January 1, 2024 Overview for the Year
Just as a birth chart provides clues for the energies of an individual, so does the New Year chart provide possibilities for the coming year. We begin by looking at the planets on the angles of the chart. First of all, the angles are pretty balanced, at 9-10° of Power (formerly cardinal) signs. This indicates a very dynamic, powerful year. MakeMake in Libra is rising, squaring the Sun in Capricorn and resourcing (sextiling) Varuna in Leo. It’s a new year, a time to renew our connection to Source. We will be called on to access new ways of thinking, for our own Self-care and for the greater good of all, in accordance with the universal laws of karma, Oneness and harmony. We will need to step up and remember those divine laws when energies and emotions get intense. A wider perspective is available to us if we choose to use it, and it will really help; it will expand our consciousness. The Sun-Moon trine manifests awareness of our emotions, another positive aspect that will prove extremely useful; if we’re aware of our emotional triggers, our responses can be so much more beneficial.
Saturn in Pisces resources Jupiter in Taurus, suggesting an expansion of social consciousness coupled with a desire to grow past limitations. The Venus-Jupiter great eliminator (inconjunct), with each planet in the other’s sign, along with a Venus-Saturn stepping stone, indicates a shift in values towards protecting the environment, and getting past the fear that has prevented real action to occur. Jupiter is a big player this year, and his conjunction with Uranus on April 20 will push us all into a new trajectory. There are many ways this new cycle can manifest. Along with a major total solar eclipse, April will be a HUGE month in a powerful year!
Pluto, representing transformation and rebirth, is taking us on a renewed journey into the energies of Aquarius in January. He goes retrograde in May and reenters Capricorn one more time in September, giving us 7 months to get used to the experience of his transformative energies in Uranus’ sign. How will power shift? What needs to be wrapped up, once and for all? Pluto’s entire retrograde will sit on the 29th degree of mastery, where we get to face that question. Of course, these energies will be felt collectively as well as personally. When Pluto enters Aquarius in November for good everything will be changed and we will be ready for a new epoch.
Including his retrograde, Pluto spends the entire year at 29 Capricorn–0 Aquarius and in January (see below) he enters Aquarius accompanied by the Sun. These degrees comprise the Portal of Strength (formerly the cusp) between the two signs, effectively merging the energies of the signs at these points. Collectively we take the power of Capricorn, with its diligence and connection to Source, and bring it into Aquarius to be expressed; it becomes a strength there, which we can use consciously for Self-love and mastery of our Light.
It should also be mentioned that periodically, when there are two Full Moons in Cancer, the following year will have no Cancer Full Moon. This year is one of those years. The entire year will be one of mastering our emotions and directing them into positive action. In addition, 2024 will have an extra day, February 29. These events are just some of the factors that make 2024 an extraordinary year.
January 2024 Aspects
We begin with a bang on this first month of the new year. Three planets are stationing direct, two station retrograde, and 5 planets change signs. At the beginning of January the personal planets Mercury, Venus and Mars are found in Sagittarius; by the end of the month they are all in Capricorn, making both those qualities of consciousness very focal. Sagittarius is where we look for truth and expansion; it’s where we tie up loose ends and prepare for a new cycle. Capricorn is where we strengthen our connection to Source, however we define it, and use it to forge ahead. The planets that dispose (hold the energy of) these signs are Jupiter and Saturn, and these planets work together on aspects of social consciousness. It’s safe to say that individually and collectively we will be preparing for transformation as the personal planets make their way to communions with Pluto in the next few weeks.
Let’s start with Mercury. On 1/1 he stations direct, finishing his retrograde which began in Capricorn in December. We went within to find new ways to clear our thinking. The 3rd conjunction of Mercury on the Galactic Center occurs 1/10 (the others occurred on 11/28 and 12/25), and we’ll have new downloads of the highest degree into the crown chakra. On 1/13 Mercury enters Capricorn again, conjoining Ixion (1/17) for the 3rd time, clearing his shadow on 1/20, and meeting Quaoar on 1/21. All this will bring an upgrade to our mental operating systems, and new ways to communicate and connect with others. Our mind-body connection also gets an upgrade with the Mercury-Mars new cycle on 1/27 at 16 Capricorn.
Speaking of Mars, on 1/1 he is right on the Galactic Center, and downloads can be felt in the body around this time. Now is a good time to make intentions around healing and strengthening the body, and putting them into practice. Mars enters Capricorn 1/4, and makes his own contacts with Ixion (1/10) and Quaoar (1/16), before that 1/27 communion with Mercury. The whole month provides us with opportunities to think about our actions in new ways, especially when Mercury and Mars form an intersection (or T square) with the nodes around 1/28. Will we think and act the same old ways and hope results are different, or will we remember our Source connection and reach for higher ways of responding?
The 1/11 New Moon in Capricorn, first of the year, brings up the themes, and the choices, of what road to take this year. At 20 Capricorn 44, the New Moon forms an intersection with the Earth and Soul Stars (S and N nodes) and the question is whether we will let outside forces affect what we want to achieve, or whether we will go within, determine our own Truth, and take (bold) action. This is also the day Eris goes direct, and she makes a stepping stone with this lunation while Uranus trines it, and Pluto is within orb. This new cycle is just the beginning of the awakening, disruption and transformation that will occur this year. Venus manifests with (trines) Chiron, and you can bet on some kind of healing or mastery at the heart level. Saturn, dispositor of this New Moon, resources (sextiles) Ixion, suggesting a new commitment to being responsible for our own dreams and choices. We are here to follow our inner guidance.
January 20 is a HUGE day. It is when the Sun, our consciousness and life force, conjoins Pluto at 29 Capricorn 59, the absolute last minute in Capricorn, before they both enter the energy field of Aquarius together. This double ingress highlights the energies we experienced on the December 2020 solstice, when Jupiter and Saturn communed at 0 Aquarius. I wrote then:
The Jupiter Saturn new cycle… is a harbinger [for} a new social consciousness for the season, the next year, and next 20 years! This new cycle makes connections to the Sun, Astraea (where we access the Divine Feminine) and Juno (our relationship to everything). A more receptive, intuitive way of being will be part of the fabric of this new social consciousness. And it begins now.
With Sun-Pluto on that degree we come to see how far we have come. Our consciousness is aligning itself with the shift from the old ways of the past to the new energies of the future, and from the power of systems to the power of people. With Mercury clearing his shadow on this day, about to approach Quaoar, we are ready for new ways to think, communicate and connect with others along these lines. Once again, this will include the divine feminine (Astraea) if we choose to let her in and transform us. Astraea herself is in Cancer, retrograding into Gemini (1/26), suggesting that emotions are a gift and a power, that when used correctly can inform and guide us.
The Full Moon in Leo occurs on 1/25, with Pluto conjunct the Sun and Varuna conjunct the Moon. Self-love is a power we can give ourselves. Being able to see the larger perspective helps immeasurably with our emotions, enabling us to find blessings and gratitude wherever we can. Saturn and Ixion’s resource (see above) forms a Finger of God (yod) pointing to the Moon. Our purpose is to allow ourselves to see what triggers negative emotions and safely run them through our bodies without judgement or allowing them to overwhelm us. This is not easy, and we will need to choose to do this repeatedly. The resulting Self-knowledge raises our vibration and Self-esteem. The Ceres-Neptune stepping stone helps us to nurture our dreams and seek clarity through any disruptions that may arise.
Venus begins the month in Sagittarius, wrapping up affairs of the heart. As Venus travels through that sign, we gain a wider perspective of our values and what matters to us. Our hearts find stability and healing. The 1/16 Venus-Ceres new cycle signifies a willingness to open our hearts to nurture our Selves, the better to nurture others. Venus enters Capricorn 1/23, where she conjoins Ixion (1/27) and Quaoar (1/30) for new ways to express heart energy.
Along with the ends of Mercury’s and Eris’ retrogrades, other planets have shifted direction, notably Uranus, which stations direct on 1/27. There will be more awareness of the effects of global warming on Earth, and how it affects food, weather and migration. MakeMake (1/8), Juno (1/12), and Haumea (1/30) all station retrograde this month, giving us the opportunity to review our understanding of the universal laws, our connection to each other, and our ability to create. These are all so important this year, and these recalibrations will prove helpful as we go forward.
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