Uranus in Gemini era, and we can look out for major developments in the realm of social media as well.

Neptune in Aries (March 2025 - March 2039)

Neptune's 165-year cycle means it changes sign about once every 14 years. The last Aries transit was in 1861-1875, and the ingress coincides exactly with US Civil War: Fort Sumter fell the day it ingressed. Neptune gives us dream-logic for its time, trends that are often only clear in retrospect. Austin describes the Neptune in Pisces era as valorizing qualities like acceptance & inclusivity, where the heroic figure of the time is a compassionate mystic/saintly. He predicts Neptune in Aries will valorize "the heroic." Where once suddenly everyone was an astrologer or witch, now, suddenly we're all soldiers/warriors. (This played out literally as mass conscription in the US Civil War & in England in previous Aries Neptune periods.) This period also saw developments in photography, namely war photography in newspapers bringing the goriness of war into every home. Civil War photos were originally shot in 3D and meant to be experienced through viewers, and the first color photo was taken 05/17/1861 when Neptune was at 1Aries, bringing levels of heightened realism and simulation into the conversation. Neptune in Aries faces us with forks in the road--no half measures.

Neptune in Aries can indicate wars remembered for their ideology, as was the case with the Taiping Revolt/Rebllion's bloody conclusion during Neptune in Aries (begun in Pisces). One of the deadliest wars in history (cost at least 20-30 million lives), it was instigated because of an extremist Christian religion. In medical astrology Mars-Neptune contacts can indicate autoimmune diseases where the body attacks itself, and the mundane analogy here is internal conflicts. In antiquity, the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE occurred during Neptune in Aries, Pluto in Aquarius, and the eclipse points moving from Aries/Libra to Virgo/Pisces (all configurations we'll see in 2025). This is considered a catalyzing event for the subsequent Jewish diaspora over the following centuries, as well as the shift from centralized worship to Rabbinic Judaism. In science & engineering, the steam engine, dynamite, first underground railway, Suez canal, mechanical submarine, and the concept of light as EM radiation via Maxwell equations all came about during Neptune in Aries periods.

Saturn in Aries Saturn is entering Aries from May to September this year and will be copresent with/conjoining Neptune over the next three years. Saturn is in fall in Aries, highlighting tensions between patience and impulsivity. We can also expect prominent figures to fall from grace, such as during our last Saturn in Aries in the late 1990s with the scandal around Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinksy. In personal charts, Saturn in Aries people will often chalk up their difficulties to "not trying hard enough," when really it may just be a matter of timing and patience. Famous Aries Saturn people include skater Tony Hawk, daredevil Evel Knievel, directors Francis Ford Coppola and Lily Wachawski, witch-hunting politician McCarthy, writer Margaret Atwood, actresses Zendaya and Lucy Lawless, and activist Malala Yousafzai.

Saturn Conjunct Neptune Saturn and Neptune will get within 1 degree of each other this year, though we don't get an exact conjunction til 2026. We've been seeing the buildup of this since Saturn entered Pisces in March 2023. What's real and bounded, and what's illusory and pervasive? This tension between illusions & structures likely means we'll see increased distrust in authority, such as the public doubting what's reported in news stories or fake news sparking major conflicts, and Chris predicts increasing polarization between aggressive skeptics and religious fundamentalists. Austin uses the analogy of the Mad Max: Furiosa movie--everyone is trying to conscript you to come fight with them for water. Austin notes that Saturn-Neptune contacts punctuate major events in recent Russian history, including the founding of St. Petersburg and the dissolution of the USSR. He also brings up the historical example of ronin, rogue samuari who had some public support as vigilantes, and compares it to Luigi Mangione's alleged assassination of the United Healthcare CEO, saying the public reaction to this event is a prediction of things to come.

Chronological Breakdown

Mars Retrograde: December 2024 and January 2025

We enter the year with Mars retrograde in Leo (opposite Pluto) and moving to Cancer on January 6th, and only getting to Leo on April 17th. This makes an extended transit through those two signs. Observationally, Mars is actually brightest and closest to Earth during its retrogrades, rising as the Sun sets, making him hyper-visible and much more reactive & chaotic than Venus & Mercury retrogrades. And indeed Mars's station on December 6th saw a bunch of major events: an attempted coup in South Korea, the Assad regime falling in Syria, a healthcare CEO assassinated in the US, a contested election in Romania, and the French government collapsing through a no-confidence vote.

Back to 2025, though: Mars entering Cancer on the 6th hearkens back to his last visit to the sign, September 4th-November 3rd of 2024. Events, both mundane and personal, will come back to us during this time. In politics we saw a lot of nativism and racism in US politics while Trump was campaigning, and unfortunately this is likely to resurface. Concerns over homelands & origin showed up in celebrity news with controversy over the New Orleans Superbowl booking Los Angeles-based rapper Kendrick Lamar over NoLa native Lil Wayne.

Mars is in fall in Cancer, and with Saturn in Aries later we get both malefics in fall this year. The trap of Cancer Mars is "nothing's safe enough," while that of Aries Saturn is "nothing is under enough control," and we must be on our toes to avoid falling into either. Mars in Cancer is reactive and impulsive, in contrast to the Saturnian discipline & foresight that Capricorn grants it in exaltation. In personal charts Mars rx in Cancer/Leo can show up as obstacles or frustration, or as an extended expenditure of energy in that area. Retrogrades can also bring things or people back into your life, and how you handle the situation sets you up for the next time you meet.

January 2025

We enter the month with retrograde Mars opposing Pluto on the 3rd and regressing to Cancer on the 6th. On January 15th we get the exact opposition of Mars to the Sun, days after the Full Moon, so that's another time to watch out for in events. The US presidential inaguration is on Jaunary 20th under a Sun-Pluto conjunction.

Electional chart for January:

The chart is for January 10th, at roughly 9:30AM local time to get early Pisces rising. The ruler of the Ascendant, Jupiter, is in the 4th house (♊) in a day chart and makes an auspicious conjunction to the Moon, who herself is separating from a square to Venus (♓). Venus is also exalted in the first house & on the Ascendant. This is also about as far away as we can get from the Mars-Pluto opposition while also avoiding the Sun-Mars opposition later this month. This is good for 4th house matters: not only home and family, but also matters where you're important but not visible, like a director.

Overall, January and February are dominated by the Mars retrograde, a "not so calm" before the storm of springtime.

March & April Venus goes retrograde on March 1st, regressing into Pisces before stationing direct on April 12th. Meanwhile, on March 29th we get an Aries solar eclipse, the final installation in a series going back to October 2023. The next day, March 30th, Neptune waltzes into Aries for the first time in a century. Meanwhile Mercury retrogrades from March 15th until April 7th, backtracking into Pisces while doing so. And if that wasn't enough, Saturn moves into Aries on May 24th. March & April are like a series of cascade reactions, and we'll spend the rest of the year (or few years in the case of Saturn) reacting to, cleaning up the aftermath of, and wrestling with understanding what happened. We'll definitely see major geopolitical events, maybe with bizarre connections, all the while thinking things are going in one direction when they're really going another.

Venus & Mercury Retrograde; Eclipses

Venus's station points are felt most intensely, but like with the Mars retrograde we also experience this as an extended transit of Venus through the signs of Aries and Pisces from January to June. Her retrograde also comes just 5 days after Mars concludes his own. Chris predicts that, unlike the Leo Venus rx a couple summers ago, there may be more fighting around women's issues rather than straightforward celebration. In Aries we already expecting a more combative expression of Venusian issues, and the increased activity in Aries only intensifies this prediction. Venus in Aries is not quiet--she's bold, active, and direct. In personal charts we'll see returns of events from 8, 16, or 32 years ago (last time she was retrograde in Aries), reviewing and revising relationships in the present. What and who do we want? Do we still want that? Under Venus rx we look for an unambiguous "yes." We can also see delays or postponements, scandals, and provocative art & culture. We'll be going back and forth between an exalted, compassionate Venus and a forthright, exiled Venus, choosing between the two on any given day and trying to reconcile them.

With Venus retrograde we can also think of the myth of Inanna (a story based off the Venus rx cycle), who descends through gates of the underworld and returns home to find her consort has taken the throne before she takes it back. We'll likely see stories about women in powerful positions reclaiming something after going through a struggle as Venus stations direct in her sign of exaltation. Specifically, she stations direct on April 13th conjunct Saturn (ironically another signature of Trump's upcoming inauguration), with Mercury retrograde also in Aries & Pisces at the same time. Both these planets are passing over Neptune in late Pisces as well: sometimes we have a lovely, dreamy vision that turns out to be terribly disappointing. Venus and Mercury will both cross Neptune three times, in both Aries and Pisces.

Mercury stations at 0Aries on March 29th, the same day as the solar eclipse, and switches signs with Neptune (leaving Pisces) the next day. The culminating eclipse is marred by miscommunications and illusions. As the last installment of a series begun in October 2023, this eclipse will definitely see developments in Israel's wars on other countries in the region. More generally, in mundane astrology North Node solar eclipses in Aries have coincided with the assassinations of heads of states & movements, as well as the eclipsing/stepping down of leaders...yet another signature of changing/threatened leadership in 2025.

In the middle of March we also get our first Virgo eclipse of this series, corresponding to the September eclipse in Pisces. We'll revisit the areas again in September with a Pisces and Virgo eclipse. The barrier between Aries/Pisces and Virgo/Libra sees a lot of activity in the first half of 2025. We'll definitely remember this year for the crazy Aries activity, though Austin predicts it'll come back to haunt us in 2026.

May-June-July Saturn enters Aries on May 24th, creeping up on Neptune and getting within a degree of him by July (~13th-14th), and then stationing retrograde. An outer planet's first station in a new sign signals what to expect, and Saturn and Neptune both do so in July (on the 13th and 4th respectively). From May 24th to September 1st we have Neptune and Saturn very close to each other and retrograding. Uranus enters Gemini on the 7th.

Jupiter in Cancer He enters in June of 2025, staying there until June of 2026. In this sign of his exaltation, he'll be counterbalancing some of the crazier transits of this year. He's also doing cleanup after Mar's messy transits earlier this year in the Cancer parts of our charts. Jupiter is a little folksy in Cancer--he's not just lavishing the wealthy, but is generous to everyday people as well. The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) was enacted during Jupiter in Cancer in 2013-14 (a Jupiter under attack!), bringing important healthcare considerations to this placement (A/N: Cancer as a sign of nurturing and protection). In July of 1990 during Jupiter & Venus in Cancer, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed. Chris is wary of being too optimistic, but hopes that something good in healthcare is coming forward. This transit is a Jupiter return (every ~12 years) for the US Sibly chart, and also the repetition of a longer 83-year cycle where he hits the same degree on the same day--the third one since the US's founding, making this an especially potent Jupiter return. You'll notice that's only one year off from Uranus cycles, so we'll definitely see further reevaluations of the US's founding this year.

Generally, exalted planets represent someone at the highest level of their field, and Jupiter in Cancer is a sort of "get rich slow" planet. Success is cultivated, grown, and encouraged. In June & July Jupiter will square Saturn, though, a configuration that corresponds to financial and economic crashes. Jupiter in Gemini saw tech company crashes, but in a new sign we'll likely see new industries affected.

July & August: Outer Planet Teamup

Uranus enters Gemini on July 7th, the last of the slow outer planets to ingress to his new sign. From then til October 21st, we have the rare and powerful influence of several outer planets teamed up: Uranus sextiling Saturn & Neptune and trining Pluto (meaning Saturn & Neptune also sextile Pluto). This is a sort of pilot episode previewing what'll happen when they return in 2026. These planets shift from feminine water/earth signs to masculine air/fire signs, and each outer planet (except Pluto) will retrograde into his preceding sign in October & November, giving us a break from the teamup of big players for a bit. Mars in Libra will aspect all of these outer planets in August, making the configuration especially active then.

September - Eclipse Season Last September we saw our first Pisces eclipse of this series, and we'll have had another development with the first Virgo eclipse in March. Now we're firmly in Virgo-Pisces eclipses for the next 2 years. The September 7th and 21st eclipses will have us think about the big picture vs. granular details--how can we hold them in unison? The major endings & beginnings brought by eclipses are further punctuated by Saturn regressing back into Pisces on September 1st. Maybe a last set of upgrades need to be put in place in our Pisces area, though now our Virgo house is tied in as well.

October, November, December Neptune returns to Pisces October 22nd, Uranus to Taurus on November 7th, and Saturn stations direct for his last pass through Pisces on November 27th. A new chapter of our lives has begun, but we need to do a final check-in before things reach completion. The outer planet demolition team will be back on April 25th, 2026, where it'll stay until 2032-33. Neptune will station in Pisces on December 10th, another important Pisces turning point. Jupiter stationing in Cancer on November 11th is the cherry on top for the year ending where it began (but not to stay!). We end 2025 coming full circle on our sort of last look backwards before plunging for good into new--though not entirely unknown--territory.

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