The civil calendar used by most of you is based on the amount of time it takes for our Earth to orbit the Sun. Even so, the beginning of the civil new year every Jan. 1 does not consistently correspond with any especially meaningful point in the relationship between the Earth and Sun.

Similarly, the calendar subdivision called a month is named after the Moon. The months, however, do not follow the schedule of lunar cycles (from one New Moon to the next) with any sort of meaningful precision.

Nevertheless, there is an undeniable (albeit residual) connection between how you customarily mark the passage of months and years with rhythms of the sky. For that reason alone, it is worth noting what is new up above as we observe the beginning of a civil new year here below.

Interestingly, the new year 2016 is being ushered in with, marked by and immediately followed up by three instances of one of he most meaningful types of events for astrologers: planets moving from one sign to another.

It is fair to compare a planet changing signs to an actor changing costume. It is no small thing. With movement from one field of expression to another comes an implicit change of character. Furthermore, the nature of the planet in question can, in combination with its new background, usually be observed to correspond to at least some of what you observe in your life. When several planets move from one sign to another in a short period of time, there are indications of several factors combining to indicate the quality of the time.

If there is anything to such indications, 2016 will be a year when you will be able to make a difference more than in most years that have come before. It all started with Venus changing signs yesterday. As noted in this space on Tuesday, to have Venus leave Scorpio behind to express itself through the raiment of Sagittarius includes a corresponding implication: that prioritizing the expression of your conscience would be an appropriate way for you to participate in kind.

Tomorrow, shortly before 9:20 pm EST (02:19:41 UTC Jan. 2), Mercury marks the first day of 2016 by entering Aquarius. Then, just after 9:32 am EST (14:32:20 UTC) Sunday, Mars will depart Libra to ingress Scorpio. It is not often that three sign-ruling planets move from one signature to another in a handful of days. It is even more seldom that such a nearly concurrent shift takes place as one calendar year is transitioning to the next.

You know from your own experience that initial conditions are a big factor in how nearly anything eventually turns out. One example is how the nature of your morning effects the rest of your day. So, to get a hint of how 2016 might well turn out, it would probably be a good idea to consider what Mercury, Venus and Mars have in common.

That would be the label “personal planet.” In other words, because their orbits around the Sun (and through the 12 zodiac signs) repeat many times in a typical human lifetime, Mercury, Venus and Mars are thought to correspond with recurring cycles in your life more than is the case with objects that move more slowly.

That’s how the quality of 2016 might be anticipated to emphasize that the conduct of your personal life will be no small factor in the world. Such will especially be the case if you can bring yourself to initiate some changes of your own. Significantly, the first day of January is often taken as an occasion to make resolutions for the new year.

To be in step with the astrology, then, you might want to resolve to make some conscientious resolutions as regards to your own character and modalities of expression — at least to begin with.

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After all, neither Mercury nor Mars will proceed to plunge ahead in the same way Venus will. Mercury’s first ingress to Aquarius will be quickly followed by the beginning of its first retrograde of the year beginning on Jan. 5. That retrograde will return Mercury to Capricorn on Jan. 8.

Hence, if some of your resolutions require you to review, recalculate or simply re-live a bit of what you have been through in order to move on, have faith that some of the more promising initial conditions of 2016 can be revisited once you go through whatever process of closure will be necessary for you move on.

Things will be only slightly different for Mars, which rules Scorpio in addition to Aries. While the red planet will indeed complete a full-length tour of its Scorpio domain, a retrograde beginning in Sagittarius on April 17 will compel Mars to make a slight return to Scorpio — as if to tie up a few loose ends before it consolidates its gains later this year.

Therefore, don’t be discouraged by any apparent setbacks when making or working towards your personal resolutions for 2016. So long as you are doing the right thing (Venus), being mindful (Mercury) of completing necessary processes, and applying your energies (Mars) with consistency and patience, indications are that you will not be alone in enjoying the benefits of making meaningful changes in your character and means of expression in the year to come..

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