Editor’s note: this is the full PW members’ edition, featuring your weekly horoscopes, the Create feature, Planet Waves FM and more.
Dear Friend and Reader:
The astrological traction that has been available to you all week (and which you’ve hopefully used to move some project or facet of life forward) is still in force. Though as we head toward the weekend, there are a couple of shifts in the energy.
By Amanda Painter
The astrological traction that has been available to you all week (and which you’ve hopefully used to move some project or facet of life forward) is still in force. Though as we head toward the weekend, there are a couple of shifts in the energy.
Photo by Amanda Painter
The first of these is Mercury’s move out of Sagittarius, where it has been for more than two months due to its recent retrograde. Mercury joins the astrological throng in Capricorn (which includes Saturn, Black Moon Lilith, Pluto, the Sun and Venus) at 12:09 am EST today (5:09 UTC).
You may find this brings a little more grounding and precision to your thought processes. Mercury in Capricorn tends to indicate practicality and good concentration.
Those qualities get a boost from Mercury’s conjunction to Saturn (which rules Capricorn), exact at 2:03 am EST (7:03 UTC) on Saturday. If one of your recent activities has been to formulate a general plan of action, you may find it easier now to focus on the details of that plan.
By now, you’ve likely read all kinds of damning and exciting tidbits from the new book that exposes the inner dysfunction of the Trump White House. The current astrology indicates the fallout from it will likely develop this week, and that should make for fascinating news; but here’s the thing: you’re going to want to tear yourself away from social media and your TV to use this week’s astrology yourself.
We have an absolutely astonishing, beautiful and useful aspect pattern in effect right now. Eric has tailored interpretations of it for all the signs in the horoscopes below. I’m going to offer an overview of what’s going on, and look ahead to later in the week.
A photo of Eric’s chart for the ‘super-sextile’ in effect this week, with additional points. From left to right: the lunar South Node and Juno in Aquarius; the Part of Fortune, Pluto, the Sun, Venus, Black Moon Lilith, and Saturn in Capricorn; Pholus and Mercury in Sagittarius; Vesta, Mars and Jupiter in Scorpio. Note that Mercury is conjunct the Galactic Core.
From now through midweek, there’s a kind of ‘super-sextile’ in the sky. It involves Mars and Jupiter in Scorpio making contact with the Sun, Venus and Pluto in Capricorn.
The overarching theme of this aspect pattern is traction. As in, you should be able to get some traction on just about anything you need to work on, investigate, pursue or develop. The key to enjoying that traction, however, is to take some intentional, active steps toward what you desire. It’s like having really good treads on a pair of hiking boots: those shoes can take you great places if you get out on the trail, map in hand, water bottle and snack in your backpack, and get moving.
Yet the best treads in the world won’t do a damn thing for you if you wear them while streaming Netflix, or if you leave the shoes in the box they came in and never get further than reading the trail guidebook.
Editor’s note: this is the full PW members’ edition, featuring your weekly horoscopes, the Create feature, and more.
Dear Friend and Reader:
Even if the New Year’s Day Full Moon did not herald any major events in your personal life, this first week of 2018 still managed to begin with exceptional drama: namely, Pres. Trump’s incendiary, innuendo-loaded tweet taunting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, and Michael Wolff’s tell-all book describing the insanity in the current White House. We have some juicy astrology brewing, which means you can expect things to get stranger.
People in Seoul, South Korea, watch a TV news program showing President Trump’s tweet about North Korea. Photo by Ahn Young-joon / AP.
Just in case you’re on a January news fast and cleanse, here are the basics of what’s just unfolded: Earlier this week Kim Jong-un announced the reopening of the hotline with South Korea’s leaders (which Trump is now claiming credit for). Jong-un also mentioned in his New Year’s address that he will only use North Korea’s nukes defensively, and that “the entire mainland of the U.S. is within the range of our nuclear weapons and the nuclear button is always on the desk of my office.”
Not to be outdone, Trump took to Twitter on Jan. 2, announcing, “North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un (sic) just stated that the ‘Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.’ Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!”
For real. This is what the President of the United States just proclaimed in public. It smacks of penis anxiety; except, well… “button”? Does Trump actually have clitoris envy?
By Amanda Painter
As we make our way through this first week of 2018, which began with a stunning Full Moon, I hope you’re feeling energized to move any intentions, resolutions or desires for this year forward — even in the seemingly smallest ways. What marked 2017 (personally and culturally) is carrying over for further development, as it always does from one year to the next. But it’s always possible to take a slightly different approach — and the standout astrological aspect of the next several days may speak to that opportunity.
Photo by Amanda Painter.
That would be a conjunction of Mars and Jupiter in mid-Scorpio, exact at 7:39 pm EST on Saturday but in full effect now.
There’s a very interesting detail about this conjunction, which I’ll get to in a moment. At its most basic level, however, a Mars-Jupiter conjunction is about energy, particularly physical energy. It tends to indicate that a person will likely have plenty of it, and have the desire and confidence to use it.
That can mean you need to be aware of what constitutes a dangerous risk, or to keep tabs on whether you actually have the stamina and physical conditioning to complete any activity you feel motivated to start. But if you have plans to launch a new enterprise, and Mars is making a conjunction to your Jupiter (or vice versa), astrologers generally say it’s good timing. In this case, Mars and Jupiter in Scorpio could emphasize the financial potential of this week; Scorpio might also speak to your sexual energy and your motivation and desire to embody, express and share it.
As we close out yet another year in which ‘the unthinkable’ and ‘the unexpected’ became nearly cliché and monotonous, you might be eager to leave 2017 behind and wipe your hands of it. Of course, the turn of the calendar is never exactly the clean break we often wish it were. This year, however, the New Year does begin with an energy peak — a Full Moon — with some surprisingly fitting themes that might help you to transition better.
Moon Dance by Andrew Bret Wallis.
This is the Cancer Full Moon, with the Moon in Cancer opposite the Sun in Capricorn, at 11+ degrees of their signs (properly known as 12 degrees). This Full Moon is exact at 9:24 pm EST on Jan. 1 (2:24 UTC Jan. 2). At the most basic level, moving toward a Full Moon is likely to amp up the emotional stakes on New Year’s Eve.
Many people (maybe you) pile a lot of expectation and meaning onto how and with whom they spend this particular holiday night. Remember empathy for others’ sensitivities, and to keep things light for yourself. This Full Moon could also feel like someone who’s all business facing off against someone who’s super-emotional and easily swayed by others’ moods. You might be inclined to get practical and solve problems, while a partner just wants to mother everybody (including you) whether they need it or not.
By Amanda Painter
This last week of December always feels rather like it’s in limbo, doesn’t it? There’s a sense of winding down, review and setting intentions for the next year, but that happens between major celebrations. Fittingly this year, the astrology as we head into the weekend is noticeably calmer compared to last week, which may come as a relief — though we are building to a Full Moon on New Year’s Day.
Whether you celebrate the Christmas holiday or not, I hope some seasonal serenity and joy have found you, and that you have embraced even the most seemingly commonplace opportunities to share it. Mercury is beginning to shake out following its recent retrograde (which ended Friday night, but which might still be reverberating for you), and this should help you to unwind anything that got tightly wound recently.
The Tiffany Sidewalk Clock near West 23rd St. and 5th Ave. in the Flatiron district of Manhattan. Photo by Elvert Barnes via Flickr/CC 2.0.
Continued new activity in Capricorn, a sign of initiative, should assist as well. Tomorrow (Monday), Venus ingresses Capricorn at 12:26 am EST (5:26 UTC), and makes its conjunction to Saturn later in the day.
I’ve gotten the impression that a lot of people have felt this holiday season has been ‘different’ in tone. I can think of a few reasons for that (including Mercury’s recent retrograde and the frustrating and frightening actions of the U.S. government), and there are likely plenty of personal challenges in the mix for many individuals.
While Venus in Capricorn, and especially conjunct Saturn, is not the most effusive situation for Venus to be in, it definitely has its positive qualities and can be most useful. For one thing, you might notice your sense of personal responsibility to your relationships coming into greater focus. By that I mean the idea that your integrity matters in all of your one-on-one dealings. It’s not about trying to prevent negative or uncomfortable emotions in others; it’s about honoring the fact that if you choose to have a person in your life, then you owe it to them and to yourself to treat them with honesty, empathy and awareness.