The NEW Part of the New Year

RESOLUTIONS STRONGER AFTER MID-MONTH

Yes, Mercury Retrograde has been wreaking havoc with the new year thus far. So much whako stuff in the news prompted MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow to admit on her show Thursday, January 7 that she’s starting to become a believer. Of course, I emailed her right away to share my article on Mercury Retrograde!

Relief is in sight! Mercury Retrograde ends January 15 at 11:53 am (EST), just a few hours after the New Moon at 2:12 am (EST). It takes a few days for Mercury to get rolling in forward motion again, but at least we’ll know the worst of the crazy mix-ups are behind us and the rest is clean up. The New Moon is a very powerful one, an Eclipse, bringing a strong push to go in a better direction. New Year’s Resolutions will have a better chance for success if you make them (or re-affirm them) following this New Moon and Mercury’s return to Direct motion.

Here’s an excerpt from my Janet’s Plan-its 2010 Celestial Planner about this Eclipse [with additional notations in brackets]:

An ordinary New Moon signals a time for new activities. A Solar Eclipse New Moon marks a period for major undertakings. If the degree where it occurs [25 Capricorn] touches your chart, you’re in for a big event in your life. The influences featured at a Solar Eclipse are felt strongly over the coming four weeks (the lunar cycle that the eclipse begins) and to a lesser degree until the next Solar Eclipse, in this case on July 11, 2010. The Sun and Moon are conjunct to Venus at this eclipse, highlighting the importance of finances and relationships. Because they are in Capricorn, commitment and contracts are key issues, as are boundaries and budgets, all of which are made more important by the current mutual reception between Venus and Saturn [meaning they’re in the signs each other rules, sharing their energies back and forth]. The Sun, Moon and Venus are semisextile Neptune, which weakens the glue that binds people unless the bonds are spiritual or helping in nature, and might indicate a drain on bank accounts. The Capricorn threesome is sextile Uranus, leaning us away from the conformity that Capricorn favors, making us want breathing room in relationships. Uranus and Neptune aren’t exactly semisextile, but close to it [exact April 13 – a time around which some people will have inspired visions or unusual dreams, and most of us will be more psychically attuned than ordinarily] and their mutual reception continues [since 2003, ending in 2011]. These five heavenly bodies are interwoven in a mostly positive blend of fantasy and reality about love or money matters. This eclipse occurs near the North Node, giving us a boost to work toward achieving positive Capricorn qualities like ambition, accountability and proficiency.

If many of these terms are foreign to you, you can just focus on the English interpretations. Or to understand the astrology better, see my Astrologer’s Apprentice Cheat Sheet, which is a free download from my website. This is a great, compact tool to have handy when reading about astrology. You can also do some studying in my free Study Booth.

Readers of my calendar are invited to participate in my conference call classes to learn how to use the planner in conjunction with their personal astrological charts. Charting A Heavenly Year is offered twice this month, on Saturday January 16 and Saturday January 30, each at 10:00 am (EST). When you register for $25, you’ll receive handouts and your personal transit list. Some clients prefer an individual reading with Janet for their 2010 forecast. Either way, here’s to a great 2010 for YOU!