Highlights for Jan. 10-16, 2022: The Story, The Outlaw, and Back to the Future

The Story, The Outlaw, and Back to the Future

Dates and times are given for U.S. Pacific Time zone.

Be reunited with your story

Sometimes, a good, solid nap is just what you need to refuel your mind, spirit, and creative juices. A lunch break overlooking the ocean or a lake, or in the company of a good book, can do the same. Do it for the right amount of time – not too much! – and you’ll be refreshed and productive for the remainder of the day.

As the Sun in hard-working Capricorn sextiles Neptune (Jan. 10, 2022, 7:28 pm, 20.52 Capricorn/Pisces), remember that stepping back from your labors can make you more productive in the end – and certainly, more at peace. Forget the goal for a moment, and be reunited with the story you’re trying to tell with your life. Look to Neptune’s placement in the Pisces house of your chart (don’t know how to find it? this blog post/video might help) to locate that narrative, and the Capricorn part of your chart to see what you’ll use to tell it. This week is filled with creative possibilities – but you must take time out to let them come to you.

The outlaw

As Mars makes its closing square to Neptune (Jan. 11, 2022, 1:43 pm PST), it’s just about to go out-of-bounds (Jan. 12-Feb.10). That means its declination exceeds that of the Sun at the two solstices; and since the Sun represents the bounds of ego and sanity, out-of-bounds planets behave like outlaws, in a somewhat wild, uncharacteristic, or even reckless fashion.

Mars in Sagittarius likes to do as it pleases, out-of-bounds or not, and sees its entire objective as expanding boundaries and pioneering new frontiers. But as it approaches a square to Neptune, it becomes Don Quixote, tilting at windmills. There’s optimistic, and then there’s delusional; this Mars is walking that fine line. An out-of-bound Mars square Neptune is riding into the fog without a road map or headlights, which is not the best scenario for making decisions. So this week, be careful about doing things that can’t be undone.

Back to the future

One of my oldest friends sent me some blurry photos from our grammar school days. Although my memory is generally not what it used to be, I recalled the names of every classmate in those photos with no effort. But who was that long-haired, fierce-looking, awkward girl with my name scribbled underneath? I remembered her, too, how she struggled to feel good about herself and to fit in. Looking at my youthful self made my heart catch, made me feel protective of that girl. And for a moment, I realized how far I’ve come in the 45 years since, and also how much I’m the same.

Mercury turns retrograde this week (Jan. 14, 2022, 3:41 am PST) at 10.20 Aquarius, on the Sabian symbol, Man tête-à-tête with his inspiration. Particularly when it’s in Aquarius (one of its stronger signs), Mercury retrograde can be aggravating for all the usual reasons – technical and electronic snafus, communication problems and misunderstandings. But it’s an excellent opportunity to go back to the future to mine for inspiration, remembering who we used to be, who we are, and how far we’ve come.

The privilege of power

What mountain are you climbing? The Sabian symbol for the Sun’s conjunction with Pluto (Jan. 16, 2022, 6:50 am PST, 26.26 Capricorn) is A mountain pilgrimage. The Sun with Pluto in Capricorn symbolizes those in power, and this Sabian symbol implies a methodical climb toward an ambitious goal. When we’re intent on achieving a goal we care very deeply about, we may tell ourselves that’s what’s good for us is good for all, and it may be. But this conjunction demands that we consider, honestly, whether our ends justify any and all means.

The struggle of the Sun together with Pluto is the need to reconcile personal sovereignty with impersonal, universal power. The Sun and Pluto emphasize the importance of respecting the power that is endowed in you when you are in a position of influence. The challenge: Don’t assume that power belongs to you, because it doesn’t. It’s a privilege, bestowed with the caveat that it be used to unite, ennoble, and empower all.