Happy 2022! Usually in January we set our resolutions, clearly define our goals, and charge headfirst into action. Yet this year, the tone feels quite different. Instead of moving quickly forward, the invitation is to go slow, look back, reflect, and release what doesn’t feel aligned. Doing so through January will allow you to connect to and create concentrated progress next month when the stars really align for this purpose. This year, it’s almost like #FebruaryIsTheNewJanuary. (Everything feels quite upside down these days, why shouldn’t this be too?)
One of the reasons to not push forward this month has to do with two retrogrades: Venus until January 29 and messenger Mercury beginning January 14. During this backspins, progress comes through having patience, and through going back over things and looking at them from a different angle. Sure it can be frustrating to have to spend more time addressing situations you thought were resolved! And yet getting insights into ways to further fortify your communications (Mercury) and your relationships (Venus) can pay off in spades.
"The invitation of January is to go slow, look back, reflect, and release what doesn’t feel aligned. Doing so will allow you to connect to and create concentrated progress next month when the stars really align for this purpose."
–Stephanie Gailing
Remember, too, that planetary retrogrades remind us that treasures exist in the past. When it comes to Venus, past relationships, ways to manage your money and assets you invested in may bring you greater awareness about what it is that you truly value. All the while, during Mercury Retrograde, it may be valuable to review previous educational interests, relied-upon information outlets, and poignant conversations as they may give you the 411 you are looking for when it comes to being able to refine your message and amplify your understanding.
Mark your calendars for January 17 and 18, days which promise to be quite transformational and shapeshifting. The Full Moon on the 17th connects with reveal-what’s-hidden Pluto. Secrets may emerge, including things that we have kept not only from the view of others but from ourselves. Be honest, including about what you truly desire and what you’re willing to go to battle for. Things may feel so intense these days that it could feel like we’re pushed to the brink; and yet it’s here that we find our deep resolve—to create, to fight for what’s important to us, and to really embrace what has truth and meaning. We may be called to release what is outworn so that we can re-emerge, like the Phoenix, in the fresh pursuit of a well-lived life.
The following day Uranus shifts direct. The days around a planet entering or leaving its retrograde cycle, its archetypes feel really potent in the zeitgeist. When it comes to Uranus, the change-maker, it’s important to remember that it may be a time of shocks and surprises. That’s not necessarily bad as we may be pleasantly surprised by the unexpected. Take the opportunity to shock and surprise yourself by breaking staid patterns, taking detours, and pivoting so that you can take a more innovative pathway. If you’re feeling a bit renegade remember it’s better to be a rebel with a cause rather than without one.
Also on the 18th, the Lunar Nodes move into Taurus (North Node) and Scorpio (South Node), where they will be for the next 18 months. And with that, we’re ushered into a period in which we’re invited to really look at what security means, how to live a life with more pleasure, how to more fully understand our relationship to our resources, and the ways in which we can give shape and form to our desires.
Another power point comes at the end of the month on the 28th when Mercury unites with Pluto. We may find ourselves with a much deeper understanding of what motivates us. Align your words with your deep truths, and use your mind to uncover ideas that were previously shrouded from view. The next day, with Venus leaving its retrograde phase, we may find ourselves becoming more clear on how we want to take action with the lessons we’ve learned over the past six weeks related to money matters, relationship dynamics, and standing for the treasure that we are. To do so, make sure you’re looking at things from different angles as keeping an open mind will allow you to see things that you may miss with rote vision. The reason? On the 30th the Sun makes a square to change-it-up Uranus.
All said, it’s going to be quite a shapeshifting month. Give yourself the time and space to let things percolate and simmer, to see what rises to the surface when it comes not only to what you value but the strategies that will most efficiently help you to invite these things into your life. Usher in the new year and the new you by being open to fresh awareness, saying goodbye to things that don’t serve you, and further understanding of where you stand as an agent of change, for both your life and those of the people and things you love.
Astrological Highlights
January 2: Capricorn New Moon
January 14: Mercury stations retrograde (until February 3)
January 16: Sun/Pluto Conjunction
January 17: Cancer Full Moon
January 18: Uranus stations direct; North Node enters Taurus, South Node enters Scorpio
January 19: Sun enters Aquarius
January 28: Mercury/Pluto Conjunction
January 29: Venus stations direct
January 30: Sun/Uranus Square
Spirituality