#AstroProTips
Thursday, January 19th
Mars in Pisces square Saturn in Sagittarius, both at 23°
Sun enters Aquarius
Friday, January 20th
Venus in Pisces sextile Pluto in Capricorn, both at 17°
2016’s astrology featured many aspects, chief among them a square between Saturn in Sagittarius and Neptune in Pisces. These two planets in difficult aspect to one another correlated with the dissolution of many societal structures.
The red planet, Mars, also went through a difficult passage. Its retrograde correlated with outbreaks of rage, aggression and unabashed violence. Mars spent much of 2016 traversing the same terrain due to its retrograde. Like a needle scratching back and forth over the same section of skin, Mars broke boundaries, drew blood and left many wounded in its wake.
This week Mars, now transiting through Pisces, will square Saturn, still in Sagittarius, combining both of the astrological themes that correlated with so much of 2016’s demise the world over. Mars and Saturn, the warrior and the Master, the combatant and the disciplinarian, the rabble rouser and the establishment met this summer. Making a conjunction at 9° of Sagittarius, Mars and Saturn began a new cycle, much like a new moon. This week, we get to the first square between the two which signals a time of crisis and critical action. The seed that was planted has grown and must now establish itself as stalk and leaves with promise of bud and bloom.
When we find that we are ill at ease with what is taking shape in our world, with what has grown, we must make sure that we are actively shaping a useful and constructive response to it. Mars and Saturn in difficult aspect to each other teach us to work with difficulty, constructively or destructively. That choice is always ours. When we choose to take on the task of working with these two planets they can, however, teach us how to turn our anger into fuel, mobilizing the structures at hand to serve our long term freedom. These two planets can teach us how to make use of the pressure that pain produces and to apply that pressure so that it propels us into actions that support our life rather than dismantle our potential.
This week your horoscopes are written in response to the inauguration. I know not everyone that reads these is American or lives in America. I do not mean to make the nonsense we are living through here more globally dominant than it already is. However, the rise of xenophobia and intolerance on many levels is affecting the politics of many countries the world over. We are all living in a very precarious moment that will define us for decades to come.
These horoscopes are meant as a call to action. They are meant as a call for the best of each sign to step forward within us, in whatever ways possible. Each sign holds its own piece of humanity. Please read your sun, moon and rising signs and keep in mind that we all have each sign within us.
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Aries
Aries, you teach us how to take action. You teach us how to move towards our goal, great obstacles be damned. You teach us to find confidence within ourselves when the world only offers evidence to the contrary.
You teach us to value being contrary.
You know how to go against the grain. To push up against great odds. Head-first into rooms that don’t know you and will never own you. Born ready to rumble and too quick to quit.
You are our mascot. Our warrior in waiting. Our Battlefield Beauty.
This year we will need you to remind us that it’s OK not to be liked. This year we will need you to remind us that fighting for each other’s dignity will save us from losing ours. This year we will need you to teach us that being afraid is a part of the process but that being afraid is not a good enough reason to opt out of striving for progress.
This year, and in the years to come, we will thank you for your bravery, leadership and relentless energy. We will return the favor by reminding you to recoup your energy. We will remind you how to be a leader among leaders. We will remind you that this is a marathon, not a sprint. We will remind you that you don’t need to, and you actually can’t, go this journey alone.
Taurus
Taurus, you teach us to see life through. You teach us to steady ourselves in our bodies. You teach us the patience of the ancient ones.
You teach us how to stay.
Focused. Far-sighted. Formidable. You know how to build. You know how to show up. Relentlessly. Too stubborn to give up on what is. Too hearty of heart to give up on our collective potential. You hold the ultimate medicine for winning.
Patience.
You know how to stay. In it. No matter how difficult. Through thick. Through thin. Through thousands of broken promises. You know how to focus on what is still good. Still worth watching. Still worth growing. Still worth feeding.
Your loyalty to life cannot be questioned.
This year, we’ll need you to teach us how to make a feast out of the seeds we have to sow. This year we’ll need you to teach us to take it slow, focusing on the task at hand. This year we’ll need you to teach us how to till the earth of our lives, so that we take into account the perspective of the seasons. This year and in years to come, we’ll need you to teach us how to move from instant gratification to an appreciation of what can be cultivated long-term.
In return, we’ll help you to adjust. We’ll remind you to release. We’ll help you to move on from what cannot be carried on. We’ll help you to make room for the new life and the new ways we’ll have to adapt to in order to settle into this unsettling struggle we are now in.
Gemini
Gemini, you teach us the importance of spreading the word. Of staying in touch. Of being connected. Curious. Interested. You help us to move out of feeling isolated and into being engaged with the good of the world. You remind us of the value of learning new things, of never staying with the same old stagnant ideas, of looking at a thing from all sides and all situations.
You teach us the beauty of diversity.
This year, we’ll need you to remind us of the power inherent in our differences. This year, we’ll need you to remind us to move towards what we don’t know. This year, when we feel frozen by fear we’ll need you to remind us to stretch our minds and learn something new.
We’ll need you to remind us to communicate more, especially when we feel like our ideas don’t matter. We’ll need you to encourage our questions, especially when we fear that we’ll look silly for not knowing the answer. We’ll need you to remind us that learning is the key to winning. We’ll need you to remind us that staying teachable is the antidote to the fear that fascism thrives on.
In exchange, we’ll remind you to stay grounded. In your body. On task. We’ll remind you to cultivate your energy instead of wasting it on exchanging half-truths or assumptions.
Cancer
Cancer, you’re the heart of this family. The one who holds us together. The one who knows how to hold us down. The one who knows how to hug. The one who knows how to cradle our hearts through the most hectic of storms. The one who knows how to reach in and resuscitate our souls.
You keep us close to our humanity.
You remind us how fragile we are, how much we need to give and receive love and how important it is to care for one another. How important it is to care for ourselves. You remind us of how human we are.
You are the guardian of the needy. The giver of life. The caretaker of all things that need it.
This year, we need you to remind us that caring for ourselves and each other is the most radical thing we can do in the face of a world that seems increasingly inhumane. This year, we need you to remind us to bring our hearts to the situations that feel hopeless. This year, we’ll need you to help us remember that home is where we make it, and we best make it with each other no matter where we roam.
In exchange, we’ll remind you not to take your moods so seriously. We’ll teach you how to play the game long-term. We’ll remind you not to get weighed down by every loss, because there will be many.
Leo
Leo, you are our beloved child. Adoring you is healing. We are cheered by your warmth. Reminded of our own enthusiasm by your own irrepressible exuberance. You remind us that life is to be enjoyed. Playfully. Irreverently. Joyously.
You remind us that laughter is medicine.
As the performer, you take the human experience and replay it back to us. So that we can see ourselves in the story. So that we can understand the importance of our place in the plot. So that we might laugh at the ridiculousness of it. Appreciate the depth of it.
You help us to contextualize and make meaning out of our pain. Through story. Through song. Through dance. Through every mode of self-expression under the sun. You teach us to put ourselves out in the world. To be on fire for all to see. To be fire.
We will need your spirit to gather round this year. We will need you to gather our spirits. To remind us of the importance of our part in the play. To remind us that all the world is a stage and we have a part to play whether we want to or not. We will need you to remind us that making subversive art in the face of tyranny is one of the most potent ways to keep our humanity intact. We will need you to bring your light into the darkest of days, reminding us that life cannot lose its beauty if we seek it consistently.
In exchange, we’ll remind you that you don’t have to perform to be valuable. We’ll cool you down when you get overheated. We’ll be honest in our praise and curate carefully constructed feedback when you need it.
Virgo
You are our beloved nerd. Our expert. Our sincere seeker of the facts. The one who will ask the right questions. The one who can separate the truth from the rest of the information. You are discerning, unfazed by pomp and circumstance. You seek to understand the systems of nature we live within, looking for the beautiful, naturally occurring alchemy that uses every aspect of creation to recreate itself. You know nature’s efficiency. You know how to value the clean machine that is our earth. You know how to value the wisdom of the body. You teach us all manner of natural remedies. You know how to locate and remove what is unnecessary, toxic or ill-fitting. You know what is wrong with a thing because you know how to think critically about it and everything else.
This year we will need your compassionate critique. We will need your analysis. We will need your natural talent to deconstruct the ill-formed theories that have no place in a fair and just world. You are no fool and this year will have no shortage of foolish ideas. Bless us with your ability to cut them down to size with nothing but logic.
We need you to remind us that success isn’t about the applause we receive but about the quality of work we are able to produce in service of something greater than ourselves. You work for the sake of the work. You know what it is to be humble. To be wrong. To be worried about getting it done well. Help us to be thoughtful, concerned, hard-working citizens. Help us to remember that we will make mistakes so we might as well become dedicated students to the wisdom we most wish to embody.
In exchange, we will calm you when you feel like you need to fix everything. This situation is beyond broken. It is not your responsibility alone to figure out the whole mess. The future needs us all.
Libra
Libra, you reach out to us. You make us feel needed. Important. Seen. Interesting. Remembered in a world that wants to wipe us out. You pull us out of our shells. Attract us to your beauty. Help us feel at ease in a world that feels increasingly hostile.
Thank you for every connection. Thank you for every “thank you”, “good morning” and “please”. Thank you for being gracious when you could be dismissive. Thank you for your desire to balance out the equation.
You know how to make a masterpiece out of a mess. You know how to make adornment sacred. Ritualized. Righteous. You know how to decorate yourself as an act of resistance. To be beautiful in the face of ugly rejection. To be armed in your protective regalia disguised as everyday clothing.
This year we will need you to remind us to weigh the balance of the truth agains the situation. We will need you to tell us what we missed. What isn’t in the equation. What has to be added to the balance if justice is to be served. We will need you to remind us to look at the other end of the spectrum and ask us who is being treated unfairly.
We will need you to so effortlessly work with those that oppose you. Finding ways to keep communication open. Finding the patience to stay in the conversation. Finding ways into relationship when it seems like there is none.
Scorpio
Scorpio, this year we will need you to teach us about commitment. To ourselves. To our growth, no matter how messy. To our survival. No matter how precarious.
We will need you to teach us about being comfortable in our intensity. About valuing our potency in a world that wants to sterilize it. About withstanding all the haters and the hypocrisy. Teach us how to twirl on their insults and skate through their deathtraps.
We need you to teach us how to be our own emotional center. How to stay steady, unswayed by the turning tides of the day’s news. Unafraid of the gnarly, soupy process of transformation.
We need you to teach us your survival techniques. Teach us how to know our power. To work it to our advantage. Unapologetically. Without hesitation. In service to all.
Teach us how to keep secrets. Show us how to go under the radar. Fortify us with the strength we’ll need to sneak into the vault to find and destroy the horcrux.
Loan us your invisibility cape.
Help us to outsmart evil by playing to its weakness. Help us to transfix it, seducing it into traps that ensnare it in its ways. Teach us to work with our fear and to never forsake our freedoms or anyone else’s. In return, we’ll remind you to enjoy the simple pleasures that life has to offer.
Sagittarius
Sagittarius, you were born ready. Ready for the adventure. Ready for the adversity. Ready come what may. Your boundless optimism is an asset on any journey, but especially the difficult ones. You aim for the truth. When they go low, they don’t even see you because you are so high.
This year, we will need you to keep our spirits up. We will need you to keep hope afloat. We will need you to keep pushing us towards our goal. Your encouragement is infectious. Your inspirational nature is aspirational. Your ability to have a good time no matter where you are is downright indomitable.
Teach us how to teflon coat our joy. Teach us how you bounce back unscathed after you have been steam-rolled. Teach us how you find happiness with the ease that you seem to and, once we find it, teach us how to keep it alive, deep within ourselves.
You know that the there is something in this life worth seeking and because you seek it in all that you do. Teach us how to do so too. Teach us to keep meaning in mind so that we don’t get caught up in what has none. Teach us to aim for truth and to take nothing less than it. Teach us to uphold these truths in all that we do. In return, we’ll remind you to ask questions. To not take your way as the only one. To make sure we are with you before you hurl your arrow towards what you hold to be true.
Capricorn
Capricorn, you are our boss. You know how to show up professional and prepared. You know how to come correct and how to keep score. You know the benefits of having boundaries. Of knowing what is yours to work on and what is not. You know the rules and you are able to work within them. You know how to climb any mountain. Alone. On your own. Proving yourself to yourself. Disciplined. Devoted to the achievement you have set your sights on. As the sea-goat, you also know how to swim the depths of the subconscious. Pondering many a personality trait through your ability to self-reflect and find within you the motivation to move through life’s ups and downs.
No stranger to life’s rigorous journey, you know how to deal with reality. To find your way through it, no escape. You know that life is hard and its difficulty does not scare you. Its difficulty does not surprise you. Its difficulty does not prevent you from getting the job done.
This year we’ll need you to bless us with your determination. Grant us some of your focus. Teach us how to climb the mountains that we must. Teach us how to take responsibility for ourselves. For our work. For our success. For our failures. You are the sign known for its maturity and we are in desperate need of more of it today.
In return, we’ll hold you when you can no longer hold it all together. We’ll remind you that some of the rules will need to be broken in order to not break the bonds between us.
Aquarius
Aquarius, you are our humanitarian. You know how to think in terms of the whole of us. You know how to think about a situation outside of yourself. Apart from yourself. You refreshingly refuse to center yourself in every interaction.
Yet, you have the ability to think for yourself. Away from the pressure of the herd mentality. Outside of the boxes that have previously been thought up to think within. You know the confines, the systems and the structures of the playbook, yet you have the ability to play the game your way.
This year we will need you to teach us how to master the rules so that we can break them with astounding effect. This year we will need you to show us how to pour forth what we have, becoming water bearers ourselves, cleansing the land of any ill-will that festers there.
This year we will need you to teach us how to keep cool while we enter the dragon’s den. Teach us how to keep our minds centered, committed to the facts, to reason, to what would be the most logical way forward for all involved. Teach us how you are able to so deftly honor the traditions that have worked well while being able to simultaneously revitalize them with progressive innovations.
In return we will remind you of the intelligence of your emotions. We will remind you that it is logical to feel them and that even though it may feel irrational to do so, losing control once in a while can be a good thing.
Pisces
Pisces, you know how to connect. With the masses. With the multitudes. Through your empathy. Through your ability to pour yourself into the shoes of many souls. Your sensitivity is needed in a world that feels increasingly callous. You know that your sensitivity attunes you to the unseen, intuiting the potential that hangs in the air. This is one of your greatest weapons, one that you’ll need to remember to value in yourself and your leadership.
This year, we’ll need you to remind us to care. When everything else seems so careless.
This year, you’ll need to teach us how to feel our way forward. This year, you’ll need to remind us that our imaginations are increasingly valuable in a world that seeks to stifle creative thought. This year, you’ll need to teach us how to dream ourselves awake. You’ll need to teach us how to believe in our visions. Care for them. Feed them. Be fueled by them.
In return, we’ll remind you that having boundaries helps you to be a better ally. In return, we’ll remind you that compassion fatigue is real. In return, we’ll remind you that you are just as worthy of love and protection as is everyone else.