"In all my work, in the movies I write, the lyrics, the poetry, the prose, the essays, I am saying that we may encounter many defeats - maybe it's imperative that we encounter the defeats - but we are much stronger than we appear to be and maybe much better than we allow ourselves to be. Human beings are more alike than unalike."

— Maya Angelou

The Sun conjuncts Pluto this week in Aquarius — the first such conjunction (in Aquarius) since February 17, 1798. The retrograding Mars moves back into a sextile to Uranus, amplifying this 'novel' energy of the Sun-Pluto conjunction and creating a sense of imperative that is both emotional and rebellious. However, under the waning lunar cycle, we aren't likely to find much traction. This week's imperatives are vague but intense. The Sun-Pluto conjunction can increase our sense of fatalism but also increases our [...]

"You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through."

— Rosalynn Carter

We reach a point, this week, when 'the rubber hits the road'. A need for follow-through was indicated by last Monday's Capricorn New Moon (2:26 PM PST 9° Capricorn). By following through on our individual vision this week, there will be significant hope for dramatic breakthroughs under next week's Cancer Full Moon (January 13th, 2025 2:28 PM PST 23° Cancer/Capricorn). But, as we begin the week, there is still a rather foggy environment, suggested by Mercury's square to Neptune and the return of Mars into Cancer on Monday. Once in Cancer, Mars heads towards a trine to Neptune, which won't complete until early next week. The developing Mars-Neptune trine teases us this week with [...]

"Remember: You are your own father. Do not let yourself spend years creating yourself only to let your guard down and allow the ghost of the past — father, habit, history — to sneak back in."

— Robert Greene
The 48 Laws of Power

Mercury returns to square Saturn and oppose Jupiter this week for one last time. The Saturn-Jupiter square also returns this week, making the second of three passes in a longer lasting interaction that is ongoing into June of next year. Mercury 'inserts' itself into the ongoing interaction in ways that produces more confusion than diplomatic balance. Active engagement seem to be encouraged but our 'engagement' won't bring the expected or desired results that we hope. The second Jupiter-Saturn square completes on Christmas Eve while the Moon is [...]