Mercury Stations Direct - January 18, 2023

 

Mercury Photo: Mythopedia 

Mercury station Direct 

8 Cap 8

January 18, 2023 

5:11am PST 

 

 

Finally!   On Dec 6 Mercury entered Capricorn. Then on December 12 Mercury crossed the shadow point.    A shadow point means a planet has entered a zone where it will return in a few weeks.    On Dec 29 Mercury station retrograde and began its journey all the way back to the beginning of the shadow.      Today on January 18, Mercury is exactly where it was on December 12 and Mercury is shaking itself off and heading direct again.   

 

Mercury in Capricorn cares about logic, being practical, planning a long game, thinking a lot about responsibilities.      During this long (they all feel long) Mercury retrograde we may have been trying to get some vision on areas of our life where we need to get practical.    During the retrograde we may have had moments where we realized we were not as diligent as we should have been on some matter.   Perhaps we have outsourced our responsibility.  Maybe we even felt guilt about letting something that needs responsible personal leadership go rudderless for too long.  Capricorn is a somber sign; it is serious in nature.  It feels like a dad or a boss.  Having Mercury retrograde in Capricorn is our mental – inner dad/boss looking around at our life, “Wow, this is a problem.   This is a mess.  How did YOU let this happen?”   or “Wow that was close, what else needs fixing?”   

 

There may be issues that come up between Dec 12 – Dec 29 that will be revisited.   We might get another bite at an apple to ‘get it right.’    For those of us who know there are some areas that need work, tidying up and more diligence, then we should work on them during this period.   Make the most of the direct motion of Mercury.   Your inner boss and inner father know what to do.   Take between now and Feb 6, when Mercury exits shadow to fix stuff and be responsible in a more vigorous manner.    Our next Mercury retrograde will be on April 21 in Taurus, another practical sign.   2023 we will be getting our practical brain on, bit by bit. 

Astrology for Week of January 15 - 21.

 

We are in the final quarter of the Capricorn New moon.   We take a moment and consider what has transpired since December 23 when the Capricorn New Moon launched.    Anything that started on the new moon that may need a nudge, now would be the time to act.    The emphasis on this last quarter moon is our relationships and partnerships.   We consider how our partners support our goals or not?   How are we supporting our partners goal or not?    There may be things for us to process.   

 

Of course, there is a retrograde Mercury in the mix.   Confusion, dropped connections,  miscommunication,  general mix ups all the hallmarks of Mercury retrograde will continue until we get to the 18^th, then Mercury stations direct.   Yay.  

 

Also on the 18^th  the Sun is in conjunction with Pluto, which happens once a year.   The day can feel intense, perhaps heavy.  However, given Mercury is stationing direct and we move into the Balsamic phase, there is opportunity to release and let go of any deep emotions.  

 

Aquarius new moon launches on Jan 21 (separate post)  

 

Last Quarter Moon Phase

January 14, 2023

6:10pm

   

 

 

Last Quarter moon:  Now we do the final adjustments to the seeds we planted on new. The final call, the final letters to send, we follow all the trails that came up that still make sense.  And we let the other parts lay fallow. It is a time of action but wise action.  It is a time for living “The serenity prayer” 

 

God, grant me the Serenity
to accept the things
I cannot change Courage to change the
things I can, and the
Wisdom to know the difference.

 

 

 

Focus on:

How are you acting on your relationships?  How are you acting on partnerships?  How are you acting on finding balance?  How are you acting on fairness?   What does all of this say or impact the goals you planted on new moon?  

 

 

Special focus 

1/18:  Mercury station direct (8 Capricorn 8) see above 

1/18: Sun conjunction Pluto (28 Cap 13) . Once a year aspect where we go deep into our place in the world.  What are the values we have deep down inside us that need to come up?  How can we tap it?  

 

 

Balsamic Moon Phase

 

January 18,  2023 

7:55am PST 

Focus on:  How are you releasing expansion?  How are you releasing boldness?  How are you releasing bigness?   How are you releasing things that are ‘foreign’?  How are you releasing big opinions?  How does all of this support the goals we launched on new moon?  

 

 

Special focus:

1/20: Sun enters Aquarius 

 

Aquarius New Moon January 21, 2023 12:53pm PST  

 

 

 

Astrology Week of January 10-Jan 15

 

Waning Moon source Time and Date 

Let's stand up and cheer on January 12 when Mars turns direct.  It's been a Topsy Turvey journey since Mars stationed retrograde on October 30.   In the sign Gemini we may have been long in angst and possible miscommunication loaded with smart answers that come with stingers.    It will be a slow climb back but still let's enjoy the relief that starts on the 12th.    

We have to wait another week for Mercury to station direct on Jan 18th.   

Disseminating

January 10, 2023     

6:27pm PST    

 

 

 

Focus on:  How are your sharing your ability to do detailed work?  How are you sharing your hygiene practices? How are you sharing the value of daily efforts for good health?  How are you sharing the power of taking care of loose ends?  How does all this impact the goals launched at new moon?  

 

 

 

Special focus:

1/12: Mars station direct 8 Gemini 07 (See separate) 

1/13: Sun sextile Neptune.  Intuition and creativity get a practical boost.   

1/14: Venus square Uranus.  Issues of feeling controlled or contained rub.    How to find independence within a relationship feel difficult.  

 

 

Last Quarter Moon Phase

January 14, 2023

6:10pm

   

 

Last Quarter moon:  Now we do the final adjustments to the seeds we planted on new. The final call, the final letters to send, we follow all the trails that came up that still make sense.  And we let the other parts lay fallow. It is a time of action but wise action.  It is a time for living “The serenity prayer” 

 

God, grant me the Serenity
to accept the things
I cannot change Courage to change the
things I can, and the
Wisdom to know the difference.

 

 

 

Focus on:

How are you acting on your relationships?  How are you acting on partnerships?  How are you acting on finding balance?  How are you acting on fairness?   What does all of this say or impact the goals you planted on new moon?  

All Hail Mars Stations Direct: January 12, 12:56pm PST

 

Mars.  1st Century statue source Religion Wiki 

January 12, 2023 

12:56pm PST 

Mars Stations Direct at 8 Gemini 8 

We have been talking about Mars since last August.   Which to be fair is the way Mars in Gemini likes it.   But now on January 12, Mars finally stations direct at 8 Gemini.    Mars retrograde in Gemini hits some of the same cords as Mercury retrograde because Mercury is the ruling planet of Gemini.    How we communicate has been a theme for most of 2022 and the first two weeks of January.    Is our language clear?  Is our thinking clear?   Are we being heard?  Has it been five months of skirmishes because people just don’t hear us or ‘get’ us?  

 

It could have been bumps with siblings and neighbors.   Gemini is a nervous sign so anxiety issues could have been pronounced.    Gemini is also one of the media signs and we may have double downed in online fights.   Luckily, once Mars turns direct on the 12th, we start to calm down.   It will be as if the whole planet takes Valerian Root or a Zoloft.   Because Mars moves slow, (only moves 2 degrees in January)  and because it had three squares with Neptune with the last square on March 14^th, it could take a while to get our groove on and understand the lessons to be gleaned from the Mars retrograde.  Those lessons may sit somewhere in our psyche for a bit more.  But once Mars clears March 15, we will have more understanding of what the hell we all just went through. Still, we should start feeling some relief after January 12.   

  

Jan 12: Mars station direct (8 Gemini 8) 

Mar 14: Mars square Neptune (3 out of 3) 25 Gem/Pisces 

Mar 15 Mars exits shadow

Mar 25: Mars enters Cancer 

 

Cancer Full Moon: January 6, 2023

 Cancer Full Moon

January 6, 2023 

3:07pm PST 

The Cancer Full Moon speaks to our emotions.   The shell of the crab is hard, and the pinchers are defensive.   Prickliness is not uncommon during a three-day Cancer full moon phase.   Someone says something and out come the snaps.  Sure.   However, the pinchers and shell and all that snappiness only exists because the crab’s flesh is soft.    Cancer connects with our home, our childhood, our roots, our history.   It is, in short, our tender.      This is where we find our strength.   It is not our snippy snaps that provide our power.  Power comes from accessing our tender.     Luckily, this Cancer full moon is ripe with the ability to access our interior and bring success in our outer which of course is what the Sun in Capricorn welcomes. 

 

In the chart of the full moon; the Sun is right next to Mercury in a tight conjunction, opposing Moon, Sun trines Uranus which is also in a sextile to Moon and the Sun trines North Node with Moon in sextile.     

 

Mercury is of course retrograde but having it in the mix with the Sun strengthens the Sun’s hand in this full moon.   Meaning even if we feel a bruise on some level, we can shake ourselves off, get up and past whatever it was so that the bigger task is a success.    Uranus in such harmonic aspects to Sun and Moon can bring out-of- the- blue opportunities.    Something odd shows up that probably taps the tender and we jump on it.     The sun formed a trine to North Node on January 2 and is still casting a glow on the chart with a sextile to the Moon.    North node in Taurus supports the power in being grounded and practical.   Some emotions, when they are expressed may be a relief but if they cause more damage or set up some failure down the road then they are far from practical.   Finding a safe manner and style of expressing emotions is possible during this Cancer full moon which is an important opportunity especially since our Taurus/Scorpio eclipses will be wrapping up in 2023 so wherever we can get the lesson of the north nodes (they are tied to the eclipses) then let’s run with it.  

 

In addition to all the lunar solar goodies, Venus is moving to a trine with Mars (Jan 9).  These are the two lover planets who speak to our values and our actions.   Mars retrograde in Gemini has been problematic, but it does, at the end of the day, show us how to pivot quickly on new information.  On this full moon in Cancer, we may feel the need to pivot on something that is touching our tender.   Or protect someone who touches your tender.   If you have forgotten what that looks like, see crab video above.  

 

Hugs to you 

Astrology for this week: Jan 2 - 9

 

Gibbous Moon

Jan 2, 2023 

1:16pm   

 

Focus on:  How are you refining your finances?  How are you refining your resources?  How are you refining your possessions?  How are you refining your comforts?   How are your refining your ‘stick-to-it-ness’?  How will all of this improve or uplift your goals from new moon?   

  

Special focus

1 / 2 : Venus enters Aquarius.  Love is more abstract, broadens beyond partner.  

1 / 4: Venus sextile Jupiter. Big fun, big play, big new.   Money and love expands.  Sharing and expanding values. 

1 / 5:  Sun trine Uranus.  Opportunities come from out of the blue.  Practical application of ingenuity.  

 

 

January  6, 2023

Full Moon

16 Cancer 21 

3:07pm PST 

 

See Separate Post 

  

 

Special focus 

1 / 7 : Sun conjunction Mercury.  What practical application to our goals did we miss?  What are we learning that will help fix some thinking that was ‘off’?  

1 / 8:  Mercury trine Uranus.   Creative thinking that is based on practicality.  

1 / 9: Venus trine Mars.  Fun, new, out of the blue actions that amplify values including love and money.  

Happy New Year!

 

Happy New Year! 

 

There are some big astrological influences in 2023 which, of course, will come up in my monthly reports.  Some of the themes will be subtle but a few will get our attention, right away.    There will be all kinds of squares that will be noisy globally and will also ring some personal bells.  

 

In broad strokes, these are things on the 2023 timeline: 

(January) Mars finally ends its retrograde in Gemini and slowly strides forward.  

(January) Mercury stations direct wrapping first retrograde of 2023 

(January) Uranus stations direct, (From January 22- April 20 all planets direct).  

(January) Chinese New Year – Year of the Rabbit (water)

 

(February) Sun Saturn conjunction before Saturn exits Aquarius 

 

(March) Saturn enters Pisces 

(March) First Aries New Moon 

(March) Pluto enters Aquarius.  Last time Pluto was in AQ was 1778 – 1798 

(March) Mars finally leaves Gemini enters Cancer 

 

(April) Second Aries New Moon – New Eclipse Season (Aries/Libra)

(April)  Mercury retrograde (Taurus) 

 

(May) Pluto retrograde for first time in Aquarius

(May) Final Scorpio lunar eclipse 

 

(June) Pluto returns to Capricorn 

(June) Saturn retrograde 

(June) Neptune retrograde 

(June) Venus enters Leo –which will set up for a Venus retrograde in July 

 

(July) Venus retrograde in Leo 

(July) Nodes move into Aries/Libra 

 

(Aug) Mercury retrograde – Virgo 

(Aug) Uranus retrograde 

 

(Sep) Venus stations direct 

(Sep) Jupiter retrograde 

(Sep) Mercury direct 

 

(Oct) Venus finally enters Virgo after months in Leo 

(Oct) Pluto Direct 

(Oct) Solar Eclipse – first time in Libra 

(Oct) Final Taurus lunar eclipse 

 

(Nov) Saturn station direct 

 

(Dec) Neptune station direct

(Dec) Mercury retrograde 

(Dec) Jupiter direct 

I will do my best to explain this time frame as it unfolds and all the aspects between the inner and outer planets.  

In the meantime, Happy New Year.