Astrology Forecasts

This Sun through Capricorn cycle seems custom-made for those who like to spend the final part of the year reflecting on the past and the earliest days of the new one putting aspirations into action. Part of the planetary activity will take place in mutable signs, aiding release, and another in cardinal signs, supporting those first steps into new endeavors. Throw in a nostalgic full Moon in Cancer on the 26th, Mercury's dance between mutable Sagittarius and cardinal Capricorn, Jupiter's station and an important new Capricorn Moon on January 11th, and the theme of clearing out the old to make way for the new solidifies. It all gets underway on December 21st when the Sun enters industrious Capricorn under a productive, waxing Taurus Moon.

2023's Sagittarius Sun cycle will see Mercury, Venus and Mars change signs, Neptune station direct and the start of Mercury's next retrograde. When the Sun and Mars move into optimistic Sagittarius on the 22nd and 24th, they will each quickly be squared by Saturn in Pisces on the 23rd and 25th. Ruled by exuberant, expansive Jupiter, Sagittarius is typically a bright spot on astrology's wheel. Its mutable fires exude warmth, amiability and a hopeful outlook.

In 2023, the Sun will be accompanied by Scorpio's ancient ruler, Mars, as it transits the fixed water sign. Mercury will also be moving through these immensely passionate waters from October 22nd until November 9th. Additionally, the lunar eclipse of October 28th will be the final one in the present series of eclipses on the Scorpio Taurus axis. Compared to the November 8, 2022 lunar eclipse in Taurus, with its t-square to Saturn in Aquarius, this one should be somewhat milder. That said, Scorpio represents death and transformation. Since April, the eclipses have been shifting into the initiating cardinal signs of Aries and Libra, signaling that one paradigm is dying as another is born. Another difference in this year's Scorpio cycle is that Saturn has moved from fixed Aquarius into mutable Pisces.

Jupiter is about to begin a four-month-long retrograde. Astrology's Greater Benefit, lucky Jupiter is associated with good fortune, expansion and success. Its spheres of influence include faith, higher learning and justice. When pondering the more punitive implications of the law, restrictive Saturn may come to mind. But philosophical Jupiter is equally committed to fairness, equity and balance.

A kind of benevolent chaos will ensue over the next couple of weeks, one as intent on overthrowing the status quo as it is on lifting spirits and creating new opportunities. The Sun, Venus, Jupiter and Uranus will be playing key roles, and, even from orderly Virgo, Mercury and Mars will be getting in on the action. For those who have been waiting to catch a break or who are looking for the right time to make a dramatic move, some promising possibilities are at hand.

Like the year's most anticipated feature film, 2023's summer blockbuster is about to hit the celestial screen. It is of course Venus's retrograde. Making this retrograde all the more intriguing is the fact that Venus is transiting dramatic Leo, a setup that includes several exciting encounters with Jupiter and Uranus. Previewing those, Venus first squared Jupiter back on June 11th and Uranus on July 2nd. The friction from that pair in Taurus promises to drive the plot and keep it interesting. Venus will square exuberant Jupiter next on August 22nd, during the retrograde, and again on September 17th, post retrograde. In the case of wild Uranus, it too has two more squares with Venus, on August 9th and September 29th. The retrograde itself will take place from July 22nd through September 3rd. But its shadow exit point, of 28° Leo 36′, will extend its presence to October 7th.

Over the next couple of weeks Mars and Venus will form exact squares to game-changing Uranus. Disruptive, unruly Uranus is typically an unwelcome guest. And when the planet of sudden, irrevocable change partners with an inner planet to create personal upheaval, its presence is all the more unwanted. However, when carefully examining the changes being prompted by the unorthodox planet, we may conclude that they are precisely what is needed, and maybe long overdue.

Starting on May 16th a t-square involving Mars, Jupiter and Pluto will begin taking shape. It will culminate on the 22nd when a Mars square to Jupiter becomes exact. Reverberations will be felt in the following days and weeks. The combination of Mars, Jupiter and Pluto is an interesting one. Boiled down to its most basic elements, this is a mixture of passion, expansion and transformation. On the geo-political stage and darker side, the war between nuclear armed nations could easily escalate during this time. On the brighter side, unprecedented international alliances, agreements and systems may suddenly emerge. On a personal level, this trio presents a powerful opportunity to abandon ambiguity and to chart a bold new course.

The beginning of this week might prove to be an ideal time to get centered ahead of incoming aspects and events. After all, we're in the midst of two powerful eclipses and under a Mercury retrograde. Helping us navigate inner planes, on Monday the Moon will move into nurturing Cancer.

The next two weeks will have no shortage of astrological activity, and Mars-ruled Aries wouldn't have it any other way. A Sun Jupiter conjunction, solar eclipse, the Sun's ingress into Taurus and the start of Mercury's next retrograde are all on their way. Adding to the collective buzz, Venus will kick off this cycle when she moves into busy Gemini late on the 10th.

Aries always brings excitement to the table. Being the impulsive, impetuous force of creation, it simply can't help but to provoke and initiate. It is the cardinal fire sign ruled by passionate, adventurous Mars, and consequently has an imperative to poke, probe and pioneer. This three week cycle begins with the Sun's entrance into Aries on the 20th, and a new Aries Moon on the 21st. The Sun and Moon are signaling that something entirely new is at hand, and their presence in groundbreaking Aries is a fitting welcome for Pluto's initial ingress into Aquarius, on March 23rd. Though it will be moving between Capricorn and Aquarius through November 2024, Pluto's transit of Aquarius will last for over 20 years, making this week's sign change an epochal event.

Some of the year's biggest happenings in astrology will take place during March. The first major move is that of Saturn into Pisces on the 7th. Saturn's ingress into the mutable water sign will take place under a full Moon in Virgo, the mutable earth sign. Not one to ever be left out of the action, Mars will be in a 5° square to that full Moon, from the mutable air sign of Gemini. After being in the Mercury-ruled sign since last August, Mars will also change signs in March.

In the larger scheme of things, we on the precipice of two major sign changes, Saturn entering Pisces and Pluto entering Aquarius. Saturn has been in fixed Aquarius since December of infamous 2020 and Pluto in Capricorn since November of equally infamous 2008. Some people may be feeling exhausted from the long transit of the boundary setting planet through an inflexible fixed sign. Others may be filled with a sense of excitement, in anticipation of the coming changes. In the immediate offing, there's a important new Pisces Moon on the 20th, and Venus and Mercury are also changing signs.

In the wake of February 5th's full Moon, the week will get off to a tense start. That waning, but still potent, Leo Moon will oppose a late degree Saturn, before moving into calm, organized Virgo in the afternoon. Also on Monday, Virgo's ruler Mercury will sextile Neptune from constructive Capricorn, taking some more of the edge off arguments that the full Moon escalated. This pattern of stress and release will repeat during the next two weeks, as the Sun completes its Aquarius transit and reaches relaxed Pisces on the 18th. It's not that there are no helpful aspects in the offing; it's that there are better and worse times for picking battles, coinciding with a will to make peace.

February 1st marks the midway point between winter solstice and spring equinox. In some climates, the very first seeds of the new year will be planted. Across the northern hemisphere, the return of sunlight is appreciable. The festivals of Imbolc and St. Brigid, held at this time, have long included the element of fire, to signify the return of warmth and light. In 2023, the full Moon, in the fire sign of Leo, will take place on February 5th. As it waxes, we'll encounter several encouraging alignments and Venus will enter Pisces. On January 20th the Sun moved into Aquarius, followed immediately by a new Aquarius Moon on the 21st. Aquarius is one of the signs with positive polarity, giving it an outgoing orientation. On Tuesday the 24th, that budding Aquarius Sun will sextile Jupiter in Aries, and on Sunday the 29th, it will trine Mars in Gemini.

During the next two weeks the retrogrades of Mars, Mercury and Uranus will conclude. Along the way Venus will collaborate with Mars and Saturn, and the Sun will move from Capricorn to Aquarius, where the new Moon will take place on the 21st. Uranus went retrograde on August 24, 2022, Mars on October 30th and Mercury on December 29th. During their retrogrades, the three have given everyone time to mull over short and long range plans. As we venture into 2023, the time for implementation is quickly approaching.

Over the next two weeks the Sun and Jupiter will move into instigating cardinal signs and Mercury will begin its next retrograde. During the course of 2023, the eclipse cycle and lunar nodes will shift from fixed signs to cardinal. The new year will also see significant sign changes for Saturn and Pluto. No doubt, after two plus years of planets, nodes and eclipses being stuck in those persistent fixed signs, the collective gridlock will begin giving way.

During the next two weeks Mercury will be at the heart of a good deal of the planetary action, and its activity has implications for the months, if not years, ahead. On December 5th the Messenger will complete its latest series of mutable sign squares, with one to Jupiter, the next day it will head into conservative Capricorn, and finally, on the 17th, it will make the first of three trines to game-changing Uranus. Concurrently, Wednesday's full Moon will take place at 16° Gemini 02′. Gemini is one of Mercury's two homes and where provocative Mars is presently residing, and stirring things up. The confluence of mutable sign activity, including that Mars-charged full Moon, suggests the completion of a cycle. Mercury's ingress, followed by Venus and the Sun, into cardinal Capricorn portends the initiation of a new phase. The Uranian aspect indicates a wild ride into yet unimagined worlds.

New opportunities abound this week as the Sun moves into Sagittarius on Tuesday and a new Sagittarius Moon dawns on Wednesday, as Jupiter stations direct. Perhaps offering a few glimpses into the incoming solar and lunar phases, Mercury and Venus will conjoin in upbeat Sagittarius on Monday. In fact the two will travel in tandem throughout their Sagittarius transits, with speedy Mercury leading the way. Sagittarius is astrology's mutable fire sign. It is also the home of magnanimous Jupiter, and is thus associated with the planet's largess and inexhaustible exuberance. That Jupiter will begin moving forward as the Sag solar and lunar cycles get underway is another indication that fresh starts are possible. After 2022's unusually arduous Scorpio cycle, these first inklings from hopeful Sag will find a receptive audience. But, Jupiter's excess and propensity for gambling can quickly become too much of a good thing. Distinguishing hope from hopium will be critical.

November 8th's lunar eclipse is shaping up to be a doozy. The groundwork will be laid on Monday when the Moon moves into Taurus, the sign it will be in during the eclipse and Venus squares Saturn. As the eclipse takes place on Tuesday, Mercury will conjoin the Scorpio Sun before opposing disruptive Uranus. The lunar nodes will add more tension to the Scorpio Taurus axis, and from fixed Aquarius, Saturn will form a tight square to everything in Taurus and Scorpio. Like aftershocks following a large earthquake, reverberations from Tuesday's action will continue for a few days. On the 9th the Sun will oppose Uranus before Mercury squares Saturn, and on the 11th, the Sun will square Saturn. In short, it's crunch time.

The next two weeks have no shortage of significant astrological events. Those include a solar eclipse, Jupiter's re-entrance into Pisces, and the start of a Mars retrograde. Also, Mercury will move into Scorpio on October 29th. All of that happens in the buildup to November 8th's Lunar eclipse. With so much taking place, getting caught up in the unfolding planetary drama would be easy. But what might be more helpful is taking a look at where everything will land.

Astrology's earth signs are where ideas meet the physical dimension. Over the next few weeks, several planetary meetings will take place in earth signs. Simultaneously Mercury and Venus are taking part in an intricate and elegant dance involving the earth and air elements. In so doing, they're creating a biofeedback loop between the intellect and matter. Additionally, Mercury's retrograde status is affording everyone an opportunity to rethink and refine processes. On October 2nd Mercury will station and go direct. Pluto will follow suit on October 8th, the day before a full Moon in enterprising Aries.

Mercury retrogrades are typically associated with review periods. Interestingly enough, the incoming one will be surrounded by several repeating aspects. Taken as a whole, the time to reconsider, revaluate and reinvent is at hand. Mercury's backwards trek begins on September 9th, when the planet of technology and communication will be at 8 degrees of Libra. That places Mercury at odds with expansive Jupiter, also currently retrograde. The two form exact oppositions on September 2nd and 18th, so prior to and during Mercury's retrograde. Enthusiastic, optimistic Jupiter has a tendency to over-promise. In impetuous Aries, its exuberance can hardly be contained. Exacerbating impulsiveness, Mars, the ruler of Aries, has recently arrived into talkative, ungrounded Gemini. In the early degrees of the mutable air sign, Mars has only egged Jupiter on.

On August 20th Mars began its seven-month journey through Gemini. With such a bold, assertive planet moving into the sign of communication and media, the astrology world was abuzz about the potentials of the transit. On the same day, Mercury stealthily entered the shadow zone of its upcoming retrograde at 24° Virgo 12′. On September 3rd, Mars will follow suit and cross the shadow point of its forthcoming retrograde at 8° Gemini 08′. Gemini is of course one of Mercury's two domiciles, the other being Virgo where it is presently. So while Mars may be garnering a lot of attention, Mercury's influence is apparent and important.

There is no getting around the fact that this year's Leo Sun cycle is loaded with challenging aspects. Leo is astrology's fixed fire sign, and this year the lion will be displaying its more ferocious side. When the Sun, Mercury and Venus move through, they will encounter difficulties with Mars, Saturn and Uranus. Beyond battles between the more cheerful planets, like the Sun and Venus, and the malefics, Mars and Saturn, these confrontations will take place on the unyielding fixed sign faults.