Horoscope Week: December 31, 2018 to January 6th, 2019

Horoscope: December 31, 2018 to January 6th, 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: Mars enters Aries 6:19 p.m. 
TUE: Sun conjunct Saturn 9:49 p.m.
THU: Mercury square Chiron, Mercury trine Uranus, Venus semisquare Saturn
FRI: Mercury enters Capricorn
SAT: Venus trine Chiron, Venus quincunx Uranus, New Moon/Solar Eclipse 5:28 p.m. PST
SUN: Uranus stations direct

WE STAND at the threshold of a new year, perhaps excited or maybe apprehensive about what lies ahead. But the Universe is impatient, and will be wasting no time in launching us into the transformational energies and experiences that will be with us throughout 2019. This first week of the new year is packed full, highlighted by a Solar Eclipse next Saturday and Uranus stationing direct next Sunday.

In keeping with the spirit of endings and beginnings, Mars completes its most recent round of the zodiac on New Year's Eve, leaving the last sign of Pisces and charging into Aries. The warrior planet will be in the first sign until February 14, providing plenty of energy and courage for whatever new enterprises we want to embark upon.


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THE ATMOSPHERE on the first day of 2019 is more cautious, however; the Sun and Saturn are aligned in Capricorn, focusing our attention on the seriousness of what we want to accomplish and how we want to get there. This is a very practical influence, not given to over-idealizing the effort it will take to gain the mountaintop.

On Thursday, we might appear to be back in an old paradigm. Mercury in late Sagittarius is square Chiron in Pisces, bringing up ideological conflicts and reviving prejudices that serve to place others in the position of being less-than. However, Mercury is also in helpful trine aspect to Uranus, which means we have the opportunity to think in new ways, to access more inclusive perspectives that do not wound, but heal.

Mercury then moves into Capricorn on Friday, shifting our thoughts to what we want to achieve, now that we know more clearly what we value and believe in. 
 
OUR SOLAR ECLIPSE occurs on Saturday in the U.S., at 5:28 p.m. PST (this is Sunday at 1:28 a.m. GMT). The Sun and Moon are at 15°25? Capricorn at the time of the eclipse, very near the midpoint between Saturn and Pluto.

This midpoint activation is quite significant, given that the alignment between Saturn and Pluto is a major player in the human drama that unfolds over the next two years. The alignment isn't exact to the degree until January 2020, but throughout 2019, we are touching into the energies of this joining of planetary energies. Saturday's eclipse is our first activation point, so we'll want to pay close attention to what is occurring.

SATURN is Father Time, while Pluto is the god of the underworld. Together, they show us what has reached its expiration date, that needs to be purged, so that we can reset our sights and focus our intentions on what is in alignment with our highest path of evolution. This imperative is increased by the fact that this is a South Node eclipse (occurring near the South Node), indicating that we must release something from the past in order to enable the future to unfold at its highest level.

On a personal level, it will be helpful to move some energy this week, to create space in your life for shifts to occur more readily. This can be as simple as changing a routine, taking a load of donations to the thrift store, or moving the furniture around in one of the rooms of your home. Try to find ways to do something new every day this week, with the intention of opening the space for the new.

(I’ll talk a lot about Saturn-Pluto in my upcoming webinar -- please see the description at the end of today's Journal).

THE NODAL AXIS itself -- composed of the North Node in Cancer and the South Node in Capricorn -- is in close square aspect to Uranus in Aries at the time of the eclipse. Given that Uranus is basically at a standstill as it prepares to change direction next Sunday, this is a potent influence.

Uranus is always the wild card in any astrological draw, tending to manifest in unexpected ways, and nearly always tossing the entire deck of cards up into the air to be sorted through later. (Remember when a childhood friend asked if you wanted to play "52-Card Pickup"?)

With Uranus square the nodes for the eclipse -- which is in itself a time of shifting energies! -- we can "expect" unexpected developments that will reveal both the old patterns we are leaving behind (South Node) and the new versions of self and society that we are meant to evolve into (North Node). Uranus is known to manifest through startling events such as earthquakes and tornadoes, and other circumstances that shake up the status quo. As we let go of attachment to what has been, we are then more free to move into new forms.

THE SUN AND MOON are aligned with the fixed star Vega (Wega) for the New Moon eclipse. This star can be a very positive influence, boding well for endeavors that we begin under the influence of this lunation -- especially if we have first done the necessary clearing. Researcher Vivian Robson explains that Vega "gives beneficence, idealism, hopefulness, refinement, and changeability," but it can also be "outwardly pretentious and lascivious."

George Noonan, another expert on fixed stars, has a less positive view of Vega, leaning more toward the problems that can occur when someone becomes overly focused on the glamour and is disingenuous: "influential position but fleeting honors, insincere friends, public disgrace, probably through forgery, loss through writings."

HELPING US navigate this Vega effect gracefully, astrologer Roderick Kidston writes:

"It is important to keep an even approach with this star. 'Nothing in excess' is a useful thought for meditation here. Wega is one of the brightest and most beautiful stars in the heavens. It calls for us to remember the permanence of the beautiful in all its forms, and its expression of the deeper harmony with the divine. With Wega, you have been given a little gift by the gods. You can take it for granted, but if you make a little effort, this star will bring many rewards."

In other words, as we begin the new year, our tasks are to keep our balance in times of great pressure and change, to maintain integrity in all our endeavors, to look for the beauty, and to be humbly grateful for the many gifts of our lives. And, to remember that beauty, in all its forms, is an "expression of the deeper harmony with the divine."

Please note that I'll be doing a "BeLive" on Facebook next Saturday, to talk about the Solar Eclipse and to share a bit more about my upcoming webinar. The BeLive will be at 4 p.m. PST -- please visit my Facebook page for the link as we get closer to the day.

IF YOUR BIRTHDAY IS THIS WEEK: Your long-term goals and ambitions are central to your life experience this year. The first ten months of 2019 find you focused on manifesting your intentions, and beginning new endeavors. What you conceive in January has a gestation period, bearing fruit in October. Along the way, you will be learning the value of patience, integrity, and clarity of purpose. In essence, you are completing a 30-year cycle and making a new start in some area of your life. The greatest rewards for your hard work are likely to manifest in late 2019, when Jupiter aligns with your Capricorn Sun.

About the Author

Pam YounghansPam 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 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or leave a message at 425.445.3775. For more information about NorthPoint Astrology offerings, please visit northpointastrology.com or visit her Facebook page.

WEBINAR ANNOUNCEMENT!
The Two-Year Journey 2019-2020

The Two-Year Journey 2019-2020

Phase I: Into the Heart: Astrological Guidance for January through June 2019
With Pam Younghans
Airing LIVE on Tuesday, January 15, 2019 -- 4 p.m. PST, 5 p.m. MST, 6 p.m. CST, 7 p.m. EST
To register: https://pamjan2019update.eventbrite.com

As we enter 2019, we begin a powerful two-year evolutionary journey that will have great impact on both our inner and our outer worlds. Phase I of this sojourn, which I am calling “Into the Heart,” will take us from January through June 2019. During these months, our planetary guides will be pouring light on the path of the Divine Heart. As we attune our inner eyes to that luminessence, we also become aware of the music of the Heart, allowing the frequencies of cosmic light and sound to entrain our own energy.

Two eclipses in January provide the fanfare to start us on our journey. These eclipses, especially the SuperMoon Total Lunar Eclipse on January 21, will serve to shift our attention in powerful ways. Another highlight of the first half of 2019 is on March 6, when Uranus re-crosses the threshold into Taurus. When Uranus first entered Taurus in May 2018, the Earth responded volcanically – leaving us conjecturing what we can expect for this second crossing.

But the most potent time within this six-month period is likely to be in April and May, when a dance between Pluto, Saturn, and the karmic South Node brings society face-to-face with its materialistic tendencies, as a mechanism to catapult us into a more heart-centered future.

In this 90-minute webinar, I will begin by providing more details about this two-year journey that begins in January 2019 and completes in December 2020. I will then describe the most significant astrological events of the first six months of the new year, and their potential impact. During the last half of class, I will walk us through each month, providing guidance based on the planetary activity, which includes several powerful Full Moons and some significant retrograde periods.

I hope you can join us! And don’t worry if you can't attend live on January 15 -- the class is recorded, and all registrants receive an email afterward with a link to the replay and the pdf of the slideshow.

Everyone who registers for the webinar will also receive calendars for January through June beforehand. These calendars show all the important astrological events, and will make note-taking easier.

To register: https://pamjan2019update.eventbrite.com

Class fee is $33. Payment options and registration may be handled online or by check to Elsie Kerns, 2007 Rabbit Run Rd., Marlton, NJ 08053.

Questions about registering or payment? Contact Elsie at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 856.988.7426

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