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Horoscope: January 6 - 12, 2020
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: Sun sextile Neptune
TUE: Mars quincunx Uranus, Venus sextile Jupiter
WED: Mercury sextile Neptune, Jupiter conjunct South Node
THU: Sun square Juno, Mercury square Juno
FRI: Sun conjunct Mercury, Mercury semisquare Mars, Sun semisquare Mars, Lunar Eclipse/Full Moon 11:21 a.m. PST, Eris stations direct, Uranus stations direct
SAT: Mercury conjunct Ceres
SUN: Mercury conjunct Saturn, Mercury conjunct Pluto, Mercury square Eris, Saturn conjunct Pluto, Pluto conjunct Ceres
MON (next week): Saturn conjunct Ceres, Sun conjunct Pluto, Sun conjunct Saturn, Sun conjunct Ceres, Venus enters Pisces, Sun square Eris, Ceres square Eris
WE ARE THERE. This is what I am calling "tornado week," the week that astrologers have been talking and writing about for literally years. The lineup of planetary events that occurs over the next eight days is both spectacular and powerful.
(To see the full list of this week's astrological events, see above for the "Aspects of Note This Week" section. I've included aspects that perfect next Monday, January 13, since the energies of Sunday and Monday being so tightly linked.)
There's so much going on, it's a lot to digest all at once. I'll do my best to break it down into manageable bites. All the same, you might want to get a cup of your favorite beverage and sit down. We're going to be here a while.
WE'RE ALREADY FEELING many of the influences, of course. Astrological aspects that involve slower-moving planets can be in effect for months or even years. Consider that an aspect such the Saturn-Pluto alignment is like climbing a mountain. We're on the upward trail for a long time before we reach the peak – the date of the exact aspect. Then we're on the downward trail for a long time as well.
We've been climbing this particular Saturn-Pluto mountain for most of 2019. Next Sunday, we reach the peak. The air is thinner here, and it can be hard to catch our breath. We are reminded with each step how important self-care truly is.
We may need to stop often and just focus on breathing, slowly and deeply. We must nourish our bodies and rest so that we have the strength we need. We must also feed our minds positive thoughts so that we do not become discouraged. And, we need to reach out and offer support to fellow climbers who are struggling.
WHAT IS PERHAPS most stunning about this week's long list of planetary aspects is that they are almost all interrelated. With my apologies to those readers whose eyes glaze over with too much astrology, here's an overview of why I'm calling this "tornado week":
- Next Sunday, we have the long-awaited Saturn-Pluto alignment. When the two planets exactly align at 22°46? Capricorn on Sunday, they are also tightly conjunct the Sun, Mercury, Ceres, and Charilko. The Saturn-Pluto alignment only occurs every 35 years or so. To have all the other planets also tightly involved makes this event extremely rare.
- On Friday, the Lunar Eclipse occurs at 20°00? Cancer, with the Moon opposing all of those planets in Capricorn – and closely square both Eris in Aries and Juno in Libra. At the same time, the Sun and Mercury are both in hard aspect to warrior Mars.
- Also on eclipse day, Eris and Uranus BOTH station direct.
The only big event not attached to these others, but highly significant on its own, is on Wednesday, when we have the exact Jupiter-South Node alignment.
THE BOTTOM LINE is that we are at a pivotal time in human history. As the astrology suggests, much is coming to a crisis point in 2020, and this first month of the year is especially critical. We need only briefly scan global and local headlines to see this manifesting.
It is impossible to process all that is occurring. This is one of the ways that Pluto often works. It brings about situations that are outside of our conscious control, so that we learn new ways of managing our reactions. Through the experience, we find new levels of inner strength. Plutonian events shift our perspective and ultimately empower us, sometimes to take action, but always to be in greater awareness of our own capacities.
On an individual level, even if we are not dealing directly with a crisis right now, it is important not to go into overwhelm. While there may be ways in which we are drawn to respond outwardly, we can also make great contribution by moving into center, into our hearts, holding a calm space, and embodying the peace we want to see on the planet.
AT THOSE TIMES when we feel powerless to control the outer world, we can always choose to control our own energy field. When we do this, we add much-needed, higher-frequency energies to the collective.
This is not the same as avoidance or wishful thinking. This activity, when done with conscious intention, can be even more powerful than physical action. We might call it prayer. We might call it energy work. Whatever term we use, we need that spiritual focus and energy now.
AS JUPITER aligns with the South Node in Capricorn, it amplifies the ways in which humanity is still guided by the dangerous belief that "might makes right." We see decisions that are made from an outdated, authoritative view of reality, one in which dominance and arrogance are acceptable, and perhaps even admired.
Jupiter is holding the magnifying glass over these traits, wherever they are found. It shows in exaggerated fashion what occurs when we approach life from the stance that we can do whatever we want simply because we have the power to do so. With the U.S. coming into its Pluto return, the nation is seeing a great challenge to the belief that it is above the law, untouchable, and invulnerable.
But Jupiter also has a more palatable intention for 2020. As it journeys through Capricorn this year, Jupiter helps us aspire to and achieve the positive traits of the sign: a stronger conscience, and greater civility, integrity, humility, and honor.
FRIDAY is an incredibly powerful day. Emotions are extremely high and the tension is palpable. This is an especially crucial day for finding our center of calm in the eye of the storm.
The Cosmic Plan that decided to have an eclipse at the same time as the Saturn-Pluto alignment – and for the alignment to be tightly implicated in the eclipse itself – is one to ponder. And then throw in all the other planets that are involved ... We really do need to sit down to have a heart-to-heart chat with the Cosmos.
I’ve taken apart the Lunar Eclipse chart to help us wrap our brains around everything that’s involved in the event. Be sure to read the very last item on this list, especially if you start to feel overwhelmed:
- Moon in Cancer: Heightened sensitivity and empathy. Feeling protective, perhaps defensive. Desire to hide, need for emotional security.
- Moon square Eris: Combativeness. The goddess who has been disregarded and belittled finds her voice, causing disruption.
- Moon square Juno: Alliances challenged. Disagreements between partners.
- Moon opposite Mercury: Communications affected (back up your computers). Travel disruptions. Information and disinformation. A war of words.
- Moon opposite Ceres: Separation anxieties, feeling isolated. Conflict between personal needs and needs of family or homeland.
- Moon opposite Saturn: Feeling cut off from emotional support. Need for increased self-care.
- Moon opposite Pluto: Passionate feelings. Emotions may be compulsive, reactive, obsessive.
- Moon opposite Charilko: Feeling conflicted over needs for self-care and the desire to hold the space for others and their healing. Remember the metaphor of putting on your own oxygen mask.
- Moon trine Neptune: Our saving grace! See next paragraphs.
???????IN OUR CHAT with the Cosmos, we need to include a prayer of gratitude for Neptune's involvement in all of these astrological events. Neptune, currently in Pisces, is in harmonious aspect to all of the planets we've just listed for the eclipse chart. With Neptune trine the Moon and sextile all the planets in Capricorn, it is providing a release valve for the tension of those many oppositions.
Neptune's influence enhances our ability to transcend the emotional reactivity of these times. It allows us greater access to our intuition, creativity, spiritual perspective, and connection to the Divine. It helps us rise above the human drama, so that we might gain the vantage point of our own Soul. It increases our sensitivity and compassion, qualities that are greatly needed in our world.
AS IF the eclipse and the alignments were not enough, there are two planets that station direct on eclipse day: Eris and Uranus. When a planet stations (comes to a standstill), its influence is magnified for at least a week on either side of the date of its station.
Eris was the goddess of strife and discord. She is credited with setting events into motion that led to the Trojan War. Eris is not only stationary at the time of the eclipse, she is also in hard aspect to the Moon and all of the planets in Capricorn. As such, we can expect that someone plays the role of instigator, perhaps surreptitiously.
Uranus is known to cause upheaval, through events that happen suddenly, unexpectedly, or dramatically. Having Uranus station during an eclipse can be thought of as a "double whammy" because eclipses are thought to be Uranus-like in their effects, due to their unpredictability. With Uranus in earthy Taurus – and with Earth Mother goddess Ceres strongly involved in the eclipse – it is not surprising that there is an environmental crisis occurring now.
The good news is that Uranus is still in harmonious aspect with Jupiter and with the nodes. Although Uranus can be a wild card in any human game, this particular card could be a very positive one. Since Uranus represents the Higher Mind, these aspects provide access to higher-level information, insights, and solutions, no matter what else is going on around us.
LOOKING AT THE BIGGER PICTURE, we can benefit from viewing this time as a healing crisis. During such times, we might be overwhelmed by symptoms that seem to indicate we are getting worse, not better. And yet, if we realize that humanity is going through a detox process, we can keep a bit more hopeful perspective on events.
We may wonder what each of us can do, how we can contribute to the healing rather than exacerbating the wound.
FIRST, self-care is vital. These planetary energies are not just "out there" somewhere, causing events. They are interacting with our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual bodies.
We may be especially aware of physical issues right now, especially in those areas of the body ruled by Capricorn: bones, joints (especially the knees), the skeletal system, connective tissue, and the skin. But even if we do not feel any physical symptoms, it is important to know that we are being inundated with all these cosmic energies. It's vital to get plenty of rest, both at night and when we feel tired during the day.
On mental and emotional levels too, we need to take breaks. Take a walk in nature. Listen to music. Allow your gaze to float softly over the far horizon, watch the clouds move through the sky.
ON SPIRITUAL LEVELS, there is much we can "do." We can meditate. We can pray. We can do energy work, calling light to the areas of the planet that are in need of support. We can call on the angels, Enlightened Ones, Masters, and other interdimensional beings, whose purpose is to assist the evolution of humanity and the healing on Planet Earth. These beings exist, but because this is a planet of free will, they must hear our call before they can offer assistance.
Most of all, we can love each other. We can be kind and gentle. We can open our hearts. We can accept and respect others, ourselves, and our planet. We can be Love. We can embody Peace. It is needed. We can make this transition time into one that takes us into the positive future we all envision – but, true to Capricorn's directive, we must each take responsibility for our piece of the puzzle.
NOTE: Please see the announcement for my upcoming webinar, "After the Tornado," further down on this page. I hope you can join us!
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IF YOUR BIRTHDAY IS THIS WEEK: This is an incredibly powerful year in your life, one that you will remember as being highly pivotal. You are claiming your power in new ways, while also realizing the impact of your choices on your personal life and relationships. It is a bit of an "all or nothing" year, when you are likely to feel quite passionately about a project, while at the same time feeling completely detached and bored with another area of life. You are undergoing a deep transformation, and realigning to your higher destiny. (Solar Return Sun conjunct Mercury, conjunct Ceres, square Juno, conjunct Saturn, conjunct Pluto)
For previous weeks of the Astrological Journal, click here.
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Webinar: After the Tornado
Airing Live and Recorded for Replay
Thursday, January 30, 2020
4 pm PST | 5 pm MST | 6 pm CST | 7 pm EST | ?12 midnight GMT
AS THE FILM “The Wizard of Oz” begins, the world is in black and white. Life is burdensome for our main characters, and they are essentially disconnected from each other. Our protagonist is alternately hopeful and fearful, feeling estranged from the love and support she craves, and experiencing oppression from the powers that be.
A tornado arrives, upending Dorothy’s world. When she awakens, she is in a land of vibrant color. It is not a paradise without its problems, but it is a realm where beings work together toward common goals, where there are clear roads to follow. She finds connection with other like-minded souls, and together they journey forward.
HUMANITY LIKEWISE has been traversing a black-and-white land, with deep divides between our peoples. The political partisanship, while concerning, is merely the easily-seen tip of the iceberg. We seem to be in need of a tornado, to turn us upside down, to reconnect us with each other, and to help us find new common ground, quite literally.
We’ve been talking for months about the astrological tornado of January 2020. During a single week, from January 8 to 15, an amazing number of significant planetary events occur, clustered around a powerful Lunar Eclipse and the alignment between Saturn and Pluto.
IN THIS 90-MINUTE WEBINAR, I will first talk about how our individual and collective experiences in January relate to these astrological events. This review is important to undertake, because our path through the rest of 2020 directly relates to events in January.
From there, we’ll “ease on down the road” and explore in more depth the primary opportunities and obstacles we’ll encounter in the first half of 2020. Highlights include:
- Jupiter’s alignments with Pluto, when we could have spin-off tornados, and how they relate to events in January
- Saturn’s entry into Aquarius and return to Capricorn, demanding progress and requiring completion of the old
- The shift of the nodal axis into Gemini/Sagittarius, adding another level of karmic completion and evolutionary growth into the dynamic
- The alignments of Pallas Athena with Jupiter and Pluto, inspiring new solutions and the empowerment of the feminine
Before the class airs, you’ll receive calendars of January through June, which you can use for note-taking. During the last half of class, we’ll move week-by-week through each monthly calendar, noting when there are important developments. As always, I will do my best to “bring the stars down to Earth,” explaining in practical terms what the planets are doing, how they are likely to affect us, and how we can best navigate these momentous times by focusing on higher purposes and our own capacity for spiritual maturity.I hope you can join us! If you can't attend live on January 30, the class is recorded for replay at your convenience. All registrants will receive an email afterward with a link to the replay, audio replay, and PDF slideshow.
TO REGISTER: Visit https://pamfeb-june2020.eventbrite.com. Once you register, you will receive confirmation and follow-up emails from @eventbrite.com.
The class fee is $33. Payment options and registration may be handled online via PayPal or by check made out to Elsie Kerns, 2007 Rabbit Run Rd., Marlton, NJ 08053.
Questions about registering or payment? Please don't hesitate to contact Elsie at
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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
