posted January 01, 2018 03:12 PM            

Saturn's parallel with Pluto continues through the year, reminding us we are ending one cycle of power and beginning another as Saturn edges closer to Pluto in middle Capricorn.

January 31st brings our first Lunar Eclipse with Sun 11° Aquarius, Moon 11° Leo at 17° south/north declination -- and it is a good one! The Sun will be conjunct and parallel Venus AND Jupiter (both 17° south) and it is a time to renew our love for humanity by expressing our feelings to those around us. Get involved in a new group or renew your efforts in an established one. Reconnect with friends and make new ones. Go to a party if you have the chance. But don't waste this window of opportunity with energies that will resonate for the following 5 months.

February 15th brings our first Solar Eclipse at 27° Aquarius. Sun & Moon will conjunct Mercury, square Jupiter, and sextile Uranus, making this another dynamic opportunity for a new start by involvement in groups in which you learn, communicate and reinforce positive intentions.

April 26th (my birthday) Mars will conjunct Pluto in Capricorn, but expect a long lead-up to this beginning in February (and going into June) as Mars' declination path makes for an extended aspect parallel both Saturn and Capricorn. This may be a challenging time for many on the job front, with bosses, parents, authorities, etc, especially if you have planets in Sagittarius or Gemini, Capricorn or Cancer (or at 21-23° north or south declination).

The most marked shift may begin after Uranus enters Taurus on May 15th. Mercury enters Taurus a few days prior and may time some interesting news as both square Mars in late Capricorn. Since this is during the parallel of Mars, Saturn, and Pluto, I expect this news to involve the political arena and involve a decision by a person(s) of power that gets a widespread negative reaction.

The July 12th Solar Eclipse has Sun & Moon at 20° directly opposite Pluto. This will mark a period of renewed feelings in the assertion of power by mothers and women (and children) in the face of authoritarian abuses, especially by men. Both luminaries will also be contra-parallel Pluto, emphasizing this even more. Time to protect home, women and vulnerables against the careless and abusers.

The Lunar Eclipse of July 27th will only add to those energies as Sun 4° Leo will be opposite Moon and Mars, and square to Uranus 2° Taurus. Things may get quite volatile, so be sure of your purpose and your methods. Don't be baited into fights with those merely pushing your buttons to get you all emotional so they can claim you are the offender. Be careful of over-reaching ego in asserting your notions of justice. You may have righteous anger, but that does not mean your expressions of it are automatically justified as 100% righteous. Detach, distance yourself as needed and reconsider your approach. Break away for a while if needed to cool down.

August 11's Solar Eclipse 18° Leo will be conjunct Mercury-Rx, so be sure to use it as an opportunity to review your intentions and how you communicate them before moving forward. The luminaries will square Jupiter 14° so know that there is opportunity for growth during that time and move forward confidently. Expect some delays in understanding and be careful not to just over-dramatize or shout louder to be understood. This is a good time for dramatists and story-tellers to get their work across. Just be sure to not over-indulge your ego or appetites contrary to previously established intentions or good sense.

2018 will be a challenging year. It's numerology is 11, so it is relational, but not in the mundane sense. Look to higher relationships of soul history, those patterns that transcend personality and mundane concerns. This will bring benefits along the lines of Venus and Neptune energies -- especially Neptune's if we step up to its higher octave of love, Compassion.

posted January 01, 2018 10:58 PM            

But when it comes to calculations of those points in the natal, SolarFire is more accurate than astro.com ...

posted January 02, 2018 03:04 PM            

Eek my Sun/Mercury are at 20 Sag and 23-24 declination, and will be searching for a job soon. thanx for the heads up

posted January 02, 2018 03:06 PM            

I think 2018 will have its challenges, but it definitely offers some good windows of opportunity for growth for most of us, but many of us still have to deal with that nagging Saturn-Pluto parallel. For me it has been learning the stop-and-start dynamic at a different level, because the Plutonian push to move on, overcome, get to the root of it all, etc, just drowns out the usual 'off' cycle of such Saturn dynamics (contra-parallel my natal Mars).