New Moon in Cancer

This is today, the 2nd July, at about 8:15 pm GMT.

The sun and moon are close to the north node in Cancer, meaning this is a solar eclipse - a more intense than usual new beginning in the Cancerian realm of emotions, roots, family stuff, your sense of home. Your inner, emotional life should be the focus for the next month, along with your relationships with family and with what constitutes "home" to you.

Saturn and Pluto are still conjunct at the south node, which means plenty of stuff you don't want to look at will be coming up from the depths. You might as well just look at it. Maybe it isn't trying to hurt you this time - maybe it was never trying to hurt you. Just to be seen.

We have a Mercury retrograde this month, running from the 7th July till the 31st. The usual Mercury retrograde cautions re. travel difficulties, appliance failures and miscommunication apply. The risk of these kinds of difficulties is currently heightened as Mercury is conjunct Mars in Leo and squaring Uranus. Sudden accidents are more likely at this time - be careful driving and around machinery. And try not to let your ego run your mouth, there's just too much firepower here and people will get hurt.

Big mental breakthroughs are also possible at this time. With the sun and moon conjunct the north node in Cancer, something new is coming into the world, and you should go to meet it.

And with Saturn and Pluto on the south node, something old has reached the end of the line. Whatever form this takes in your life, something might be grinding on, persistent as hell - but you know in your heart it's done for.

Like this blog, which I've kept going out of habit, despite wanting to stop writing it for a few months now. I began it exactly six years ago, and it's been an interesting discipline and sometimes a lot of fun! But it's time to stop.

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read my astrological meanderings - I hope they've been of use to you. I will remain available for chart, I Ching and tarot readings at clock.arrietty@gmail.com.

New Moon in Gemini

Image credit: Walter Crane, "Four Winds"

This is tomorrow, the 3rd June, at about 11 am GMT.

Gemini is light of foot and thought, quick, communicative, sociable, easily bored. New moons represent new beginnings and this new moon is not heavily aspected by anything else in the sky, so we're looking at some pure Gemini here. Expect a lot of frenetic activity and chat, and multiple options opening up in some area of your life.

As the sun and moon are widely squaring Neptune, these new options may turn out to be flash-in-the-pan stuff – mirages with little basis in reality, or outright deceptions. So try to keep your head screwed on amidst all the flux and activity.

At the same time we have Venus in Taurus beneficially aspecting the Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn, which means there are things of solid value in your life that you can rely on for security and stability. Real assets and real relationships, real commitments. These things are weighty. If the Gemini stuff is like a sailboat responsive to every breeze and change in the weather, the Venus-Saturn-Pluto stuff is a very heavy and dependable anchor that will keep it from drifting off course.

Another way of describing this: despite multiple narratives and desperate spin and cleverly constructed falsehood, the bedrock reality will not be denied. This especially regards love and money scenarios – the truth will be apparent if you care to look at it.

Of course you can choose to engage in willful self-delusion if that's your thing, but we are headed for a difficult reckoning, like it or not. Mars in Cancer is in opposition to the Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn, and this is happening across the north and south nodes of the moon. Oppositions play out interpersonally, and this one denotes some very dark and brutal karmic drama – especially involving family.

Mercury in Cancer is going to be part of this opposition at the full moon in Sagittarius on the 17th June, and holy crap. This looks like a set-up for verbal and mental and emotional and physical violence. Again, the emphasis here is on family stuff – but even if you manage to avoid your crazy family at this time, some kind of drama is likely to land at your door. Please be careful, avoid angry people, and try to keep calm. (Strenuous physical exercise can help if you find yourself wanting to kill someone.)

To sum up: light – even frivolous – as this new moon in Gemini may feel, we are not really in the silly season this month. It reminds me of the fun episode of Game of Thrones before the big battle with the ice zombies – everybody's telling stories and partying and singing songs, meanwhile some extra heavy shit is about to go down.

That is not meant to scare you – hopefully you won't be fighting undead ice zombies or whatever their metaphorical equivalent is. But the month ahead looks difficult and fairly gut-wrenching, and I think things are going to start feeling a lot heavier and darker.

I think the key to getting through this time is knowing what your anchor is: what and who you can really depend on, what your real assets and values are, what grounds you and lends you mental and emotional stability. If you stay anchored in what's solid and real, hopefully you can avoid being blown off course this month.

Making moves to protect your assets is probably also a good idea at this time. At the very least, avoid risky gambles.

Full Moon in Scorpio

Yumiko Kayukawa

This is tonight, the 18th May, around 10 pm GMT.

I think it looks very calm and profound and powerful. Quiet, terse communication can cut to the heart of a situation at this time - few words are needed, but those words will go deep. Issues of love, money and values are highlighted, and surprising shifts in our thinking around these issues are likely.

Permanent endings of associations that no longer fit our values are also likely - full moons signify culminations and endings, and Scorpio is extreme, all-or-nothing. Also, Venus is conjunct Uranus in Taurus, making for a lot of abrupt change in relationship and money matters.

Please keep in mind, these endings are most likely necessary and healthy. If a situation is pathological, it has to be transformed, and if it can't be transformed it must be amputated from your life. It's that black-or-white. Trust your gut – you will know on a bodily level what's healthy / viable vs what's defunct / toxic, and you'll know what to do about it.

Sudden new beginnings are also likely with Venus conjunct Uranus – don't be surprised if something very new and strange starts looking attractive to you, or if things that never interested you before suddenly catch your eye.

New Moon in Taurus

This is tonight, the 4th May, around 11:45 pm.

There are two poles to this new moon in Taurus. On the one hand, we have deep emotional security, stability and comfort – a bodily kind of certainty. This is courtesy of beneficial aspects between the new moon and Saturn conjunct Pluto in Capricorn, Neptune in Pisces and the north node in Cancer. Whatever new start you're making now, know that it's solid and real.

On the other hand, we have mental agitation, disruption and a lot of very ugly stuff surfacing around money and relationships – the opposite of comfortable. I won't go into all the details because I don't have time, but it's a jangled, neuron frazzling, unsettled sky.

So what does it all mean? Uranus in Taurus means the stable structures of our lives are being disrupted in all kinds of ways, and Saturn and Pluto on the south node mean we are being forced to look at our toxic old programming. It's not supposed to be a comfortable time, and obviously our minds are reeling.

Despite all this, it looks like there's a deep well of internal calm and quiet to draw upon, even in the midst of jittery, confused chaos. Don't believe your mind and the stories it spins, or the stories other people spin - that stuff is more unreliable than usual at this time. But you can believe in your bodily instincts - you know what's true and what's good for you deep down, outside of all the mental chatter. And you also know what to stay away from.

If you're finding the jangled nerves and upheaval hard to deal with, you can do something soothing for yourself at this Taurus new moon. Take a bath, eat nice food, pet a cat, whatever. Things are probably not as bad as they might seem, but even if they are, there's comfort to be found.

The sky will be quieting down ahead of the full moon in Scorpio, so the mental overload stuff is temporary. It's in play for at least another week though. Mercury will conjunct Uranus in Taurus over the next few days, so mental breakthroughs are possible And the full moon looks very positive - calm, profound and transformative, especially re. love and money. I'll write about it closer to the time.

Full Moon in Libra

This is exact today, the 19th April, at about noon.

It's our second full moon in Libra this year. The last was a month ago at 0 degrees of the sign, and this one is at 29 degrees, the very last degree. And between these bookending full moons in the sign of “we”, we've had a zinger of a new moon in Aries, the sign of “me”.

“Me vs we” is the sort of tension we've been dealing with for the past month, and this full moon is a culmination of that tension. The harmony-seeking, relationship-oriented Libra moon opposes the sun in go-it-alone Aries, and the sun is also conjunct Uranus in Taurus, an influence for change and revolution.

So basically weare looking at this drive to disrupt everything that binds us and bust loose, contrasted with the need to maintain important relationships. Some old associations will be ending abruptly about now, and new ones will be springing to life just as abruptly. Some relationships will require an injection of raw honesty in order to survive, but some may not be able to survive it. The ones that do survive will be the ones that are able to adapt to radical change.

How do you maintain a relationship when all your values around it have changed and you can't just go through the same old motions anymore? What would it mean to be truly authentic, to say what you feel and ask for what you want? Would it be the end of the relationship or a new start? These are the sort of issues likely to come up.

Try to be aware of what you're projecting onto the other and to own your own anger and desire – with Libra there is often a drive to “make nice”, at the expense of authenticity, and projection can be used as a mechanism for deflecting unpleasant emotions. That's not what we want to be doing here – you have to own your bullshit.

And there's plenty of it! Saturn and Pluto are 3 degrees apart on the south node in Capricorn, meaning old issues around authority, boundaries and respect are likely to be surfacing in your life. These will directly feed into any relationship issues you may be experiencing. There are deep psychological patterns and belief systems underlying the kinds of interpersonal relationships we get into, and these will be coming up for examination at this time. Don't try to brush them back under the rug – look at them. What assumptions and beliefs got you into the mess you're currently in, and do they hold up under scrutiny?

Watch what you say – Mercury is in Aries and conjunct Chiron, and Jupiter is sending a square from Sagittarius. Meaning words can be very wounding at this time and the repercussions of hurtful speech may be larger than intended. If you want to maintain harmony in your relationships, some tact will be required! There is an imperative for brutal honesty, but sometimes it's only necessary to be brutally honest with yourself.

On the other hand, if you want to end a relationship, it will be easy to do so using this cutting honesty. But there are ripple effects to this kind of thing that extend beyond the immediate relationship – most relationships don't exist in isolation, they are part of a network. Be mindful of those ripple effects.

New Moon in Aries

This is tomorrow morning, the 5th April, around 10:15 am GMT.

A new moon symbolizes a new start, and Aries is the first sign of the zodiac, all about the self in its rawness and immediacy. It is ruled by Mars, planet of desire, drive and aggression.

So basically this is a great time to get serious about who you authentically are (outside of social niceties) and what you really want. And to get moving toward it.

Blockages and limitations are present, though. The sun and moon in Aries are squaring Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn, and it may feel like what you want will require the labours of Hercules  to achieve, or a miracle. But Aries is warrior energy, so you just have to keep on going and keep on fighting. It's a “hero's journey” kind of scenario – and you don't get to be a hero by running from what scares you, or focusing only on what's easy and makes you feel good, or refusing to acknowledge the summons to change your life.

Our clusterfuck of a Mercury retrograde is over as of the 29th March, thank goodness. Mercury is still conjunct Neptune in Pisces, which means your brain may still be a bit underwater - but that conjunction (involving Venus in Pisces as well) is beneficially aspecting Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn. All this speaks of a profound spiritual dimension to this new moon – the “call to adventure” in your hero's journey may come as a summons from your deepest, truest self. Trust your intuition to guide you in the right direction, and pay special attention to your dreams at this time – they are certain to contain important messages for you. These messages won't be the kind that require much analysis, as you'll understand the meaning in your bones. If you're analyzing and second-guessing and worrying over what they mean (quite likely with Mars in frenetic Gemini), you're on the wrong track.

Relationships figure heavily this month despite the “me first” emphasis of Aries. This is to be expected with Uranus in Taurus shaking up our values around relationships. Our sense of the inauthenticity of certain social arrangements is likely to be heightened. There may be an urge to break away and go it alone.

And then as if to drive this relationship emphasis home, we get a second full moon in Libra, sign of relationships. This is on the 19th April and it will underscore the importance but also the difficulty of relationships; the need to maintain personal autonomy, authenticity and space within them. It could be a real “come here / leave me alone” vibe. Or remain vs. no deal, if you're following the endlessly crazy Brexit. Ultimately it looks like some balance has to be found between being true to ourselves and maintaining our important relationships (however annoying they may be). No one can go it entirely alone.

Full Moon in Libra

See here

This is tonight, the 21st March, at about 1:45 am GMT.

It's a supermoon and a pretty big deal, as it coincides nearly exactly with the spring equinox.

The equinox happens as the sun moves from the end of Pisces into 0 degrees Aries. This is the kickoff point of the whole zodiac, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere - so it's pretty intense. The symbolism is of rebirth. In this case, the sun is also conjunct Chiron in early Aries, which is about an unhealable wound to the sense of self. So it's kind of an existentially fraught rebirth – who are you, going forward? It's not who you've been, that's for sure.

Also, an equinox is a balance point between the hours of light and dark, the turning-point where the sun returns to the northern hemisphere and retreats from the southern. And few hours after the equinox, we have the moon hitting 0 degrees Libra, the sign of the scales.

Libra is rational and relationship-oriented, seeking justice and harmony between different viewpoints. As full moons symbolise culminations or endings, the symbolism here is of setting something decisively to rights, or finally deciding.

Would that it were so simple! We also have Mars and Venus, the rulers of Aries and Libra, squaring each other from fixed signs, so you can expect a bit of a standoff. And as Mercury is retrograde in Pisces and conjunct Neptune, it will be a confused, obfuscatory head-fuck of a standoff.

Still, something very important is being decided even if the lineaments of that decision are as yet unclear. I guess it's fitting that as I type this, the UK is asking the EU for an extension to Brexit, their national existential crisis. It's meant to happen in 9 days though there is still no plan in place for how, because the UK parliament is in nervous breakdown mode. And the EU is mulling over how to be fair to the UK without leaving the door open for further destabilisation and chaos. It fits the symbolism of this full moon pretty well.

In your life, expect to see plenty of tension around relationships especially – but not the usual kind. This is some breakaway stuff, with red lines being trashed and new lines being drawn, or associations ended altogether because people's values have suddenly changed completely. Uranus is in Venus-ruled Taurus, and Venus is in Uranus-ruled Aquarius – this is called a mutual reception and means these planets are working together. And what they are working for is the disruption, upending and re-balancing of old patterns of relationships. So if you think you can ride the turbulence out by sticking to your old patterns and habits, you're quite wrong - radical change and accountability are what's called for. And once you're “woke”, you can't go back to sleep. We are collectively leaving Neverland.

This is especially true with Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn conjunct the south node, laying bare the corruption underlying structures we took for granted.

The way through the turbulence at this time is via the moon in Libra: moral clarity, fairness and rationality. Don't get swamped by your sense of personal grievance. Think about what's best in the grand scheme of things, not what's only best for you. Have faith that what's best in the largest possible sense will turn out to be what's best for you personally, though it may be hard to see how at this time.

New Moon in Pisces

This is the 6th March, around 4 pm GMT.

The sun and moon will be tightly conjunct Neptune in Pisces. Neptune rules the sign, so this is an extra-heavy dose of Pisces. Beautiful, dreamy, magical, mystical Pisces – which has a shadow-side that is all about addiction, delusion, deception and disappointment.

Here is Kermit the Frog singing a Pisces theme song:

“Have you been half asleep, and have you heard voices? I've heard them calling my name. Is this the sweet sound that lured the young sailors? The voice might be one and the same.” Yes, Kermit you dear little frog, you're singing wistfully about the mythical sirens: half-human monster birds who lured sailors to shipwreck so they could tear them apart and eat them.

And there you have Pisces in a nutshell. At best, this sign is about the highest spirituality, transcendent art, dissolution of the self. At worst, it tries to blur out the difficulty and harshness of life with self-deceiving songs about rainbows – or with fairytale romance, victim-saviour fantasies, drink, drugs – whatever works. Except nothing works permanently. Every mechanism to escape reality only magnifies the harshness of that reality when the inevitable reckoning comes.

So I always advocate caution when approaching Pisces-heavy skies like this one. I don't mean to be a downer, but this is a matter of simple self-preservation. Whenever you hear someone (or yourself) gushing about how perfect and fantastic and amazing and gorgeous something is, that is a signal to make sure your bullshit detector is switched on. Remember if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Especially under a sky like this.

For this new moon, fortunately, the sun, moon and Neptune are beneficially aspecting Saturn in Capricorn, which should hopefully provide some grounding in reality, and the ability to manifest your dreams. Still, it's unlikely to be an easy month. We have Mercury stationing retrograde in Pisces the day before the new moon (5th March). Mercury retrogrades are always frustrating, full of travel and communication glitches. But in this case, Mercury is retrograding through Pisces, a sign he doesn't function well in when he's moving direct, let alone retrograde. Expect plenty of confusion, obfuscation and head-fuckery, and be skeptical about the information you're given. Fake news will abound. Also be careful around drink and drugs. Things are going to get pretty weird, and boundary-dissolving substances will magnify that weirdness and any potential unpleasantness as well. They certainly won't help. (As to what will help: art, spiritual work, and finding something larger than the demands of your ego to serve.)

Uranus also re-enters Taurus for the long haul on the same day as the new moon, and this is a biggie. Expect big shifts – earthquakes really – in love and money scenarios, and to your values. What you thought was worthwhile yesterday may abruptly not mean a damn to you tomorrow, and what you didn't like might suddenly seem attractive. Sudden reversals of fortune are also likely. And the physical structures and routines of our existence – the ground under our feet – is going to be much more prone to sudden ruptures and upheavals. This is something to get used to for the next 7 years roughly. If you think the weather's been weird lately, you ain't seen nothing yet.

You put it all together and it looks like some real WTFuckery will be going down this month. It's the start of something big, but there's no telling what it is as yet! Major, groundbreaking changes will be surrounded by a fog of confusion, misinformation and outright delusion. This fog should clear a bit around the spring equinox on the 21st March, lit up by a full moon in the rational and fairness-seeking sign of Libra.

But overall, it's going to be weird. Try to keep your head firmly screwed on. To quote Kermit: "rainbows are visions, but only illusions". They are only a trick of the light, there is nothing real at the end of them. Be careful you're not chasing illusion instead of engaging with reality.

Full Moon in Virgo

This is exact later today, the 19th February, just before 4 pm GMT.

The moon and sun will be at 0 degrees of Virgo and Pisces, respectively. 0 degrees of any sign is very concentrated and potent energy. In addition, the rulers of Virgo and Pisces – Mercury and Neptune – are nearly exactly conjunct in Pisces at this time.

It's a beneficial melding of Virgo and Pisces themes. Virgo is about cleanliness, order, health, routine and painstaking attention to detail, and Pisces is about spirituality and ego loss. So under this full moon we should be trying to find the holiness in the everyday – ordinary tasks like washing the dishes and taking out the garbage are inherently spiritual. Instead of hating and avoiding these everyday chores, you can approach them with attention, care and mindfulness. Getting your external house in order is a prerequisite to making internal spiritual progress – these things aren't separate.

There's a very transformational vibe to this full moon -- recall that we are still under the influence of the new moon in Aquarius two weeks ago, which was all about breaking free. It's no accident that Marie Kondo's show about decluttering is one of the most-watched things on Netflix at this time, and it fits the symbolism of this full moon precisely.

Now is a perfect time for internal or external spring cleaning and you can make great progress in whatever you set out to do. The full moon is beneficially aspecting Mars and Uranus, which are conjunct. This is like having some rocket fuel behind you, and as Mars is in Taurus, it's a slow and steady burn. Once you get started, you can carry through to the end and achieve a transformation, however enormous the task looks at the beginning. Just start.

We also have Venus, Saturn and Pluto conjunct in Capricorn at this time, which is about solid value in love and money matters. It's not an easy or feel-good influence, but it's definitely something you can use. All this Capricorn can be pretty ruthless about weeding out what is not essential, be it a possession, a situation, a habit or a relationship. Focus on keeping and maintaining only what supports your constructive growth. Remove your energy from what you know to be toxic or stagnant, and if that means allowing certain relationships to die, so be it.

At this full moon, it's important to remember that the motto of the Virgo-Pisces axis is “serve or suffer” - both signs need to serve something larger than the ego or they're prey to a lot of self-involved angst. With Virgo, the angst takes the form of endless worrying and nitpicking; with Pisces it's emotional turmoil and addiction. The way out of this angst is to do something practical and/or to help someone else. It's a pretty foolproof formula.

We are heading into some heavy Pisces influence over the next month, so please keep this formula in mind. Also, it's a good idea to avoid boundary-dissolving substances such as drugs, alcohol and fairy-tale romance. We'll have a new moon in Pisces on the 6th of March, with Uranus re-entering Taurus on the same day for extra weirdness. We'll also have a Mercury retrograde in Pisces beginning the day before the new moon, and running till the end of March. The Mercury retrograde will end on the 28th March, with Mercury exactly conjunct Neptune as he is now.

I think you put it all together and March looks like a real head-melting scenario, with a lot of weirdness going down around Mercury themes especially (that's thought, communication, travel, vehicles, appliances, trade, infrastructure, Brexit talks, etc). So the more you can get things streamlined, clear and functional at this time, the better prepared you'll be for the topsy-turvy weirdness ahead.

New Moon in Aquarius

This is tonight, the 4th February, at about 9 pm GMT.

The sun, moon and Mercury are conjunct in Aquarius, a sign which is about progressive ideals, group dynamics and lightning cognitive breakthroughs. It's an oddball, brilliant, electrical sign, and this new moon is an oddball, brilliant, electrical new beginning. Time to get out your freak flag and wave it with pride - and connect with your fellow oddballs.

This new moon builds on the theme of last month's lunar eclipse in Leo in that it's all about being true to yourself, expressing yourself, and doing your own thing, regardless of how weird it may look to the collective. Odds are, it won't look so weird at all - these are freaky times, and we are all freaks at heart. You may actually find it easier to connect with others these days on the grounds of your common freakiness.

The new moon has some high-powered backup via beneficial aspects from Mars in Aries and Jupiter in Sagittarius, both planets in their home signs. Mars is also conjunct rebel planet Uranus, the ruler of Aquarius, hence dispositor of the new moon. And Uranus is at the end degrees of Aries, where it's all about being true to yourself.

You put it all together, and it's clear as day: this is a time for breaking free! You'll have physical energy (Mars) and enthusiasm (Jupiter) at your disposal, as well as the mental clarity and emotional detachment of Aquarius.

If you're unable to break free of something that's keeping you stuck at this time, you can blame it on your ego, your stubbornness and your dogged desire to stay stuck. You certainly can't blame it on the sky, because this sky promotes freedom. It wants for you to get unstuck and it will do everything it can to help you out in this.Use it for all it's worth.

Lunar Eclipse in Leo

This is early tomorrow morning, the 21st January, exact at 5:12 am GMT.

It's a total eclipse and a supermoon, meaning the moon is at a near point in her orbit and will appear larger than usual.

Even without all that though, it'd be super intense. The moon is at 0 degrees Leo, and facing off against the sun at 0 degrees Aquarius. Uranus in Aries is squaring these poles tightly. This is a fixed t-square – a tense and uncomfortable aspect pattern, where change is demanded and yet resisted fiercely. You can expect the unexpected, and crazy drama is likely – you're probably seeing it already. People are going to be stubborn as hell even when they're heading in the exact wrong direction, and explosively angry when challenged. The Brexit mess and the American government shutdown are perfect examples of the energy: big attention-seeking egos (Leo) vs. the future of the collective  (Aquarius), with a Molotov cocktail of inflammatory anger and rebellion (Uranus in Aries) thrown into the mix, and no plausible way out because no one is willing to give an inch.

So I'm aware all that doesn't sound so great. But wait, there's more! Mars in his home sign of Aries (where he can be extra aggro and impatient, raring to go) is exactly squaring Saturn in his home sign of Capricorn (where reality is cold, hard and inflexible). Mars square Saturn is not a nice aspect. It's often compared to driving with the brakes on – intense forward momentum hitting a wall, leading to vicious frustration and rage. It's associated with cruelty.

So that definitely doesn't sound so great. You put together the fixed t-square and Mars square Saturn, and it's not the most pleasant picture that's emerging. It's quite harsh - a battle of egos vs. each other and more importantly, vs. a harsh reality that cannot be evaded indefinitely.

But we do have something soothing and lovely in the form of Venus conjunct Jupiter in Sagittarius. Jupiter, like Mars and Saturn, is in his home sign (as is Neptune). That alone is helpful – there's a lot of cosmic backup right now with all these planets in their home signs. But Venus conjunct Jupiter is especially lucky, as these are the two benefic planets coming together. So it's a bright, hopeful prospect, especially for relationship and money matters. The conjunction is squaring Neptune, meaning that hopeful prospect may be utterly delusive, but still – it's nice to have, considering everything else.

The way out of the impasse we face at this eclipse is suggested by the north node in Cancer, disposited by the moon in Leo: get in touch with your heart and your feelings. Not your feelings of outrage, wounded ego and righteous indignation – we've all had quite enough of that stuff, it won't get us anywhere. But your feelings of love and compassion and generosity. Chiron in Pisces also sends beneficial aspects to the eclipse, meaning there is a big existential woundedness underlying all the fixed, opposing positions and gridlock – the deep, impersonal pain of Being. If you can get in touch with that, you might just be able to see your opponent as no different to yourself deep down. It's a long shot, but there doesn't seem to be any other way out.

Rhetoric and analysis and ideology are not going to help – these are functions of the south node in Aquarius, meaning they'll come easy, but they're not what's called for. Cathartic tears, kindness and a change of heart are what's called for.

Also creative self-expression  - being fully authentic to yourself, no matter how zany it seems to the collective. It's great for artists, so if you can make art with it, you're using it well. The wierder the better.

New Moon Eclipse in Capricorn

This is on the 6th January 2019, 1:30 am GMT.

So here we are the first new moon of 2019, and it's an eclipse, which means it's a supercharged new beginning. We also had Mars changing signs on New Year's Eve, from Pisces to 0 degrees Aries, the “Aries point” or birthplace of the whole zodiac. So all signs point to 2019 being a doozy of a year. It's certainly starting off with a lot of heavy, dramatic symbolism.

This solar eclipse is heavy and dramatic for sure – but in a very cold, stark way. It's like being stuck between a rock and a hard place: the sun and moon are wedged between Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn. Saturn is about hardship and karma and Pluto is about death, depth psychology and transformation – so neither of these are fun planets. They are especially not fun in Capricorn, a grimly realistic sign. We also have thought-and-communication planet Mercury in Capricorn, meaning communication will be terse and factual.

So all in all, it's a lot of Capricorn, and Capricorn is about structure, authority, rules and slow, dogged achievement. The Neptune-fueled excesses of the holiday season are over, and we're back on planet Earth. It should feel sobering and real and grounded - depressing even. There isn't a lot of fun to be had here. Instead, there are responsibilities to be attended to and hard realities to be faced.

Shirking your duties / trying to avoid your demons is inadvisable here – Saturn and Pluto reward focus, commitment and going deep.  They do not look kindly on escapism and self-delusion, and if that's what you've been doing, you can expect this eclipse to feel harsh: a stark, painful wake-up call. Time to grow the hell up.

This energy is not a fleeting influence. The eclipse is a lead-up to the big event of next year, when Saturn and Pluto will be exactly conjunct in Capricorn. They will be approaching that conjunction all this year, so this harsh, hardcore energy is something we should all get used to working with.

With Saturn and Capricorn, you get back what you've put in. And with Pluto involved, this is so to an extreme degree, and it applies to the psychological work you do as well as to your outward life. Achievement and progress come from hard work, there will be no magical windfalls here.

So whatever you're starting this new year, commit yourself to it as much as you can and devote serious time and effort to it. The payoff for hard work and seriousness is great under this sky. The payback for frivolity and slacking is also great.

This eclipse is also defined by Uranus stationing direct later on the same day. What this means is it's a big shift in tone – an upheaval really. Change is afoot, and the structure of your life is going to be altered, for good or ill. And you might as well get with the program.

It's not all harsh drill-sergeant stuff though: we also have a beautiful grand water trine in effect between Venus in Scorpio, Chiron in Pisces and the north node in Cancer. This is about healing of psychic wounds via emotional honesty and compassion. Again though, it's not light. It's deep and painful stuff, potentially cathartic.

So this new moon eclipse is a pretty heavy dose. It opens up a heavy month and a heavy year. We'll have Uranus re-entering Taurus in March, where he will disrupt the stable structures of our lives. We'll have Saturn and Pluto moving toward full conjunction in Capricorn all year, and both conjunct the south node of the moon into November – a situation that means the default tone will be stressful, harsh and punitive as established structures fall apart and we all have to pick up the slack.

Remember the north node is in Cancer, so however bitter and emotionally guarded you may feel, the way forward this year is about opening your heart and being gentle and nurturing toward yourself and others.

That might be hard this month, as frustrations abound. January culminates with a shocking and disruptive full moon eclipse in Leo on the 21st. I'll write about it closer to the time, but I think the main thing to do with this new moon eclipse energy is get yourself grounded in reality and commit yourself to the road ahead, even if it looks like an uphill battle.

The longing to escape reality is present in the form of a square from Jupiter to Neptune, exact on the 12th January. This is the first of three: the others come on the 16th June and the 21st September, so it's an influence we'll be dealing with all year. Given the harshness of this year's astrology, I can't blame anyone for wanting to escape into some kind of internal or external Shangri-La. But with the Saturn-Pluto stuff happening in Capricorn, there's really no way out of difficulty but through.