Your Cosmic Forecast: January 2021
2022 has arrived, and it’s looking full of thresholds to cross, steep hills to clammer up, and hanging cliffs to stare down and reckon with. We will likely meet many versions of endings this year, and losses that will leave us more certain of what’s essential to carry on with.
January sets us up on a trajectory of reflection, and is generally more suited toward introspection than initiation. We start the month out with Venus still retrograde in Capricorn, and Mercury about to join the retrograde ranks mid-month. There’s a new moon in Capricorn right on the cusp of the new year, that invites us to sink in and listen to our tired and weary bodies begging for rest and slower movement amidst the mounting chaos of another pandemic winter (and exponentially growing rates of viral spread).
Jupiter has moved into Pisces where he will stay for the next four months, bringing a boost of faith, generosity, and greater ease with accepting what we can’t control. That said, this Capricorn season can feel a little dark and barren, as we wrestle to make sense of uncertainty while trying to tell ourselves the worst is behind us.
I think of this time of year as the period when we confront ourselves in our most raw and exposed form. Like the barren trees around us, we’re aching for warmth, comfort, and security against the structural limitations that keep life from feeling like a soft blanket we can safely wrap ourselves in. We confront the harsh realities of life, the neutrality that winter brings, and the necessary tapering of excess. We focus on what’s essential to survive right now.
That said, try not to put too much productive pressure on yourself for most of this month. Anything you rush to finish now will likely need to be re-visited and possibly even re-done.
Without further adieu, here’s a detailed breakdown of what the skies have in store this January:
Saturday, January 1st
Sun in Capricorn trines Uranus in Taurus. The first day of 2022 hits us like a beam of light—a spurious insight coming through, a candle of liberating truth lit by chaos. We’re feeling encouraged to look ahead, to see through what currently looks unseeable. Be open to plans changing and time rearranging itself right now.
Sunday, January 2nd
Mercury enters Aquarius, and there’s a New Moon in Capricorn. As Mercury changes signs, so does our thinking pattern and communication style. The vibe gets heady, and we begin craving more space around our thoughts. We’re being encouraged to re-examine certain ideas we’ve been holding onto, and open to receiving a fresh take on them. Mercury will station retrograde in less than two weeks, so whatever starts coming up now will surely be revisited. We also have a New Moon in Capricorn, pressing on us to consider what we can pare down and how we can conserve our energy at this time.
Monday, January 3rd
Jupiter squares the nodes. There’s a sense of tension mounting, chaos spilling, and feelings building as the nodes square off before they shift signs. There is both pressure to release what keeps you trapped in dogma and getting it “right”, and pressure to move forward with what expands your curiosity to remember you’re here to keep learning.
Tuesday, January 4th
Venus sextiles Neptune. Today is full of dreamy and creative vibes where focus may not come as easily as daydreaming does. It could be a day of pining for something or someone that currently feels out of reach, or softening into an experience of pleasure you’re yearning to experience. Let yourself get carried away a little.
Sunday, January 8th
Venus retrograde cazimi in Capricorn. Today Venus conjoins the Sun where she receives insights and has poignant encounters with who and what we’ve been re-examining our intimacy and relationships with. This is a powerful time to reflect on whatever Venus’s retrograde has been encouraging you to restructure and re-prioritize so far.
Monday, January 10th
The Sun in Capricorn sextiles Neptune in Pisces, and Mars in Sagittarius squares Neptune in Pisces. Today comes with a good dose of delirium. Creativity is supported, but seeing things as they are and taking the most appropriate action isn’t. We may find ourselves feeling frustrated with clarity being hard to access when we need it, or because something we insist on making happen is having trouble forging its way through the fog.
Wednesday, January 12th
Mercury in Aquarius squares Uranus in Taurus. Just before Mercury stations retrograde, they square Uranus for a flash of insight that is sure to get re-visited in the next few weeks. Whatever seems to come from out of nowhere—whatever breakthrough you have today—will likely be re-examined in more depth in the coming weeks.
Friday, January 14th
Mercury stations retrograde in Aquarius and the next few weeks of Mercury retrograde begin! Like I mention in a post I wrote on Mercury retrograde, this is not only a time for logistical mayhem, but also an opportunity to free your mind of conditioning that isn’t serving yours or our collective way forward. Wherever you have Aquarius in your chart will be the sphere of life that gets re-thought, re-considered, and re-invented. Try not to sign any binding contracts in January and into early February—leave room for details to get re-arranged.
Sunday, January 16th
The Sun in Capricorn conjoins Pluto in Capricorn. Today invokes a bit of intensity, and possibly a bit of probing. Shadows can surface, and deep-seated fears may bubble up. We’re also likely confronting collective realities that are difficult to ignore or look away from.
As much as I try to keep these forecasts relevant, it’s likely you may not experience these transits in the same way I write about them. This is because you have your own chart that’s being uniquely aspected all of the time.
Capricorn season typically brings reflection and introspection on what’s transpired over the past year, and what you could improve moving into the next one. Now is a great time to gain some retrospective on what you’ve experienced and learned. An astrology reading might be one of the best tools for this kind of reflection, and it makes for a wonderful gift for a reflective loved one :)
I still have a few spots left for readings for the end of this year. Together, we’ll locate where you are after everything that’s transpired in 2021, translate what’s been at play in the sky, and allocate resources for you to move into your next year with clarity and purpose while staying firmly rooted in your power.
You can book a session with me here.
Ilana is local to Charlottesville and studies and practices a blend of modern and traditional Western astrology. She sees astrology as a tool for self-knowledge, healing, and liberation. She offers one-on-one consultations to help you deepen your relationship with the cosmos and integrate your inner and outer worlds.
