A January Month of Conflict, Intuition, and Incipient Idealism

This month is wild and wooly, stemming from the Capricorn New Moon that took place at the end of December, just before the 1st, and that will run out the Capricorn thirty-day lunation cycle through most of the January month. This New Moon features retrograde Mars in close opposition to the transformational intensity of Pluto – residing at the 1° mark of Aquarius – which could bring out repressed emotions such as violent anger or else an exuberance for life in the faster lane with powerful emotions and a go-go-go attitude. Trickster Uranus is also aspected by the Sun and Moon in this New Moon configuration, a sesquiquadrate, while Mercury is trine to Chiron, the Wounded Healer, which whispers to us about inner wounding that lies in disregarded portions of our hidden interior layers. The astrological combination kicking off the month is therefore not straightforward, but rather is nuanced and complex. The Mars-Pluto opposition has been building since the middle of December, along with Jupiter square Saturn, and we have been seeing some of the volatility that I describe in recent headlines, especially in this country where there was almost a government shut-down in recent weeks. From the looks of things, the 2025 headlines are not likely to represent very much of an improvement.

The three additional lunations of this Capricorn cycle that follow upon the New Moon and mark the stages of its unfolding, namely the quarter moons of the 6th and 21st and the Cancer Full Moon of Monday, the 13th, are quite potent as well, with the Full Moon making an exact T-square to Eris in Aries, more on that below, while also closely aspecting Uranus and Neptune in the signs of Taurus and of Pisces, with the Full Moon Sun itself in wide conjunction with Pluto. On the 21st, the Moon’s Last Quarter, the Aquarius Sun at 2° is tightly conjunct Pluto with the Scorpio Moon in square, so that this month goes out with an even greater bang than how it started.

To go through these lunations in order, on Monday the 6th we have the First Quarter Moon in Aries, conjunct to Chiron, with the 16° Capricorn Sun in square, This is a phase that seminal humanistic astrologer Dane Rudhyar called a “crisis in action,” meaning that things that have to be done can run into unexpected snags as differing opinions from one side or another might clash on ways and means, not to mention the big-picture meaning of it all. The best advice is to keep on keeping on, while doing your best to understand where the other person is coming from, aided by greater consciousness of your own internal wounding. Mars, now in 29° of Cancer by the time of the 4 pm PST quarter Moon, is still closely opposed to Pluto, while Mercury is in partile or same-degree square to numinous Neptune, factor of idealism and compassion, yet also of illusion and the potential for self-deception making for a heady and potent stew.

The Full Moon that follows a week later, on Monday the 13th, is also a very special lunation configuration. The Moon conjuncts Mars, while Mars is in a tight trine to Pisces, while the Sun and Moon are in close aspect to Uranus and to Eris, feminine warrior energy in support for deep soul intention. This lunation brings otherworldly cosmic perspective and surprise events and intuitional enlightenment to bear on the fundamental transformations of this dynamic monthly cycle.

The Last Quarter Moon of Tuesday the 21st makes for another quite intense juncture because now the Sun, newly entered into the Aquarius sign, is closely conjunct the transformational force represented by Pluto, with the Moon in square. The Scorpio Moon also is conjunct new KBO planet Haumea that I have been researching and writing about, so that love of Nature and a goal of nurturing an internal moral compass aligned with right and fair action and with truth-telling, as far as we can know it.

All and all, this is a rather confrontational month, leading us into an at times difficult year of change. What we need however is right there with us, on the inside, and it is faith in ourselves and in our connection to the meaningful universe that surrounds us to see us though. Although sometimes it can be hard to see the light on the cooperative evolution of the culture, our earthly environment, and each one of us individually, the evidence is there when we can dispassionately seek it out. And astrology provides us with a major clue, as we can tune in to it. Blessed be.

A January Month of Conflict, Intuition, and Incipient Idealism

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January 2025