Horoscope: January 14th - 20th, 2019
Astrologer Pam Younghans writes this weekly astrological journal based on planetary influences, and offers perspectives and insights to assist you in making the best use of current energies. This column is not intended as prediction. Your own experience will be more specifically defined by transits to your personal chart.
Highlighted Aspects for This Week
All times listed are Pacific Standard Time. For Eastern Time, add 3 hours. For Greenwich Mean Time, add 8 hours.
MON: Mercury sextile Neptune
WED: Sun conjunct South Node
FRI: Venus trine Mars, Mercury conjunct Pluto, Sun sextile Chiron, Sun square Uranus
SAT: Sun semisquare Neptune, Mercury square Eris
SUN: Venus sesquiquadrate Uranus, Sun enters Aquarius, Sun semisquare Jupiter, Venus square Neptune, Full Moon/Total Lunar Eclipse 9:12 p.m.
JUST TWO DAYS until Tuesday's webinar on the first six months of 2019! My goal with this class is twofold: to offer new perspectives on these challenging times and their higher purposes, and to share practical information and insights that will be helpful in navigating the days and weeks ahead.
Thanks to everyone who has already registered! If you haven't yet decided whether to participate, please see the class description at the bottom of this column. And remember that the class is recorded, so if you can't attend live on January 15, you will have full access to the replay and slideshow afterward.
Looking forward to seeing you there (on Zoom)! Now, this week's planetary news:
WE EASE into this fiery eclipse week gently, with a subtle Mercury-Neptune sextile on Monday that enables us to utilize our spiritual or creative resources in practical ways. But by midweek, our attention is again drawn to some of the profound social issues of these times.
On Wednesday, the Sun aligns with the karmic South Node in Capricorn. The "old guard" is in the limelight with this alignment, and it may be hard not to feel disheartened about our hopes for a gentler, kinder world. This is our opportunity to refocus our own intentions, and to consciously embody the qualities that we feel are missing and are needed.
THINGS HEAT UP on Friday, with both a Mercury-Pluto alignment and a Sun-Uranus square in the lineup. When Mercury and Pluto conjoin, our thoughts and words are especially powerful, acting like a laser that can either heal or destroy. The square between the Sun in Capricorn and Uranus in Aries represents the struggle between those who would control and those who demand their individual rights -- perhaps in response to situations that reached a crisis point earlier in the week.
There are also two harmonizing aspects on Friday that we will want to take advantage of. The first, a supportive Venus-Mars trine, helps us utilize the best of our receptive (feminine) attributes and our assertive (masculine) qualities as we move through the day's events. And, a Sun-Chiron sextile, while a quieter influence, encourages us to let go of the need to control and to trust that all will be -- and even IS -- well.
WE CONTINUE to meet with challenges on Saturday. The Sun is semisquare Neptune, indicating some disillusionment or the feeling of having been deceived. At the same time, Mercury is square Eris, the goddess of discontent, further aggravating the divide between corporations/governments and the rights of the people.
On Sunday, the tension may spill over into our relationships, as Venus is in hard aspect to both Uranus and Neptune. Be sure to give everyone their space (Venus-Uranus) and try not to be overly sensitive to not feeling understood (Venus-Neptune).
SUNDAY'S FULL MOON is also a Total Lunar Eclipse, adding an extra element of potency to the event. Totality occurs when the Moon reaches 00°51? Leo, at 9:12 p.m. PST on Sunday (5:12 a.m. GMT on Monday). The total eclipse will be visible from North and South America, Europe, and western Africa. (Central and eastern Africa and Asia will see a partial eclipse.)
While the chart for this eclipse contains many variables, perhaps most notable is the T-square that forms. A T-square occurs when a planet is 180° away from another planet, and both of those planets are 90° away from a third planet (forming a capital "T"). At the time of the eclipse, there are multiple planets involved in the T-square: the Moon and North Node are opposite the Sun, South Node, and Mercury, and all of those points are square to Uranus and Eris.
A T-SQUARE CONFIGURATION represents instability that is looking for resolution. It also tells us that we will need to consciously work to stay in balance while this eclipse is in effect. Objectivity is key, as it will be easy to go into defensive posturing. And with Uranus and Eris at the "apex" of the T-square, we must remain flexible in our expectations, be aware of our own trigger points, while also knowing when it is appropriate to assert ourselves.
Astrologer Bil Tierney writes that when Uranus is at the apex of a T-square, we can expect "lawlessness, social defiance, and disruptions," with the endpoint being "radical reform." Given the protests that have been happening worldwide, this eclipse will no doubt cause escalations in rebellions that are already underway.
Remember, too, that the effects of an eclipse last beyond the day in which it occurs. While we do expect certain events to be activated around the time of the eclipse, these issues will continue to unfold for the next six months, until the next pair of eclipses occurs in July.
A VERY POSITIVE and exciting component of the eclipse chart is the Venus-Jupiter conjunction, which occurs in alignment with the Great Attractor. The GA is a highly magnetic black hole that is drawing toward itself all of the galaxies in its vicinity -- including our own Milky Way and numerous other galaxies in our "supercluster."
According to astronomers, every black hole is the source of its local environment. In other words, the GA is the progenitor of our home group of galaxies. So, in case we're ever worried that we're not evolving in the best direction, knowing that we're moving through space toward Source should help us have faith in the process.
THE FACT that Venus and Jupiter are having their annual alignment at nearly the same degree at which we perceive the GA (14°02? Sagittarius) -- and that this is occurring during a Total Lunar Eclipse -- seems very fortuitous to me. It speaks to the potential for us to elevate our relationships, our art, our values, and our expression of love to a new level. It opens us up to new experiences in these areas, and helps us find ever greater meaning within them.
We must be willing to take some risks, of course -- Sagittarius is the Adventurer/Explorer, and so insists that we expand beyond our comfort zone. But then, evolution requires change. To allow and partake of this opportunity for advancement, we must be willing to travel into new realms, both emotionally and spiritually.
IF YOUR BIRTHDAY IS THIS WEEK: Your successes in life have provided you with the foundation for the future, but you are not intended to remain bound to the past this year. Instead, you are challenged to move beyond your previous expectations, and to allow yourself to find new avenues of self-expression. Over the past year, you have been given opportunities to try on many different hats, to see for yourself who you really are and what you truly want. As 2019 progresses, you will gradually emerge from what may have felt like chaos, with a fresh knowing of what will be most fulfilling for you going forward.
About the Author
Pam Younghans is a professional astrologer, editor, and writer. She lives in a log home northeast of Seattle, Washington with her beloved animal companions. She has been interpreting charts professionally for over 25 years. If you are interested in an astrology reading, e-mail
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