Astrological update for the week of January 9-16, 2023
This week we are in the waning phase of the Moon, just after the fullness of last week’s Full Moon and heading towards the second of three Super New Moons in a row. This is an interesting time of letting go as the Moon wanes, but also building anticipation as we move into a Super New Moon, a time when the Moon is at its closest point to Earth.
Throughout the month of January there are no major planetary alignments, so the smaller planets have a bigger story and will have a say in what is released this week as the Moon continues to wane, and in what is created at the New Moon on the 21st.
Mars turns direct. Mars, planet of action and desire, has been particularly troublesome while retrograde in Mercury-ruled Gemini and the double whammy with Mercury retrograde has wreaked havoc on communication (the botched election for the U.S. House Speaker is a good example!). Mars is stationary as it prepares to change direction, and Mercury will turn direct on the 18th so they are both prominent in the sky in anticipation of the direction change.
Let’s take a look at what else is in store for us this week. (Dates and times are for the Eastern time zone, here is a time zone converter to adjust for your locality.)
Monday January 9. As the week begins, the Moon is still in the sunny sign of Leo where we are motivated to look for bits of sunlight in the midst of any darkness or drama that we find ourselves in. A Mercury/Uranus aspect lingers from Sunday to help us with new conceptions and sparkling new ways of looking at the world.
This is a great day for all kinds of relationships too – our interactions with others are more stimulating, and it will be easier to balance our own needs with those of the people around us. There may be a short time in the evening when we may find ourselves feeling blocked or sad, but this will likely last for just a few hours. (Mercury square Uranus Sunday 6:23 pm. Monday’s alignments: Mercury square Uranus 4:02 am, Venus trine Mars 10:21 am, Moon opposite Saturn 8:52 pm.)
Tuesday January 10. The Moon enters Virgo at 10:15 EST and shifts our focus away from things that make us feel good and happy under Leo to the things that help us to feel organized and that there is some order in the world. When the Moon is in Virgo, discovering creative ways to structure our daily routines can be magical and helps us to find greater mental equanimity.
Mercury rules the Virgo Moon, and a difficult Mercury aspect builds on Tuesday to culminate on Wednesday that could bring up some old wounds and emotional challenges. Taking a pen to paper and writing down anything that comes up on Tuesday and Wednesday will help to reframe the emotions into something which can be worked with.
Wednesday January 11. That difficult Mercury aspect culminates in the wee hours of the morning after a challenging lunar aspect and then begins to release later in the morning EST. Harmonious lunar aspects smooth any psychic wrinkles and help us to regain the sense of security that helps us to accomplish things under the Virgo Moon. (Moon square Mars 2:36 am, Mercury square Chiron 3:48 am, Moon trine Mercury 9:57 am, Moon trine Uranus 4:17 pm.)
Thursday January 12. Today is an excellent day to repair any relationships which might require some tweaking. There is greater emotional balance, Mars turns direct today to offer confidence and a boost of energy.
The Moon enters Libra around 10 pm EST and encourages us to find greater equanimity and balance. (Moon trine Sun 6:07 am, Moon opposite Neptune 8:21 am, Venus sextile Chiron 1:46 pm, Mars turns direct 3:56 pm, Moon trine Pluto 6:06 pm, Moon enters Libra 9:56 pm.)
Friday January 13. The Sun intertwines with Neptune today to bring a magical day of creativity and illumination. The Libra Moon, ruled by Venus, seeks beauty and peacefulness in all things, and this is an unbeatable combination for a day of equanimity and experiences which bring us into the sacred. (Moon opposite Jupiter 3:33 am, conjunct Ceres 8:28 am, Sun sextile Neptune 9:11 am, Moon trine Mars 1:45 pm, Moon square Mercury 4:55 pm, Moon opposite Chiron 9:30 pm.)
Saturday January 14. The Venus-ruled Libra Moon harmonizes with Venus and Saturn just after midnight EST for a beautiful burst of positive energies which may help to smooth over some ruffled feathers that arise that day. There’s an unpredictability in our relationships which can serve to make positive changes or to cause us to feel somewhat destabilized. If we choose the path to change it will help us to find the stability. (Moon trine Venus 12:57 am, trine Saturn 7:47 pm, Venus square Uranus 8:21 pm, Moon square Sun 9:10 pm.)
Sunday January 15. On Sunday we dive into the deep as the Moon makes the transition into Scorpio. Feelings become more intense and desires may begin to lead the way. Emotions can be quite powerful and under the sign of Scorpio our feelings can easily generate a new reality. Later in the day passion merges with ideas to help us find the focus required for positive change. (Moon square Pluto 3:39 am, Moon enters Scorpio 7:08 am, Moon sextile Mercury 10:47 pm.)
I hope you have a beautiful and magical week!! ❤️
The post Planetary news this week: Mars turns direct and the Moon sings appeared first on Astrology readings and writings by Lynn Hayes.
